Wally Parks. 30th September: Whilst on detached duty yesterday we were sorry to learn of the death of Wally Parks who was one of, if not the driving force behind the National Hot Rod Association. Quite simply, without Wally Parks we may not be here doing this: had it not been for his vision drag racing might still be an underground activity and never developed into the sport it is today, so the drag racing community worldwide owes him a huge debt of gratitude. The NHRA web site is carrying an excellent tribute micro-site which you can view by clicking here. Our deepest sympathies to Wally's family and friends and to all of his NHRA colleagues. If you would like to send a tribute to Wally then please send it to [email protected]. We will publish all tributes received here and in due course we will ensure that they are forwarded to NHRA and to Wally's family. Swift snippets. 30th September: A very Happy 50th Birthday to German Supertwin racer Acka Riemer. A special 50th Birthday guestbook has been set up on Acka's web site which you can find at www.hd-service.net. Jon and Sharon Hogarth of Eurodragster.com News sponsor Specialist In Design have asked us to say a big Happy Birthday for yesterday to UK Super Pro ET Mark 'Hooligan' Pointer, "Please urge Mark to get his butt back in that van asap and run a 7.20 at the very least!", tey say. "Please also pass our thanks on to Mark for being a great mate, for brightening bleak days and for always looking for a way to spread a little happiness! He needs to be back out there and in amongst it!" Flamholc's USA diary, Part 2. 29th September: Swedish Pro Stock racer Adam Flamholc and the Glueharbor Dragracing team are in the USA to pick up their new Pontiac GTO race car, which they plan to test and then enter in an NHRA National event. Here is the latest instalment in Adam's diary: Late Thursday night we had the motor running for the first time, running through the gears and making sure everything was alright with the transmission, clutch etc. We found some new problems with the car during the day, like that the wheeliebars upper members where bent and have to be exchanged as well as some worn out pieces in the front end resulting in a late night call to Jerry Bickel and overnight airfreight again. Today, Friday (At time of writing - Ed), we will put in the final pieces such as stickers and stuff) (right, click on picture for large version) and make the final adjustments before we load it up on the trailer. Early Saturday morning we will be driving to Outerbanks Speedway in North Carolina to finally try the car. The original plan was to attend the IHRA race in Maryland but since we probably only would get two or three runs we started to call around to try to rent a track (there are about fifty tracks within about 100 miles) but most of them where either booked or too expensive . We finally got in touch with the owner of Outerbanks Speedway in Carolina who wanted the same payment as the others but then he asked if we could make a few passes as part of a motorcycle show he had planned on Saturday night which we agreed to if we could make a few passes for free before the crowd came around. Everyone agreed so we will be at Outerbanks Speedway just about the entire Saturday. They have some more information about that on their home page at www.outerbanksspeedway.com). Today the rest of my family (wife Anna, Kids Frida, Isabell and Mattias and my father Peter) will arrive to accompany us to the NHRA race in Richmond and to spend some time at the Richmond State Fair this week. Today we welcome a new American Sponsor: Hurst Boiler & Welding Company Inc. We also have to send a big Thank You to Chester and Kevin Houghtaling for all the help we get and for letting us use their shop, trailer, tools etc while we are here. Without them this would not be possible! ©Eurodragster.com Swift snippets. 29th September: UK Real Steel Street Eliminator racer Andy Frost will be featured on this Monday's (1st October) edition of Fifth Gear on UK terrestrial and satellite station Channel 5. The programme starts at 8:00 pm. "It should be good publicity for drag racing, Santa Pod Raceway, and for us", says Andy. ©Eurodragster.com UK Pro ET press release. 29th September: Calling all Pro ET racers, crew members, fans - the UK Pro ET Bash still has some places left! Do you race, watch, like, root for or aspire to race in the Pro ET class? Come and mix with us at our very own do! An evening of fun, bench racing, dancing, drinking, live band, buffet and Pro ET Awards Prize Giving will be held on Saturday 24th November at the Oliver Cromwell Hotel, March, Cambridgeshire (telephone 01354 602890). The Hotel has been block booked for the Bash at the special rate of £72 per room, booking in the name of Carl Burton. There is also the alternative of a Guest House nearby which would be cheaper, details from Carl Burton, and the hotel will also tolerate a few small motorhomes in the car park (you can't say fairer than that!) whilst a few more can be parked nearby - so whatever your budget you can get in the swing of things at the Pro ET Bach! Tickets for the Bash are £12.50 per person: bring your better halves, crew and mates! Pro ET racers and teams are also reminded that voting is open for the 2007 awards, which include: Rookie of the Year Crew Chief of the Year Best Appearing Car Hard Luck Award Best Wheelie Most Screw Ups Furthest Travelled Voting is only allowed to Pro ET teams and is capped at a maximum of three votes per team. Award winners will receive trophies and all participants will receive a Pro ET 2007 Campaign Rosette. Want to have fun with the best class in the known universe (and, we're told, in some parts of the unknown)? Book now for the Pro ET Bash! For further details see the Pro ET Forum at www.pro-et.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=2 or see Carl Burton in the Pro ET pits at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 29th September: Our good friend Alan Currans has added a fifth page of Big Bad Altereds to his own collection on his excellent Acceleration Archive web site. "All the great old cars which formed the foundations upon which the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association is now flourishing are there, including the Stone's Tee-Rat, Mike Hall's Shutdown, the Hazeltons' Thunderbird, Vic Hammond's Mr Big, Keith Harvie's Dream Machine and several more besides", says Alan. "This new page can be accessed from the What's New link at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Elias Vathias has updated the GreekDragster.com web site with news, new records, video clips and a special feature from the USA. You can check it out at www.greekdragster.com. Flamholc's USA diary, Part 1. 28th September: Swedish Pro Stock racer Adam Flamholc and the Glueharbor Dragracing team are in the USA to pick up their new Pontiac GTO race car, which they plan to test and then enter in an NHRA National event. Adam has, as promised, sent his first update from the USA: After spending more than nine hours cramped in an airplane, we finally arrived in Washington. About an hour later, standing by the baggage conveyor, we realised that Micke Callin's bags where missing leaving him with nothing but the candy he bought on the airplane. Our friend and American team member Kevin Houghtaling picked us up at the airport and drove us to Progressive Performance's shop where we could finally inspect the new car for the first time (right, click on picture for large version). We are happy to say that everything on the car is as expected or even better! On Tuesday morning we went to the shop early in the morning and started to work with the car and as expected we found that a lot of stuff was missing (no major parts but nevertheless important to have) so we are well on our way to being the American freight companies' favourites. During Wednesday numerous interesting packets arrived, like a new transmission from Liberty, complete with a lot of different gears so that we can change the ratios to match various weather and track conditions. We also received a large packet from Steve Schmidt with our new motor. Steve has also promised us to deliver a second motor in the middle of the next week and so that we can try out both motors and then select the one we feel is the best to take to Sweden. The weather so far has been fantastic, we have around 26-32 degrees Centigrade each day and really nice and warm nights which we have spent at restaurants like Applebies, Chillis, Outback etc. Today, Thursday, we plan to start the car for the first time and then load it up and take it to a local track during the weekend for the first tests. ©Eurodragster.com UK National Finals Wild Bunch preview. 28th September: Wild Bunch Co-ordinator Claire Meaddows has been in touch with a preview of this weekend's action at the UK National Finals, which is the final round for both the Wild Bunch and Real Steel Series: As things stand, Tony Smith and Dave Williams with The Cunning Plan are leading the Wild Bunch Series, again! Tony and Dave are the current title holders, already for a record third time, and they are not entered for the event. The only one who can overtake them for top spot is Ant Harris with the Dayglo orange-coloured Frantic Topolino. Ant would need to finish in the top three at the event to secure his first Wild Bunch title. Team B'Sting with their yellow and black Topolino altered are currently in third place, but are not entered, so if Chris Hartnell’s Backdraft and Darryl Howells' Chemical Reaction slingshots both make it as far as the quarter-finals, they will both overhaul B'Sting for third place and could still be in with a chance of second place with a good result. ©Eurodragster.com As for the Real Steel Series, this is nearly sewn up by Darryl Howells, and both he and Crazy Chris are guaranteed the top two slots. Chris would have to win and Darryl go out in the first round for Chris to win. There is hot competition for third and fourth though with Ant Harris, Ed Yates in the RamRaider and Terry Clifford in the Ratcatcher Resurrection all in with a shout of overtaking Tony Smith and Dave Williams, who are currently sitting third. All the Wild Bunch are looking forward to the weekend, hoping for sun, and wishing all competitors a great event! Big thanks in advance to all the Santa Pod track crew, marshals and officials, the Race Director and managers, and to all at Eurodragster.com, for a great Finals. Bigging up Bristol. 28th September: This year has produced yet another successful year for the Planet Bristol in the UK National Championships, writes Zane Llewellyn: Bristol has an almost certain one-two finish in Super Street. Neil Grant has the best shot at the title, but Bob Lees has a chance of stepping in front at the last minute. Chris Kenny is also creeping up the Championship points with his Pop, his first win is fast becoming overdue. Chris goes into the Finals in fourth place, but will be looking for a Bristol one-two-three! In Super Gas, Conrad Stanley is a close second to Jon Morton, who has a very slim lead. Conrad is in a good position to take it from him. We also have Mike Bentley in Super Gas who is new to the class, but is a strong contender. Mike may upset some people this weekend, hopefully not Conrad! Anna Stanley is also in second place in Junior Dragster and has a good chance of overtaking Nick Mugridge if the race goes her way. We are of course hoping for a historic Father/Daughter championship year for Conrad and Anna! ©Eurodragster.com I have at last finished the rebuild of the Zannetec dragster eighteen months after destroying the engine at the 2006 Main Event. The Zannetec business is doing very well, but doesn’t allow much time for working on my own car. Although I was adamant that I would change to Chevy power, I ended up rebuilding the faithful Ford engine. This will be my twenty fourth year driving, and I was determined to get to at least one race in 2007! Swift snippets. 28th September: The 2007 Annual General Meeting and Awards Evening Real Steel Street Eliminator take place on Saturday 17th November at the Brandon Hotel near Coventry (map). The AGM provisionally starts at 1:00 pm; more details about the Awards Evening will be posted shortly. A £5 fee is requested of all AGM attendees to cover costs. Agenda items and intention to attend should be E-Mailed to Ann Marie Lazenby at [email protected]. If you're not headed for the UK National Finals and you fancy a bit of track action this weekend then Shakespeare County Raceway is hosting a two-day Run What You Brung including time trials for the Street Racer Series and further qualifying points rounds for Old Skool Fords, Kawasaki Triple Challenge, National Street Car Challenge, Jap Racer Day series, 106 Owners Club National Day and Carolynne Campbell's Laffin-gas Rocket Dragster. Admission is £10 per day or £20 for the weekend; RWYB track fee is £20 per day or £35 for a weekend of unlimited runs. More information at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or call 01789 720180. UK Outlaw Anglia racer Lee Cohen has been in touch to say a big Thank You to 1970s and 80s Comp Altered racer Keith Potter for permission to use the name The Devil. "My mate Nick got in touch with Keith to ask him if I could use his name for my Pop", says Lee. "Keith said yes, but only if I could back up his time of 7.4. That's to take some doing in a Pop. But still I do have a good crew for next year and we will be back out in Outlaw Anglia and Super Pro ET next season. Once again thanks Keith." UK Super Gas and Junior Dragster team Panther Racing UK have been in touch with congratulations and best wishes to Daniel King of sponsor Teng Tools and his partner Judy on the birth of their son Jack yesterday morning. "Whilst the team are extremely grateful for Daniel's and Teng' support, he shouldn't consider this an offer to babysit", says Team PR Wayne Corbitt. "We understand that mum, baby and dad are all doing well." ©Eurodragster.com Adam Gleadow says that the Motor Psycho Super Pro ET altered will not be racing at the UK National Finals. "We spun two main bearings and tore the caps up when the timing gears failed at Ultimate Street Car", says Adam. "After we sourced new caps, Customs sat on them for two weeks so we had a week to get the new caps align bored and the engine rebuilt when an alignment problem arose removing any chance of getting it all back together. After chasing and sorting problems this year we were really looking forward to putting some numbers on the boards. We would like to say thank you to John and Lesley Wright, Jeff Bull, Crunch and Paul Marston who went out of their way to help us try to get ready." Six into four does go for PMR. 28th September: Paul Marston Racing are contesting this weekend's UK National Finals with six entries in four race cars, writes Paul Marston: Tethys, due to circumstances beyond his control is sitting out this last remaining event. But being a great team player will hopefully be crewing over the weekend, conditions allowing. The big news is the return of Gary Springford's Hulk Shogun to Pro ET. Gary has elected to act as Crew Chief the Shogun and I will be the shoe. Firstly I would like to thank Drag Race Engineering proprietor Gary Springford for inviting me to drive his pride and joy, it's a real honour. Up until now Gary is the only person to drive Hulk, I am real excited at the prospect of tackling this monster. In its current configuration with the alcohol fuel injection now seemingly figured out, this will be one mean Hot Rod. Mick Howling will return in the Insanity Vega, competing in both Pro ET and Super Gas. Mick had a whale of a time driving Insanity at the FIA European Finals and felt quite comfortable so driving Insanity at the remaining event would be a pleasure. Despite the Vega's infamous reputation Mick says that he can categorically assure everyone who was at the European Finals that the strange hysterical laughter that accompanied every pass in Insanity was him. Insanity has a well deserved reputation and he loves it! Dave 'Wing Commander' Catton returns in the Whoopass Monza competing in both Super Gas and Super Comp. Having shown some real form at the European Finals, Dave Catton will be looking to capitalise and go deep into eliminations. Having qualified well in the past few events, including the coveted #1 spot in Super Comp at the European Finals, and reaching the Super Gas final at the Open Sport Nationals, the package is really working well and should be a strong contender come eliminations. Steve Bolton returns in his Dark Destroyer Plymouth Scamp to terrorise Pro ET. Having slipped down the National points table, there is now not even a mathematical chance of Steve clinching the Championship, but Steve can still play spoiler very effectively. Steve is hungry to re-establish his mark on the class and settle some old scores on the way. Watch out, the Big Bad Black Plymouth is definitely back! All the drivers at Paul Marston Racing would like to take this opportunity to thank the great pit crew who make the drivers look so good and who work so hard. All of us owe them a huge debt of gratitude. Thanks to all of our sponsors who stick with us through thick and thin: Drag Race Engineering, CTM Performance & Machine, London Road Tyres, Snap-On Tools, MAC Tools, BLP Incorporated, JW Performance, all our other friends and business associates; to all our Drag Racing friends in the States, our Floridian PMR branch, carb tuning / Dragster / throttle stop specialist and all round good guy Tony Morris; and last but not least Eurodragster.com, who do so much for so many, and who set a standard that many aspire to and few approach (Oh I say, thanks - Ed). ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 28th September: Real Steel Street Eliminator racer Ray Comer has been in touch with some news about the new Street Eliminator web site. “At the beginning of this year we decided it was time for a revamp of the old web site to bring our sponsors' continued contribution to the class to the fore", says Ray. "As a class we are fortunate to have some fantastic support from sponsors and want to do as much as we can to help them in return. Unfortunately the revamp of the old web site didn’t work out as well as we hoped so a new web site was commissioned from Micro Genie, the owner of which I’ve known for years and who also has an interest in motorsport, only the roundy roundy type. The new site can be found at www.streeteliminator.co.uk and features all the information you'll need about the quickest street legal class in Europe. Teams, sponsors, news, all the latest points standings and more. Please check out our sponsors' web site links from the Sponsors page, these guys help us and other classes to keep racing so its only right that we use their services when we all can. More features will be added soon. On the subject of sponsorship I would like to remind any potential sponsors out there that the Title sponsorship for the class is coming available at the end of this season. Real Steel have been a fantastic title sponsor for the last few seasons and we will be sorry to lose them but all good things must come to an end and we always knew that it was not a long term arrangement. We offer a range of benefits to sponsors so if you fancy the idea of having the quickest street legal class in Europe carrying your name next season, or even want to get involved on a smaller level, then please get in contact with me at [email protected] or [email protected] and we’ll talk.” ©Eurodragster.com Paul Lister has updated his Drag Car Anon web site with a second set of pictures from the FIA European Finals. You can check out Paul's pictures at www.dragcaranon.co.uk. UK Championships Dinner Dance. 27th September: Bookings are now being taken for the third joint Avon Park International Racers Association/Santa Pod Racers Club Dinner Dance and Trophy Evening, which takes place in the Buckingham Suite of the Park Inn Hotel in Northampton at 6:30 pm on Saturday 2nd February 2008. Pre-dinner drinks will be available in the Buckingham Suite foyer from 6:00 pm. SPRC Club Secretary Paula Marshall has asked us to stress the following: Proceedings will start prompt at 6:30 pm with the trophy presentations to both the Santa Pod Racers Club and APIRA Champions and runners-up. For this reason it is important that everyone is in their seats in the Buckingham Suite at 6:30 pm as the presentation will not be held up for latecomers. If you miss your presentation then we will not be going back! Dinner will be served at 7:30 pm. ©Eurodragster.com After dinner, the 2007 UK National Champions and runners-up will be presented with their trophies, followed by the APIRA and SPRC Perpetual Award winners and the 2007 British Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductees. Tickets to the Dinner Dance are £27 per adult and £13.50 for under-thirteens which includes three-course meal plus coffee and mints. Please make it clear on the form if booking tickets for under-thirteens. An additional £1 per ticket should be added if paying by credit card. Booking will be closed on 25th January 2008 or when the function room is full, whichever is the earlier. Bookings will not be confirmed until a completed form is received by SPRC. The Clubs have negotiated a preferential rate for hotel rooms in the Park Inn Hotel. These are priced at £30 per person for double or twin rooms, or £55 per person for single rooms, both including breakfast on Sunday morning. To book your room, please call the Park Inn Hotel on 01604 739988 (Reservations is button 1) and quote booking code SAN020208. If you do not pay a deposit at time of booking then your room could be released after 2:00 pm on the day. You can find the booking form (Word format) on the Entry Forms page of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc or by clicking here. If you have any queries then please contact Paula Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625 or E-Mail [email protected]. JD Racing's incredible weekend. 27th September: Christer Gustavsson says that Jonas Dantanus and the JD Racing team had an incredible weekend at the FIA European Finals. "We only brought the Pro Stock Grand Am to the race", says Christer. "We had a new engine in the car to try to lower Jonas' personal best of 7.09 and to try to qualify for the first time this year. We were also visited by Stenvalls Trä, who had invited some of their English customers to see some drag racing. The weekend gave us some moments which were hard to belive. "Friday's first qualifier was a 6.98, a personal best by more than a tenth! A check on the computer told us that there was more in the car. We adjusted the car for the next round and it gave us a even better 6.89, almost another tenth! Now there were many raised eyebrows both inside and outside our team. That evening the beer tasted extra good. ©Eurodragster.com "On Saturday morning the Stenvalls people and their customers showed up and were dressed in purple JD T-Shirts and caps. It was a happy gang of JD fans who sat in the grandstands to see the rest of the race. The third round of qualifying gave us a even bigger bomb as Jonas drove the car to a incredible 6.83, Jonas was #2 qualifier and 0.03 seconds from the European record! The happiness was enormous both inside and outside the team. In the fourth qualifier we dropped back a little to a 6.88 and fourth place in qualifying, not bad for the first race we qualified for. "Sunday was elimination day and we were to meet Magnus Hansson in the first round. The dream continued as Jonas beat Magnus and went to the semis. There we met Eero Knihtilä who beat us with a new European record of 6.78. Jonas and team had done better then anybody could expect. After a weekend like this, it is easy to go into the winter break." Swift snippets. 27th September: Continuing the Dinner Dance theme above, Tomas Pettersson has been in touch to remind racers that the 2007 Nordic Drag Racing Series Banquet and Trophy Presentation takes place at the Scandic Infra City outside Stockholm at 6:00 pm on Saturday 27th October. You can find out more and download the invitation on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se. ©Eurodragster.com NSCC turns up the wick. 27th September: This weekend's Test and Tune at Shakespeare County Raceway looks set for some seriously hot street-legal action, as the competitors for the National Street Car Challenge turn up the wick, writes Shaun Wilson. With no shows or cruises to score additional points, drivers traditionally put that bit of extra tune in the motor. Evidence of this has already been seen by event sponsor John Sleath who has had a number of cars in for performance enhancements in the last couple of weeks. Reigning champion Graham Bell will be running with nitrous for the first time in his gorgeous '67 Mustang convertible. Running at number three in the Challenge, Graham has a string of mid-twelves to his credit without the bottle. Also turning to the laughing gas will be John Osborne, the Challenge leader in his 427ci 100E. He's had a new, bigger nitrous kit fitted by John Sleath in a bid to stave off a last minute attack by Nick Gunby in his 347ci stroker Mustang. Al Williamson has also been doing revisions on his nitrous system and this could be the first time his Pro Street Chevy heads for the tens. Big hitters Nigel Parkin, Russ Pursley and Mark Todd look set to be joined in the prestigious nine-second camp by well-known nutter Andy Hadfield in his outrageous blown T-Bucket. Nigel has a new twin-tubo motor lined up for 2008 so he may well be planning a blaze of glory exit with his 502ci Jaguar XJS. Mark Todd is also talking of upping the boost on his twin-turbo'd Pontiac to try and better his NSCC record-holding 9.575 ET. Elsewhere in the field we are expecting a good turnout of Riverside Rod and Custom cars, with Malc Glancy and John Payne both tied for position as they go into this round. From further North Chris McCullough (302 ci Cortina) and Shaun Wilson ('68 Camaro) will both be trying to shave those vital tenths to get themselves into the twelves. All told, it's set to be a weekend of fun and competition, with all of the competitors going out for the Saturday night qualifying cruise into the Stratford countryside. For current points standings visit www.hotrodgazette.com. ©Eurodragster.com Taking the rough route. 27th September: Elliot Jones of UK Wild Bunch team Northern Quarter Racing says that a new sport could be on the verge of development as their Ragin' Cajun altered tried to top Steph Milam's recent Santa Pod field trip during a test pass at York Raceway: The Nostalgia Nationals was pretty disappointing for the team - no change from the last two years really! - so much so that we were on the verge of giving up on the fuel injection system. However, the Northern determination was set in and we made a last ditch attempt last week to find our problem resulting in a few tyre smoking blasts down my private test track (i.e. the very quiet and straight road that my house happens to be situated on!) on Saturday. We decided as a result that we would get up to York Raceway for the RWYB on Sunday. On the way in to the track we had a bit of fun in the car taking the mickey out of a ploughing contest going on across the road, little did we know! I suited up for the first run with the car running very rich on a guessed fuel set-up. The car spun the tyres off the line, then hooked up, shift into second, no gear, tried again, no gear, back to first and carried on regardless. Not bad, 14.2/90 with one gear. Danny then got ready for a run after we determined we could get second but not third. Off the line pretty much the same, into second, yes it worked, looked pretty good, 12.03/115. Pretty impressive with only two gears. As we drove down to collect Danny little did we know that he had intentions of doing double duty for the day and joining in the ploughing contest as well - the car was facing us in the field following a pretty hairy ride mostly on two wheels down York's notoriously rough shutdown area. ©Eurodragster.com Danny broke his hand quite badly as a result of keeping hold of the steering wheel and successfully keeping the car upright, and it appears that only two chassis tubes are bent, for which the the car was already booked in with Norm Wilding himself by 8:00 on Sunday evening. At the same time we are taking the opportunity to redesign part of the front end and steering of the car. The 60s American Racing twelve-spoke mags suprisingly stood up to the serious punishment that they suffered. All in all we are finally on our way to some good times! This pretty much ends this season for us, on a high note for a change despite the injuries and damage sustained. We would like to thank a few dedicated people who have helped us out no end with advice, labour, etc. These include Ian and Alan Lloyd and Kenny Coleman for help and advice with the engine and gearbox, Dave 'Brucey' Leighton, as always the master fabricator, Mo and Ian of Inspraytion for our ever changing paint job, also Carl 'The brickey', 'Yorkshire' Chris and Neil and Ged Townson, and anyone else who has provided us with any kind of help and advice. Finally I'd just like to say that we hope Danny's arm heals soon and as a result of his recent experience in the fields of Yorkshire he finally has a nickname: Danny 'The Hamster'. Web site updates. 27th September: Rick Thurman has updated his Fotopic gallery with pictures from the FIA European Finals. You can check out Rick's shots at pics-by-rick.fotopic.net. ©Eurodragster.com UK Championship outcomes. 26th September: The UK Championship season draws to an end at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend and Simon has been through the points and looked at the possible outcomes: The standings are if anything closer than previous years showing how competitive our sport currently is. In Pro Modified Andy Robinson has an almost insurmountable lead over Robert Joosten with Gordon Appleton in third place. Robert is unable to attend this weekend and this makes the Championship a certainty for Andy – congratulations to him. The Top Methanol Championship like Pro Modified runs solely at Santa Pod. The contenders are Dave Wilson, in possibly his Top Methanol swan-song, and Steve Turner, in his rookie year as a driver in competition for the team that he has been Crew Chief for the last twenty seven years. In Super Modified Andy Kirk has a 310 point lead over Tim Garlick. Tim needs to win the event and have Andy qualify poorly and go out first round to gain the Championship but is relatively safe in the runner-up spot. Paul Knight has a 300 point lead over Belinda Bull in Super Comp but, unlike Paul, Belinda will not be eligible for the 200 point bonus for attending all events as she missed the Springspeed Festival. Belinda in turn has to defend a 300 point lead over third placed Peter Creswell who is also not eligible for the bonus. Two competitors in Super Gas have pulled out a substantial advantage over the remainder, Jon Morton and Conrad Stanley. With only 140 points between them, a better qualifying position could ultimately decide the outcome. Neil Grant is 340 points ahead of 2006 Super Street Champion Bob Lees and these two have a substantial advantage over the rest of the field. Super Pro ET is a three way battle between Spencer Tramm who is 110 points ahead of Barry Giles and a further 300 points ahead of Steve Johnson. Could Spencer be the first doorslammer to win Super Pro ET Championship since Ian Bishop in 2003 or will age and cunning overcome youth and exuberance? This year at least it would appear that you need a Mark 1 Capri to do well in Pro ET as that is the chosen body style for both points leader Paul Baynton and second placed Charlie Chivers. Third placed Heaven & Hell racing and fourth Dan Page (in only his first full season) are less than three rounds of racing further back. With a 32 car entry, some changes in these positions could well occur. In Sportsman ET Team Can Do, also known as the Huxleys with Lee at the controls this year, enjoy a 370 point lead from Ian Jackson who is only 30 points ahead of 2006 Champion Geoff Cowley. Whilst a repeat Championship is a big ask, Geoff could achieve second position by going one round further than Ian or going out in the same round and qualifying four places or more ahead of him. In winning the Junior Dragster Championship Nick Mugridge, already at the top of the Champions' Champions for the class in both terms of points and wins, would become the first Junior Dragster racer in UK drag racing history to win more than one National Championship. Hoping to stop Nick achieving this is Panther Racing's Anna Stanley who is just 60 points behind and will be keen to win the title and contribute towards a possible double for the team. 9.50 Bike sees three riders with a realistic chance of the title, Team Breakout's Chris Jones, Andy Burfitt and Richard Sawatzki. Just over two rounds of racing separate them and qualifying will be tight. ©Eurodragster.com The ACU Top Fuel Bike Championship is Steve Woollatt's if he just signs on so congratulations on his eleventh National Championship. Funny Bike sees four-time Champion Neil Midgley out in front by 295 points but if he should encounter problems, Tim Blakemore or Stephen French will be on hand to try to take the advantage. Dave Beck is already Pro Stock Bike Champion and congratulations on another one, his fifth ACU Championship in the last seven years. In Competition Bike Phil Leamon is heading towards his second Championship, the first being in 2003 and second place Kevin Charman being the only racer with a realistic chance of catching up. Super Street Bike has seen outstanding, envelope-pushing performances this year once again and Steve Venables currently has the advantage. Only Dave Smith on his UK-built Hayabusa has a mathematical chance, albeit slim, of catching the US-built Hayabusa of 'Mr SeVen'. The Volkswagen Drag Racing Club have two Championships decided but VW Sportsman is still up for grabs with Paul Herbert 230 points ahead of Graham Fairhead and Martin Ayton a firther 360 points behind. The VW Pro Champion is Glynn Morgan and the VW Alternate Engine winner is Mark Skeen. In these respective divisions, Dude Ellis and Matt Attwood have a little work to defend their second place standing. In Street Eliminator leader Steve 'Splinter' Nash has had a great season with the new Cougar and now enjoys a 245 point lead over Andy Frost. These two, both relying on turbo power of more than 2000 bhp, are some way ahead of 2005 Champion Colin Lazenby who has bounced back from his accident at the Bug Jam. In the National Association of Supertwins, each of the three divisions is tightly bunched at the top. In Supertwin Top Fuel, 2006 Champion Wendy Clutterbuck is leading but could theoretically be caught by rookie Shawn Rodman. In Top Gas, Chris Stebbings, Chris Mott and Les Harris are within three rounds of one another in the standings. The new ET class sees Steve Partridge ahead of Peter Harrison by less than one round with John Hackney in third place and undoubtedly eager to make up the difference. 2008 UK Championships. 26th September: Many thanks to Dave Jones of Santa Pod Raceway and Jerry Cookson of Shakespeare County Raceway for sending the dates of next year's UK Championship rounds: ©Eurodragster.com 21st-24th March: Easter Thunderball, Santa Pod Raceway 3rd-5th May: 2nd Springspeed Nationals, Shakespeare County Raceway 23rd-26th May: FIA Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway 14th-15th June: SPRC Summernationals, Santa Pod Raceway 23rd-25th August: 3rd Open Sport Nationals, Shakespeare County Raceway 4th-7th September: FIA European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway 27th-28th September: UK National Finals, Santa Pod Raceway These dates will be formally ratified at the 2008 UK Riders' and Drivers' Meeting, and each track's full 2008 calendar will be published in due course. Uhlir takes SE Germany title. 26th September: Markus Münch has been in touch with news of the weekend's Street Eliminator Germany Finale and Das Drag Day, a big Bug and aircooled meeting, which took place at Bitburg: It was an interesting weekend. Many aircooled teams - including some of the British Outlaw Flat Four racers - and V8 powered cars were there. The final Toyo Tyres SE Germany Championship race was very dramatic. In qualifying Guido Uhlir, last year's and now this year's Champion, was top qualifier with an outstanding Personal Best of 9.3 seconds, whic his very quick for a German SE driver on an unprepared track. Second was number two man in the Championship Micha Vogt with his '41 Willys running on nitrous. Third was Bernhard Goldbach in his beautiful white Ford Falcon also with a nine-second run. Bright sunshine made the track come around. In the eliminations all the top racers with the quickest cars made their way through to the semis. Numbers one and two in the Championship met in the final when disaster struck. Champion Guido Uhlir's green Opel Manta B got out of shape and left the track. When he came to a stop the car was in very bad condition, but the driver was A-OK. That shocked us all. ©Eurodragster.com In the end all the drivers, the organisers of this series (Dennis and Kalunki from Dragracer magazine and the fans were very satisfied with this season of SE Racing. We all look forward to next year. The cars improved so much, and more new cars will come out in the 2008 Shootout and will race the Toyo Tires SE Germany Championship. We hope to tear down the eight-second barrier next year. You can find Markus' pictures at www.dragstripper.smugmug.com/gallery/3531374#199678837 and Dirk Behlau's pictures at pixeleye.smugmug.com/gallery/3531646#199734420. Tooled-up Viper hits Essen. 26th September: UK Super Pro ET team Apocalypse Motorsport have announced a tie-up with Facom Tools UK Ltd, part of the Britool/Stanley group, manufactures and suppliers of top quality automotive tools and workshop/pit equipment. "Facom are on an on-going basis supplying Apocalypse Motorsport with all required specialist tooling and storage facilities to enable the crew to carry out work on our seven-second Dodge Viper GTS quickly, efficiently and safely", says Chris Orthodoxou. "We don't need to point out to fellow racers that car turn-around time between races can sometimes be very short, so dependable quality tools and equipment are a primary requirement for any team. Top quality Facom tools are available from all leading tool suppliers." ©Eurodragster.com Chris Orthodoxou is also proud to announce that the team will be exhibiting the Hemi-powered Dodge Viper GTS at the prestigious 2007 Essen Motor Show near Dusseldorf in Germany between 30th November and 9th December. "We are honoured to have been personally invited by the promoter of the Essen show after he saw the Viper run at the 2006 Nitrolympx at Hockenheim", says Chris. "This highly-publicised ten-day event, which in 2006 had almost half a million people through its doors, attracts massive media coverage from all over Europe. As well as TV reports Essen, the biggest motor show of its kind outside America, is covered by all major European motoring, motorsport, trade and custom magazines. So other than a prime-time TV advert or full page spread in a National newspaper, this is the next best opportunity for any corporate marketing team, in partnership with Apocalypse Motorsport, to get huge exposure for their company/organisation name and product. "We would like to say a huge thank you to photographer extraordinaire Andy "You're ill" Willsheer for acting as our intermediary with the show promoter." Rocketry, a complex subject. 26th September: After a difficult year in which she has only made it to the track three times, Carolynne Campbell's Laffin-gas Rocket Dragster will be having another go at Shakespeare County Raceway this Sunday. "2007 was always going to be a development and testing year and so it has proven", says Carolynne. "Bit by bit, we have worked through the various challenges, especially in developing a fuelling arrangement that gives reliable ignition and plenty of power. "The advent of the bio-fuel rocket has brought us to a point where we can realistically hope to end the year with some significant performances. The bio-fuel (cooking oil to the uninitiated), in combination with a good sized black-powder pyro, has given very reliable ignition in static single rocket tests. Now comes the challenge of making all four rockets work in harmony installed in the car itself. The car, of course, contains much more complex systems than the simple test-rig that we use down at the farm, so there is always the unknown or unforeseen that may intervene! ©Eurodragster.com "The challenge of designing a car, developing a new type of rocket, manufacturing and building the whole thing in-house isn't to be underestimated. With most cars, you buy or commission the building of a chassis, buy an engine and drive-train and bolt it all together, not that doing that is easy! With the Laffin-gas rocket, everything has to be made from scratch or adapted from other purposes to make the whole thing work. No wonder it's been a long haul to get this far. "As with any other team, it doesnt stop with the car. There's the race transporter to organise, the tools and systems that must travel with you have to be assembled and developed and a team of people, who know their jobs backwards, all has to be put together. If we'd known at the beginning what we know now, would we have done it? Probably, but not for sure! "Again many thanks to the guys at Shakespeare County Raceway for standing by us and allowing us to make steady progress. We're taking eight rockets with us this time, and if all goes well we'll try for two runs on the day. Sunday will see just how close we're getting." Swift snippets. 26th September: Anders Envall tells us that US racer and engine builder Karl Ellwein, whom he describes as "The best bracket racer everywhere within the great Impala SS racing community, I guess he wins 95% of all races", is planning to ship one of his three Impalas to race in Europe next year. Karl will start by racing in Sweden with support from The Best Damn Garage In Town and then he and Bostic will race at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. Paula and Holley Marshall have been in touch to ask us to say a big Happy Birthday to Santa Pod Racers Club Chief Starter Ian Marshall. Our pleasure girls, have a great day Ian. ©Eurodragster.com UK Super Gas racer Ritchi Smith asks if any Eurodragster.com reader knows what became of a tube chassised Consul Capri which was featured in a progress report in the January 1995 issue of Custom Car. "The report said that the car was being built by a bunch of mates in Plymouth", says Ritchi. "As I also own one of these cars I'm intrigued to know if this car got finished. The report said that the car was destined for Pro Rover but I don't remember seeing any car like this at the strip. The only Pro Street Consul Capri I remember was the yellow car built by Phil Moules, was that the same car?". If you know then please drop us a line at [email protected] and we'll pass it on. A Schumacher wins at SCR. 26th September: At last Sunday's Schumacher RC Speed Trials event held at Shakespeare County Raceway, Schumacher drivers Leon Morrell and Johnny Dronfield took the Electric class honours with an awesome speed of 103.0 mph (165 kmh) with their Fusion Mi3, writes SCR's Jerry Cookson. "The car featured twin Core 5000 Lipo packs, twin Speed Passion 3.5 brushless motors, twin Nosram speed controls, twin receivers, and twin drivers!", commented event supporter Robin Schumacher of Schumacher Racing. "While Leon controlled the steering and throttle, as he began to accelerate you could hear a shout of "Hit it Johnny" as Johnny came in with the second throttle control to double the power." Speed Trial organiser Tony Lovering failed in his attempt at the 150 mph mark with his nitro racer. "I ran a couple of runs at 90-ish then changed the gearing lower", said Tony. "The touring shell was lifting at high speed so I changed to the Lola and finally managed 100.00 mph over the 30 m speed loop. I ran the triple and had problems again. Poor setup was to blame (!) and I should have spent more time on it instead of messing with the RRR. Anyway I think the problems are terminal and I will need to feed the power through a single two speed gearbox. In the end I ran 103.59 mph making the contest a dead heat (0.01 mph!) between me and the electric guy." The event received a good deal of press and TV coverage from BBC Coventry and Warwickshire. A consecutive World Championship Speed Trial event with a track in California is now in the planning stages for September 2008, with the UK round being held at the Stratford-upon-Avon drag strip. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 26th September: Our very own Photo Editor Roger Gorringe has updated his Nitro Exposure site with pictures from this year's Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway. Roger will be adding shots from the UK National Finals after this weekend but in the meantime you can check out Roger's work at www.nitroexposure.co.uk. Anders Envall is making a three-pronged attack on his report of his trip from Gothenburg to race at the FIA European Finals, a few days' break in the UK, and then home again. You can read part one, covering the trip to Santa Pod and up to the eve of the race, via the News link at www.blackout.nu. ©Eurodragster.com Rick Cuthbert tells us that a report and pictures from the weekend's Ultimate BMW Show at Santa Pod Raceway are now available on the event's official web site at www.bmwshow.co.uk. Daniel Thurman has posted a set of FIA European Finals pictures at www.photoboxgallery.com/dtphotos. Maurischat building for return. 25th September: Germany's Marco Maurischat will be returning to the track in 2008 in a blown-alcohol 1953 Corvette Pro Mod (right, click on picture for large shot from another angle). Marco planned to be out testing at the end of this season but it didn't quite work out due to his very busy business. "The car is standing on its own wheels now", says Marco. "Every week when we work on the race car we tell ourselves that most of the work is done! Most of the parts needed to complete the car are in our shop right now. There are some brackets and tabs left to finish before we strip to the chassis again to do the paintjob in my shop. ©Eurodragster.com "The engine is a 526 ci TFX block with BAE 5 heads. The fuel system was built by BAE / Crawford with a SSI blower and three-blade carbon injector. The transmission will be a B&J three-speed with Crower clutch. I think we will have a pretty good basic set-up to start with. "We are very confident that the Corvette will be ready next year for some test runs before the big races. Our goal is to run all the rounds of the FIA Championship." You can see more pictures at www.maurischat-racing.de. Guv leads the PBs. 25th September: With twenty cars entered for a sixteen-car field, the NSRA Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway was a fantastic event to finish off a great year for the Outlaw Anglias says Paul Wright, who secured the 2007 Championship and set Personal Bests at the event. "You might argue that I would say it was a fantastic event, and you'd probably be right", says Guv, "but I wasn't the only one that ran their quickest. Pete Ashworth finished runner-up in the Championship, ran 7.86/172 in the first round, and won the final. Richard Colby smashed his way into the eights with an 8.47/159 and secured thirrd place in the Championship. Ian Norman also ran his first eight 8.98/152 and finished in fourthth place. Dave Sidaway came close to propelling his Fordson into the nines, but had to settle for a 10.01/136. "I was unable to back up the 7.400/189 posted during the first round, missing out by two hundredths in the final and collecting a cherry on the way. A fuller report of the proceedings and final Championship placings can be found at www.outlaw-anglia.co.uk ©Eurodragster.com "The Moving Parts Reaction Time Challenge was won by Chris Kenny for the third time this season. Thanks to Steve Borland for sponsoring this prize. Special thanks to the organisers for their continued support and to the track staff and officials. "On a more personal note I would like to thank and congratulate the rest of the Guv Racing team - Chris, Pete, Andy, Cheryl, BJ and Martyn - plus everyone else who has helped and supported us." Swift snippets. 25th September: John Force's PR Dave Densmore has been in touch from the USA to tell Eurodragster.com that the Fuel FC legend is on form. "When they got into surgery they found out that John didn't have a broken wrist, just a dislocated wrist", says Dave. "I spent the whole day with him yesterday and in true John Force fashion we conducted hospital room TV interviews all day long. He even stood for a couple minutes although he screamed and cussed and apologised the whole time. It's all good. A long road ahead, but he is trying to get back by Las Vegas. We'll see." Monkeyboy tells us that this weekend's Test and Tune weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway is the last round of the Street Racer Series with everything to play for in both the V8 class and 4-6 pot classes. "I'd like to wish all our racers the best and hope we have a big turnout", says Monkeyboy. "Go to www.uk-srs.co.uk for the latest news updates, pictures, and forum, all are welcome." This year is the thirtieth anniversary of the tyre frying road chase movie Smokey and the Bandit and Darren West of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Power Race Graphics says that he is sure that he is not the only Eurodragster.com reader who watched the movie in the cinema and many times on TV in the years since. "That black and gold '77 Trans Am is not only a classic muscle car", says Darren, "but the body also sits very nicely into Nostalgia Funny Car territory (right, click on picture for large version)! I'm dreaming here of course, but I can almost see the flames licking out of the pipes on this baby! I guess we're unlikely to see Sheriff Bufford T. Justice in hot pursuit of this one!" Paul Watson of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor DynoSpeeed Developments is offering three free runs on his DynoJet 250 dyno. "This is the best way to be sure your machine is performing right, with friendly and helpful advice from the 2006 Crew Chief of the Year", says Grumpy. "We have full workshop facilities for servicing and repairs, don't wait all winter get your bike looked over or refreshed. We would like to thank all the DSD customers for the past year: Fast Harry, Mark Watkins, Andy Haley, Carl Atkinson, Graham Parrinder, Kerrigan Read, Paul Hambridge and Jones and Friend to name but a few." ©Eurodragster.com Steve Wood has been in touch to let racers know that drag racing sponsor Motorshack will be providing race fuel, nitrous refills and all the usual services at Shakespeare County Raceway this Friday night and during the day on Saturday, and then at Santa Pod Raceway on Saturday evening and during Sunday. For more details of Motorshack's services check out their web site at www.motorshack.com. Your News Editor's apologies to Supertwin Gas racer Chris Mott for the web coding error which rendered the first paragraph of yesterday's news item invisible for a number of hours. Trans fluid means no Seven. 25th September: UK Super Pro ET racer Rick Cooke says that he has had an interesting year in the class but that he has not quite been able to attain his season's goal: I wanted to run my first seven, but due to the wet stuff early in the season I thought I would leave it to the European Finals to let all the horses loose. So along came the European Finals and the trusty Transit made the journey to the Pod again, the smoke getting worse but still going forward. I set up my party tent, the best investment this year after having a four foot wide pit space at Easter and no room to work on the dragster. With help from Crunch I put more fuel into it and put a higher launch chip in. On Thursday I went for my first qualifier, on the launch the front wheels went a bit higher than normal and it felt like it was on a good one. I got the ticket, 8.18, not even a PB! I was disappointed but looking at the sixty foot time it must have spun the tyres. On the second run I launched OK but had tyre shake from sixty feet to the eighth. It was fine for the rest of the run except that when I came off the throttle it just did not feel like the dragster I know. I got back to the pits and could not see anything. We had to miss one of the qualifiers as the motor was too hot and I had low oil pressure, but with the six runs I had on Thursday I qualified number two, after Friday I was bumped down to number five. After the second round of eliminations I noticed at the top end that trans fluid had escaped from the tail seal, so help from Nigel Turner and my Crew Chief Andy we started pulling out the back end to replace the seal. Thank you to Martyn Jones and Crunch for lending me a new seal. We also noticed a gearbox support bracket broken, thank you to Andy Robinson for welding it up. In the third round against Steve Johnson I had a bad case of pilot error at the top end when I lifted the throttle a bit early before the finish. The car had a little moment dipping down and going to the right, and once again there was trans fluid all over the back end. The next evening with the trans removed I had a good look around the back end and there was a hairline crack right through the rear motor plate, I looked around more and found the two top motor plate mountings cracked off the chassis with only three mounting points left holding the motor and trans in the car. I think I was lucky. I stripped the trans and found two bearings shot as well, so there's a lesson learned - if I want to run a seven I am going to break almost everything trying. ©Eurodragster.com The good thing is that it still has more horses left in it. A thicker motor plate is now being made and I have fixed the trans, but due to work commitments I am unable to get it sorted before the UK National Finals. I will be there supporting my fellow Super Proers, and good luck to all riders and drivers for a safe weekend. There are a lot of people I have to thank for my current number five in the National Championship: my top crew Andy, Sam and Loraine; also HRC, WRE, RCCS, ICE and The Gloucestershire MG Centre. A big thank you to all the race fans and fellow drivers for your support, all the track crews and marshals, and not forgetting all the boys at Eurodragster (Thanks - Ed). I started the year by doing my bit for drag racing helping at a couple of work weekends at Shakespeare County Raceway. It was in quite a state with what the winter elements had done to the site. A big pat on the back to the volunteers who turned up - there were about a dozen of us. Thank you to Jerry and to the track crew for making me feel welcome. UK National Finals Perfect Awards. 25th September: This weekend's UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway is the final event in this year's Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme, with £225 on offer for perfect performance. The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award has been increased to £75 after it went unclaimed at the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to record a perfect Reaction Time of 0.000. The Award is open to all classes and is available during qualifying or eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the weekend. The Perfect Light Award is jointly presented by Eurodragster.com and high-performance hose and fitting manufacturer Speedflow whose web site you can find at www.speedflow.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com The Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts Perfect ET Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by 9.50 Bike racer Jason Macan at the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to run to the thousandth on their index or dial-in. The Award is open to all ET classes, all Super classes, Junior Dragster (eliminations only), 9.50 Bike, all VWDRC classes, the Wild Bunch and Supertwin ET and is available during qualifying or eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the weekend. The Perfect ET Award is jointly presented by Eurodragster.com and performance supplier LA Racing Parts whose web site you can find at www.laracingparts.com. In addition, should the winner of the Perfect ET Award go on to win the event then a bonus of £100 will be paid by LA Racing Parts. Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts decals must be carried on both sides of the vehicle to qualify for the Perfect ET Award. As with other contingency schemes the decals (right) are available from the signing-on office. Please note that although this weekend's timing will be calculated to four places, we have decided to run the Perfect Light and Perfect ET awards to three decimal places this weekend to complete the 2007 scheme on the same rules. Web site updates. 25th September: Richard Smith has updated his Fotopic gallery at richardsmith.fotopic.net with pictures from Sunday's UK Northern Finals at York Raceway. "It was a very busy day with final rounds in all PDRC classes, NSA sprint bikes, Roger Goring in the Firestorm Jet Funny Car and plenty of RWYBers", says Richard. "The final round of American Super Stock was won by Mick Elsworth in his '68 Coronet, while Lee 'Cookie' Chiles in his Dodge Dakota was crowned the Class Champion after his two closest challengers went out in round one of eliminations." ©Eurodragster.com Skilton still winning. 25th September: A Mopar Hemi-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited driven by British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Clive Skilton and navigated by Australian Gordon Trigg took first place honours in the Showroom Stock Division (Class AO6) of the Australian Safari Rally starting near Darwin August 24th and finishing in Perth September 1st. The Australian Safari Rally is a nine day race across 3300 miles of the Western Australian outback. The format is similar to the Dakar Rally with special stages, liaison stages and overnight bivouac service. After scrutineering and documentation on August 22nd and 23rd teams were given the event guide full of useful information like how to handle snake bites, dehydration, what to do about expired air resuscitation casualty not breathing, pulmonary resuscitation, heat exhaustion, etc. Plus tips regarding avoidance of crocodiles, kangaroos, camels, emus and wild boars. Interestingly, in true Aussie tradition you could drink beer in the service area as long as you stopped six hours before start time. The rally had Police escort to help smooth the way through populated areas. BP Petroleum had dual tanker follow the event with high grade gasoline. Each vehicle is equipped with UHF radio and all competitors are on the same wavelength. The radio is to be used to request overtaking. A booster system is used to contact race control if needed, and a sixty second mike time-out is used to prevent jamming. The course is unannounced and the teams are given route books each evening to give navigators a few hours' preparation. The shortest day was 231 miles and the longest 463 miles Clive Skilton drove at a nine day disciplined pace over mountains, desert, salt flats, sand dunes, forest, rocks and flooded trails. Temperatures varied from 106 degree tropical north to chilly 38 degrees south in Australia's winter. The biggest obstacle was overcoming nerves when navigator calls "Flat out no obstacles for fifteen kilometres". That's a long way pedal to the metal with a 400 horsepower Mopar Hemi Jeep at about 120 mph driving down a dirt tunnel with a fence line on the left, trees on the right, and the odd kangaroo ready to cross your path! Four time Safari navigator winner Gordon Trigg was perfect throughout the event never getting the team lost and incurring no penalties. The Mopar Hemi Jeep Grand Cherokee prepared by Gavin Skilton at California Race & Rally performed flawlessly with only regular evening service by Australian Colin Hunters's host team Extreme Motorsport and US Jeepspeed Champion Jason LaFortune. The Jeep was stock except for King Racing shocks, re-mapped ECU, Borla Exhaust, BFGoodrich All Terrain tires, Soltek HIDlights, additional twenty six gallon full cell, extra skid plates and full rally safety equipment by Temper Mental Racing. The chrome moly roll cage assembly and other fab work was done by Brandon Briscoe of Twisted Tin. This a prestigious win for the American Jeep team who hope to return in 2008. Editor's note: Thanks to Brian Taylor for passing this on. ©Eurodragster.com Wright wakes up the BMW crowd. 24th September: Matthew Wright of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Gleeson Wright Security and Bill Felstead of Fester Race Cars gave two thousand BMW fans a high-volume introduction to drag racing yesterday when Matthew made his first pass in his Who Dares Wins Fuel Altered at Santa Pod Raceway yesterday. "We got the car there on a trailer borrowed from Jeff Thurston - thanks Jeff", Matt told Eurodragster.com. "We spent Saturday chasing a problem and eventually ran out of fuel. We went home on Saturday evening and Martin Hill kindly let us leave the car in his pit. "We were pitted next to John Everitt and he was an absolute star. We would never have run without him. We borrowed John's crew member Chris because there was only Bill and I there to work on the altered. We fired it up on methanol and it didn't sound right. Chris from the Fireforce team worked out that the transformer was arcing off the chassis and in fact had burnt its way through an inch of rubber insulation. "Bill sorted out a mounting for the transformer and then we started it up and put it on nitro and it sounded like the end of the world. We barked it a couple of times and woke up two thousand BMW owners! We did twelve gallons of fuel messing about but then we were finally ready to go at about three o'clock yesterday afternoon. Ian Marshall and each and every one of the Santa Pod Raceway crew went out of their way to help to make sure that we could put in a run, I am very grateful to them for their help. Kirstie Tramm towed me down - that girl knows how to tow an altered - and Bill was standing on the headers holding the Topolino body up. ©Eurodragster.com "First drama - I had no arm restraints. Again John Everitt came to the rescue. The second drama was that Bill forgot the parachute pin so he had to borrow a bike from Richard of the Fireforce team and go back to the pits and get it. The third drama was when Bill dropped the body and it wouldn't fit around the magneto. We got a hacksaw and some pliers from the Santa Pod crew and made some quick adjustments. I was strapped in all that time and it got a bit hot. "Finally we were ready to go at about 4:45. John Everitt gave me some pointers about driving an altered, and Bill told me what he wanted me to do. We started it up, after about five seconds I put it on nitro and woke up the whole of Santa Pod! The car didn't move forward so I blipped the throttle to make it move. I blippd it again in the water box to wet the tyres and then Bill told me to do the burnout. I went to sixty feet, stopped and put it into reverse - John Everitt's Crew Chief saw me back. The fuel overflow put some fuel onto the track but the Santa Pod crew leapt into action and cleaned it up so that I didn't have to shut off. The lights dropped, the car rolled forward a bit and then I mashed it and it struck the tyres instantly. I idled it to the eighth and then pulled over and shut off. Bill came running after me and my first question was "Did I embarrass anyone?" and he said "No!". "The car sounds fierce but you have to remember that it's got a small blower, small pump and small mag - it's all VRA legal. I didn't sleep last night but I can't wait for this weekend! The car is called Who Dares Wins and believe me we will be daring. We will be running in memory of Pat Ginn. "I'd like to thank Bill for rebuilding the car, he has been a star, and I can't thank John Everitt and his team enough. And well done to Billy Everitt on getting his licence before I did! "Finally contact Bill Felstead if you would like a Topolino respray for £28.50, including stickers. You can have any colour you like so long as it's drab olive." Tracing the highs and lows. 24th September: UK Supertwin Gas racer Chris Mott could certainly tell you all about the highs and lows of drag racing after the season he has had. But it's starting to come together nicely with several PBs including a 9.11 at the Extreme Performance Bike weekend with more to come: During the summer break we had a chance to fit our new high-flow race heads, dyno the bike and get it all set up in time for the Open Sport Nationals at SCR. First run and at about three-quarter track the motor goes flat, get the bike back to the pits and have a look...not again! It's snapped another exhaust valve! We pulled the motor out on Saturday night and retired to the bar for a couple of pints, then went back to the pits and stripped the motor down, thanks to Jonesy and Neil for their help. Then I made a to Gavin, who was coming up to watch on Sunday, and asked him to collect my stock heads from home and bring them with him. He arrived with the heads on Sunday morning, we rebuilt the motor and got it back in the bike in time for the final qualifier on Sunday .We got the pass in but at the end of the run I noticed that the engine was still not well and was breathing really heavily. We decided to limp through eliminations and see what we could salvage. We got through the first round and went out in the semis. When we got the engine stripped after the weekend we noticed more damage than first thought, and found that the front piston was damaged, pinching the piston ring and causing the build up of pressure in the engine. A quick phone call to the US and we manage to locate a second-hand piston of the correct size, the phone call was on the Wednesday and we received the piston on the Friday morning, big thanks to Paul Diener of Eagle Harley for the prompt service. ©Eurodragster.com We rebuilt the engine again, this was the third rebuild in eleven passes! As we were putting it back together Gavin noticed that the cases were cracked! What else can go wrong? A quick phone call to Dave Branch and by the following afternoon he had the cases welded up - thanks Dave - and by midnight of that day the motor was running again. We were now ready for the Extreme Bike weekend at the Pod, second qualifier and a new PB 9.11/143.71, and this was with the stock heads, fantastic! The next pass, and the bike was really on a flyer again but just before the finish line the motor stopped dead. I pulled in the clutch and coasted off the track, devastated thinking the motor must have let go again, towed back to the pits and thought "That's the end of it". We decided to try to start the motor in the pits to asses the damage and as I bent down to plug in the battery I noticed that the wire had come off the air shift kill valve, I plugged it back in and the bike fired up again! Highs and lows or what! On Sunday I had a bye in the first round, into the semis and the bike pulled hard left as I launched, I tried to get it back but it was heading for the wall and I had to back off. I lost the race, and also my points lead. So we head into the final round at the Pod with it all to play for, whoever wins the race wins the Championship! All three classes of the SuperTwins are wide open, with three people able to take the Championships in ET, Gas and Fuel. It'ts going to be exciting and the closest the Championships have been for years! A few quick thank yous for their continued help: to Keith Baker at Classic Cycle Works for the paint and support, Steve at Motorshack for the fuel, Nick and Larry at PDQ for their help with the dyno, Yvonne, Gavin and Tracey for all their hard work and support, and all the guys and girls at www.supertwins.co.uk. Swift snippets. 24th September: With the support of Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service UK Pro ET racer Antony Wilkins will be offering fire safety advice at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend. "I will especially be promoting the camper van / caravan aspect", says Butch. "If you come and see me I can advise you accordingly and supply you with fire safety leaflets and a free smoke alarm. These can be used in the home as well as campers etc. They have a silence button, handy for those burnt sausages, and also contain a ten-year battery which you can't take out for your toys. If you have any concerns or just want a chat please come down to the Pro ET pits and see us - we don't bite. Good luck to Pro ETers and let's have some fun." ©Eurodragster.com Just as we went to post this update your News Editor was asked to join the commentary team at this weekend's UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. Will he make more cock-ups than a dog in a forest? Keep your ears open for the PA or tune into Nitro FM on 96.2. If racers would like to send commentators' notes then please drop a line to [email protected]. Wheels up and into the nines. 23rd September: Vicky Higham of Never Again Racing clocked her first nine-second pass in her 1968 Nova at last weekend's NSRA Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway and tells us that it felt amazing: It was my first weekend of racing without my Crew Chief Dave Evans. I was nervous at first as the car can be high maintenance - when there are issues there is a lot to do. I really needed to concentrate on the passes ahead, not on all the checks the car needs, so it was quite an energetic atmosphere among a fresh crew that consisted of my friends Nancy Pritchard, Sonia Wilde, Colin Young, Vince and Seb Gibbs and Andy Frost. The first pass on Saturday morning was a good 10.1 on a very loose track. On the second pass I pushed the launch on the car harder and did a two-foot wheelstand. The car quickly got out of shape and I had to back off twice to avoid crossing lanes and only ran a 10.8, but I got my fastest ever sixty foot time at 1.43 seconds. ©Eurodragster.com Suspension adjustments were made for the third pass and we queued in the pair up lanes for over an hour in the baking sun. There was some messing about on the start line and it took so long that the engine got to 220 degrees and we had a water leak, there was a serious issue with overheating and I returned the car to the pits without completing the pass. Nancy and I worked until 10.30 pm on the engine so that we would be ready for racing on Sunday. Andy Frost arrived on Sunday morning to take me through the process with the nitrous kit, but after an inspection of the track he advised against switching on the nitrous as the track was not good enough. Also after the wheelstand on the Saturday we were also concerned that with the nitrous I would do a six foot wheelie and come back down breaking the front suspension. So this may need to be plumbed to a button for future passes. I did a test pass at a 10.0 seconds Because the meet was so busy the second pass was likely the last one of the day, and the year. With a few choice words from Andy Frost about my launching technique I made a few alterations to the start line process. I launched the car hard and the car was fighting for traction all the way, it was a squirrelly pass but I didn't take my foot off the gas at all. A 9.97 pass at 135 mph. No nitrous! A triumphant achievement and I cannot take this beaming smile off my face. I got the nine I wanted and still have not switched on the gas. A huge thank you to the new crew, I could not have done it without you. One last shot at Pro ET booty. 23rd September: The UK's Pro ET racers will be able to shoot for a trophy, £100 cash, and vouchers for top qualifier at next weekend's UK National Finals, the last Pro ET Sponsorship scheme round of 2007, writes Co-ordinator Carl Burton. "Thanks go to sponsors Hauser Race Cars, Mer Car Polish, Black Bear Harley Davidson, WASP, Allyjax, Inkwell Printing, Toxico Clothing, A1 Motor Stores, Penn Autos, Real Steel, Motorshack, Sandy Scooters, Metamorphosis Finance who have given prizes, vouchers, trophies, polish, T-Shirts and made this a great fourth year", says Carl. "With other fund raising within the Pro ET camp such as the live group, raffle and extra donations from our sponsors we are looking forward to the first Pro ET Christmas bash in November. ©Eurodragster.com "Also a big thank you to all the other racers who have used our sponsors for hero cards, parts, T-Shirts etc and gave us a mention. It all helps. Thanks also to Eurodragster.com (You're welcome - Ed), John Price and all at the track who give the scheme a leg up...we are Pro ET." Swift snippets. 23rd September: Our and everyone else's best wishes to US Fuel FC legend and equally legendary Eurodragster.com interviewee John Force who was reportedly injured in a two-car crash during today's second round of eliminations at the O'Reilly Fall Nationals in Texas. We've got 'em crossed John, come back soon. The post-Extreme Performance Bike Weekend points standings in the 2007 ACU UK Drag Bike Championships are now showing on the King Racing web site at www.kingracing.com. A very Happy 40th Birthday to Santa Pod Raceway timing crew member, statistics anorak extraordinaire, authority on timing matters, good friend and Eurodragster.com Honorary Staff Member Andy Marrs. Andy celebrated his birthday last night with a most enjoyable party and hopefully having got over his hangover is having an equally enjoyable day today. ©Eurodragster.com John Hackney and Steve Warner would like to thank all the staff and marshals for their superb hospitality at the Winternationals at Meca Raceway. "Thank you so much for looking after us all weekend with food, drink and a warm dry place to shelter from the rain and wind", they say. "We look forward to seeing all of you next year." Magazine update. 23rd September: It's a very special issue for American Car World magazine this month because it's the Fiftieth Anniversary collectors' edition, writes Jerry Cookson. As always drag racing features heavily with reports from the Yanks Weekend / Gary's Picnic at Shakespeare County, MMA's Mopar Euronationals at Santa Pod and Round 5 of the Real Steel Street Eliminator from the Bug Jam. This month's Drag Stars features Panther Racing's swoopy 900 horsepower Pontiac Firebird owned and driven by Conrad Stanley and Trevor Graves. With many studio and race shots, the article traces the history of both owners and what's lurking under the hood of their latest Super Gas contender. Show reports come from the NSRA Billing Fun Run, tech looks at tyres for street and strip use plus profiles on a '69 Plymouth Satellite bought on E-Bay and a Big Block Corvette which last appeared at the 1966 Spanish Motor Show. The October issue is available now at all leading high street news stands priced £3.60. Making a welcome return to the magazine stands at American Auto Mags is the September edition of Drag Racer. Inside you'll find an interesting mix of technical subjects that serve the DIY audience and the fans in the stands all at the same time. A total editorial revamp began in 2006 and brings a new, more passionate direction. As such, each story is carefully analysed for merit, whether it's a driver profile or tech related piece. Special features includes a look behind the scenes at Crane Cams, legendary custom icon George Barris reflects upon his drag strip days with the TV Munster Coach, how to start an A/Fuel Dragster and what to do in the Dyno Dial-In. Racer profiles include a visit with the Meer Homes Top Alcohol Funny Car Team and a history teach-in behind Team Tasca headed by Bob Tasca III. The new edition of Full Throttle magazine for Nostalgia, Sportsman and grass roots drag racers, takes you on an events whistle stop tour with the Napa Ignitor Nationals, Nostalgia Nitro Shootout, West Coast Outlaw Pro Mods, and the second chilling stop on the CIFCA's Funny Car event at Tucson. Profiles includes Arnold Birky's family album from a humble chassis builder and racer in the fifties to a present day nitro slingshot dragster owner, a look at JR Todd's fifth win on the NHRA tour and race car graphics with John Martin's Jam Air nitro Funny Car. Both editions are now available from American Auto Mags or by calling Graham or Sue on 01606 558252. In its usual down to earth style, Shaun Wilson's Hot Rod Gazette casts an expert eye over Carl Jackson's American imported '57 Tri-Chevy, reports from the Rockabilly Rave, NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals, and the Riverside Cruise plus race reports from three rounds of the magazine's in-house race series the National Street Car Challenge. ©Eurodragster.com The Legend of many runs. 23rd September: Adam Charnley knew that he had a few frantic weeks in front of him with the pre-FIA European Finals test weekend, the FIA European Finals, and the NSRA Hot Rod Drags, two of which gave him the chance to run his Talon Legend on the track. "The pre-European Finals RWYB went well and I was finally getting used to the new slicks and the clutch balance on the car", says Adam. "Anyone who's driven a Legend knows that you can hardly feel the bite on the clutch so it makes launching difficult to get perfect. By the end of the day I was setting personal best sixty and three hundred and thirty foot times and having great fun getting sideways off the start line! The quarter mile times were 0.3 seconds off our best because of a headwind. "Onto the European Finals, and although I wasn't racing I was helping out a few teams including Turbo and the new Formula Tanker Rental guys who had an amazing first weekend in Pro ET, qualifying well and going a couple of rounds before getting knocked out, the guys should feel proud of what they did in what I think is the toughest class in drag racing today. "Then came the Hot Rod Drags...what a blast! I was on double duties this weekend, spotting and driving my own car. Saturday wasn't without its problems, smashing some fibreglass on the body when I tried to take the return road too sharply and hit a pothole at some speed...oops, driver error! After fixing the body I went on to set a new PB at 13.26 seconds, a tenth under our old PB, then the number four exhaust popped off the collector when I missed a gear so I called it a day before returning to spotting duties for the NFAA, Outlaw Anglias and Supercharged Outlaws. Sunday was the best days racing I've ever had, setting no less than twelve PB ETs and eleven PB speeds during the day as well as getting our sixty foot time to a 1.88. We ended the day on a 13.03/103.28, quite amazing really when I thought I'd only get into the fourteens at the start of the year and people were telling me it was impossible to hit 100 mph in a Legend while its still in oval trim with oval gearing etc. ©Eurodragster.com "There should be some developments on the cards over the winter including an air shifter and possibly a nitrous kit. Also there is the possibility of getting a fully MSA-legal chassis so that we can race in Sportsman ET or Pro ET, however this is only in the planning stage. "I would like to send out a huge Thank You on behalf of drivers at Shakespeare County who were amazed how many runs they got this weekend. I had twenty one in all over the two days, an amazing testament to the organisers and marshals for keeping things running smoothly. If anyone has any photos or videos of my car at the pre-European Finals RWYB or Hot Rod Drags, I would love to see them, please contact me at [email protected]." PMR offer Calibra seat. 23rd September: Paul Marston has been in touch to invite a driver with funding or a sponsorship package in place to drive Paul Marston Racing's Super Modified Vauxhall Calibra in 2008: After discussing the Calibra and Super Modified with the whole PMR team, we felt that this was an exciting opportunity to offer a driver. The response to the call for new naturally-aspirated Super Modified teams with the prospective rule changes is exciting and has stimulated interest without a doubt. It is about time Super Modified became recognised as the great class it is in its own right and not just looked upon as a feeder class or stepping stone for the lucky few who are rich enough to afford Pro Modified from their own pocket. PMR would supply full crew, logistics support and develop the performance into a hopefully competitive package. We already enjoy support from Drag Race Engineering (020 8597 9484) and CTM Performance and Machine (020 8592 1180), without their help and support we would not be able to offer this package, it really will be a joint effort. There are options for sponsors to have the Calibra painted in their colours, crew uniforms, etc. There is also the exposure offered by the 2007 TV package which will hopefully continue in 2008. If you are interested then please contact us and share your ideas and proposals - the sooner we know where we are going the quicker we can start to put the foundations into place. Contact us at [email protected], call me on 07831 650230, or come to see us in the pits at the UK National Finals at Santa Pod next weekend. Paul Marston Racing are also pleased to announce that their Geddex Products Inc order has finally arrived and that it will again be available form our trailer at all UK National Events. Bought direct from manufacturer, so competitively priced for the Sportsman racer, Geddex Products Inc produce Dial-In which is available in white, yellow and orange, wipes off easy, is non scratch and dries quickly. Shoe polish is for your shoes, Dial-in is for your windows, £7 each; Wheels-Up Wheelie Bar Marker, also available in white, yellow and orange, again quick drying. Get accurate marks every time, £7 each; Burnout Gard, easy spray application, protects painted surfaces from burnout rubber, enables the rubber to be easily removed with a sponge and water, this stuff just flat out works! £10 each; a new product now available is Slick-Air, compressed air in a handy can for those last minute staging lane top-ups. Get air any time, anywhere, very useful, £9 each. For advance orders either E-Mail us at [email protected] and we will bring them to the track, or call in at Drag Race Engineering. ©Eurodragster.com UK National Finals update. 22nd September: Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall has been in touch with the latest information for racers regarding next weekend's UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. First up is Version 2 of the official entry list, which you can view by clicking here. Race Director for this event Robin Shone has produced the provisional running orders for both Saturday and Sunday: Click here for Saturday's running order Click here for Sunday's running order Please note that these running orders are provisional and are subject to change due to weather or track conditions or for any other reason deemed necessary by race officials. ©Eurodragster.com Following the upgrade of SPR's timing system earlier this season, as from next weekend qualifying results will now stand to the ten thousandth of a second, or four decimal places, in all classes including Junior Dragster Reaction Time qualifying. Should two or more results still remain identical then the first to post the time will receive the better qualifying position as per current regulations. This rule will only apply where timing systems can provide four decimal places and will revert to three decimal places if applicable to other timing systems. Finally, Santa Pod Raceway's gates open at 3:00 pm next Friday, 28th September. If you have any queries about the UK National Finals then please contact Paula at [email protected] or call 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625). UK, SPRC Championship points updated. 22nd September: Many thanks to Yvonne Tramm and our very own Simon for forwarding the standings in the UK National Drag Racing Championships after the FIA European Finals and Extreme Performance Bike Weekend. Thanks also to Yvonne for forwarding us the post-FIA European Finals and Extreme Performance Bike Weekend standings in the Santa Pod Racers Club Championships. ©Eurodragster.com You can see both sets of points on our Simpson Race Products-sponsored points standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. A farmer speaks... 22nd September: The harvest is in and the potatoes dug, but the new style combined harvester, in the shape of the She Devil Racing Top Methanol Funny Car, didn't work as well as expected says driver Steph Milam who took a trip into the field at the end of the track at the FIA European Finals: What can we say? In with a bang out with a bang. At Easter we made some good runs culminating with a Personal Best of 6.12, but pitched a rod out in the traps with a massive bang and fire. The new combination was good and the overhauled blower was much better than expected. ©Eurodragster.com At the FIA Main Event we had another a fresh short motor and ran 6.30 off the trailer and followed up with a 6.19. Back in the hunt and qualified fifth, but then rain stopped play. And so to the FIA European Finals, a checkout pass of 7.06 and the second pass a 6.37, great we are back on track. On the third pass a big bang again, this time the blower came off the manifold. Sometimes the harder you try the worse it gets. A lot of you will have seen our blower after the explosion. On speaking to PSI they said that they have only had four screw blower failures and it only occurs on the early models when the rotor bolt fails. We would like to thank Torco Oils, Proseal, Carbon X and Nimbus Motorsport for their continued support. Thank you also to all the fans and racers who stopped by to give us support and word of encouragement over the year and finally our crew whose help we could not do without. Thanks guys and girls. Swift snippets. 22nd September: Further to the UK National Finals update above, next week's two Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards will run to three decimal places because they have done so all season and because the event is the last of the 2007 Perfect Awards Scheme. Lee, Charlie and all at Team Lawbreakers have asked us to send their very best wishes to UK Super Street Bike racer Paul Hambidge who is to be married to Tina at Swindon Register Office today. No sooner said than done guys, and our own best wishes to Paul and Tina too. ©Eurodragster.com A very Happy Birthday for yesterday to Santa Pod Raceway's Chief Timekeeper and Honorary Eurodragster.com Staff Member Steve Horn. Hope you had a great day Steve. Ian Turburville has been in touch with a quick reminder that he will be racing rather than selling at next week's UK National Finals so anyone needing Simpson and other gear should let him know in advance. "There is a list of discounted helmets, shirts, gloves, shoes etc. on my web site at www.turboville.co.uk/turbo-7/classifieds.htm, says Turbo. "See you all there, pray for good weather!" If you're attending the UK National Finals next week and fancy a good meal then don't forget that Eurodragster.com News sponsor The Curry Garden is a few minutes away in Rushden, and that given a large enough order they will deliver to Santa Pod Raceway. Either way tell them Eurodragster.com sent you. You can find out more on the restaurant's official web site at www.thecurrygarden.co.uk or call 01933 314121 / 01933 359581. Shakespeare County saves the 10K. 22nd September: The Cancer Research UK 10K run planned for West Midlands Ragley Hall tomorrow (Sunday) has been moved at the eleventh hour to Shakespeare County Raceway due to concerns over the current foot and mouth outbreaks in the area. The event was moved after estate managers at Ragley Hall were advised by the National Farmers Union not to allow runners access to fields throughout the estate due to the risks of spreading foot and mouth disease. Cancer Research UK fully supported that decision. Ragley Hall Chief Executive Alan Granger, said "It is with great regret that Ragley has asked Cancer Research UK to find an alternative location for their autumn 10K run this year. Our rural route includes a number of fields that are grazed with sheep and cattle and due to the current foot and mouth restrictions, we cannot move them. We thank the venue at Long Marston for providing an alternative route at such short notice and hope that all runners enjoy a wonderful fund-raising day for Cancer Research UK." Cancer Research UK Ragley Hall 10K organiser Paul Montgomery said "We fully understand why the 10K had to be moved but are overjoyed that the popular event could be held after a very welcome offer from Shakespeare County Raceway. The route at Long Marston will start and finish in the grounds of Shakespeare County Raceway, but will also take runners through winding fields and tracks to the Greenway south of Milcote. Novice runners will be happy to hear that it's completely flat!" A spokesperson for Shakespeare County Raceway and Long Marston Airfield said "We're just happy that we can help Cancer Research UK and their supporters this weekend. We are very conscious of how important these fund raising events are especially as it is such a common disease and very close to home for our family. We admire all those taking part in the run and wish them every success!'' For the most up to date information about the event visit www.cancerresearchuk10.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Notice: Caravans at SCR. 22nd September: Also on the subject of Shakespeare County Raceway, Julie Willcox has asked us to remind racers that following the reminder issued at the Open Sport Nationals in August SCR would like help in idenifying the owners of a very large collection of mostly old and unused caravans now sited at the back of the airfield. If you are the owner of one of these caravans then please could confirm it at the next available opportunity with Sue Davis in the Pit Office, by telephoning the office on 01789 720180, or by E-Mailing [email protected]. Any caravans not claimed by the end of the October may well be disposed of in the near future. Caravans which are identified will be put into a more secure area but, but please note that SCR cannot be held responsible in any way for their safety. ©Eurodragster.com FIA European Finals Pro ET report. 22nd September: Many thanks to UK Pro ET racer Carla Pittau for forwarding us a report of the Pro ET action at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway: The Euro part of the Europan Finals was certainly emphasised in Pro ET: not only did we welcome back several of the Dutch teams who endured the rain with us at the Main Event - Paul Vrind and Peter Stevens among others - but a couple more entered the race and enjoyed the good weather, the many qualifying rounds and the excellent atmosphere. The unstoppable Bostic (Anders Envall) also came back from Sweden to race with us and his Crew Chief Karl Ellwein came especially from the USA to tune the big bad black Impala, making the field feel truly international. Now here's a candidate for the Pro ET award of Crew Chief of the year, can you imagine more dedication than that? The Pro ET field suffered early breakages which left it decimated, with only thirty four cars making it as far as putting in any qualifying runs at all, down from forty five entrants, and further problems leaving thirty one cars managing to get to the first round. Among the unfortunate were Vic Amato who left the track on Press Day, Jon Hollingworth who broke at the first qualifier and Jon Turner who after extensive engine damage still managed to race his pick-up in Sportsman ET but had to abandon the quest for Pro ET altogether. Bostic himself suffered transmission failure (there's got to be a little drama or he would probably be bored) as soon as he engaged the transbrake, however the Blackout team quickly whipped up a spare transmission and Bostic could still race, albeit leaving on a footbrake. Going rounds or not many racers had a really good time anyway, including Mark Bishop in the Vegas Hustler Topolino, who despite going out in the first round against Carl Burton due to problems with carburation was happy with making his first ten second run, 10.9831 to be precise. Father and son were running in Pro ET and Kim Bishop in the grey Willys also had a good time, launching with wild wheelies and loving it but finding it a bit difficult to dial the car in. Other first round casualties included Liz Malcolm in the pretty Jus'4 Fun dragster, who despite inconsistent qualifying runs had her best sixty foo ttime and again dipped into the 10.80s. Liz lost to event winner Charlie Chivers in the unforgiving Taxi Express Capri with a breakout despite the better light. Visiting Wild Bunch racers Sarah and Darryl Howells were also out in the first round but both had reason to smile, with Darryl running his first nine second pass and Sarah setting best ET of the meeting. Dutch racer Peter “Sparky” Stevens (thanks for the tips on making billet aluminium brackets!) at the wheel of the Wishbone 68 Firebird went out to compatriot Ful Lievaart in the silver Casanova Chevrolet Nova, but still had a great time: he qualified fourth two thousandths off his dial-in and very much enjoyed the nine qualifiers and the good weather. The team kept chasing an elusive first ten-second run which unfortunately did not come, so he will be using nitrous next time and hopes this will throw in a few wheelies too! Mike Lacey in the Metamorphosis Camaro kept chasing problems with carburetion and chassis tune-up and went out in a breakout battle to an unforgiving Dan Page in the Panic Firebird, who didn't panic and responded to Mike's 0.033 reaction with a tree nailing 0.016 and managed to breakout the least. Mick Howling was forced to a change of ride due to Grumpy's second engine failure and made it to the race as alternate, meeting the big black Impala in the first round. Bostic was quick to launch the beast with a 0.014 RT to Mick's 0.029 and emerged victorious after Mick's Vega took too much stripe and broke out by a couple of hundredths. The Blackout Impala then suffered premature acceleration against Dave Cherret's Dark Revenger Model A in the second round. Dave pulled a 0.01 out of the bag and topped it with a 10.01 on a 10.00 dial-in for good measure but shaved the tree a tad too close in the quarter finals where he lost to Santa Pod's fastest taxi. SPRC Championship leader Keith Herbert is throwing all his pillows and duvets out of the Mr Furyous Plymouth, as he was out in the second round after a self-confessed long snooze, apparently only getting on his way after Ian Marshall tapped his roof and woke him up with a start. His little nap cost him the race and Ian Brown went forward to the quarters in the Thatadoo Camaro. We personally know all about napping on the start line, as Yours Truly did the same in the second round against Paul Baynton's Capricious Capri, causing a similar roof tapping. For good measure however the Heaven & Hell Camaro was also treated to a late 1-2 shift, waking up the rev-limiter and losing considerable ET as well, so that Paul's 0.010 light wasn't even needed to secure the win. The only consolation prize was going out # with a bang by pulling a big wheelie, one of many but perhaps the highest and longest. Rookie Simon Rowland in the E-Hell dragster was doing rather well and was only stopped by his breakout against event winner Charlie Chivers despite pulling a good light. He looks extremely promising and very professional in the whole operation. Number one qualifier Carl Burton in the English Rose Sierra fell victim to Brian Huxley's '32 roadster in the second round in a close race which saw Brian advance to the third round where he trailered Dan Page's Firebird. Brian went out to Charlie Chivers in the semis despite his better light. Neil Hunter in the bright red 7 Year Itch Capri was proving in top form despite early mechanical woes, and after qualifying twenty eighth he still got to the semis. With a double snooze in the first round against Gino Bernadine where he was lucky to wake up first he proceeded to defeat Ful Lievaart with a fully awake 0.007 RT, then going on to deal with Chris Hodgkins with a 0.02 but being beaten by pigeonmeister Paul Baynton in the semi finals. Neil ran his best sixty foot time and enjoyed taking the mickey out of everyone in his inimitable way. Chris's small block Chevy motivated silver dragster got there by defeating Sarah Howells in the first round and a red lighting Nicky Frost in the second, making it to the final eight cars after a very consistent string of runs which was stopped by a spluttering of the small block on the start line when he got on the transbrake in the quarter finals. The semis saw three Capris line up for battle: the yellow taxi, the red winder upper and the capricious blue pigeon loft, and they all suspiciously eyed the black '32. As it happened the winder upper got a light the same colour as the car, giving the pigeon loft the win, whilst the black '32 slowed to a 10.68 on a losing 10.55 despite the better RT, allowing the yellow taxi to go through to the finals. The two finalists qualified numbers two and three and ran very consistently throughout the meeting, with Paul's pigeon also ensuring mostly excellent lights. An all Capri final where the blue pigeon loft could have secured a back to back victory and got even further ahead of everyone in the points battle. Alas it wasn't to be, as here's when Paul's pigeon was seen packing his bags, a -0.015 light deciding the outcome on the start line, with Charlie's taxi getting the European Finals cup. So the fight is still on for the top five positions and the National Finals will decide all, although Paul Baynton seems to be rather well entrenched in number one position, so unless we manage to deliver a free complimentary meal - say a special recipe Heaven & Hell curry or something, or a pigeon pie - to the Capricious camp just before the race, he seems rather set to earn the triple crown in 2007. Place your bets now! ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 22nd September: In the latest entry in his exclusive Racer Blog, Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer Lex Joon recounts a very reflects on his weekend at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. You can read Lex's Blog by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blog link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Shakespeare County Raceway has a very tidy-looking refettled web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk. The new site features calendar, downloads, news and information, gallery, history and much more. Big Stanley Mellström has updated his web site with pictures from the recent Winternationals at Malmö's Meca Raceway. You can check out Stan's pictures at www.bigstan.se. ©Eurodragster.com This week's issue of Drag, Rod and Classic Review magazine features an exclusive update on the progress of the Mondello Matsubara Fiat Fuel Altered rebuild, which is now nearing completion, and an in-progress report on Keith Baker's Hemi-powered Roadster. Check it out at www.drcreview.com. Proposed Super Mod rule changes. 21st September: Following on from the press release by Paul Marston Racing on Friday of last week, the Super Modified Racers Association would like to thank PMR for continuing to generate interest and ink for the class and offers the information below to help clarify a couple of points for all interested parties: An informal meeting was held during the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway to discuss the notion of flexing the weight breaks for the normally aspirated sector of the class, in an attempt to make the class a more attractive proposition, in terms of competitiveness, for both those racers already competing as well as those considering entering the class. The meeting was attended by many current racers as well as the class technical advisors Rob Loaring and Nick Davies. It was accepted that, as a result of substantially fewer racers choosing this particular route since the class' inception, less data has been compiled for normally aspirated cars than for those using nitrous oxide and hence an optimal combination is less likely to have been found. The rule-making process for SuMo comprises the presentation and recommendation to the MSA Drag Racing Sub-Committee of the consensus view of SuMo members from the Annual General Meeting. It was proposed that the AGM be brought forward to October in order to clarify rule change proposals early, and that racers should consider the benefits of a weight-break relaxation of 0.2 lbs / cubic inch of engine capacity for normally aspirated, production headed cars running torque converters; to be debated and possibly ratified at the AGM. The apportionment of the 0.2 lbs / ci between torque converters and normal aspiration was not decided and will not be before debate at the AGM. ©Eurodragster.com In addition to the rule changes above it is also proposed to discuss a possible rule change to the current wheelbase limits. This will take the form of an additional limit of maximum of 125 inches for pick up trucks whilst the car limit remains at 115 inches. As has happened in the past, in particular to the nitrous combinations, any change made to the rules will be considered in the light of actual data and, should the relaxation of any weight-break prove, with hindsight, to have been excessive, it will be modified the following season. This years AGM will be held at 2.00 pm on Saturday 27th October at the Hind Hotel, Wellingborough and all interested parties are welcome to attend and share their views and opinions. It is also quite possible that an informal evening will follow on from the AGM so if anyone cannot make the meeting there will be plenty of time to come along and chat to like minded individuals and get the latest up to date information "Straight from the horse's mouth" as it were; more details on this will be published at a later date. If anyone would like to ask specific questions about anything Super Modified please feel free to email Andy Kirk directly on [email protected]. A great loss. 21st September: UK Real Steel Street Eliminator racer Ron Haslett has been in touch to offer a fond farewell to his good friend Dave Read who unfortunately lost a short battle with cancer. "Dave helped me out a lot with my first Cortina and the Estate", says Ron. "At his request we got together with a few members of his local club and had a couple of American car to follow the funeral cars to the ceremony. Dave asked me to get his Buick Riviera going again, with the help of my crew we went one better and got it to lead the cars into the crematorium (right, click on picture for large version). "Dave's loss has given us a bit more drive to keep up our fund raising for Macmillan and to also get back out there with the boys and girls of Street Eliminator. We are still looking for financial help via sponsors and other means, but by hook or by crook we are aiming to be out at the first round in 2008." PBs and attrition. 21st September: This year's final Supercharged Outlaws round took place at the NSRA Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway last weekend and Dave McKenzie says that the weekend featured excellent weather, a good turn out of six cars, two drivers running Personal Bests and a fair bit of attrition: Attending this event were Lee Gallimore in the Red Mist altered, Roy Wilding's Hemi Hunter slingshot, Dave McKenzie's Thing 5 altered, Brian Gandy's altered, Frank Griffin's Pop, and Tony Smith's Faster Pussycat altered. Missing from the line-up was Alec Coe who did set off from Ramsgate but had problems with the tow van and had to turn back. The first session on Saturday saw Roy Wilding paired against Lee Gallimore. Both cars put in strong passes. Lee's car stopped in the shutdown area and had to be towed off. Next were Dave McKenzie and Frank Griffin. A couple of storming burnouts, then both cars had to be shut down on the start line due to Lee being stranded in the shutdown area. On the restart it was Dave on a single as Frank had developed an oil leak from the crankshaft seal which would put him out for the rest of the weekend, Dave ran his usual side to side typical altered run resulting in a PB of 9.3 at only 136 mph. Next out was Brian Gandy, nice burnout and on the run the burst panel went and Brian sidelined the car and had to be towed off. Last up, but by no means least, Tony Smith with the Faster Pussycat to put in another checkout pass in this new car. The second session saw Roy Wilding paired with Dave McKenzie. Roy did his burnout first and Dave decided just to do a short burnout, both cars staged and Dave was out in front of Roy at the sixty foot mark. At half track Dave was still in front and on the finish line Roy pipped Dave by a margin of 0.003 seconds to take the win. Dave was none too disappointed though: he had just run his first eight 8.9/155 setting PBs for both ET and speed. Next up were Lee Gallimore and Tony Smith, another good run from Lee and an improving run for Tony he also setting a new PB. Frank and Brian sat out this round. ©Eurodragster.com The first pair out for round three on Sunday were Roy Wilding and Tony Smith. Tony lost drive from his gearbox to leave Roy on a single - another nice pass from Roy. Next up was Brian Gandy, Brian is getting the hang of driving this altered, Brian left on the green but there was a bang at half track. When the car was stripped back at the pits the damage was horrendous - two rods had broken and instead of coming out the side of the block they came up through the valley trashing this engine. The final pair in this session were Lee Gallimore and Dave McKenzie. This would decide the #1 plate for next season and both were up for it. Both cars fired up and sounded strong, Lee into his burnout first. Dave chirped into the water and the engine just cut out, Mark quickly got the battery pack and tried to restart the car but it would not turn over and Lee was signalled to a single run and oh boy what a run Lee was out the box like a rocket and stormed to a new personal best of 7.6/181. Dave would not have lived with that so a deserving win for Lee who will carry the #1 plate next season. Dave received a slap on the wrist from the team when it was realised that the reason the car would not turn over trying to restart was that Dave left it in drive and the inhibitor would not allow the car to start, driver error. "I will not make that mistake again", says Dave. The final session on Sunday saw Lee out on his own and he was going to try a first gear launch - yes he had run 7.6 on a high gear only pass. On the hit the car turned sharp left and Lee was off the throttle and then back on for a nine-second pass to round out an excellent weekend. The Supercharged Outlaws would like to thank the marshals and track crew for all their efforts and for a great track to run on. Next year is looking good for the Supercharged Outlaws with regular fields of eight to ten cars. You can keep up to date with the Outlaws on their new web site at www.supercharged-outlaws.co.uk. Shockwave returns. 21st September: Following a successful time in the USA, Shockwave Fuel Funny Car Crew Chief and co-owner Dave Bryant has returned to the UK with some goodies in his luggage and a national event trophy won with Terry Haddock. Dave and driver and co-owner Gordon Smith are now in discussion with Knut Söderquist about the Fuel FC series which he has proposed for 2008. "We are very grateful to Knut for all his efforts on this front", says Gordon Smith. "We realise that much work has yet to be done but it is now looking very promising for the Funny Cars in the near future. Shockwave Racing are very happy to announce that we intend to take a full part in the forthcoming series and will be planing to do all poss. events in 2008. ©Eurodragster.com "We are still short on some funding for 2008 but we have some very positive associations in the pipeline and we are confident that we will not only have the right funds in place but also some very useful tuning tips which Dave picked up while he was in the US. We hope that drag racing fans across the UK and Europe will support this series and make the Funny Cars the premier attraction wherever we race. "The whole Shockwave team were very disappointed not to have been involved this year, but we had to regroup and we hope that this will make us even stronger in the years to come. We are looking forward to the opportunity to win another Championship. "We will also be looking for one or two new crew members to join our very friendly team, so if there is anyone out there who thinks they can take the pressure and would like the opportunity of joining a long-standing and professional team please contact either myself at [email protected], Dave at [email protected], or contact us through our web site at www.shockwavedragracing.com. Some special help. 21st September: Despite the busy run into the end of season culminating in what promises to be an extremely exciting UK National Finals at Santa Pod, UK Super Gas and Junior Modified Dragster team Panther Racing UK were able to spend some quality time with the very special people at the Thorpe Life Skills Centre in Knuston Spinney, Northants over the last weekend. Some of the crew and the bright red Firebird were to be the main attraction at the facility's first summer fete. The paying public turned up and the weather was kind - what is it they say? "The sun always shines on the righteous". Crew Chief Trevor Graves, Team PR Wayne Corbitt and team assistants Emma and Ann were very happy to hand over a cheque to the organisation's charity, the Friends and Family of Thorpe Life (right, click on picture for large version). General Manager of the facility Cathy O'Sullivan and Head of the Charity Nigel Redden were pleased to receive the much needed funds and gave a heartfelt thanks to all the team. "The team would like to take the opportunity to offer our personal and sincerest thanks to the fans at the track for their donations, Jerry Cookson of Shakespeare County Raceway and Caroline Day at Santa Pod for letting us collect the cash, and our team sponsors for their contributions - either financially or with goods for auction or raffle, particularly the guys and girls at Teng Tools", said Wayne Corbitt. "All in all, a worthwhile cause, a good day was had by all and we're pleased to have been there for our very good friends at Thorpe Life", added Trevor Graves. The event also managed to secure some coverage in the Kettering / Northants Evening Telegraph promoting the facility, the team and the excitement drag racing provides...hopefully there will be a few converts to the sport as a consequence. ©Eurodragster.com Swift snippets. 21st September: Adam Gleadow tells us that UK Super Pro ET team Time Machine Racing urgently need a Big Block Chevy two bolt front main cap. "We can collect from anywhere in the UK at the weekend", says Adam. "You can contact me by E-Mail at [email protected] or call Bob on 07920 237319. A very Happy Birthday to Sharon Norris of Santa Pod Raceway's timing crew. Hope you have a good day Sharon. ©Eurodragster.com Editor's note: We've still got a small backlog of news which we will clear over the weekend. Stay tuned for the FIA European Finals Pro ET report, pieces from Vicky Higham, Adam Charnley, Paul Marston Racing and more, and keep those news items coming to [email protected]. Who's the quickest? 20th September: To have the quickest hot rod at the Hot Rod Drags is a pretty special prize. To see the massive improvement in performance of the Chaos Fuel Altered over the last two Nostalgia Fuel Altereds Association events has made Lawrie Gatehouse a more than pleased man. "We've had tuning assistance from Dave Benjamin in the States where the Donovan is mainly used in Nostalgia Front Engine Dragsters, with on site final decisions by the collaboration of John Wright and Tony Pearson, there's well over 100 years tuning experience between them!" said Lawrie. "All credit also to the crew who have come together over the last two seasons: Sean, Danny, H, Lee, Lesley and Sally." When Gary Page got out of Chaos after his brief stand-in driving duties, his words were "That'll p*ss a six" and sure enough at the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare John Wright pedalled the car through tyre shake to a 6.745/218mph - claiming the fastest run since the Motorsports Association rules have applied to the class. This past weekend at the Hot Rod Drags Chaos ran the quickest-ever pass at 6.335/189, the lower speed due to an early lift following a note change in the engine. John Wright said "We've made really good progress since Easter on fewer runs than we would have liked and we hope that will continue at the UK National Finals at Santa Pod next week. The car carried the front wheels for a long way out on that run and the shake wasn't enough to lift. She got a bit cosy with the Armco but was coming round when the engine gave me a bad vibe at about 1000 feet and I thought that's good enough for this run. The pull was continuous until that point." Ollie Burn was over the moon and his decades long dedication to the Donovan is really paying off with good performances from The Mob as well as Chaos. Tony Betts is also up for the challenge of who, after the final round in the NFAA Championship, will be able to take home the quickest and fastest honours - bring it on! ©Eurodragster.com So, 200 is a big deal. 20th September: Luke Bennett of fellow NFAA team Bennett Racing says that the team's weekend turned out to be one to remember, but nearly turned into one of their worst: On the first run out the lorry car was set up safe and was very fat, and we later found out that it ran on six cylinders as two of the leads were spilt and shorting out under load, so we were fairly happy with a 7.12. The second run was a weird one. The car was set up for a six, sounded very strong, launched very hard, think the 1.05 60 foot was back wheels, as the fronts were in the air - in fact too much - dad had to short shift into second to try and bring it down. The wheels stayed in the air so he had to pedal it, then went to shift into third but was already in third, he must have hit it by mistake during the wheelie. It ran a 7.10 though, so we were happy but wanted that six. Next day, all calm and laid back, the car ready. We fired the car, all was good and it sounded strong but then decided to blow out the gasket between the blower and manifold. We had about half hour to change it, which we did, the blower and all fuel lines etc done and sorted in fifteen minutes, body and wing on and we were ready to run. I was a little uptight to say that least, I like looking at our car but not at its side from the start line at 900 feet. The lane was very slippery and the car was everywhere. Once I knew that the car and the old man were safe and straight, I let rip to all on the start line. I'm sorry about that but my dad is in car and I was a tad annoyed. I don't even know what time it ran just glad to see it right side up. ©Eurodragster.com In between rounds we had to sort an oil leak in the valley, and brother Adam got a lot of superglue in his eye - he was pressing a rubber gasket into the head and it found a gap and squashed out from gasket and into his eye - ouch, he did the right but painful thing and pulled his eyelid up as it had stuck to the bottom already, then straight away dad doused him with lots of water and they were off to the Medical Centre. This left me to fit the engine up and get ready. Dad came back, as I thought he would, wanting to leave the last round and go. I said "It's down to Adam, if he wants to run we will, if not we're off". He came back with his eye very red and painful but he was OK so we finished off for the run. Then to the last run, the car was set up for a six for the last three runs so I was hoping the track would hold for this one. We chose the right hand lane instead and it seemed to work. The car left hard, shook in top of first and second, once into third it settled nicely and I knew it was a six. Those who know me know I have always said 200 mph didn't bother me...well I take it all back as seeing a 6.90 at 200.71 on the board was excellent, I was very happy. We were the only car there to run 200+. Thanks to all the racers, fans, marshals and everyone else eho congratulated us on way down there. Also a big thank you to Jayne Bond for the eyewash for brother. Big thanks also to Bruno and crew for battling with the track and fighting the dust all weekend. The next event is the UK National Finals and we can't wait. I badly want a 6.8 there. Swift snippets. 20th September: Finland's Kai Selkämaa tested his ex-Norbert Kutzera Top Fuel Bike at Meca Raceway last weekend, writes Jouni Vesterlund. "Kai was making sixty foot passes", says Jouni. "On Saturday he ran 1.116 and on Sunday 1.093. Kai thinks that everything went well and he got valuable experience of his new bike before the long winter." ©Eurodragster.com Dave Beck tells us that the cash rebate scheme on offer from Racepak Data Systems at www.racepak.com/rebate applies to any eligible Racepak bought through Dave Beck Racing. Book review: Fuel & Guts. 20th September: Many thanks to UK Wild Bunch racer Sarah Howells for sending us a review of a new book about the development of Top Fuel: Now the nights are drawing in and the season is coming to a close there's no better time to grab yourself a good book which reminds you of days gone by. Funnily enough I can recommend just the book! Fuel & Guts – The Birth of Top Fuel Drag Racing is a walk down memory lane through the eyes and words of the men and women who lived it. Author Tom Madigan has collected interviews from notable history makers within the sport and his personal accounts and knowledge of events gives you a real empathy for what it must have been like to be part of the golden era. The author has a list of reputable books to his name and this is a very colourful, descriptive addition focused on the American history of Top Fuel. The book declares very early on that the boundaries of the scope and time frame are limited to the belief that California was the birthplace of drag racing and with that understood the reader is invited on a journey spanning over twenty years. Lighting the 1,000-foot fuse is the title of the foreword written by none other than Dave McClelland. He describes his time as a Missouri high school teenager when he attended his first drag racing event in 1955 in Kansas City and talks through the marvelous innovations he saw through the early years way before he became known as the voice of the NHRA. Few would argue with the words "Those days of the 1950s and 60s are a time to be cherished, a time that reveals the ingenuity in action that is the mantra of the American Hot Rodder, talents and skills that continue to this day. It was truly a time when innovation ruled supreme in the sport of drag racing". Eighteen chapters make up this 240-page hardback book and the photographs used to depict events and times make it an interesting but relatively easy read. It's a book that you can come back to time and time again: even for the most knowledgeable of drag racers out there I'd suggest that it would contain photos you've not seen before and detail you didn't know! It's steeply focused on the stars and as the chapter entitled Working Class Racers suggests "The law of the jungle sorted the strong from the weak. If you built a reputation, the word got out; if not, you raced without notice". However, the fact that this chapter has been included in the book is a testament to the author and his belief that this should also be a dedication to the "Working class racer who ran for the pure satisfaction of the act and not for the glory". Those who did take and share glory are well-versed in books and of course they feature heavily in Fuel & Guts, they made the history that makes the author's job so challenging in terms of which stories to recite – they are so many! Pioneers such as Roland Leong, Don Garlits and Don Prudhomme all have a passionate recount of their day particularly Prudhomme whose memories of the Road Kings and first meetings with Tommy Ivo and Kenny Stafford seem fascinating and if anything leave me wanting to know even more! The drag strips are just as important as the racers who made them famous, stories from the days of Goleta, Santa Ana, Fremont and Half Moon Bay to Bakersfield, Pomona and Fontana to name a few. An emotional look back on the early days of Long Beach by the man initially in charge, the late Mickey Thompson, is a stark reminder to the dreadful loss of life that attached itself to the sport back then but nevertheless in the 1960s "Nothing mattered more to a Top Fuel driver than winning at Long Beach". Tom Madigan has produced a book written in a testimonial style format, in which "99% of those who offered content to the story he can call friends", what a fabulous accolade considering the names the book includes, many of which I consider part of drag racing folklore. The stories are dramatised by the photographs chosen by the author, they really do bring the book to life and easily show how, as Madigan describes in his acknowledgments (which are also worthy of a read!) "Top Fuel racing had penetrated my soul". A Reader Offer is available for anyone wishing to purchase the book within the next two months. The retail price is £35 but is available for £30 plus free p&p (free p&p UK only). Call the distributors Grantham Book Services on 01476 541080 and quote ISBN 0760326975, pay by card, cheque etc and the book is despatched normally taking five days or so to arrive. Many thanks to Mat Archer of MBI Publishing for the opportunity to review the book. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 20th September: The official web site of the UK's Showtime Racing Fuel FC has been updated with a report from the FIA European Finals and new Fans' Gallery pictures. Check it out at www.showtimeracinguk.com. ©Eurodragster.com Tim Fountain has updated his web site at www.timtime.co.uk with Sunday racing and weekend pitside pictures from the FIA European Finals. UK National Finals entry list. 19th September: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us Version 1 of the official entry list for the UK National Finals, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 29th-30th September. ©Eurodragster.com Click here to view the UK National Finals entry list. If you have any queries about UK National Finals entry then please contact Paula at [email protected] or call 01933 313625 (outside the UK +44 1933 313625). Dave Wilson Racing press release. 19th September: "It's a really steep climb to FIA Top Fuel drag racing even when you start at the top of your current class", says 2007 and five-time FIA European Top Methanol Dragster Champion Dave Wilson. "It will require a complete change of equipment and a massive increase in financial support. That's why our current car and all the support equipment are for sale right now, if we can sell and find increased support we will be on our way!" In the tough world of FIA European Drag Racing it's hard enough to win a Championship with all the competition that each team has to face throughout the year but at the recent Santa Pod Raceway European Finals in early September Dave Wilson not only won the event but he notched up an unprecedented fifth in a row FIA European Drag Racing Championship in the Top Methanol Dragster class, a feat never before achieved in any of the other FIA Drag Racing classes. Dave's Silverline Tools car, with additional support from Playstation 3 and Lucas Oil, is no stranger to the winners' circle; he has over his twenty seven years of performing in that class won numerous accolades both at home in the British MSA Top Methanol series as well as on the FIA circuit. The car and team are not only feared throughout Europe but have made their mark in the hugely competitive world of NHRA Drag Racing in America where they secured an event win at Tucson, Arizona in 2004 during a successful 2003/4 tour. Wilson was the first in Europe to run in the 5.5, the 5.4 and the 5.3 second zone over the quarter mile, holds current track records at every FIA venue and was the first in Europe over 260 mph and the only car outside the USA over 270 mph. "I never take things for granted", says Dave. When asked when he realised he had won the Championship he says "I overheard it on one of the marshals' radios just after the semi final, and then in the TV interview I was asked how it felt to make history and that's when it really sank in". The car did not perform quite as well as usual at the Finals but still headed the qualifying with a 5.456 at 258 mph. "The tune up suffered a little because of the distraction we suffered from an oil pressure problem but we took extra care to ensure no mechanical problems occurred. We should have been running consistent 5.45s but were at times a little off our normal pace but the fifth Championship in a row has been well earned by the team". At the end of September at Santa Pod the team will attempt to add another trophy to their cabinet by contesting the UK National Finals coming in as Top Methanol points leader. ©Eurodragster.com SE Germany heads for final. 19th September: The fifth and final round of Street Eliminator Germany takes place at Bitburg this weekend, writes Markus Münch: Last year's winner Guido Uhlir, with his V8 Opel Manta B, has a more than comfortable points lead. It's nearly impossible for Micha Vogt and his nitrous nine-litre Willys Coupe to catch him. But nearly four drivers have a battle going on for the number two Championship spot. Micha Vogt is number two, and Reinhard Garbers with his beautiful Plymouth Savoy, Wolfgang Böhm with his Camaro and even Michael Weber with his blown AMC Javelin have a chance. We will see what will be. ©Eurodragster.com The season so far has been a real success. Many new cars turned up in the Spring and performed very well. Even the nine-second barrier was broken down by racers at the third event at Wittstock. That was the only track which had treatment with rubber and glue. Next year's shootout for starting positions seventeen to thirty two in the field will include some newly-built weapons. Monster blowers and big turbos will attack the track. So we will slowly reach the performance of Andy Frost's Red Victor or such cars running in the Real Steel Street Eliminator Series in Great Britain. Happy Turners seek crew. 19th September: Steve Turner, Crew Chief of UK Top Methanol Dragster team Turner Motorsport, says that he, brother Rob and the team are happy with their season. If you would like to get involved in Top Methanol Dragster racing then Steve adds that the team are looking for new crew members for 2008. "We were happy to win the Top Methanol Cannonball at Hockenheim, and with and the performance at the European Finals where the car was consistently in the 5.4s", says Steve. "We've finally come across the combination we were looking for where it's nice and consistent yet nice and easy on the motor. "We were happy to end up #2 spot in the FIA Championship after hurting the engine in Sweden. Had we managed to get it repaired in time we may have been able to put in more of a challenge for title. "We're really looking forward to 2008 and hopefully be able to give Dave, Peter and all the others a real challenge for the Championship. ©Eurodragster.com "We would like to say Thank You to our sponsors for their continued support this season: Fuchs Silkolene Lubricants, NGK Spark Plugs, Gold RV, GRP Connecting Rods and Rushden Graphics. "We are also looking for crew members for next season. We need to or possibly three crew to work with the bottom end, clutch and cylinder heads. We needed committed individuals who can attend all races both here in England and abroad, and who can give up time to work on the car and support equipment between races. If you are interested then please either E-Mail [email protected], call me on 07973 878341, or pop along and talk to us at the UK National Finals." Sheavills Lords it up. 19th September: UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Barry Sheavills was in distunguished company earlier this week when he attended the Motorsport Industry Association's annual reception for the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Motorsport Industry at the House of Lords in London. "This event really was a Who's Who of motorsport, with reprentatives from all aspects of the Motorsport industry", says Barry. "I was the guest of Lord Astor of Hever DL, Honorary President of the MIA and Chris Aylett, Chief Executive of the MIA, and I was invited to represent drag racing. The setting for this event was the Cholmondeley Room in the House of Lords - it doesn't come more prestigious than that, it really is a fantastic venue. "The guest list included many British greats from the world of motor racing such as Damon Hill, Sir Stirling Moss, John Surtees and Sir Jackie Stewart. Also on hand to help me out in spreading the word about drag racing was Keith Bartlett who regularly attends this event. Between us I think we managed to speak to at least two hundred of the three hundred invited guests. We have been inviting the MIA to the European Finals at Santa Pod for a number of years now and everyone who has been still talks about it - drag racing really has made an impact. ©Eurodragster.com "The winner of the coveted award was the Earl of March, the mastermind behind the Goodwood Festival of Speed, who promised a strong drag racing presence at his next event. "I would like to thank Lord Astor of Hever DL and Chris Aylett for the invitation and the chance to spread the word about our great sport." Gullquist: OK, it was a good weekend. 