European Drag Racing News


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	*The Dogs are let out.* 29th March: UK Wild Bunch racer Mark Turton has been hard at work both on his car and on the Growler Racing web site. "I am pleased to announce that the first pictures of the construction of Scottie Durrant's new Big Block alcohol-injected Topolino have now been published in the Photo Gallery at www.growlerracing.co.uk", says Mark. "Growler is ready to run on the strip with the completion of of the rebuild. It has been fired, and we are now awaiting the first Test and Tune at Shakespeare County Raceway." If you want to get a look at all of the team in one place then pop along to today's Surrey Street Rodders Wheels Day at Brooklands where Growler, Barking Mad, In The Dog House Again and Zak Attak will all be on display. *Grumpy's late night.* 29th March: UK 9.90 Bike Champion Paul 'Grumpy' Watson has been burning the midnight oil to be ready for this weekend's Easter Thunderball. In an E-Mail early this morning, Paul showed just how close it was. "The Bandit is ready for this weekend", says Paul. "We finished after midnight so I just have to tidy a few things up and I'll be on my way later today. A BIG Thank You to Lee Simpson for all his help and a huge Thank You to Brad at Dynospeed Developments who pulled out all the stops to get me to the track, and not forgeting my crew Kim and Andy. We will be running a small amount of gas this weekend, and we would like to see low nines. Watch this space" *Svensk interview Patrick Wikström.* 29th March: Our good friends at Svensk Dragracing have updated their web site with a very interesting and entertaining interview with NDRS Pro Mod Champion Patrick Wikström. Amongst other things you can get the truth about those storming burnouts together with news of new sponsors and Patrick's plans for this season. Don't miss it at www.dragracing.se. The update also includes come recommendations for the Easter weekend (thanks for the plug, guys - Ed). *Hands to the pump at Wildside.* 28th March: The UK's newest Top Fuel Dragster team have all hands to the pump to make this weekend's Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway. The Wildside Inc team of Jon and Lesley Wright and Darryl Bradford plan to put in shakedown and licencing passes on Sunday and Monday. "We've been working frantically", says Darryl Bradford. "Anyone who's done it knows what it's like! The major shipment arrived from the USA last week, so we have the parts. The car is coming together nicely, we just hope we don't run out of time. All the crew have taken today, tomorrow and Saturday off work and we are working every hour we can. Deadlines focus your mind wonderfully!" Darryl tells us that the car is a looker, although details of its appearance are being kept secret. "When I was a kid I wanted to drive a Top Fueller, and this is exactly what I wanted it to look like!", he says. "I still am a kid, and I still want to drive a Top Fueller and this season I finally will." The plan is for Darryl to make a launch, half-pass and representative full pass this weekend, and he is very grateful to the crew for getting him there. "John and Lesley, Darren, