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Udtian takes the gate. 15th May: Norwegian Top Methanol Dragster racer Paul Ingar Udtian is the first racer to arrive at Santa Pod Raceway for next weekend's FIA Main Event. Paul and the Q8 Oils-sponsored Islanders Dragrace Team completed their marathon journey yesterday afternoon and are now preparing the car for its first outing of the year at Saturday's Peak Performance Day. ©Eurodragster.com "We have a lot more work to do at the track because of the problems we had before we left the Islands with missing parts and shipments not arriving as promised", says team member Konrad Ree. "Again we have to say a big Thank You to Gittli Koller of Peter Schöfer Racing who helped us with the German customs and Fannreim Motorverksted who helped us to machine the block. Without thieir help we wouldn't be at Santa Pod today. Hopefully we will be ready for some testing on the Norwegian National Day." The team have a web site under construction at www.islandersdragracing.com which they plan to update during this year's European Tour. Editor's note: Racers please be sure to keep those FIA Main Event previews coming. Pro or Sportsman, drop us a line at news@eurodragster.com and we'll post it here. The cold has no bearing... 15th May: UK Super Pro ET racer Mark Flavell says that it all went seriously downhill after unveiling the team's new Funny Car at the Auto Trader Easter Thunderball at Santa Raceway, but that the team will be back for next week's FIA Main Event. "An old driver in a new car needs to be observed' to be competent to drive that car. Team MFR in our new Steel River Hot Rod Saab 93 Funny Car suited up in near freezing conditions and went through the burnout and staging procedure. In the right hand lane I launched to sixty feet as required and all was OK. We came back around for our eighth-mile pass when the rain came down just as we were readying to fire her up. We towed back to the pits as instructed and the day looked like it was over. My team went down to help our good friend Derek Flynn with his awning in the wind after battening down our own hatches in the MFR pit. "Now, I have every confidence and great admiration for the time and effort the Santa Pod crew put in to the track, but I never thought the track would re-open that afternoon. So when the pit marshal appeared and said "Five minutes" you can imagine the panic and flurry of activity to get the Funny Car out so that we could get the last of the observed runs in before we could actually run the quarter and qualify. Mobile phones were rung and the crew reappeared with minutes to spare. Unfortunately the temperature had dropped still further and we had no time or means of warming the driveline through quickly, as we were going to miss our slot. We figured we'd get the chance to warm through in the collection area but on arrival were told to go. ©Eurodragster.com "Well, we should have known better because at four degrees with an engine with ally rods and 50wt oil the gauge can read what it likes but the laws of physics won't allow oil to flow across a 0.025" bearing gap which was set at seventeen degrees so was probably down nearer 0.001". A quick short burnout and off the throttle. The motor came to an abrupt stop and we pushed back. Does anybody want a Dart block, Scat crank and a set of BME 396 rods previously enjoyed for approximately thirty five seconds? No, I thought not...all scrap. "After thirty years of building and racing I can only take this one on the chin as it was all self-inflicted. We'd hoped to be back out for the Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway but work and race transporter MOTs conspired against us. We're ready now and hungry to get on track for the Main Event. I'd like to thank my crew Craig Owen, Steve Metcalfe and Mali Rigg for the monumental effort they've put in. Thanks also to Karl and Rod Harrison for helping out and to Universal Engines of Las Vegas for their help. So keep your eyes on the Welding Specialists / NGK / Simoniz / DAPO Super Pro ET Funny Car, we intend to have some fun!" Web site updates. 15th May: We don't know how he did it, but in between Eurodragster.com duties and even longer bouts working on the event programme for the FIA Main Event, Roger has updated his personal web site Nitro Exposure with a sample gallery from last week's Springspeed Festival as well as come vintage shots from 1988 which you can find on the Home and News pages. You can check out Roger's shots at www.nitroexposure.co.uk and if you like what you see either on Nitro Exposure or on Eurodragster.com enough to want to buy copies then you can contact Roger through either web site. ©Eurodragster.com Photo-journalist Dick Parnham has updated his Fotopic gallery with pictures from last week's Springspeed Festival. You can find Dick's MotoPhoto Gallery at dickparnham.fotopic.net. Take the Pro Mod Challenge. 14th May: Eurodragster.com News sponsor Exhaust-coating.de have announced that they are to sponsor a Pro Mod Challenge in 2008. The idea is the brainchild of soon-to-be Pro Mod racer Marco Maurischat. Exhaust-coating.de is a division of Marco's own company Pulverbeschichtung Nord GmbH Germany, and it is this brand that will be the title sponsor for the Challenge, to be held at the 2008 European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. The Challenge is open for the top eight drivers as determined by qualifying points earned by the top sixteen qualifiers at preceding 2008 FIA European Championship rounds. The winner will be awarded with €2000 and the runner-up €500. A decal on each side of the race car is all that is necessary to earn points and prize money. The points system and standings will be available on the European Pro Mod Association web site at www.promod.nu, on the Exhaust-coating web site at www.exhaust-coating.de, and here on Eurodragster.com after each FIA Championship round. "We feel very proud to become a sponsor for the European Exhaust-Coating.de Pro Mod Challenge in 2008", says Marco Maurischat. "Firstly I have to thank the EPMA and also Santa Pod Raceway for helping us to make this happen. I also have to say that without the support of great companies such as NIC industries with Brian Hall, Brandon Grady and all the other great people, this simply would not have happened. "We were thinking initially about some prize money for the winner of the European FIA Championship. But then we decided to switch to the Shootout format. We know that not all Pro Mod racers will be able to win the FIA Championship, but to earn qualifying points is possible for most, so to get points to stay in the top eight at the end of the season is something that can happen for almost everybody in the class. It will be very exciting to see who takes the €2000 for the win and €500 for runner-up at Santa Pod in September. We will visit the Main Event to talk to the racers and to hand the decals out to them. Hopefully all of Pro Mod racers will enjoy the extra excitement of racing to earn some money!” ©Eurodragster.com For more information about the European Exhaust-Coating.de Pro Mod Challenge, E-Mail Marco at info@pulver-nord.de. Marco also told Eurodragster.com that he is seeking associates from all over Europe to become certified applicators for his products. "I feel very proud to offer and sell exclusive Cerakote™ ceramic products Europe wide", he said. "We see drag racing and the fastest door cars on the planet as an ideal marketing platform to make our line of Cerakote™ Ceramic products well known all over Europe. Besides our powder coating and car painting divisions Pulverbeschichtung Nord is specialising in Cerakote™ High Temperature Ceramic Coatings such as polished Chromex and many other colors for exhaust systems, as well as thermal barrier coatings for internal engine components like piston domes and valve faces. The company also offers the full line of Solid (Dry) Film coatings. Having worked with these products for more than three years Pulver Nord is now the first and official exclusive European distributor and dealer for Cerakote™ products. Cerakote™ is one of the best and well known ceramic products and is used by many big exhaust manufactures in the US motorcycle and car industries. For more information please visit www.exhaust-coating.de and www.nicindustries.com. Them bones are set to shake! 14th May: Simon Mitchell is aiming to run in Super Pro ET in the UK next season in his recently-acquired altered named BoneShaker. The altered came into the UK at the end of 2007 and Simon acquired it a couple of months ago. "I own a body shop in Kent, Mitchville Autobodies, so the first thing we've done is named it and painted it!", says Simon (click on picture for another angle). As you can see from the photos, the airbrush artist has been let loose! ©Eurodragster.com "I've got a 440 Chrysler wedge motor bored out to 500 ci with Eagle crank and rods, SRP pistons, Edelbrock Performer heads, Edelbrock cam kit, Competition Cams roller rocker kit, Milodon sump, Weiand high-rise tunnel ram with twin Holley 650 double pumpers and Pro billet distributor with MSD 7AL2 ignition. It all runs through a Powerglide box to a Ford nine-inch rear with 4.11 Pro gears. Thanks to Dave Milam at She Devil Racing for building the engine. "I'm hoping to have the car together and running at least for the Southeast Custom and Classic Show at Farming World near Faversham in Kent in June. We have a couple of other cars coming down: Nigel Turner is bringing his Super Pro ET rail and Mad R's Racing are bringing their Shy Talker. Mick Payne may appear with the Artful Dodger if the engine is back in time. It should be a good show - any other racers who are free that weekend and fancy bringing their dragsters down should get in touch, the more the merrier!" Bikes invited to Thunder... 14th May: Ian King writes that after the success of the Nitro Thunder competition at the 2007 Nitrolympx at Hockenheim it has been decided to run this format again at the 2008 Nitrolympx: Nitro Thunder is open to riders of both twin- and four-cylinder Nitro powered bikes. Racers will be divided into the two categories and given the chance over three runs to run the lowest aggregate time and meet the respective winner of the other category in a Twin v Four final run-off. Alongside Nitro Thunder there is a possibility of a Pro Bike Challenge if enough interest is shown. This will be open to all slick-tyred and wheelie bar bikes and is designed to to cater for Funny Bike/Pro Mod Bike and Pro Stock Bike. Finally, there will be another Super Street Bike competition for which many entries have already been submitted. Rico Anthes has asked that riders interested in competing in any of the above classes E-Mail him their interest as soon as possible at info@dragster.de. ©Eurodragster.com ...and all welcome at Drachten. 14th May: If like UK Super Pro ET racer Mark Flavell you think the mid-June to mid-August break in the UK National Championships is way too long then why not join the rest of the touring Brits and head for Drachten in The Netherlands on 11th-13th July. "An excellent track, which has now been extended to form a permanent drag racing venue, awaits just three and a half hours' drive from the ferry along motorway-standard roads right up to their front door", says Flav. "In 2006 a group of us Super Pro ET racers headed to Holland and had a real party. The track at the time ran on the City Airport which meant it was perfectly flat and smooth from start line to the end of the shutdown area. We were beaten by Martyn Jones in the final, red-lighting away a 7.01/197. ©Eurodragster.com "Now they have extended the asphalt and the drag strip is being treated and sledded, whilst the air traffic is restricted to the shutdown area. It's a great venue and affordable. You can enter on-line via the eXplosion webs it at www.xplosion.nl then call Dave Higgs at Allsports Logistics on 01873 859500 and get the best ferry deal available. We sail from Harwich at 9.00 am-ish on Thursday 10th July and docking back at Harwich at 7:00 pm-ish on Monday 14th July. "No matter what class you choose to contest, you'll receive a tremendous welcome and I can guarantee a great time. If you have any questions then please drop me a line at mark@flavellwelding.co.uk and I'll try to fill in any blanks, but it couldn't be any easier and it's the most fun you'll ever have with your clothes on!" Stay tuned as we will have more from Mark Flavell tomorrow, this time about his own racing operation. York's Round 1. 