19th September: 2007 FIA European Pro Modified Champion Micke Gullquist says that it was after all a good weekend at the FIA European Finals: We went to the test weekend the week before the European Finals to make a run or two and to prepare for the final Championship fight. We only made two runs, the first just a sixty foot run and the next a thousand foot run with a 6.29. There were no signs of tyre shake and the car was running fine. At the race weekend, the first rounds of qualifying were really bad as the tyres shook. It started to worry me a bit and I was reminded by some nice friends that they recognized the pattern from last year's failure. We had not changed the car a bit from testing, but the track had changed dramatically. It's hard to be prepared when the conditions are totally unique at the race days of one single event a year. The Main Event is one thing but the European Finals is a completely different animal. We analysed the situation deeply, going through computer data and other different observations and made changes to the set-up for the third qualifying run on Saturday. The third qualifying round was a disaster as the lights on the Tree never ran in combination with the lack of the Autostart feature on Santa Pods timing system. I was qualified in fifteenth spot before the last qualifying round and could feel the pressure sneaking up heavily on me. With only one shot left and the Championship at stake we were ready to go and this time it replied to the changes with a 6.164 on the scoreboard. I got a giant rock off my shoulders after that run, even if Andy Robinson and Micke Lindahl were running ultra quick. Big congratulations to the Lindahl team for your great runs! A look at the eliminations ladder showed that if everything went well I could meet Andy Robinson in the semi finals in a race for the Championship. But first I needed to beat Roger Johansson and Robert Joosten, a couple of totally unpredictable racers and you never know what they can come up with. The ladder looked like a hard day's work in front of us. In the first round against Roger I slept big time at the Tree, but took the win with a 6.156 when Roger shook. In the second round I got a bit out of the groove, but won with an - under these circumstances - off pace 6.233 to Robert Joosten's shaking 7.50. ©Eurodragster.com Now the big race for the Championship, but I knew I had a couple of advantages for the most important round of the year. First I got the lane choice and second I had noticed that Andy Robinson's team had been thrashing to get the car ready due to some problems from the previous round, which is never a good way to prepare. After the burnout I saw that Andy didn't get back to the start line and I had mixed emotions when Ian signalled for a solo run. Of course I wanted to win a tight race. The tension was totally relieved, but I raced down the track with a decent 6.18. The race was mentally over for me after the semis and I just wanted to start celebrating, but I thought that I might as well give the European record a challenge in the final round, where Patrick Wikström, a bit surprisingly, was waiting as the opponent. I went through the tune-up, spiced it a bit more to make it a record killer. It responded good with my best sixty foot of the weekend, but when I shifted to second gear the transmission's clutch pack let go totally and burned up completely with major smoke and a fountain of oil spraying on my right side inside the car, giving me something else to think of for a while. But it's good that we have some unfinished business for next season to look forward to. I already can't wait to release the beast at the Main Event next year, where I'm pretty sure we will again see some record breaking performance (If you really can't wait there's always Easter - Ed). The guys in our Championship winning team did a fantastic job, without them nothing would have been possible. Thanks Sam, Jan, Freddy, Timmy and Turbo for your fantastic work this season! Also big thanks to Peter Kunc and the Bohab team for letting me use their trailer while my own wasn't finished and to Lars Inge and Annsofie for help driving the trailer and great cooking. Last but not least, thanks also to Mette and our partners NordicLAN, WNT, Lucas Oil and IVT which all has been crucial for winning the 2007 FIA European Pro Mod Championship. King Racing press release. 19th September: In what transpired to be the closest and most exciting finale to the European Top Fuel Bike Championship that had ever been seen, the TVR Power Top Fuel Bike of King Racing took both the event title and the overall Championship Crown in the very last run of the season. Going into the finals at Santa Pod, England, the team found themselves in second place by two points behind the Italian Ferretti Racing team, piloted by Luigi Ferretti. In third place, again by only two points was the current Champion Rikard Gustafsson of Sweden. The Anglo Dutch King Racing team found themselves in a familiar position during qualifying, mechanical gremlins conspiring to continue the tale of woe of the season, with exhaust valves bending almost every pass due to excessive combustion heat necessitating the between round removal of the cylinder head. The very fact that the team actually made it to the event was a feat in itself, with a damaged crankshaft suffered at the previous event at Hockenheim in Germany amazingly repaired and returned to the team with the great help of Zodiac Racing's Ton Pels. The team managed a modest fourth spot going into eliminations with a 6.51/203.85, however with Gustafsson and Ferretti behind King in qualifying the extra points gained put the British rider on equal points with the Italian. A bumper field of nineteen bikes vying for an eight bike final ladder also meant it was not as bad as could have been taking into account the problems experienced. With the first and third position riders in the Championship facing each other in the first round of eliminations it meant at least one of the Championship contenders would not progress any further that the first round. Ferretti overcame Gustafsson meaning a tricky semi final for the Italian against the resurgent French number one qualifier of Eric Teboul (who posted a PB of 6.20 during qualifying). King met fellow UK TFB rider Steve Carey in the first round, and a holeshot by King was an important factor when his machine hit problems at mid track and just rolled across the line 1.66 seconds in front of Carey to just scrape the win. Ferretti's fortunes improved when what should have been a tricky semi final for him against the number one qualifier Teboul dissolved as the French rider destroyed his engine in his first round match up and meant he failed to make the start. Ferretti took an easy solo into the final. King had no such easy semi final as he faced up against the rapid Suzuki of Neil Midgley. Despite the lighter bike leaving first and carding his best time of the event at 6.81 King rode away from the UK rider and crossed the line 0.1642 second ahead and into the final. So, the final saw King and Ferretti on equal points and vying for the event win that would also have given them the overall Championship honours. But things did not look good for the team. Bent exhaust valves during their semi final resulted in 100% leak on two of the four cylinders, and no time to make repair for the final. The team decided to go for broke and run in the final, with little hope of making it to the end. The packed grandstands had no idea of the problems the team were suffering and waited on tenterhooks as the two Nitro machines staged for the defining race of a long season. The lights dropped on the tree and the two riders were away, but King once again used his superior reaction to steal a jump on the game Italian rider with a 0.1431 reaction over the slower 0.3048 of Ferretti. The home fans were on their feet as King flashed across the line 0.3319 seconds ahead with a 6.44/191.46 against Ferretti's 6.6151/198.39. The team had won their third European Championship title against all odds. This third Championship and two new European records set in Sweden were just rewards for the superlative efforts in as extremely arduous season for the team of Michael Beaumont, Martin Bookman, Chris Powell, Marius Van Der Zijden, Gerard Willemse, Nick Pepper and Debbie King along with the unbelievable support of their partners of TVR Power, Jack Sheer, Josh White, Mickey Thompson Tires, Gates Power Transmissions, Performance Machine, Wacky shack Paint shop, Torco Oils / Nimbus Motorsports, Turboville.com, RSG Customize, House of Kolor UK, Murdoch Racing Enterprises, Goodridge UK, Vanson Leathers, Kershaw and Co, Goedhals, Aerotek Fasteners, Pixeleye Design, Kent Cams, Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes, Kath Taylor, Pro Alloy Motorsports and PsycleWorkz. ©Eurodragster.com What do you mean, cure the wheelies? 19th September: Carla Pittau says that the FIA European Finals was a truly fantastic weekend for the Heaven & Hell Pro ET team with perfect weather, a great track, faultless organisation and no oildowns in the Sportsman classes, all contributing to an unprecedented nine qualifying sessions, seven of them on the first day of the event: The Heaven & Hell Camaro started having fun at the Press Day, and despite the late arrival caused by traffic jams, a bit of misfiring and even a puncture we still managed three passenger rides, one of which was with drag racing fan Colin Roaf who seemed to enjoy it in a fairly relaxed way, and another with fellow Pro ET racer Neil Hunter who waited with increasing anxiety for Yours Truly to hit the brake pedal at the top end, misinterpreting my routine checking of the gauges as "Oh dear, we have no brake fluid pressure" and wondering about landing in the field. It is true that drivers make for apprehensive passengers! It's a shame that I didn't know at the time, or I would mischievously have feigned panic, waving my arms about, shaking my head and pretending to grasp the roll cage to brace myself! The Camaro behaved herself during most passes and it was very pleasing to see that the little modification to the cam phasing seemed to work well, increasing bottom end performance as we had hoped and returning the car to the Superstock launches enjoyed at the Easter Thunderball and at Shakespeare County Raceway. Rick feared that my position further forward in the car may hurt the launch and may not give me the wheelie I craved, so we were both delighted when the car not only reacted perfectly and gave me a lovely view of the sky, but also carried the wheels for over fifty feet, achieving a 1.29 sixty foot again. Believe me, there is no better way to launch (Oh yes - Ed)! A number of people believed we had “cured” the wheelies and were surprised that they “came back”, so I feel I should explain how it works for us. Our car is most similar in construction to a Stocker - bar the fibreglass front and the engine which does not conform to NHRA Stock regulations. However the suspension and chassis are virtually stock, with very few modifications, we use nine-inch tyres, the car still weighs 3000lbs and - most importantly - we leave on a footbrake, just like a Stocker. For this type of car to gain sufficient traction an efficient weight transfer is essential - and the most efficient way to ensure this is with a good wheelie. So not only a wheelie does not hurt ET, it actually positively improves the sixty foot and the ET, and for this reason we would not dream of “curing” it and in fact we actively try to tune the suspension to achieve it. A tube chassis car leaving on a transbrake, however, reacts in an utterly dissimilar way as it is a totally different car - lightweight, wide tyres, transbrake, four link or ladder bars all contribute to the need for a tuning very much unlike the one needed by a substantially stock car. In addition, this type of car does not normally carry the front wheels to any considerable extent, and coming down quickly actually hurts ET and causes wheel spin by unloading the rear tyres on touch down. ©Eurodragster.com So although we were sad to see Steve Bolton's lovely black Plymouth being tamed, we fully understood the need to do that to actually improve performance. I guess we are just lucky to need the wheelies as well as loving them! It was very pleasing to see great photos being taken of some of the launches, by the excellent Roger Gorringe and by Dick Bodily, who kindly sent us a couple of copies for our web site, where they will appear as soon as I manage an update. Another cause for satisfaction despite the early exit from eliminations was the recent addition to the Heaven & Hell team in the person of Dave Buckland. Dave has been with us for two meetings so far and has shown great dedication, keen interest and attention to detail, proving already extremely helpful to our effort. His initial duties were confined to filming the launch, to help us identify problems and find ways of improving the chassis tune up, but he quickly took over many other tasks, integrated very well in the team's routine and worked very hard. So thanks Dave, your help was much appreciated. We managed to qualify number ten with five thousandths off our dial-in and had a first round bye due to Jon Hollingworth's misfortune, which advanced us to the second round despite the snoozing reaction and the slight tyre spin. We weren't to be that lucky in the second round, where Paul Baynton was set to kill mode and obliterated my second snooze with an 0.010 reaction. Must reset that alarm clock some time. To make matters worse somehow I wasn't expecting the track to be that good after the jet car, so the excellent traction took me by surprise and produced a high and prolonged wheelie, which would have worked well if I had managed to shift into second gear whilst in mid air or upon landing. Alas, I only shifted after hitting the rev limiter, and this was the final stroke, as I was then beaten on both ends of the track by the ineffable Paul Baynton in the blue Capricious Capri, who had time to tap the brakes at the top end and stroke his pigeon too, getting the win light. It is now up to Rick to rescue our tumble from number two at the UK National Finals. Can't wait! Well done to Charlie Chivers and Paul Baynton for organising an all-Capri final, heartfelt thanks to Dave Buckland, Kenny Coleman and Mike Lacey, Roger Gorringe and Dick Bodily, and best wishes and get well soon to Colin Roaf and Peter Lane. Thanks to all at Eurodragster for the tireless event coverage (Thanks - you do it, we'll cover it - Ed) and, last but not least, many thanks to Darren Prentice, the Santa Pod crew and management for a brilliant job making for a great event for racers and fans. Santa Pod is really looking more and more professional every season. Swift snippets. 19th September: Congratulations to UK 9.50 Bike racer Jason Macan who took the Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts Perfect ET Award with a 9.500 in qualifying for the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend. In our absence Jason took care to have a race official verify that he was carrying the appropriate decals; we have now heard from that race official, and the cheque will winging its way to Jason in very short order. ©Eurodragster.com UK Pro Stock Bike racer Richard Gipp says that it was a weekend of mixed blessings at the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend. "We really intended to take advantage of the event to do further testing in preparation for the 2008 European Championship, but on our second qualifier of the day the crankcases broke and we had to run our new spare", says Richard. "No passes on it, no running-in time, straight into the fray. I got lucky with the wind and a slight holeshot in the semi final, but with a carb hanging open after the burnout in the final I popped a big red on the Tree and that's another title for Dave Beck. Thanks for support to Psycleworkz, Straightline Racing, Roger Upperton and Paul Watson, and to my weekend crew Alex and Mark Hope." Editor's note: Enough with the Australian Top Fuel crash video links thank you. As ever, check out the Euro bit of Eurodragster.com. Coming up at Santa Pod... 19th September: Jo Harris of Santa Pod Raceway has been in touch to bring us up to date with all of the forthcoming action. This Saturday (22nd September) is the next Run What You Brung eligible for the 2007 Castrol Challenge. The current leader is Stuart Ramsay in his Chevrolet Camaro with a time of 9.8/141.13. We've also got the Fireforce 3 Jet Car putting in a run at 4:00 pm so make sure you're on the bank Don't worry if you don't have a nine-second car as the main purpose of the Castrol Challenge is as a RWYB Speed Table which lets you see where your times down the Santa Pod quarter mile rank with your mates and other "street legal" cars. You can find full details at www.rwyb.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com The Ultimate BMW Show is back this Sunday! This weekend was busy enough last year to tell us that the BMW scene needs a meeting with action, excitement and most important of all: one that allows everyone to get involved. So if you've got a BMW then make your way to the Pod for BMW-only RWYB in association with Performance BMW magazine, the Show and Shine competition with Total BMW and Handling Circuit, plus live stage, drifting, club displays and Jet Car. Camping is included with weekend tickets if you want to make the most of the RWYB on Saturday. More details at www.bmwshow.co.uk, tickets are available on the gate on the day. After a fantastic European Finals weekend there is now less than two weeks before the UK National Finals. If you want to take advantage of the advance ticket price you have until 5.30pm this Friday (21st September). There will be twenty six classes competing at the UK National Finals including MSA Pro Mod, Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association, Top Methanol, Top Fuel Bike and Pro Stock Bike. In addition to the drag racing the Fireforce 3 Jet Funny Car will be running on the track, and off track Santa Pod's Podzilla monster truck will be crushing cars in the Live Action Arena. Get your tickets on-line at www.santapod.com or call 01234 782828. Web site updates. 19th September: Neil Ellis has set up a Fotopic gallery featuring his photographs from this year's FIA European Finals and FIA Main Event. Neil's excellent pictures cover all aspects of the sport from on-track to the pits ubcluding portraits. You can check out Neil's work at photos-by-neil.fotopic.net. ©Eurodragster.com Also updating his Fotopic gallery is Eurodragster.com Reserve Photographer Peter Donaldson who has posted his Extreme Performance Bike Weekend shots at peterdonaldson5305.fotopic.net. Ellis' dream comes true. 18th September: Multiple UK Super Modified Champion Graham Ellis has confirmed his move up to Pro Mod with a blown-alcohol Dodge Daytona Charger which is currently being put together at the workshops of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Andy Robinson Race Cars (right, click on picture for large version). "The 1969 Dodge Daytona Charger is a radical body developed for Chip King - Pro Mod racer and official five-second runner in the USA - by Vanishing Point Race Cars", Graham told Eurodragster.com. "I first showed interest in this body some two years ago and Andy Robinson wasted many phone calls to Vanishing Point: we got nowhere as Chip King at that time wanted exclusivity on the body. At this point I pretty much lost interest and concentrated on demolishing the competition in Super Mod and honing my driving, tuning and clutch skills. "Two years later I had pretty much decided on a carbon fibre 2006 GTO body from VPRC when it became apparent that the Daytona body was at last available. Exit GTO and three months later I had a pure carbon fibre Daytona Charger body delivered to Andy Robinson along with a Mark Williams eleven-inch rear end with full carbon brakes, the first eleven inch rear end to be spec'd on an European-built car. The rest of the hardware includes Strange double adjustable Ultra struts with carbon brakes, Racepack V300 datalogger, Stiletto rack, and either Penske or Ohlins rear shocks - this has yet to be decided. ©Eurodragster.com "The first reaction I got from many people was "Well, the body and axle are at VPRC why don't you get them to build the car?". This was always a temptation as VPRC is the builder of many proven five-second Pro Mods. But the reason for choosing ARRC is the fact that Andy has the most 6.2 laps of any car, which shows a consistent performance. Also he keeps up with what is new in the States and is not static in his design, in fact you will see several departures from the norm in terms of some design parameters and equipment specs which is due to the current cars in the States advancing and ARRC advancing with them. This will be a very light car compared with most others around and I fully intend to make the most of that, and I am excited at the prospect of working closely with ARRC to ensure this car will be a force to be reckoned with. "The chosen driveline will be the tried and tested formula with a 526 BAE Hemi which has been sourced from retiring Gordon Appleton. The engine is a good piece that has had no serious damage and is all in good shape, the blower and fuel system will be updated, and we will be looking for more power. I will not at this point make a change to the BAE 6 heads as the power gains are small against the BAE 5s we have on the motor and I have Gordon's full inventory of spares which includes a fully built up pair of heads so changing would hurt more than help at this stage. This will be backed up by an AFT clutch and three speed Lenco. For the last five years we have used a dual plate twelve stand six finger clutch on the Super Mod car, and although there are major differences there are also major similarities. We hope to be on an accelerated learning curve with that and have no fear of clutches in general as we have also enjoyed a Racepak datalogger for many years, so deciphering the traces and making adjustments is nothing new for us. "In fact I would have to say with all honesty thta without the Super Modified class none of this would be possible for us. Anyone who is brave enough to step in to Pro Mod without some sort of Sportsman apprenticeship is going to have a hard time, and nowhere in the Sportsman classes will you find anything so relevant to Pro Mod as Super Modified. As it is such a great classroom for Pro Mod I will continue to support and promote and protect its virtues against all detractors of its present format. "Many people have given me advice, some good some bad. But we have the savvy to sift through the BS and keep the good bits, all of which should help us, along with ARRC, to get a really badass Pro Mod into the fray as soon as is financially possible. "I have many people to thank, too many in fact. Naming individuals would take forever so I will keep it short. Obviously my crew from the Super Mod car; Rob Millward, Kev Perkins and Gareth Ellis, although this line up will change for the new car as I'll have to try to steal Gareth from Danny Cockerill who is also high on my list to thank as without him in Pro Mod I wouldn't have the same incentive. Others to thank at this point are Andy and Kate Robinson who will be building my dream car - it's in the best possible hands. Thanks to Gordon Appleton for the engine, Adrian Spencer for the advice and for keeping me laughing, and lastly to all the guys and girls in the Super Mod camp for being good friends and racers over the last five years or so." Curbishley goes Direct to a sponsor. 18th September: UK Super Comp and Super Gas team Curbishley Automotive has officially welcomed Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Direct Plastics On-Line as a sponsor for the 2008/2009 seasons. "Direct Plastics On-Line are the fastest on-line ordering service for engineering plastics such as Nylon, Acetal, PTFE, Tufnol which are great for making pulleys, bushes, bearings and jigs etc", says Martin Curbishley. "You can find their web site at www.directplasticsonline.co.uk or through Eurodragster.com. Of interest to racers they can supply Lexan etc which is suitable for race cars. "Paul from Direct Plastics On-Line and his guests came to the Saturday of the FIA European Finals (right, click on picture for large version) and experienced some first class Pro qualifying and some close Sportsman eliminations, what a fantastic meeting to entertain a sponsor. Well done to all the SPRC and Santa Pod staff on a superb meeting. ©Eurodragster.com "We are really looking forward to the new partnership and Direct Plastics On-Line's help in developing a new project over the winter. "A few thank yous: after the handling issues we had in qualifying we certainly didn't expect a win! But thanks to Jon at Webster Race Engineering the problem was ironed out and come race day the roadster was back to its usual self - thanks John! We had some really close rounds in eliminations with some of the most consistent racers in the class, the final was a real squeaker (really close) thanks to Paul Knight. "One last thank you to the staff at Curbishley Automotive, without these guys I wouldn't be able to do my thing and the Swedish tour. Special thanks in particular go to Neil Siddall, who is about to start a motor racing career which involves corners (Yellow card - Ed)! Also to Dave Wood is about to become a father for the first time, hope everything goes well for you both." Nitro and Nitro: it's only appropriate. 18th September: The powerful new Dodge Nitro took to the track for its début appearance during the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. Supplied by Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealer Marshall Cambridge, the boldly styled SUV was used as a support vehicle by the Rune Fjeld Motorsport team and was used to tow their 311 mph dragster to the start line during the event (right, click on picture for larger shot from a different angle). Paul Spaxman, team mechanic in his spare time, said "The Nitro was ideal for what we were using it for as the dragster can't be driven to its starting position and has to be towed. It received a warm welcome from fans too, thanks to its bold looks and of course its name, which it shares with the fuel used by the racers." Jeff Manni, Sales Manager at Marshall Cambridge, said "The amazing powerplant in the team's dragster is an eight-litre V8 Hemi - which is related to the famous Dodge engines found in the marque's muscle cars like the Charger back in the '60s and '70s. Hence the Nitro was the ideal car for this event and more than 20,000 people saw it towing the Top Fueller in the pit lane and to and from the start line, so we were delighted to be able to help." Available with a choice of powerful petrol and diesel engines, the Nitro is priced from £18,995. Engines include a 174bhp 2.8-litre common-rail turbo diesel engine with a choice of six-speed manual or five-speed automatic gearboxes, or a 3.7-litre V6 petrol version with automatic transmission. Standard equipment on all models includes ABS, driver and front passenger airbags, electric windows, a CD/radio and air-conditioning. For more information on the Dodge Nitro and the full range of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models available at Marshall Cambridge, or to arrange a test drive, please contact the sales team on 01223 377500. ©Eurodragster.com Carter Motorsport press release. 18th September: What a year it's been for the Lucas Oil / Carter Motorsport / Andersen Racing / Top Fuel team! We have done and achieved so much that I don't think you can fully appreciate it until you take a step back and take it all in. We started the year by announcing the huge news that we had a new main sponsor for the 2007-8 seasons: American oil giant Lucas Oil. With a name like Lucas on board, everything had to go up a level so we knew we were in for a hectic season. I think we all knew at this point that to really fulfil our obligation and to be ultra competitive we would have to rethink our plans with the car. As soon as the news broke that 2006 Champion, Håkan Nilsson was to retire from Top Fuel, we had to find out what the next step was for the Andersen Racing team. Two trips to Denmark later and the new Lucas Oil / Landmeco Top Fuel machine was in place for the coming year. Part of the commitment to our new sponsor was to raise awareness for both the brand and the entire product range, so a busy schedule was drawn up where we could put up a static display with the show car as the centre piece. The first such outing was at Autosport International at the Birmingham NEC. In 2003 we used this event to announce our First National deal so we knew how to generate the interest required and unveil our new primary sponsor with maximum impact. With Les Downey of Lucas Oil Europe present, the covers were pulled back to reveal the freshly-vinyled show car in front of a huge crowd. I believe the quality and professionalism of this event set the tone for the season. As a team, we pride ourselves on our performance both on and off the track. We want to be number one in all areas and this includes our web site, press activity, sponsor exposure, merchandise, event presence etc. With our commitment to Lucas Oil in mind, a very hectic performance schedule was agreed to include new territory for us at the likes of Bug Jam 21, Ultimate Street Car, AACI All Clubs Rally etc. We found these events very enjoyable, as we had the opportunity to share our sport with a whole new audience. The Lucas Oil car was always well received as we continued to expose the product range to as wider audience as possible. This commitment will continue throughout 2008. On the track, the season of highs and lows played out with immense drama at every turn. Our partnership with Andersen Racing is so strong and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with this team over the year. I believe the strength of our team is evident in all areas not only with those who work on the car but also the support / hospitality crew too. Each member fully recognises the importance of each other's rôle and the respect between us all is massive. I will not forget arriving at Mantorp Park with Gary Cottingham where every single crew member stopped what they were doing and came over and shook us both by the hand and welcomed us. This crew is such a well-oiled machine with each member just getting on with their job to the best of their ability and the ability is I believe, the best there is! The tuning expertise of Karsten and Per Andersen is outstanding and the professionalism and knowledge of the rest of the crew is absolutely awesome. That leads us on to Andy Carter .The best Top Fuel pilot in Europe? I think many would have to agree! I have heard Karsten and Per on many occassions throughout the year comment on Andy's skill as a driver and vast experience. His feel for what the car is doing is exceptional and as we have all witnessed he is the king of pedalling. Who can forget the pedal at the Main Event before the 314 mph? I believe this year has been very different for Andy as a driver. Obviously the pressure and expectation were there, but in himself, he was the most calm and relaxed I have ever seen him. His focus was high and intense as ever but in a different way. He was enjoying his racing! So now the season has drawn to conclusion, I don't believe that TF4 is a true reflection of this team's achievements over the year and what a list of achievements it has been: All time highest FIA Top Fuel points scorer; high speed at the FIA Main Event, 314 mph; first person to run over 300 mph (303 mph) at the Nitro Nationals at Alastaro, Finland; number one qualifier at the Veidec Festival, Mantorp Park, Sweden; new track record at Mantorp Park, 4.73/313; new FIA European ET record, 4.732; number one qualifier at the FIA European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, UK; equalled the track record Santa Pod, 4.645; reset FIA European ET record, 4.703 (Backed up by the too quick 4.645 above). We now have all the data and experience with the car to hit the ground running in 2008. Andy is more hungry than ever to take back the Top Fuel crown and become three time FIA European Champion. We have the backing, we have the crew, we have the car, we have the driver! We really are a well oiled machine! We look forward to seeing you at the track or at any of our show appearances scheduled for next season. Our web site at www.andycarter.net will keep you posted on all the goings on throughout the off season including our new appearance schedule which kicks off at Autosport International at the NEC, Birmingham in January. Carter Motorsport would like to thank their primary sponsor, Lucas Oil, and we would also like to thank the following associate partners for their continued support: NGK Spark Plugs, Binamic Web Design, Pioneer Print, Crane Cams, K&N Filters, Yuasa Batteries, BMRS, Sigma Signs, Rainbow Conference Sets, 3t Creative Ltd, Norfolkline, RCS Cables, Teng Tools, CAAR, Autotel Race Radio, AACI, Landmeco, USA Autodele and Jerrys. ©Eurodragster.com Swift snippets. 18th September: Paul Jackson tells us that Real Steel Street Eliminator racer Andy Frost surprised his friend Leon with a stylish ride to his wedding. "Leon was my best man, and for my wedding I borrowed Russ Fellows' mad nine-second Beetle - I couldn't drive my dragster on the street", says Paul. "I thought "Who has got a car more bonkers than that" and Andy's name came straight to mind! You don't get if you don't ask so I gave Andy a call and he was only to happy to help even though it was just a week after the European Finals and not long before the last Street Eliminator round. Andy made sure that Leon got to marry Jo on time and then hung around for some pics after (click on picture for large version). Thanks for making Leon's day even more special Andy, you're a star!" Martin Holgate, Janice McGuirke and family have asked us to thank all of those who took part in remembering Rhianne at the NSRA Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway at the weekend. "The pink ribbons and the stickers on the race cars really helped us through", they say. "A special mention to Sid and Sheena (new Personal Best) and also to the Jones family (Ragin' Cajun)." Mark of no surname although we think it may be Skinner has asked us to say a big congratulations to Taz Racing's Chris Skinner on a Personal Best of 9.5/145 in his Fiat 126 at the NSRA Hot Rod Drags. Nice one Chris, and we would like to add a big well done to Roger Goring on his new PB speed and first foray over 260 mph in the Firestorm Jet FC. ©Eurodragster.com UK Supertwin Gas racer Les Harris is again producing a calendar for 2008. The calendar will go on sale for £5 at the UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway on 29th-30th September and features colour photographs of various drag bikes, and Beardy Bloke tells us that a car has even crept in this season! The first print run will be one hundred so form an orderly queue at Les' pit at the Finals. Editor's note: Apologies for the lack of a news update yesterday. We don't propose to go into details but we have had a fair amount of aggravation (external, not between us) about various things in the last few weeks and it all just came to a bit of a head. Your News Editor having been coaxed in off the window ledge, here we are back again with thanks to Simon, Roger, Kirstie and Tog's friend Julia for their support. We still have a small backlog of news which will be published tomorrow but please keep it coming to [email protected]. Web site updates. 18th September: Our Reserve Photographer Peter Donaldson has sent us a gallery of shots from the weekend's Extreme Performance Bike Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway. You can check out Peter's pictures, which are presented in association with American Car Imports, by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Also updating from the Extreme Performance Bike weekend is the event's official web site which features some excellent shots from Santa Pod Raceway's webmaster DJ. You can take a look at DJ's pictures at www.extremebike.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Alan Curran's excellent Acceleration Archive has been updated yet again and this time it is a double-header. "First up is the September instalment of Brian Taylor's blog detailing his progress writing Crazy Horses, his definitive history of British drag racing", says Alan. "The second update is a selection of pictures taken trackside at the NSRA Hot Rod Drags held at Shakespeare County Raceway last weekend. It was a great meeting and consisted of a pre-1973 RWYB supported by the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association, Outlaw Anglias, Supercharged Outlaws, the Wild Bunch and the Firestorm Jet Funny Car. The weather was great and the racing was better". You can check out Brian's blog and Alan's work by following the What's New link at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. Our good buddy Patrik Jacobsson has updated the Racebilder web site with pictures from the weekend's Winternationals at Meca Raceway. You can find Patrik's shots at www.racebilder.nu. Hans Karlsson has also updated his web site with pictures from the Winternationals at Meca Raceway. Hasse's pictures are now showing at www.hassebilder.se. Meca Winternationals coverage. 16th September: Tezzii and Stanley of EurodragsterNorth.com are in place at Malmö's Meca Raceway to bring you all the news from the Winternationals, which is the final round of the Toyo Scandinavian Drag Racing Series. ©Eurodragster.com You can stay in touch with events at Meca Raceway by following the Live link at www.eurodragsternorth.com and there is a choice of webcams by following the Live Cam link at www.srif.se. Bike Weekend final results. 16th September: Many thanks to David Anniwell of Santa Pod Raceway's timing crew for forwarding us the results in UK Championship classes at the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway: Funny Bike: Neil Midgley 7.2341/171.11 def. Tim Blakemore 8.1050/144.30 Pro Stock Bike: Dave Beck 7.6799/147.50 def. Richard Gipp 7.9387/162.46 red Comp Bike: Philip Leamon 8.7601/146.05 def. Sandra Chaplain 8.6669/152.70 Super Street Bike: Richard Stubbins 7.7372/183.63 def. Steve Venables 7.6399/185.86 9.50 Bike: Richard Sawatzki 9.7229/130.50 def. Phil Pratt 9.9281/138.45 Supertwin Top Fuel: Wendy Clutterbuck 9.2260/134.84 def. Andrew Smith 9.7880/129.26 Supertwin Top Gas: Chris Stebbins 9.8669/128.89 def. Les Harris 9.8041/132.01 Supertwin ET: Steve Partridge (13.10) 13.1257/98.69 def. David Shorthose (11.80) 11.7560/120.00 The final top fives in qualifying were as follow: Funny Bike Neil Midgley 6.7830/196.44 Tim Blakemore 7.0329/177.22 Stephen French 7.1270/175.81 Stu Chamberlain 7.5678/169.10 Paul Knapp 8.8851/142.42 Pro Stock Bike Dave Beck 7.4208/175.85 Len Paget 7.5919/169.22 Richard Gipp 7.8322/151.01 Ray Debben 7.9289/162.92 Super Street Bike Steve Venables 7.6161/190.64 Graham Balchin 7.6721/190.77 Jamie Sneddon 7.8233/183.51 Mark Watkins 7.8564/186.51 Mark Fisher 7.8702/188.97 Comp Bike Conrad Skett 7.6579/172.52 Kevin Charman 8.1861/167.21 Philip Leamon 8.4749/153.48 Alan Young 8.5041/161.31 Sandra Chaplain 8.5442/155.05 9.50 Bike Jason Macan 9.5008/141.06 Chris Reed 9.5039/139.80 Fred Furlong 9.5218/143.71 Greg Skett 9.5462/145.07 Richard Sawatzki 9.5531/144.21 Supertwin Top Fuel Ian Carruthers 8.4639/161.29 Wendy Clutterbuck 8.9269/146.60 Andrew Smith 9.2869/140.55 Shawn Rodman 9.5572/135.86 Martin Wildash 29.1592/16.66 Supertwin Top Gas Chris Mott 9.1191/143.71 Les Harris 9.6008/136.81 Chris Stebbings 9.6779/132.34 Brian Udall 9.9870/130.36 Don Irvine 10.5879/122.28 Supertwin ET Steve Partridge +0.0349 12.8349/103.22 Mike Nelthorpe +0.1038 14.1038/103.69 Peter Harrison +0.1609 12.3609/109.72 Kevin Bailey +0.1620 12.1620/111.72 David Shorthose +0.2003 11.9003/123.95 Congratulations to the winners. ©Eurodragster.com I don't believe it! 16th September: 2007 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com News sponsor Urs Erbacher says that he still can't believe that he and his team took the title. It's not quite over yet as the Fat Attack team are going to contest the final two NHRA National events in Las Vegas and Pomona. "After Mantorp my crew and I were really down", says Urs. "The Discovery Channel started to write a new ending to the show. But after a couple of days my crew and I were back mentally. Every one of us believed that it was still possible to win the Championship. We were going to give it everything we could, my crew on the car and me on driving it. We knew the only thing to do was to win the race and set a new European record and Low ET. "Not everything worked as we wanted it to. In the last qualifying session we were number two qualifier but destroyed a crank. So we had to work hard overnight until four Sunday morning. And on Sunday we got payback for everything. We won all our rounds and our belief came true. Lex and Andy went out in the first round, sorry guys, that's racing. Then I had to fight Thomas Nataas and I won that one as well. After beating Thomas I knew I needed to win. I always respect the driver on the other side of the track and always know that they can be quick. So I gave it everything on the lights and won. Great! ©Eurodragster.com "Thank you to the super crew who work on the track at Santa Pod, they do the best job in the world. And thank you to all our fans who stayed with us after the race. Congratulations to Andy Carter and the Andersens for their new European Record. I know I cannot have everything but our team winning the European Championship in three classes is unbelievable. I want to congratulate my team partners Lo Stäuble (European Champion in UEM Super Twin) and Sascha Brodbeck (European Champion in the Harley Davidson Destroyer Cup). And of course the new Champion Freddy Fagerström who can win another Championship in my old Top Methanol Funny Car. It is a very special thing for me to win the Championship this year because it is my twenty fifth racing anniversary - I got my first timing slip at a race in Ensiheim in 1982. "After the race Wini our truck driver drove through the night on Monday to be back in our Shop on Tuesday afternoon. After that my really hard-working crew showed up after the busy weekend, we completely unloaded the trailer and started to service the car overnight. We worked all day on Wednesday to load up the trailer, and we counted every single part in the trailer and did the paperwork for the US Customs. On Thursday morning Wini started again with a ten hour drive to Zeebrugge to load the truck and trailer. The race car is now on the way to the United States. "We have two parties coming up. The first is the Season End party with live music at the Fat Attack Inn in Arlesheim on Saturday 29th September (right, click on picture for larger version). Then we have the official European Champions' party again at the Fat Attack Inn on Saturday 24th November. We want to celebrate our three Championships with live music etc." Bad end to a bad season. 