Open Sport Nationals results. 31st August: Congratulations to the winners of the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway: Super Pro ET: Barry Giles (7.60) 7.697/150.76 def. Joe Stevens (8.90) 8.982/152.32 Pro ET: Dave Cherrett (10.00) 9.912/125.81 def. Bob Molden (9.90) 9.926/122.15 red Sportsman ET: Ian Petrie (14.02) 14.251/76.78 def. Steve Unsworth (13.27) 13.338/97.25 Super Comp: Brian Pateman 9.009/148.37 def. Jon Morton 9.022/148.05 Super Gas: Dan Page 9.962/128.08 def. Jon Morton 10.067/146.30 Super Street: Neil Grant 10.884/131.28 b/o def. Bob Lees 10.845/131.46 b/o Junior Dragster: Gabrielle McDonald (8.01) 8.037/81.67 def. Claire Giles (9.02) 9.062/70.20 Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator: Brian Payne 8.833/185.40 def. Ian Hook 8.518/165.87 red Wild Bunch: Terry Clifford (10.20) 10.250/126.94 def. Andy Murphy (10.60) 10.598/123.00 b/o Outlaw Anglia: Cliff Griffin 8.272/163.72 def. Simon Barlow 9.257/143.60 VW Pro: Matt Attwood (11.66) 12.580/109.99 def. Dave Bridge (12.52) 12.486/100.14 breakout VW Sportsman: Russ Weir (17.41) 17.886/67.13 def. Matthew Bennett-Sime (17.88) 17.584/67.52 Outlaw Flat Four: James Wotton 11.139/96.69 bye, Bernie Newbury no show Pro Stock Bike: Dave Beck 7.237/182.33 def. Len Paget 7.544/173.21 red Funny Bike: Dave Bailey 8.795/134.80 def. Gary Jones 8.985/155.45 Super Street Bike: Steve Venables 7.587/188.326 def. Dave Holland 7.583/184.49 Comp Bike: Stu Crane 7.962/155.94 def. Ivan Birch 12.368/65.21 9.50 Bike: Jake Mechaell 9.598/127.29 def. Richard Sawatzki 9.579/133.44 Supertwin Gas: Chris Mott 9.264/137.15 def. Joe Elliott 9.764/136.83 Supertwin ET: Simon Clamp (11.99) 11.591/118.60 b/o def. John Munday (13.40) 13.537/96.68 red CC Medical Services Junior Drag Bike: Scott Collier (9.90) 10.094/62.24 def. Louis Davies (13.95) 13.900/46.49 b/o 8.50 Bike: Mike Winyard 8.673/141.61 def. Martin Wilson 9.031/169.26 Congratulations to Junior Dragster racer Jacob Kopasz and Wild Bunch racer Dave Williams who won the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award and Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award respectively. Both Awards have been reset to £50 for the FIA European Finals. You can check out our American Car Imports-sponsored reports and pictures by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Swift snippets. 31st August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us Version 2 of the official entry list for the VP Racing Fuels National Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 25th-26th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes this Friday; entry forms can be downloaded from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. With FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway on 9th-12th September official fuel supplier VP Racing Fuels is taking orders for the event to fulfil from its large stock. To order your fuel visit www.santapod.co.uk/m_merchandise.php?Category=6, select the fuel you require and complete payment, and your order will be delivered directly to your pit in time for the first day of the event. If you have any queries then call 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828). If you would like to test before the FIA European Finals then Santa Pod Raceway are hosting a Peak Performance Day this Sunday, 5th September, and a Pro Peak Performance Day on Wednesday 8th September, the former open to all and the latter open to any racer entered for the FIA European Finals in any class. Peak Performance Days are limited-entry events with track prepped to event standard and full safety cover. For more information about Peak Performance Days check out www.rwyb.com. Entry for this Sunday's PPD closes at 17:00 UK time today (Tuesday). Les Harris has resigned as Chair of the UK's National Association of Supertwins for personal reasons. Barrie Gregory has assumed the role until the NAST Annual General Meeting on 13th November. In the meantime if you have any enquiries about the NAST then you are welcome to contact Barrie on 07500 144233. Web site updates. 31st August: In the latest instalment of his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Pro Stock Bike racer Kalle Lyrén of the VEIDEC PSB team reports upon the aftermath of his latest outing at Gardermoen. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Our good buddy Jon Spoard has updated the UK Drag Racing Nostalgia site with pictures from June's NSRA Nostalgia Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can check out Jon's pictures at www.ukdrn.co.uk. Another good buddy, Alan Currans, has updated his Acceleration Archive with pictures from the weekend's Open Sport Nationals also at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can take a look at Alan's pictures via the What's New link at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. The official web site of the MSA British Drag Racing Championship has been updated with a preview of the FIA European Finals together with Stefani Robinson's pictures of Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson's Pro Mod in its new colours. Check it out at www.msadragracing.co.uk. Urgent Open Sport Nationals update. 27th August: Shakespeare County Raceway and APIRA officials are asking for co-operation from racers prior to this weekend's Open Sport Nationals and following the unseasonal deluge of rain which the county of Warwickshire and the south of the country has experienced in the last twenty four hours: To help us free up some pit space to allow for more hard standing, we request that owners of open trailers only put them into a secure trailer compound which will be situated behind the Medical Centre and the Tractor Pulling Track Staging Area. This will be lockable and to guarantee security there will be a pass in and out system which will be operated and looked after by the Medical Centre staff. Provided the county doesn't experience any more heavy rain pit staff still have every intention of opening the pit gate at midday today although this may change to later in the afternoon so please be patient. Each racer will be escorted to their assigned pit. If everyone can be as co-operative as they were last time this problem arose then we are sure that everyone will enjoy the weekend as it is meant to be enjoyed. Furthermore, we wish to point out that this is not a knock on effect from the recent Global Gathering or the Bulldog Bash. No one is in control of the weather! UK National Finals update. 27th August: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary has been in touch to remind racers that next Friday, 3rd September, is the official closing date for entry to the VP Racing Fuels National Finals which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 25th-26th September. Entry after next Friday, if accepted, will be subject to a late entry fee. Official entry forms for all classes can be downloaded from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. You can check out Version 1 of the official VP Racing Fuels National Finals entry list by clicking here. Finals ferry deal still available. 27th August: Those racers attending the forthcoming FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway who have yet to book a cross-Channel ferry are advised to contact DFDS Norfolkline (formerly known simply as Norfolkline) to take advantage of special deals. Andy Willsheer writes: DFDS Norfolkline sponsor Santa Pod Raceway and, purely on the basis of supporting the people who support the sport, will endeavour to offer a competitive tariff to anyone travelling on the Dunkerque-Dover route. Please E-Mail Jo Hardman of DFDS Norfolkline at [email protected] with full details of vehicle, number of persons travelling and time and date of travel and she will be pleased to sort matters. Swift snippets. 27th August: Maikel Gloudemans tells us that today's DHRA Finals at Drachten Drag Strip has been cancelled due to bad weather. Web site updates. 27th August: In the latest instalment of his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Luke Bennett explains how much there is to think about when you want to change a blown-alcohol altered into a Top Methanol Funny Car. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Open Sport Nationals coverage. 27th August: Eurodragster.com will be at Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend to bring you all the news from the Open Sport Nationals in association with American Car Imports. The plan is for frequently-updated reports on the on-track action throughout each day of the race, together with a photo gallery at the end of each day. The Webster Race Engineering/Nimbus Motorsport webcam will be on-line as long as the track is open and will be scheduled to post a picture every sixty seconds. There will be no pit notes this weekend as our reporter Simon has a family commitment elsewhere. We will post a direct Home Page link to our coverage as soon as it commences, but in the meantime you can check out our Open Sport Nationals event coverage index, which includes Saturday's provisional running order and the official entry list, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Open Sport Nationals. Open Sport Nationals update. 26th August: Many thanks to Shakespeare County Raceway for forwarding us the provisional running order for Saturday's qualifying at this weekend's Open Sport Nationals. You can check out Saturday's running order by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Open Sport Nationals. Please note that as ever the running order is provisional and subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials. Thanks also to SCR for forwarding Version 4 of the official entry list for the Open Sport Nationals which can be viewed by following the link above or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Open Sport Nationals. SCR's gates will open at midday tomorrow (Friday) after which racers will be escorted to their pit areas by APIRA marshals. Dutch Finals Top Gas review. 26th August: Herman Jolink writes that the latest round of the Euro Super Twin Top Gas Series took place at Drachten last weekend: On Friday and Saturday it was possible to make nine qualifying runs. The Drachten track was very well-prepared - Danny Bellio made a show run with his Top Methanol Funny Car over the eighth mile and ran 3.88/289 kmh. There were 3000 spectators, and the weather was OK just a few raindrops on Sunday. Top Gas qualifying: Cord Albers D on 2622 V-Twin 8.213/256 Harry van Schie NL on 1966 Blower V-Twin Herman Jolink NL on Ducati 1198 RS (1266) 8.357/246. Herman ran a new Personal Best sixty foot of 1.187 and also ran the highest speed on Friday of 257.07 kmh. Marc van den Boer B on 2660 V-Twin 8.647/224 Peter Niklas D on 1000 Turbo Honda 8.670/249 Lando Beugelsdijk NL on 2622 V-Twin 8.731/210 Frank Heitmann D on 2622 V-Twin 9.589/203 Quarter finals: Albers 8.729 bye run gearbox broke after the run; van den Boer 8.698 bye run as Niklas broke; van Schie 8.482 beat Heitmann 17.545 gearbox broke' Jolink 8.365/248 beating Beugelsdijk who redlit. Semi finals: van den Boer 13.549 bye run as Albers broke; Jolink 8.413/249 beat van Schie 8.525/237, RTs Jolink 0.121 and van Schie 0.132. Final: Jolink 8.485/243d def. Marc van den Boer 8.770/219, RTs Jolink 0.167 and van den Boer 0.190. Top Gas Championship: Herman Jolink NL 2075 Harry van Schie NL 1500 Marc van den Boer B 1470 Cord Albers D 1170 Frank Heitmann D 950 Peter Niklas D 910 Bernd Niessen D 660 Uwe Kahmann D 340 Remaining race dates: 28th August: Dragday Finals, Hoskovice CZ 2nd-5th September: Mosten Race Days and Top Gas Finals (201m sprint), Mosten DK A rookie win at Rotorstock. 26th August: Rick Cuthbert writes that those who made it along to Rotorstock at Santa Pod Raceway on Saturday were treated to a great day's racing uninterrupted by any rain: The inaugural HKS Academy was won by Shahin Fard in his Nissan Skyline. Shahin battled off eleven other competitors racing for the first time to take the trophy. The Academy proved extremely popular with participants who praised the way it provided an educational but exciting introduction to certified racing. The established HKS classes were concluded as follows: HKS Pro Winner: Leon Green, Toyota Supra Runner Up: Chris Impey, Mazda RX7 HKS Factory Modified Winner: Stuart Taylor, Subaru Impreza Runner Up: Keith Carr, Toyota Supra HKS Street Winner: Robert Shadwell, Nissan Skyline Runner Up: Malcolm Thomas, Nissan Skyline HKS FWD Winner: Guy Chamberlain, Honda Civic Runner Up: Paul Cresswell, Honda Civic A full Rotorstock event report and gallery can be found at www.rotorstock7.co.uk. A rush to be ready. 26th August: The UK's Team Edge Pro ET team have had a busy summer raising money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis and preparing the Cavalier for the final three events of 2010: Our Crew Chief Steve and Gordon found a major problem with the car during preparation for a fund-raising event in Staffordshire. The Edge was due to be one of the stars at a Custom Show, but had to pull out at the last minute leaving Martin and Mel running round like headless chickens! However they still managed to raise vital awareness for MS and drag racing. The problem with the car has turned out to be the camshaft, so Steve and Gordon have been working tirelessly day and night to ensure that it will be ready for the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend. Martin has posted some in-car video on You Tube. Just put racing4multiplesclerosis into the search box, and please check out our web site at www.racing4multiplesclerosis.com. Good luck to everyone involved at Shakespeare this weekend, hope to see you all there. Thanks, as always, to Eurodragster.com for supporting our team and our cause. Swift snippets. 26th August: UK Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson has added NGK Spark Plugs as a sponsor of his 6.0-second blown-alcohol Studebaker. "We have used NGK's products successfully over many seasons so we are particularly pleased to sign them up and display their decals on the new shiny red Fire Coupe", says Bob Roberts. Meanwhile the Robinson Race Reports web site at www.robinson-race-reports.co.uk has a new look to match the Stude's new livery, and has been updated with a report and video from the NitrOlympX. The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "The ultimate RV accessory?". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. Contrary to yesterday's Snippet we didn't have two birthdays but three so a big Happy Birthday for yesterday, and of course hugs, to Monique Koedam. Hope you had a lovely day Monique. All set for the DHRA Finals. 26th August: Maikel Gloudemans writes that the Dutch Hot Rod Association will be holding its 2010 Finals at Drachten Drag Strip tomorrow: The day will start with some regular Run What You Brung action from 15:00. The King Street finals will start at 20:00 (and I'm in it). The first prize is an all-expenses-paid trip to the Pomona Street Nationals in the US, the second prize a set of rims from CMS Wheels, and the third prize free entry to an eXplosion event next year. Bikes will also compete in a bracket race; the first prize will be free entry to an eXplosion event next year. Entry is €10 and contestants pay another €10 to run in the RWYB before King Street. You have to be qualified to run King Street itself so there will be no RWYB after 20:00. Of course we haven't forgotten John van Geytenbeek: we talked with his family and they have given us the go-ahead on the event. Of course we will have a proper drag race farewell for him. We will try to broadcast the event as always at www.doyousee.me/DHRA, and you can find out more about the DHRA Finals at www.dhra.nl. Web site updates. 26th August: Hans-Jørgen Hitz writes that the latest information about the Mosten Race Day,which takes place in Ørsted in Denmark on 2nd-5th September, is available on-line at www.mosten-mc.dk. Note for Defa Finals racers. 25th August: Hanski of the Finnish Hot Rod Association has passed on the following important notice for racers attending this weekend's Defa Finals at Alastaro: The local regiment is having a Military Oath session at Alastaro Circuit on Friday (27th) between 07:00 and 14:00. This is a big event with lots of military and civilian vehicles, so all of the pit areas will be used as parking lots. Because of this event all teams coming to the Defa Finals will be prohibited from entering the Alastaro Circuit before 15:00 on Friday. To allow smooth exit for all guests please do not attempt to enter Alastaro Circuit before 15:00. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Belgium goes Full Throttle. 25th August: Erwin Raets writes with news of the Eurodrag Full Throttle Internationals which takes place in Belgium on 25th-26th September: The race will be held at the former military airbase in Brustem, a community next to the city of Sint-Truiden, Belgium. Almost unanimously the participants at last week's Drachten Finals committed to attending this first ever full-sized Belgian drag race. If all goes well, and if we maintain a good relationship with all parties involved, this could grow to be a permanent round in the eXplosion Championship. It has been tough since the immense loss of 'Canadian John' van Geytenbeek on Sunday afternoon. I got to know John just a few weeks ago, and in the staging lanes just before his last run he was smiling from ear to ear and told me that he was really happy with his bike and with the new race, and that he would certainly be there with his nitro machine. How I wish he could be! Tough as it is, I know that John would want us to continue, as he did, to pave the way for the drag racing community and I have set a goal for myself by organising this first Belgian Dragrace as my own tribute to John. We were working on it together, and making it a successful event for all his friends gives me the drive and decisiveness to focus on the job at hand. I would like to say Thank You to the racers who have donated their used tyres for track preparation, and brought them to Hockenheim and Drachten. We will need a lot of them to get the track right! I still need tyres so if you have a set which you would have discarded after the European Finals, or if you have some used slicks lying around, and if you want to help set up a new track in Europe, then please drop them in at Danny Bellio's Top Methanol FC pit at the Finals. It will be much appreciated! I have set up a web site for the event which you can find at www.eurodrag.com. There will be daily additions to the site, as news and entries come in. On-line entry is now available at www.explosiondragracing.com. I wish everybody a good end to the season, and I hope to see you all in Belgium some day! SCR offer Junior Dragster hire. 25th August: Making its competitive début in Junior Dragster this weekend will be Shakespeare County Raceway's very own hire car, writes SCR's Jerry Cookson. Based upon the old Matrix Racing Junior Stock Dragster maintained by Dick Talbot and raced by granddaughters Hazel and Holly Mitchell, the car is to be raced again at the Open Sport Nationals by Kayleigh Jane Goodrich who is the granddaughter of APIRA official Julie Willcox. Thanks to the efforts and prep work carried out by Junior Dragster enthusiasts Daren and son Alex Brett, the Stock Dragster broke cover last month at Shakespeare County's PTD weekend where eight year old Kayleigh was rewarded for her efforts with an MSA licence to race in National Event competition. At the very same event ten year old Russell Victory was also rewarded for his efforts, with his license duly signed off. "I was very excited and nervous with my first time on the drag strip but after I had done my first run I felt my nerves fading and felt a little happier more confident, wanting to go again", commented Kayleigh after her first pass in the car. "After a few more runs I had completed my first part in gaining my race licence. Daren's talk before and directions were a big part of achieving my license. He even managed to get my mum Natasha confident in starting the dragster and staging me on the start line by Sunday morning. "I'm now competing in the Shakey car at the Open Sport Nationals and I can't wait. I would hire the car every meeting if I could but Mum feels that it's not giving other children a chance to try drag racing." The Junior project started with a numerous phone calls and E-Mails between Waltham Abbey and Stratford-upon-Avon. "I was approached with the idea about Shakespeare County Raceway having its own Junior Dragster programme in October of last year", says Daren. "During the winter Eurodragster.com's Jeff Bull Swap Meet had the answer to our prayers: Dick Talbot had a Junior Stock Car for sale. Dick was more than reasonable with the purchase price, especially once he knew the purpose for which the car was going to be used - coming full circle to where it first started almost a decade ago. After all, the car's function is to provide a fun driving experience at a great family track as well as introducing new blood into the sport!" Assisting with the programme with the appropriate safety gear is longtime track sponsor Ed Yates from DS Racewear, a leading supplier of motorsports safety equipment in the UK as well as a racer in the Wild Bunch. "I have been supporting SCR for a number of years as a track sponsor and safety partner and I was very pleased to be asked by Jerry and Daren to get involved in this fantastic new venture", says Ed. "I am proud to have been able to supply the safety equipment for the SCR Junior Dragster and hope we can encourage more people into this great sport of ours at an early age. Although better known for adult racers equipment, DS Racewear can also supply a full range of Junior safety equipment as well." Also joining the team is Claron Graphics' Simon Cardwell, who designed the car's livery, and MotorShack who will be lubricating the car's engine with oil thanks to lane sponsor Steve Woods. "Claron Graphics are pleased to be supporting the new SCR Junior Dragster and supplying the graphics for the car", says Simon. "I have been involved in junior motor sport for many years and been privileged to be involved with several drivers and seen them climb the motorsport ladder right to the top. Junior classes are where the stars of tomorrow learn their craft and develop the skills needed to succeed in the higher classes. We're excited to see Junior drag racing growing, almost meeting by meeting at Shakespeare County Raceway, and we are more than happy to be a small part of it." After the Open Sport Nationals the car will be on display at the NSRA Hot Rod Drags alongside the Alex Brett's Junior Modified Dragster. During the weekend one of the cars will be linked up to a Portatree Reaction Timer coupled to the Raceway's spare Tree. After that the car is due for display at the Leamington 100 Charity Car and Bike Show in between other commitments at Public Track Days. "I have been quite overwhelmed by the extent to which people have gone to see this project through", Daren added. "Ed Yates from DS Racewear offered complete safety equipment for the car, suits, gloves, arm restraints and neck supports. Simon Cardwell from Claron Graphics took the bull by the horns and was over with his measure scaling the car for graphics, and MotorShack's Steve Wood has stepped in with a maintenance deal to look after the cars servicing requirements. This programme, I know, is just a small part of a large schedule of work which is currently being undertaken at the track, but has been treated as if it was the most important item on the agenda!" Bookings for the Junior for the rest of the year can be made by calling the track office on 01789 720180 or E-Mail [email protected]. Swift snippets. 25th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us the final version of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 9th-12th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the FIA European Finals. We have two special birthdays today. Ladies first, so a big Happy 18th Birthday to UK 9.50 Bike racer Jemma Venables. Have a lovely day Jemma. Claire Meaddows and all the family have asked us to wish a very Happy 50th Birthday to Wild Bunch racer and wheelying Backdraft slingshot pilot 'Crazy' Chris Hartnell (below left). "Congratulations! We love you loads!", they say. After the huge success of the Ultimate Street Car Run What You Brung game, Santa Pod Raceway has released a new drag racing simulation featuring six-second Pro Mods. "The revs rise faster, the speeds build quicker, and the engines blow up more violently and with much less warning!", says Rick Cuthbert. "This game is great for a bit of reaction-time testing both for real racers and kids who need entertaining on a rainy afternoon". You can play the game for free at www.santapod.co.uk/santa_pod_racer.php. Lindberg takes Eliminator win. 25th August: Last evening, in a thrilling semi final to a closely-fought Championship, Al O'Connor raced a Pro Mod against Anita Mäkelä in a Super Comp dragster. On the other side of the ladder was Andy Carter in a Pro Mod, pitched against Johan Lindberg in a Top Fuel Dragster. Anita went red, letting Al through to the final. Andy narrowly scraped past Johan for the win, setting up the final, which was taken by Johan on a holeshot. Of course these races didn't happen for real, nor were they involved in your News Editor's latest heart drug hallucination, but they were in fact the final rounds in a closely-fought game of Eliminator, the new card game being launched at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod. One pack of Eliminator cards contains everything you need to play six entertaining games for all ages. Priced at £5.50 from the Pod shop, with 60% of the profits going back into European drag racing at grass roots level, Eliminator is a must for all racers, crew and fans. To pre-order your set, E-Mail [email protected]. Web site updates. 25th August: Our good friend Remco Scheelings' Dutch Finals report and pictures have been posted on The Netherlands' Autosport web site at www.autosport.nl. As one would expect the tone of this report is a little more serious than it would normally be, but Remco has done his usual professional job. A dream fulfilled. 24th August: UK Pro ET racers Carla Pittau and Rick McCann made a two thousand mile round trip to July's Veidec Festival to fulfil their dream of competing in Stock/Super Stock. Although the appalling weather meant that Rick got all of three passes down the strip and the team spent most of the rest of the weekend in their camper watching it rain, Carla writes that the Heaven and Hell team had a lot of fun: It would take a lot of doing to make us describe this experience as fantastic and yet that's just what happened. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and set up in the Stock/Super Stock pits, and immediately our fellow competitors came to the rescue when we couldn't hook up to the mains supply without an adaptor. Pelle Andersson supplied the correct plug and cheerfully proceeded to wire it up for us. Later on we sat in his bus while P-A Lindström of the Swedish Stock and Super Stock Association checked that we had got our minimum weights and class correct, so that we wouldn't make a pass which could be discounted. Everyone welcomed the new recruits with warmth, humour and advice, we kept looking at all the cars and grinned like maniacs. For good measure Simpson SE, sponsors of Stock/Super Stock also offered excellent free burgers to all racers and crews in the class on the Friday, which was also a good opportunity to meet the other racers. Thursday was to be the Sportsman day, when we had allocated a few changes to try and dial in the combination. The First run was to be our baseline, which would hopefully tell us what difference the new headers and converter made, then we were going to read the plugs and fatten her up one step. Then we thought we may well need to fatten her up some more, but all we ended up doing was fattening up ourselves, eating doughnuts and croissants and chocolate muffins all day, trying to cope with the big disappointment of the endless wet stuff falling out of the sky. As always, it's the people who make all the difference, and we had the good fortune of meeting a lot of like-minded enthusiasts who were impressed by the scale and extent of our passion and madness when we explained that we bought our engine to do one race a year a thousand miles from home. And this is why, in Rick's own words: "What is it about Stock/Super Stock cars that makes them so special? When we first saw them in the US and fell in love it was the wheelstanding launches. This is not the exhibition type wheelstand, it's about getting a big heavy muscle car to leave the line with maximum weight transfer and minimum sixty foot time. Then there are the cars themselves, beautiful old and new classics. Look closely: full interiors, gorgeous paint, these are like show cars but with incredible performance. Then there is the sound of the engines. You get to recognise them as they are unique. There is a crackle in the open headers, the smell of the unburnt C12. I could hardly concentrate on preparing our Camaro when Björn Bondesson fired up his big Chevelle to unload it from the ubiquitous Volvo coach. "When you learn about the rules, the limitations on what you can do to engines etc. then a new respect emerges. How do you get a 98 Firebird to run low tens – this is over three seconds quicker than stock when all you are allowed is to change the cam duration, not lift, only duration. "So finally here we are, going to the staging lanes amongst thirty six other Stock and Super Stock cars. I'm busy looking at all the other cars. Look, a '66 Fairlane, a '64 Sport Fury with rare cross ram intake, immaculate Camaros, a stick shift 2001 Firehawk in red, Novas, Chevelles, not one but two rare '73 or '74 Venturas with 350 Pontiac motors and working Ram Air..and look, they're pulling wheelies off the start line in front of me. The Mantorp start line crew are bringing us through one pair after another just like in the States, two launch just before two burn out and another two are pulling forward. "In fact I am so busy looking that I'm not ready. Tach not set, not enough brake pressure, so can't hold it on the burnout. Pull to the line, launch, shame no wheelstand, get to the finish line, line up to get weighed. Did I mention factored HP for each combination and minimum weight per class. I'm five kilogrammes over, which is good. "We richen up the carb for our second qualifier - we only get two because of the rain on Thursday - and run 10.26 on our index of 10.40. So we qualify twenty fifth 0.14 seconds under. The top qualifier is 0.72 under. How can we go half a second quicker? "We look at the ladder and we are paired against Ari Körkkö's gorgeous '69 Camaro. We go to see him and toss a coin for lane choice then we stand around chatting for a while. First round comes and I'm nervous as hell, but I'm helped by Tog's reassuring chat and by Kirstie taking funny pictures, then finally I'm in pre-stage, watching Ari Körkkö's pre-stage bulbs...where the hell is he, there's playing games of course but there must be a limit to how long you can keep someone waiting. Finally the starter signals a single. Stage, gone, little bit of a wheelie and then it's all over. There was no playing games, Ari lost oil pressure and had to shut off. I'm disappointed, my first competition run in Super Stock is a solo run, I just hope it's a good one so that winning by default isn't too hard to take. "Waiting to get weighed, now only two kilogrammes over minimum! I'm told I had a perfect Reaction Time, wow, I won the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow prize. Oh and dead on too, double wow. I am a lot less disappointed, at least that would have been hard to beat. The total package is 0.0066 seconds: 0.0006 on the line and 0.006 at the top end. As good as the numbers I read and envy in National Dragster. "I get back to the pits and think the second round looks good, the car is being really consistent and I'm getting a handle on the lights, then the rain comes." It could have been so depressing, so hard to take, but the feeling was just the opposite: enthusiasm for the place, for the people, for the class, firm determination to come back, to race with them, to get to know them all better, and pride, to have been part of this great bunch. Another milestone was Grace Roaf's start line debut, as the minimum age required in Sweden for start line duty is fifteen and our youngest crew member had just had her fifteenth birthday the previous week! So Rick and I came back to England like the evangelists. We can be seen going from door to door like Mormons, wearing freshly-ironed (fire)suits and bringing the good news to the world, brandishing the NHRA bible, Stock/Super Stock chapters, and dreaming of a European Championship which includes England and Santa Pod one day. Special thanks for their invaluable help and advice prior to entering the event and during the meeting must go to the Swedish Stock/Super Stock Association, to Joakim Kristoffersson, Leif Andersson, Rolf Cederblad, Pelle Andersson, P-A Lindström, Bjorn Bondesson and his crew, Hans Olsson and a bunch of others whose names unfortunately I cannot remember, but you know who you are guys, you made our visit to Mantorp unforgettable. I must also add that we were really impressed by the excellent organisation – from Race Control to the lovely pit marshal who kept us updated after each round with qualifying lists and running order. Finally heartfelt thanks must also go to Dave, Colin, Chris and Grace - our hard-working, invaluable crew, always cheerfully dealing with anything fate throws at us - to Tog, Kirstie, Simon, Roger and Ed of Eurodragster.com; and to Andy Willsheer, for their encouragement and good humour. You can find pictures of the great cars on the Stock/Super Stock Forum at forum.sssa.se and on our Facebook photo album at www.facebook.com/heavenhellracing. Swift snippets. 24th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us Version 11 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 9th-12th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. This version of the list finally reveals one of the better-kept secrets in drag racing as the UK's Conrad Stanley is listed under Pro Stock. We have been promised a news item about that so stay tuned. The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "Nip and tuck". if you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. Construction manager Lars Erik Lindberg says that the construction of Sweden's Tierp Motorpark is progressing according to plan and that everything is looking good. If you want to see for yourself then Tierp Motorpark's web site at www.tierpmotorpark.com is now presented in both Swedish and English. We had two birthdays yesterday but due to an astounding admin error by your News Editor they did not appear on yesterday's news update. So Happy Birthday for yesterday, apologies and hugs to Sharon Williamson of the UK's Stockport Doorslammer Super Street team - rest assured that Tog will burn in hell for this one Sharon - and also to Ingrid Chesworth. Hope that you both had good days, ladies. Allard Chrysler motor update. 24th August: Brian Taylor writes with encouraging news about the motor of the Allard Chrysler Dragster, which is being built by Booth-Arons in the USA: There have been a few problems which have delayed things, only to be expected with a project like this, but things look on course for the engine to be back at Beaulieu this November. The blower which Beaulieu had in stock required more work than expected and has been back and forth to Littlefield Blowers in California a few times. Prior to mounting the blower on the engine it was discovered that the crank snout had to be shortened before it could be mated with the blower adapter. And there have been other small problems such as the length of pushrods and the need for spacers between the heads and the blower adapter, both probably the result of decking the head. Availability of parts, difficult enough with an engine of this vintage, has gradually become more of an issue as the economic recession has forced suppliers to reduce their stock. However, a brand new Taylor Vertex Magneto has been located in the USA - exactly the same as the Scintilla unit fitted to the original engine back in 1961. The engine is getting very close to final assembly ready for dyno-testing before dispatch to the UK in November, providing that we hit no further unexpected problems. The photo shows three legends: custom car designer George Barris, drag racing personality and Honorary ACAG member Linda Vaughn, and the blown and injected 354 Chrysler Hemi being readied for the Allard Chrysler. Rocker covers are slaves as ours are at the chrome shop. Denny Hummel, who is building the engine, said "Booth Arons is both honoured and excited to be chosen to do the restoration of the Hemi engine for the Allard Dragster. The project has been a labour of love and one of great excitement. The storied career of the Allard dragster has made this project a historic event for Booth Arons, and to be associated with the Allard Dragster, is an honour of a lifetime. We are looking forward to seeing the Allard breathe fire and belch thunder again." More details about the progress of the engine build can be found on the Allard Chrysler Action Group web site at www.allardchrysler.org. If you would like to help fund or sponsor this unique and exciting project, then select the Merchandise page the web site and use the PayPal link, or contact Brian Taylor by E-Mail at [email protected] or call him on 01395 579733 (outside the UK +44 1395 579733). Alternately you can talk to Brian at the FIA European Finals. Open Sport Nationals Perfect Awards. 24th August: This weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway is the latest event in the 2010 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards scheme. £125 is on offer for perfect performance. The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Junior Dragster racer Jerry Bachinger at the NitrOlympX. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available all to racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first perfect light of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for the FIA European Finals; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for the FIA European Finals. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with performance hose and fitting manufacturer Speedflow whose web site you can find at www.speedflow.co.uk. Eurodragster.com decals are not mandatory to be eligible for the Perfect Light Award, however we do of course appreciate it if decals are carried. Eurodragster.com decals, or at the very least directions to the nearest supply, are available from any Eurodragster.com staff member at the track. The Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award has been increased to £75 after it went unclaimed at the NitrOlympX. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to run to the thousandth on their dial-in or index during qualifying or eliminations. The Perfect ET Award is available this weekend in Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Sportsman ET, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Junior Dragster (eliminations only), 9.50 Bike, the Wild Bunch, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, Supertwin ET, Junior Drag Bike and 8.50 Bike, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Run of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £100 for the FIA European Finals; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for the FIA European Finals. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with RV sales and service specialists Gold RV whose web site you can find at www.goldrv.co.uk. To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers are required to carry Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET decals, (left) one on each side of the vehicle. This applies to both cars and bikes. If you pull this weekend's first Perfect ET but are not carrying decals then there will be no discussion; we will not pay out and the next racer to pull a Perfect ET will get the money assuming that they are carrying decals. Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award decals are available from the Signing On office; as with all contingency schemes the responsibility rests with the racer to collect and carry the correct decals. Web site updates. 24th August: Our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson has updated the Racebilder web site with pictures from the SDS Finals at Sundsvall Raceway. You can find Patrik's pictures at www.racebilder.nu. Tributes to John van Geytenbeek. 23rd August: Our good friends at eXplosion Drag Racing Club have set up a tribute page for late Supertwin racer John van Geytenbeek who died in an accident at the Dutch Finals at Drachten yesterday. You can leave your tribute at www.explosiondragracing.com/2010/08/22/tragisch-overlijden-john-van-geytenbeek. Remembering Dave Grady. 23rd August: Darren West of Eurodragster.com sponsor Power Race Graphics writes that it is a decade to the day since we lost his drag racing hero, British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Dave Grady: It's no exaggeration to say that Dave was the father of the Northern street, drags and yanks scene. In the years since Dave's tragic death I've met a large number of people who have been touched very deeply by the infectious enthusiasm which Dave had for our sport. We know him in drags for racing his High Spirits '57 Ford and Thunder Truck and other blue blood US Ford race cars predominantly at Pennine and Santa Pod. His time as supplier working at the American Parts Centre in Bradford and his own SuperPower USA Speedshop did massive amounts to further the cause of all things Northern Yank V8 race and custom. Later his G-Force touring Super Gas show, his commentary and endeavours to further UK drag racing through every possible cause did so much to energise people and motivate them to participate. But he's remembered just as fondly as head honcho for all things street and his endeavors in the late seventies with the West Yorks Street Freaks Club, and Northern Street Confederacy are things of legend. And let's not forget his success with West Yorks Police, not only to get cruises in the mid to late seventies flowing without problem but later to get livery signed off for use on Ken Coleman's wild blown Rover cop car! Dave just had that personality and golden touch and will be forever remembered as somebody who really had a significant input to where we are now. Graham Beckwith wrote what is the perfect account of who Dave was, what he did, and what he should be remembered for at www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk/members/dave-grady. Ellis' unfinished business. 23rd August: UK Pro Modified racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis says that it has been a bad year on the European Tour but that it has at least been character-building: At Mantorp we were still finding broken stuff from the Summernationals, but as the car had not been back in the workshop since that meeting we never found it. On our first hit at the Summernationals we went to the start line with our 6.0 tune-up in the car, the track couldn't take that and it shook like it never shook before. In the next pair Andy Robinson, who has run 6.0 in the right lane, proceeded to shake very badly to a point that part of the rear screen broke off his car. With hindsight this run was where the damage was done, as my car has never got down any track since and never managed a six since, when its first full pass two years ago with less parts and way less experience was a 6.81/213. We found broken four-link plates in Finland and in Sweden we found that the shock absorbers and the anti roll bar were doing nothing. In Sweden we also burned a crank, did an engine change between rounds and got shut off as an eight-dollar rubber fuel hose had split. Everything is repaired now, so we have three complete engines. I don't know if the 'Cuda will be here in time to get ready for the European Finals, but Sean Brown will be there with me again as he has unfinished business. What i will say is that the computer from the 'Cuda is an absolute gold mine and worth the money alone. Remember that Howard Moon tuned this car; that's why we bought it, to buy information which no one is giving away. Big thanks to all my crew for putting up with me and for working like dogs. I don't have to name them, you all know who they are. Am I serious about Pro Mod? You bet I am. Regular readers will know that Graham sponsors Eurodragster.com through one of his businesses, the very popular Rak Chang Thai restaurant in Leigh-on-Sea. The restaurant now has a web site at www.thairakchang.co.uk. As well as full menus and details of special set meals the web site includes location and reservation form. The Boss says "Wait". 23rd August: FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champonship leader and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher went to the NitrOlympX at Hockenheim tied with Championship rival Risto Poutiainen. But Urs felt that he had the advantage at Hockenheim as he views it as his home track and because he had more than two hundred people in his pit: At Hockenheim we always have a lot of fans from Switzerland and this time we had over 150 VIP guest in our own hospitality. So we had two big trailers and a big tent to build up. But with my Super Erbacher Team and Thomas Fischer taking care of the VIP organisation everything was finished on time and we could concentrate on the car and the bike. I walked the track on Wednesday afternoon and the retired NHRA guys had done a great job. But after it rained all day Thursday all the good work was undone. In the first session on Friday we went up in smoke early but the other teams had the same problem. Our set-up was good for the next session and I had my daughter India saw me back to the start line after the burnout under Dario's supervision. She did a great job and she will be doing it again at the finals. We were the first pair out there and ran 4.986/472.10 kmh. So we were happy that we could handle the track, but the teams going after us saw how good the track was and turned up the screws a little. So after the last qualifying session we ended up in sixth and Risto was in third. It was a hard night. All my VIP fans asked me "What happened? Normally you are number one qualifier". I tried to explain as much as I could but it is always the same at home races. I knew I needed to win the first round against Risto, but Risto beat me last year in Hockenheim. My VIPs said "Do it back to him! You get him. Go Urs!". But that put more pressure on me, so there was only one way to clear that: I needed a win light. I deep staged and tried to pull a good light. But you know how it goes, Home Track stuff again and I was later on the lights than I normally am in eliminations. So Risto was in front of me. I saw his front wing in the corner of my vision all the way and as long you see that you know you are behind. After one hundred feet I gave up in my head and thought that he would win. But then my car started to pull more and I passed Risto just before the finish line. I won! It was great, it was like winning a whole race. My VIPs and my team were happy and we pulled back to the pits to prepare for Andy Carter and his guys. In my head I was ready to beat him but you all know that it started to rain and they had to call it off because of the time schedule. I can live with that but I would have preferred to have finished the race and show my fans that we could win on our home track. But the Lord wants us to settle the Championship in England. So he is the Boss and we will do it at Santa Pod. I would like to thank my crew and the whole VIP team. Including the team there were more than two hundred people - thank you all. We will see you at Santa Pod. Meanwhile, a short bus ride away at the other end of the sprawling Team Erbacher pit, UEM Supertwin Championship leader Lorenz Stäuble was at the NitrOlympX to take part in the Nitro Bike Thunder shoot-out. Team member Horst Pauli tells us that Lo's appearance at Hockenheim allowed the team to test set-ups without the pressure to earn points at the same time: Before the race we installed a fuel flow meter on the bike because we wanted to know how much fuel was going in to the motor. We made the first run with our basic set-up and ran a 6.84. For the second run we changed the nozzles and adjusted the BDK. The goal was to use bigger jets and less turns on the BDK to get about the same amount of fuel. It all worked really well and our calculations were quite accurate. The second run was 6.74, not bad for testing. As far as I remember this was the quickest run by a Nitro bike all weekend. We made a third run in the legendary Hockenheim Night Show. All the grandstands where filled and it must have felt like this for the gladiators. We were in the first pair with Hans Olav Olstad. But in the burnout the motor over-revved and the MSD shut it down before anything could be damaged. Because it was a show event, we could run again in the last pair together with Ian King. This time Lo made a real nice long burnout. In the other lane Ian King broke something just after the burnout so he had to push back. So Lo ran alone and the entire arena concentrated on him. Lo left the line quite well but slowly went left, so he started to correct and after 600 feet the bike went right. It was too much so he had to get off the throttle, straighten up the bike and get on the throttle again, but he ran 6.90. From the start line we could see the exhaust flames all the way down the track. It's cool making runs when it is getting dark. On Sunday it was a bit like Mantorp. Because of rain the FIA classes could only run their first elimination rounds. After that the event was cancelled. So there is only one race left in the Championship, and Team Erbacher is leading in Top Fuel and in Supertwin. Are we able to repeat 2007? Hunting the lid of the box... 23rd August: Swedish Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren and his team were very pleased with their successful weekend at Hockenheim, where Michael would have contested the rained-out final. Michael says that the final round finish gave him the Championship in an open box - he just needs to put the lid on it. "Of course it's not a done deal yet", says Michael. "I can get sick and not show up, or some other stupid thing could happen, but even then Micke Callin or Jan Palmqvist need to qualify top and win the race. So it is looking good. The whole season has been a real team effort with a lot of hard work and many hours of preparation of the Lahega/Oakley car in our shop in Helsingborg. Mike Öhman, Tim Andersen, Jerry Hagman, Tomas Jonsson and Paula Hallberg has stayed on top of the game all the way. We have really tried our best to not overlook anything this year and to have a strategy for every race. This has really paid off with very consistent runs. We have not been looking for Low ET or record runs, but been more focused on getting a good set up for race day that gives us consistent safe runs so that we can win rounds. It is of course always nice too have the quickest car as we have had twice this season but to win the Championship it takes points - a lot of points. "Our Jerry Bickel-built GTO is working very well right now and with the usual top-notch power from Bob Ingles we are looking real good. We are very grateful for the support from our main sponsor Lahega Kemi and our associate sponsor Oakley. We wouldn't do this without their backing. We are also very proud and grateful for the support from our twenty two US performance parts manufacturers who have been supported us for many years with the best possible parts - for more information see my web site at www.malmgrenracing.com. "Right now we have our state of the art rig on display at the 2010 Elmia Sweden Truck Show, then we have some passenger runs to give and then another truck show in Denmark before loading up for the European Finals at Santa Pod." Heezen summoned by the police. 23rd August: Dutch Supertwin racer Job Heezen, one of three racers all but tied at the top of this year's UEM European Championship, is back from his travels and has been in touch to bring us up-to-date with his European tour: Our trip to Mantorp Park started one day earlier than usual. We had been invited to come to attend the Press Day on the Wednesday as Championship points leader. I had never been to a meeting like this and in a room full of Swedish-speaking Vikings I felt like a fish out of water but when I saw Tog in the first row it felt like home instantly. I tried to explain that the situation of a drag racer in my country is quite a bit different from the status they have in Scandinavia. I think they got the message, as the next day's headline in the local newspaper said "Nobody knows anything about drag racing in Holland". The new track made a good impression, they put in a lot of effort on the new surface and the camber in the right lane is almost history. Keeping in mind that the surface was only one week old I was surprised to see that most of the runs were straight, even in the right lane hardly anybody went towards the wall. From the first qualifying run on we had a problem with our timer box. It worked fine in the warm-up in the pit but during the run it refused to do its job. It didn't work on any of our three runs and we had to tune the bike without timers, which can be viewed as similar to going into the boxing ring with both hands tied behind your back. So the number three qualifying spot was more than we hoped for. Late in the evening we found out that the timer box worked fine until the MSD started to produce big power, it also produced interference causing the timer box to quit. We didn't have a spare box with us but we were lucky that we could borrow Ton and Vincent Pels' spare so we were ready for the first round of eliminations and a pairing which is becoming a classic: us against Roel Koedam. Sadly the rain on the Sunday put an end to the Mantorp race. That day I got a nice surprise from the Chief of Police in Toten/Norway. Im my Alastaro review I said some things on these Toten boys and the Chief of Police seems to be a very dedicated reader of Eurodragster.com. He was very happy that somebody finally understood the trouble he has in his peace-keeping operations in Toten. Henning, one of the decent members of the gang, handed me an official letter from the Chief of Police with an invitation to come and see him at the station (click on picture at right for legible version). Normally, an invitation to show up at the police station is not such good news and you'd better bring your wallet or, even worse, your pyjamas. Not this time, now I've got an invitation to show up and drink coffee and eat doughnuts. Before I leave Mantorp I'd like to mention the excellent webcam on Nitroz.se, I got a lot of positive reaction from people back home. After the rainout on Sunday we were all set for the next stop, Gardermoen. This was easier said than done. When I pulled up the motorhome to hook up to the trailer I heard strange noises from the rear end. Every time I hit the brakes the rig was jumping up and down like a kangaroo. This way we hit the road to our destination for the week, the campsite in Arvika, halfway between Mantorp and Gardemoen. I had to use a different approach to braking, every time I needed to use the brakes I hit them hard to make sure the trailer took over most of the effort. It helped a lot that the Swedish driving style is, how can I put it, more than relaxed. We got to the camp site in good shape, took the drums off and found what we expected to find: the (not so old) brake liners had separated from the shoes. The manufacturer of the shoes had probably forgotten to read the manual when he glued the liners to the shoes. No way to find new shoes in that corner of Sweden so my mate Roel Koedam offered to tow my trailer with his motorhome. In the meantime fellow racers back home, Henri Joosten and Joeri de Haas, organised new parts and shipping to Norway in order to get the rig ready for the long trip home. The short trip to the track was easy, nice roads (mostly new), nice weather and the brakes worked pretty OK. We put grease in the drum to make sure the drum would survive the trip and to prevent the brakes from welding in case of emergency and this worked fine. That Thursday the weather in Norway changed from nice to very bad, it was pouring the rest of the day and most of the day after. All afternoon we were busy digging ditches with dykes around them to make sure our EZ-Up was not flooded. We managed to send all the water towards the shower area which looked pretty much like Loch Ness after a while. Once again the Dutch showed how to fight water and we were very proud of our work, although some guys who were pitted close to the showers had a different opinion. Qualifying started Friday afternoon and showed once again the "fast" reputation of the track with extremely quick runs by Per Bengtson, Peter Svensson, Jaska Salakari and others. At the end of qualifying we were third and this teamed me up with Jaska for the first round of eliminations. We have a long history together: that night we figured that we had raced each other for the first time eighteen years ago in Top Gas. This is not the guy you'd like to meet in the first round as we all know that he can sometimes fly. Not this time, this run he had one of his rare oil leaks so it was an easy win for us. Next round: Lo Stäuble. Now things were getting serious, as Lo was one of the guys chasing me for the Championship. He had also made some quick runs the day before so we knew we had to go big guns! I had a better reaction which is not easy, ask Vinnie, and I took the lead for a large part of the run but just before the finish I saw Lo in the corner of my visor. It was one of the closest runs we had ever had and neither of us dared to claim the win. We had to wait until Cintzy, our little girl from Italy, arrived on her moped to tell Lo the good news and my bad news that he won with a difference of 0.015 seconds (1.38 metres - Ed)! These are the moments when drag racing has much in common with a pinball machine: your ball can roll the right way and hit the jackpot, or it can take another route and slip right in between the flippers. It was Lo and Hans-Olav Olstad in the final round and this time it was again Lo who took the maximum points. After five races and with one more to go we have three guys on almost equal in points in Supertwin. The European Finals at Santa Pod will decide who is going to be the new European Champion. I mentioned before that drag racing has much in common with a pin-ball machine and writing these notes and thinking of the semi-final run with Lo, this crossed my mind: was it Keith Bartlett who was on the flippers during that run? Now to Santa Pod: new round, new chances. It ain't done until the fat lady sings the blues !  Thanks a lot to my sponsors Zodiac International, Spectro Oils of America, Supertrapp Exhaust and National Cycle Windscreens. NitrOlympX Top Gas review. 23rd August: Last weekend's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim was the fifth round of the European Top Gas Series, writes Herman Jolink: On Friday qualifying started about 11 o'clock because the track was wet and had to be dried. Because there were 320 competitors we had just one qualifying run on Friday. On Saturday it went a little better and we had two qualifying runs. Qualifying: Rasmus Olesen S on 3000 V-Twin 7.655/272 Anna-Lena Asplund S on 2600 V-Twin 7.990/259 Stefan André S on 2600 V-Twin 8.061/262 Harry van Schie NL on 1966 Blower V-Twin 8.461/240. After the first run of 9.006 Harry had a damaged inlet valve but Harry and Jaap Duiin repaired it. Peter Niklas D on 1000 Turbo Honda 8.519/246. New Personal Best time (previously 9.0). After the first run of 9.454 Niklas had a piston with stuck piston rings so the team put in the spare motor. Herman Jolink NL on Ducati 1198 RS (1266) 8.534/257. The first run was 8.849 then 8.534 but Jolink had traction problems and the third run was 8.643. Cord Albers D on 2622 V-Twin 8.628/251 Bernd Niessen D on 2240 V-Twin 8.685/236. Bernd took the Vortech mechanical turbo off his bike because it was not easy to find the right set-up. Marc van de Boer B on 2660 V-Twin 8.769/222. The first run was 9.192, problems with the clutch set-up. Frank Heitmann D on 2622 V-Twin. The gearbox broke after the first run and Frank put in his spare gearbox. Mats Larsson S on 2590 Turbo V-Twin 9.631/181. Mats has problems finding the right set-up but managed it on the third run. Jorg Lynmant D on 1800 Blower V-Twin 9.866/230 Uwe Kahmann D on 2600 V-Twin 12.335/177. This was Uwe's first time on his new bike. Lando Beugelsdijk NL on 2600 V-Twin 14.707/82. Also the first run on a Top Gas Bike, the start waas very good but then a wire broke and he lost speed. On Sunday there was some rain, then it dried, but then it rained again so at 16:00 Race Director Jerry Lackey decided to cancel the race. Championship points: Herman Jolink NL 1590 Harry van Schie NL 1230 Marc van den Boer B 1120 Frank Heitmann D 950 Cord Albers D 895 Peter Niklas D 770 Bernd Niessen D 660 Uwe Kahmann D 340 Remaining race dates: 20th-22nd August: Dutch Finals, Drachten NL 28th August: Dragday Finals, Hoskovice CZ 2nd-5th September: Mosten Race Days and Top Gas Finals (201m sprint), Mosten DK Bond's mad rush. 23rd August: UK blown-alcohol altered racer Joe Bond and the Nuthin' Fancy team have had a mad rush to get the six-second car ready for this weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway: We have been having problems keeping the motor together since Easter after we destroyed our previous Personal Best with a 6.62/205 run. After the Springspeed Nationals and the Summernationals, which were mixed affairs of head-scratching and close calls (not to mention grazing the wall!) we think we've made inroads getting the engine back on song and we are looking forward to going to Shakespeare County Raceway to put the season back on track. I would like to say a huge Thanks to my family and my crew for unbelievably hard once again to get the car ready for this weekend. It has been a very trying year so far after the initial success, so we are hoping for a good weekend's racing. My web site at www.nuthinfancyracing.co.uk has had a bit of a revamp with a new Blog section. The latest Blog entry has an in-car video from the wall-grazing run at the Summernationals; I must say a huge thanks to Paul Venners and the guys and girls at Quartermilehigh.com for letting me use the footage. We look forward to seeing everyone again! Swift snippets. 23rd August: Our good buddy Markus Münch has some spare room in a hire car already booked for the weekend of the FIA European Finals. Markus will be arriving at Stansted Airport from Germany at 23:00 on Friday 10th September and the car is booked until the Sunday evening. If you would like to take one of the seats in the car then you can contact Markus at [email protected]. Web site updates. 23rd August: The TV broadcast of last weekend's FIA European Championship round at Hockenheim has as ever been made available on-line at the Rally Action web site at www.rally-action.com. Even with the outcome of the race it is an excellent production with good editing and high-quality picture and sound. Our good friend Julian Hunt has updated his gallery site at www.julianhunt.net with pictures from June's UK Truck Show at Santa Pod Raceway. Regular readers will recall that Julian stood in as photographer on Eurodragster.com's Event Coverage at the UK Truck Show but his update includes pictures not seen at the time. Irish Junior Dragster racer and UK National Junior Dragster Championship leader Gabrielle McDonald has a new web site at www.mcdonaldracing.moonfruit.com. The very tidy site, designed and built by Laura Turburville, includes biography, photo and video, car details, links and more. Johan van de Sande has updated his Flickr gallery with pictures from the NitrOlympX at Hockenheim. You can check out Johan's pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/johanvandesande. John van Geytenbeek. 22nd August: We were shocked and very sorry to hear of the death of Supertwin racer 'Canadian' John van Geytenbeek in an accident this afternoon at the Dutch Finals at Drachten Airfield. John had previously run in the European Top Gas Series and ran his first eight-second pass at Drachten last year but at this weekend's event was running in Top Fuel Bike on a recently-acquired Supertwin on which he had just won his licence. We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to John's family and friends. If you would like to send a tribute or more biographical detail then please E-Mail [email protected]. Open Sport Nationals update. 21st August: Many thanks to Shakespeare County Raceway for forwarding us Version 3 of the official entry list for the Open Sport Nationals which takes place at SCR on 28th-30th August. You can check out the entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Open Sport Nationals. SCR have asked us to say a big Thank You to racers for filling in their pit space forms and add that they will do their best to accommodate everyone's requirements. Racers will be able to queue up outside SCR from this Thursday morning (26th) but SCR's gates will not open until midday Friday after which each racer will be escorted to their pit area by a marshal. Swift snippets. 21st August: FIA Drag Racing Commission Deputy President Lars Pettersson tells us that the 2010 FIA European Drag Racing Champions are invited to the FIA Prizegiving Gala in Monaco on Friday 10th December. "The FIA  invites different FIA Championship series to the FIA Prizegiving Gala each year", says Lars. "This year we are going to have the FIA European Drag Racing Champions on stage and we are really looking forward to seeing them there representing the fastest motorsport Earth. The Gala is also due to be broadcast on Eurosport." Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us Version 10 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 9th-12th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry at the standard fee is now closed; entries, if accepted, are now subject to a late entry fee. You can download the official entry forms for all classes from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc, and the FIA and UEM forms are also available from the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu. Debbie Sawatzki, the Flat Pack Kids Anna, Chris and Johnny and their other halves Ty and Emm have asked us to say a big Happy 50th Birthday to reigning UK National 9.50 Bike Champion Richard Sawatzki. "Have a very Happy Birthday, we love you loads" they say. Johnny Nilsson tells us that the Tre Kronor Nostalgia Funny Car is on its way to the USA. "Dennis, little brother Teddy and I (below left) are flying out for the Hot Rod Reunion at Bakersfield in October and then again for the March Meet next year", he says. "Erik Wallinder is in the seat and will race against the big boys if he has the balls, and four of his team members will also support us. Mister Five Seconds Jeff Gaynor will be part of the team as a tuner. We would like to thank all those who have sponsored us to make this possible: Autoart Investment Group, 76 Oil, Agne Jonsson, Able Cargo, Gary Burgin, and former racer Stefan Braun who lives in Irwine who will support us with his truck and trailer and also space to store the car." With FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway on 9th-12th September official fuel supplier VP Racing Fuels is taking orders for the event to fulfil from its large stock. To order your fuel visit www.santapod.co.uk/m_merchandise.php?Category=6, select the fuel you require and complete payment, and your order will be delivered directly to your pit in time for the first day of the event. You can also order fuel for next weekend's Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway in the same way and it will be delivered to SCR free of charge in time for the start of the event. If you have any queries then call 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828). The UK's Team Gridlock are pleased to announce that Artel Motorsports, the team's supplier of silicon hoses, have extended their support into 2011. "The whole team would like to thank  Artel for their continued support in such hard financial times, its very much appreciated", says Dexter Price. "Watch out for the new colour hoses on our Competition Altered  for 2011. If anyone is in need of hoses which can be provided in a variety of colours including metallic then contact [email protected] or have a look at their web site at www.artelmotorsport.co.uk." Doug Hill of the Beaulieu Motor Musuem is seeking a Fuel car to perform a static fire-up in the Museum arena on Monday week, 30th August. "I have told Doug that this will be very difficult if not impossible to do at such short notice and also with the Open Sport Nationals taking place next weekend", says Phil Cottingham, "but if anyone can attend then please let me know at [email protected]. Expenses will be paid." Santa Pod Raceway sponsor Toyo Tires is having an overstock clearance sale. "A variety of sizes are available at much reduced prices and are available for immediate delivery", say Eurodragster.com Site Search sponsor Hauser Racing. "If you need new slicks then don't delay because they won't last long. Please contact Geofr Hauser or Ray Eldred at Hauser Racing on 01933 682500 or visit our web site at www.hauserracing.com." Peter Schöfer Racing Crew Chief Wolfgang Schöfer says that the team have for sale a pair of new (2010) C4000 Hoosier slicks sized at 34.5-17-16. The price is €400 and the slicks can of course be brought to the FIA European Finals if needed. If you are interested then please drop Wolfgang a line at [email protected]. Amanda Cox and the UK's Yenkonova Pro ET team asked us to say a belated Happy Birthday to UK Super Pro ET racer Joe 'Slim' Williams. "We hope you had a good day and we look forward to winning our bet at the European Finals", says Amanda. "Bring it on Joe." PMR take to the air. 21st August: Paul Marston Racing are taking their Championship-winning Super Comp dragster to tomorrow's Sywell Air Show close to Santa Pod Raceway. "It seems an odd combination but we enjoy a challenge and it's all in the name of charity", says Paul Marston. "It's a pretty impressive affair, being the biggest non-military air show in the country. Petrolheads are well catered for with plenty of very fast race cars including Formula One (I thought you said "Very fast" - Ed) and German DTM race cars from private collections. The PiranaZ-backed Ugly Stick will be in very good company indeed. "Ian Hart, who crewed with us in 2009 and who usually crews for Mark Fairhurst's Super Comp dragster, invited us to attend. Of course we accepted his offer as it gives us the opportunity to spread the drag racing word further. We will be performing maintenance on the dragster ready for next weekend's UK National Championship round at Shakespeare County Raceway and firing it up on the odd occasion. "The Red Arrows will be in attendance along with the Blades Aerobatic Display Team, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and an appearance from the only Vulcan bomber still flying. It's a great day out. Gates open at 10.00 am until 5.45 pm and admission is £15 for adults and £5 for under-12s. For further details of this very prestigious event please check its web site at www.sywellairshow.co.uk. Editors's note: As you probably worked out from the lack of a news update yesterday and the non-appearance of the much-mentioned news backlog, your News Editor has been a bit under the weather. However cancel the flowers as he is fighting his way back to what for him constitutes full fitness. The next news update will be on Monday and will include the latest from Team Erbacher, Michael Malmgren, Job Heezen and more, and please keep the news coming to [email protected]. The first NDRS winners. 19th August: Lena Perés tells us that three Nordic Drag Racing Series titles were decided this last weekend at the Linde Open and at the NitrOlympX. Congratulations to the 2010 NDRS Champions: Super Street 1. Jennifer Gustafsson 2. Tomas Hägg 3. Halvor Överby Junior Dragster 1. Pontus Dantanus 2. Marcus Andersson 3. Joe Kellett Super Twin Top Gas Bike 1. Anna-Lena Asplund 2. Stefan André 3. Jan Malmberg You can find out more about the Nordic Drag Racing Series at www.dragracing.se. Black Seven on nitro. 19th August: Germany's Black Seven Racing Funny Bike team currently campaign a Funny Bike, and are leading the UEM Funny Bike Cup by sixty one points with one round left to contest at Santa Pod Raceway in September. The chances are good that the Championship will go in Christian Jäger's favour. So what next? Markus Münch of the der Beschleuniger web site kindly translated the answer into English for us: Rider Christian Jäger wants to go faster. Not necessarily with the Funny Bike, as that is an expensive class if you want to compete against the likes of Rikard Gustafsson and Steve French in the UEM Cup. So the team decided to buy a bike which is well known to fans at European tracks: the bike which Günther Sohn of G&R Racing designed, built and campaigned for several years and took to the runner-up spot in UEM Supertwin. This bike and Lo Stäuble's bike have the same origin as you may remember. This bike is definitely quicker than Christian's Funny Bike, having run 6.54 seconds three years ago. So if they are were going to spend money, that were going to do it big time. This is a big step forward for the whole team, a totally different kind of bike. No turbo any more, Nitromethene instead. Not four cylinders but only two. 100 kilogrammes more weight. And many new tasks for the team. Christian tells us that the team members will remain the same, and that each will get his own specific piece of work in preparing the Supertwin before races or between rounds. At the end of this season, the team will meet with Günther who will teach them the basics of Nitro racing. There will be pre-season testing in 2011 on a decent track in Scandinavia or Great Britan, and then the plan is to run all of the UEM Supertwin rounds. The team will allow themselves at least one or two seasons to learn. They want to become confident with the bike, how to handle it, all the preparation procedures, starting and racing. Christian is of course expecting a totally different method of riding. Step by step the team will learn and will then become competitive. They will be out there to win, not just to run: determined to battle for the number one spot in qualifying and in the Championship. The team likes challenges and Supertwin is definitely a challenge the team likes: twenty contestants for an eight-bike field, top performances by their classmates. The Black Seven team is in the right place. These are big plans, and there will be many challenges on the way to the top. I know that the team is ready for it, and to campaign one of Europe's quickest and fastest Supertwins. A German-language version of this news item is available at www.derbeschleuniger.de. Time to unleash the lion. 19th August: Finnish Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkelä says that her plan was to sweep the European version of the Western Swing, not to wash it: Mantorp - number one qualifier with a 4.05; Hockenheim - number one qualifier with a best-ever 4.800 which was a new record for Vilppula and for Finland. The only problem lately has been the cancellation of eliminations due to rain. But I am not thinking about what we didn't get. Vice versa, I'm thinking about what we did achieve. Last weekend 4.852/444, 4.886/472, 4.800/482 and 4.826/460. Life is sweet! I have enjoyed every second. We haven't had many glory moments in the last two seasons so we have to make the most of them now. And yes, I have done that! This has given all of us renewed energy - it's the best booster a team can get. My good runs are due to my excellent crew. I'm so proud of my team. Sami is the brains behind our tune-up, and together with all the guys he makes my car run. Now I can't wait for the race at Santa Pod. First of all, it is like coming home. And if the weather stays dry we will let the car run on full power! I said it was a lion at Mantorp, that lion will be unleashed at the Finals. Oh and about the Night Show on Saturday night when Tommi exploded my motor: he says "What do you expect when you get into a woman's car? They don't drive like men". Carter backs another Junior. 19th August: Carter Motorsport are delighted to announce their sponsorship of UK Junior Dragster racer Paige Wheeler. The support of Paige further shows the team's commitment to young talent in the Junior class as Carter Motorsport aready back fellow competitor Brad Jackson. Paige is no stranger to attracting partners for her racing efforts as she also enjoys major backing from car hire giant Alamo Rent a Car. "It's a real joy to support Paige Wheeler", said FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter. "Paige and I were introduced at the Main Event, where she enjoyed a moment not experienced by many - she had a sit in my Fuel car! It was clear to see from that experience and from our conversations that she is passionate about our sport and her racing. That's why it was such an easy decision to give our support to Paige. As well as Paige, we also back Brad Jackson. We believe that in Paige and Brad, we have two great drivers and we wish them both every success for the rest of the season." Carter Motorsport will be providing Lucas Oil for both Paige and Brad. Both young drivers will be using their new Junior Dragster Racing Oil making them the first JD teams to use the product in the UK. Any racer wishing to purchase the Junior Dragster Racing Oil will be able to do so through Brad's pit at any race meeting this season. Brad and Paige look forward to speaking to other racers in the class about this fantastic product. You can now keep up with Paige Wheeler at her brand new web site, designed and built by 3t creative, at www.paigewheeler.co.uk. From and to TBR. 19th August: The UK's Tim Blakemore Racing have been in touch to congratulate rookie Junior Drag Bike racer, eleven year old Conor Meehan, on his recent début at Shakespeare County Raceway: Campaigning cousin and former JDB racer Tyler Clutterbuck's Honda CB125 fuel bike replica, Conor looked as if he had been racing for years! Conor has been coming drag racing with Tim Blakemore and Wendy Clutterbuck since he was a born and is an avid fan. He had to wait until his birthday in June to be old enough to race the 125cc machine and although he had previous experience with automatic transmissions he only learned to ride the geared bike the week before. Conor underwent his licencing passes without a hitch and went on to qualify well in the ten-bike field. It was very difficult to dial him in as he was going quicker and quicker with each pass  so we had to try to anticipate his times! He was really geared up to go for his first race on the Sunday, and although he cut a great light he broke out against race veteran and sharp little cookie Jorden Bissell in the first round by almost a whole second! Conor and his team would like to thank all the Junior Drag Bikers for being so welcoming, C&C Medical Services for their support and sponsorship, and especially Sharron and Jerry Collier for the time and effort they have put in to this fantastic class! Meanwhile, in the other direction, UK Comp Bike racer Lizz McCarthy would like to thank Tim Blakemore Racing for their help recently: When my bike decided that it was going to drop cylinders, again, at Shakespeare County Raceway for the maiden "Ladies that Launch" weekend, I decided that I didn't like learning curves very much, and that Comp Bike racing wasn't much fun at all.  Thinking back to others who had started out with the same sort of luck as me - and some still having it - got us to speaking to Tim at Tim Blakemore Racing who offered to take the damned thing home and put it on the dyno to see if any answers could be found that way. The bike was running stupidly lean, and the leak down was horrendous. Wendy Clutterbuck said that she would take the head off and re-lap any that may need doing again (after my team tirelessly worked on it until all hours at the Summernationals). Two days later we got a call to say that it was the fuel tap!  That would account for being fine on tick over, and not at all fine anytime else. Fuel tap duly posted, bike put back together and another call from Tim to say that the leakdown was still horrendous, so head off again, and off to get the seats cut. Long story short, Kev went to Bristol to fetch it (thanks Kev) and I went to the Bulldog Bash, hopefully to go a bit faster than I have been and at least not be pushed backwards  after the burnout! "Thank you" seem very weak words for all the work which Tim, Wendy and Dan put in. To get all this done and dusted in less than a week is little short of impossible, but they did it even though they still had their own bikes to re build - no words can describe how grateful I am. Rotorstock 7 beckons. 19th August: Race fans at a loose end this Saturday (21st) may find a trip to Rotorstock 7 at Santa Pod Raceway a rewarding experience, writes Rick Cuthbert: The event has evolved considerably from its roots as an event for fans of the obscure Wankel rotary engine, and is now an all-encompassing event for Japanese car fans with serious racing, Run What You Brung and, new for 2010, a huge sprint circuit - that's timed sprinting with corners, drag fans! - that takes up a large portion of Santa Pod's pit area (You're fired - Ed). Race fans will enjoy full fields in the HKS Drag Series, where close heads-up racing is a certainty. Not a round has gone by this season without some edge-of-the-seat racing or stunning new record being set. In addition to the established HKS Drag Series classes running in full MSA racing, the introduction of the HKS Academy will take place. This extra class is a stepping stone for serious Run What Ya Brungers interested in joining MSA racing in the near future, and should bring a whole new breed of fast RWYBers into the world of drag racing, allowing them to meet tech crews and scrutineers who will show them what it takes to bring car and driver up to spec. The HKS Academy has proven to be extremely popular, completely selling out in the twenty four hours since its announcement. All cars entered into the Academy run ten and eleven second quarter miles, so the Academy qualification and elimination process should be as interesting to watch as the certified racing. General event information and ticket prices can be found at the official web site at www.rotorstock7.co.uk or by calling 01234 782828. Please note that this event is Saturday only, but a weekend ticket is available allowing anyone to stay over for the following day's Run What You Brung which is open to all vehicles, not just Japanese cars. What's on this weekend. 19th August: The tenth running of the SDS Finals will be taking place at Sundsvall Raceway between tomorrow and Sunday. Entry will be SEK150 on Friday, SEK200 on Saturday and SEK150 on Sunday. Gates will open from 11:00 on Friday, 08:30 on Saturday and 09:00 on Sunday. Top Doorslammer and all Sportsman classes will compete. For the entry list see register.tsds.se and for event information visit www.shrasundsvall.se. On Saturday and Sunday the Blacksmith Nats Pre-73 will take place at Kjula Dragway, Eskilstuna Airport, Sweden. This nostalgia-themed race will run from 10.00 - 17.00 both days (Saturday qualifying and Sunday eliminations). It will be held in conjunction with the Mälardalen Open #4 which is a one day race on Sunday including qualifying and eliminations on the day. Entrance costs SEK150 for adults. The Dutch Finals will be taking place at Drachten, Holland, on Friday to Sunday. The 200 competitors range from Sportsman classes to Danny Bellio's Top Methanol Funny Car, the '71 Dodge Charger Nostaligia FC of Ramon van der Weurf, and Jean Dulamon's Pro Mod. There are strong fields of Top Fuel Bikes and Funny Bikes, including the TF entry of Rene van den Berg and Supertwin Fuel bike of Martijn de Haas. Full details at www.explosiondragracing.com. If you can't make the event then Mikael Gloudemans will be transmitting the usual excellent webcast at www.doyousee.me/explosion on all three days of the race. National Drag Racing Event 4 (Night Event) will take place at Hal-Far Raceway, Malta, on Saturday and Sunday. Organised by the Malta Drag Racing Association, the race features car and bike classes. Details can be found on the MDRA's site at www.maltadragracing.com. A Championship Drag Bike Race takes place at Kunmadaras, Hungary, between today and Saturday Kunmadaras Motorsport On Sunday there will be Polish National Drag Racing Championship race organised by sss.org.pl at Zegrze Pomorskie Airport, Koszalina. Action includes a jet car, stunts, bands and many other attractions. Track action is from 07:00 to 19:00. Editor's note: We are still working our way through our backlog of news. Tune back tomorrow for NitrOlympX reviews and more, and we still have room for additional news so please keep it coming to [email protected]. FIA European Finals update. 