14th May: The first rounds of the Pennine Drag Racing Club Northern Drag Racing Championship took place on the 4th-5th May at York Raceway's UK Open Nationals, with a great turnout once again for American Super Stock, writes Richard Smith: Having spent many late nights rebuilding his Hemi-powered GTX, Dave Billadeau fought through the ladder to defeat Trevor Cadman's Camaro in the final round while recording a 0-60mph time of 2.4 seconds. Over in Sportsman ET, Lee Chiles started his Championship defence in the best possible way by reaching the finals and taking the win over Des Taylor, who had borrowed Andy Leigh's VW-powered buggy which destroyed yet another drive shaft on the start line! Meanwhile Andy Bales, in his consistent Anglia, took the honours in both Pro ET and the Hot Rod Challenge. On the Sunday was the first-ever running of the new Power Tour series, which will be hitting Santa Pod and Shakespeare County later this year. The first round was won by Pete Youhill in his 582 ci powered Chevelle, who also managed to run the first nine-second pass ever recorded in American Super Stock competition. Well done Pete! ©Eurodragster.com The winter work from the York Raceway and PDRC crews certainly proved worthwhile, with the new concrete burnout areas helping improve track conditions and allowing for plenty of wheels-up action. The great weather on Monday certainly helped too! The next event, the UK Spring Nationals, takes place on 25th-26th May and more details can be found at www.york-raceway.co.uk/events.html. You can check out Richard's pictures from the event at richardsmith.fotopic.net. Swift snippets. 14th May: Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Derek Flynn has announced that he will not be contesting the FIA Main Event and that he will probably not be racing in Top Fuel Dragster this season. Since the termination of his deal with Knut Söderquist Derek has investigated other options but has ultimately decided against licencing and racing next weekend in case something should go awry and affect other racers' chances. You can read more in the latest entry in Derek's exclusive Racer Blog which you can read by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. The UK's Pro ET Sponsorship Scheme has this year been extended to include the two UK Championship meetings at Shakespeare County Raceway, writes Carla Pittau. Ian Brown of Team Thatadoo led at the Springspeed Festival 0.016 off his dial-in and Sir Numero Uno Qualifier of the Springspeed graciously agreed to pose with his trophy. The Pro ET Sponsorship Scheme is supported by Alleyjax, Toxico Clothing, WASP, A1 Motor Stores, Inkwell Printing, Penn Autos, Hauser Race Cars, Black Bear Harley Davidson, Motor Shack and Real Steel, so when shopping for products supplied by these fine organisations remember to support the companies who support your addiction to speed. Congratulations to UK Import racer John Bradshaw who clocked a Personal Best of 8.29 in his Nissan Skyline GTST at the PTM Show at Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday (see below for report). "The car kept improving on each run which was great: 8.44, 8.39, 8.31, 8.30 and then 8.29" says John. "We had real consistency and no reliability issues at all despite the hot track temperature which was 43 degrees plus. My licencing runs are now complete so we are all ready to go. I can't wait for the Main Event." Four B&H Automotive Street Eliminator racers will be appearing in exhibition at next week's FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway. Steve Nash, Steve Pateman, Jeff Meads and Mark Perkins were invited to represent the class and will be making demonstration passes during the weekend. Stay tuned for more, and in the meantime check out the official B&H Automotive Street Eliminator web site at www.streeteliminator.com which has been updated with the latest news from the class including race reports and video. Sweden's Fast Freddy Fagerström clocked 6.41 seconds on his return to Pro Mod at the NDRG Springnats at Gardermoen at the weekend. You can check out a report and pictures from Gardermoen on the Racebilder web site at www.racebilder.nu - don't miss the picture of Freddy's tow vehicle. ©Eurodragster.com Psycle Workz have expanded their machining capabilities with the purchase of new CAD/CAM software and machining centre. "We now have another Bridgeport VMC and, to go with that, state of the art 3D CAD/CAM software which enables us to model in 3D, products and custom parts prior to machining", says Cindy Newbury. "This has enabled us to produce more complex products with the VMC, to increase our product line and to give our custom parts that individual design. We can rapidly prototype anything you may need and develop products you may already have". Psycle Workz can be found at this weekend's BMF Show in Peterborough, or you can contact them via their web site at www.psycleworkz.com. Advance ticket sales for the FIA Main Event close at 5:30 pm this Friday, 16th May. You can buy tickets on-line at www.santapod.com or call the ticket hotline on 01234 782828 (outside the UK +44 1234 782828). "To ensure you take advantage of the advance ticket price, please don't wait until Friday to order your tickets", says Jo Harris. "Get on-line to book tickets or get calling now! Also you have a last chance to get some track time prior to the Main Event as we still have a few places available for the Peak Performance Day this Saturday (17th May). Tickets will be now be available on the gate only on a first-come first-served basis." A very Happy Birthday for yesterday (Tuesday) to Gerda Joon, Team Manager of The Netherlands' MPM Oil Top Fuel Dragster team and of course Lex's missus. We hope that you had a great day Gerda and we'll pass on your hugs next week. The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com came with the words "One for your Can You Guess What It Is section". We have a sneaking suspicion that we know what this one is about, but if you have any more information, or if you would like to send your own spy pictures, then please drop us a line at eurodragster.com@btinternet.com. Shakespeare County Raceway would be pleased to hear from racers who live in the Worcester and Gloucester areas and who would be interested in helping charity. "We've been asked by David Williams to mount another display of drag racing at the Evesham Show on 7th-8th June alongside the River Avon at Crown Meadow", says Jerry Cookson. "Last year the show featured a wide cross section of transport including grass roots motorsport and hot rods, live music, hot air balloons and a firework and laser show on Saturday evening, and all in aid of childrens charities". If you want to get involved and support a worthy cause whilst promoting the sport then please give Jerry a call on 01789 720180. There are only a few weeks to go to the King of Europe event for street-legal cars which takes place at Brustem Airbase in Belgium on 21st-22nd June. Sixty two cars are entered from eleven countries, with the ultimate winner dubbed King of the West and facing off against recently-crowned King of the East Grzegorz Staszewski. You can check out the official entry list at www.kingofeurope.net. HKS and Euro Compact success. 14th May: The second season of the HKS Drag Series got off to a flying start at Santa Pod Raceway Sunday, with superb action in all three classes writes Rick Cuthbert: A high rate of attrition both before and during the event meant that the remaining cars were the very best in the series, and exemplified what the HKS Drag Series is about. In the Pro class, John Bradshaw won an uncontested final with a new personal best run of 8.292 seconds at a data-logged 165 mph (the timing data Terminal Speed is believed to be incorrect). John had a tough opponent in Steve Whittaker, who was unable to make the final after an incredible qualifying session produced the fastest side-by-side Jap pairing in the UK, Steve running an 8.062/165.80 against John's 8.314 at an identical 165.80 mph. Unfortunately for Steve, this awesome qualifying run resulted in a broken transmission, confining the car to the trailer before the finals. In the Street class, a large entry was whittled down to just Johnny McKeon in the RK Tuning Skyline and Kevin Huntley in the Envy Performance Supra. Both cars had been running similar times all day, and a supremely close race was won by Johnny by what must have been just centimetres. Kevin actually ran the faster ET with a 10.882/144, but Johnny's better reaction times saved him, and his 10.947/136.56 was enough to take a hard-earned win. In the Front Wheel Drive class, it was an all-CPL Racing final, with Guy Chamberlain up against his customer Scott Whitelaw. Guy reached an incredible 140 mph on his 10.721 run, but Scott's better reaction times came within a cat's whisker of saving him, and his 10.802 was frustratingly close to being good enough. Another breath-taking race from the HKS Drag Series! The first ever Euro Sports Compact race also took place at the PTM Show on Sunday, and it was fantastic to bring together so many famous cars from different tuning scenes and run them together in proper drag racing eliminations. All entrants had to have European cars running European engines, and all had to be six cylinders or less. Front wheel drive and four wheel drive ruled, and VWs certainly made up the bulk of the field, but with a Lancia, MG and a Mini also entered and running competitively, it showed that everyone could compete. The final came down to James Hodson in his FWD VW Golf turbo up against Mark Gunns in his 4WD VW Corrado. Despite an excellent 10.931/125 from Mark, he couldn't beat James' 10.813/134, which combined with his better reaction time put James a car-length ahead at the finish line. An excellent race that showed perfectly what Euro Sports Compact is all about. Watch out for a re-run at Ultimate Street Car in August! You can find a fuller report and pictures on the HKS Drag Series at www.japdragseries.co.uk/hks_round1_2008.php. ©Eurodragster.com British Hall of Fame update. 14th May: The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame in association with USAutomotive are pleased to announce that Nick Pettitt will be joining the BDRHoF as Historical Consultant to the Board of Selectors. ©Eurodragster.com Nick's interest in Drag Racing started in 1971 at the tender age of eleven after seeing Chris Church in his T bucket on the London to Brighton vintage car run. Nick started buying Custom Car magazine (a BDRHOF member) and nagged his dad to take him to the drags at Blackbushe. Nick subsequently became very interested in the history of British drag racing and over the years has built up a large collection of old magazines and programmes. In the mid-1990s Nick got hold of some colour slides and cine film from the 1960s and put it onto video, adding his own narration using the magazines and programmes to identify the cars and bikes. The Time Travel video series is now on DVD and Nick is currently working on number fifty six; you can find details as well as extensive photo galleries on the Time Travel DVDs web site at www.timetraveldvds.co.uk. Nick's expertise and knowledge of drag racing will be of great assistance to the Board of Selectors when assessing candidates for the British Drag Racing Hall Of Fame. Web site updates. 14th May: In the latest entry in his exclusive Racer Blog, Dutch Top Fuel Dragster racer Lex Joon describes some of the work which the MPM Oil-sponsored team have been doing in the run-up to next week's FIA Main Event. You can read Lex's Blog by clicking here or by clicking on the Racer Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. ©Eurodragster.com The official web site of the UK's Showtime Fuel Funny Car team has been updated with a report and pictures from the team's recent appearance at the Rushden Cavalcade which featured a mixture of steam engines, trucks and tractors from the 1930s as well as a Funny Car with probably more power than the rest of them added together. Check it out at www.showtimeracinguk.com. Peter Frost. 