16th September: We were very pleased to hear from UK Pro Modified racer Ray White at the FIA European Finals Banquet that he will not after all be quitting, although he has contested his last race for 2007. Ray got in touch to let us know how his weekend went at the FIA European Finals and as ever things didn't go smoothly for Ray and his evil Zephyr: It all started out so promisingly on Press Day. Only my Crew Chief Big Steve and I were there but the car was all ready to go. It checked out OK in the wam-up and I only wanted to do a half pass to check out the new fuel system. Down to the start line, went through my routine for the burnout...where did all that power come from? It felt totally different and sounded totally different. Launched, a bit of shake, pedalled then clicked off at the eighth. Downloaded the data and it still needed more fuel. We had a good baseline and decided to call it a day until Friday - didn't want to hurt anything and miss the Finals. We added more fuel for Friday's first run. The engine just came to life. Staged, let up clutch, stuck in top gear - trying a new low air safety system didn't work. I backed off quickly to save the clutch. My clutch man wasn't going to arrive until Friday evening so I had a quick measure. It was a bit marginal and I couldn't adjust the clutch without removing the can, didn't think I had time to do it by myself so I left it as it was. Wrong! After the burnout I had to take my foot right off the clutch to make the car move. I tried to rev it on the launch to see if the CF of the clutch would take over. Wrong! ©Eurodragster.com Then when I thought my luck couldn't get any worse we warmed it up in the pits on Saturday morning, all seemed OK then we took the valve covers off and saw a push rod laying to one side on the exhaust. The exhaust adjuster had backed off, push rod popped out, nowhere for all that unburnt fuel to go, hydraulic'ing the intake. So we changed the rockers, intake valve, piston and rod, and lifters on that cylinder. We just missed the third round. I thought my luck must change and I was not going to let it beat me. One round left, bump spot 7.1, well achievable The first car out in Pro Mod, in the left lane by ourselves, no pressure. Clutch all good, great burnout, motor feeling really strong, pull into stage, 6000 rpm ready to launch feeling "This is it". The lights drop, clutch up, locked in third gear again. I would have chewed the top off the steering wheel if it hadn't been for my crash helmet. I decided to sacrifice the clutch and the floater to gain more data, revved it to 9000 rpm right through the clutch, switch off. No my luck hadn't changed. When I got to the track I jokingly said to Danny Cockerill and Gordon Appleton that I'd thought about putting two grand on the barbecue and burning it save all the heartache, and staying at home. Should have done, it would have been cheaper. I must thank all the crew who worked their hearts out all weekend and kept pushing me to carry on, and to all the spectators for coming over and telling me not to quit as I had originally said I would if my luck didn't change. Never fear, I will be back but not until next year. I'm going to sit out the National Finals and come back fresh next year. It's hard financing a Pro Mod car by myself so a plea from the heart: any help no matter how small will be much apreciated. It's still the only British-bodied car in Pro Mod so help me fly the flag...we're so close I can taste it. Hard work pays off again. 16th September: The FIA European Finals was the second event in two weekends for Norwegian Supertwin racer Hans Olav Olstad, and he says that it was a real challenge to get everything together for the last race of the season: We decided to run at Mosten in Denmark, instead of going to Finland to reach the ferry to England. Mosten has now taken the security to a high level, mounted guardrails for over five hundred metres, and widened the track by two metres. The track was excellent. We were supposed to make a good run in Mosten, but no. On Friday we started to smoke the tyre, got grip again, and then broke all the bolts between the crank and the pulley. With a good helping hand from members of Mosten, we were able to machine the pulley and crank in place and raise the size of the bolts from 3/8" to 7/16". On Saturday there was good traction but all the new bolts cracked immediately after the start line. We still rolled over the finish line with a terrible 5.52, but only beaten by Danish Erik Nilsen. At this moment there was no reason to go to England for the next race. But, as always, there was a way out. On Saturday night we took the whole engine apart to single components. On Sunday morning we started to recover after a long night of work and some fun in the big tent. Then we tried to find somebody who could help us to rebuild the crank and pulley. In the middle of the day we got in contact with Johan Børresen, a good friend in Norway who is splendid with his CNC machine. He promised to look in to the problem. But there was another problem showing up, how to get the crank and pulley safely from Denmark to Norway, and then to England in time. Crew member Sven Erik, who works as a logistic co-ordinator, got on the case and the parts were shipped back to Norway with another Norwegian racer on Sunday evening, onto a truck Arendal to Oslo on Monday morning, and then from Oslo to Raufoss with another car. Johan started to make new parts Monday evening, and also worked on Tuesday and Wednesday evening to give us his best effort. Then the parts were sent back to Oslo and on the plane to England with the rest of the crew on Thursday evening. By 23.00 Thursday the parts were at Santa Pod and ready for mounting. We worked through the night and started the engine at 8.00 in the morning. With no sleep I feel like I was in another world on the start line. But hey, nitro does something to your body and it woke me up. Yellow and green lights, full throttle, stabilise the bike and just hangi on. The front wheel was high in the air the whole run, and that told me it was pretty good. The time was 6.74, a new personal best, and #2 qualifier. Next run, just a small adjustment, and another personal best 6.72 but still #2 qualifier. The bike was holding together, and the crew was extremely happy when we went to bed in the evening. Saturday's first run was 6.89, but I was still in #2 spot. On the second run a big disaster as about a hundred metres out I lit up Santa Pod when the rear head let out the huge pressure of burning nitromethane. From my angle it didn't look that bad, but I knew there was more work ahead of us. We did have another damaged spare head, but it had to be repaired before use. From last year we got in contact with a great engineer, Paul Cowley. He was able to help us out this time too, installing new threads in the head. Most of the night was used to prepare the bike, and gave us another sleepless night. On Sunday it was time for eliminations. After the last runs on Saturday Lorenz and Roel managed to run 6.60 and 6.65. I was placed as #4 qualifier. In the first round I was supposed to challenge Petri Kelttonen from Finland with his blower bike. But sadly his engine was melted inside and could not be repaired. We got a solo run. Everybody told us to slow down to save parts, but that's not an option for Olstad Race Team. We are racers through and through, and race to the end of whatever parts we use. With the highest wheelie, we challenged the wheelie bars to keep the bike from flipping all the way down and I dropped the front down in the braking area pretty hard this time. The time turned the crew crazy with another new Personal Best 6.67, and a speed of 385 kmh (235 mph). Again we know we trigged the speed (tripped the first speed beam with the rear wheel and the second with the front wheel - Ed), I probably ran 340 kmh. We had a speed of 336 to 342 kmh the whole weekend. In to the semi final against Günther Sohn. This was also a historic semi-final for Supertwins as all four bikes had run below 6.67. Günther showed me his rear wheel from the start to finish line. I did a 6.73, but Günther did the best run this year with a 6.54. A big congratulations to Günther. I was happy to know that we it was our best performance ever this weekend. The entire Olstad Racing Team wish to thank you all for supporting us in good and bad times. We hope to see you all next year, with better times and the bike ready for action. ©Eurodragster.com Real street and seven seconds. 16th September: Danny Bates of Adrenaline Race and Performance has dropped us a line to let us know about Real Steel Street Eliminator racer Steve Pateman's weekend at the FIA European Finals, where he ran in Super Pro ET to get some track time prior to the last RSSE round which takes place at the UK National Finals: Having some new parts on the car meant we didn't want to turn up blind to such an important round as the National FInals. Despite not being in it for the points we don't intend to go home early. We soon got to grips with the new parts on the car at the European Finals and after only our third run on the Thursday we finished with an effortless 8.023. Keeping in mind that the car was running to full RSSE rules including pump gas, and sporting the MT Sportman Pro 'true' block tread tyres, we were very happy after our first day of testing. After a few changes on Thursday evening we got to sit back and enjoy the cooking of team member Andy Przybyl. Friday soon came around and breakfast was in the hands of Jim McGee and Andy which set us up for a great day to come. After the changes on Thursday night we hit the track with a strong 7.89 pass. Although over the moon to finally be in the sevens on MT Sportman Pros we had also broken out of our 8.00 dial-in. Another couple of tweaks and Steve made an effortless pass this time showing 7.850/179.48 on the board! Only this time we had dialled in 7.85, this run qualified us number four in the very tough Super Pro ET class. Going into eliminations on Saturday we were faced with tough competition from Ashley Bell to whom we lost. However we did once again back up the qualifying run with another 7.855 so we went out on a high. Steve would like to thank Adrenaline Race and Performance, Pace Products, Dave Eady and TSR for their support. Special thanks to his crew Tom Rainer and Danny Bates and to Jim McGhee and Andy Przybyl and family for keeping us well fed and organised. We're looking forward to the National Finals and who knows, maybe a nitrous car will hold the ET record again. Swift snippets. 16th September: 2007 FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike Champion Ian King has been in touch on behalf of his whole team to say that they have been overwhelmed by the volume of goodwill messages and congratulations from racers, sponsors, and general fans alike since Ian regained the European Top Fuel Bike Championship at the FIA European Finals. "There are so many that we cannot list them, but suffice to say I have taken the time to respond to everyone individually to say thanks", says Ian. "Thanks again and as you well know we could not and would not have done it without you." ©Eurodragster.com Further to Thursday's news item, we understand that instant star Belinda Bear is in negotiations with a well-known Danish/English Top Fuel Dragster team and that her attempt to become the first teddy bear to run a four at over 300 mph will take place at next year's FIA Main Event. If you missed out on a Two Seat Dragster ride at the FIA European Finals, at which the car was fully booked, then Santa Pod Raceway are pleased to announce that rides are available for £250 plus VAT when booking two £149 VIP/Hospitality tickets to either the Ultimate BMW Show on Sunday 23rd September or the UK National Finals on 29th-30th September. For more information or reservations contact Donna on 01234 782828 or E-Mail [email protected]. Brian Taylor tells us that those with fond memories of Dave Lee Travis' drag racing exploits in the 1970s might be interested to know that DLT currently has his own show on Magic Radio AM which is available both through the air and on the internet at www.magic.co.uk between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. "The show is live, which is why DLT can't come to Santa Pod these days", says Brian. "It's interactive with text, E-Mail and telephone communication and, as you would expect, completely mad. I'm sure that DLT would love to hear from some of his old drag racing buddies." FC Series first details. 16th September: If you have been tuned in to Eurodragster.com News recently you will have read that a Fuel Funny Car Series is afoot. Knut Söderquist promised us more information when there was a bit more to tell, and he has made good on his promise with news of the latest developments. "The Series will run with six cars in its first year and as I see it right now it will include six races", Knut told Eurodragster.com. "First on my list was to try to get Santa Pod interested in the Series. I know that Keith Bartlett's heart is with the Funny Cars and I must admit that I was super pleased that Keith and I had a proper discussion. He suggested that we run two rounds at Santa Pod which as we all know is the most prestigious track in Europe. Someone had been trying to stir it between Santa Pod and me and what I say to that is stop it - it is all old stories and it is time to look forward and get the cars out on the track. I have spoken to Jerry Cookson at Shakespeare County Raceway about the possibility of a round there and I am confident that with the return of the nitro cars and good advertising we can get the crowds there. ©Eurodragster.com "Pite Dragway in Sweden are also very interested to have an event and I will have a meeting with Sundsvall as soon as I can. The track in Lithuania, where we did an exhibition earlier this year, is planning to get their surface up to standard and with the right promotion it could be big as there is huge interest. We will also hopefully get the cars to Bahrain but no deal has been done yet - I am doing my best. "Over the last week I have been in contact with some of the best drivers in Europe who I knew may be interested in driving one of my cars. I am not doing this to make money. I don't want my cars standing in a garage, and I am a strong believer that Funny Cars will bring a lot of people to the track who love those kind of cars. So everything is looking good at the moment, now the car owners and drivers have to step up their act and we will see some great Nitro Funny Car racing. "This weekend we are in Malmö with Patrik Pers. On his first run on Thursday evening the car sounded very strong but the cable for the fuel shutoff didn't open the valves all the way. Patrik felt that something wasn't right and shut off the car before it could do any damage. Well done to Patrik, this is when you know you've got an experienced driver who knows the feeling that you are about to get the big bang." PrimeTime respond to BBC report. 16th September: Colin Fallows and Mark Newby of PrimeTime Land Speed Engineering have issued a short statement in response to the BBC's report, published on Friday, on Richard Hammond's crash in their Vampire jet car: The BBC have not extended us the courtesy of sending a copy of their report. Without having seen it, we are unable to comment on its content. Since the crash occurred, and despite considerable pressure from a variety of sources, we have offered no statement of the facts discovered during our own investigation into the causes of it, save to the relevant bodies. We have worked closely with the HSE, the police and the BBC investigation teams and offered them our full co-operation at all times. Although we have been working with the BBC's investigation team, we remain uncompensated for the loss of our cherished vehicle: the construction and maintenance of which was acknowledged by the HSE as being pivotal to the survival of the driver. We continue to refrain from public comment on what we believe were the causes of the crash because there are other, more appropriate forums in which the facts may one day emerge. There is one thing that we do wish to make clear at this juncture though. In July 2006, at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, Colin Fallows drove Vampire at a Motorsports Association accredited average speed of 310 mph, and Mark Newby drove the team's other jet car Split Second to an average speed of 338.74 mph. In both cases the terminal speeds were substantially in excess of these averages. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 16th September: The Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se has been updated with a great interview with Pro Mod racer Patrick Wikström after his event win at the FIA European Finals. J+W Automotive has launched a new web site, which can be viewed at www.jwautomotive.co.uk. The site was designed and is maintained by Peter Walters Race Design. Johnstone and Walters specialise in body work and paint, but offer all kinds of other services including the construction of hot rods and race cars, exampled of which can be seen on the web site. The latest update features a photo sequence of the constructoin of Pete Walters' new Super Pro ET dragster which will be ready for the 2008 season, and coming soon are photographs of Bob Glassup's Capri, undergoing modificatoins including a four-link. ©Eurodragster.com Elias Vathias' GreekDragster.com web site has been updated with the Pan Hellenic records of the Greek Drag Racing Championship. The page at www.greekdragster.com/records/records.htm shows both ET and speed records for the quarter mile plus chronological records since 2001. Bike Weekend day 1 results. 15th September: Many thanks to David Anniwell of Santa Pod Raceway's timing crew for forwarding us the top fives in UK Championship classes at the end of today's qualifying at the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway: Funny Bike Neil Midgley 6.7830/196.44 Tim Blakemore 7.0329/177.22 Stephen French 7.1270/175.81 Stu Chamberlain 7.5678/169.10 Paul Knapp 8.8851/142.42 Pro Stock Bike Dave Beck 7.4831/176.50 Len Paget 7.5919/169.22 Richard Gipp 7.8322/151.01 Ray Debben 7.9289/162.92 Super Street Bike Steve Venables 7.6161/190.64 Graham Balchin 7.6721/190.77 Mark Watkins 7.8564/186.51 Mark Fisher 7.8702/188.97 Richard Stubbins 7.8918/183.75 Comp Bike Conrad Skett 7.6579/172.52 Kevin Charman 8.1861/167.21 Philip Leamon 8.4749/153.48 Sandra Chaplain 8.5442/155.05 Alan Young 8.6630/164.12 9.50 Bike Jason Macan 9.5008/141.06 Chris Reed 9.5039/139.80 Fred Furlong 9.5218/143.71 Greg Skett 9.5462/145.07 Richard Sawatzki 9.5531/144.21 Supertwin Top Fuel Wendy Clutterbuck 8.9269/146.60 Andrew Smith 9.2869/140.55 Shawn Rodman 9.6498/136.36 Martin Wildash 29.1592/16.66 Supertwin Top Gas Chris Mott 9.1191/143.71 Les Harris 9.6008/136.81 Chris Stebbings 9.6779/132.34 Brian Udall 10.4383/131.12 Don Irvine 10.5879/122.28 Supertwin ET Steve Partridge +0.0349 12.8349/103.22 Peter Harrison +0.1609 12.3609/109.72 Kevin Bailey +0.1620 12.1620/111.72 Mike Nelthorpe +0.1628 14.1628/97.23 John O'Sullivan +0.305612.7056/105.92 There will be one more session of qualifying tomorrow and then eliminations in the afternoon. Sheavills adds to the fireworks. 14th September: The UK's Barry Sheavills is to return to the seat of a Top Fuel Dragster at the Flame and Thunder Show at Santa Pod Raceway on Saturday 3rd November. In his first appearance in a Top Fueller since the 2006 Bahrain Drag Racing Festival Barry will be lining up against Norway's Linda Thun Tønseth in the traditional season-ending match race. "Rune Fjeld called me up this afternoon and offered me the seat in the car", Barry told Eurodragster.com. "He said I should start eating salad and get my bike out! I will be driving the dragster which Janne Ahonen drove in the FIA Championship this season and I should fit in it because it's bigger than the last car I drove. We have been reasonably quick in November, and Andy Carter has been into the fours at the Flame and Thunder Show, so if the weather is up to it then we will try to put down a number. Getting back in the car will allow me to keep my hand - or foot! - in and hopefully give a boost to our plans to get something together for next year." ©Eurodragster.com The last-minute offer has enforced a change to Barry's plans. "I was going to the NHRA races in Las Vegas and Pomona", he said. "But I've cancelled that because you don't get the chance to drive a Top Fueller every day. I'm sorry to all the people I was meant to meet out there but I hope that all of my friends and fans who have supported me all through the years will come along to Santa Pod." The plan is for two runs, one at 13:00 and the other at 17:00, to take advantage of the weather conditions. "I really must say a big Thank You to Rune Fjeld for the offer", added Barry. "It was a bit of a shock to get the call this afternoon but it didn't take me very long to get over it and say yes please!" Barry also asked us to say a big Well Done to Andy Carter on overtaking him as the all-time top FIA Top Fuel Dragster points earner at the FIA European Finals. "I must congratulate Andy", he said. "He deserves it and his 4.64 last weekend was a good way to lose my title." Enter the bull rider. 14th September: UK Supertwin racer Ian Turburville says that the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod were just incredible with four days of intense racing, perfect weather and perfect organisation: I turned up with my only goal being to qualify with the best in Europe, a tough job when my best so far is just 7.4 seconds and they all run in the sixes! Adam Charnley was there waiting to help me set up as usual, top man. He had been there early to test his lovely Legend race car. Crew Chief Steve Leedell arrived and started prepping the bike then tuner Ronny Aasen turned up with new crew member Steve Green from Vancouver. We were all set for a great weekend. Stefan Iwanowitsch called on the way to tell me the terrible news that he had smashed is hand and could not come and Jaska Salakari had cancelled with a cracked crank shaft, which left nine bikes. Someone was going home and I didn't want it to be me. Charley Karling was there with his amazing new bike but was having big problems, a shame. Lorenz Stäuble, Günther Sohn, Hans Olav Olstad, Roel Koedam, Per Bengtsson, Acka Riemer and Petri Kalttonen made up the rest of the field and we were all trying very hard. I tried a bit too hard on my first pass, got out of the groove and the bike tried to high-side me at mid track (right, click on picture for large version, picture courtesy and ©:Pete Roberts). Time to calm down, we were not supposed to be bull riding, but I rode it out for an 8.5 second pass much to everyone's relief. There were several wild rides for the others that weekend so I think he crowd got their money's worth. I had to get back out and get over the experience straight away so next pass was against Kalix on his blower bike. I tree'd him and leapt off the line but his big blower bike soon overpowered my jackshaft bike and he beat me. The good news, it was a nice and straight 7.75 second run with a 180 mph terminal, great. Just before the first run on Saturday we found a bent butterfly in one injector and hurriedly replaced it thanks to Acka. Unfortunately this upset the balance of the dual injectors and my usually reliable bike didn't want to fire, they wouldn't let us re-start for some reason. Oh well, we had another pass left to go. Last one was against Per and he is the one guy that I hate to stage against. His 'Beast' is incredibly loud, couldn't hear my bike, and his exhausts point directly sideways, at me! I sat in stage, deafened, and with tears running down my cheeks from his nitro fumes, I just lost concentration and the run was a mess so I aborted it. Lo, Hans Olav and Gunther had been having some wild rides of their own and were running down to 6.5, an incredible sight. I got #1 qualifier and great pal Gunther in round one, hey, you never know, right? I focused as hard as I could, stared at the lights so hard I could have melted them, full stage, amber, bang! I was off and had nailed him to the tree, just maybe! At half track he was leaving me for dead but my eighth speed was 170 mph to his 175mph so I was up there with him. He just killed me with an awesome 6.6 second run but at only 198.26, the same terminal I pulled at the Bulldog Bash. It was an honour and privilege to race my heroes that weekend and I hope one day to be up there with them in that heady six second zone. Congratulations to Lo for a well deserved win and #1 plate and to team mate Urs for his TF win. A big pat on the back to Ian King for his win in Top Fuel Bike as his team put in an incredible amount of hard work. That was a truly magnificent racing event all round, including the Mustang and Spitfire show. Now for the national finals against the blown Pumas, even quicker bikes, but I feel confident of once more putting on a good show. Big plans are already afoot for the bike this winter and I have to work very hard to find some funding if I am to tour Europe with Ronny. I hope we can add to our existing sponsor list who were all so vital in this years racing. So please support Custom Chrome Europe, Red Line Oil, Gates Belts, Arias Pistons, Simpson, S&S Cycle, Jims, Curbishley Automotive, Rush Racing, Zodiac, Sprint Dampers, RST Wheels, Fast Lane Racing, King Racing, A&A Business Supplies Ltd. Innovate Dataloggers. Bentec Transmissions and Tim Fountain. ©Eurodragster.com Chivers on the top step. 14th September: FIA European Finals Pro ET winner Charlie Chivers has been in touch to thank those who helped him to the podium at Santa Pod Raceway last week. "Many thanks to Bob and Darren and also Dave Carter, and the Charlie's Angels The Wicked Lady Wild Bunch Crew for all their hard work in helping me achieve my first ever win in Pro ET", says Charlie. "To do it at such a big event as the European Finals it was fantastic, to be on that number one box at the presentation alongside runner-up Paul Baynton runner up was great. It's hard to explain the feeling of seeing my friends and fellow racers applauding. Thanks to the Pod for a great track, all the marshals for all their hard work throughout the weekend, and to Toyo Tyres and all the Pro ET sponsors. ©Eurodragster.com "Old Ford Capris never die - they turn into race cars. What are the odds of have three Capris in the last four of the biggest field of Pro ET vehicles entered at an event this season? Hard luck Neil Hunter, it may be your turn in a few weeks." Brian Huxley has been in touch on behalf of the whole Top Banana team to congratulate Charlie on his win. "Charlie and the team were on the ball and deserved to win", says Brian. A nice pair. 14th September: Pete Yates of Eurodragster.com News sponsor DS Racewear has been in touch to let us know what cracking weekends both of his sponsored cars, Chemical Reaction and Ramraider had in Pro ET at the FIA European Finals: None of us could believe how smoothly Thursday's qualifying went. With an excellent track crew and very little down time the additional qualifiers were a huge benefit to all the teams. A big thank you to everyone involved - Santa Pod crew, marshals and racers - for making it possible. It is fair to say we had an excellent weekend, in spite of both cars being knocked out in the first round, with Ramraider drawing a crowd on Friday and Saturday nights with a methanol flaming mini-cackle-fest in the pits followed by a real nostalgia film show projected on the side of the DS Racewear van! We couldn't believe how many people came up to us to say how good it was seeing slingshots at an FIA event and how it took them back to when they used to come racing "Back in the day"! We would love to hear from anyone who took pictures of the cars over the weekend and might be able to E-Mail us copies at [email protected]. Darryl Howells in his DASH Racing Chemical Reaction slingshot has been hunting a nine-second run throughout the season. With the poor weather and the decision to change from carb to injection over the winter he was running out of time to do it. He's come agonisingly close before during Wild Bunch competition but made the final leap last weekend with a 9.9862 backed up with a 9.9951, both at a respectable 134mph. The ZanneTec built slingshot made its début in Pro ET back at this year's Main Event and ran alongside Darryl's wife Sarah in the Dog's Bollocks Ramraider slingshot. "The main difference running Pro ET in comparison to Wild Bunch is the Tree", said Darryl. "We run a Pro tree in Wild Bunch so the Sportsman tree takes a bit of getting used to - hence the red lights! Having the opportunity of seven qualifying runs in one day was great, we only managed five as we just couldn't cool the dry blocks quickly enough no matter how many fans we borrowed! If I'd made it further through the rounds that would have been great but I was first round fodder and take away the great experience of racing at the event and of course getting my first nine. We run ten events with the Wild Bunch, plus a couple of RWYB and now the Main Event and European Finals in Pro ET so it's a pretty busy year. I've already secured the top spot in the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Car series and will finish either first or second in the Real Steel Championship in a head to head battle with Crazy Chris Hartnell at the UK National Finals, so in fairness I couldn't ask for much more!" As well as the change to injection there's a whole host of other work to be done alongside the normal end of year rebuild, the team are hoping to have a transbrake fitted to the powerglide - ZanneTec has already been approached to do that work - and the chassis will also be given a powder coat treatment as the previous paint job hasn't really stood the test of time. New rear wheels and tyres are also on the list so it will be bread and water in the DASH camp for a while! Across the other side of the DASH camp is Darryl's wife Sarah who previously campaigned Bernie Nicholas' Destiny's Angel altered before the car was sold back in May. Since then Sarah has snuck back into the driver's seat of the other DS Racewear-sponsored slingshot Ramraider which she drove for the first time a week before this year's Main Event. With her third pass in the car she'd secured the team's quickest ET and MPH and then promptly put the car into the eights with an 8.98. The Main Event was great but the rain put pay to backing up the eight second run and the car hasn't quite managed it since with anyone else. "There are four of us in the driving team for the car and I didn't want to mess up the plans the boys had already made for the year so just asked if I could drive at Main Event and European Finals", said Sarah. "It seems to have worked so that's probably how we'll work it for next year too as Darryl will need crew for Chemical Reaction so I'll take up that role apart from the two big events when I'll jump back in Ramraider. The European Finals was the opportunity I'd been waiting for and despite feeling really groggy me and 'the Dog' managed back to back eights with a spooky 8.9862 alongside Darryl's initial 9.9862 followed by an 8.9999". Sarah's best qualifying run was the quickest in Pro ET at 9.03 - in fact Sarah scored the top seven quickest runs in the class but still went out in the first round! "I'd convinced myself that it didn't matter if I went out first round but I was gutted especially when I would have got to race Nicky Frost (One of our lady racers - Ed) in the second round - it's not often the ladies get to race is it really!", said Sarah. "Anyway, we're chuffed to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the lads built a fabulous eight-second slingshot and now perhaps we'll focus on leaning the motor out to see what it's really capable of next year. The chassis is tagged to 7.50 but we're not sure our budget is!' ©Eurodragster.com DS Racewear has been having a good season all round, with Pete working hard on expanding the range of suppliers. We are now able to supply not only a full range of RJS and Simpson racewear, gloves, boots, underwear etc, but can now supply any SFI certified parts for your engine, transmission or chassis too. This is not a sideline to us, we deal only in SFI certified parts. What ever you need, give us a call on 01454 857328 or 07968 809984, or E-Mail [email protected] and we can give you a quote, or visit our web site at www.dsracewear.co.uk. All prices include shipping from the States and all taxes and duties, there are no hidden charges. Watch out for some great offers coming up at the end of the season on RJS 2008 Race suits too. On a last note, thanks to the following for all their help at the European Finals: Mark Hartnell, Matt 'Joey' OLeary, Scott Durrant, Lisa Rumble, Ian, Ozzy and Harrison Brown from Thatadoo Racing, Bernie Nicholas (long distance tuning tips!) and of course the Santa Pod Raceway and Eurodragster.com teams on such a great event. Well done to all the other 'Wild Bunch Exiles' who were at the meeting: Phil Sweeney in the very promising Bone Idle altered which made it to the second round of Super Pro ET, Roy Wilding who has beaten Sarah to the 'Most number of cars raced in a single season' trophy with a score of three - and Darren Law is on equal points with two following his Super Street début in Charlie Chivers' Taxi Express. On a sad note, our heart felt commiserations to Martin Holgate and all the family on the obvious reasons for his no show following the tragic passing of daughter Rhianne. Hot Rod Drag Outlaws. 14th September: Dave McKenzie tells us that the Supercharged Outlaws will be at running at this weekend's Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway, with no less than six cars pounding the asphalt: Renewing their duel from the York meeting will be Lee Gallimore and Dave McKenzie in their altereds. Lee is hoping to break into the seven second zone and Dave is hoping the eight second run will be on the cards this weekend. Also out for the first time with the Outlaws will be Alec Coe and the Shy Torque slingshot with Johnny Mental on board to help iron out all the bugs in this year's combination. Roy Wilding will be putting the Hemi Hunter slingshot through its paces this weekend as well. ©Eurodragster.com The other two cars will be the new altereds from Brian Gandy and Tony Smith. Both are there to get a handle on their new rides and are hoping to put in some full passes this weekend after the shakedown checkout passes at York in August. The Outlaws also have a new advert-free web site at www.supercharged-outlaws.co.uk. Swift snippets. 14th September: Maybe a bit late now but UK Rocket Dragster pilot Carolynne Campbell urgently needs the use of a transporter to get her Laffin Gas dragster to Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend. "We live just round the corner from Santa Pod and the car is twenty three feet long and four and a half feet wide", says Carolynne. If you can help please call Carolynne on 07796 936525. ©Eurodragster.com Carl Olson has been in touch from the USA looking for information on the pick-up at right, which was photographed at Santa Pod. If you can help then please drop us a line at [email protected] and we'll put you in touch. Eurodragster.com's American Car Imports-sponsored live coverage of last weekend's FIA European Finals attracted 131,657 visitors, 886,528 page views and 4,822,462 hits. Thanks to everyone who tuned in, to all the racers for giving us so much to write about, to the management, staff and officials of Santa Pod Raceway and Santa Pod Racers Club for the unending help, and to American Car Imports, Webster Race Engineering and MPM Oil for their support. Editor's note: We're still a little weary from last weekend which has led to a backlog of news. We still have a small pile of news items including pieces from Urs Erbacher, Ray White, Hans Olav Olstad, Knut Söderquist and Steve Pateman which we shall post on tomorrow's update and then everything will be back to normal. Keep the news coming to [email protected]. PMR calling Super Mod aspirants. 14th September: Paul Marston has been in touch regarding the 2008 Super Modified season and the rule changes currently being considered for naturally aspirated cars: The Super Modified Racers Association has over the past years heard plenty of drivers and teams say that they would run the naturally aspirated option in Super Modified if there was a little more of a concession made for this and a bigger weight break for an automatic transmission, which to be fair is the most common combination currently used in Sportsman classes. Paul Marston Racing would like to hear from any team not currently competing in Super Modified who would consider running naturally aspirated automatic or Lenco in SuMo in 2008. The rule changes being looked at are the first for three years and will be seriously considered at the Super Modified AGM, which will be held within weeks, earlier than usual to allow the maximum time for teams to take advantage of these new weight breaks. I do emphasize that the proposed new rules are designed specifically to allow naturally aspirated automatic competitors to become more on par with the nitrous cars. This is no easy ticket, even with full implementation of the proposed changes you will not be instantly competitive with the nitrous Lenco teams which currently dominate. You will have to develop, just the same as the nitrous teams have. Ideally we need four to six new teams to learn from one another in the same way as the nitrous Lenco combinations have. It will take time but this is a real opportunity. If you have been considering it then this is the time to decide. Remember Super Modified also ran rounds at two non-National events, Big Bang and Bug Jam, during 2007. If there is enough interest in this exciting new development then Paul Marston Racing will hold an informal meeting of prospective new teams to answer any questions and gauge support for 2008. Please contact me on 07831 650230 or [email protected] as soon as possible. The meeting will be held before or at the UK National Finals. ©Eurodragster.com Our day out. 14th September: The staff of Carolina Classics shut up shop for a day last week as boss Cliff Hepton treated them to a day out at the FIA European Finals, writes Nigel Taylor: "The weather was excellent and the racing was excellent" says Nigel. "Members of staff hardly left the stands in the fear they might miss one of the races. Big credit to all the staff at Santa Pod for all their hard work keeping the public entertained, it certainly worked for us and we might even have persuaded the guvnor to treat us again next time! Apologies to Kev Slyfield whose invitation to the pits we never got chance to take up, and to Chief Starter Ian Marshall whom we never got chance to meet as we didn't see him move from the start line all day...is he still there now? ©Eurodragster.com "For those who saw Saturday Night Takeaway with Ant and Dec that was a Carolina Classic sale, now painted as the Starsky and Hutch car. That will get a little publicity for us...I am not sure whether that will be a good or bad thing (Good so long as it doesn't involve a phone-in competition - Ed), but it put a smile on the face of a lot of viewers. We're all off to the Hot Rod Drags now, see you all there." Web site updates. 