18th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us Version 8 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 9th-12th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry at the standard fee is now closed; entries, if accepted, are now subject to a late entry fee. You can download the official entry forms for all classes from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc, and the FIA and UEM forms are also available from the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu. Santa Pod Raceway are taking bookings for portable toilets for the FIA European Finals. For £100 plus VAT portable toilets will be delivered to the racer's pit and will be cleaned and serviced each day. To order your portable toilet please contact Darren Prentice at Santa Pod Raceway at [email protected] or call 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828). If you would like to test before the FIA European Finals then Santa Pod Raceway are hosting a Peak Performance Day on Sunday 5th September and a Pro Peak Performance Day on Wednesday 8th September, the former open to all and the latter open to any racer entered for the FIA European Finals in any class. Peak Performance Days are limited-entry events with track prepped to event standard and full safety cover. For more information about Peak Performance Days check out www.rwyb.com. VIP/Hospitality places for the FIA European Finals are selling fast, so if you are intending treating your loved ones, friends or even yourself then Santa Pod recommend that you book your tickets as soon as possible. There are two packages. Start Line Hospitality at just £169 + VAT per person includes admission to the event, access to the hospitality area, VIP viewing balcony, refreshments throughout the day, hot breakfast rolls, hot and cold buffet lunch, privilege parking, VIP washroom facilities, souvenir of the day, paddock tour with a Championship driver, complimentary ear plugs and official event programme. Grandstand Hospitality, for £119 + VAT includes a dedicated grandstand seat instead of balcony viewing. Under-12s go half price for both packages. To book your VIP/Hospitality tickets, or for more information, call 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828) or visit www.santapod.com. Swift snippets. 19th August: Many thanks to Shakespeare County Raceway for forwarding us Version 2 of the official entry list for the Open Sport Nationals which takes place at SCR on 28th-30th August. You can check out the entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Open Sport Nationals. Entry is still open; you can download the official entry form from the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Thanks to FIA European Drag Racing Championship Co-ordinator Kjell Pettersson for sending us the post-NitrOlympX points standings in the FIA Championships. You can check out the FIA points on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Colin Weber tells us that Sportsman ET racer Martin Lewis (right) of the Nova Blaze team, who has been runner-up in the UK National Championship three times, is to be the new driver of Mustang Sally in Super Street in 2011. Martin's wife Lisa will crew. "Babs and I are very pleased that Martin has agreed to drive, and we are looking forward to next year", says Colin. Bill Kimbern, director of American Nitro - in our view the definitive drag racing documentary - tells us that the remastered DVD is available directly from www.americannitro.com on PAL or NTSC for $29.95 plus $5 shipping anywhere on the planet. Bill adds that the film has a Facebook fan group at www.facebook.com/pages/American-Nitro/130871658766. Web site updates. 18th August: Mathias Schneider has updated his excellent Sideview Inn web site with a large NitrOlympX gallery as well as thousands of pictures from European races and NHRA National Events over the last six years. You can check out Mathias' pictures at www.sideview-inn.ifp3.com. Our good friend Remco Scheelings' NitrOlympX report and pictures have been posted on The Netherlands' Autosport web site at www.autosport.nl. As ever Remco's pictures are of the highest quality and doubtless his Dutch-language report is equally good. Wolfgang Shick, who was one of those contributing to the success of our NitrOlympX Event Coverage, has posted his pictures from the weekend at ws-foto.eu/index.php?option=com_expose&Itemid=54. A number of Eurodragster.com US Correspondent Ed O'Connell's NitrOlympX shots appeared in our Event Coverage at the weekend, but Ed has posted a selection of his favourite shots from Hockenheim on his SmugMug site at www.surfphotonh.com. High Definition videos from the NitrOlympX can be found on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/DaSchraadz. Also posting on YouTube is Remco Ehrensperger who recorded a slow-motion video showing Top Methanol Dragster racers Timo Habermann and Dave Wilson showing a fine understanding of roll-out - watch closely and you can see the throttles hit and cars reacting before the greens illuminate. Check it out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiZxYtiP8pQ. Editor's note: We are working on a big backlog of news which we will post tomorrow (Thursday). We still have room to cram in more, though, so please keep it coming to [email protected]. NitrOlympX rained out. 16th August: The weather was the eventual winner at the weekend's NitrOlympX at the Rico Anthes Quarter Mile in Hockenheim as rain stopped eliminations during the Top Methanol Dragster semi-finals and with no time to dry the track before the 17:00 curfew Race Director Jerry Lackey had no choice but to call a halt. Congratulations to Junior Dragster racer Jerry Bachinger who won the €60 Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award with a 0.000 Reaction Time during eliminations. The Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 for the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, and the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award has been increased to £75 for that event as it went unclaimed at Hockenheim. You can check out our American Car Imports-sponsored NitrOlympX event coverage by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. For our German-speaking readers, don't forget that German-language summaries - and for our readers in any language great photography - are available on the der Beschleuniger web site of our buddies Mathias and Markus at www.derbeschleuniger.de. For their assistance at Hockenheim we must say a big thank you to Christine and Peter Calwer, Yvonne Blaull, Benni Voss and Wolfgang Schick all of whom went out of their way to help us, and to all of the race officials and Hockenheim staff. We would also like to thank our sponsor Alamo Rent-A-Car, particularly Andy Wheeler, who gave us a great deal on a rental car which went a long way towards making it viable for us to attend. Editor's note: We are now on our way home from Hockenheim. The next news update on Eurodragster.com will be posted on Wednesday. Please keep the news coming to [email protected] and we'll post it then. Swift snippets. 15th August: Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us Version 5 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 9th-12th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry at the standard fee is now closed; entries, if accepted, are now subject to a late entry fee. You can download the official entry forms for all classes from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc, and the FIA and UEM forms are also available from the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu. The Famous Five caught on canvas. 13th August: Paul Whitehouse, a member of the Guild of Motoring Artists, has recently been associated with the Allard Chrysler Action Group having depicted the launch of drag racing in the UK in 1963 with his painting of the Allard alongside Mooneyes. The original painting was auctioned and prints continue to be sold to help raise funds for the Allard restoration project. Recently Paul has gone on to depict the follow up car to the Allard, the Mk II Allard Chrysler, driven by Alan Allard in 1965 and also the Commuter dragster. These two paintings have also been auctioned. His latest painting, entitled The Famous Five has taken many hours of work and research. It depicts the iconic round one elimination match up between Peter Crane in Stormbringer and Don Garlits in the Wynns Charger, Swamp Rat 21 at the 1976 SPR Spring Nationals. Both cars have left the line, Garlit's car puffing oil smoke and his lane showing a red light. 5.97 seconds later Peter crossed the finish line and recorded the first five outside the USA. The painting also shows the legendary Barn and Startline Stores. Paul, age 15, witnessed this event as a spectator on the banking left of the commentary box. The original painting, which measures 500mm x 380mm or 20” x 15”, is for sale (price on application). Paul is keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in purchasing a limited edition signed print of The Famous Five painting. Each print will carry the signatures of drivers Peter Crane and Don Garlits, event commentator Brian Taylor, and Chief Starter Stu Bradbury. In addition each print will be signed and numbered by the artist. A certificate of authenticity will be included. The level of response received will determine the viability of producing prints. Paul would like to thank Peter Crane, Stu Bradbury, Jon Spoad and Brian Taylor for supplying information and reference photographs to enable him to complete the painting. Paul welcomes any drag racing subject commissions, cars or bikes. He works in a variety of mediums including gouache, pencil and ink. The cost for his original art work is dependent upon the level of detail/background and size, etc. You can contact Paul at [email protected] and he will gladly send sample images of his drag racing artwork. Alternatively you can telephone Paul on 07813 579876 to discuss your requirements. Swift snippets. 13th August: Many thanks to Shakespeare County Raceway for forwarding us Version 1 of the official entry list for the Open Sport Nationals which takes place at SCR on 28th-30th August. You can check out the entry list by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Open Sport Nationals. Entry is still open; you can download the official entry form from the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. A quick couple of grab shots from the pits at Hockenheim this morning of Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson's blown-alcohol Pro Mod in its new colours. Now known as the Smokin' Stude, the rebuilt car will be making its first outing in its new guise just after lunch. The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices...OK, hotel room of Eurodragster.com came with the words "The chassis has moved on quite a bit since this photo was taken, but is it going to be a new Nostalgia Funny Car or or Nostalgia Fuel Altered? Time will tell". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. Editor's note: For reasons which we are sure our readers will understand, the news service may become sporadic whilst we are covering the NitrOlympX. If you send news and it is not posted immediately then don't fret; it will be posted as soon as we are able. Please keep it coming to [email protected]. Web site updates. 13th August: Richard Smith has updated his Fotopic gallery with pictures from the weekend's UK Northern Nationals at York Raceway. You can check out Richard's shots at www.richardsmith.fotopic.net. In the latest instalment of his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car, Swedish Pro Stock Bike racer Karl Lyrén reports upon his and the VEIDEC Pro Stock Bike team's weekends at Mantorp Park and Gardermoen. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Frost wins Vauxhall backing. 12th August: UK street-legal racer Andy Frost is proud to announce a partnership between Vauxhall Motors and the Redvictor1 Racing Team to support his MSA Pro Modified campaign with the new Redvictor 3 street-legal Pro Mod. The team will be running under the VXR banner to promote the flagship Vauxhall performance range with what will again be the fastest roadgoing Vauxhall on Planet Earth! "We are very happy and proud to announce a partnership with this great company", said Team Principal and driver Andy Frost. "Over the years we have worked hard to promote the team, along with the Vauxhall name, to a worldwide audience and we feel that this recognition is a fantastic gesture and reward for that effort. We are looking forward to working with Vauxhall in promoting the VXR brand as synonymous with superlative high performance vehicles. The team and I would like to extend our gratitude to Vauxhall for their faith and support in this venture." "We watched with admiration at what Andy was able to achieve with the original Red Victor and when the opportunity came to help in the new project we leapt at the chance", said Stuart Harris of Vauxhall. The new car is on schedule to be completed early next year and is currently at the rolling chassis stage at the Webster Race Engineering workshop. Updates on the project are available at www.redvictor1racing.co.uk. Renderings courtesy and ©Darren West, Power Race Graphics Gabbi's season so far. 12th August: Team member Henrik Roos has been in touch to bring us up to date with the season so far of Swedish Pro Stock Bike racer Gabriella Nikolovska: Our weekend in Finland started with the test of a new clutch set-up. On Friday morning there was great weather and sunny skies. Gabbi did a good job but the clutch was way off so a 7,66/283 only gave us ninth qualifying spot. In the pits we discovered a bad shift fork which cost us the second qualifying round. On Saturday morning we put in our old clutch and made some adjustments with a great result: 1.17 sixty foot, 4.74 at the eighth mile, and 7.39/292 at the finish! The team was happy, a new PB and we were qualified! Sunday's race came and we were paired against number one qualifier Kenneth vik. Gabbi reacted with a 0.08 to Kenneth's 0.055. Kenneth took the line with a 7.17 to Gabbi's very good 7.31/293 so we went out with a new PB. The engine was overhauled and we were ready for Mantorp Park. A lot of friends, supporters and sponsors came to Mantorp to cheer us on. We really got good attention in the Mantorp pits, thanks to all our partners. After three qualifying rounds we ended up seventh with a 7.47/277. Then, as you all know, the rain came… A few days of relaxing then off to Gardermoen. We ran a 7.44/285 on Friday evening and then we had to change some gearbox parts. Saturday gave us three rounds but we had a had time with the grip so no improvement, although we made three consistent runs between 7.46-7.52. On Sunday we had current record holder Dave Beck in the first round and Gabbi did a great job with a holeshot win thanks to her 0.02 reaction time - there was 0.001 difference at the stripe! Then we had to take on fast man Anders Abrahamsson, so Gabbi once again did her thing and reacted with a 0.017 s to Anders' 0.060. Anders took the win with a 7.32/296 to Gabbi's 7.53/282. Now we are overhauling the bullet once again and preparing for the finals at Santa Pod. Thanks to our sponsors Nexans, Milwaukee, Red Line Oil, Keynet, 360gfx, VIP Models and Motivlack.se. You can find our web site at www.gabbiracing.com. Bengtsson on the record hunt. 12th August: After the rainout at Mantorp Park Swedish Supertwin racer Per Bengtsson and the Bentec team entered Gardermoen with high expectations as the Norwegian track is one of the fastest on the Championship tour. After a tyre-smoking first round the Beast team came out in the second round and laid down a 6.47 pass which was good enough for the first qualifying spot. "Since we had a bad start at the Main Event this was actually the first time we went the whole quarter mile under power during this season, and we can see on our computer that the first 100 metres of the 6.47 pass were not as good as they should have been", says Per. "Now when we're taking out more power than ever before it's really important to have a tune-up which the rider can handle on the track. We are very pleased to have solved most of our tyre shake problems and to see the bike leave straight down the track." In the first round of eliminations against Trond Høiberget we changed ratio on first gear, since we wanted to go all the way to the finish line, and the time 6.72 which was good enough as Trond ran a 7.05. In the semi-final we were up against our good friend Hans-Olav Olstad. After 3.2 seconds the cam drive broke which caused the engine to shut off and Olstad managed to take the win light despite having a cylinder out. It's not good to lose a race but, after all, the Bentec team are very pleased to be in the 6.40 zone. "We know we've been close to these numbers during our test sessions, but it's a different thing to actually put the numbers on the scoreboards", says Per. "Now we are looking forward to the European Finals at Santa Pod where we aim to continue our chase for a new European record in Supertwin (Charley Karling holds the current record of 6.45). And of course we want to win the race as well." The Bentec team would like to congratulate Lorenz Stäuble for the win at Gardermoen, and to say a big thank you to the Olstead team for the hospitality. We would also like to thank our sponsors Swedcut, Quaker State, Autoexperten Växjö, Ulvsgården Ab, Fanhultstvätten Älmhult, Gates/Lönne, Cemecon, Bilservice i Åseda Ab, Flexoart and Bentec Engineering for making this happen. It's tough at the top... 12th August: After a great victory in Finland, Norwegian Supertwin racer Hans Olav Olstad had real good feelings on the road to Mantorp Park: We were invited to the press conference, and also got a opportunity to have a run. Of course we liked testing the new asphalt, but the run was straight up in smoke. Qualifyign went well and we ended the first session as second qualifier, 4.58. The second qualifying run was even better, 4.5434, and top qualifier just in front of Job Heezen 4.5435. One ten thousand of a second, that's 9.2 mm at 330 kmh, and there was only one tenth of a second between the first seven bikes. After the a first qualifier we decided to leave the clutch package alone, and only tune up the bike a bit. It seemed right at that moment. But too many runs on the clutch made it too slippery, only 4.61, and no progress. Suddenly four bikes was in front of us: Per Bengtsson 4.46, Lorenz Stäble 4.50, Job Heezen 4.51, and Trond Høiberget 4.52. We were happy to meet Høiberget in the first elimination round, normally we are a lot stronger, but a short heavy rain shower stopped the racing. Annoyed, we packed the bus and headed for Norway in the most beautiful weather you can imagine (Always the way - Ed). No change in the top four in the UEM points standings. The first day at Gardermoen started like Mantorp ended, rain. In the evening the cloud went by, and the sun started shining from a blue heaven. The organiser did a fantastic job and made the track ready in short time. Our first qualifying run was 6.80, second behind Lorenz 6.74. Second qualifying run, Per did a tremendous 6.47 and got the first qualifier spot. We did 6.95 and no progress, dropped to third spot. Third qualifying run, Heezen did a 6.75 and also stepped in front of my best qualifying run of 6.79. Fourth qualifying run, the last one, we really wanted to push the bike and gave it too much fuel in the poor air, and we dropped a cylinder right after the start line. No further changes at the top. Elimination day. Quarter final: we were supposed to meet Jan Sturla Hegre, but serious engine damage prevented him showing and we met our friend from Finland, Ismo Mäenpää. We did our best time of the weekend and with a strong 6.75 we took out Ismo's 7.11. Lorenz' 6.72 took out Samu Kemppainen's 7.86. Per's 6.72 took out Trond's 7.05. Job's 6.96 took out Jaska Salakari's 13.93. Jaska showed the potential in his bike, but sadly he also set a new record of causing track clean-up after all his runs. The bike is actually ready to be covered in diapers. Semi final: the four strongest bikes this season were back for another fight. I got the hard nut to crack, Per. I was ahead on the reaction time, but after two seconds I dropped a cylinder and Per rushed past me. Suddenly Per lost all his engine power when the camshaft pulley bolt broke. A super one is better than a parallel zero, and a few metres from the finish line I passed Per and took the win. No good times at all, 7.92 to 8.08. I also won the Tent Championship between Per and me. We wanted to let Per use the Norwegian T-Shirt for the rest of the season. We both agreed that it's better to have a side by side rather than this crap run. It's no fun to win this way. Lorenz took out Job in a side by side 6.81 to 6.88. Final: We were so ready to give Lorenz a big fight. But a major clean up on the start line, this time it was not Jaska, prevented us from getting the power down to the track. But there was something good in the reaction times - I reacted 0.01 seconds better than Lorenz. I went up in smoke after a few metres, dropped a cylinder and had to admit that I was behind. So a big congratulations to Lorenz for his second victory this season. However, there was no consolation from my crew. On the towing back to the pits, I had to look into a XXXXL T-Shirt with Erbacher colours all over my pit bike driver's back. Yes I know I'm behind...at the moment. With this result we now have the closest ever points standings in Supertwin: Lorenz Stäuble 273 points, Job Heezen 271 points, myself 267 points. The three bikes I thought would be top at the start of the season are now going in to the hardest fight at the Finals at Santa Pod. Our next race will be at Hockenheim, Germany, this weekend. Svenssons enter the fray. 12th August: Sören Svensson has been in touch with a report on the Team Kendall Top Fuel Bike team's eagerly-awaited entry into this season's UEM European Top Fuel Bike Championship: Veidec Festival, Mantorp Park, Sweden: The weekend started with rain and when the weather finally cleared up on Friday afternoon we were ready for our first qualifying run. We had decided to step up the power a bit trying to run fast on the new paved asphalt of the track, unfortunately this decision resulted in a broken transmission belt when the clutch timers locked the clutch at about 150 metres in to the run. On Saturday morning the weather was cloudy and grey but just before the second qualifying run the sky cleared up and the sun started to heat up the track, and with a milder set up we managed to run 4.07/302 kmh spinning the tyre hard from about 100 metres to the end. You can see the run at www.youtube.com/romnetse#p/u/2/xspMnPX_XDo. We were really pleased with this time since it was only about 0.1 seconds from our own European record of 4.061 seconds and we were number one qualifier ahead of Jaska Salakari on his KTM Nitro Duke at 4.12 seconds, which must have been one of the quickest ever eighth mile runs in Europe on a V-twin bike. For the third qualifying run we decided to see if the track could handle some more power, since we really wanted to put on a good show for the crowd. However this run ended up in a broken chain, eight bent valves, and some minor damage to the frame. We stayed number one qualifier even after this run. We fixed the damage during the night and were ready for the race on Sunday. Sunday unfortunately started with rain and it kept on falling until lunch time. After drying the track the race started with Pro Modified and one Top Fuel race, but after that the rain started again and the race was cancelled. We travelled home on Sunday evening and just about ten minutes from the track the sun was shining but there was nothing we could do about the cancellation. We went home to our workshop to prepare the bike and ourselves for the UEM race the following weekend at Gardermoen in Norway. Sunoco Drag Challenge, Norway: We left our home town of Sollebrunn early on Thursday morning, travelled for about four hours to the track in nice and sunny weather and put up our camp in the pits during the afternoon, not knowing that the rain was only hours away. The rain started on Thursday evening and didn't stop until around 2:00 pm on Friday when the track crew started to prepare the track for the first qualifying round. We had really high hopes of good traction despite the cold track but somehow we overestimated the traction, spinning the tyre with a much too high rpm and tyre shake. On Saturday morning the weather was really nice and sunny. For the second qualifying run we took out some power from our previous set-up to try to get down the track which resulted in a nice and strong 6.185/360.00 kmh which made us number one qualifier. After the run we checked the bike and everything was OK, and we decided to add some power for the last qualifying run to see what kind of power the track could handle. Before qualifying run three Peter made a nice a long burn out and I could feel that the traction in the starting area was great during as I pushed him back to the start line. The bike left hard and the Peter was on a really good run until the clutch timers locked the clutch and the transmission belt was totally destroyed. Despite this we were still number one qualifier and we started to prepare the bike for the upcoming elimination on Sunday. In the first round Peter met sixth qualifier Kai Selkämaa who had had some problems during qualifying, but he had solved those and was ready for the run. The run was delayed due to a car spreading oil on the track but after the clean-up work by the the track was OK. Both bikes left the line hard but after about 100 meters Kai hit some problems with his bike and Peter was on a storming ride towards the finish line at 6.10/344 with an early shut-off. In the second round Peter had a bye run because there were only six Top Fuel Bikes qualified for at this race. As some of you might know we always try to give the crowd a good show and Peter kept the throttle open until about 1000 feet which resulted in a decent 6.18/341 with an early shut off. In the final Peter met Rene van den Berg from Holland. Both guys made great burn outs and we all could feel that there was a lot of pressure on both riders as they were standing on the start line. The green light went on and both riders left at about the same time but then Peter smoked the tyre at the 60 foot marker, then smoked it again, then he hit the throttle once again and recovered traction starting to hunt Rene down, passing him at the 1000 foot mark and winning the final with 6.64/373. You can see the final at www.youtube.com/romnetse#p/u/1/jGLT08H69D8. What a great race, talk about close racing, winning the final after a 'pedal fest' in Top Fuel Bike! A great achievement for our whole team and especially for Peter as the great rider he is. We are now back in our home town starting to prepare the bike for the upcoming FIA European Finals at Santa Pod between 9th-12th September. A big thank you to everyone who makes this possible: Kendall Motor Oil Sweden, supplied by Sollebrunns Oljeservice Samek Tool AB, who make some of the best moulding tools in the automotive industry in Sweden CemeCon A/S, one of the best coating companies in Europe when it comes to camshaft coating etc Real Form, product development within mechanical design Romnet, consultants with computer network favours Kjell-Owe Andersson, for lending us his motorhome during this two race events All our families and friends. For more information please visit our web site at www.billetracing.se. Brothers head home. 12th August: After a tremendous weekend in Finland with brothers Timo and Dennis Habermann in the final, the Werner Habermann Racing Top Methanol Dragster team knew that the hunt for points in the FIA European Championship had to continue in Sweden as their competitors wouldn't let them take the trophy that easily:   After Friday's first qualifying Timo ended up in second place with a 5.57 and Dennis in sixth place with 5.88. On Saturday Dennis was able to improve his ET to a 5.66 but as competition in TMD is tight it left him in the 6th spot. On Timo's car we were able to find the right set-up on a tricky track and he went into the top qualifying spot with a stunning 5.44. In Q3 Dennis ran a 5.59 for fifth position which proved that we were going the right way with the set-up on the car and that there would be more to come on Sunday. Timo tried a bit too hard in Q3 and lit his tyres right at the sixty foot mark and got out of it to save parts. On Saturday evening both cars got a service to be ready for race day but unfortunately the weather spoiled it all. It is a good feeling to go to Hockenheim, which is our home race, leading the Championship in positions one and two.  The whole Werner Habermann Racing Team is looking forward to welcoming all their fans and sponsors. King Racing prepare for 2011. 12th August: UK Top Fuel Bike team King Racing are once again set to take on the best that Europe can offer in 2011 with their strongest team ever in the quest for a sixth European Championship crown. Following the sale of their previous multi championship winning machine to Petri Paljakka in Finland the team embarked on an exciting new state of the art project featuring a specification never before seen on a Top Fuel Bike. Such an ambitious project meant the team would be unable to defend their current champion status in 2010, however almost all of their extremely strong and loyal team of associates who were onboard for the previous five European Championships have agreed to remain supporting the team during this building phase, providing the best parts and services available. In addition the team are extremely proud to announce that three new associates have joined forces in supporting the team with the new project: MTC Engineering is synonymous with the world of drag bike performance and has been supplying the market for decades. Well known for their innovation in clutch design for many types of drag bikes MTC are providing a state of the art multistage Top Fuel clutch as used in the first bike to run 250 mph in the quarter mile and to the multi US Champion Tony Lang. Worldwide Bearings are the leaders in provision of ceramic bearings. Featuring 40% less friction and 60% less weight than conventional steel bearings bearing life is increased, horsepower losses reduced and lower vibration and cooler running is experienced. American Performance Engineering has an illustrious history of innovation in drag bike engineering. They supply simply the best wrist pins and cam chain management for Top Fuel Bikes. However, despite the team's anticipated hiatus for this season they have continued to make their presence felt on the drag strips across Europe. The team have been supporting Petri Paljakka in his steep learning curve as the new owner of Europe's most successful Top Fuel Bike and he has stepped up to the challenge, making new fans with his impressive mid six second passes in his very first year of racing and currently an impressive third in the Championship going into the final round. And in one of the most exciting developments of the season, the team have reached agreement with Eric Muccignato of France to ride the ex-Brian Johnson record-breaking and world-renowned Imperial Wizard Puma (whilst he seeks a new buyer - contact [email protected] for details) to race at selected events at the end of this season commencing with the world famous NitrOlympX in Hockenheim, Germany. The bike is still one of the quickest and fastest in the world, has propelled Johnson to many records both in Europe and the US, and was pivotal in the career of former US champion James Brantley who commenced his career on this bike before building a newer machine in conjunction with Steve and Larry McBride of Cycle Specialists. King Racing will be announcing regular news on the progress of their new groundbreaking machine in the coming weeks. King Racing is proud to be associated with the best companies in the business: MTC Engineering - Supplier of Top Fuel Clutches for the fastest TFB in the world APE - The world's most innovative manufacturer of aftermarket parts for drag bikes Worldwide Bearings - The premier source for high performance ceramic bearings JE Pistons - The world's premier manufacturer of high performance forged pistons Kibblewhite Precision Machining, Inc - the highest quality valve train components on the market Image Custom Design - The UK's leading artists in stunning custom paint and murals Goedhals - Precision specialist gear cutting and engineering Mickey Thompson Tyres - The best drag race tyres in the world bar none Goodridge UK - The original and the best in fluid transfer systems Gates - The world's most trusted name in drive belts, hoses and hydraulics Vanson Leathers - 30 years producing the best quality track tested motorcycle apparel Craft Safety Helmets - produce the ultimate helmets for safety and uniqueness in design Performance Machine - The leader in after market custom wheels, brakes and components Kent Cams - Specialists in motor sport camshaft manufacture, short runs and one-offs Pro Alloy - UK's leader in fabrication of alloy racing tanks, intercoolers and radiators Puma Engineering - Manufacturers of the world's most powerful motorcycle engines PsycleWorkz - The UK's best custom and race fabricators and innovators House of Kolor - Manufacturers of the world's most stunning specialist paints Zodiac - Europe's largest supplier of performance and aftermarket HD parts MRE - Leaders in trackside support for drag race components and air shifting systems Customize - Premier sign makers and vinyl sign and design services NitroShutter - The combined efforts of ace photojournalists Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes The King Racing Team plan to compete at the following events in 2010: 12th-15th August, Hockenheim, Germany 2nd-5th September, Mosten, Denmark 10th-12th September, Santa Pod, England Smith turns Chicken. 12th August: After running his Cunning Plan Minivan altered for fourteen years, UK Wild Bunch racer Tony Smith was going to build a new chassis, but then changed his mind and decided to build a Competition Coupe along the lines of the Chicken / Crescent Coupe which, although he never saw it run, always looked just right: I have bought a chassis kit from Johnny Mental, a modified body from Paul Bland, and Steve and Lesley Field (Black Pig) said that they would help me put it all together. I bought a 351 Cleveland from an ad on Eurodragster, sold by Terry in Worthing. I had intended to leave it as it was at first, then add parts as needed, but this has gone right out of the window with a new manifold, complete cam kit, roller rockers and a lot more parts ready to be fitted. The engine has already been bored +40 and the bores still look fresh. This will be backed up my trusty modified FMX box and 3800 rpm converter from the Plan. The rear axle is a fabricated 9" with Strange spool and shafts bought from Alan Amis. So far Steve, Lesley and I have made the main cage and now the motor plate has been made and the box sitting in it. Steve made the mounts, and he is also going to make up the axle mounts and anti rotational bar. All was going to plan but due to personal and family problems the car has now been put on the back burner for a couple of months. I will still be carrying out my official duties at the track, and the car will still be out in 2011, but I don't think it will be at the beginning of the year. Just keep an eye out on here or on my site at www.cunningplan.net and click on The Cunning Coupe. I would like to thank Linda and my family for putting up with my racing; the biggest thanks must go to Steve and Lesley Field for all their hard work and for looking after me while I am down at The Shed in deepest Wiltshire. Swift snippets. 12th August: The 2011 Beschleuniger Calendar is now available for orders. The calendar, by the Dragstripper and Sideview Inn, sold out quickly in the last two years and it is limited again this year. The calendar includes thirteen pages of the best drag racing action in high gloss A3 format; all the important 2011 race dates in Europe; and two free "Beschleuniger" decals with every calendar. The calendar is €19.90 plus shipping. If you order two calendars then you get a third one for free! Orders can be sent to [email protected]. Delivery starts in early November. Buying a calendar is the best way to support the non-profit work of the popular German web site Der Beschleuniger. Web site updates. 12th August: Our good buddy Julian Hunt has updated his photography site with pictures from Gary's Picnic at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can check out Julian's pictures at www.julianhunt.net. Swift snippets. 11th August: UEM European Pro Stock Bike Champion Ulf Ögge has put his Buell (below left) up for sale. The complete operation will be available after the FIA European Finals with spare engine and all run data, and the team will support the new owner. If you are interested or if you have any queries then drop Ulf a line at [email protected]. Not exactly a spy picture but although its new livery is meant to be kept under wraps until this weekend's race, Bob Roberts of Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson Race Cars managed to snap this detail (above right) from Andy Robinson's Pro Mod as it was loaded up. Stefani Robinson tells us that the Robinson Race Reports web site at www.robinson-race-reports.co.uk contains a report and video compilation of the rebuild of the 6.0-second Studebaker after its fire in Finland. Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us Version 3 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 9th-12th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes this Friday (13th); you can download the official entry forms for all classes from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc, and the FIA and UEM forms are also available from the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu. Tina and Mark have been in touch to ask us to say a big Well Done to Secretive Taz for running four Personal Bests at Santa Pod Raceway on Saturday. "His best was a 10.4", they say, "but not being happy with that he thought he would have one more go. What a mistake that was...into stage, lights green, arse squatted down, wheels up and bang! The liquorice half shafts let go. It is now true that Den knows all the AA drivers that side of Northampton by their first names. Well done mate. The UK's Roy Wilding is reported to be "Immensely chuffed" for the flood of messages and phone calls of congratulation and good luck wishes since he unveiled his new Fuel slingshot here on Eurodragster.com and on the Rods'n'Sods forum, and would like to say Thank You to everyone who has been in touch. NitrOlympX Perfect Awards. 11th August: This weekend's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim is the latest event in the 2010 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards scheme. €120 is on offer for perfect performance. The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award has been reset to €60 after it was won by Stock/Super Stock racer Rick McCann at the Veidec Festival. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available to all racers in all classes during qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first perfect light of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for the Open Sport Nationals; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for the Open Sport Nationals. The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with performance hose and fitting manufacturer Speedflow whose web site you can find at www.speedflow.co.uk. Although the Perfect Light Award goes to three places, we will not pay out for red lights with zeroes in the first three decimals since a foul is a foul however far in the first non-zero digit may be. So a reaction time of 0.0001 will win you the money (if you're first to do it), but a reaction time of -0.0001 will not. Decals are not formally required for the Perfect Light Award but of course we appreciate it: you can get Eurodragster.com decals at the track from any Eurodragster.com staff member. ©Eurodragster.com The Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award has been reset to €60 after it was won by Super Comp racer Tomas Lindblad at the Veidec Festiva. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to run to the thousandth on their dial-in or index. The Perfect ET Award is available this weekend during qualifying and eliminations in Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Super Comp, Super Gas and Junior Dragster (eliminations only), but will only be awarded for the first perfect run of the event. If not won this weekend then the Award will be increased to £75 for the Open Sport Nationals; if it is won then it will be reset to £50 for the Open Sport Nationals. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with RV sales and service specialists Gold RV whose web site you can find at www.goldrv.co.uk. To be eligible to collect the Perfect ET Award, racers are required to carry Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET decals, which will be available at the track this weekend, on each side of the vehicle. What's on this weekend. 11th August: The big event this coming weekend is the 25th Anniversary NitrOlympX on the Rico Anthes Quartermile at Hockenheim, Germany. All FIA classes, Nitro Bike Thunder, a massive Super Street Bike field, Pro Stock, Funny Bikes, Super Twin Top Gas and Sportsman car classes are packed into an entry list of over 300. The Saturday Night Show will have more spectacle than ever leading to a Top Fuel match race under the lights. More information at www.nitrolympx.de On Saturday and Sunday the Third Annual Power Street Finals will be taking place at the Veidec Raceway, Malmö, Sweden. Racing will be in three classes: Outlaw Doorslammer (using same rules as Top Doorslammer), Super Pro Street (weight limits based on engine configuration and maximum of one power adder allowed) and Heavy Street (minimum 1590 kg, automatic transmission only, one power adder, original chassis with added chassis rails permitted). Scrutineering will be on Friday from 15:00 and qualifying commencing at 18:00 to 21:00. Eliminations on Saturday will be from 12:00 for the Quick 16 with RWYB until the finals at 20:00. Entry is SEK150 per person with no extra charge for racing your car. Details are at www.srif.se The 27th running of the Linde Open in Sweden takes place on Friday to sunday. Racing will be in Competition, Stock/Super Stock, Junior Dragster, Pro Twin Bike and Pro Street Bike. The event is part of TSDS Hi Five Points, NDRS and SDL Championships. Scrutineering is from 17:00 on Friday and qualifying from 10:00 to 18:00 on Saturday. Eliminations are from 10:00 to 16:00 on Sunday. Further details at www.shra.nu The V8 and GTi Magazine Acceleration Day takes place at Alastaro on Saturday. The event is for street cars and bikes. Everyone will have the opportunity to drive down the quarter mile and get an official time slip. On site is a travelling survey which will examine car brakes, controls and general condition. Safety requirements include long-sleeved shirt, long trousers, gloves, safety belts and helmets. Motorcyclists are required to bring a helmet with leathers and riding boots. One-off price is €5 per run. Entry for those other than the driver is €5. More details at www.fhra.fi. There are two events in Central Europe this weekend, details of which have been kindly supplied by our good friends at CeDrag.com. The finals of the Bobcat Power Fest will be taking place on Saturday at Airport Senica in Slovakia. This event is organised by www.zrychlenie.sk where full details are posted. Gates open at 09:00 with registration; qualifying takes place from 10:00 with bike eliminations from 14:00 and car eliminations from 17:30. Admission is €8 per person with children under ten and pensioners free of charge. Vehicles are €7 for unlimited runs. There will be seven classes of vehicle as well as a custom car show, stunt bike riders and RC model display. Round 5 of the HHRA Championship will be taking place Pécs Airport in Hungary on Sunday. Full details at www.futam.hu and www.mgysz.hu. Web site updates. 11th August: Our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson, who supplied Eurodragster.com with three excellent galleries from the weekend's Sunoco Drag Challenge at Gardermoen, has now updated his own web site with the full set of his shots from the race. You can check out Patrik's pictures at www.racebilder.nu. Editor's note. 11th August: The day job has got in the way of today's news update so we have done what we can and will post the backlog on tomorrow's update, which will be posted late this evening. Tune back then for news from Gabriella Nikolovska, Hans Olav Olstad, Ian King, and Werner Habermann Racing, an update on the construction of what is going to be a very pretty nostalgia car, and a very special announcement which Eurodragster.com is privileged to be the first to publish. Please also keep the news coming to [email protected] and we'll post it here. Persistence pays off at Hockenheim. 10th August: Our good buddy Mathias Schneider tells us that Sunday's Public Race Day at Hockenheim was badly affected by rain, but that no-one was giving up: Racers turned up from Switzerland, Austria, France, Poland, USA, the Netherlands, Germany and many more. Due to overnight rain the first test and tune session in the morning had to be cancelled as the track was still wet. Later, after a few Run What You Brung races and just as the first round of Street Eliminator was about to start rain set in again. In the end, with lots of work from the track crew and good organisation, every round was contested until Micha Vogt in his Procharged '55 Bel Air won against Oliver Zinn who ran his first eight-second pass with an 8.98. So Micha Vogt is the 2010 Street Eliminator Germany Champion with Frank Wambach in sscond place. Paul in his AMS Performance Mitsubishi Evo ran a new PB of 9.096/251 kmh with some hesitation of the line. On his previous run, a 9.5, the terminal speed was exactly the same, so there is even more in there. A video of the run is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVF4vEn_lBA. Thomas Granica tested a lot of new parts on his Super Street Bike and on his very first test run he managed to run 9.0 seconds. The 2010 Public Race Days were a good test and Hockenheim is ready for this weekend's NitrOlympX. A summary of the Public Race Days is on-line at www.der-beschleuniger.de including galleries by Mathias and Makus Münch. The site has also been updated with a huge gallery of Veidec Festival pictures by Henrik Vormdohre . From the lakes to the lead. 10th August: After a couple of days camping in Karlstad the Team Erbacher Supertwin team pulled in to Gardermoen Raceway just in time for it to start raining, but the weekend got better as it went on writes Horst Pauli: Because the bike had been ready since the rainout at Mantorp Park we had nothing to do, so it was quite boring. But we watched the other teams when they arrived and set up their pits, and we had to channel the water through our pit. We gave Arvid Grødem's Top Methanol Funny Car a place to park in our pit because just as he unloaded the race car it started to rain heavily. It reminded me quite a lot of days gone by. Luckily we could make a qualifying pass on Friday evening. Our basic set-up worked so well that put Lorenz top. Then we had to rearrange our pit again as we were hosting the "Hawgs MC Toten Moose Ragout Dinner" for all of the Supertwin racers. Saturday was clearly Per Bengtsson's day. He made the perfect run with a ET from another world. We also improved a bit and ended up second, but we had decided that we would concentrate on the Championship and not on running Low ET. So on Sunday we just tried to be faster then our opponents and that worked quite well. The second round against Job Heezen was a really good drag race and the luck was on our side by only 0.015 seconds. We won the final against Hans Olav Olstad even though we dropped a cylinder after about four seconds, but Hans Olav dropped cylinders a lot earlier - we lost power after 2.7 seconds and that unloaded the engine which dropped the cylinders. But we were able to win a race again after some problems in Finland and rain in Sweden. It was really a important victory if we were still to be in the battle for the Championship, as we moved from third to first with a small lead. So at Santa Pod in September the Championship will almost start again for the three leading teams. This weekend we will be at Hockenheim. This is always a real big show in front of our fans, friends, families and sponsors. For Urs it will be a Championship race, and for us some additional runs to test things. Back to the 2009 model. 10th August: UK Top Methanol Dragster racer Dave Wilson says that he and the Silverline-backed team have had a rollercoaster of a year so far: The year started with the anticipation of a new motor for the FIA Main Event only to be disappointed by its lack of performance, curing that lack of performance by qualifying top at the next race at Alastaro, only to take a step back at Mantorp Park. We can't wait to get to Hockenheim in order to find out if returning to our motor and set-up from last year will also return us to the performance level we enjoyed then. One of the things creating a problem for us this year has been the number of runs lost to cold or wet weather. With the A-Fuel combination which we now run, the number of settings and other variables with which we have to deal compared to our previous blown-alcohol car are enormously increased and therefore losing a significant number of runs is a major drawback. We hope to get good weather and a full set of qualifying runs in Hockenheim to help us on our way. Troxel anxious to make some noise. 10th August: The first time drag racing megastar Melanie Troxel got a taste of drag racing outside North America was at last year's FIA NitrOlympX at the Hockenheimring, albeit as a spectator in the grandstands. "I was still impressed with the level of competition over there" Troxel said. "There was a huge diversity of classes and cars. Plus, Hockenheim is a beautiful facility." This weekend Troxel is returning to the NitrOlympX as a competitor in the Pro Modified class, her second foray into European drag racing this year. "I'm looking forward to going back", Troxel said. "Now having raced in Santa Pod, I've gotten a taste for racing over there. We're looking forward to going back and running some of the kind of numbers we did in our exhibition run in England." While at Santa Pod, much of the team's energy was expended waiting for the car to clear customs then getting it prepped and tuned to run. Despite all the uncertainty, Troxel ran an exhibition pass of 5.937 seconds at 242.42 mph, the quickest and fastest Pro Mod run in Europe to that point. The same Camaro Troxel will be driving once again this weekend was then raced to a better ET and speed by Micke Gullqvist earlier this summer in Finland. Gullqvist made the current marks to beat a 5.911 at 245.78 mph. With the car already in Europe and conditions expected to be favourable, many of the worries from England will not be a factor, so the focus will be becoming reacquainted with the competition and getting down to putting up big numbers. "The competitors were all very friendly and made us feel very welcome," Troxel said. "The fans over there were great; very friendly and knowledgeable. We're looking forward to being a part of that again. "All the pieces are in place for us to run really well. The guys have a little more data on running that car over there because the car has run two more events since I was last over there. So we're going to go over there to put all the pieces in the right places and hopefully we'll have a good weekend." Swift snippets. 10th August: FIM, UEM and all other racers are invited by SRIF to VEIDEC Raceway in Malmö for a Test Weekend on 28th-29th August. "The test will be held on our 201 m track with full preparation and safety", says Mikael Angelin. "TF, TMFC and TMD can only test over sixty feet due to regulations. But many Swedish Pro Mod and UEM teams are used to testign at our track and are very satisfied with it. The cost for the weekend is 1500 SEK plus electricity. For more information and an entry form please visit our web site at www.srif.se or E-Mail [email protected]." Entry is still open for the Open Sport Nationals which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 28th-30th August. You can download the official entry form from the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us Version 2 of the official entry list for the FIA European Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 9th-12th September. You can check out the entry list by clicking here. Entry closes this Friday (13th); you can download the official entry forms for all classes from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc, and the FIA and UEM forms are also available from the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu. Many thanks to Palle Lind for forwarding us the post-Sunoco Drag Challenge points standings in the UEM European Drag Bike Championships, which you can view on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. The points show Ulf Ögge within points of the Pro Stock Bike title and Christian Jäger in a comfortable position in the UEM Funny Bike Cup...but just check out the top of the Supertwin standings. Further to yesterday's news item, Bob Roberts tells us that Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson's rebuilt blown-alcohol Pro Mod fired up just fine on Sunday evening so the team are now getting ready to depart for Hockenheim. Well done guys! UK Super Street Bike racer Paul Watson of DynoSpeed Developments says that his bike is finally finished and ready for this weekend's NitrOlympX after some shakedown runs at the last few events. "We will look to start with the same base settings then maybe turn it up a bit", says Grumpy. "This will be my first time back to Hockers since 2006 when I won Pro Stock Bike. I am not sure that we will have the same success, but it won't be for the want of trying." Congratulations to Neil Watkins of Sussex, who has won £120 of products from Eurodragster.com sponsor MotorShack (above right) in a free prize draw held at the Mopar EuroNationals at Santa Pod Raceway. Steve Wood of MotorShack tells us that a free prize draw will be held at every event. Visit the MotorShack trade stand for further information and you could be the next winner of £120 of MotorShack products. SCR's Junior Shootout success. 10th August: At one of Shakespeare County Raceway's recent Public Track Weekends the Junior Dragster racers held another of their popular Summer Shootouts on the same basis as the highly-successful Wild Bunch Time Trial format of a four-round competition with fixed dial-ins. Daren Brett takes up the story: Saturday's practice day was busy. We had Kayleigh Jane Goodrich and Russell Victory performing their observed runs for Junior Dragster licensing. After a quick demonstration in the art of staging and start line procedures, dad Grant Victory - a former racer in the Stock Rod formula at some of the Midlands high speed ovals - quickly dialled Russell in. Soon afterwards there was no stopping the young man from putting in run after run. He took it like a duck to water. What a professional. Taking control of Shakespeare County Raceway's very own rental Junior Dragster was Kayleigh Jane Goodrich who showed real grit and determination. Having sat in a trailer for a good few years, the dragster was soon transformed into the SCR / DSRacewear / Motorshack / Claron Graphics hire car for families to hire and for the kids to enjoy. Although there was just one issue to deal with, the left front tracking being slightly out at the expense of a broken track rod it was decided to leave well alone and correct it after the weekend. But, bless her, Kayleigh rose to the situation and compensated for the pull, still attaining speeds of 36 mph and 37 mph with times in the 16.2s and 16.1s over the eighth mile on Sunday, with mum Natasha adapting to her Crew Chief duties really well. Both Kayleigh and Russell were rewarded for their efforts by obtaining their Junior Dragster licences. Well done guys. We had a lot of interest in the car over the weekend and I think that once she is in her rightful Shakespeare County livery, thanks to Simon Cardwell of Claron Graphics, she is going to look stunning. Together with Shakespeare County Raceway's focus on the family this can only be a winning formula. The weekend went really well with both the Junior Modified and Junior Modified Advance cars putting in at least five runs on Saturday whilst the Junior Stock Dragsters took maximum advantage of available track time. It was unfortunate that rain stopped play, and the decision was rightly made at 4:00 pm to close the track. Everyone who participated in Sunday's Shootout loved the Wild Bunch time formula and thinks that the Time Trial format is a lot fairer. Trophies were awarded to the first three drivers and medals and other goodies from Alamo Car Rental were handed out to the rest of the group. Junior Dragster Shootout results: Alex Brett Jacob Kopasz Tyler Webb Declan Webb Joy Brett Kayleigh Goodrich Paige Wheeler Russell Victory Morgan Wilson The Best Reaction Time award went to Morgan Wilson with a 0.020 light followed closely by Russell Victory with a 0.036. At this stage I would like to thank the Wilson family for being time sheet co-ordinators. With the talk of another Shootout happening at SCR in October, together with news of a proposed pre-season Junior Open Day for all classes, together with drag racing, tractor pulling and hot rodding, everyone's spirits are very high at the moment. There is also the prospect of a good entry of both Junior Dragsters and Junior Drag Bikes at the Open Sport Nationals at the end of this month. FIA European Finals entry. 9th August: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall has been in touch to remind racers that this coming Friday, 13th August, is the official closing date for entry to the FIA European Finals which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 9th-12th September. Entry after 13th, if accepted, is liable to a late entry fee. You can download the official FIA European Finals entry forms from the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc; the FIA and UEM forms are also available from the Speedgroup web site at www.speedgroup.eu. You can check out Version 1 of the official FIA European Finals entry list by clicking here. The Stude's return, part III. 9th August: Bob Roberts of Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson Race Cars says that Andy Robinson, Bowser, Tom and Luke were still busy on Andy's blown-alcohol Pro Mod yesterday getting it ready for its first fire-up. Andy's Studebaker was badly damaged in a fire at the FHRA Nitro Nationals but the team are all set to compete at Hockenheim this week. "Many of the miles of plumbing had been installed, the freshened gearbox was in place, new cool powder coated rocker covers installed and all the freshly painted and decal'd panels on hand", says Bob. "Andy tells me that it was stripped down to its most basic level - there wasn't a nut and bolt which wasn't undone, checked and refitted or replaced. "Sponsors to thank this time are BMRS and Hoosier plus of course the good folks at Bodytone and Prosign who have created the latest colour scheme to be unveiled at Hockenheim. "At present it doesn't look as if Luke will have to travel in the trailer, which is good because we have received phone calls from concerned fans." Barlow goes sub-Nine. 9th August: The UK's Orange Pop Outlaw Anglia team had a fantastic weekend at the Bug Jam as Simon Barlow re-set his Personal Bests and went into the eights, writes team member Jason Yates: After running low nines in the first half of the season we decided it was time to turn on the blue bottle. We elected to run a very safe tune-up and with the help of Andy Frost we only squirted a small amount through the motor. After a few teething problems we got it working, in the second qualifier Simon ran a PB of 9.005 which we were happy with. In the third qualifier we brought the nitrous in a bit sooner on the computer and the car just hooked up and went straight as an arrow. The outcome was an 8.96 and we went wild down on the startline. When we collected Simon from the top end I said "How did it feel" and he said it didn't seem fast. "How does 8.96 sound?" I replied and he had the biggest grin on his face. In eliminations on the Sunday we were up against Rob Stone in the semi finals and we got beaten on a holeshot, he ran 9.0 to our 8.97, but we were just happy to back up our eight second pass and it was a brilliant weeknd. This is a big achievement for the team as three years ago we were running high tens. Simon would like to say a big thank you to a few people, in no particular order: Jay Yates, Phil Pitt, Mark Ison, Crunch, Andy Frost, Jon Webster and Ian Marshall at Webster Race Engineering, all the track crew and marshals both at Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceways, and finally mum and dad. Our next meeting is the Bulldog Bash, we'll see you there. We now have an eight-second Outlaw Anglia! Speaking of little Smaxes... 9th August: After a long wait Aidan Heatley-Smith finally got his chance to make some licencing runs in his recently-acquired ex-Mark Needham '48 Fiat Topolino altered named Chain Reaction: We purchased the car back in February and sent a spy picture in March. I didn't think it would take this long to reveal! We had problem after problem and even went through two motors before we even staged the car! Not our fault just faulty parts and bad machining. After getting the block which came with the engine line bored, we got the first motor together quite easily, fitted it with a new clutch and Lenco replacing the automatic, and took it testing. We fired the car and I rolled into the water box to do my burnout and after coming to a stop with the clutch in the engine just quit and started leaking oil. We took it back to the pits and dropped the pan to find that every, and I mean every main rod bearing spun. Gutted, we took it home and stripped the engine to find out that it even bent every exhaust valve and dropped a sleeve so we had to start again from scratch. With a new block, crank and two sets of rods we got the engine back together three weeks ago and fired it up for the first time, to find no oil pressure! Dad was supposed to be racing the altered at the local IHRA event at Grand Bend, and that would have been the first time for him racing this year, but fate had a different plan. We had to strip the engine down once again and send it to the machine shop. Turned out that one of the oil feeds in the block was cracked and insted of feeding the bearings it was putting the oil straight back into the pan! Finally for the third time - makes it feel like working on a Top Fuel car the amount of times I've stripped it this year! - I got the motor back in and everything went to sweetly. We started getting that "It's going too well, something must be wrong" feeling. At midnight last Thursday we gave the neighbourhood a good wake up call and she ran sweet, so we packed it up the next morning and took it to Grand Bend to make my licencing runs. More problems however, it turned out that the fuel pump would only provide enough fuel to let the car idle because the moment I hit the loud pedal for the burnout the engine almost quit, and same on the launch. Back to the shop once again, luckily dad still has his eighteen-gallon Waterman fuel pump from the Mainline Menace when he ran 6.92. So now fitted with that we're planning on completing my runs on the weekend of 28th August. The weekend after we're hoping to have three cars at Grand Bend Motorplex with dad in the Top Fuel car, me in the altered, and Ronan racing in the '69 Chevelle. More news will follow shortly. Eliminator on the cards. 9th August: Have you ever wondered what would happen if a Pro Mod raced a Top Methanol Funny Car or a Fuel Dragster, or if a Pro ET driver could successfully drive the Green Goblin? Your answer might be closer than you think. Eliminator is a new drag racing card game which will be available in the Pod Shop at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. The game takes the ETs of a range of famous European racers and cars, and couples them with reaction times from a pack of "Tree cards". Players might end up with a Super Pro ET driver matched to a Fuel Dragster with a perfect light. As always in our sport, the lowest time wins.   Eliminator is great value at £5.50. The cards can be used for five separate games, which can be played by up to eight players and which will be loved by children and adults alike. A unique feature of Eliminator is that sixty per cent of the profits will go into a fund for helping European racers with repairs and rebuilds. Any racer who damages their car or bike at a recognised European event can apply for a £250 (€290) payment from Eliminator in association with Eurodragster.com to help with the costs of racing. One award can be made per team per year. Obviously the more games that are sold the more profit Eliminator will make, so more awards will be available. Ian Hart, who developed the game, says "It all started when my son Ruaridh was bored at the track on one of those rainy days, he came up with the basic idea for a game, and it snowballed from their. Top Fuel, Pro Mod, Pro Stock, and Top Methanol teams alike have all stepped up to the plate and granted us permission to use their images and data and we are grateful to those photographers who have given us permission to use their work. The game is really good fun, excellent value, and it puts money back into the sport. We hope to be able to put awards into the hands of fifty race teams within the next twelve months through the profit share model. "Santa Pod have kindly agreed to be the first stockist; internet sales and sales at other tracks will follow. Eliminator will make a great present for any kid or adult, and gives us something to do during downtime. Anyone interested in pre-ordering a set can place an order by E-Mail at [email protected]. The packs will be available from the Pod Shop at the FIA European Finals." Swift snippets. 9th August: The latest spy picture to appear at the offices of Eurodragster.com (below left) came with the words "Judging by the clock on the wall it's time for a change!". As this picture is on Facebook and as the racer concerned has already mentioned this acquisition here on Eurodragster.com we can't really treat it as the usual mystery without receiving more of the regular E-Mails questioning our competence (Rightly for a change - Ed). If you would like to send your own spy picture then drop us a line at [email protected]. Björn Eskelund writes that Sweden's Safety Group would like to thank Persåkers Speed Shop and Sonax who helped them to acquire new RuRoc helmets (above right). The UK's Roy Wilding has sent a picture of his new Fuel slingshot which is almost ready to go. "This is the first panel fit", says Roy. "Some minor adjustments need to be made, and the wiring done, but it should be out at the Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway in September". We'll be there. Santa Pod Raceway commentator Colin Theobald says that his sponsored diet in aid of the MS Trust, to lose two and a half stone before the FIA European Finals, is going very well. "I have just under a stone to go but its getting tougher as the weight is not coming off as fast as it did to start", says Colin. The forfeit if Colin should fail is that he dresses up as Nitro the Dragon and walks the quarter mile during the event. Colin would like to say a massive Thank You to everyone who has sponsored him so far, but he would really love more to raise a large sum of money for the MS Trust. You can still pledge your support to Colin at [email protected] or on Facebook. Santa Pod Raceway are hosting a Peak Performance Day on Friday of next week, 13th August. "Racers can take advantage of the track time and break the superstition by going very fast on our fully-prepped track!", says James Forster of Santa Pod. "Advance tickets are available until Tuesday and there are still plenty of spaces left. Admission is just £10 and race vouchers are £50". For more details check out www.rwyb.com. Surrey Muscle reach for the eights. 9th August: It was a weekend of great success for Surrey Muscle at the 17th Mopar Euronationals at Santa Pod last weekend, writes President Paul Dodds: This annual event is Mecca for muscle car enthusiasts featuring the most awesome collection of such cars outside of the USA, where the competition is as fierce in the Show'n'Shine area as it is on the drag strip. Craig McManus, who has previously featured on Eurodragster.com wheels up in his Chevy Nova, really reached for the skies running an 8.86/152, a new Club record and the first Surrey Muscle car into the eights. As if that wasn't enough our Mad Dod, Dave Nugent, won King of Street in the Duke Charger with a 9.52 ET, then to cap it all we beat Taz Racing in our annual showdown for charity. Of course we did not win everything so here are the results for some of the other runners and riders: Unlimited KoS: Dave Bailey, Plymouth, 9.29 Original KoS: Richard Grainger, 12.06 Stock appearing SAMS: Matt Snowball, Dodge Coronet, 12.57 Street NOS: Stuart Ramsay, 67 Camaro, 8.8 Pro NOS: Mick Gould, 67 Camaro, 7.7 Fastest Mopar: Eric Monsenegro, Vantastic Cuda, 8.13 Powertour heat and series winner: Andy Murton, 68 Camaro, 9.1 Best in Show: Alan Carrington, 68 Hemi Superbee Another awesome weekend, and a special thanks to the organisers Jim Wilson, Tony Oksien, Richard Berry and Tim Holmes for putting it all together, as they do every year. If you have not witnessed the MoparEuronats before then I recommend you check it out next year. As always, we will put on a  good show. One for the Ladies. 9th August: The maiden meeting of Ladies That Launch took place recently at Shakespeare County Raceway. The brainchild of long serving marshal Beth Satchell, the event is intended to celebrate the role women play in all forms of motorsport, including those who work behind the scenes, at one venue where women can compete on equal terms in a quarter mile drag race whilst at the same time enjoying the party atmosphere. Although most of the women competing in the race were already involved in drag racing, the weekend did attract a number of interested onlookers from the club day element of the Raceway's Public Track Day weekend including Junior Dragster and Pro ET racers and Carolynne Campbell's Rocket Dragster Laffin-Gas! In a knockout style eliminator with dial-ins, Run What Ya Brung driver Katharine Lebon outqualified everyone with her supercharged Mini Cooper S but unfortunately lost out round one against the Toyota MR2 driven by Pro Street Drag Series racer Naomi Booker. "What a fabulous day I have just had at Ladies That Launch", said first time racer Claire Brindley. "This was my first time competing on the drag strip in my VW. Everyone was so kind and helpful." The eventual winner was VWDRC Sportsman racer and track supporter Holly Baldwin who took her sixties Beetle race car past the seventies-inspired 427 Corvette of former nostalgia dragster Champion Angela Wilding 15.379 (15.10) to a losing 15.025 (14.85). To reach the final Holly had already outdragged Liz Malcolm's Jus 4 Fun Pro ET dragster 15.193 (15.00) to 11.166 (11.15) and Gaynor Clark's Subaru RA 15.379 (15.00) to 15.025 (14.85). On the other side of the ladder Angie's 'Vette took out the mighty Dodge Ram truck of Sharron Collier (lent to her by Kawasaki Triples racer Mark 'Nipper' Stevens) in a first round re-run resulting in a red light for Sharron, followed by a defeat of the MR2 Toyota of Naomi Booker 15.041 (14.85) to 15.132 (13.90). The Bike Shootout was a Best of Three contested by 9.50 Bike and NAST Supertwin ET class racers Jemma Venables and Bev Batsford. With neither rider wishing to alter their dial-ins during the competition Jemma took the match in three straight sets with a best of 9.610s from her 1000cc Suzuki Busa to Bev's 13.454s achieved on her 865cc Triumph Bonneville Twin. "I don't mind us (meaning her and Angie) losing to the younger generation", commented Bev afterwards, "but at least we gave them a run for their money!" Other noteworthy highlights included Cath Napier's first runs in husband Tig's Bad Habit Dodge Challenger, the début of a new Wild Bunch altered from Claire Vize, and the first ever quarter mile outing for Angie Woods driving Patrick Salt's Peugeot, christened Pink Minnie for this event! "I am so glad that everyone enjoyed it", commented organiser Beth Satchell. "I want to thank Daren and Julie Brett and Angie Woods as I could not have done it without them. I would also like to thank the Raceway's management team for their support." Event and track organisers are now looking forward to 2011 with a view to staging an even bigger and better Ladies that Launch weekend. This one is now for you girls! Has PMR unleashed a monster? 9th August: This is the question which Paul Marston has been asking himself since his recent news item proposing a Top Sportsman class for the UK: Firstly I must sincerely thank the people who have contacted me by phone and E-Mail and expressed interest or pledged their support to this new and exciting development of Top Sportsman drag racing in the UK. To say the response to the proposed inaugural Top Sportsman shootout at the 2011 UK Truck Show at Santa Pod Raceway in 2011 has been very positive is an understatement. It is fair to say that we have over thirty teams who have expressed an interest in running, and the list is still growing. I know people who are currently building fast doorslammers to whom I have not yet spoken, so I know the list will continue to grow. This is just what UK doorslammer competitors seem to want: a big class, lots of competition, two races in two days. First day, no rules heads-up Pro Tree drag racing. Just bring all you got and hope you brought enough. Yes there will be upsets, heads-up doorslammer racing always produces that, and what an exciting spectacle in prospect with some big trophies, good prize money and the kudos of competing in the very first one. Traditionally you had to travel to Orlando Florida to see this kind of action, now you will have it in England. It will have a sixteen-spot qualified field: one shot qualifying, and eliminations completed on the day. Second day, heads up bracket race. No sandbagging, just heads-up on a Sportsman Tree to equal it out, so the most consistent car with the best driver will shine through and take home the silverware and the cash. There will be a first round buy-back opportunity, everyone runs, no dialling back, only adjustments to your dial-in to take the weather into account. Both races both days are open to any doorslammers from UK National Championship, RWYB, HKS classes, street car, brand new cars...as I said earlier there are no rules, other than we check for safety. If it's fast then bring it, there is no cut-off! We will soon be announcing the entry fees and more details on the package we are working on for the participants, event credentials, etc. Jeff Bull is currently in negotiations with his American suppliers, any UK-based companies who would like to become involved should please contact Jeff Bull or myself. Many thanks to Race Director Darren Prentice for supporting Top Sportsman and providing us with a date in Santa Pod's already very busy event schedule. The UK Truck Show is the weekend after the SPRC Summernationals, so there is a possibility that rigs could be left at the track for the following weekend. Darren is currently looking into the logistics of that, but it could mean a real saving in trucking costs for teams so we are grateful to Darren for that - it all helps. For any further details of the UK Top Sportsman class, for a copy of the rules, or to pledge you support, please call me on 07831 650230, E-Mail me at [email protected], or contact Jeff Bull through the link on the Eurodragster.com Swap Meet. Do it now - we need more competitors, we need everyone! Remember that it's only with your support that we can make this exciting new class of UK Top Sportsman a reality. Web site updates. 9th August: In association with Alamo Rent-A-Car we have two Blog updates for you today. First up is UK Top Methanol Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek Flynn, who writes about the loss of his friend Mark Niver and reports upon a miserable weekend at Mantorp Park. Also reporting from the Northern European Swing is multiple ACU UK Pro Stock Bike Champion and record holder Dave Beck. As ever you can stay in touch with the latest Blog updates by clicking here or by clicking on the Alamo Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger Gorringe has updated his Nitro Exposure web site at www.nitroexposure.co.uk with a small selection of photos from last weekend's rained out Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park. There are also a couple of vintage photos on the Home and News pages for those who can remember way back. As well as appearing here on the News page, the weekend's reports and pictures from the Sunoco Drag Challenge at Gardermoen have now been formatted as Event Coverage pages presented in association with American Car Imports so that they can easily be referenced once this month's news is archived. You can check out the Sunoco Drag Challenge coverage by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Sunoco Drag Challenge updates. 8th August: Please join us in saying a huge Thank You to Åsa Kinnemar of Speedgroup, Patrik Jacobsson of Racebilder (Åsa and Patrik at right), Emelie Carlswärd and Aila Striem for their hard work this weekend, and Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen for supplying qualifying and ladder sheets. 18:20 Pro Stock Bike winner Fredrik Fredlund (below right) said that the team have had problems all season with the bike bogging and it happened again in the final, where the bike just died off the start line. Fredrik said that they think it is connected to an electrical failure, possibly a cable shaking loose. He said that he was at first angry but that he soon realised he had won the final anyhow as Ulf had pulled a red light. Fredrik started the timing system and left the start line by his own power and so won. It was a very long time since Fredrik's last event win and he is very happy. The team has worked very hard all weekend he said that and a win to end it is just great! Supertwin winner Lorenz Stäuble (below centre) is very happy and commented that it was a difficult event for him, and not an easy win (he qualified #2 after Per Bengtsson). Lorenz said that he really needed the points and thinks that he might be in the lead by a few points. He made no changes from the semi-final to the final - he ran 6.81 in the semi and 7.00 in the final. Top Fuel Bike winner Peter Svensson (below left) was outstanding all weekend and although he never came close to repeating the European records from last year he ran a great deal quicker than his opponents. Peter said "I think we deserved the win" and also commented that in the final he had some luck too. The bike smoked the tyre at 80 metres, he got on and off the throttle and managed it! Peter said "I found the exact balance with the throttle without overpowering for the last part of the track". It was also his fastest run so far at Gardermoen at 373 kmh.The team had increased the power mid-track for the final and in the end, with Peter's stunning riding job, they pulled it off. Patrik has sent his final update to today's gallery which you can view by clicking here. 17:45 UEM classes final results: Pro Stock Bike Fredrik Fredlund no time def. Ulf ögge 7.381/288 red light (-0.0375) What a final! While Ulf redlit, the bike bogged right off the line for Fredrik leaving him standing soon after. Fredrik the winner at Gardermoen although in a very unexpected way. Supertwin Lorenz Stäuble 7.001/280.16 def. Hans-Olav Olstad 16.41/28.12 Lo worked the bike down the track while Hans Olav did not enjoy the fast run we would have wished to see. I gather the points standings are going to be close between Job Heezen, Hans Olav Olstad and Lorenz Stäuble Top Fuel Bike Peter Svensson  6.644/373.06 def. Rene van den Berg 6.761/339.03 Wow, what a final run for Peter - he smoked the tyre big time early and managed to go on and off the throttle and get back on top of it. Great riding job! At the finish line the time difference was 0.086. Great weekend for Rene as well, consistent beyond belief and it gave him a well deserved runner-up position at Gardermoen this time. Top Doorslammer Niclas Andersson 6.58/346 def David Olsson 9.77/143 Shaky ride for both. David almost in the guardrail in the left lane while Niclas shook the tyres big time. Final ladders courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen: Top Fuel Bike ladder Supertwin ladder Pro Stock Bike ladder Top Doorslammer ladder Comp Eliminator ladder 16:45 Arvid Grødem and the Sunoco Westside Racing FIA Top Methanol Funny Car team are at Gardermoen to make exhibition passest and it gives the team a chance to test some before the next Championship round at Hockenheim next week.  Arvid ran 6.31 with some tyres shake, but yesterday ran 6.03. He said this morning that they are still getting accustomed to the new car and have needed to cure some minor problems so far. They are in the process of  stepping up the performance. Arvid also says that while running he still just sits and waits for something to happen (like it normally did with his old car). "I just need to reprogram and drop thoughts like that and I think I can do that soon", he said. 16:25 Patrik has sent another update to today's gallery which you can view by clicking here. 16:00 Åsa writes: Peter Svensson (below left), who is in the Top Fuel Bike final against Rene van den Berg, says that it's sweet when everything holds together and works out according to plan. The team has softened the set-up and Peter says it was better than the last run yesterday. No plans for changes to the final; on paper Peter should not have a problem with Rene van den Berg, but will that be for real? Fredrik Fredlund (below right), who outran Pro Stock Bike o#1 qualifier Jesper Thiel in the semi-final, says he plans for some changes for the final against Ulf Ögge. In the last run he had tyre shake and clutch problems, he comments that the track conditions seems to change quickly and that he hopes it will go his way. "I will beat Ögge on the start line", he laughs. 15:35 UEM semi-finals: Pro Stock Bike Fredrik Fredlund 7.404/289.16 def. Jesper Thiel 7.399/291.50. Holeshot for Fredrik, 0.039 difference at the finish line Ulf Ögge 7.315/292.68 def. Anders Abrahamsson 9.512/136.36. Straight pass for Ulf, problems for Anders Supertwin Hans-Olav Olstad 7.828/255.32 def. Per Bengtsson 8.081/182.74. Per lost power half track Lorenz Stäuble 6.813/333.33 def.  Job Heezen 6.884/330.28. Such a tight race! 0.015 difference at the finish line Top Fuel Bike Peter Svensson 6.189/341.23 bye Rene van den Berg 6.963/328.77 def. Petri Paljakka 18.99/268.53. Petri lost a drive belt off the line. Rene very consistent and a nice pass again. Ladders courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen: Top Fuel Bike ladder Supertwin ladder Pro Stock Bike ladder Funny Bike Cup ladder Top Doorslammer ladder Comp Eliminator ladder Congratulations to Niclas Andersson on his new PB in Top Doorslammer. 13:55 Patrik has sent another update to today's gallery which you can view by clicking here. 13:30 Top Fuel Bike eliminations round 1: Peter Svensson 6.103/344.50 def.  