13th May: We are sorry to report that our good friend Peter Frost passed away overnight on Saturday at the age of only 48. Peter succumbed to cancer after a fight of just two weeks. Christer Abrahamson writes: Peter came into the world of NDRS and Svensk Dragracing years ago like a breath of fresh air. He was big, positive and had new angles and fresh ideas about every issue with which Svensk Dragracing had to battle in those days. Peter quickly became the head of "The Travellers", as he called them, the girls and guys who travelled to almost every NDRS event to promote drag racing and who became the focal point for racers and organisers with questions and problems, and at the same time the place for a cup of coffee. Before his years with Svensk Dragracing Peter was deeply involved in Comp Eliminator and he continued to have a special place for the class in his big heart. Peter also had an interest in art and was very active in the local Art Club. He loved drag racing art, combining his two interests, and he also created a couple of NDRS' best-looking T-shirts. Our sympathies and thoughts are with Peter's relatives. We are going to miss you so much buddy! Tog adds: We were privileged to work with Peter on a number of occasions, usually around the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park. Peter was a very friendly and helpful guy and thus ideally suited as an NDRS Traveller, a role he filled with some distinction and to the benefit both of the NDRS and drag racing as a whole. When visiting the Veidec Festival we were assured of a warm welcome from Peter and his colleagues at the NDRS stall and he was always amongst the first to ask if we were OK, if we had everything we needed, and if we wanted a free T-Shirt. Peter also did a great job during his time running the Svensk Dragracing web site, a task which seemed to have been dropped on him somewhat but he took it on willingly and in good heart and provided a good service to racers and fans. Peter's death is going to leave a big hole in the sport. We would like to add our own sympathies to Peter's family and friends who should be assured that we will be thinking of him especially at Mantorp Park in July. Peter did not want a formal funeral, so if you would like to make a donation in his memory then please do so to a local cancer charity. Kågered's longing. 12th May: Swedish Top Fuel Dragster racer Micke Kågered has been longing for his 2008 season to start. Micke will kick off 2008 at next weekend's Peak Performance Day and Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway. "I was in the US twice this winter, mainly to meet suppliers, but I also met and watched my fellow competitor Urs Erbacher run", says Micke. "I admit I envy him and I think he did well. At the same time I know what tremendous work (and budget) lies behind a tour to the US, so for my team it has not an option for a long time. We simply have too many commitments in Europe during the winter as well. That is one of the reasons we can operate this on a professional full time basis." "I'm looking forward to a fresh start this year with a new combination and fresh parts, last year was a disaster really" says Micke's UK-based head tuner Alan Jackson. "Although the car ran 4.83 at Mantorp, afterwards a mix of faulty parts, the weather and some good old bad luck made sure it was a year to forget for us. This year we would like some good weather so we can get some laps on the car, and learn what it needs to be consistently quick and happy!" ©Eurodragster.com "With a whole new combination and a lot of new parts we are going to take it easy to start with next week, but hopefully we will make some half and three-quarter passes", says Micke. "The best scenario would be a full pass before the weekend of testing is over. We already been preparing a great deal at our base in Sweden, which will hopefully save us some time servicing the car and help to prevent those failures which can easily occur when working and assembling parts under stress. We have never invested so much in parts and knowledge as we have this winter. There is really not much more we could buy to improve our chances, so I hope for the best and I'm really looking forward to getting out on track at Santa Pod a week from now." "Team Kågered is carrying a new selection of souvenirs to Santa Pod, so don't miss visiting us in the pits!", says Team Manager Åsa Kinnemar. "Reports from testing and the Main Event will be posted on our web site at www.kagered-racing.com, and for full live coverage as always we encourage you to take advantage of the excellent service Eurodragster.com provide (Thanks - Ed)." Editor's note: Racers (both Pro and Sportsman) please note that it's neither too early nor too late to send your FIA Main Event previews. Drop us a line at news@eurodragster.com and we'll post it here. Swift snippets. 12th May: The first instalment of our FIA Main Event build-up, our report from last Thursday's European Championships Press Call, has now been posted in association with American Car Imports. You can check out what Martin Bishop, Andy Robinson, Andy Carter, Martin Hill and Keith Bartlett had to say to us 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 Main Event. Next up will be our live coverage of this weekend's Peak Performance Day and Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway. ©Eurodragster.com Following the Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, both APIRA and SCR would like to thank the racers as well as the spectators who braved the misfortunes encountered during Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's weather. "Thank you for sticking it out with us", says Jerry Cookson. "Monday as we all know was a bit of a bummer too but at least we managed to get some racing and rounds in for as long as the we could. We're also thankful that Kevin, Carla and Simon were OK after their mishaps on Saturday and Monday respectively. Hopefully a better prospect will be encountered for the Open Sport Nationals in August. Good luck guys for the next round at Santa Pod Raceway." Come to Europe, have fun. 12th May: Karl Ellwein of the USA's East Coast Impala SS Racing Series is shipping his street/strip 1995 Chevy Impala SS to Europe. Karl plans to race at the Midnight Sun Internationals at Pite Dragway and the Gold Town Summer Drag Race in Skellefteå in July with Anders Envall and Kent Edin, for whom he has built an engine, and will then accompany Anders to Santa Pod Raceway to contest Pro ET at the FIA European Finals in September. Karl hopes to promote his business Ellwein Engines and intends to have fun along the way. "A Sportsman racer touring Europe may sound eccentric, and maybe it is (No it isn't - Ed)", says Karl. "But this is something I have wanted to do since first attending the European Finals as Santa Pod in 2004 where I supported Anders in Pro ET. At Santa Pod I met a few of the Pro ET racers such as Carla Pittau and Rick McCann and it was there that a goal was set in my mind to race my own car at Santa Pod one day. I have since attended the 2006 and 2007 European Finals as a spectator, to support Anders, and to enjoy the nitro and Pro Mod cars. "Back in September 1994 in my home town of Saint Leonard Maryland, USA, I had just received the brand new 1995 Chevy Impala SS which I had ordered from a few months earlier. The 350 ci V8 cast a spell over me. The car could beat almost any late-model Mustang or Camaro to the eighth mile. But after the eighth the big heavy car would lay down and I would see tail lights. I had to learn how to make this car quicker. Maybe that is the typical story of what brings someone into the sport of drag racing. A friend talked me into bracket racing a few years later and during that first bracket race I "blindly" went to the third round and that third round losing time slip had the word "Money" written on it. That $30 award hooked me! Since then I have been drag racing that 1995 Chevy Impala SS mostly in the trophy bracket racing classes of numerous USA drag strips. USA professional bracket racing is too businesslike and serious for my taste. "In the USA the 1994 to 1996 Impala SS car has developed a cult following and numerous Impala clubs have sprung up. Impala Club drag racing events are held at drag strips all up and down the east coast of the USA. In 2000 I created an Impala SS bracket racing point series with the purpose of supporting all of the local Impala SS car club racing events and providing a reason to attend more races. That racing series, the East Coast Impala SS Racing Series, is now in its ninth year. Attending ECIRS events is really a great time with the family while having fun with the car. ECIRS basically keeps me racing and tuning on my car. "A few years ago I developed a keen interest in engine building as a hobby. During a visit to Autoshop Racing Engines in Florida, Lennart Bergqvist suggested that I might try engine building as a profession. "You should try it", he said simply. Those words came from someone who I looked up to and truly idolised: the Lennart Bergqvist of Autoshop Racing Engines in Orlando Florida saying such things to me! I took his words to heart and started Ellwein Engines. I was shocked and deeply saddened when Lennart passed away in November 2006 after a short but courageous bout with cancer. "The shipping of my Impala SS is supported by many friends who have been long supporters of my new engine building business. Autoshop Racing Engines in Orlando, Florida is the major sponsor of my car. As mentioned above Birgitta Bergqvist and her late husband Lennart gave the initial encouraging words and vouched for my business when establishing accounts with major suppliers such as Callies Performance Products. Carolina Performance Transmissions is providing two GM 4L60E transmissions - maybe having a spare is wise, yes? Advanced Induction Cylinder Head Development provides cylinder heads and camshaft design for Ellwein Engines. McKeown Motorsports Engineering Inc has been providing engineering, design and testing support for Ellwein Engines. Mark McKeown designed the blower piston used in Kent Edin's motor, forever to be called the Kent piston. Now, when a customer desires a strong forced induction motor we usually suggest an upgrade to the "Kent" piston. Mark McKeown has been a Jeg's Engine Master finalist each time he has competed in the event, 2006 and 2007. "I also have one non-racing related sponsor, Vindouro Burmese and Bombay Cattery. I have to learn more about what a cattery is exactly. But if someone reading this is looking for a Burmese or Bombay kitty cat then Denise Hall's Vindouro Cattery would be a very good place to enquire. They are located in the USA and have experience with exported cats. I am fond of cats and have a nine year old grey shorthair cat named King Xerxes. He's like all cats: if you feed him he likes you, if not then he has no use for you (Didn't you know that dogs have owners but cats have staff - Ed). "Now I finally have a booking with a shipping company to have my car in Gothenburg in Sweden some time at the end of June. I hope to promote my engine building company and have fun while doing it. How can you not have fun while drag racing in Sweden and England? Outlaws take over the Manor. 12th May: In the lead up to the forthcoming Yanks Weekend and Gary's Picnic at Shakespeare County Raceway, the Supercharged Outlaw teams led by Roy Wilding and Brian Gandy made the trip to Drayton Manor Park yesterday to the 16th Annual NASC Neil's Springnationals, writes SCR's Promotions man Jerry Cookson. "Although the show field was filled to capacity with rods and customs, both Roy and Brian entertained hundreds of onlookers by starting their cars several times throughout the day which ended in a mini cacklefest minutes before the main prize giving", says Jerry. "SCR owes a great debt of thanks to both teams for supporting the event and giving up their valuable weekend time, especially as Brian's altered was still in pieces late Saturday evening following a delay in parts, but thanks to a last minute thrash and a quick test fire on Brian's front drive late in the evening - much to the amusement of the street, I'm led to believe - the job was completed with both teams arriving at the Park dead on nine Sunday morning. "SCR also would like to thank NASC Chairman Mark Ashman and his merry band of helpers for making us feel at home throughout the day and my personal thanks to Brian for allowing me to sit in his altered during the last cacklefest fire-up." Yanks Weekend is scheduled for 31st May-1st June at Shakspeare County Raceway culminating in the thirtieth running of Gary Healey's American dream, Gary's Picnic. ©Eurodragster.com Head for NHRA with Grandstand. 