14th September: The current standings in the ACU UK Drag Bike Championships are now available on the King Racing web site at www.kingracing.com. The US Competition Plus web site is now showing an FIA European Finals report and pictures produced by our very own Roger. Check it out at www.competitionplus.com. Stefani Robinson has updated the Robinson Race Reports web site at www.robinson-race-reports.co.uk with a report and pictures of UK Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Andy Robinson's weekend at the FIA European Finals. "Apart from a disappointing breakage in the semi-finals causing us to lose our lead in the points in the FIA Championship, we had a very successful weekend with a new Personal Best plus we won the NDRS Championship!", says Stefani. "The next meeting for us is the UK National Finals which will be our last this year. We hope to tie up the British Championship and run as low down in to the teens as possible!" Alan Currans' excellent Acceleration Archive has been updated with a fifth page of Lawrie Gatehouse's pictures from the 1970s. "Top Fuel is well catered for with Ronnie Picardo, Roz Prior, Trevor Young and Peter Crane featured", says Alan. "In addition there is a smattering of wheelie cars, Top Street and Pro Comp to add a touch of variety". You can take a look at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk/lawrie/gatehouse_05.html. ©Eurodragster.com Steve Nelmes has updated his Fotopic gallery with shots from the Parade of Power in Wellingborough town centre. You can check out Steve's shots at stevenelmes.fotopic.net. Tim Fountain has updated his photographic web site with pictures from the FIA European Finals, joining shots of Ultimate Street Car, the Bulldog Bash and Minis In The Park. You can find Tim's shots at www.timtime.co.uk. Paul Lister's FIA European Finals pictures can be found on the Drag Car Anon web site at www.dragcaranon.co.uk. Elias Vathias has updated the GreekDragster.com web site with racers' best performances in the 2007 Greek Drag Racing Championship together with a personal statistics page for each. "A big thank you to our database designer and programmer, Ioannis Chloptsios, for his excellent work, as well as to Michael Vathias for his patience in entering and verifying all the data", says Elias. You can check out the fruits of all of this work at www.greekdragster.com. Peter Walters Race Design has launched a new web site at www.pwrd.co.uk. Peter tells us that the new site has more content and will be updated regulary with new pieces of work. "In the works at the moment are two T-Shirt designs, a web site and a Top Methanol Dragster paint scheme, and much more coming soon, hopefully!", says Peter. "You will see our brand new ad in Custom Car's November issue, thanks to Graham Mazzey for organising that". You can find out more about PWRD's services on the web site. Belinda Bears up at 246 mph. 13th September: 2007 FIA European Top Methanol Funny Car Champion Freddy Fagerström came to the aid of six-year-old Jessica Stevens at Santa Pod Raceway at the weekend. Jessica needed a chauffeur for a teddy bear named Belinda and made a beeline for her favourite racer, who drove Belinda to a 5.7 at 246 mph during Saturday's first TMFC qualifying session making her, we're sure, the fastest bear on the planet (right, click on picture for large version, picture courtesy and ©Stefan Boman). Jessica's dad Richard takes up the story: Belinda is the Year 2 class mascot of St Michaels School in Stewkley. What normally happens is that each of the Year 2 students gets to take Belinda home with them for one weekend in the year for the normal Teddy Bear picnic in the garden, or to accompany the child on a family holiday. On returning to school the student has to produce a report on what they got up to. Belinda attended the FIA European Finals with Jessica who came up with the bright idea of seeing if any of the drivers would take Belinda for a spin down the track so that she could recount the experience into her school report on Monday. I thought "OK, we'll ask one of the Pro ET racers to stick her on the dash for a tame run" but no, Jessica had a hidden agenda. She would only allow her favourite car and driver the privilege of getting their hands on Belinda Bear. This turned out to be none other than now-2007 Top Methanol Funny Car Champion Fast Freddy Fagerström who when approached by Jessica was more than happy to oblige with her request. In an instant Belinda was cable tied to the RPM meter and shift light. Jessica was ecstatic that this was actually happening, even though mum and dad had reservations whether Belinda was going to return in one piece, and how would they explain it to Jessica's teacher on Monday if she didn't. But it was too late now, the car was on its way into the fire up road with Circus Fagerström in hot pursuit to put in a qualifying run. ©Eurodragster.com The RPM meter and shift light fell off during the burnout and Freddy had to shift and gauge the RPM by ear during his 5.727/246.52 run - what a pro! Here is Jessica's school report about Belinda's weekend: Belinda Bear and I went to Santa Pod for the weekend with our family in our motorhome. We looked at the drag racing cars and this is a picture of my favourite car with Belinda and me. This car is called Fast Freddy. It is a funny car. We met the driver and he let us sit in his car. Then he asked me if he could take Belinda for a ride and so then he strapped her in the car. So we went and found a good spot to watch the race, and the crowd cheered Freddy when they heard about Belinda on the radio. Fast Freddy was really noisy and raced down the road. I could see Belinda Bear in the window. They came first. Fast Freddy and Belinda Bear went 247 mph in 5.7 seconds. Freddy was pleased. Belinda Bear and I got interviewed by the Swedish press and got our picture taken with Freddy. I then took Belinda back to our motorhome for a rest after our adventure. She smells funny now and is not as soft. Mummy said she would stick her in the washing machine. You will be pleased to hear that Belinda (now also known as Fast Teddy - Ed) is safe and well and has been returned to her former glory, ice white with red ears and red dickie-bow - not grey, ginger and crispy as she was following the run. Belinda Bear is currently looking forward to a normal sedate picnic with another pupil this coming weekend but has expressed an interest to run in Top Fuel next year if she can get the sponsorship. Jessica and her family would like to thank Freddy and his fantastic team (Peter, Klas, Anton, Per, Kent) for Belinda's experience and congratulate them on their 2007 success, and we look forward to seeing them race again in 2008. A big thank you also to all the other drivers and teams, and not forgetting the Santa Pod staff for putting on one hell of a show as always. Flamholc heads west. 13th September: In less than a fortnight Swedish Pro Stock racer Adam Flamholc and crew of Fredrik Åkesson, Johan Pripp, Michael Carlsson and Robert Broden will leave home for an adventure in the USA. "We have bought a Pontiac GTO Pro Stock car from Justin Humphreys and a new motor from Steve Schmidt", says Adam. "The car is located at the Richmond, Virginia shop of our good friends and mentors Chester and Kevin Houghtaling. We are going to a few test sessions and then the NHRA National event in Richmond on the first weekend in October. "This is a dream come true for us, and it is possible with help from our sponsors HC-Bilservice (Shelby Rims dealer), Amalie Oil, Custom Graphics, YIT, Karlstad bil and Malmö motorrenoverring. ©Eurodragster.com "For those interested you can follow us on our web sites at www.mmr.se and www.glueharbor.com." Adam is also planning to send a Blog to Eurodragster.com so stay tuned for updates direct from the USA. Bike Weekend update. 13th September: Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paul Marshall for sending us Version 2 of the official entry list for this weekend's Extreme Peformance Bike Weekend at Santa Pod Raceway. You can check out the entry list by clicking here, and you can find out more about the event at www.extremebike.co.uk. This weekend's Extreme Performance Bike Weekend is the penultimate event in the 2007 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme, with £200 up for grabs. The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award of £50 will be awarded to the first UK Championship racer this weekend to record a perfect Reaction Time of 0.000. The Award is open to Pro Stock Bike, Funny Bike, Comp Bike, Super Street Bike, 9.50 Bike, Supertwin Fuel, Supertwin Gas and Supertwin ET and is available during qualifying or eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the weekend. The Perfect Light Award is jointly presented by Eurodragster.com and high-performance hose and fitting manufacturer Speedflow whose web site you can find at www.speedflow.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com The Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts Perfect ET Award of £50 will be awarded to the first racer to run to the thousandth on their index or dial-in during qualifying or eliminations. The Award is open to 9.50 Bike and Supertwin ET and is available during qualifying or eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the weekend. The Perfect ET Award is jointly presented by Eurodragster.com and performance supplier LA Racing Parts whose web site you can find www.laracingparts.com. In addition, should the winner of the Perfect ET Award go on to win the event then a bonus of £100 will be paid by LA Racing Parts. Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts decals must be carried on both sides of the bike to qualify for the Perfect ET Award and bonus. As with other contingency schemes the decals are available from the signing-on office. Neither Tog, Simon nor Roger can make the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend but David Anniwell of Santa Pod Raceway's timing crew has kindly offered to send us qualifying and final results and to keep an eye on any new records, and our Reserve Photographer Peter Donaldson will be putting together a weekend gallery which will be published here. As we will not be present at the event, we will send the money to any Perfect Award winners on receipt of the official timing data, but Perfect ET Award winners please note that you will be required to prove that the decals are on your bike either with a photograph or with an E-Mail of confirmation from a race official. Bennetts AIM for new deal. 13th September: UK blown-alcohol altered team Bennett Racing have announced a sponsorship deal with AIM, a world-leading company in motor sports and race data acquisition technology, electronics, instrumentation, data loggers, digital displays, lap timers, stopwatches and gauges for performance and racing vehicles. AIM has set new standards in many application fields: from Kart to car, from Bike to Junior Dragster: the MyChron3 660 is today considered the most powerful datalogger designed for these kinds of vehicles. AIM has now launched a pretty new set of products designed for drag racing: the EVO3 QM datalogger and MXL QM dash logger. In order to support launch in the drag racing world AIM is now sponsoring Bennett Racing, the quickest methanol altered in the NFAA and the UK, a top class racing team which has now been racing for twenty six years with an impressive history of success. Frank Bennett purchased his first race car in 1982, and raced as Phantasm for many years. His son Luke - who was practically born at the Shakespeare County track – is today the team's Crew Chief. Partnership will include both sponsorship and development/fine tuning (R&D) of all AIM products for drag racing use. ©Eurodragster.com Swift snippets. 13th September: Paul Watson of Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor DynoSpeed Developments says that Ken Cooper's first ride on his Pro Stock Bike went quite well, with nearly all runs in the sevens. "Ken ran 7.85, 7.84, 8.01 and finally 7.72", says Grumpy. "That was not quick enough to qualify as the bump spot was 7.57. We did have some issues with the launch on the bike but Ken soon got round them, however this left us with too much base pressure which was spinning hard out the gate. We feel sure that the next pass would have been a 7.5. I would like to thank Both Pixie and Fast Harry for crewing at short notice, excellent job. It was great racing in PSB with Tom Tinndahn showing the way, and good to see everyone again - I had a great time." ©Eurodragster.com European Champions' Champions. 13th September: We are indebted to our good buddy Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe for a very rapid update of the FIA and FIM/UEM Champions' Champions lists as they stand at the end of the 2007 season. "In the all-time FIA points earners Dan Larsen has passed 2000 points and moved into the top ten for the first time at the expense of Jari Konola", says Andy. "Lex Joon also passed 2000 points, and Eero Knihtilä, Tommi Haapanen and Thomas Natass all passed 1000 points. In Top Fuel Andy Carter overtook Barry Sheavills as the #1 all time points scorer. Lex Joon, Tommi Haapanen and Thomas Nataas passed 1000 points, Lex Joon went from #9 to #6 in the all-time standings, and Thomas Nataas moved into the top ten for the first time at #8. "Urs Erbacher is the first FIA racer to win Championships in two different classes, and Dave Wilson has now won five FIA TMD Championships in a row - an FIA Championship best. Jimmy Ålund has won four consecutive Pro Stock Championships in a row, equalling Niclas Andersson. "In Top Methanol Dragster Krister Johansson moved up to # 6 in the all-time standings whilst in Top Methanol Funny Car Dan Larsen achieved 2000 points, Ulf Leanders is up to #2 and Arvid Grødem up to #8. In Pro Stock Jimmy Ålund achieved 2000 FIA points in only five years, the fastest driver to achieve this, also up to #3 in the all-time standings Eero Knihtilä achieved 1000 and moved into the top ten for the first time at #10. Magnus Hansson has moved up to #6. ©Eurodragster.com "In the all-time FIM/UEM points earners Ian King passed 1000 points and misses the top ten by just two points. Anders Larsen is up to #6 and Len Paget up to #8. In Top Fuel Bike Ian King has won 1000 points and moves up to #4. Peter Svensson is up to #7. In Supertwin Joachim Reimer is up to #8 and Jaaka Salakari is into top ten for the first time at #10. In Pro Stock Bike Martin Bishop is up to #4 and Anders Abrahamsson up to #7." You can check out the European Champions' Champions details by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. RSSE heads to conclusion. 13th September: Its nearing the end of the season now with all of the gentlemen of Real Steel Street Eliminator looking forward to the last big race event of the year, the UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway at the end of September. Ray Comer has been in touch with the latest: Its been a great season for Real Steel Street Eliminator. We've had new racers joining the class with a few others still trying to get their new car blues sorted out. 2008 is looking good already with bumper new entries expected as well as the old familiar faces...well, old anyway. Street Eliminator remains one of the most unique and one of the hardest classes to compete in when you consider the numbers some of the cars are running on pump gas, treaded tyres and yet still maintaining their street legal status but year on year it still attracts new blood. Class records have been falling all season with both the ET and speed records broken and reset several times. They've now both been reset again - to an almost inconceivable level - by Andy Frost with an incredible ET record of 7.876 and an equally impressive speed record of 188.53. That's in full Street Eliminator trim: taxed, mot, and treaded tyres - if that doesn't impress the thousands of SE fans out there nothing will! It certainly impressed most of the racers present at Shakespeare County Raceway! Andy isn't the first racer to run a seven in Street Eliminator, that honour goes to John 'Two Tins' Sleath, but Andy is the first to back it up. The points going into the finals are: Steve Nash SE598 5310 Andy Frost SE490 5065 Colin Lazenby SE56 4025 Jeff Meads SE504 3860 Steve Pateman SE69 3260 Jon Webster SE507 3090 Alex McIntosh SE22 2910 Jerry Charles SE706 2660 Alan Simms SE66 2520 Ian Hook SE1 2350 Wilf Stacey SE600 2230 Ian Jackson SE434 2140 Ray Tucker SE9 1740 Jason Weir SE52 1470 John Holingworth SE460 870 George Scanlon SE744 810 Ray Comer SE24 730 Mark Perkins SE666 580 Ron Haslett SE718 540 Bill MacDermid SE1969 380 Pete Smith SE350 300 Paul Webster SE1320 100 With the ladder as tight as it is between the top two, Splinter in number one position and Frosty right up behind him in the number two slot, it's going to be a really hard fought final with Frosty just having to go one more round than Splinter to win, while Splinter can't afford to make any mistakes to stay ahead. Both drivers got to see a red light at the recent Open Sport Nationals at Shakey, although Splinter managed to escape being penalised. Will the pressure get to one of them first? Neither racer has won the class previously, although Frosty had won the Street Eliminator Pro class before, so whoever wins it will be an epic battle. I wouldn't want to be up against a proven seven-second car in a final so I don't envy Splinter at all. The rest of the pack haven't exactly been hanging around either. Team 56 put in a great effort to get the 210 Sedan back on the track again in such a short time after Colin Lazenby's dance with the wall at the Bug Jam. They certainly won't be giving anything away. Nor will Jeff Meads, the little yellow Pop has been running like a scalded cat recently. Steve Pateman missed a round so unfortunately will not get the benefit of the 500 all-rounds bonus points which will effectively drop him down the ladder, but with drag racing it's not over until the end so anything can happen. The middle of the pack is still an interesting mixture of blown, procharged, turbo and nitrous cars all competing for those oh so important round wins with Jon Webster (WRE and Powerpour) and Alec McIntosh both pushing hard to get further up the ladder. With Jerry Charles, Al Simms , Ian Hook and Wilf Stacey all within a few points of each other the competition all the way through the class should be a thrill a second. ©Eurodragster.com Fire up the Bird. 12th September: UK Super Pro ET racer Vince Gibbs says that he and car owner Ray Eldred are finally really happy with the way that the Sanity Assassin Firebird is running, following some real headaches. "The first Peak Performance Day outing left us with a hole punched in one of the pistons due to the crowns being only two millimetres thick", says Vince. "Note to all others buying a ready to run motor, always check everything. The second outing at Shakespeare County Raceway found us leaving the facility early with one of the 'new' rods in the engine poking out of the side of the sump, but the new car did run 7.31/186 so the potential could be seen. So with two weeks before the European Finals we managed to source all of the components, and after an all-night thrash on Wednesday it all came together and we arrived at Santa Pod early, but not so bright, on Thursday morning. ©Eurodragster.com "Dialling the car in was not too bad and we ended up qualifying fourteenth and on the last three runs we were within 0.013 of our dial-in each time. This has been a long time coming as Ray and I have known each other since we were engineering apprentices together. The new car has cost us both of our original race cars and we pooled the proceeds to import the rolling chassis and the motor from the US late last year. "We have to give special thanks to Geof Hauser for all of his support, training, advice and patience; Chris Orthodoxou for his invaluable help (but we will get you back next time); John Everitt for his support, assistance and enthusiasm (diamond geezer); and finally to our crew of Chris and James who have proved themselves excellent additions to the team. We're looking forward to the UK National Finals." Of PBs and boring runs. 12th September: Team member Andy Thetford says that Mick Payne's Super Pro ET Dodge Coronet The Artful Dodger had a bit of an up and down weekend at the FIA European Finals: On Thursday morning we ran a sedate 8.02/166.54. Fair enough, dial in 8.00 and just run the numbers. Wrong! A slight change to the new (some say boring) wheelie bars and a new Personal Best, 7.62/179.82, were we a happy bunch! Friday morning dial in 7.60, slight alterations and away we go. Great burnout, hard and straight launch, everything looking good...oh Christ the driver's door flew off at approximately 100 feet but Mick still went though at 7.66, not bad for a car with active aircon. After a visit to Halfords and a few hours' hard work a patched up door was put back on the car. So dial in another 7.60, good burnout, strong crisp exhaust note and off we go, door staying on, straight and oh no not again, a breakout 7.58/180.82 and another PB! ©Eurodragster.com For Saturday morning's first round of eliminations we paired up with Steve Neimantas in the Aston Martin, so what do we dial in now? Let's play safe, 7.55. Another little adjustment and down the fire up road we go. Once again another great burnout, engine sounding sweet, lights go down and off goes the Aston quickly followed by the Dodge. Unfortunately a bit too quick, red light and breakout, 7.503/186.06. Another PB, outstanding, what a weekend. We would like to thank Dave and Steph Milam of She Devil Racing for all their help and support, the track crew for picking up our door, and a final big thank you to Kev Slyfield for keeping us occupied on Saturday night! One last note: we would like to apologise for the wheelie bars, sorry if we're now boring, but straight and fast seems more appropriate than trying to take out trackside photographers, although that was fun. A tale of two tails. 12th September: UK Top Methanol Dragster racer Derek Flynn of Eurodragster.com News sponsor Gold RV still has his ponytail after the FIA European Finals, and your News Editor now has to grow one. Derek explains why: Our first run off the trailer was another best ET with a 6.13, and everyone I met seemed to have a pair of scissors being sharpened. However, I came back from the race with the ponytail still intact, thanks to a broken reverser and two blower belts which let go on the first shift. It was all a bit disappointing really as the incrementals looked good enough for a hair cut until the belts let go. Sorry Tog, I guess you are not going to the barber's for a while, but my team reckon it won't take you too long to grow a ponytail half way down your back! However, the year is not over yet and perhaps we can both get our hair cut at the UK National Finals, providing we can keep the rubber band on the blower. ©Eurodragster.com Fiona and I would like to thank John Price and Flint Insurance for Fiona's thrill ride in the Two Seat Sragster, as well as Jon Webster and the team who looked after her so very well. Fiona said "It was very thrilling indeed and I could not believe how quick it launched or how fast it went, and it was all a bit of a blur for the first three seconds", but she came back with one of those silly grins on her face that us racers know so well. I hope that was what it was from or I am going to have words with Mr Webster! Thanks to the Go Gold crew who tried so hard to lose my tail and thanks to everyone involved at Santa Pod for another great track and well run event, and thank god the weather was good. Flamin' groovy I. 12th September: The GreekDragster.info team sent us some news on a Pontiac Firebird which used to race in Northern European countries few years ago: Lots of people will remember the beautiful Pat's Toy (Patrick Van Hal's Toy). It is still alive and has been running strongly in Greece and southern countries like Malta, Bulgaria and Cyprus since 2003. The current owner and driver of the car is Makis Nefrem, who lives in the fairy tale city of Kavala in the north of Greece. The Nefrem Racing Team enters almost any event throughout the country, whether a Championship round or just a show. Makis is a multinational event winner and has been in the 7.5s in Malta and the 7.9s in Greece. The car is one of the most popular amongst Greek fans and Makis always tries to give a good show for his audience. In the recent fourth round in Polikastro last weekend he finished in second place with a best run of 8.35/271 kmh. Alex Vourvachis, who works as a journalist for Option Press publishing company and is administrator of Dragster.gr, managed to shoot this amazing photo during the last race. Team mechanics and the Crew Chief were confused whether to start a barbecue or proceed into stage... ©Eurodragster.com Flamin' groovy II. 12th September: UK Rocket Dragster pilot Carolynne Campbell has been in touch with the latest news about her Laffin' Gas car including a change of fuel: After every track test, the whole team stops off at the pub just up the road from Shakespeare County Raceway and go over what happened. After the last test, where we lit four rockets but they burned with very low energy, we all decided to park the car until the fuel problems were solved. I'd discussed the problem of the sheer unpredictability of the cardboard fuel grain with Glenn Stockton, safety supremo at SCR. I'd suggested going back to plastic liners. Glenn was against the idea and he had a good point. The plastic goes well but it's dirty, smokey and leaves little strings of plastic all over the track. So the next idea was to try soaking the cardboard in cooking oil. Bio-Fuel! We knew that this would be powerful, but it was an unknown quantity. It meant a whole series of expensive single-rocket static tests to get on top of the new fuel combination. The last report tells of our first test. If we'd used that set-up, we would probably have blown the back off the car!!. So we've done a series of tests varying the nitrous flow and the amount of bio-fuel we put in. Now we've got manageable rockets that will be safe in the car and they're very tuneable, with a thrust range of between 1,000 lbs and 2,000 lbs per tube. We can now go as fast, or as slow, as we wish. Glenn had also expressed concerns about the very narrow rear track. If we had a blow-out, or if for any other reason the car got seriously sideways, it would probably roll over. He was right and we agreed with him. So while we've been developing the new rocket, we've widened the rear track by over a foot and added super hard shock absorbers (right). This means the car is much more stable laterally, we can run on less-than-perfect surfaces and are no longer limited to running purely on good drag strips. Now we've got our fingers crossed that our old race transporter will pass its MOT as we can't get the car and all the kit to the track without her! Next time out, we'll be taking eight rockets. We'll be going for two runs at the event. Rockets can be swapped out very quickly, though they are a lot of work to build up. So we're going to get them all fuelled and ready well ahead of time and just do a simple swap-over at the track. You can see a really good video of a static test at www.myspace.com/laffingasrocket. ©Eurodragster.com Swift snippets. 12th September: Paul Vrind has been in touch from the Netherlands to compliment the SPRC race officials on a perfect job at the FIA European Finals. "The seven qualifing runs on Thursday were great", says Paul. "Our four-car race team of Marck Harteveld, Full Lievaart, Wouter van Leersum and Paul Vrind had a great time although we were all out of the race on Saturday. To keep our spirits up we decided to have a party on Saturday evening. Our apologies to everyone we kept awake. Next time we will stay in the race and go to bed early. We are looking forward to our next visit to the ever-improving facility. By the way Simon's pit reports with pictures are a very nice bonus to the already detailed coverage! Keep up the good work Simon!" UK blown alcohol slingshot racer Alex Coe tells us that he will be displaying his Shy Talker dragster at the Modded UK Car Show at Detling Showground in Kent on 22nd-23rd September. "If any car freaks want to come along and bench race then look me up", he says. ©Eurodragster.com Also on the Show front don't forget that UK Super Gas and Junior Dragster team Panther Racing UK are appearing at the first annual fete at the Thorpe Life Skills Centre in Northamptonshire this Sunday (16th) and that they are also auctioning a Flame and Thunder Show family ticket to benefit charity. For more information check out our news item Tombola, Super Gas and Junior Dragster of 31st August. Graham Rennie has been in touch to let us know that his American Automags emporium is currenlty stocking the magazines Drag Racer, Drag Racing Action, Full Throttle News, RPM / Street Shootout and Vintage Fuel, and the books Drag Racing Gassers Photo Archive, Drag Racing Fuel Altereds Photo Archive, Fuel and Guts (The birth of Top Fuel drag racing) and Funny Car Fever. You can find out more on Graham's web site at www.americanautomags.com. FIA European Finals FIM/UEM review. 12th September: Many thanks to FIM/UEM European Drag Bike Championship Co-ordinator Lars Andersson for sending us the last of this year's FIM/UEM event reviews, this one from the FIA European Finals which Lars says was one of the best races he has ever attended in Europe: The track was in splendid condition and the people working on the track did an excellent job, not creating any problems at all. A promoter doing all that he could to make a great race and very nice weather. All these positive things made this a wonderful weekend. A lot of people came, almost too many because getting out on Sunday was a nightmare. First a little about Top Fuel Bike. Before this race it was very even in the points and after qualifying it was even more exciting with Eric Teboul as the fastest man with an 6.20 putting him up in fourteenth place of the fastest ever times. As the second pair in the first round it was Rickard Gustavsson against Luigi Feretti and both had the chance to win the Championship if they went through. After a very tight race Feretti was the winner. On the other side it was Ian King who had the chance to take the Championship. So when we came to the final it was Feretti against King. Both had the same points at this stage so the winner of the race would also be the winner of the Championship. So after a close race the win light showed in Ian King's lane so he was the winner of the race and the winner of the Championship. In Pro Stock there were also good times and hard qualifying. A lot of calculation was going on in the pit about points but everyone agreed that Tom Tinndahn had a very good chance to take home the Championship. When I arrived on Sunday morning could I feel the vibrations in the pit. A lot of rumours had been circulating during the night about illegal bikes and other protest, but they all turned out to be just talk and misunderstandings (Don't they always - Ed). Tom took out Fredrik Fredlund from Åland, the rookie of the year. Fredlund has qualified at every event and that is very good for a racer in his first year. In the next pair it was Anders Larsson against Örjan Gustavsson. As Larsson made a huge cloud of white smoke it was a winn for Örjan but unluckily he also damaged his engine giving a straight line for Tom to the final and the Championship. On the other side of the ladder Anders Abrahamsson took out Len Paget and Martin Bishop won over Anders Jakobsson. So instead of the almost normal three Anders in the semi finals, it was just one. And in the final we did not have any Anders at all this time. Abrahamsson had some trouble on the start line. Tom winning the final and the Championship on his Buell was very nice. I think the first non-Suzuki to win the Championship.I do hope that we will see more Buells and Harleys next year. Super Twin was also very exciting. In the semi final all the riders were down in the 6.6s. It was Günther Sohn against Hans Olav Olstad and Lorenz Stäuble against the experienced newcomer in the class Roel Koedam. In the final Lorenz won over Günther and could start celebrating the Championship. Anders Karling started his new bike for the first time at a race this year but some small problems prevented him from racing. Next year when he has sorted out all the problems will he be very strong. But all others in the class will also be, all those who have been racing this year and many who have been rebuilding bikes. So next year will be good. Ronny Aasen has promised to be back after helping Ian Turburville and Ulf Nylen this year, he is happy to be racing next year. This was the last race for the season. The season started in a very bad way with the almost total rainout of the first race, the Main Event. Then some more rain in Finland just before the semi finals, and the problem in the beginning with the cancellation and reinstatement of Mantorp which also had some weather problems. Then over to Norway for a race without any weather problems and this event in almost perfect weather. I hope that more riders from different countries will do more events next year. I wish this all the time but we can only wait and see. We do have strong bikes in Greece and Italy. If we can get those riders to do all the races it would be very good. I am also hoping that we can include Germany in the Championship again next year. Hockenheim is a good track and it is the right time in the season for a race. I also do hope that we can solve some problems with Norway and Denmark and have races in these two countries. Thank you also very much too all the officials and stewards who have been working during the year. I cannot name them all but they have done very good work. Taking care of the track before and during an event is hard work. Thank you to all the people working on this. Thank you also to Keith Bartlett and Kjell Pettersson who have made good progress this year. I do know that the television which has been done this year is of a very high quality. People who have seen it say that it is the best ever. They also said this last year but it is better this year. I hope that all the plans will work out for promoters, circuits and riders. If so then we will have a really nice season next year. I have already started to wait for it. ©Eurodragster.com The return of Northrace. 12th September: Some of the wildest hot rod cars imaginable are expected to converge on Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend for the best retro style meeting of the year, the nineteenth annual Hot Rod Drags presented by the National Street Rod Association, writes SCR's Jerry Cookson. Previous events at the Warwickshire drag strip have seen over two hundred quality rods, classic coupes, chopped Topolinos and period side-valve flathead roadsters take to the quarter mile drag strip in more ways than one showcasing the old adage that "Hot rods never die - they live long and prosper!" Organised by the oldest sanctioning hot rod club in England, the NSRA's annual foray into drag racing is a two day festival of street legal drag racing and more for pre '73 (unless radical) rods and customs in an atmosphere of gleaming chrome and unbridled horsepower. In addition the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association is expected to field eight teams which will include the appearance of Sweden's Kenneth Feldthusen and the Northrace '34 Chevy. Kenneth, the first overseas visitor to run with the NFAA in 2006, is expected to compete for track record honours, one half of which he still owns with an out-of-the-box 6.782 to beat Smax Smith's eight year old ET record. Top speed honours are yet to be achieved with the magic number to beat being 203.62 mph. Making their first overseas visit will be ProRenovation from the Netherlands with a wild-looking 431 ci powered '41 Willys Coupe, a former British-based gasser! The team will be looking for nines this weekend with the intention of running the coupe in European Super Gas trim next season. Drag strip entertainment will also be provided in full bore from a larger than life posse of Outlaw Anglias with a side order from the Outlaw Flat Fours taking on the Gasser Circus. Representing the Flathead Challenge will be Jim Turnbull's all conquering blown '32 Roadster taking on an assortment of coupes and highboys boarding on the antique side! Coming off a successful weekend at the European Finals, Roger Goring's Firestorm Jet Funny Car will be out to entertain in a bid to beat his own Shakespeare County bests. The main gates will open at 2.00 pm on Friday and the track opens for time trials at 9:30 am on Saturday and 10.30 am on Sunday. Admission is £18 per day or £25 for a weekend pass. Under sixteens go free. Track fee is £18 per day, or £30 buys you a weekend of unlimited runs. For further details go to the track's web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or www.nsra.org.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 12th September: Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger Gorringe is a veteran photo-journalist who has covered virtually every major British event since 1972, and has over the years travelled to many events in both Scandinavia and the NHRA circuit in the USA. We are pleased to announce that Roger has launches his own web site at www.nitroexposure.co.uk. "It's been a long time coming", says Roger. "I have been wearing polo shirts with the NITRO exposure logo on for quite some time now and have now run out of excuses for the lack of a web site. Many people over the last few years have asked "Why haven't you got a web site" or "You should have a web site, you have been around the longest and must have tons of photos". So now here it is and it's been ably put together for me by photographer/racer Nigel Holland. All I have to do now is pay for it and learn how to drive it! I hope to include some old photographs from time to time and a small gallery of photos after each event. The galleries will not by any stretch of the imagination show all the photographs I take but a limited selection. Contact can be made to specify any photo requirements; all classes are covered both two wheel and four and Sportsman to Professional." As you would expect we have had a lot of FIA European Finals web site updates and in the interests of fairness we are going to list them in the order in which they were received. First up is Jamie Dyks whose pictures you can find at www.topnitro.fotopic.net, including one shot showing just how close it was between Rolf Amman and Ian Bishop. Gwynn Clark's Finals pictures are now showing on his Slimboy Fat web site at www.pbase.com/slimboyfat/euro_finals_07. Gary Bower's shots have been posted at www.nitro-burners.com. Colin Donisthorpe has updated his Fotopic gallery at colindonisthorpe.fotopic.net. Michael Fordham has updated his web site at www.michael-fordham.photos.cn.com with all the latest images taken at European Finals. If you require any images you can contact Michael through the web site or call him on 01536 512026 or 07845 686315. Sue Whyte of drag racing sponsor Motorshack has updated her Fotopic gallery at suewhyte.fotopic.net. Sue does a lot more off-track work than anyone else - this is an area which is generally neglected so if you like portraits and pitside work then Sue's shots are well worth a look. Markus Münch has posted two galleries of European Finals shots at dragstripper.smugmug.com/gallery/3454092 and dragstripper.smugmug.com/gallery/3453337. Santa Pod Raceway's web site has been updated with a report by our very own Roger which you can find at www.santapod.co.uk/e_europe_finals.php. Ben Sharich has posted a number of European Finals video clips on his YouTube area at www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Speedblood. The official web site of Junior Olley's Dakota Thunder Jet pick-up has been updated with a link to the new promo DVD. Check it out at www.dakotathunder.co.uk. VP Racing Fuels press release. 12th September: Racers who crave more power than straight methanol can deliver now have another option from Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor VP Racing Fuels, Inc, the world leader in race fuel technology. VP's newest enhanced formula for methanol is called "M5", and it makes more power than any methanol on the market primarily due to improved vaporisation and faster burning speed, according to Steve Burns, VP's President and Director-R&D. "M5 even outperforms our recently introduced M3 Methanol", Burns said. "M5 actually grew out of reports that M3 worked great in 60-70% of methanol applications but couldn't improve the performance of other applications that typically run very rich. In those cases, M3's improved vaporisation reduces volumetric efficiency, such that the car will run faster MPH, but stumble at the launch. While these issues are manageable in most cases with jetting changes or adjustments to the injection systems, we felt it best to engineer a fuel that would require fewer tuning changes, specifically for those situations. "The result of this effort is M5, which at this point, is the best performing methanol on the market and will actually work effectively across all methanol applications, from drag racing to circle track to powerboats and more. With upgraded combustion additives and a lubrication additive to help seal the rings, M5 will make more power than M3 - up to a 50 hp gain in a 1030 hp engine and four to six per cent more than standard methanol - while offering the same or better protection against detonation. Like M3, M5 improves the thermal efficiency of the air/fuel mixture, offering a wider acceptable range of air/fuel ratio. This improved vaporisation enhances the range of ignition and leads to more consistent performance from run to run. The bracket racers who have helped us in testing have experienced no problems with tuning, while seeing variations in their run to run ETs significantly reduced. "The improvement in throttle response is also substantial - we've seen a five per cent increase in torque across a wider rpm range. M5 includes an anticorrosion package, so there's no need to add anything else to address lubrication or corrosion issues. "M5 also reduces aldehyde emissions - the exhaust components in standard methanol - although not quite as well as M3. That means that while M5 is the best choice for maximum power in unrestricted applications, M3 will still be the best option in many applications, notably enclosed stadiums". M5 is not pure methanol and won't pass a water test. "One of the things racers count on with any of VP's methanol products is consistency in production and packaging. VP's M1 Methanol set the standard for years with 99.8+ per cent purity and lined drums. Customers never have to fear contamination. So much of the cheap methanol you see is reclaimed from industrial processes and contains who knows how many contaminants. VP doesn't cut corners or 'reclaim' methanol like some competitors who yield to the pressure for lower prices. We won't even go there. To our customers, that might mean slightly higher prices, but they can also trust our product. They won't be chasing a 'bad ignition' for a month, only to find out their problem was bad fuel." Technical questions regarding application and tuning of M5 can be referred to VP's Technical Department at +1 812-878-2025 or [email protected]. M5 can be ordered via any of VP's regional distribution centers, contact information for which is available on VP's web site at www.vpracingfuels.com. ©Eurodragster.com Swift snippets. 11th September: Congratulations to Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Andy Robinson who is the winner of the 2007 NDRS Bilsport Pro Mod Series. 2007 FIA European Champion Micke Gullquist was runner-up and Robert Joosten third. You can find out more on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se. Courtesy of co-ordinators Kjell Pettersson and Lars Andersson the final points standings in the 2007 FIA and FIM/UEM European Championships are now available on our Simpson Race Products-sponsored points standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Points Standings link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Santa Pod Raceway's Chief Timekeeper Steve Horn has been in touch to ask us to say a massive Thank You from the timing crew to all of the Sportsman racers at the FIA European Finals. "We had minimal problems with race numbers and dial-ins", says Steve. "This made Thursday's seven qualifying sessions the best I've ever witnessed in nearly thirty years at the track." Also grateful is Matt Eley who made his first Super Gas outing at the FIA European Finals. "The whole team would like to thank all the Super Gas racers for such a warm welcome and for all the help and advice throughout the weekend - you know who you are!", says Russ Eley. "Despite going out in the first round, achieving a 9.90 on his first outing in the class was more than Matt expected and made the weekend even more special. Thanks again and we are all looking forward to the UK National Finals." A big well done to Russ Fellows whose VW Beetle blasted into the nines in Comp Eliminator at Santa Pod at the weekend. "Russ completed his 3.0-litre turbo VW rebuild last week, got the car MOT'd on Thursday, drove two hundred miles to the track, then became the first person in the UK ever to run a backed-up nine (9.996) in a street-driven VW, all done with a badly-slipping clutch", says Keith Seume. "It still retain the original chassis, too. I've been around drag race VWs for thirty years and this is a major achievement." UK Super Pro ET racer Crunch asked us to say a big Thank You to Martyn Jones for the chance to drive his dragster. "It's been a great experience for me to drive Syd's car and run a personal best of 7.63, even though I made a right pig's ear of the first round of eliminations", says Crunch. "I would also like to say a big thank you to our assistant Crew Chief Scott Barnes, without his help the past couple of years would have been a real struggle. Thanks to Dean, on loan from Talbot Racing, for being there when we need him this season. Last but not least thanks to Richard Dawson for help this weekend - he's the driver who started my involvement in drag racing when I crewed with him from 1978 to 1987." Many thanks to Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe for passing us both the official timing data from the FIA European Finals and an updated set of European bests including all of the records set at Santa Pod at the weekend, quickest bump spots and more. You can check out the timing data by clicking here and the European bests by clicking here. UK Pro ET racer Vic Amato had to absent himself from the FIA European Finals after cracking the block and holing the timing chain cover in his Mustang at last Wednesday's Press Day. Nina Carbone of TV company The Gamma Project has been in touch to let us know that the Reality TV series featuring 2007 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Urs Erbacher has been renamed Kings of Nitro. The series is scheduled to be broadcast on The Discovery Channel, and as soon as we know then you will be the next to know. ©Eurodragster.com Despite all the two-wheeled action at the FIA European Finals you may not have had your fill of drag bikes, especially if you are a fan of classes such as 9.50 Bike and Super Street Bike. But the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend packs in not only these Sportsman favourites, but other bike classes plus the chance to get your own bike on the track in the Run What You Brung sessions. There are plenty of off-track activities too. For more information check out www.extremebike.co.uk. Santa Pod Raceway would be pleased to hear from any car or bike racers who would like to make demonstration runs at the Ultimate BMW Show on Sunday 23rd September. If you would like to star then please get in touch with Darren Prentice at [email protected] or call 01234 782828. Super Comp racer Tethys would like to hear from anyone who has pictures or video of him accidentally bowling over Crew Chief Robin at Santa Pod Raceway at the weekend. Robin is quite OK. If you can help then please drop Tet a line at [email protected]. UK Outlaw Anglia racer Simon Barlow has his complete engine up for sale on our Jeff Bull Race Engines and Performance Parts-sponsored Swap Meet. Team member Jay tells us that you can check out the engine for yourself at this weekend's NSRA Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway. Our best wishes to Colin Roaf who pranged his daily driver today (Tuesday). Colin was checked over in hospital but apart from a sore chest is OK and will just be off work a couple of days. So it's not all bad then Colin. Get well soon. Editor's note: Apologies for the late and short news update today. To be frank all three of us were shagged out after the FIA European Finals and we needed a break. We still have a lot of news for tomorrow but please keep it coming to [email protected]. FIA European Finals results. 