Kai Selkämaa 10.132/130.43. Kai had problems at half track Petri Paljakka 6.568/328.77 def. Sverre Dahl 8.53/200.56, slow start for Dahl. Petri ran a Personal Best ET Rene van den Berg 6.932/324.32 bye, Jaska Salakari broke before start. Rene consistent all weekend, nice straight pass Next run Svensson (below left) has a bye run, Paljakka (below right) vs Van den Berg. Top Fuel Bike ladder courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen Funny Bike Cup ladder courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen Rikard Gustafsson's Funny Bike was shut off for a leak before running. Emelie and Aila have been out in the pits talking to racers. Petri Paljakka set a personal record of 6.568 on his Top Fuel Bike and is very happy indeed. He said "The bike is just going and going and it is feeling great". He also says he is still learning and getting accustomed to the bike and that it is just wonderful for the time being. Rene van den Berg (below left), who has been looking good and running consistent all weekend, says the track is beautiful. The team changed the gearbox after Finland and did some testing in England and it is turning out well. The bike has a quickest ET of 6.48 Supertwin racer Jan Sturla Hegre (above right), who didn't make eliminations, says that the crank broke during last qualifying run and that the new engine did not fit. He is a bit tired and exhausted after the hard work. Other than that the engine has been running perfectly in the 6.80s. Jan Sturla says that it is great to have qualified every event even though this is his first season and he is a relative junior. 12:10 Patrik has sent another update to today's gallery which you can view by clicking here. 11:40 Supertwin eliminations round 1: Per Bengtsson 6.725/322.87 def. Trond Jostein Høiberget 7.052/317.18 Hans-Olav Olstad 6.756/321.43 def. Ismo Mäenpää  7.101/313.04 (alternate for Jan Sturla Hegre) Lorenz Stäuble 6.727/354.68 def. Samu Kemppainen 7.866/259.93, Lo worked the bike got a nice pass Job Heezen 6.967/322.86 def. Jaska Salakari 7.660/139.92 Jaska left a line of oil from 100 metres all down the track and we are in for a track cleanup of about 30 minutes. Next round Per Bengtsson v Hans Olav Olstad and Lo Stäuble v Job Heezen Supertwin ladder courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen 11:00 Top Doorslammer ladder after round 1 of eliminations, courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen. Patrik has also sent a set of pictures of this morning's Top Doorslammer action which you can view by clicking here. 10:45 Gabriella Nikolovska, who took a holeshot win over Dave Back in round one of Pro Stock Bike eliminations, said that the run did not feel good and that the bike has more to give. She was not staged straight and it had an impact, but the acceleration in latter part of the race was OK. For next run she will give it all she has got. Ulf Ögge's transmission broke into several parts and the team are working to get it together in time for next round. Despite that Ulf is in a good mood and is thinking positively about continuing in competition. He ended the interview by saying "Looks like we we need more sponsors...please help!". 9:55 Patrik has sent his first set of pictures for today, which you can check out by clicking here. 9:30 Eliminations are taking place under sunny skies at Gardermoen Raceway. First up was Pro Stock Bike, with an extra round to run, and Åsa tells us that it went as follows: Jesper Thiel 7.234/293.88 bye, nice pass Kalle Lyrén 7.372/284 58 def. Kenneth Vik 7.372/291.50 Kalle took the win on the start line Fredrik Fredlund 7.342/291.50 def. Martin Bishop 7.71/275.86 Karl-Heinz Weikum 7.76/276.92 def. Stavros Svrachnos 7.795/216.22 Ulf Ögge 7.431/282.35 def. Zoltán Tóth 7.765/280.16, slow RT from Ulf Anders Abrahamsson 7.281/296.50 def. Bousinis Haralambos 7.956/263.74 Gabriella Nikolovska 7.54/282.35 def. Dave Beck 7.43/291.50, holeshot win for Gabbi, 0.001 or 8 cm at the line Next round will be Thiel v Lyrén, Fredlund v Weikum, Ögge bye, Abrahamsson v Nikolovska Pro Stock Bike ladder courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen Sunoco Drag Challenge updates. 7th August: 21:00 Courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen tomorrow's ladders are now available for UEM classes, Top Doorslammer and Comp Eliminator: Top Fuel Bike ladder Supertwin ladder Pro Stock Bike ladder Funny Bike Cup ladder Top Doorslammer ladder Comp Eliminator ladder 20:15 Some pit notes from our qualifying leaders courtesy of Emelie and Aila. Pro Stock Bike #1 Jesper Thiel said that the team worked with the fuel and clutch before the last session. He enjoyed a nice clean pass and it felt good to ride. They will keep on making adjustments if needed for the first round of eliminations. #2 Ulf Ögge lost the low qualifier position to Jesper. Ulf said that the last run was expensive as the clutch broke. The team had set the bike up for the traction they felt they had in the right lane, but the left lane could not take the same amount of power. Ulf joked "Now we will go for a Pro Mod and a Wilson double deck trailer instead". Supertwin leader Per Bengtsson's mechanic Mats said that the track was different between early and late in the day. The team had made adjustments so that the tyre did not smoke, but it did. Per was also in the left lane which Ulf Ögge said had less traction. Top Fuel Bike #2 Sverre Dahl improved from 7.15 to 6.55 during the last session. Sverre has a new chassis this year and is seeing improvements. He has still not made any full passes but he is getting to know the bike better on each run. Still on a learning curve, team Dahl are mainly working with the clutch and plan to step up on power as the next step. #1 qualifier Peter Svensson's last run run resulted in a broken transmission and uncontrolled rpm. The the team have to rebuild the transmission for tomorrow and hope that it will be OK. 19:35 Final qualifying in Top Doorslammer and Comp Eliminator, courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen: Top Doorslammer final qualifying Comp Eliminator final qualifying 19:05 Åsa writes that the final qualifying sessions went as follows. Pro Stock Bike: Zoltáltan Tóth 13.069/94 sounded bad, Bousinis Haralambos 8.08/265, Kark Heinz Weikum 7.57/280.16 improved (prev 7.764), Kenneth Vik 7.413/292 improved (prev 7.530), Martin Bishop 7.690/282, Fredrik Fredlund 7.248/289 clean pass improved (prev 7.352), Gabriella Nikolovska 7.483/281 clean pass consistent, Kalle Lyrén 7.348/282 consistent, Dave Beck 7.26/295 consistent, Jesper Thiel 7.185/296.30 took #1 position from Ulf Ögge - nice pass! Stavros Svrachnos 8.82/168, Ulf Ögge 7.423/289 looked slow - Ulf was paired with Anders Abrahamsson who lost fire with no time to restart. Supertwin: Joachim Riemer 7.92/209 outside the ladder, Samu Kemppainen made it in with 7.052/283, Roel Koedam outside 7.49/264, Salakari 6.997/254 (prev 7.14) improved but did so in a cloud of white smoke, damage to the cam gear, Svein Olav Rolfstad 7.39/301 outside the ladder, Lorenz Stäuble 8.32/191 front wheel in the air first 50 metres, wild ride, Martijn de Haas 7.217/274 drifted very close to the centre - stayed outside the ladder but improved his PB big time (was 7.78 before this event), Ismo Mäenpää drifted and off the throttle 10.18/101 outside the ladder, Trond Høiberget 7.257/297 on the bumpspot with 7.098, Hans Olav Olstad 11.64/289 problems off the startline, Per Bengtsson 14.02/236 problems from the start, lost power. Top Fuel Bike: Kai Selkämaa 10.37/127 no clean pass, Sverre Dahl 6.55/285 improved into no #2 (prev 7.15), Rene van den Berg 6.754/333, #4 improved ET (prev 6.825), nice pass consistent, Peter Svensson 6.67/254 belt/chain broke still #1, Jaska Salakari and Petri Paljakka not out this session. Final qualifying standings, courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen: Top Fuel Bike final qualifying Supertwin final qualifying Pro Stock Bike final qualifying Funny Bike Cup final qualifying 18:40 Patrik has sent us some more pictures, bringing today's gallery up to 110 shots. You can check out Patrik's pictures by clicking here. We will have the final qualifying standings very shortly. 16:05 Patrik has sent us some more pictures, bringing today's gallery up to 95 shots. You can check out Patrik's pictures by clicking here. 15:15 Emelie and Aila have been speaking to Supertwin #1 Per Bengtsson, #2 Lo Stäuble and #4 Hans Olav Olstad. Per said that he spun the tyre, went up in smoke but should have continued. He feels somewhat tired. The team is working on the 60 foot time, the bite is good and it's hard to spin the wheel. Per anticpates that the next run is going to be quick as the track temperature will be cooled (session due to start with Pro Stock Bike at 18.30). Lorenz improved to a 6.604/346 compared to previous 6.742. Lorenz said that they softened the set-up for this round, but that it was basically the same. He hopes to run quicker during the last session. This run felt easy and perfect for him as a rider with no problems at all. Hans-Olav Olstad improved to 6.799/334 (prev 6.803). Hans Olav is running consistently and made a joke about them being best on bad tracks. The track today is good and Hans Olav has not yet found the right set-up. With better air and a lower track temperature this evening he too hopes to improve. The plan is to step up a bit and put some more weight on the clutch. 14:45 Courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen the qualifying standings in UEM classes after session 3 are as follow (PDF format): Top Fuel Bike qualifying after session 3 Supertwin qualifying after session 3 Pro Stock Bike qualifying after session 3 Funny Bike Cup qualifying after session 3 14:40 Åsa spoke to the Pro Stock Bike racers in the pairing lanes. All had stepped up both clutch and fuel. Overall a slower round. Session 3: Ögge still quickest 7.28/295, Svrachnos wheelspin from the line 7.31, Abrahamsson 7.33/296, Fredlund 7.352/293, Thiel 7.35/285, Lyrén 7.38/288, Nikolovska 7.46/285, Beck 7.61/282 looked good, Vik 7.70/292 wheelspin, Bousinis long wheelie 7.93/269, Tóth 8.33 problems, Weikum 14.50/40. Supertwin session 3: Bengtsson up in smoke soon after the line 9.91/130, Riemer dropped cylinder at half track 9.96/145, Stäuble improved 6.604/346 (prev 6.74), Høiberget improved big time 7.09/314 (prev 7.40), Salakari was shut off after the burnout (leak), Rolfstad 7.39/301 clean pass looked a bit lazy, De Haas 7.56/239 second quickest he has run although looked to drop a cylinder, Mäenpää 8.25/189 wheelie, moved around mid track and shut off early, Olstad 6.799/334 repeated performance within 0.001, Heezen 6.755/334.88 improved. Top Fuel Bike session 3: not Kai Selkämaa's weekend so far, possible tuning problems mid-track shut off 13.17/99, Paljakka 7.156/321.43 no improvement, Van den Berg consistent 6.86/333 (prev 6.82), Jaska Salakari 11.73 lost a cylinder, Dahl did not appear, Svensson 6.936/227 no improvement. Rikard Gustafsson (right) has set new UEM Funny Bike Cup records of 6.662 and 338.03 kmh. 13:00 Pro Stock Bike #1 qualifier Ulf Ögge says they tested some during the last run. He ran in the 7.3s. For the next run they are adjusting the clutch. All looks ok and Ulf is very comfortable and confident at the moment, but he realises he needs to keep running quick to stay ahead of Anders Abrahamsson. 11:40 Emelie Carlswärd has been speaking to Peter Svensson about his 6.185 sec/360 to lead Top Fuel Bike and Per Bengtsson about his near-record 6.473/338 to head up Supertwin. Peter commented the track was a bit cold, that the run was less shaky than before but he drifted towards the center line. The engine works well and now with the track getting warmer they will step up a bit to take more power out of the machine. Peter was happy with the run overall. Per said that they aim to improve performance for the first 100 metres, that this run was not good this run but that he feels the power is there and there is more to come. He did not think the run was as quick as 6.47 and explains that he lost at least five hundredths just over the first 100 metres. This was Per's first full pass, they will make some changes now and add more fuel. 10:45 Courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen the qualifying standings in UEM classes after session 2 are as follow (PDF format): Top Fuel Bike qualifying after session 2 Supertwin qualifying after session 2 Pro Stock Bike qualifying after session 2 Funny Bike Cup qualifying after session 2 Åsa's comments on the qualifying session are as follow. TFB: Sverre Dahl drifted towards the centre line and could not hold it, 7.15, now #5.   Svensson outstanding in the field although not a clean pass. Salakari struggling both in STTF and TFB this round.  STTF: Jaska Salakari struggling as was Lo Stäuble. Lo had a jazzy and wild ride and had to shut off (ran in the tens).  Rolfstad #9 outside the ladder 7.36 with the current bump spot at 7.21 (de Haas). Rolfstad said shortly before the run that they have been struggling with his bike all season, changed a lot of parts but have not cured the problems. Might be connected to the ignintion from what I understood. Rolfstad is happy for team mate Hegre who is on a learning curve and the bike not yet set up to run real fast. Will soon start to improve and have Hegre running (hopefully) a couple of tenths quicker. Heezen and Olstad did not improve, more to expect from them later today. PSB: Jesper Thiel improved big time from 7.43 to 7.22. Anders Abrahamsson with a very long wheelie, looked nice and straight. Showed his performance at Mantorp was no fluke and now #2 qualifier only 0.003 behind Ulf Ögge and at a higher speed. Patrik has sent us the first photo update for today, which is presented in association with American Car Imports and which you can view by clicking here. 9:55 Word comes from Åsa that it is cloudy but dry at Gardermoen. After qualifying session 2 (the first of three today) the leaders are Peter Svensson 6.18/360 (Top Fuel Bike), Per Bengtsson 6.47/338 (Supertwin) and Ulf Ögge 7.19/296 (Pro Stock Bike). Stay tuned for the qualifying sheets. Public Race Days, day 1. 7th August: Day one of the pre-NitrolympX Test Event has been a huge success, writes our good buddy Mathias Schneider: Perfect weather, over 400 entrants and a lot of Sportsman Teams made this Saturday at the Rico Anthes Quatermile a perfect day for racers and race fans. A great mixture of classic American Cars, Japanese Import Racers and European FWDs went down the track with a good number of 1000hp+ cars among them. Also a huge number of Bikes showed up to join the action including a handful of Super Street Bikes testing for the big show next weekend. Judging by many Personal Bests and by all the damage amateur racers did to their drivetrains and transmissions the Quatermile in Hockenheim already offers a lot of grip. Two German racing series also showed up to race for points, German Street Eliminator and Street Outlaw ET Bikes. Micha Vogt is No. 1 after the first day in SE running low eight-second ETs. Oliver Zinn massivly improved his Personal Best to a storming 9.01 after Round 2 of qualifying. Tomorow another action-packed day will take place and again more than 400 racers are expeted to run down the track in preperation for next week's NitrolypX. www.der-beschleuniger.de will post reports and picture galleries tomorrow (Sunday). Sunoco Drag Challenge updates. 6th August: 21:45 In association with American Car Imports we have now posted a gallery of Patrik's pictures which you can check out by clicking here. Thanks to Patrik for going above and beyond. 20:45 Tomorrow's UEM qualifying sessions are scheduled for 10:00,  14.30 and soon after 18:00. Big thanks to Åsa Kinnemar of Speedgroup for her hard work today and to Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen for the timing sheets. Patrik Jacobsson of the Racebilder web site has kindly offered to put together a gallery for us so stay tuned for that. 20:00 Courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen the qualifying standings in UEM classes after session 1 are as follow (PDF format): Top Fuel Bike qualifying after session 1 Supertwin qualifying after session 1 Pro Stock Bike qualifying after session 1 Funny Bike Cup qualifying after session 1 Åsa tells us that Sverre Dahl and Peter Svensson both drifted in Top Fuel Bike qualifying. Peter hit a reflector mid-track and Sverre came very close to the guardrail. In Supertwin Jaska Salakari and Roel Koedam had problems on-track whilst something blew on Samu Kemppainen's bike in the burnout. In Pro Stock Bike Zoltán Tóth broke whilst Kenneth Vik did not appear. 19:30 The top qualifiers in round 1 of UEM qualifying are: Top Fuel Bike: Jaska Salakari 6.594/278.81 kmh (below left) Supertwin: Lorenz Stäuble 6.742/346.15 Pro Stock Bike: Ulf Ögge 7.192/296.30 (below right) Funny Bike Cup: Rikard Gustafsson 6.662/334.88 Stay tuned and we will have the full lists for you shortly. 18:30 Qualifying has started in UEM classes. Stay tuned and courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen we will have UEM qualifying standings for you when the session has finished. 15:05 The rain has stopped and track drying is underway, this photo courtesy and ©Speedgroup (click for large version): Stay tuned for more news from Gardermoen. 14:15 A drivers' meeting is taking place at the moment, says Åsa. It is still raining but there are clear skies to the south and according to every forecast it is going to clear up. NDRG expect to be able to run one qualifying session run this evening, they can run until 22:00 but realistically 20:00 to 21:00 is the deadline since it gets too damp after that anyway. 13:55 The forecast is that it will stop raining in a hour, says Åsa. Looks a bit brighter now but still raining. 10:30 Speedgroup Co-ordinator Åsa Kinnemar writes that it has been raining at Gardermoen this morning but that the forecast is for the rain to stop by lunchtime. This afternoon, this evening and tomorrow are looking good at present. Stay tuned and we will bring you further updates as we receive them. Thanks to Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen for their help in getting updates to us. Open Sport Nationals racer update. 6th August: Pit Marshal Andy Willcox has been in touch regarding Pit Plan arrangements for the the Open Sport Nationals which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 28th-20th August: Racers are reminded to complete and return the Pit Plan form attached to their race entry forms denoting the size of rig/truck (length and width) including awning/tent, to be disclosed in metres and not feet. Those who do not complete the form will get what can be allowed or may not get an allocated space with their classmates. It has also been noted that some people are asking rather more space than those allocated to Fuel teams or allowed by the rule book (an Artic truck and trailer is allowed 6.75 m maximum). Obviously multi car and bike teams are allowed extra as they have paid more than one entry fee. Considering the amount of pit space available is rather more than some events at the Raceway and how the August weather can sometimes be a little unpredictable, as well as two events taking place on site immediately prior to the Open Sport Nationals, don't be surprised if excessive requests are not met. A huge thank you to those racers and teams who only request the minimum space required and not what they are entitled to, otherwise it becomes a logistical problem trying to get everyone in when there is a full entry a full entry. Anita, Ian, and the lion. 6th August: Finnish Top Fuel Dragster racer and Veidec Festival top qualifier Anita Mäkelä says that she still has a big smile on her face after her 4.059 came up on the scoreboard at Mantorp. Despite the ignominious end to the weekend when she and Jöran Persåker were shut off in stage a few seconds before the skies opened, Anita still has some words of appreciation to add: After Risto had gone, Jöran and I got ready for our run. I was in pre-stage, pulled the helmet visor closed and put the high side on, made a small move to stage, and then I saw Ian Marshall signalling me to stop. Ian got on his knees by my car, because he knew that I have very limited vision in the car and he gave me a simple signal to shut off. Ian put his own well-being at risk because I could have pulled a red light and run him over. My vision is very restricted from my helmet, I can only see below a person's waist. If the starter didn't know that, then he could be standing and showing me a signal which I would not have seen. Only long experience as a start line marshal gives Ian his unique skills. Very seldom does the starter check that I can see, but over the years I have noticed that Ian does so. If it was in my power, I would insist that Ian is either the starter or around the start area at every FIA event. I'm not saying the other starters don't do a good job, but when Ian is around I feel safe and confident that he knows what he is doing. Thank you Ian, and thank you to all the other start line marshals at Mantorp Park. You saw at Mantorp that my car was like a hungry lion who has got a piece of meat and won't calm down unless he can attack and get it all. That's why it was so difficult to shut it off after Ian's signal. Payne returns, loudly. 6th August: After almost two long years away from the racing scene, the UK's Mick Payne returned at the Mopar EuroNats at Santa Pod Raceway with his all-new blown '68 Camaro. Team member Andy Thetford writes that with its bright yellow livery and awesome sound the car seemed to go down well with the crowd, and certainly with Mick: With a couple of feeler runs out of the way, Mick was able to start his observed runs for his Pro licence. Robin, the Race Director for the weekend, wanted to see an eighth mile under power with chutes open and that's what Mick did. Without going into to much detail, reasonable burnout, lazy launch, eighth-mile, faster than the old Artful Dodger on full power! Mick only has one more observed run to do, so watch this space. Mick would like to thank everyone who helped out at the weekend. You know who you are, but especially Dave and Steph from She Devil Racing and the crew of two, Andy and Dan, also a big Thank You to Santa Pod and the staff for being so patient with us. Swift snippets. 6th August: Dutch Pro Stock Bike racer Gert-Jan Laseur's first event in Sweden lasted exactly one run as the gearbox broke on his Eurol-sponsored Buell and the team did not have the parts to fix it. "We also hurt a cam and we won't be going to Norway this weekend", says Gert-Jan. "We will try to make Hockenheim. But I had the time to shoot some video film so here is Mantorp from my point of view. Pro Stock Bikes at www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJRR3Uu4jbg and Top Fuel Bikes at www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNugECw8858." Many thanks to Yvonne Tramm and our very own Simon for forwarding us the post-Bug Jam points standings in the UK National Drag Racing Championships and Santa Pod Racers Club Championships. You can check out the latest points on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Inspired by Patrik Jacobsson our good buddies Mathias Wienand and Markus Münch of the excellent der Beschleuniger web site have decided to hold a Pro Mod Bump Spot Challenge for next week's NitrOlympX at Hockenheim. The winner will receive a 2011 Der Beschleuniger calendar and a set of stickers. To be in with a chance of winning, E-Mail your bump spot guess to 0.001 plus your name and contact details to [email protected] by midday next Thursday (12th). The Wild Bunch head north. 6th August: Further to yesterday's What's on this weekend, the UK's Wild Bunch Race Co-ordinator Claire Meaddows writes that the Nostalgia racers are definitely going to be at the UK Northern Nationals at York Raceway for the tenth running of the WB's York Summer Showdown, and that everyone is looking forward to it: There are half a dozen teams entered: Ed Yates with RamRaider, Crazy Chris Hartnell with Backdraft, current WB Series leader Dave Rowlands with Destiny's Angel, Sag Southworth with Daddy Cool - celebrating thirty years in drag racing this month - Adam Price with Go Hard or Go Home, and Andrew Murphy with B'Sting. At least half of them making a 220-mile plus trip for the event. The event will be the fifth round of the Wild Bunch Series, and in this fifteenth year of Wild Bunch competition the Series has never been closer than it is now, with six points separating the top nine teams! And with a point for every round completed, and five of these teams entered, the competition is really hot. At the Mini Showdown two teams ran exactly on dial-in in different rounds, so it's a real tough Series this year. The event is also the eighth round of the Real Steel Series and five of the top seven teams are entered. It is also a closely run series led by Darren Law in the Wicked Lady dragster, but he won't be attending so it's a chance for the others to make some up ground on the leader. Thanks to all at the Pennine Drag Racing Club and York Raceway for all their hard work. We look forward to seeing them, and to racing at the track. Will there be a new Wild Bunch Series leader after Sunday, Sunday, Sunday? We have just taken delivery of a batch of brand new Wild Bunch T-shirts, which will be on sale at the weekend for £10. Come and visit the Wild Bunch pits to get yours. Web site updates. 6th August: Our good buddy Jon spoard has updated his excellent UK Drag Racing Nostalgia web site at www.ukdrn.co.uk with the addition of 1971 to the Programmes and Results section. "The programmes included are the two meetings which were held at RAF North Luffenham in Leicester, and Santa Pod Raceway", says Jon. "At many meetings at Santa Pod in 1971 you were given a sheet of paper with four pictures and you had to get the entry list from Dick's Place. Understandably just like the programmes themselves these have become really rare and hard to find so if anyone can help and fill the gaps then please contact me via the web site. Thanks to Clive Rooms and Nick Pettit for their contributions." Veidec Festival Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award winner Tomas Lindblad has updated the Lindblad Racing web site with a video clip of his 8.900 money run in Super Comp qualifying. Click on Senaste nytt at www.lindbladracing.se. Staying with the Veidec Festival, Eurodragster.com US Correspondent Ed O'Connell has posted a collection of his photographs from Mantorp Park on his Smugmug gallery site at www.surfphotonh.com. Also busy with a camera is Mark Skinner whose pictures from Bug Jam, the Mopar Euronats and the Retro Show are all available on his Flickr site at www.flickr.com/photos/fast_n_bulbous. Editor's note: As mentioned on the earlier incarnation of this news update, your News Editor is quite busy in his day job and has done as much as he can today; however we still have a backlog of news which we will run on tomorrow's update. We will of course sneak in any more updates we receive from Gardermoen. Please keep the news coming to [email protected]. Open Sport Nationals racer update. 5th August: Tony Smith has been in touch with some important information for racers attending the Open Sport Nationals, Round 5 of the UK National Drag Racing Championships, which takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway on 28th-20th August: In the last few weeks it has been noted that some racers do not have any fire extinguishers to hand in their pit areas. This not only contravenes the MSA and ACU rule books but the Final Instructions which are required to be read by every competitor before setting out for the event. The ruling quite clearly states that you are required to have an fire extinguisher of at least 2 kg (powder preferred) within easy reach in your pit area in addition to those fitted to your race vehicle. It also quite clearly states that whilst refuelling and warming up you are required to have someone standing by with an extinguisher. At all future events scrutineers will be asking to see extinguishers whilst checking out your race vehicles. After a quick on-line search you can purchase extinguishers to the proper BS Standards, as laid down in the MSA and ACU rule books, for under £15. It also appears that more and more on-board videos from cars and bikes are turning up on forums and YouTube. We do not have a problem with this but, as per the rule book, officials must be asked if it is permissible and safe to carry on-board cameras. It also allows a scrutineer to check out the installation on the grounds of safety. If you wish to fit a camera, please let us know before the event or first thing on the Saturday morning. Optimism at Team Erbacher. 