11th May: We are pleased to welcome Grandstand Motor Sports as a sponsor of Eurodragster.com News as for the first time a premier UK motorsport travel company has turned its attention to drag racing. Grandstand Motor Sports' established tour and holiday programmes embrace Formula One, Le Mans, Historic Car Racing and Classic Motoring events, and MotoGP and World Superbikes. Now Britain's leader in motorsport travel has added America's NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series to its extensive portfolio. NHRA's twenty four-race Powerade Drag Racing Series climaxes with events at Las Vegas and Pomona and Grandstand Motor Sports is offering three action-packed itineraries in one of the world's great holiday destinations to British and European followers of the sport. Both races showcase drag racing's four Pro classes - Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle - plus huge Sportsman fields. In addition, Las Vegas will present colourful, rumbustious Pro Modifieds for their final NHRA appearance of the season while Pomona will host the best Top Alcohol Dragsters and Funny Cars. Every NHRA ticket doubles as a pit pass, of course, but doors which still remain closed to ordinary fans have a way of swinging open for Grandstand guests. ©Eurodragster.com Drag Racing USA with Grandstand Motor Sports offers individual trips to each race, plus a bumper twenty-night holiday encompassing both events and allowing guests ample time to enjoy the myriad attractions of America's Golden West. Importantly, Grandstand can provide price options ranging from budget-conscious to official trackside hospitality. All itineraries include flights, hotels, car hire and reserved race ticket. Quality hotels feature at both events - at Las Vegas, the legendary Flamingo Hotel, situated right at the heart of the action on the Vegas Strip - for Pomona, the stylish Ayres Suites Hotel at Ontario, a stone's throw from the giant Ontario Mills Mall and just twelve miles' drive from Pomona Raceway. Off-track activities will include specially arranged visits to Shelby Automobiles, John Force Racing's palatial Funny Car team headquarters, the So-Cal Speed Shop - heartland of Southern California hot rodding for more than sixty years - and Boyd Coddington's Garage, scene of the late rod and custom creator's TV show American Hot Rod. Pomona guests will be treated to a welcome party at a remarkable venue: Dalcorp's amazing Area51 custom/classic car showroom and Racer's Lounge. Grandstand can arrange admission to the colossal SEMA Show for guests who qualify as Automotive Business Professionals. The tour price also includes NHRA membership and automatic entry into a special prize draw to win a day at the races with Don Schumacher Racing, the largest Pro team in NHRA Drag Racing. Prices for Drag Racing USA with Grandstand Motor Sports begin at just £1469. For further information about Grandstand's itineraries and news of other events and attractions taking place at the time, please visit www.grandstandmotorsports.co.uk or call 0845 375 0300 (outside the UK +44 116 231 1222). We would like to thank Grandstand Motor Sports for their support and Robin Jackson of Bluprints For Travel for his help. We are very pleased to add still more to the range of products and services which our readers can acquire via Eurodragster.com. If you are looking for the drag racing trip of a lifetime then be sure to check out the great deals on offer from Grandstand Motor Sports. It's all new to Erbacher. 11th May: Reigning FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com News sponsor Urs Erbacher and the Fat Attack Team are toting a lot of new equipment in 2008 both on Urs' 4.5-second Top Fueller and FIM/UEM Supertwin Champion Lorenz Stäuble's mid six-second bike. "Almost everything is new on the Top Fuel Dragster", Urs told Eurodragster.com. "The dragster is like the newest cars in USA. We have a new back half on the car, so the front end is Murf Mc Kinney and the back end is from Hadmann done by Hassey. We have eight ngines and new heads, a new injector, new fuel system, new wheels and new front and rear wings. So the car is pretty light now and ready for new European records and another Championship. We are sure we can run in the 4.55s at Santa Pod, maybe not at the Main Event but at the European Finals. "Team wise, we have three American crew members: Crew Chief Wayne Dupuy, Assistant Crew Chief Jeff Twitchel and Brian on engine right side. Our European crew is almosr the same: Robin Car Chief, Andreas Blitz engine left side, Lüss Abt bottom end, Monika and Beat on the clutch, Chris on the heads, Martin bottom end and fuel, and Dario works on both the bike and the Fuel car. Our old Crew Chief Horst Pauli and his girlfriend Andrea Wucher, who brought me four FIA European Championships, cannot come to the Main Event with us. ©Eurodragster.com "We working on a new global sponsorship deal but we can't make the deal before the Main Event. So we running with our long time partners Midland Oil Switzerland, Techno AG Switzerland, Innotec Switzerland, SCS IT Producment Switzerland, and Baner Art. "We have changed a lot on the Supertwin. We put new cylinder heads on, so now we have two injectors, one on the left and one on the right, so that will give us more power. That's all we have changed on this winning combination. The only problem is that we haven't had the time to test this new combination so it will be hard for Lo to find the set-up at the Main Event. If we don't find it in the first two runs we will go back to the old set-up. "The team is the same: Lo Stäuble rider, Cinzia Vivarelli, Dario Durso the Italian who will now give Chris Nigg a hand on the car heads too. Sponsors are Rick's Motorcycle Parts Germany, Ralph Marti Switzerland, Midland Oil Switzerland, Innotec and Techno Switzerland. The tale of Carla's pirouette. 11th May: If you were tuned in to our coverage of last weekend's Springspeed Festival at Shakespeare County Raceway you will have read that UK Pro ET racer Carla Pittau went for a pirouette in the team's new Heaven & Hell As Well Camaro. Carla says that this is the latest incident in what has been a hellish season so far for the Heaven & Hell team: After rebuilding the transmission which let us down at Easter, using a spare sun shell and sun gear complete with snap ring, we were hopeful that we would have no more trans blues, but we took the spare trans with us just in case. Rick was on the start line to observe my first run at Shakespeare County Raceway in the '84 Camaro, then running back to Heaven & Hell for his own qualifier. The first pass netted the car's best ET so far, a 10.46 which was unfortunately a break out on the 10.50 dial in, with Jemma lining me up on the burnout and carefully observing the run afterwards. The car's suspension needs a few changes and the runs did at least tell us as much: new springs and shocks are certainly on the cards as she sits too high, does not transfer the weight very well and we were softly spinning off the line and at each gear shift despite having a lot of rubber for a change, with the 14.5" slicks almost but not quite making it. Heaven & Hell had her own problems with traction and spun the tyres during each of the three qualifiers, not even managing a nine-second run. Sunday brought a watery end to our hopes for improvement, and the adjustments to the four link in Heaven & Hell As Well and the grip juice application to the Heaven & Hell Mickey Thompsons had to wait for the first elimination run on Monday to prove their worth. Rick was racing Paul Baynton in the Numero Uno blue Capri, I had to battle John Atkinson in the eight-second blue Cortina...great, we could have done with an easy one after the changes, not that there are many of those in Pro ET, but no luck there. I lined up and felt fairly confident that I could give John a fair and good race, but I must have staged too deep and for the first time in my life I did not know I red lit, which proved to be fatal on this particular run. I normally see the red bulb light up: it takes up the whole of my visual awareness, it shines brighter than the sun, explodes like a supernova, as I cry "Oh, how unfortunate" as I leave the line. Not this time. I ran the race as if I hadn't already lost. Big mistake. Huge. ©Eurodragster.com So I took off and the car was a bit straighter off the line, good, I shifted into second and I felt it spin slightly but it stayed very straight, shifted into third and then sat at 7800 rpm with the limiter on thinking "We must change the gearing as soon as possible". Then I looked in my wing mirror - yes, a wing mirror, would you believe - and saw John bang in the middle of the frame, coming up fast. The finish line was right there, I had to take a chance and try to lose three or four hundredths just in case. Would John pass me before the line with his much higher mile an hour? I literally had thousandths to make a decision, I thought "Yes, I'll tap the brakes", and I did and spun. I spun to the left in what seemed to be slow motion, felt the rear right hit the armco, kept spinning and had the vague feeling of hope that I wouldn't hit with the front but I did, front right end, kept spinning and hit again with the front, finally stopping at forty five degrees to the centre line facing the wrong way. I was sitting there switching all the switches off and could see the rescue team appear in no time at all. They wanted to know if I was OK, I thought I'd joke and say "I'm OK as I only hit with my head" then thought that they may have taken me seriously and I kept repeating "I'm fine". The only thing I wanted to know was how bad the car was hurt, that was my first thought, so as they dragged me into the ambulance I tried to resist and bent to check underneath to see if any fluids had found their way out, but all looked dry and the body damage not too terrible, so I relaxed and thought my second thought, "Rick and the crew are back at the start line and they don't know I'm OK". I pleaded that they sent the message that I was unhurt and that I hoped that Rick would get on and race. Then the really nice paramedics kidnapped me and insisted upon doing their job properly to check me over accurately, rather than taking my word for it. They took me to the Med Centre and measured my blood pressure, then asked what it was normally. Er, I don't recall having it checked, ever. They asked all the other questions and did all the other checks then decided I seemed alright and let me out. Jemma was outside the Centre looking all worried, a big hug was needed here, and all seemed better already. I wanted to know if Rick had run yet, he was running then so we ran to the fence and saw him go by in Heaven & Hell. The grip juice worked brilliantly, he pulled a 1.35 sixty foot and he knew he was on a breakout if he didn't slow down so he was on and off the power but crossed the line a whisker behind Paul (8.81 inches - Ed). A great race, but a defeat. So all that was left to do was a group hug for the Heaven & Hell team back in the pits. The sticky brown stuff happens at times but the important thing is to fix it and come back to do battle again. We are in the process of repairing the '84 and are at present very hopeful that we will still be at the Main Event in two cars. Heartfelt thanks to the SCR rescue team for their swift and reassuring action, to the paramedics for being wonderful and putting up with my silly sense of humour, to Jemma Harrison and Dave Buckland, my brilliant crew, for their dedication and support, Peter Lane for springing into action and coming over to our house to assess the damage and offer help and advice, to the whole Pro ET class and drag racing community that never lets you down and whose concern and offers of help and advice were heart warming, to the Eurodragster team, and last but not least to John (I don't know his surname!) who sent me a video of the whole run which we are examining very closely for further clues as to why I spun. Also apologies to John Atkinson for not giving him a proper race, I'll try and do better next time! Hudson's thanks. 11th May: Fellow Pro ET racer Steve Hudson could also have had a better 2008 so far but he has been in touch with his story and some thanks to those who have helped him: After watching drag racing for fifteen years, the death of my brother in law in a buggy racing accident in Australia made me realise that life was too short to keep saying "One day!". I managed to persuade the good lady to allow me to purchase a '77 Pontiac which I ran at the Saturday Night Special in October 2006 and the bug bit. I then purchased an altered which I took to Andy Robinson Race Cars for some chassis mods and it was deemed to be beyond repair. After I bought the wife some flowers and sat her down for a long chat, we decided that Andy Robinson would build us a new chassis and that we would spend the 2007 season as spectators again. By October last year the chassis was collected from ARRC and needless to say it was superbly built (thanks Rob). We spent the winter rebuilding the motor from the Pontiac and getting the car ready for Easter. Our first outing was the Saturday Night Special in February. All the well-laid plans about taking it easy on the first few runs went out the window, and the car was in the elevens by its third run. At Easter the car ran down into the low tens on the Friday and then we all know what happened from there to the rest of the weekend. ©Eurodragster.com I sat out most of the Springspeed Festival after suffering complete loss of drive at one thousand feet on my first qualifying run on Saturday. After removing the trans on Sunday we found the oil pump ring gear had shattered and we would not be able to fix it on site. Again, one quick call to Andy Robinson and the box was rebuilt by Wednesday evening. I would like to thank my fellow Pro ET racers who offered help and advice to get me back on the track. I would like to pass on my thanks to everyone at Andy Robinson Race Cars for all their help in building the car and putting a big grin on my face, my wife Angie for letting me get away with spending so much, and everybody who helped put the car together. Flying with the light aircraft. 