10th September: Congratulations to the winners at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway: FIA Top Fuel Dragster: Urs Erbacher 4.8171/291.90 def. Stig Neergaard 4.8797/308.52 FIA Top Methanol Dragster: Dave Wilson 5.4921/257.22 def. Rob Turner 5.4850/254.41 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car: Dan Larsen 5.9290/245.85 def. Ulf Leaders 7.0757/147.10 FIA NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified: Patrick Wikström 6.3862/222.73 def. Micke Gullquist 7.0708/144.69 FIA Pro Stock: Jimmy Ålund 6.8679/199.94 def. Eero Knihtilä 6.8412/201.70 FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike: Ian King 6.4449/191.46 def. Luigi Ferretti 6.6151/198.39 FIM/UEM Supertwin: Lorenz Stäuble 6.6061/208.12 def. Günther Sohn 7.8880/121.63 FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike: Tom Tinndahn 7.1979/175.16 def. Martin Bishop 7.6042/172.40 Super Pro ET: Spencer Tramm (8.79) 8.7799/151.92 def. Steve Johnson (7.27) 7.3380/167.89 red Pro ET: Charlie Chivers (10.74) 11.0809/110.08 def. Paul Baynton (11.02) 11.1011/121.21 red Sportsman ET: Hans Van Der Spek (12.32) 12.7012/103.87 def. Jacob Bailey (13.52) 13.0569/104.90 red Super Comp: Martin Curbishley 8.9459/153.09 def. Paul Knight 8.9269/154.82 Super Gas: Stuart Doignie 9.9211/148.99 def. Mike Bentley 9.8908/143.45 Super Street: Bob Lees 10.9586/123.97 def. Chris Kenny 11.0547/118.49 Comp Eliminator: Andy Frost (7.80) 8.0762/180.57 def. John Tebenham (8.26) 10.4898/87.36 red Junior Dragster: Nick Mugridge (7.98) 8.0420/77.70 def. Anna Stanley (9.19) 9.1944/70.06 ©Eurodragster.com Subject to official ratification a number of records were set: FIA Top Fuel Dragster: 4.703 seconds, Andy Carter FIA Pro Modified: 6.110 seconds, Micke Lindahl FIA Pro Stock: 6.781 seconds, Eero Knihtilä FIA Pro Stock: 203.59 mph, Michael Malmgren UK Fuel Funny Car: 5.139 seconds, John Spuffard UK Fuel Funny Car: 278.42 mph, Leif Helander MSA Pro Modified: 6.110 seconds, Micke Lindahl MSA Pro Modified: 228.49 mph, Andy Robinson The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award of £50 was won by Stuart Morrice in Super Gas qualifying, and the Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts Perfect ET Award of £125 was won by Barry Giles in Super Pro ET qualifying. You can view our American Car Imports-sponsored coverage of the FIA European Finals 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. 2007 European Champions. 10th September: Congratulations to the 2007 FIA and FIM/UEM European Champions who were decided at the FIA European Finals: ©Eurodragster.com FIA Top Fuel Dragster: Urs Erbacher FIA Top Methanol Dragster: Dave Wilson FIA Top Methanol Funny Car: Freddy Fagerström FIA Pro Modified: Micke Gullquist FIA Pro Stock: Jimmy Ålund FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike: Ian King FIM/UEM Supertwin: Lorenz Stäuble FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike: Tom Tinndahn Carter takes all-time TF lead. 9th September: At the end of yesterday's FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying at the FIA European Finals, UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Andy Carter became the all-time highest points earner in the FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Championship. Twice FIA European Champion Andy took over the title from fellow UK Top Fuel racer Barry Sheavills, who has not raced in FIA competition since 2002. Andy came into this weekend's race with a career total of 1775 Championship points, just twelve behind Barry Sheavills' total of 1787. With a minimum of thirteen points available for making this weekend's eight-car racing field, Andy was guaranteed to wrest the title from Barry's grasp just by qualifying. Andy did more than enough by taking #1 spot with a 4.6450, an identical ET to the all-time quickest European Top Fuel pass. ©Eurodragster.com "It's a real honour to be the all-time points leader not just for myself but also for my team, sponsors, fans and everyone who has supported me all these years", said Andy. "It says a lot for Barry's racing career that he has held the all-time points lead all this time even though he has not raced since 2002. Hopefully it will take my successor just as long to catch me up although they should know I don't intend quitting any time soon!" Going into this weekend's race Andy was second in the 2007 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Championship. Andy is already in the record books as the only racer to win two FIA Top Fuel Championships, but to win his third European title Andy will have to go two rounds further than current leader Lex Joon. King Racing press release. 9th September: This season has been one of the most demanding ever experienced by the UK based King Racing's TVR Power Top Fuel Bike team. Closed season discussions with existing team associate sponsors of the TVR Power Top Fuel Bike proved rewarding as Ivan and Rose Hughes, Kathy Taylor, Gates Power Transmissions, Mickey Thompson, Goodridge, PsycleWorkz, Performance Machine, MRE, Wackyshack, Pixeleye, RSG Customise and Kershaw and Co all committed to support the team effort for the 2007 season. In addition, new sponsors joined the team effort to make competing for the whole European Championship season possible. Jack Sheer and Josh White, Torco Oil / Nimbus Motorsport and Kent Cams were gratefully welcomed to the King Racing family. Buoyed by the fantastic support from these sponsors, a further two experienced Top Fuel experts were joined the team effort over the winter months, Gerhard Willemse (of six-second sub 900cc blown Puma Triumph fame) and Marius van der Zijden (ex of multi Championship winning Koedam Racing) the current multi European Championship team of Michael Beaumont (ex Funnybike and Prostock rider), Chris Powell (ex Woollatt Top Fuel Bike team) Martin Brookman (ex Barry Sheene mechanic) and Nick Pepper (former UK PSB Champion) looked forward to the new season with renewed vigour. However, it did not all go as planned with the European Championship season opening Main Event rained out without the team even making one qualifying pass. However, things were soon to look up for the team: SPRC Summernationals, Santa Pod Raceway – England: Although not a European event, the lack of track time at the preceding Main Event meant that the team decided to contest this event as practice for the forthcoming `Nordic Tour'. The team did not disappoint, dominating proceedings and won the event crown. The team looked forward with eager anticipation to the next event at Alastaro in Finland. Alastaro Nitro Nationals, Finland: Despite a consistent string of six second passes, race day came with the team in the number two qualifying position and the prospect of a final against current TFB Champion Rikard Gustafsson of Sweden. King easily won his first round that also saw him reset the Alastaro track record for motorcycles and had the luxury of a bye run in the semi finals. This should have seen him with an easy route to the final against Gustafsson, but luck was not on King's side as bad weather saw the event cancelled just as the teams were lining up for their run. Veidec Festival, Mantorp Park Sweden: This year's event was run over the eighth mile for the rapid Nitro bikes due to concerns about the short shutdown area. In fact the last time the event was held here over this distance was when the team won their first European title, setting new ET and TS records in the process. It also welcomed the return of Peter Svensson who last raced his low six second TFB some nine years before. The team was amazingly consistent, with three 4.2 second runs and a final pass of 4.18 on the tricky Mantorp surface. King won all his elimination rounds and faced the veteran Svensson in the final. King cut a light on the Swedish rider and seemed set to take the event win when once again he became the victim of bad luck and a broken drive belt saw the other rider overtake his slowing bike (and into King's lane in the shutdown area). Although the team were disappointed they consoled themselves with the fact that they reset both their own European ET and speed records to take the bonus points. Gardermoen, Norway: This was one of the team's most memorable events but for all the wrong reasons. Another broken belt saw valve and cam follower damage, and a spun main bearing meant a complete engine rebuild between rounds by the hard working crew. A modest number four position come race day was the result but King made it through to the semi final by overcoming Danish rider Finn Asserbo on his newly acquired machine previously ridden by Nils Ole Lund. King once again cut a light on the Swedish rider but to no avail as the huge (1700cc vs King's 1327cc) billet engine saw Svensson just pip King to the post in a great crowd pleasing side by side 6.3 second race. NitrOlympX Nitro Bike Challenge, Hockenheim Germany: Although not a round of the European Championship, the event is one of the most popular on the team's calendar due to the Formula One pit facilities and the huge 40,000 + crowds the event attracts. The event was run in a Cannonball type format, with the Nitro Supertwins and Top Fuel Bikes running in their own classes for a best of three from four runs, and the lowest aggregate time rider for each of the classes to run against each other in the final. However, the event was a struggle for the team. An experiment with high compression pistons ended early when the thin piston crowns wilted in the high combustion heat and mechanical woes saw the cylinder head off a number of times for valve repair, and the necessity to remove and strip the engine and once again change main crank bearings, a feat achieved within two hours between rounds! The hard work paid off as the team made the final to be paired off against the rapid Erbacher Racing Nitro Harley of Switzerland's Lorenz Stauble. However in a season of mechanical woe for the team the fuel safety shutoff pin became dislodged as the bike left the start line shutting off the bike prematurely and allowing Lorenz through for the event win. The team now looks forward to the European Finals at the UK's Santa Pod Raceway. With only four points separating the top three riders of Italy's Luigi Ferretti, Ian King and Sweden's Rikard Gustafsson it's all to play for in this exciting Championship finale. ©Eurodragster.com All the way from the Island. 6th September: Norwegian Top Methanol Dragster racer Paul Ingar Udtian and the Islander Dragrace Team have made the long trip to Santa Pod Raceway for the third time in one season. It's a particularly long trip for the Islanders which involved some of the team leaving with the coach last Sunday, and some won't arrive back home until Wednesday. "The first season in FIA Top Methanol Dragster has been a nice learning curve for the team", says a spokesman for the team who unfortunately didn't identify himself. "The original plan this spring was to get the licencing done and then some testing to learn this game. The situation right now is that the team has run a PB almost every time out at the strip. After the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park the PB was 5.72 and we were # 5 in the FIA Championship! ©Eurodragster.com "There is a totally refreshed engine in the Islanders dragster for the Finals this weekend and we hope that the improvements can continue. "The Islanders team would like to thank all the teams in the FIA Top Methanol tour for the good support and for all the help this first season - together we can be strong! We would like to say a special Thank You to mentor Dave 'Grumpy' Wilson and all the Silverline Drag racing crew for all the support, and of course thanks to the sponsors who dared to support us in our first season in this game: Q8 Oils, Teng Tools, Seashell, Sande Gård and VP Racing Fuels." Hard work a Good début makes. 6th September: UK Super Pro ET racer Nick Good has been in touch to ask us to say a big Thank You to everyone who helped to get his new dragster built in double quick time ready for the pre-FIA European Finals Peak Performance Day: We bought Gary Malin's Serious Playtime rolling chassis in July 2006 but we were unable to complete the build until the finances were available from the sale of the old Beovax dragster. I'm sure that Simon Rowlands, the new driver, will get on great with the car. It drove beautifully and was ultra consistent. The new 265" slip joint chassis was built by John Webster in 2004. It really is like new, with only a handful of meetings under its belt. As you would expect it looks great, and the car ran straight and true on Saturday. Andy Robinson had supplied a set of his excellent chassis joints as the car had to be cut in two to enable it to fit in our truck; thanks to Mo Blackburn of GB Racing for welding these in. As soon as this was completed the chassis was off to Geof Hauser's workshop for the new TAD fuel tank to be fitted along with the wheelie bar and replacement of the upper body panels front to rear, including the set back tall screen. Numerous brackets and mounts were also designed, manufactured and fitted. Thanks to Geof for accommodating us at short notice and turning it around in double quick time during one of his busiest months. His workmanship is superb and the car now looks bang up to date. We got the rolling chassis back into our workshop just three weeks before we were due to complete our familiarisation runs on the Peak Performance Day. There was also the small matter of my house move during this time thrown in for good measure too! If it wasn't for the hard work and burning of midnight oil by my crew of Andy Richardson, Bob Walker and dad Rex we would not have made it to the track. The blown 509 ci motor was reassembled and dropped in along with the ATI powerglide; a new wiring loom had to be made and fitted along with the Edelbrock datalogger, and yet more brackets and mounts etc etc etc! Other people to thank include Mark Flavell and Karl Harrison for their knowledge and experience and being on the end of a phone, Des Taylor for the loan of the Littlefield blower; sponsor Chris Brown Body Repairs for the excellent Power Race Graphics-designed paintwork, Bryan Goodall of BGC Motorsport Components once again for the neat job of plumbing the fuel and oil systems, D&R Engineering for supplying all new control cables and Bob Walker's company HRG Ltd for the continuous supply of consumables used during this type of project. Also Beovax Computer Services, Focal Point Digital and Morris Armitage for their financial support. All the suppliers, both in the UK and the in States, had parts delivered correctly and on time, and shows how professional the industry backing our sport has become. On Friday evening we hooked up the battery and with a tune-up and help from Karl Harrison we checked through everything, crossed our fingers and fired her up for the first time. As the motor burst into life it made all the hard work and hundreds of cans of Red Bull worthwhile! Much to our relief everything worked as it should have done, so we loaded her in the truck ready for an early start Saturday morning. ©Eurodragster.com Karl came with us to the track, none of us had any experience of running a blown, dry alcohol motor, so his help and knowledge was invaluable in getting the car to the startline. Our first run was a 330' checkout pass, back in the pits we gave the whole car a check over front to back and leaned out the fuel system a couple of pill sizes. Everything looked good so it was back down the fire up road for a second run. Although the motor was still slightly on the fat side a three quarter pass gave the team our fist seven second timing slip, a 7.90 at 129 mph! The eighth mile time of 4.7 secs at 147 mph bodes well for the future. It's been an exhausting few weeks for the whole team. Hopefully we can put on a good show for our sponsors at the FIA European Finals. See you at the track! Racer in "Warped head" shock. 6th September: UK Pro ET racer Tig Napier has been in touch to let us know what he found out when he checked over his motor after the Open Sport Nationals. "After filling the motor with coolant it turns out we've had a warped head!", says Tig. "Whilst we haven't exactly been plagued with head gasket failure, we've had more than a few over the years. All the bearings have checked out fine, the heads have been milled and are now nice and flat. ©Eurodragster.com "The new motor has been smoking a bit since day one and it looks like the gasket burned through to the head studs first and then started to draw oil from there into number one cylinder, then finally into a waterway. There are a couple of other teething issues we've now hopefully sorted, and we're trying a different tune for the National Finals. I'd like to think we can go a bit quicker since we've run a few 9.94s on not quite eight cylinders, but we'll have to wait and see. Congratulations to Paul Baynton on his win, and to Heaven & Hell for their awesome wheelies by the way. We'll see you all at the National Finals." Swift snippets. 6th September: UK Super Comp racer Zane Llewellyn has had to withdraw from the FIA European Finals due to work commitments, holidays and the late ordering of parts. "Thanks must go to all who helped keep the effort going until the last minute", says Zane, "notably Conrad and Trev from Panther Racing who went beyond the normal call of friendship. Thanks guys! I now have all the parts neccessary to be ready so will now be transferring my entry to the UK National Finals. ©Eurodragster.com News Editor Tog would like to say a big Thank You to Nigel Holland (15.381/90.18), Anders Envall (11.442/120.63) and Chris Orthodoxou (8.072/165.25) for taking him for passenger rides at yesterday's FIA European Finals Press Day. We think that this is the most passenger rides anyone has taken in a day at one of these affairs, the previous record being two, unless any of our readers know different. Thanks again to Nigel, Anders and Chris. The projected Funny Car World Series recently mentioned by Knut Söderquist now has its own domain name at www.funnycarworldseries.com. The Home Page is currently a placeholder but does include a link to join a mailing list for updates. Editor's note: Now that the FIA European Finals have started please bear in mind that all three of us will be snowed under with work keeping you informed and that E-Mails, texts and phone calls are not necessarily going to be acknowledged or answered immediately or even within a few hours. Please also note that we're not a private messaging service to people at the track unless in dire emergency. But please do keep the news coming to [email protected] but don't worry if it is not published immediately. Two on the podium twice? 5th September: Top Fuel Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com News sponsor Urs Erbacher and team are looking forward to the FIA European Finals after a great weekend at the NitrolympX at Hockenheim. Team member Lorenz Stäble is heading up the FIM/UEM Championship and so the team could be on for a big celebration on Sunday. "Hockenheim was the first event where Lorenz Stäuble and Urs Erbacher were together on the top of the podium", says team member Andrea Wucher. "What a great day in front of all our fans from Switzerland and our sponsors. We ruined an engine in the Night Show on Saturday, the show effect was good but it was a hard and long night to be ready for the Sunday morning run. But it seems we found the gremlins who had been sitting there since Mantorp waiting to eat up the Hemi. "The Top Fuel season so far has been quite bizarre. With only one complete race on the scoreboard anything is possible at the European Finals. We will come to England and do our best. If we can repeat the performance of last year and give some guys a hard time we will be happy. But everybody is capable of good numbers so there will be some who lose and some who win. ©Eurodragster.com "Lorenz has had a good season so far. He is leading the Supertwin Championship and the bike team will do their best to stay there. But there is also a long way to go here. Lo and his team have collected every point they can in the Championship (except for records) and done a great job so far. We don't support any theoretical speculations about when, and if, and then. You get the points when you are over the finish line first. That is the only thing we believe in. "We haven't changed much during the season. But as usual you always find things to improve on every run at every race. So we think that we are going in the right direction. At the moment we are already preparing for the off season and the 2008 season. Let's hope that we get back into a normal five or six round Championship for the Fuel cars next year. We want our car out on the track and not in the workshop or in the pits. The TV crew who was following us during the whole season also would have liked some more action. By the end of the season the Erbacher crew and the film crew worked together really well. At the moment they are in Basel. The Erbacher crew is packing up the trailer, definitely more entertaining than The Simpsons. The TV crew went skiing with the team in Zermatt, visited team members at home and at their day jobs, and travelled and partied with us at our workshop. We will let you know when and where the Erbacher crew will be on screen. "We are looking forward to a great race, great weather, fantastic fans and a lot of fun." It just gets better and better... 5th September: The 2007 season has started to improve for Sweden's Team Kendall Pro Mod team, says team member Krister Peterson. "Our season didn't start too well when we didn't qualify at the FIA Main Event", says Krister. "Alastaro went a little better but it ended with a first round defeat. At Mantorp Park it started to go really well with a second place in qualifying and a track speed record, but once again we lost in the first round of eliminations. Mikael and Magnus Lindahl, Frank Johansen, Mikael Wikerstam, Lars Elofsson, Daniel Andersson, Patrik Nilsson and I finally got payback for our hard work at the Pro Mod Shootout at Malmö, with our first win with the new car. ©Eurodragster.com "So the season started with disapointment and has become better and better the more we race. We started the season with a new car and have been trying some different tune-ups in an effort to get the car to work well. "We won't be testing before the European Finals. Our game plan is to shock our competitors with a storming run in the first round of qualifying. "Many thanks to our sponsor Kendall Oil, Starta, Migatronic, NSP, APP Racing, and Ventservice." No reason to be grumpy, Grumpy. 5th September: UK Top Methanol Dragster racer and FIA European Championship leader Dave Wilson says that his season so far has been great, apart from the weather. "Number one qualifier at every race, low ET at every race, and a win in Mantorp Park - it could hardly get better!", says Grumpy. "In spite of which we have spent the time since our demo for Silverline Tools at the Haynes Motor Museum taking everything apart and preparing for the FIA European Finals. "We are well aware that in this rain affected year, with a reduced number of rounds, the Championship is not over yet. This is drag racing and anything can happen! ©Eurodragster.com "One of the alterations to the car involved modifications to the oiling system with extra hoses supplied by Barry Miller of Brown and Miller Racing Solutions (the quality of their products and service is outstanding). We also have a new cam and lifters from Crane Cams, having known Chase Knight at Crane for more years than I care to admit I know how valuable his experience and advice is. "As this is the final FIA race of the year we of course are to be visited over the weekend by our sponsors Silverline Tools, Playstation, Les and Stuart (Lucas Oils UK), Richard Serna (Iron Cad), Barry Miller (BMRS), Kiki and the boys who did the great paint job on the car, and anybody else who cares to drop by, including anybody who is seriously interested in taking over the most successful Top Methanol Dragster in Europe. For details see the For Sale section at www.silverlinedragracing.com." PSR happy too. 5th September: German Top Methanol Dragster team Peter Schöfer Racing are also looking forward to this week's FIA European Finals after stepping up at recent events. "It was a promising start to the season", says team member Gittli Koller. "We welcomed two new sponsors on board, JE Pistons and Sunoco. We were very pleased with these new connections and were looking forward to the season. And we also got two new guys in the crew, Kirsten Krause and Ralf Rowold. When both came into the team it felt like they had done their jobs on the car for years. ©Eurodragster.com "After the rain-outs in England and Finland we were of course very disappointed. But the weather happened to everybody I guess. We made some major changes for Finland and we were happy with the result. The car ran pretty well at Mantorp Park and we stepped up for each run. "After Mantorp we went to Hockenheim, where the car ran good and also consistently. So we are looking forward to the European Finals - it's a shame that there is only one race left before the off-season because the way I see it the season has just started. When the season finishes we wil be displaying the dragster at several car shows are going to have several car shows. "We want to thank our sponsors Normstahl, JE Pistons, Sunoco Race Fuel, Weindel US Cars, Norfolkline, Mipa, Uvex, Schneider, Dirsch, and HR Fahrzeugbau for their continued support." Swift snippets. 5th September: If you're up at the FIA European Finals this week and fancy a good meal then don't forget that Eurodragster.com News sponsor The Curry Garden is a few minutes away in Rushden, and that given a large enough order they will deliver to Santa Pod Raceway. Either way tell them Eurodragster.com sent you. You can find out more on the restaurant's official web site at www.thecurrygarden.co.uk or call 01933 314121 / 01933 359581. ©Eurodragster.com Wellingborough-based The Copyprint Depot can now produce hero cards for racers. "We design and produce them in-house so there is no real minimum order and they are very reasonably priced", says John Hackney. "They are printed on 250gsm heavy card stock and measure 20 cm x 14 cm, although other sizes are available by order. All we require is a basic design concept and a good quality image of the vehicle. I will have a couple of samples at Santa Pod at the weekend. Price is dependent on quantity and after the first order we will have the design on file so subsequent orders will be lower priced. For details E-Mail [email protected] or see John at Santa Pod. Taylor researching at the Finals. 5th September: Brian Taylor will again be at Santa Pod Raceway this week doing more research for his book Crazy Horses which will chart the history and culture of UK drag racing. ©Eurodragster.com "This time I'm really keen to find out more about how the Run What You Brung meets in the early 1980s led to Ultimate Street Bikes and how the ACU regulations were changed to suit", says Brian. "Likewise on four wheels I'm keen to find the link between RWYBs, Gary's Picnic, the Doorslammers meets and the growth of these types of vehicles at regular meets including Super Gas and Pro Modified. It's interesting because the promoters were behind these moves rather than the organising clubs. Looking back over the 1980s this appears to be an important development and I would like to meet anyone who went through that route and eventually became a regular drag racer. Or someone who can embellish this era and the story about how we moved form Super Street (a few Pro Stock cars and a selection of modified car running on a class index without the complications of any breakout rules) at the end of the 1970's, to the fantastic doorslammers that we see today running in many different classes. Maybe someone from the bodies or companies organising these meets. Although economically it was a difficult time, the 1980s saw the green shoots of today's exciting doorslammer drag racing classes really start to grow – something that was missing in the early days and through the 1970s. I'd like to know more about these changes. "I'll be at the track all day Saturday and Sunday. We'll announce over the PA certain times and venues where I can be found with my digital recorder to take down these stories for the book." Web site updates. 5th September: Pictures from the "Ultimate Battle of the Imports" Fourth Greek Championship Round are now available on the GreekDragster.info web site at www.greekdragster.info/photos/GRChampionship/2007/4Polikastro/index.html. To see how Greek Drag Racing Association President Andreas Papadopoulos tunes Chevy engines which don't perform properly, check out this picture. ©Eurodragster.com Entry and classification for the Greek Championship round can be found by clicking here whilst timing data is available by clicking here. Videos of the race are available at www.greekdragster.com/videos/races/070902Polykastro/index.shtml. Our Reserve Photographer Peter Donaldson has updated his Fotopic gallery with pictures from the weekend's pre-FIA European Finals testing and VW Action at Santa Pod Raceway. You can check out Peter's pictures at peterdonaldson5305.fotopic.net. The latest news on the Super Gas Champ Series can be found on the series' official web site at www.supergaschamp.de. Kågered on liberty. 4th September: Swedish Top Fuel Dragster racer Micke Kågered is headed for this week's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway with nothing to lose and everything to win. Micke is not in the Championship chase so is under no obligation to do anything but to enjoy his weekend and make things difficult for his competition on the track. "There is really no outside pressure on us other than to be part of the spectacular Top Fuel show", says Micke. "We are of course proud of that, as the class has developed fast the last two years. The quickest-ever Top Fuel field at Mantorp Park in July is not the end of it, just the beginning. I think the track crew at Santa Pod will do what they can to earn back the title as the quickest qualifying track in Europe (currently held by Mantorp Park). ©Eurodragster.com "As for my team, we will take the opportunity to test some new parts and settings thinking ahead towards next season. Hopefully it will turn out well for us this weekend. A close side-by-side run in the 4.7s in the final at Santa Pod would be the ultimate end to this season and I would of course be happy to be one of the pilots! "If you're planning a visit to Santa Pod this week then be sure to stop by our pits to take a close look at the stunning job our mechanics do on the car in between every run." Also be sure to check out Micke's web site at www.kagered-racing.com which is updated on a very frequent basis with news of what the team is up to. The ultimate Import battle. 4th September: Filippos Papafilippou of Eurodragster.com News sponsor GreekDragster.info says that the recent fourth round of the Greek Championship coule have been renamed the Ultimate Battle of the Imports, featuring Mitsubishi EVO v Subaru Impreza v Nissan v European representatives Ford Escort Cosworth and Lancia Deltona: They were all there in every color, in every model year, in different tuning stages. A good impression and very good performance from the two Mitsubishi EVO fighters of Petros Fikatas and George Hatzaras. They made several runs below ten seconds with personal bests of 9.896 sec for Petros and 9.626/245.67 kmh with 1.673 sixty feet for George. George's Mitsubishi EVO is the fastest EVO on Greek soil for now and must be one of the fastest in Europe as well. Both cars run on Autronic Management and are tuned by ACE-Motorsport specialist, engineer and driver Greg Dimitriadis. You can watch a video of the fastest Lancia Integrale (full street chassis) on earth owned by Greg Dimitriadis running on racing fuel (no NOS spraying) running 9.217 sec for the quarter mile at www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fheILNz4fU. Petros Fikatas won the Street class racing in the final against Dimitris Papadopoulos' DP-Motorsport Mitsubishi EVO. Fastest of the "Battle of the Imports" Street 4x4 class with a great and safe (for the moment) margin was Christos Zagaris with his black Subaru Impreza tuned by JMC Power Automotive specialist, Cyprus-based Mike Charalambous. He did also several successful runs below ten seconds before he ran a new National record and personal best of 9.396/240 kmh with a 1.527 sixty foot, but he lost against Fikatas on the semi finals. 9.396, should be the fastest Subaru in Europe? Japanese Superiority? Not exactly. George Tsakanikas of Tsakanikas Performance tuning shop kept the honour of the Ford emblem alive with his Ford Escort Cosworth, running several runs below ten seconds as well, with a personal best of 9.703/246 kmh with a 1.641 sixty foot. George Tsakanikas wanted to finish the race with a run below 9.5 but his Quaife gearbox broke and he abandoned the race. Consider all the above and on top of that add the rumors that we hear over here that OPTION PRESS, a big publishing company with seven magazines in the Greek market and the owner of the Dragster.gr web site, is working on a scenario to bring an eight-second Skyline from the UK import drag racing scene in order to compete against the local 4x4 beasts. If this happens, for sure it will not be a walk in the park for either side. The toughest competition as expected was in the Moto Open 6 class. The usual suspect Stavros Svrachnos with his Suzuki TL Pro Stock Bike set several personal bests and a new National record of 7.493/287 kmh but lost in the final against Antonis Zafiriadis of the Gabriel Team with his Suzuki Hayabusa Pro Stock Bike. Zafiriadis set also a personal best in the semi finals of 7.595 sec with a 1.162 sixty foot. An exceptional performance also from Mpampis Mpousinis of Moto Michaniko Team who had his best race ever, as he told us, with his Suzuki Pro Stock Bike (ex Wallace/Triffari NHRA bike) running better and better on every lap. He took third place on the podium with a personal best of 7.589/281 kmh. Michalis Tsoutsidis of Moto Harris Team also ran a personal best as well of 7.89/270. Almost every racer ran personal bests in Polikastro due to the increased traction, up to 990 feet this time. In the Small Tyre Bike class (similar to the Prostar Top Gas class) Giannis Manetas set a new National record of 8.288 with his Suzuki Top Gas almost touching the ETs of the Pro Stock and Pro Mod bikes. In general National and personal bests fall in almost every class, establishing this race as the Race of the Records in Greek Drag Racing history. Vagelis Katsafados tried a few times with his ex-Strobel Top Methanol Dragster to break the six second barrier with no success. Sunday afternoon he did a strong pass up to the eighth, where he experienced engine damage and a broken belt, leaving him with a new National record of 7.048/243 kmh. Giannis Sahanas won the AT2 turbo 4x4 lightweight class with his Escort Cosworth prepared and tuned by Extreme-Tuners. His best run was 9.83/236 kmh. Filippos Papafilippou, also trying to run the first six-second run in Greece, lost traction and drifted badly past 990 feet at more than 270 kmh and rolled several times wrecking his Vette. The fire extinguishers and all the safety devices worked perfectly proving one more time that investing in quality built cars can save lives. This is the worst crash in Greek Drag Racing history, the fourth in a row in Auto Open class, proving that traction is very improved through the years but not up to the required levels for strong low seven or high six second runs. Fil is well apart from minor injuries and bruises and his morale has not been affected at all, since he was trying to find a solution during the weekend to travel a thousand kilometers to Athens and back to Polikastro in order to bring his Nova and continue the race. LENOE (the Greek Drag Racing Association) did a tremendous job one more time and managed to finish the fourth round of the Greek Championship succesfully. It was a race with several incidents, bad rainy and windy weather, but above all, a race that will stay in Greek Drag Racing history as the race that both racers and spectators enjoyed the most. There are more racers to mention who won classes, set National records or did personal bests. The list is long and the report will be huge, that's why we stop here and promise to come back with news on individual racers and their teams. At this present moment we are expecting the official results from LENOE. The GreekDragster.info team covered the race live all three days following the Eurodragster.com live model for the first time in Greece. We uploaded reports to our forum every half to one hour at www.greekdragster.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4. The response, support and comments from racers, teams and fans have been amazing giving us the will for further improvements. You can find more pictures on Elias Vathias' web site at www.greekdragster.com/images/Shows_Races/070902Polykastro/index.htm. On an extensive diet. 4th September: Wayne Allman tells us that he has been doing a lot of work on Lee Darby's very rapid Chevy stepside truck at his Intergalactic Custom Shop: "The old roll cage was removed and a new chromoly SFI 25.4 cage has been made and fitted with new chassis outriggers and sill bars", says Wayne. "Whilst the cage was out I took the opportunity to roof chop the truck by two inches and channel the body by inches over the chassis. ©Eurodragster.com "Lots of weight has been removed - it was approximately 3800 pounds! The truck had a bench seat, carpets and sound deadening, door cards, headlining, glass windows, and numerous heavy items that aren't really required for racing, however the charactor of the truck remains intact. The Chevy is also being rewired, having new four bar rod ends and a new shifter and all the gauges etc are being moved to where they can be seen more easily. "The whole pick up is being given the once over and Jeff Bull has freshened the engine ready for next season." If you would like Wayne to do any work for you then you can contact him on 01789 450001. A nice day for Fishing. 4th September: Saturday's Peak Performance Day at Santa Pod Raceway was deemed to be a great first "real" day of testing for Ricky Gowen and Kat Moody's Hellfish Racing Olds Firenza Pro ET Funny Car team. "We have been out at two previous test days but they were mainly forgettable due to the lords of the wet stuff and various other little new team / car / driver problems", says Ricky. "Coming into the weekend the best we had run was a try-out twenty, then a driver-messed-up eighteen! Our first run on Saturday netted no time as I rolled through stage through not holding the brake hard enough! Back in the pits all was fine so it was time to do it again. This time was good, spun the tires in the water to clean them - I don't really have the power to burn out well yet - then into stage cleanly this time and a better run, not world-beating but felt great all the same. ©Eurodragster.com "The last run was even better. 