5th August: Swiss Top Fuel Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher had something to celebrate at Mantorp Park despite the rain: We did well in qualifying. We were second after the first qualifying session, then in the second session we had to shut off because a fuel line leak. In the last session we ran 4.18 so we were tuning in the right direction. It was a rain-off on Switzerland's National Day, 1st August, which stopped us winning the race. That sucked but the good thing was that we improved our points defecit on Risto and we are now even. That means that we go to Hockenheim as leaders, just like I promised my fans. Meanwhile Horst Pauli writes that Lorenz Stäuble and Team Erbacher's Supertwin team went to Mantorp Park under a big question mark: Two weeks before the race I read on Eurodragster.com (where else) that the race track had a new surface. So I was sure that set-up would be difficult. The first thing we did when we arrived was to go and see the track. It actually was raining on Thursday but I wanted to see how much rubber there already was on the new surface. As expected there was not much. For the first round we decided to make a safe run to get in the field. This was because the weather forecast was not promising. Also with an eight bike field and almost twenty bikes in the hunt to run on Sunday we did not want to experiment. We ran a 4.75 which was a long way off a good run, but at that point we were in the field in fifth. It was not possible to make another run on Friday because of the rain. In the evening we had dinner with the Super Twin Drag Bike Association. We enjoyed being separated from the car team for once and having a conversatiob purely about bike things! For Saturday we put in more power, to improve our qualifying time. The first run was a typical wild one from Lo, for which he is famous. But that showed us what should be possible in the last session. We were quite nervous on the third and last qualifier, because we where on the bump spot. But luckily the run went quite well and Lo was top qualifier for three minutes: just after us, Per Bengtsson made a better run. But from eighth to second was a perfect move. On Sunday we all waited, and in the end Mother Nature told us to stay in the pit. I think the track was incredible good for a brand new surface. Big thanks to the track crew at Mantorp - their work was absolutely perfect! We now have a few days off until Gardermoen. We are going to a camp site and then to the race track. Because the car crew is not with us we will have plenty of space in our big tent. We are looking forward to running good numbers over the quarter mile at Gardermoen! Bengtsson heads the pack. 5th August: After the rainout at the Veidec Festival Swedish Supertwin racer Per Bengtsson and the Beast team are looking forward to racing over the quarter mile in Norway, hopefully under sunny skies. "We overestimated the race track in the first qualifying round at Mantorp Park and smoked the tyre about 120 metres out from the start line", says Per. "Since all the Sportsman racing was rained out on Thursday we may have been a little too optimistic. That means we pulled back a little and managed to hook up next round. Our third run over the eighth mile was a 4.46, good enough for number one spot. We were pleased to be quickest of the pack in such a big field but the time was far from what we expected. "Since the race track got better and better after each Pro session we stepped up on power for Sunday's eliminations. It's a really a shame that we could not run on Sunday and of course we feel bad for the organisers who did all they could to give us a good race track. We have reloaded for Gardermoen and the bus leaves our race shop today. "Gardermoen is my favourite track since it's so smooth and gives you comfortable rides under safe conditions. If we can get decent weather we are aiming to attack the quarter mile records. The organisers have scheduled six rounds of qualifying and that's something we will take advantage of as much as possible." The Spirit is Norway's best. 5th August: Norway's Trond Høiberget and the TJH Racing Supertwin team headed to Mantorp Park hoping to better their weekend at the FHRA Nitro Nationals where Trond had qualified fifth only to shut off after the burnout in round one of eliminations after a shut-off switch didn't want to play. Team Manager Tor Erik Westbye takes up the story: We arrived Mantorp on Tuesday just to be sure that we had a couple of days to check that everything was OK with the bike. On Friday we only had one run due to the weather. It was not a good pass, 4.84 seconds, the bike had too much power and the track was too slippery. On Saturday the weather was much better and we were more than ready to compete for one of the eight spots in the ladder. Saturday's first run was sligthly better, but with two cracked clutch discs the tyre went up in smoke. We ran 4.81 for # 10 qualifier. On the next and last run we had to do better so we put in a new clutch and made some minor adjustments. We thought this set-up would work for us and the scoreboard told us that we had indeed found the right set-up. From #10 to #1 in 4.52 seconds. After this only three teams made a better run, so we were very happy to be #4 out of twenty two teams. Sunday was rained out, so no eliminations. But we managed to be the best Norwegian team in Supertwin this weekend. With this in mind, we are more than ready for the fifth round of the UEM Championship, the Sunoco Drag Challenge at Gardermoen Raceway. We would like to welcome our two new sponsors KEMPPI and TESS. You can find out more about the team at www.tjhracing.com. Svrachnos' awesome weekend. 5th August: Paul Watson of DynoSpeed Developments says that it was a great weekend at Mantorp Park in the VEIDEC Racing Pro Stock Bike camp: The Veidec team were great to be with: Kenneth Vik, Kalle Lyrén and Stavros Svrachnos whom I had the pleasure of helping at the Main Event. After Stavros damaged his 1500cc 2V motor at Alastaro they put in the new 1655 2V Vance and Hines motor; however soon as they launched it died on the line. Back home the fault was deemed to be a faulty clutch switch so on to Mantorp. I arrived at midnight on Thursday so on Friday morning we checked the bike and all seemed OK. But the fist qualifying run said different as the same thing happened. Now we had problems! Friday's weather was not so good so only the one qualifier, with this in mind I knew we had to make big changes with perhaps two qualifiers left. After looking hard at what little data we had I changed the coil pack and shift counter, removed the retarder, re-jetted the carbs, took some clutch out, and made some adjustments to the clutch switch. I don't normally make this many changes but desperate time call for desperate measures. Stavros and I discussed all the changes but I'm not sure that he was convinced. Q3 was a nervous time for us. To be honest I wasn't sure what else I could do if this didn't work. However to the relief of the whole team Stavros got off the line. Wow! The relief was so great that I didn't even look for the time, I was just thankful he ran. Then with the crew celebrating I turned and saw 7.42, a new PB for Stavros. Now we had some data we were cooking on gas. Back in the pits and what a great feeling, I couldn't wait to see the data so that we could start tuning. With a good baseline we now made small changes for Q4. Stavros admitted after the run that he was 100% sure that it was not going to launch which took him by surprise. Next run 7.36, another PB for Stavros, absolutely awesome. He doesn't say much, a quiet guy, but what a good rider: he listens, understands and does his job (He had a good teacher too - Ed). We qualified fifth in a really strong field so we were fired up. The first round of eliminations would be with our team-mate Kalle who ran 7.34. This would be close! We were so looking forward to it unfortunately the weather was against us and it was not to be. I feel sure we could have run high 7.2s. Unfortunately I can't be with Stavros in Norway but I wish him and the whole team the best of luck. A thank you to the whole of Lyrén Motorsport for inviting me and making me feel welcome and I look forward to seeing them at the FIA European Finals. Finally well done to my friend Anders Abrahamson on a great performance - world class. Holland calls time. 5th August: UK Sportsman ET racer Nigel Holland writes with some sadness that that at the end of this season he will be calling it a day and hanging up his race suit: It's been a hell of a ride these past four years and I've enjoyed every second of it. There are many reasons why I'm calling it a day; partly financial but mostly my family. My daughter has the same condition as I have and she will need to have the support of her dad. It isn't because I can't physically get in and most importantly get out of the car although sitting around in the cold and wet waiting to race has taken its toll a few times. When I started this project at the back end of 2006 I decided to call it 'Ave a go Racing. Well I had a go and fulfilled almost most of the objectives. To purchase a car, prepare it for racing, improve the times and run a mid thirteen and to win the Championship. Well that last one didn't happen however in my last race of the season, which will be the UK National Finals, I'll be hoping to finish higher than I have done before. I have met so many good people and have experienced some great opportunities which came my way. Driving the Mustang round the Lords Mayor's show was special despite the rain. The car has been on a stand at the Autosport show and has also taken part in a number of Power Parades in Wellingborough and recently in the Rushden Powerfest. I have also taken part in the Flame and Thunder Show a few times. I would like to thank everyone who have given their support and encouragement over the last four years - it's been invaluable. The guys and gals in Sportsman ET made me feel very welcome when I joined the ranks and as a newbie it was appreciated. Thanks to the Gecko Race Team, Sarah and Steve who fed me, watered me and at times crewed for me. To Vic Amato for getting the car for me and to Graham Dale for helping so much to prepare it ready to race. Mike Lacey for his expertise in tuning the car where no one else had succeeded. To Marcin Gwozdz and Terry Haggis who have also crewed for me and helped when it was needed. To those who sponsored me, Ian and Paula from Blackett Photography, James McAlpine, JRH Imports and MG Signs. This isn't the end of my connection to Drag Racing though. I'll still be around taking photos and concentrating on Drag Racing Confidential with Simon Hodder. As for the racing, well I'm still going to apply for my licence for next year in case anyone should offer me a ride (ten seconds appeals to me). Everything in life is possible. If you want to do it there is a way of usually making it happen. I am the only wheelchair bound drag racer in the UK competing in the UK National Championships. I really hope that encourages others to 'ave a go. Swift snippets. 5th August: On Saturday evening at the Mopar Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway the BDS 6/71 blower of the recently-restored Henry Hirise Mk 2 Consul was stolen from the back of Liam Maltby's trailer. Long time rodder and racer Bryan Whitfield is understandably gutted after his ground-up restoration of this iconic car. The blower had a new BDS snout and some bits of gasket in the rotors after going bang last week. If anyone hears anything then Bryan can be contacted via the excellent Rods'n'Sods forum, where a fund has been set up to raise money towards a replacement. Donations can be made by Paypal, credit card or cheque. Needless to say if you know who did it, or if you are offered the blower, then shop the scumbag responsible with all speed. Lin Granlund of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen tells us that a survey team have been at Gardermoen Raceeway today checking the surface with a laser prior to this weekend's race and that the surface was found to be perfectly level. Many thanks to Race Director Jerry Lackey for letting us know that the final version of the official NitrOlympX entry list is to be posted today (Thursday) under Racers Page at www.nitrolympx.com. "We are very happy to welcome over 300 teams for our twenty fifth anniversary", says Jerry. "This is our largest field of drivers and riders in over fifteen years." A look at the NitrOlympX entry list reveals the name of UK Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson who with his team has been working hard to repair his 6.0-second Studebaker after a bad fire in Finland. Bob Roberts tells us that the race entry is not wishful thinking but a definite plan. All the parts are back from the USA, a motor fire-up is scheduled for this weekend, and Bob says that if necessary then Luke Robinson will be locked in the trailer for the trip to Hockenheim to finish off the outstanding work. Thanks to FIA European Drag Racing Championship Co-ordinator Kjell Pettersson for sending us the post-Veidec Festival points standings in the FIA Championships. It's very tight in some classes, not so in others. You can check out the FIA points on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Further to our news item of 21st July, Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Ron Haslett tells us that the Snow White Chevy, which he, his crew and his sponsors are rebuilding for the street, has been fired up for the first time. You can check out a video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ecdvtXbX_I. Trevor Duckworth of Straightliners says that this weekend's Ten Of The Best IX at Elvington promises to be the biggest car team event of the year with teams from MLR, 22B, Octane Junkies, Team Tweenie, Team Ireland, Team Skyline, Vauxhall Sport, Surry Rice Rockets, 200sxoc, Turbo Sports and the Viper Owners' Club as well as some of the UK's top race cars as private entries. "The competition is run over three disciplines to find the top team and the top car/driver combination on the drag strip, top speed and  handling circuit", says Trevor. "We have had a full entry list for over six weeks now, proving just how popular this event is with both the drivers and visiting public alike". Trevor adds that a similar event, Best of the Rest, is to take place at Santa Pod Raceway on 16th-17th October. If you were tuned in to our live coverage of the weekend's Veidec Festival you will have read that, with a questionable sense of timing, our good buddy Mathias Wienand got married last Saturday. Mathias sent us this picture (below left) of his bride waiting for he and best man Markus Münch to check the Pro Mod qualifying on Eurodragster.com before leaving for the ceremony. Check out the full-sized picture for the look on the soon-to-be Mrs Wienand's face...priceless. The picture above right shows the four owners of the classic Tre Kronor Fuel Funny Car at Mantorp Park at the weekend. "Knut Söderqvist had the car first, then it was sold to Lennart Ekeving who also ran it on nitro", says Johnny Nilsson. "Lennart sold it to Stefan Jonsson who ran it on alcohol, and now the new car belongs to Autoart Investment Group and I." The first of two spy pictures to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (below left) arrived with the words "A mouse in a li'l Mouse". The second spy picture (above right) came with no words at all. If you know more about either, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at [email protected]. News reaches us from Northamptonshire of a possible attempt at nobbling a UK 9.50 Bike Championship contender as current #2 Jim Beck was caught on camera trying to force-feed Vienetta to current Championship leader Jake Mechaell (below left). Our mole considers that this may have been an attempt to slow Lumberjake down. Allard Chrysler Action Group Chair Brian Taylor is putting together a collection of pictures of ACAG T-Shirts being worn around the world, such as the picture of Claire Meaddows, Chris Hartnell and Norm Wheeldon at Bakersfield last Autumn. If you have any JPGs of yourself in an ACAG T-Shirt, and if the picture is not rude, then please E-Mail them to Brian at [email protected]. Andy Bennett says that the Doomsday 1968 Impala made its first outing at the Mopar EuroNationals at Santa Pod Raceway at the weekend. "The car had never driven under its own power before this weekend", says Andy. "The YouTube video shows shakedown passes, a sixty foot launch, an eighth-mile pass, and a full pass. The best run was 9.03/148.20 with a magnificent sixty foot time of 1.21". An in-car video is also on-line at www.youtube.com/watch?v=i34SQAxqPVs. Santa Pod Raceway are hosting a Peak Performance Day on Friday of next week, 13th August. "Racers can take advantage of the track time and break the superstition by going very fast on our fully-prepped track!", says James Forster of Santa Pod. "Advance tickets are available until Tuesday 10th August and there are still plenty of spaces left. Admission is just £10 and race vouchers are £50". For more details check out www.rwyb.com. With only five weeks to go until the FIA European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway have been in touch to remind racers that it is worth getting in your orders of VP Racing Fuels. You can pre-book on-line at the Santa Pod Shop and all purchases can be delivered to your pit at the race. For more details check out www.santapod.co.uk/m_merchandise.php?Category=6. Congratulations to Sean Hamill who won Patrik Jacobsson's Veidec Festival Pro Mod bump spot contest with a guess just 0.0207 off the actual number. We would like to say a big Happy Birthday for today (Thursday) to our good friend Libby Mottershead. Have a lovely day Libby and consider yourself hugged by the team and blessed by The Reverend. Dickman Nik, G-Ice Ronald and all the ladies would like to say a big Happy Birthday to Dutch Pro Mod racer David Vegter who is patiently awaiting the completion of repairs to his race car which was damaged in a two-car crash at Santa Pod last season. Have a Happy Birthday David and hope to see you soon. Rick Johnson has asked that either Tim Hines or Phil Drewitt contact him by E-Mail at [email protected] or by phone on 01977 730378. What's on this weekend. 5th August: UEM European drag bike racing will be taking place at the Sunoco Drag Challenge and Norwegian Nationals at Gardermoen between tomorrow and Sunday. There will be fields of six Top Fuel Bikes, fourteen Super Twins, fifteen Pro Stock bikes, and the Nordic Super Twin Cup, Funny Bike EM Cup, as well as twenty three Top Doorslammers and demonstration runs by Monica Öberg (Top Fuel Dragster), Arvid Grødem (Top Methanol Funny Car) and Erik Wallinder in the Rimfrost Nostalgia Fuel Funny Car. Sportsmen will also be racing for the NDRG cup. Entry is from 09:00 each day and prices are NOK150 on Friday and NOK250 on Saturday and Sunday with a weekend ticket for NOK500 and VIP package for NOK1200 ordered through [email protected]. Full details are posted at www.ndrg.no where you will also find results after the event. NDRG, Speedgroup and Eurodragster.com are planning to co-operate to provide results here on Eurodragster.com News through the weekend; stay tuned for more details. The sixth running of the Public Race Days, the traditional street racing event preceding next weekend's NitrOlympX, takes place on Saturday and Sunday on the Rico Anthes Quarter Mile at the Hockenheimring. All street-legal cars are welcome to the event and will be divided into time classes. Admission including paddock entry is €5, grandstand seats an additional €5 and cars and bikes will be charged €7 per run, €20 for three runs, and €30 for five runs. Full details are available at www.hockenheimring.net/public-race-days The UK Northern Nationals will be taking place at York Raceway on Saturday and Sunday. Organised by the Pennine Drag Racing Club, Saturday's action comprises the Northern Drag Racing Championship Round 4, Modders/Tuners Shootout Round 5, HR Challenge Qualifying Round 4, Air-Cooled Eliminators Qualifying Round 5, Northern Drag Racing Championship Qualifying Round 4, Wild Bunch Nostalgia Drag Racing Series (provisional), limited RWYB sessions, and Saturday night party and camping. On Sunday there will be American Super Stock Round 5, HR Challenge Round 4 Eliminations, Northern Drag Racing Championship Round 4 eliminations, Air-Cooled Eliminations Round 5, Wild Bunch Nostalgia Drag Racing Series (provisional) and limited RWYB. Further details are at www.york-raceway.co.uk. The third round of the Biltema Cup organised by the NDCD takes place at Thisted, Denmark on Saturday. As usual Bracket, Real Street, True Street, and Pro Street will be represented. Further details on the NDCD web site at www.ndcd.dk. Details of two races in Cental Europe have been kindly supplied by our good friends at CeDrag.com: On Saturday at Dajtki Airport, Poland, the Olsztyn-MotoPicnic will be taking place organised by Biker Riders, including a race and show for bikers and the fourth round of the Polish Open Cup over the quarter mile organised by www.wst.org.pl. The 8th Annual Street Race takes place in Murska Sobota, Slovenia, on Sunday organised by www.srt-ms.si. Don't worry if it rains; a reserve date of 22nd August is booked in. die schnellste Frau des Drag Racing. 5th August: Wenn vom 13. - 15. August 2010 das Hockenheimer Motodrom unter den PS-gewaltigsten Boliden der Welt erbebt, heißt es zum 25ten Mal: Lasst die Spiele beginnen - die NitrOlympX laden zum schnellsten und spektakulärsten Event der Saison! Die Veranstalter des größten Drag Racing-Events Kontinentaleuropas bieten ihren Fans mit der FIA Drag Racing Europameisterschaft die ultimative Speed-Challenge mit den schnellsten Fahrer Europas. Doch das ist bei Weitem, rein sportlich gesehen, noch nicht alles. Um ein „Vierteljahrhundert Viertelmeile“ angemessen zu feiern, schicken selbst die USA, das Heimatland des Drag Racing, einen absoluten Superstar aus ihren Reihen zum gratulieren. So freuen sich die Veranstalter, Melanie Troxel, die schnellste Frau des amerikanischen Drag Racing Sports, in Deutschland präsentieren zu können. Melanie Troxel, Tochter des amerikanischen „Top Methanol Weltmeisters“ Mike Troxel, wurde das Drag Racing Gen sozusagen bereits in die Wiege gelegt. Die Rennfahrerin aus Avon, Indiana stieg 1998 in die Fußstapfen ihres Vaters und wurde auf Anhieb Zweite in der amerikanischen Division 5-Liga. Dieser kometenhafte Einstieg setzte sich ungebremst bis heute fort: Future Award–Gewinnerin, schnellste Frau der NHRA-Geschichte, Top Fuel Siegerin in Pomona, die erste Frau, die sowohl in der Klasse Top Fuel als auch Funny Car gewann, 2006 Gewinnerin des Titels “Sportswoman of The Year”, usw. Die Highlights ihrer Drag Racing Karriere ließen sich noch endlos weiterführen. 2010 wird Melanie Troxel mit ihrer 1963er PRO MOD Voodoo Corvette bei den NitrOlympX auf dem Hockenheimring ihr Können erstmals auch dem deutschen Publikum demonstrieren und versuchen eine neue Bestzeit in ihrer Klasse in die berühmte „Rico Anthes Quartermile“ zu stanzen! Weitere Informationen zu den NitrOlympX finden Sie unter www.nitrolympx.de. Mehr Informationen zu Melanie Troxel finden Sie unter www.melanietroxel.com. Web site updates. 5th August: One of the great non-racing aspects of the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park is the appearance of hundreds of hot rods and American cars. Whilst the Eurodragster.com team were busy reporting on the racing, Honorary Staff Member Colin Roaf had the presence of mind to take a number of pictures of the classic tin around the facility. We have added a gallery of Colin's shots to our American Car Imports-sponsored Veidec Festival Event Coverage and you can check them out directly by clicking here, or click on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and select the Veidec Festival. Eurodragster.com News Editor Tog has updated his Fotopic gallery site with the full sets of his pictures from the Borlänge Street Open, Back to Basics at Mantorp Park, and the Veidec Festival Press Call also at Mantorp Park. You can check out Tog's pictures at eurodragster.fotopic.net or at www.togsdragracing.com. Our good friend Remco Scheelings' Veidec Festival report and pictures have been posted on The Netherlands' Autosport web site at www.autosport.nl. As ever the Dutch-language report means nothing to your linguistically-challenged News Editor although we know that it will be of the same high quality as Remco's pictures. Also updating from the Veidec Festival is our good buddy and occasional stand-in photographer Markus Ed, whose pictures you can check out at www.mek.nu. "A big thanks to Hägglund Racing for bed and food", says Markus, "and as always thanks to all the nice people whom I run into at these events." UK Supertwin racer Chris Hannam has started a Blog at www.cannonmotorsports.wordpress.com. The Blog has recently been updated with a workshop update and photographs. In the absence of a web site, Avon Park International Racing Association has a new Facebook page which can be found at www.facebook.com/pages/Avon-Park-International-Racing-Association/120426191338780. Jerry Cookson tells us that the page will be updated with Club and event news as well as hosting discussion and photo pages. "Interest has been brisk in the short space of time the page has been active", says Jerry. "But please remember that to race at a UK National Championship round at Shakespeare County or Santa Pod Raceways you have to be a member of one of the organising clubs...being a member of the APIRA on Facebook won't cut it!" Editor's note: We still have a backlog of news which we shall clear with tomorrow's update. Stay tuned for the latest from Smax Smith's son Aidan, a report from Ladies that Launch, the outcome of Mick Payne's first outing with his ex-Gordon Appleton Pro Mod, eights for Simon Barlow and Srrey Muscle, and a lot more, and please keep those news items coming to [email protected]. Veidec Festival rained out. 2nd August: Rain was unfortunately the winner at the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park. The first round of Pro Modified and one Top Fuel Dragster race took place before the rain, which had plagued the event from the start and caused the total loss of Thursday's qualifying, returned as the second pair of Top Fuellers was in pre-stage. Despite the difficult conditions the following track records were set: Pro Modified ET: 6.064 seconds, Urban Johansson Pro Stock speed: 329.22 kmh, Jimmy Ålund Pro Stock Bike ET: 7.242 seconds, Anders Abrahamsson Congratulations to Rick McCann (Stock/Super Stock) and Tomas Lindblad (Super Comp) who won the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award and the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award respectively. Many thanks to Palle Lind for forwarding us the post-Veidec Festival points standings in the UEM European Drag Bike Championships, which you can view on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Speedflow Points Standings link on the left hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. You can check out our American Car Imports-sponsored Veidec Festival event reports, pictures and pit notes by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. NitrOlympX entry list. 2nd August: The official entry list for the NitrOlympX being held on 13-15 August can be seen on the NitrOlympX web site racers' page by clicking here. Editor's note: We are now on our way home from Sweden. The next news update will be posted late on Wednesday evening. Please keep those Veidec Festival reviews, NDRG Drag Challenge previews and other news items coming to [email protected] and we will publish them on Wednesday. Mantorp offers Test Day tomorrow. 1st August: A Test Day is on offer at Mantorp Park tomorrow (Monday 2nd). It is open to all teams at a cost of 10,000 SEK but at least five teams must sign up if the test is to go ahead. Full track and safety cover and timing will of course be provided. For more details contact the office at Mantorp Park at +46 (0)142 298 862. Earlier news