11th May: UK Supertwin racer Ian Turburville says that with the Springspeed Festival being held over the UK May Bank Holiday, he knew what to expect as soon as the sun came out on the preceding Thursday - rain all weekend: That's exactly what we got apart from a brief respite on Saturday which enabled us to get some qualifying runs in. Bruno and his team had been prepping the track for days and done their best to get us a race surface and it was OK, just a little green from lack of racing but we knew that would come around over the weekend. We set up in the Top Fuel pits with Rene from Holland, Steve Carey, Steve Woollatt and Ian 'Rush' Carruthers, with the help of Steve DD Leedell, Martin, Ingrid and Adam Charnley, who was also on track duty. My first pass was in the left lane and the slick lit up on the hit so I feathered it down the track to get a time on the board. Steve Woollatt had the same outcome but Steve Carey went nice and straight for a beautiful 200 mph lap. Pass two was in the right hand lane. I launched as hard as I could and it took off nicely. Unfortunately the clutch on my bike locks-up at the exact point of the transition from the concrete launch pad to the tarmac surface, this causes the bike to jump in the air and when it comes down at full wheel speed it breaks something in the drive line. This time it was the belt, last time the sprocket. I quickly shut it off and pulled to the side of the track. The sudden deceleration actually made me bite my tongue! Rain stopped play until midday Monday when the sun came out and 250 racers tried to get the meeting done in an afternoon! Our first round was at about 5:00 pm so it was a long day. We were #2 qualifier so had Steve Woollatt and lane choice (thank god), Steve Carey had a bye, Rene and Rush still had to do licencing runs. The track felt better underfoot so I put a good clutch setting in but I noticed the oil pressure dropping and the rear cylinder getting hot. Oh well, ya gotta be in it to win it as they say. Racing a Puma with a Harley is quite hard, not only do they out-power me by two hundred horsepower but they have a totally different starting routine. Our bikes use a lot of nitro even ticking over so you need to gauge your burn-out and staging time so that you end up in stage together, there are no staging 'duels' allowed in nitro classes as there are in Pro Stock. We managed that part quite well and got the tree lit both sides. ©Eurodragster.com Steve and I launched hard simultaneously with reaction times of around .025 seconds, the race was on! By sixty foot Steve was way out in front as expected but my bike was pulling stronger than ever before and going nice and straight, cool! At that point my front wheel started its climb and was getting some serious air. At mid track it was playing with the light aircraft from the adjoining air strip and still pulling like a freight train! At a hundred feet I was having too much fun so the powers that be decided that was enough, and my rear piston let go bringing me down to earth with a bump. Steve won with a 6.4 pass and even though I had shut the throttle at a hundred feet and slowed the bike to 155 mph I still carded a 7.5. The bike is now being freshened for the FIA Main Event and the first round of the UEM European Championship, at Santa Pod Raceway on 23rd-26th May. Unfortunately we do not have the funding to attend the three European rounds of the UEM but we look forward to playing with the big boys for the rest of the year here in the UK. Well done to Steve and the Dealer team, to Scarey and the Purple Princess team, and to the very hard working track crew and club members at Shakespeare County Raceway/APIRA. Woah, scary! 11th May: UK Funny Bike racer Kev Charman had a successful outing on his new bike at Shakespeare County Raceway although it appears to have scared the living daylights out of him initially. Kev dropped us a line to let us know how his weekend went: The brake line that we had been waiting for did not arrive with the post as promised, so as you can imagine we were not very happy at all. To get this far, and not be able to go fast because we would be unable to stop, seemed so wrong. We made a long call voicing displeasure, Martin from Goodridge was however very apologetic and understood completely. He made a call to Goodridge at Silverstone, called us back and said that if we could collect the line the replacement would be made up there. We of course said yes, as it is only a few miles from us. Martin called back half hour later to tell us it was ready. What a star, we cannot thank Martin and Goodridge Silverstone enough for going that extra mile for us. So with bike and tools in the van and caravan hitched up, we must have looked a right sight as we drove into Silverstone. Collected the last piece of the bike, and drove on up to Stratford. Our first run was normally aspirated. We advised the start line crew that we would prefer to run singly as it was a new bike and if it did get out of shape it would not interfere with anyone in the other lane and they agreed. I was very nervous, not being too sure what the bike was going to do. ©Eurodragster.com A good strong burnout, stopped a little short of the line. Chris put me straight, and somehow I managed to get myself a bit crooked after that. The bike launched hard to the left, I corrected it as best as I could as I was also rolling on and off the throttle, managed to correct, and got it straight. I got back on the throttle and got to the end, but didn't have enough power to get off the track so I had to push it off as quickly as I could as I was horrified to hear two Pro Stock Bikes burning out, no one appeared to be aware that I was still in the middle of the track. I was very relieved to get to the other end in one piece and with no major hiccups. The bike, however, does not like normal aspiration so I ran 11.84/133. I was not too happy about getting back on the bike after that, but knew I had to. Chris had already told Lizz that he hated normally aspirated Funny Bikes, as they were not safe under little or no power, so the gas had to go in. The nerves were obviously still there for the second run, I had a healthy respect for the bike. This time there was going to be proper power, and again I was not too sure what it was going to do. To say that I was very scared (the polite version) was an understatement! The burnout felt good, I got myself closer to the start so there as less room for error, and Chris went further back to make totally sure that it was straight. It launched well, but again went off to the left. I tried to correct it, but still felt the need to back off the throttle to correct it. Got it back into the groove, rolled back onto the throttle, and felt the nitrous kick hard. Through the gears and finish line, 8.22/174, not bad at all considering that when we checked the data, I had in fact been off the throttle for two seconds! The bike pulled like a train, and this time had enough speed to get me to the end of the track. I have a lot to learn, and need much more seat time, it scares the living wotsit out of me at the moment, but it's a hell of a lot of fun! And I was number three qualifier. Rain stopped play on Sunday, out to play Monday. The third run was 7.62/172.5, long story short the bike just got quicker quicker and went straight and bear in mind that it is running on relatively no power, with soft settings. On the last run I knocked out Stu Chamberlain in the semis with a 7.46/174.8 and got into the final against Chris Hall. Time was not on our side and the event was called. It was a very successful weekend's testing, and I am very happy with the new bike. I have a lot to learn, and there is plenty in there yet, which is scary! Thanks to my amazing crew, I really couldn't do it without you. Lizz - ditto, will thank you later! Thanks Ken for such an awesome engine, and to all my sponsors as always. www.nitrous-junkie.co.uk will be updated in the next couple of days, so please keep an eye on it. No go on the Bank Holiday. 11th May: UK Rocket Dragster pilot Carolynne Campbell should consider predicting the lottery numbers given her skill at foretelling the future before the Springspeed Festival at Shakespeare County Raceway. "In my last press release I ended with a cautionary note: "This is drag racing, even the best cars don't go every time and the weather can always interfere" - what a spot-on forecast", she says. "We were scheduled to run at the end of Saturday's qualifying sessions. All the crew were there and we were ready to go. Just as we were about to put the gasses into the car, a racer put his car through the start lights and went into the barrier. That closed the track for the rest of the day. The Saturday run was off! Sunday - where's Fred? Our departure controller was absent without leave and no phone call. The phone rings. "It looks a bit wet from up here". It was Fred flying overhead in a light aircraft. Ironically he had flown in from the airstrip next to Santa Pod. It rained, they dried the track, then it rained. And so on and so on. Later in the day the truck carrying the track drier did a graceful pirouette and crashed into the guardrail wrecking the cowling. Sunday's run was off. "David and I returned home for a decent night's sleep in our own bed, and headed back to the Raceway early on Monday morning. The weather was fine leaving home, but as we neared Shakespeare, the heavens opened. The track wasn't dry and ready until 2:00 pm and ahead of us were a couple of hundred racers all as desperate as us to get a run in. The organisers were frantically attempting to fit a full day's racing into the next four hours and, frankly, it all got a bit frenetic. We need an hour's notice to gas-up and ready the car and the notice didn't come. When we finally got a go-ahead, we gassed up and ended up waiting for an hour in the pairing lane. The car is not designed to sit and wait once it is fuelled. It was nobody's fault, just the way things turned out. ©Eurodragster.com "Dave Burditt from Datron Technology had very kindly fitted two of their trick bits of kit, one a Doppler Radar unit that would give me a speed readout in the cockpit, and the other a super SatNav that would log our run precisely and allow us to calculate the exact thrust and performance of the car. "We went to the line, fired the pyros, and the pilots did not come on. We'd lost pressure in the air system that operates the pilot valves. No run, and no time to return to the pit, replace the pyros which we can do in about forty minutes - and try again. Racing was over. We never got to try out Datron's kit, which was a real shame. Hopefully, Dave will be able to lend it to us again and we can get some hard data on the next run. Other racers may want to check out the stuff available from Datron - it's amazing stuff. "We were gutted, but then so were a couple of hundred other racers including guys who'd come all the way from Sweden and accomplished little. There were many grim faces in the pits. Ah well! That's drag racing! We'll be back out in a couple weeks at a less frenetic event, hopefully with the weather gods smiling upon us, and we'll get her down the track." Swift snippets. 11th May: UK blown-alcohol altered team Bennett Racing have signed a sponsorship deal with the US' Darton Sleeves. Darton pioneered modular sleeve designs and specialised ductile iron material beginning with their manufacture of Top Fuel sleeves in 1978. Darton sleeves excel in the harsh environment of all-out racing. Their centrifugally cast nodular composition represents the highest quality of any cast material and its unique matrix provides unexcelled surface toughness. Darton's unique casting process provides a bore finish which, while very tough, promotes quick and total piston ring seal for the most complete combustion possible from each cylinder. Darton has now engineered a superior solution to open-deck sleeve weakness by using a unique design which creates a solid deck of sleeve flanges held in tension, reinforcing the upper deck area and provides for in-field replacement with what they call Modular Integrated Deck. You can find out more on Darton's web site at www.dartonsleeves.com. ©Eurodragster.com Web site updates. 