13.1/112 is getting there! We are just taking it at our pace, improving every run, not getting silly as it will all come. The tune-up is just about ballpark now but there is more than plenty left in the bank yet! It's amazing just how much ET can be found by driving the thing correctly before you even play with tune-ups! "Now at the risk of sounding like an Oscars speech I have to say Thank You to a lot of people. First up thanks to Joakim Ljundberg for selling me a beautiful, well-built hot rod; to Cliff Gould for collaborating on a tough little engine (he started building the motor in the nineties I guess and I finished it in the noughties); to parts guru Dave Eady for always supplying the goods; to the guys at Webster Race Engineering for always helping me out; to Dave Bryant, John Spuffard, John Wright for parts / pieces / help / advice etc. Next up a big big thank you to Carmel, Rob and Steve Turner, you guys just don't realise how well you schooled me and helped me, you showed me how to do this the right way! Finally please take a bow Lee and Ness Tear, Andy Mac, Paul Shivers who are collectively "The Firm"; you guys make this happen and go above and beyond every time. To mum and dad for bringing me into drag racing eons ago, to Eurodragster.com for including me in the report and a picture, that meant alot to a new team (You're welcome - Ed). Everyone above has helped me with a dream and I owe it all to you guys. And I owe some of you money too!" How the Comeback Kid came back. 4th September: Regular readers will know that UK Real Steel Street Eliminator racer Colin Lazenby suffered a crash in his Team 56 Chevy at the Bug Jam at Santa Pod Raceway in July. A few short weeks later Colin reappeared in the rebuilt car and put up a good showing at the Open Sport Nationals before redlighting himself out of competition. Colin got in touch to tell us how the crash felt from where he was sat, and just how the big Chevy was put back together again: Having earned a first round bye Team 56 tuners Luke Robinson and Garry Coull made their call, and never being ones to shy away from the opportunity to make a test pass and secure lane choice, they had also recognised that the track coming round fast. The scene was then set for another low eight-second lap. At the launch, the old girl sat down and picked up its front wheels in the traditional manner before going into shake somewhere towards the top end of first. And while I couldn't recall at the time I knew I would have short shifted into second (the trace later showed 400 rpm before the shift light). Into second and the shake worsened, I stayed with it expecting to have to pedal at some point, then at around 330 feet the characteristics of the shake physically changed and the car immediately went left. The wall was approaching fast and I assumed the rear left tyre had deflated (this came to me as a result of the car 'rear steering' and just prior to kissing the wall). It's amazing how quick these ideas come into your head, however wrong they are. To say I was just a passenger at this point would have been an understatement. I steered right but to no avail and having made in excess of five hundred laps in the car never have I felt so helpless. The old girl body slammed the concrete wall, hard, but I had little time to contemplate the resulting impact as the car then veered across the track. The right wall was coming up quick and this time I made time to contemplate the likely damage - knowing that if I hit the opposite wall at this angle then the car was definitely going to get trashed, frame and all. Thankfully it came to a halt as it crossed the centre line where I knocked over the eighth mile foam blocks (You hooligan - Ed). Then all was silence. Instinctively I knocked everything off. I tried to exit via the driver's door but couldn't because the A post had taken a knock so I climbed over the passenger seat and exited the vehicle. Surprisingly one of the Pod's track marshals was already at the rear of the car. I looked underneath and remembered asking "What the hell happened?", or words to that effect. I could see the axle was pissed and a number of major components were either hanging off, mangled, or broken - rear gear oil was already pouring onto the track. Within seconds the paramedic appeared. I glanced over at the crowds on both sides of the track and managed to pick out the boys of FB Racing pit side. I considered raising my hands to gesticulate that I was unharmed (as drivers often do) but didn't. I guess the look exchanged the FB crew and self was one of "I'm OK" I hoped they had picked up on that - words being unnecessary or pointless. The medic asked me the basics to make sure I hadn't had the sense knocked out of me (I hadn't) and then proceeded to take my blood pressure, adding "Yep, you're coming with me", I guess it was little on the high side. Somewhat embarrassingly I took a short ride in the ambulance. ©Eurodragster.com Back in the medical centre, a very concerned Ann-Marie arrived first, gave me a hug and whispered those magical words "I'll speak to the Bank Manager on Monday, we'll get it fixed" at which point I have to say I began to feel much, much better. Carol Ismail then delivered Bradley and Jodie (my eldest) and twenty minutes or so later I was free to go. I did little but walk past the rather sorry looking wreck, which by now was sat in front of the soon to be demolished Barn and went immediately to apologise to both Ian Marshall and Darren Prentice for the disruption caused. Darren Prentice sat me down and told me to take a minute or two in the tower office. I soon found the rest of Team 56 including my daughter and partner Paul, who had attended the event together for the first time in a long time, goodness knows what they were thinking when they realised I had hit the wall. Everyone else was fine. Luke, Garry and our kid were as equally stunned as I was. Within two hours, fellow RSSE racer Mark Perkins had offered to take his car home and return with the empty trailer. Luke had already spoken to Andy Robinson to see if the ARRC shop could take the car in for analysis, repair; and ultimately a number of component upgrades. Meanwhile, Ann-Marie had conned another RSSE racer, Wilf Stacey (that's two now Wilf), into massaging the badly damaged body back into shape. Positive news came back from all concerned and the plan was hatched. Luke was to take the 56 back to the ARRC shop on Mark Perkins' trailer - Luke towing for the first time ever and in truth I never considered the boy's natural apprehension at hauling the car back to the shop. As the front end mounts had sheared and most of the Dzus fixings had gone west we tie wrapped all the damaged components back onto the car. We all left the track after the finals and trophy presentations. At the end of the day we had what appeared to be a workable plan - now all we had to do was to make it work. We arrived home in the early hours of the following morning during which time Luke had texted me to let me know that both he and the car had arrived back home safely. By the Wednesday Andy Robinson and the boys had the car disassembled. I spoke briefly with Kate Robinson who confirmed that the car was looking pretty sorry for itself. A new door was ordered, courtesy of Dale at DRE (who had his own problems with flooding) and by the weekend Wilf and Andy had agreed who and for how long each would keep the car. By now the old girl was temporarily rolling again. On the following Sunday Wilf had collected the car - he had a week and somehow he and Shivy (that's Siobhan) managed to squeeze two weeks' work into one. In the meantime ARRC had received delivery of all the critical components from the USA, had any of these items not turned up when they were expected we would have been screwed. Any items over and above this extensive list would simply be fabricated. Andy and Kate had arranged with Wilf to collect the beautified car on the Monday evening and with growing confidence I arranged to take a couple of extra days off my day job, with a view to arriving down at ARRC just before midnight on the Wednesday. The ARRC boys continued to thrash on the car until completion and I left around 23:00, having taken way too much of Andy and Kate's hospitality as well as being fed and watered. I arrived at Shakespeare County Raceway at 1:15 in the morning. I was tired but content and I slept soundly until that bastard Stacey woke me up at08:00 prompt to participate in what turned out to be a hearty breakfast. We still had much to do and having made prior arrangements with Julie Willcox and Jerry Cookson we were permitted access to the track to enable Wilf and Shivy to flatten and polish the new paintwork before undertaking the photo shoot with DVD Dave Coleman of Quartermile High. They worked tirelessly until around 14:00 hrs on the Friday before they were satisfied. Somewhat amazingly we'd done it, though not without the help of many people, without whom the comeback (this season) would just not have been possible. To everyone who played a part of the re-build, large or small I am eternally grateful, as I am to everyone who stopped by over the weekend, officials, racers and spectators alike to congratulate us on our combined efforts. For once I am humbled by the kind words. Swift snippets. 4th September: UK Fuel legend Gary Page will be a guest on Santa Pod Raceway's own radio station Nitro FM this Saturday evening (8th September). Gary will be interviewed and will also be pleased to take questions from fans which can be texted on the night or E-Mailed in advance. If you would like to send Gary a question for his interview on Nitro FM then please send it to us at [email protected] and we'll pass it to Nitro FM. ©Eurodragster.com Mat Sanchez tells us that no less than eight of the twelve Outlaw Flat Four runners at the Open Sport Nationals set new Personal Bests at the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. "Richie Webb's 9.89/138 makes his the quickest pan car ever and to top that it's a street car too" ,says Mat. "Travis Rider's 10.44/127 makes his the fastest all motor pan car ever and both cars are still well within their tolerances. Six OFFs will be at the NSRA Hot Rod Drags at SCR". You can find out more and check out the latest pictures and videos at www.outlawflatfour.co.uk. The UK's Bennett Racing blown-alcohol altered team have signed a sponsorship deal with The Plastic Shop. You can read more on the team's official web site at www.bennettracing.co.uk. Christina Bodén's book Dragracing, which was launched at Mantorp Park in July, is proving a great success and although written entirely in Swedish it is packed with colour photographs both old and new that need no explanation to the avid fan. Many older photographs were provided by veteran and Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger Gorringe. It is expected a limited supply of the books will be available at Magnus Hansson's Pro Stock pit during the FIA European Finals at £25 for the hardback version. It may also be possible to leave your details with the team if you wish to order a copy and Christina will get back to you. Lots of Fun. 4th September: Liz and Iain Malcolm of the UK's Jus'4'Fun Racing Pro ET team had a great weekend at the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. "We ran our best ever sixty foot of 1.48 and got through to the quarter finals after running a perfect 10.970 on a 10.97 dial in, only to red light and break out against Chris Hodgkins once again!", says Liz, summing up. "Congratulations to Paul Baynton for winning the event. During qualifying our dragster failed to start and we had to miss the third round whilst checking out the problem which turned out to be a broken starter solenoid winding. We would like to thank Tig Napier and Neil Hunter for all their help late into Friday night to allow us to continue Saturday morning. ©Eurodragster.com "On Tuesday of last week Iain ordered a new starter motor from Hi Torque IMI Performance Products Inc in the USA, and we received it at 9:00 am Thursday morning, how's that for service! We are now ready for the European Finals. "During the event we are really looking foreward to meeting NHRA Division 7 track manager Dennis Sheepstra from Southwestern International Raceway in Arizona, who is making a flying visit to the Pod on Friday. Dennis has given us a lot of help and advice on our methanol tune-up over the past year." FIA European Finals Perfect Awards. 4th September: This week's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway is the latest event in the 2007 Eurodragster.com Perfect Awards Scheme. A total of £275 is up for grabs for perfect performance. The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Pro ET Rich Davis at the Open Sport Nationals. The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to record a perfect Reaction Time of 0.000. The Award is open to all classes and is available during qualifying or eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the weekend. The Perfect Light Award is jointly presented by Eurodragster.com and high-performance hose and fitting manufacturer Speedflow whose web site you can find at www.speedflow.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com The Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts Perfect ET Award has been increased to £125 after the Open Sport Nationals at which two racers recorded perfect ETs but were not carrying the mandatory decals (right). The money will be awarded to the first racer this weekend to run to the thousandth on their index or dial-in during qualifying or eliminations. The Award is open to all ET classes, all Super Classes, and Junior Dragster (eliminations only), and is available during qualifying or eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the weekend. The Perfect ET Award is jointly presented by Eurodragster.com and performance supplier LA Racing Parts whose web site you can find at www.laracingparts.com. In addition, should the winner of the Perfect ET Award go on to win the event then a bonus of £100 will be paid by LA Racing Parts. Eurodragster.com/LA Racing Parts decals must be carried on both sides of the vehicle to qualify for both the Perfect ET Award and the bonus. As with other contingency schemes the decals are available from the signing-on office. PMR team matters. 4th September: Paul Marston Racing are justifiably proud of their drivers' performance at the Open Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway over the August Bank Holiday weekend: Our star of the show was a resurgent Dave 'Racing Snake' Catton who, competing in Super Comp and Super Gas took the Whoopass Monza to the final of Super Gas, losing a very tight final to the current class of the field, Panther Racing's Conrad Stanley. Yet another Paul Marston Racing Drag Race Driving School graduate in a final, this is already easily our best and most successful year yet. The whole crew here at Paul Marston Racing are very pleased for Dave Catton, it is a success which is richly deserved. I was taken out by Conrad whilst driving the Monza at the SPRC Summernationals; we made some changes to tighten up the Monza and it got to the final this time. Panther Racing are a class act, but even they knew they daren't leave anything on the table against Dave Catton, believe me any time a driver is 0.006 on the tree you know he's trying. David knew Conrad was tough, gave it his best shot and went 0.008 red, there's no shame in that for sure. How about that Whoopass Monza, 8.85/152 all from a little Drag Race Engineering developed 477 ci Big Block Chevy on a BLP Alcohol Carb and a JW Performance converter, way to go! Add to this that it was the first time that Dave Catton had driven since the FIA Main Event in May, everyone in Super Comp and Super Gas had better watch out this weekend, that is one bad hombre! Steve Bolton really had a baptism of fire with a new but suspect rear slick which oh so nearly put his beautiful Plymouth Scamp in the wall on his first pass when it rapidly deflated without warning. The offending tyre was taken to a local tyre shop who repaired the apparent rim sealing problem. On Steve's next pass the tyre did the exact same thing and rapidly deflated whilst on a full pass, a driver's worst nightmare. Upon removal of the slick and careful inspection I discovered that the steel band in the bead was in fact broken. Steve Bolton would like to thank everyone at the track who helped out: our special mate John Everitt and the Alien crew (well done and congratulations for reaching the final of Super Pro) for the portable compressor; the absolute star, fellow Mopar racer Jon Turner who lent Steve a Mopar bolt pattern wheel so as we could recover the Plymouth Scamp from the end of the track and get her back to the Paul Marston pit; Super Gas and Comp racer Johnny Morton for supplying a used pair of slicks so Steve could continue racing; Jeff and Belinda Bull for the tyre irons and bead breaking tool (once again I would like to say sorry for bending the hook on Mr Bull's bead breaker); and everyone else who helped out and showed concern for Steve Bolton's plight, we really do have a great bunch of people in drag racing. Last but by no means least thanks to the Fire and Safety crew at Shakespeare County Raceway who took care of Steve Bolton and took great care of his Plymouth Scamp, moving her without even chipping the paint. Steve qualified and bowed out gracefully in round one of Pro ET, but nevertheless stayed right to the end helping out the rest of the team as they all went rounds. That is a team player ladies and gentlemen, Steve Bolton and his Dark Destroyer are looking forward to the FIA European Finals, there is unfinished business to be taken care of - going rounds! Tethys, shoeing the Ugly Stick four-link dragster went two rounds in Super Comp and had a solid weekend, really getting to grips with this exciting and revolutionary race car. Due to the weather this year is yet to show its true potential, with such a bumper entry in Super Comp at the FIA European Finals this combination of high-tech dragster and a driver with so much pure talent could prove deadly, watch out for it in the late rounds. So what of Grumpys Dodge? Driven by Mad Mick Howling in ProET and Super Gas Grumpy suffered an extremely rare engine failure in the first round of qualifying on Saturday morning, breaking just on the hit. A cylinder wall fractured, caught the piston, stopped the Big Block Chevy dead and punched #3 and #4 crank journals right off of the crank, leaving the crank in three pieces. We reckon the motor has done around three thousand passes in the past six years so it has lasted pretty well all things considered. The main thing is that both driver and race car are safe and Grumpy did not oil the track. Due to the nature of the damage the block just needs a liner replacing, then it will probably go again, with a complete new rotating assembly of course! Oh and some new valves as well please. Upon hearing of Grumpy's plight by phone on Saturday evening, in stepped Drag Race Engineering Proprietor Gary Springford, commiserating with Mick Howling, but promising Mick that Drag Race Engineering would have another bullet built and fitted into Grumpy ready for the FIA European Finals. That kind of gesture goes above and beyond anything other than doing what's needed to get the job done. Without the kind of support that Paul Marston Racing get from our great friends at Drag Race Engineering we would not be able to function at the level that we do, its just that simple. Gary Springford would like to thank Mick Howling for coming into Drag Race Engineering last Saturday to help and assist in the assembly of the new motor for Grumpy, once again teamwork works! Subject to how things pan out over the next few days, I hope to make a return to competition in Super Pro at the FIA European Finals driving the DRE-backed Super Modified naturally-aspirated Vauxhall Calibra. This is subject to everything going well and the completion of the last remaining work which the Calibra needs. As long as Drag Race Engineering have the time and I personally feel comfortable and will be able to focus on driving, and as long as I do not think that it will stretch the crew running my entry, then you will see the DRE Calibra out there. I am and will always be a team player, so I will do what's best for the team. That's why I elected not to drive at Shakespeare County Raceway because you always have to look at the big picture. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of one. Special thanks once again to Gary Springford at Drag Race Engineering (0208 597 9484), the backbone of our operation. You need something done? This is the man to do it. Extra special thanks to all the great crew at Paul Marston Racing, time and time again they prove that they are just the best. Thanks also to all of our sponsors London Road Tyres, Black Box London, Disco Equipment Hire, Drag Race Engineering, CTM Performance and Machine, JW Performance, BLP Products Inc, and all the rest of the gang who keep the faith. PMR are expecting a lot of special guests and fans over the weekend; please come and say hi over the weekend, everyone is welcome. Do excuse us if we appear a little busy, especially on Thursday and Friday, we do not go drag racing to lose! ©Eurodragster.com The Natural. 3rd September: Norway's Linda Thun Tønseth impressed everyone present at Santa Pod Raceway over the weekend when she made three licencing passes in one of Rune Fjeld's Top Fuel Dragsters. The former Junior Dragster and Super Comp racer and Pro Mod licence holder put in a launch and a half pass and then showed the presence of mind to shut off when cylinders went out during her attempt at a full pass. "I am getting my licence just in case", Linda told Eurodragster.com. "We are trying to get sponsors for next year and maybe hire a car. I wanted to drive Pro Mod but the team quit; I thought I'd like to try Top Fuel then I can say I've done it all, so here I am." Linda said that she found the Top Fueller easier to drive that Jan Arve Nygård's Pro Mod in which she took a run out to gain her licence. "The Pro Mod was much more difficult", she said. "I got a real kick in the back in this car but I thought it would be more violent. It felt good and I could have stayed on the throttle a lot longer!" ©Eurodragster.com Fellow Norwegian Top Fuel racer Øyvor Jacobsen is acting as Linda's mentor and is helping her to find sponsorship for next season. "I am helping out where I can", said Øyvor. "After Linda's first run she said that it had been a lot of help talking to me. She told me what she had to do in the Pro Mod and I said "Jesus! This is a lot easier!". Linda is quite experienced with dragsters and this car is only three metres longer. "On the second run Rune told Linda to click off at two hundred metres. We downloaded the run from the computer and it was almost exactly two hundred metres! She is very good on the lights too. "I will try to help Linda to get sponsorship and if so then I will work with the sponsors. It would be really good to get a deal for next year." Swift snippets. 3rd September: FIA Pro Mod Championship #2 Micke Gullquist laid down the gauntlet to eleven-point leader Andy Robinson with an early shut-off 6.291 at only 208.31 in the last knockings of yesterday's Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway. Patrick Wikström stormed to a 6.377/222.79 in the OFAB Thriller Camaro. You can read more in the captioned photo galleries in our American Car Imports-sponsored Test Weekend Event Coverage which you can view 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. Editor's note: Thanks to Spencer Tramm for his help at Santa Pod Raceway yesterday including snapping the last of yesterday's Gallery shots. As mentioned on last Tuesday's news update, Wednesday's FIA European Finals Press Day is now fully-subscribed so no more race vehicles can be accepted. German Supertwin racer Günther Sohn plans to run in the 6.5s at this weekend's FIA European Finals, says wife Helga. "Günther has installed a new second stage of clutch management, a new shift light, and a new Mickey Thompson tyre", says Helga. "Next season he plans a new engine, new fuel management, a new data recorder, and more time for his family!" Swedish Top Fuel Dragster racer Jöran Persåker is aiming to run a four-second pass at the FIA European Finals. "The weather has been a problem this year and we need more runs", he says. "We have made a lot of small changes. I hope that all nine cars run fours every time. This year has been a starting year for us, buying the tools and learning a lot. Next year we will try to run even better." ©Eurodragster.com UK Fuel legend Gary Page has asked us to publish a big Thank You to Santa Pod Raceway for pitting Kenneth Lorentzon's Fuel FC, which he will be driving at this weekend's FIA European Finals, next to Micke Kågered's Top Fuel Dragster, on which Gary will be working this weekend. "The consideration is very much appreciated and will be a lot of help to me as I'll be rushing about like a blue-arsed fly as it is!", says Gary. Swedish Pro Mod racer Ulf Rapp is planning to return to the track at the pre-FIA Main Event test weekend in 2008. "We're working hard to get everything ready", he says. "The team will be the same but there will be some changes under the hood. Maybe the old Henry will stand aside and another guy take his place - you will hear from me later. Good luck to everyone in Pro Mod this weekend, may the best man win, and I look forward to reading about the first nitrous 6.1 soon." UK blown-alcohol altered racer Neil Townson had an overwhelming response on his return to racing at the Open Sport Nationals. "We have been out of the game for three years so we had to do familiarisation runs", says Neil. "This suited us as we have a new motor and a different clutch and we could check them out without competing. We learned so much that by Sunday it was all coming together positively so on Monday we ran the car soft and shut the motor down at three quarter track. To everyone's amazement - especially mine - she ran a 7.7 which was a huge boost as the crew worked really hard all weekend. I'd like to thank them for all their efforts and commitment to the car both at the track and in the garage. I'd also like to thank Lawrie Gatehouse for putting together the NFAA which is expanding each year and shows Nostalgia Fuel Altered racing at its best." UK Real Steel Street Eliminator racer Andy Frost will be followed by a TV crew from Channel 5's Fifth Gear at the FIA European Finals Press Day at Santa Pod Raceway this Wednesday. Andy has also asked us to thank everyone for their support and congratulations after his record-setting weekend at the Open Sport Nationals. You can read more on Andy's web site at www.redvictor1racing.co.uk. Kathy Taylor has been in touch to say a big Thank You to everyone who has patronised her business, Eurodragster.com News sponsor the Baker's Court Café, which she sold last Friday. "I have had eleven good years and I would like to thank everyone who has supported me all this time", says Kathy. "It has been a lot of fun and I have some great memories." Media update. 3rd September: The marketing team at Panther Racing UK must have been working overtime with the amount of activity and coverage generated this season and they just keep on rolling with the latest snippet from Marketing and Media Manager Wayne Corbitt about an excellent feature in the October issue of American Car World magazine. "The impressive five page spread covers some of the background of the team's two National Champions, Trevor Graves and Conrad Stanley, and how they came to purchase the Firebird", says Wayne. I think it's a real personal and technical insight to the guys and of course that beautiful car. There are excellent photographs from Steve Wexler of Eclipse Photography and Andy Willsheer and words and photos by Mark Gredzinski. It might sound a little strange but I think this car is made for the camera!" The feature is included in October's issue, which is on the shelves around 18th September and promises to be a good one. ©Eurodragster.com The magazine store which likes to bring you nostalgia to your late night reading line-up has done it again as American Auto Mags brings you the latest issues of Vintage Fuel and Gasser Wars magazines, writes Jerry Cookson. Starting with Vintage Fuel, Editor Christy Thom has surpassed herself this time with an in-depth look at the NHRA Motorsport Museum's born-again Howard Cams Rattler Top Fuel slingshot. Débuted in 1968 at Lions Dragstrip, the legendary Rattler was one of the top contenders in the latter-day Top Fuel wars picking up numerous PDA Championships, eliminator wins and Best Appearing awards all in two seasons with Larry Dixon behind the butterfly. The car eventually ran a best 6.42/230 before being sold in 1972 to a private collector in Washington. Now it's back entertaining fans from coast to coast with numerous appearances at some of the top-line reunion shows. Also featured is the original King Kong A/Gasser Anglia. Found in a junkyard by Ed and Ray Kohler and now owned by Carlos and Mary Cedeno, King Kong broke every ET and speed record in its heyday on both the AHRA and NHRA national tours. With a best of 9.81/153, this legendary '51 Anglia has been retired to run show and reunion dates. There are more features with a look at Rick Ackerman's restored '69 Fiat Topolino dragster originally built by Frank Huzzar at Race Car Specialities, famed artist Kenny Youngblood delves into his Funny Car scrapbook with a retrospective look at the sixties, race action from the Tucson Reunion and the Southwest Junior Fuel Association race at Red River Raceway, and more. Moving on to Gasser Wars, Editors Dee and Phil Morris have crammed their latest issue with features on Steve Cregut's '48 Austin Rat Now, Rod Pundit's '55 Chevy Gasser Broken Rod, the Henry J custom belonging to Dan Jones, and the restoration of one of the S&S Racing Team's sixties gassers, Gene Altizer's record-breaking Anglia. Race action is brought up to date with the East Coast Gassers and the Gezzer Gassers at the Holley Hot Rod Reunion, Tom Willford looks at some sixties and seventies model gasser kits and Tom Grasso's Hot Rod Chronicles takes us back to 1981. Both editions are now available from American Auto Mags priced at £4.25 and £4.95 respectively. For further details stop by the store's web site at www.americanautomags.com or check out their stand at the forthcoming Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway on 14th-16th September. If you have ever wondered what Chris Round does on his days off from crewing on brother Clayton's twice NFAA Championship-winning Rebel T altered, all is revealed in the latest issue of the Hot Rod Gazette as Editor Shaun Wilson lift's the lid on Chris' Pro Street Pop. Packing a slightly overbored 355 ci small block Chevy the Pop, with its Frank Griffin inspired tube chassis, is tagged for 8.50 drag strip duty! Whether Chris can be persuaded to put the Pop on the track is another matter but just in case he does, there's a full safety chute tucked inside the boot lid and ready to mount. Also in this issue are reports from rounds two and three of the National Street Car Challenge at Shakespeare County, the Hot Rods and Hills Run, the Brighton Belle Cruise and the NHRC Hot Rod Holiday II. Want to get hold of a copy? Then cruise on over to the magazine's web site at www.hotrodgazette.com. Web site updates. 3rd September: In the latest entry in his exclusive Racer Blog, Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer Lex Joon recounts a very looks forward to this weekend's FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. You can read Lex's Blog by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blog link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. UK blown-alcohol racer Joe Bond has updated the Nuthin' Fancy web site with a report from last week's Open Sport Nationals. "Hopefully we can get the car sorted ready for the Hot Rod Drags after the mechanical and ignition woes last weekend", says Joe. You can check out Joe's report at www.nuthinfancyracing.co.uk. Graham Rice has updated his Fotopic gallery with some excellent pictures from the weekend's Peak Performance Day, Run What You Brung and VW Action at Santa Pod Raceway. You can check out Graham's shots at gjrphotography.fotopic.net. Also updating from Saturday's action at Santa Pod Raceway is Gwynn Clark whose superb photography you can find at www.pbase.com/slimboyfat/vw_action_07. ©Eurodragster.com Our good friend Alan Currans usually of the Acceleration Archive is helping to fly the flag for UK Fuel Altered racing in the USA with a feature on Bill Pratt's Draglist.com site covering the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association's outing at the Open Sport Nationals. You can check out Alan's report and pictures by clicking here. Jon Spoard has been in touch to let us know about the latest update to his UK Drag Racing Nostalgia web site, which features pictures of the Pink Panther Jet Dragster, the Tee Rat Fuel Altered on a top end charge, and the Travel Agent Comp Altered. You can find these pictures, a huge selection of other historical shots, and video clips at www.ukdrn.co.uk. If you like to talk about the old times then the UKDRN site also has an excellent and well-moderated forum which is well worth joining. Weekend event coverage. 2nd September: Our good friends Hanski and Jouni are at Alastaro this weekend to bring you all the news from the DEFA Finals, which starts today (Friday). You will be able to stay in touch will all the news from the final round of the Nordic Drag Racing Series at www.fhra.fi. For bike results you can go straight to www.dragrace.fi. Our Alastaro webcam page is still on-line and you will be able to keep an eye on events at the track by clicking here. ©Eurodragster.com We are at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend checking out the pre-FIA European Finals testing. Racers scheduled to attend include Dan Larsen, Mats Eriksson, Gordon Appleton, Martin Curbishley, Stuart Doignie and Pete Bellenie. We will post be posting end-day galleries in association with American Car Imports, and the Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam will be on-line both days and will be scheduled to post a picture every sixty seconds. Click here to view our coverage, or Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and select the FIA European Finals. Swift snippets. 2nd September: If you were tuned in to Eurodragster.com News on Wednesday then you will have read that Derek Flynn of Eurodragster.com News sponsor Gold RV will be cutting off his ponytail should he run a five-second pass in his Top Methanol Dragster at the FIA European Finals. We're not sure what made him do it but your News Editor has agreed to grow a ponytail if Derek doesn't run a five this weekend. We have a mental image of Derek dropping the chutes at half track on every run... ©Eurodragster.com A cracking weekend. 1st September: UK Comp Bike racer Nick Holland says that and the Flying Dutchman team had a cracking weekend at the Open Sport Nationals: The team were quite happy after Saturday qualifying having run an 8.4 with only four pounds of boost, and qualifying number four. The bike was showing fabulous potential for the weekend so a celbratory beer was in order. Sunday however was not so promising after we found that the fuel tank had cracked after the first run. We would like to give good old Dave Branch the biggest thank you, for taking time out to return to Oxford and weld up the tank for us, thank you Mr B! Monday's eliminations were even more eventful. The bike left the line like a scalded cat and we were on one, but problems arose just before mid track after running out of gears due to so much wheelspin, and sadly soon after mid track the engine let go, thanks to over twenty two pounds of boost! It's an old engine after all so she has done us proud! ©Eurodragster.com We returned to the pits to find a rather large crack reaching across two cylinders! Oops! Later we found two con-rods had bent, so we thought it was curtains for the UK National Finals at Santa Pod! But thanks to our friend Mr J Browse (Kawasaki specialist) in Wrexham, who has supplied all the spare parts we need, fingers crossed we will be at Santa Pod for the last race. Big big thanks to my crew over the weekend: worked hard, played harder! Also thanks to the other Comp Bike riders for all their help over the weekend. Dad (Baz) is looking forward to joining the race team next year with his new bike. A shaky win at Shakey. 1st September: Luke Bennett has been in touch with a review of the blown-alcohol altered team's victorious weekend at the Open Sport Nationals: First things first, we were all very gutted to hear the news about Tony Baker. Totally unbelievable, our sincere condolences to all his family and friends. My aim at this event was to get another six-second run, which would have been the first at Shakey. But this was not to be as like most of the NFAA we were getting terrible tyre shake. The first run of the weekend, not knowing what power the track would take, I set the car up for a six. The car left well but at the top of second gear it shook hard and dad had to pedal to stop it. So when it ran through at 7.024/193.93 I was both happy but gutted to be so close to another six. The next run of the day was pretty much the same. I knew it was going to shake and it did, at top of second gear it shook violently and then the car got very bouncy. When the old man got back to the pits he said he actually had to drive the car for once and nearly came out of it, which he never likes to do, so he short shifted into third and it calmed it down a bit and he drove it through to a 7.057/191.16. We were happy to close out the day as number one qualifier. Sunday's first run was again more of the same, this time it shook a lot harder and definitely woke the old man up. He had to pedal it a few times and only ran through a 7.403/189.08. The run on Sunday afternoon was a very weird one, from where I was standing it looked like a 7.0 minimum, when I spoke to dad back in the pits he said it really pulled and lifted the wheels when he shifted into second, so we were both really surprised when the ticket was only a 7.413/183.73. Still we were racking up points as we had made all the rounds so far. ©Eurodragster.com Monday's first run was a wild one to say the least. The track had just been oiled and after the clean up didn't have any heat in it, so again it shook hard then past the eighth the track was dead, the car broke loose and as my dad doesn't know the meaning of coming off the throttle he was gently feathering the throttle. The car went sideways and he did an excellent driving job, I'm looking forward to seeing it on the NFAA DVD. Then, as I suspected it would be, it was Clayton Round and ourselves us in the final. That's always a close race. Again the car was set up in the hope of getting that six but was not to be. It left well, shook again just before the eighth, drifted right but I new full well that dad wouldn't lift unless it got bad. He went through and ran 7.018/193.18, we were glad to win the event but it would have been nice to get that six. Still, there is always the next meeting. Bennett Racing have also signed up a new sponsor, Chronos Ltd who supply a huge range of engineering and model engineering supplies around the world via their speedy mail order service. "Whether you are a hobbyist with a small home workshop or run a fully fledged engineering company, you are sure to find something of interest among their 8000+ products", says Luke. "Their web site is at www.chronos.ltd.uk." Luke Bennett's company Bennett Design is also offering a limited-period deal for web sites for racers or sponsors. "The offer is five-page web site, domain name (eg .co.uk), and a five megabyte limit for £100", says Luke. "So for example you can have a welcome page explaining your race team, gallery, car spec, team/crew details and a links page. For examples of our web sites please visit www.malmgrenracing.com or www.bennettdesign.info. Knight's trio. 1st September: UK Super Comp racer Paul Knight has been in touch to offer his sponsors and partners some well-deserved and sincere thanks for their continued commitment and support throughout the 2007 season. Paul's special thanks go to Steve Wood of Motorshack, VP Racing Fuels, and Les Downey of Lucas Oil Products. ©Eurodragster.com Paul's 2007 campaign has led him to provisionally secure his third consecutive Ultimate Power Drag Racing Championship in his first three full seasons in Super Comp. "What a great weekend" Paul said of the Open Sport Nationals. "Really tight racing, great weather for consistent running and I knew I had to fight for every qualifier and every round win. The Trans-Am performed really well with zero problems throughout the even. It's been a great car to race and should continue to do well throughout the rest of 2007. "On day two I went into number one qualifying spot with an 8.907/156.16 then of course we were into the real thing the day after. Then things were good enough for me to win rounds and catch a bye in round three eliminations to meet up with Belinda Bull in the final. A great weekend all round and a real credit to the team at Shakespeare County Raceway." Paul added that he is looking to raise his profile and sponsor coverage in the remainder of 2007 and into pre-season 2008. Watch this space for more information. The Panthers go Freestyle. 1st September: It's just after mid season and Wayne Corbitt, Marketing and Media Manager for Panther Racing UK continues to secure sponsorship partners for the UK Super Gas and Junior Modified team, clearly showing that this kind of activity is not just undertaken in the off-season. Freestyle Sign & Graphics Ltd is a recent acquisition by the Arnold Plastics Group and has over fourteen years in the sign and graphics industry. ©Eurodragster.com "The race transporters look great", says Wayne. "Freestyle are great designers, manufacturers and installers of quality signage, vehicle graphics, web design and digital image printing and they an have unrivalled reputation for customer care and quality of products and services. That's why Freestyle were our preferred choice and with a full design service Freestyle invite customers to Use Their Imagination." Kavin Hackett, – Sales and Marketing Director for Freestyle, says "We're really pleased to provide vinyls to the Panther Racing team. Freestyle as a company are deeply involved in supplying our products to the motorsport arena and through Wayne and the people at Panther Racing we have the opportunity for Freestyle and Arnold Plastics to show off and demonstrate our expertise." "Along with the negotiations behind this partnership all we had to do was issue our logo", adds Wayne. "Kavin and his team did the rest. We've been extremely pleased with every single element of our discussions - hopefully we can carry the momentum through the off-season and into 2008. The graphics have made a real difference and identity to the race transporters." You can find out more on the team's official web site. Swift snippets. 1st September: We have two birthdays in the Super Street Bike pits today. First up is a Happy Birthday to Steve Venables whose special day hasn't got off to the best of starts as his seven-second SSB has put a rod out in testing here at Santa Pod. Happy Birthday, too, to Ade Lockley. Hope you both have good days, or in Ven's case that your day improves. ©Eurodragster.com Seamarks' thanks. 1st September: UK Junior Dragster racer Matthew Seamarks has been in touch to thank everyone who helped him after he blew an engine at the Open Sport Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway: ©Eurodragster.com Most of all I would like to thank Conrad and Anna Stanley of Panther Racing for the loan of their spare engine. Big thanks also go to the following: Chris aka Munch and Stuart for the help on Saturday night - Stuart had only come to the track to spectate but when he knew we had problems and needed help he came and helped us straight away - Roy Wilding of Chariot of Fire and Tony Betts of Venom Racing for the loan of tools and a vice respectively, and Geof Hauser for the advice and help. We must send also a huge thank you to Jr Race Car who are building me a new motor right now so that we can test before the Europen finals! Then as normal Spencer Tramm and Dave Day, if it wasn't for them we would not be where we are today. Finally our thoughts are with Tony Baker's family at this time. Earlier news