11th May: To celebrate the start of the Scandinavian drag racing season Eurodragster.com News sponsor Supercharged Images are happy to announce that their archive of photographs from the 2007 Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park is now on-line and available for purchase at www.superchargedimages.com. "Our photographers will be of course also covering the Main Event at Santa Pod in a few days' time and will be ready to capture great images of all of the Professional and Sportsman classes in attendance", says Sharkman. "For those of you new to Supercharged Images we aim to post professional standard photographs from each major European race on the web a few days after each event happens. We have already published our 2008 Easter Thunderball and Big Bang photographs. We also have thousands of images from the last few seasons of racing on-line and are currently publishing more of our archive on-line each week. We sell prints, canvas prints and electronic images and our web prices include shipping anywhere in the world. We hope that you will enjoy visiting the site, and if you have any questions regarding purchasing from us then please E-Mail us at contact@got2havemedia.com. If you are a photographer who signs on at European drag racing events and are interested in publishing your images via our web site please also contact us at contact@got2havemedia.com, or if you are attending the FIA Main Event then look out for me in the press areas." Eurodragster.com Reserve Photographer Peter Donaldson has updated his Fotopic gallery with shots from last week's Springspeed Festival at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can check out Peter's shots at peterdonaldson5305.fotopic.net. ©Eurodragster.com Swedish Pro Stock racer Adam Flamholc tells us that Caravan Films have released some more YouTube video of his trip to the USA, where he ran into the 6.6s. To check out the latest video, search for Flamholc at www.youtube.com. Gipp OK after Outlaw spill. 10th May: Stephen Moon has been in touch to let us know that UK Pro Stock Bike racer Richard Gipp is OK after Stephen's Outlaw Bike tipped him off in testing at Santa Pod Raceway this afternoon. "Richard kindly agreed to test my Outlaw today, to give the new motor some track time", says Stephen. "It was clear that the track was fairly marginal when the first run (motor only, no nitrous) started with some serious wheelspin and a hard left move to the wall. For the second run we followed Shaun Branch to see if that would give more grip, but with a similar result. ©Eurodragster.com "We then took a lot of timing and some fuel out of the motor to make it as soft as we could, and also had the launch revs low. On leaving the bike spun hard left and then bit, highsiding Richard off the bike. Richard was quickly to his feet, and being the gentleman that he is, he was apologisng as soon as I ran over to see how he was. Importantly he was OK and a check over by the paramedics confirmed this. I expect he will be a touch sore in the morning, but he was threatening to do damage to a single malt tonight! "The great news is that Richard is OK. And what a class act: taking a day to come and help me out, taking a trip down the track apex over base, and then being mortified that the bike was damaged. Richard, I hope you're feeling OK tomorrow. Thanks for the help and apologies for the less than resounding result. Good luck for the Main Event!" "It was a privilege to be asked to try out the new motor, which I can say felt awesome for the distance I travelled on it, it's certainly going to wake Conrad up", says Richard Gipp. "I'm somewhat disappointed with the damage the bike sustained due to its tumble, and I hope that Stephen can fix it as soon as possible. Maybe I'll get the opportunity to break it again." Swift snippets. 10th May: Many thanks to Yvonne Tramm for forwarding us the post-Big Bang standings in the 2007 Santa Pod Racers Club Championships, which you can view on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Points Standings page on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. If you are headed for the PTM Show at Santa Pod Raceway tomorrow then keep an eye out for Top Fuel Dragster racer Andy Carter and the Lucas Oil/Landmeco team who will be on hand with their show car. "This will be our last display before the season proper starts at the FIA Main Event", says Andy. ©Eurodragster.com Dave Ward and the UK's Rampage Super Pro ET team would like to send a belated Happy Birthday to the youngest member of the team, Daniel, who was thirteen yesterday (Friday). "The team had a good weekend at the Springspeed Festival, qualifying second and making it into the semi-finals before the curfew", says Crew Chief Ian Gibbs. "Dave is now looking forward to the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod. Finally thanks to Eurodragster for your informative reports on all events". Thanks very much Ian, you're welcome, and we hope you had a great day Daniel. Editor's note: Only a brief update today as home commitments got in the way. We have a sizeable backlog, including the pieces promised yesterday, which will be posted on tomorrow's update, and please keep those news items coming to news@eurodragster.com. Doing the Tour with Gran Turismo. 9th May: For 2008 FIA European Top Methanol Dragster Champions Dave Wilson Racing and the Silverline A/Fuel dragster once again team up with long running partner Playstation. Legendary Supercar driving simulator Gran Turismo livery will feature on the car for 2008 (click on picture for large version, rendering courtesy and ©Power Race Graphics). Version 5 of the thrilling Gran Turismo 'digital racetrack' has stunning new graphics and the latest exotic production cars and is a real thrill ride for all motorsport fans! ©Eurodragster.com The transformation of the Silverline TMD dragster from blown methanol to A/Fuel is coming together at speed as the FIA Main Event is nearly upon us. Armed with knowledge from time spent with A/Fuel champ Bill Reichert at the recent NHRA Atlanta event, the team are excited about the new challenges which lie ahead with the new combination. "We will be at the FIA Main Event - armed with nitro!", says Grumpy. "It's a learning curve of course, so we'll see how it shapes up over the season. Thanks to everyone who has offered encouragement with the new combination, and as with every new season we aim to thrill European drag racing fans, only this time with fire in the pipes!" Santa Pod pit power, snippets. 9th May: Darren Prentice of Santa Pod Raceway has been in touch to confirm that 11th Hour Events will be providing pitside electricity at the forthcoming FIA Main Event and for the rest of the season. 11th Hour Events is a Cardiff-based company, specialising in supplying temporary electrics and lighting to the entertainment industry, whilst offering a variety of other production services. "We very much enjoyed being part of the Big Bang event at Santa Pod, and look forward to being part of the forthcoming season", says John Davies of 11th Hour Events. "We wish all competitors the very best." "We had a very successful Big Bang with no interruptions to the power supply and everyone receiving their full 16 Amps, and the staff had a friendly and professional attitude", says Darren. ©Eurodragster.com A Press Call took place in central London last night (Thursday) to promote the 2008 FIA and FIM/UEM European Championships. On hand to talk to the media were Andy Carter (Top Fuel Dragster), Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson (Pro Mod), Martin Bishop (Pro Stock Bike), Martin Hill (Jet FC) and Championship Promoter Keith Bartlett as well as Santa Pod Raceway staff. We shall publish our full report and extended photo gallery tomorrow, so tune back then to see what the two Andys, the two Martins and KB had to say, but in the meantime you can check out a small gallery, 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 and selecting the FIA Main Event. Following on from Import racer John Bradshaw's news that he is entering the FIA Main Event, you can see John in action along with some other incredible Japanese cars - watch out for Steve Whittaker's newly-rebuilt 8.0-second Toyota Supra - at the PTM Show which takes place at Santa Pod this Sunday (11th). The event features Round 1 of the HKS Drag Series, the first ever Euro Sports Compact race, and lots of other performance road-car oriented attractions which will be a great way to pass the weekend for anyone into serious horsepower. The track is also open for Run What You Brung and all types of car, from Mustangs to Minis, are welcome. For full information, and to check out the entry lists for the HKS Drag Series and Euro Sports Compact, visit www.ptmshow.co.uk. Springspeed Festival timing. 9th May: Many thanks to Wayne Schreier of Shakespeare County Raceway's timing crew for forwarding us the official timing data from last weekend's Springspeed Festival. The timing data is in Excel format and comes complete with the weather conditions for every single run courtesy of the weather station linked to SCR's PortaTree timing system. You can check out the Springspeed Festival timing data by clicking here or by clicking on the Timing Data link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. ©Eurodragster.com Also on the subject of timing, thanks to Jerry Cookson for passing on information of the two new track records set at Shakespeare County Raceway last weekend. Congratulations to: B&H Automotive Street Eliminator: 7.775 seconds, Steve Nash Blown-alcohol altered: 205.80 mph, Paul Wratten You can check out the complete list of Shakespeare County Raceway track records via the Downloads link at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Kings of Nitro broadcast dates. 9th May: The Gamma Project have provided the first broadcast dates for the Reality TV series Kings of Nitro which documents the 2007 season of FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher and the Fat Attack team. Schedules have yet to be finalised for broadcast in the UK and Germany but below are the dates we have so far for the first episode, with subsequent episodes at the same time on the same day each week: ©Eurodragster.com Discovery Channel Romania: 2nd May, 22:00 Discovery Channel Middle East and Africa: 29th May, 17:30 Discovery Channel Spain and Portugal: 5th June, 23:10 Discovery Channel Italy: 7th June, 22:35 (Italian language in Switzerland) Discovery Channel Russia: 21st June, 20:00 Discovery Channel Central Europe: 21st June, 20:00 Discovery Channel Sweden: 21st June, 21:00 Discovery Channel Denmark: 21st June, 21:00 Discovery Channel Norway: 21st June, 21:00 Discovery Channel Poland: 4th July, 23:00 The great news is that Kings of Nitro will also be available on DVD. Stay tuned as The Gamma Project have kindly offered to send us an episode for review and will also be sending video clips and pictures for your pleasure within the next few days. Swift snippets. 9th May: Many thanks to Yvonne Tramm and our very own Simon for providing the post-Big Bang points standings in the UK National Drag Racing Championships, which you can view on our Speedflow-sponsored Points Standings page by clicking here or by clicking on the Points Standings page on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. The post-Springspeed Festival points are currently being checked and will be available soon. ©Eurodragster.com Editor's note: Your News Editor has a fair bit on in his day job today and so we have some news queued up for tomorrow. Tune back then for the full European Championships Press Call report, the latest from Urs Erbacher and the Fat Attack team, Carla Pittau's personal account of her on-track pirouette, Kev Charman's Springspeed Festival report, the identity of the latest American coming to race in Europe, another sponsor for Bennett Racing and more, and please keep those news items coming to news@eurodragster.com. Islanders work towards National Day. 8th May: Konrad Ree writes that Paul Ingar Udtian and the Islanders team are working hard to get things together for an on-time departure from the Islands in the mid west of Norway. "The coach has to leave at the latest on Saturday evening to get to Stavanger for the ferry which leaves for Newcastle on Monday evening", says Konrad. "We received the blower today, and we expect the new sleeves to arrive at Oslo / Gardermoen airport tonight. They will then be sent five hundred kilometres north to Fannreim Motorverksted: thanks to them for helping us and for standing ready to prepare and hone the block. Hopefully the block will be finished on Friday so that we can load the coach on Saturday and start on the 1670 km long drive and twenty one hours on the ferry to get to Santa Pod Raceway. ©Eurodragster.com "If everything goes as planned we will be testing at Santa Pod Raceway on the Norwegian National Day, 17th May. "Whilst fighting to prepare everything we also have to thank our Sponsors: our main sponsor Q8 Oils, Lerøy Midnor AS, Eidsvaag AS and Sande Gård AS. Without their help this wouldn't have been possible." Announcing the Sunoco Drag Challenge. 8th May: Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen have announced that Sunoco will be the main sponsor of their Drag Challenge at Gardermoen Raceway on 1st-3rd August. The event, which includes a round of the FIM/UEM European Drag Bike Championship, will now be known as the Sunoco Drag Challenge. ©Eurodragster.com "Sunoco supply race fuels, oils, methanol, nitromethane, trackbite and much more", say NDRG. "They have everything for car and bike racers, for race organisers, for your needs at home, for industry, and even for farmers. Their products are of a high standard, start using them and you will never change! Sunoco is a separate department of the company, Keddell & Bommen AS which is situated in the centre of Oslo. Sunoco and Keddell & Bommen have been with us for many years and have supplied us with many gifts such as clothing, T-Shirts, and caps. They have always delivered products for our track Gardermoen Raceway. "NDRG is proud of this agreement with Sunoco and we are looking forward to working together towards the Sunoco Drag Challenge in August." NDRG are hosting the SpringNats at Gardermoen Raceway this weekend; you can check out the entry list at www.ndrg.no. From no engine to a round win. 8th May: All things considered, UK National Pro ET Champion and pigeon fancier Paul Baynton was pleased with his weekend at the Springspeed Festival, as he says that his Capri was without an engine the week before. "Dave Milam did a great job stripping it, checking it and delivering it back to me in time to attend", says Paul. "We qualified second and in round one I was up against Rick McCann. We have met in eliminations a couple of times before but Rick had always come out on top. We started the burnout only to have to shut down as Carla Pittau's Camaro disappeared in a cloud of smoke and could be seen spinning at the top end. I was so relieved when the news came back that Carla was OK. ©Eurodragster.com "After a few minutes we were given the go-ahead. I managed to get to the finish first by about 0.004 seconds. Although it's a win I can't help but feel that Rick's mind wasn't one hundred per cent focused. I was having a problem with the Capri not running properly but was surprised to be called straight back down for the second round against Lee Huxley (I like doing things the hard way!) so I had no chance to look for the fault, which I later discovered was a problem with the carb. I pulled a 0.007 red against Lee but when the car coughed a few times I pulled over and coasted up the track. "I am now looking forward to the Main Event. I hope that Carla and Rick can get the car repaired and that their season will improve, as they put so much effort into their racing. I also hope that Neil Hunter can get his car repaired after the nightmare weekend he had." Cherry, cherry, cherry... 8th May: B&H Automotive Street Eliminator racer Ian Hook has been in touch to say a big Thank You for all the offers of cherry pies, cherry bakewalls, cherryade and all other things of a cherry persuasion which he was offered after his first red light in seven years of SE competition, at the Springspeed Festival on Monday. "I'd like to add a special thank you to Shelby Webster (daughter of SE racer Jon) who provided me with a Jammy Dodger to go with my post-exit cup of tea", says Fatty. "It wasn't cherry but it was full of red jam!. Thanks too to my crew for hardly mentioning it at all...as if! "On a more serious note I'd think that the track crew at Shakespeare County Raceway deserve a big pat on the back for working so hard on Monday in order that at least some of the eliminations were run. And, with Eurodragster.com's headline in mind, perhaps they could set up a goal on the start line if it happens again so that we can go to penalties! ©Eurodragster.com "The FB Racing annual Rodders'n'Racers curry night is to be held on 13th May. There are spaces remaining, the cost being £15  a head for all the curry you can eat and a free raffle with some great prizes. If you'd like to take part in a great evening then please contact me at ian.hook@blueyonder.co.uk or telephone 01452 856926. I'd like to say a quick thank you to Santa Pod Raceway, Speedflow, Swindon Road MoT Centre, The Everest Balti Restaurant, Quartermilehigh.com, Widdows Motors, A&E Fire Equipment, American Car World magazine, The Wizards of NOS, hotrodtees.co.uk and Bayliss Vauxhall for donating prizes this year." NFAA Springspeed review. 8th May: After the disastrous weather at Easter for the 2008 Snowball, as it is being called, the UK's Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association thought that they couldn't be that unlucky again for the Springspeed Festival but how wrong they were, writes promoter Lawrie Gatehouse: The majority of the teams had new combinations and uprated parts fitted during the long winter break, which they had been unable to test at Easter due to the inclement weather. For the first round on Saturday morning only seven teams were able to make the call. The Mob discovered fuel leaks from the headers, Chaos had ignition woes (subsequently traced to a duff condenser on the mag), and new entry The Dog crew were working on the fuel distribution flow balances. First up was the beautifully engineered Havoc, first time at Shakey, versus defending champion Clayton Round in Rebel 'T'. Nick Davies laid down a smoky long burnout in Havoc, but broke the blower belt in the process, meaning he had to be pushed to the side of the track. Clayton meanwhile had sportingly been holding as long as he could, but then had to go, unfortunately no time was recorded for the run. Next up was Dennis Wratten in the Dirty Harry IV Topolino against Neil Townson in the attractively engineered '32 Ford. Dennis laid down a tremendous eighth-mile burnout, good enough for the Best Burnout points award, whilst Neil was experiencing fluctuations in the oil pressure supply. At the hit, Dirty Harry stormed past the tree to record an impressive and best to date 6.776/205.70 for the win, whilst Northern Spirit could only manage a 10.025/102.53. Dave Grabham's newly'engined Freddy's Revenge had a solo when the Burning Desire of Pete Radcliffe lost drive on firing up. Dave's Topolino ran a PB improvement to 7.427/174.43 with the Norm Wilding tune-up to take the points. Nuthin' Fancy was requested to perform a solo half-pass to demonstrate control of the larger, more powerful engine for Joe Bond to get to grips with. This was judged to be satisfactory for the officials and Joe was approved for future paired runs, having run an 'easy' 11.44. Eight of the ten teams were ready for the second call at 5.00 pm and were all about to pull down into the staging lanes when it was announced that the track was shut for the day. Apparently a demo Pro Mod car had got out of shape on the burnout, comprehensively demolished the Tree and smacked the barrier. Thankfully no-one was hurt, apart from dented pride, but it was another round lost for the NFAA, a pity because the climactic conditions were ideal. Sunday was a complete rain-out for our class, so two further slots were lost. Monday dawned to yet more rain and drizzle, finally ceasing at around 1.00 pm and the track was dried and re-prepped by 2.30 pm, thanks to the sterling efforts of Bruno and all the track crew and marshals. We were allocated our final slot for 4.45 pm and were ready on time, but with a somewhat depleted field of six teams: first round damage sidelining Northern Spirit, Burning Desire, Havoc and Rebel 'T'. The final session paired The Mob against Chaos, both nitro burners scheduled to run half-passes to get some feedback on the new combinations. The cars left almost together, but Jim Usher had steering problems caused by the front wheels being somewhat skyward, instead of in contact with the track. John Wright launched hard with a 1.02 second sixty foot time and the car was planted and arrow straight, but at two hundred feet severe tyre shake caused John to lift as his vision blurred over. Back in the pits, all the plugs came out. It looked good and the oil was clean, so with a bit more clutch and fuel system tuning Chaos should run the numbers. Next up was Joe Bond paired against Dennis Wratten, but the Nuthin' Fancy car locked up solid prior to the burnout, subsequently traced to a dropped valve, mashed piston and spun mains. So the Dirty Harry IV Topolino had a solo, but Dennis wasn't about to take it easy, recording a 6.700/203.03 pass for an elapsed time PB – more points to add to the Best Burnout points for the second time in a row. The Essex Boys are going to be tough competitors to get around in 2008. Freddy's Revenge, shoed by Dave Grabham, had a bye run but couldn't improve on his first run, carding an off the pace 8.906/125.15. Finally, Björn Martensson got his chance in The Dog (so named because it bites), to begin his licensing runs with a burnout, launch and sixty foot observed run. The car sounded very strong on an eighty per cent nitro mix, but broke the reverser after the burnout and had to be pushed back so it could stage. On the green the car left straight and true, with all candles lit and ran to over one hundred feet before Bjorn lifted. Apart from the non-permitted push back, the Officials seemed satisfied with the first licencing run. Björn and all his crew were relieved it was all over, were very enthusiastic and appreciative of the support from all the NFAA Teams and promised to return soon to continue the process. So the Event Winner, based on lowest ETs as the scheduled format was curtailed by the weather, was Dennis Wratten. Runner-up was Dave Grabham, with John Wright and Neil Townson filling third and fourth spots respectively. All in all a disappointing start to the 2008 season, caused by the weather about which we can do nothing, but we are looking forward to our next event, the SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod on 14th-15th June, when we all aim to do better. ©Eurodragster.com Swift snippets. 8th May: Racers please note that contrary to general belief there is no Press Day at Santa Pod Raceway before the FIA Main Event. If you wish to test before the FIA Main Event then there is a Peak Performance Day and Run What You Brung on 17th-18th May, and a Pro Peak Performance Day on Thursday 22nd May. For details including track fees check out www.rwyb.com. Advance booking is recommended for both the Peak Performance Day and the Pro Peak Performance Day. UK Super Gas racer and self-proclaimed "lifetime idiot" Peter Lane says that it is fantastic that Import racer John Bradshaw is competing at the FIA Main Event (see yesterday's news). "I hope John gets plenty of welcome from the rest of the competitors and kicks some butt", says Peter. "As for the rest of you Import racers, I think it would be great if you will come out and play too! The more the merrier." ©Eurodragster.com Congratulations to Ozzy Ewing and partner Karen on the birth of son Harry Finlay Maguire who was born at 11:48 on Monday. Ozzy tells us that both Harry and Karen are doing fine. Web site updates. 8th May: Jamie Dyks has updated his Fotopic gallery with a selection of pictures from the weekend's Springspeed Festival at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can check out Jamie's shots at topnitro.fotopic.net. ©Eurodragster.com Crossing over at the FIA Main Event. 7th May: John Bradshaw is set to become the first Import racer to contest a UK National Championship event when he runs his Nissan Skyline GTST at the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway. John's car has already run mid-eights and he is hoping to break in to the sevens before too long. "I bought the R33 GTST as a completely standard road car back in November 2004 with only a set of aftermarket wheels", says John. "In 2006 it was still road-legal and we started drag racing in the Jap racing HKS Series. After god knows how many broken drive shafts on the start line we eventually ran a 9.9 at the end of 2006. "Over that winter I knew the car had to move forward, but to do it meant a tough call and forgetting about standard suspension etc. In early 2007 the car went to Andy Robinson Race Cars. Andy worked his magic and the first time out in competition in August 2007 the car ran 8.51, which was great. Abbey Motorsport took over the tuning of the car in 2008. We want to get to understand the car properly this year; pre-season testing has looked really good with our sixty foot times down to 1.17 - our best last year was 1.29. ©Eurodragster.com "We have never run in mainstream drag racing before and I think we are the first Jap car in the UK to cross over. I am not sure which class we will choose long-term so we have entered Super Pro ET and Comp Eliminator at the Main Event to get a feel for it all. Super Pro ET will be really difficult as being a small-engined turbo car which is still in development we are nowhere near running consistently. We expect to get our backsides kicked in 2008 but we have to start to learn the ropes and continue to improve the set-up of the car. I would love to see the car break into the sevens this year but it will take a lot of blood, sweat and tears and a huge slice of luck. "I am really looking forward to getting to meet everyone and finding out more about main stream racing. Hopefully a Jap car crossing over in 2008 will bring more cars over as there are a number of quick cars around now, for example Steve Whittaker has run 8.0/180." Collier happy with PSB. 7th May: Jerry Collier's Jade Racing Suzuki TL1000R GLS Pro Stock Bike had a successful début at the Springspeed Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway, running a straight 8.062/158.97 observed run. Jerry told Eurodragster.com that he is very happy with the bike. "This was only the initial pass and I only saw the shift light in top gear", said Jerry. "There are more bits to go on it and we need to get the computer to talk to the Racepak data logger. I've always wanted to go into Pro Stock Bike and this season we will run the remaining ACU round and hopefully the European Finals. Next year I plan to run the full Pro Stock Bike season - hard! ©Eurodragster.com "The bike is based on the Kosman frame which I previously ran in Competition Bike with a Kawasaki H2. I added extra rails to it for Pro Stock. Thanks go to Martin Bishop for supplying the Suzuki engine. "Thanks also to my Crew Chief Baz, Dave Beck, Ric Naylor and wife Sharron and son Scott for their help and support. It's been a busy weekend for me as I have also been working on Scott's and Jordan Bissell's Junior Drag Bikes. Scott is thrilled with the new 125 cc engine and MSD have especially manufactured a two-step for it." It's War in Devon. 7th May: The Sunday Street Wars return to Devon's Dakota Drag Strip this Sunday (11th May). Organiser and Eurodragster.com sponsor Lee Child tells us that the concept of eighth-mile racing is going down a storm with South Western street racers. "We have heard from a lot of people who attend Sunday Street Wars that they are buying performance parts to go quicker" says Lee. A whole bunch of trophies are up for grabs on Sunday for all types of cars and bikes: ©Eurodragster.com Quickest street car Quickest street bike Best burnout Quickest RWD car Quickest FWD car Quickest 4WD car Heavy Street Trophy for the quickest American car/truck Quickest air-cooled car Quickest air-cooled bus/camper Quickest air-cooled buggy Quickest water-cooled VW Quickest SEAT Quickest Skoda Quickest Renault Quickest BMW Quickest TVR Best appearing car on track Quickest British bike Quickest Suzuki bike Quickest Honda bike Quickest Kawasaki bike Quickest American bike Quickest Italian bike There are also trophies for the handling circuit and the Show categories. For more details on the event including entry and track fees and directions check out www.streetnights.com. "To continue our growth at Sunday Street Wars there are a number of advertising and sponsorship opportunities at Dakota Drag Strip at very competitive rates", says Lee. "We are looking for sponsors from trophies right up to Event Title. I am proud to say that our current sponsors have had increased business because of their association with Dakota Drag Strip; a big thank you to Enginetuner ltd, Copyprint Depot, Devon Car Shows, Eclipse Photos, and Chelston Valeting Centre". For advertising and sponsorship details contact Lee on 01803 554308. Swift snippets. 7th May: UK Pro Stock Bike and Supertwin Gas racers Dave Beck and Ric Naylor are looking for a crew member to assist at the Peak Performance Day and SPRC Summernationals at Santa Pod Raceway on 13th-15th June. "We need help getting Ric's and my bike ready and to the start line because the Championship-winning crew of Charlotte is now looking after Penelope, Stephen is running his own bike, and Ric is now running his own bike as well as crewing for me", says Dave. "The ability to ride a pit bike would be a help (Rules you out Shark - Ed). If you are interested in helping and getting a hands-on insight into what goes into prepping and tuning the bikes over a race weekend then please contact me on 07771 652139." FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion and Eurodragster.com News sponsor Urs Erbacher is holding a party at the Fatt Inn in Arlesheim on Saturday 17th May. The party starts at 20:00 and then the Rammstein cover band Randstein comes on stage at 22:00. For more information check out the Fat Attack web site at www.fatattack.ch. Urs' Blog on the US Competition Plus web site has also been updated and you can check that out at www.competitionplus.com. ©Eurodragster.com Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association promoter Lawrie Gatehouse writes that he proposes to take legal action against UK Pro Mod racer Kev Slyfield for copyright infringement after Kev demolished the Christmas Tree at Shakespeare County Raceway on Saturday. "It is well-established with historical precedent that only Fuel Altereds are allowed to take out the Tree during burnouts", says Lawrie. E-Mails about taste to Lawrie, please, not to us. We are very pleased to welcome John Hackney as an Honorary Staff Member of Eurodragster.com. Honorary Staff Membership is awarded on a very occasional basis to non-sponsor individuals who have given us particularly strong practical or moral support over the years and John has certainly done so both through his work on Santa Pod Raceway's timing crew and as a companion at race events and at dinner. Web site updates. 7th May: The official web site of the UK's Sportsman ET class has been updated with a report from the Springspeed Festival and a video of Nick Gay's Metro pick-up on the dyno. "Which obviously worked for him at Big Bang!", says webmaster Nigel Holland. You can find the class' web site at www.sportsman-et.co.uk. Alan Currans has updated his excellent Acceleration Archive with a gallery of Saturday's action at the Springspeed Festival at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can take a look via the What's New page at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk. Alan has been hard at work since he has also updated the official web site of the UK's Chaos AA Fuel Altered with a report from the Springspeed Festival. "The weather played its part (again!) but the team were heartened by the single pass they were able to make", says Alan. For the full lowdown click on News and then Latest News at www.chaos-fuel-altered.com. Photo-journalist Dick Parnham has updated his Fotopic gallery with shots from the 2006 FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway. You can check out Dick's pictures at dickparnham.fotopic.net. Also updating from Santa Pod is Pete Roberts who has updated The Pod - A Look Around with shots from Saturday's Monster Truck Nationals. If you've not visited Pete's site then we can recommend a look since it contains some amazing 360-degree panoramas of Santa Pod, a daily wallpaper, history of USAF Podington, and more. You can find Pete's work at www.podlook.co.uk. ©Eurodragster.com Sharkman has updated his personal web site Sharkman's Top End Tales with shots from Big Bang, which you can find at www.topendtales.com. Don't forget that you can purchase shots by Sharkman and others on the web site of Eurodragster.com News sponsor Supercharged Images at www.superchargedimages.com. Patrik Jacobsson has updated the Racebilder web site with pictures from the weekend's Test and Tune at Malmö's Meca Raceway. You can check out Patrik's pictures at www.racebilder.nu. The Hassebilder site at www.hassebilder.se has also been updated from Meca, in this case with extensive video coverage. Springspeed Festival 1 Rain 1 AET. 6th May: A heroic effort by track crew, race officials and racers allowed a measure of success at the weekend's Springspeed Festival at Shakespeare County Raceway. After Sunday's qualifying was lost to the weather it looked as if yesterday's race day may suffer the same fate, but the rain finally relented and after very hard work by all concerned racing started early afternoon and as many as three rounds of eliminations were run in some classes against a very tight timescale and under the ever-looming curfew. The weekend was not without incident as Kev Slyfield's Pro Mod reduced the Christmas Tree to its component parts before nosing into the guardrail on Saturday and Carla Pittau and Simon Barlow had incidents at the top end yesterday, but all three racers were uninjured and the cars involved suffered minor or no damage. The jet dryer even got in on the act as it rear-ended the guardrail in very tricky conditions on Sunday. Conrad Stanley took the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award with a 9.900 in yesterday's Super Gas eliminations. The Perfect ET Award has been reset to £50 for the FIA Main Event. The Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award went unclaimed and so has been increased to £100 for the FIA Main Event. ©Eurodragster.com You can check out our American Car Imports-sponsored Springspeed Festival by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page and selecting the Springspeed Festival. Swift snippets. 6th May: Our best wishes to Swedish Pro Mod racer Ulf Rapp who spent Sunday evening in hospital with second-degree burns to his face and hands after a major fire on the start line at Meca Raceway. Ulf sat out 2007 and was testing his new 738 ci motor at Meca before contesting the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway. Get well soon, Ulf, and we hope to see you out on the track again before too long. ©Eurodragster.com Swift snippets. 5th May: From the UK's Chaos Fuel Altered pit comes news of the nuptials of Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association promoter Lawrie Gatehouse and fiancée Judith who are to be married this coming Saturday. We're sure that everyone will join us in wishing Lawrie and Judith all the very best for the future. Best wishes also to Scott and Michelle Talbot on the birth of son Jack who arrived at 3:00 on Thursday morning. We hear that Michelle and Jack are just fine. ©Eurodragster.com Jane Maloney has been in touch to thank everyone who sent information about the original Stripduster slingshot which was campaigned by the legendary Harold Bull. "Hopefully the information will lead to finding Stripduster, or Scorpion as we think she is now called", says Jane. "We are keeping fingers and toes crossed for a positive result. Meanwhile, you guys may be interested to see the quarter scale V8 engine and the Harley Davidson lookalike V Twin actually running. I have managed to upload a couple of videos to our web site at www.stripduster.co.uk which have proved quite a success so far. Enjoy!" Lazenby's Big Bang. 3rd May: If you were within about twenty file miles' radius of Santa Pod Raceway last Sunday morning then you may well have heard a loud bang. The source was UK B&H Automotive Street Eliminator racer Colin Lazenby's engine which threw a rod and then threw its hood scoop some distance into the air. After what has been a very emotional week Colin has been in touch to tell us about his weekend at Santa Pod: You all know of the thrash we had with the insisted disassembly and inspection with the trans, this following the pinion breakage and the prop rattling around both safety hoops at the Easter Thunderball which this pushed the transmission slip yoke into the back of the trans, and cracked the flange between all six bolts of the tailpiece. Apparently this type of damage is relevant, at least to Carl Rossler, because the hammering flattens the ring on the sprag cage. The replacement item arrived as promised on the Tuesday, which rendered fitting it before the event without help not an option. So, after we'd set up on the Friday, me and our kid pulled the trannie out and with Steve Nash began to take it apart. An hour later the transmission case was completely empty...typically the offending part was always going to be right at the very back of the case, right? On the Saturday morning the girls were despatched ftoor London to collect a new pump gasket as we damaged ours getting it out. As it happens, through the dogged determination of Mick 'the Fish' Smith both Dave Eady and Kev Cerusale came up with the goods, almost at the same time. Dave arrived at the track just as the girls returned from London, and even though I still have my doubts they still insist they weren't shopping. Many thanks to Mick, Dave Eady and Kevin Cerusale for their efforts. ©Eurodragster.com By mid-afternoon, and after much cursing (by Splinter), we had the trans finished. At this point it's fair to say without Splinter - and it was I who assisted him - we wouldn't have even taken the task on. An hour later it was back in the car and having undergone our usual checks we fired it up. Half an hour later we were called for our first session. The first run was a fat and misfiring one-system 8.9. And remarkably I shifted through all the gears with ease, I even shifted one or two right on the shift light. Rare for me if you listen to Garry or Luke. An hour later and with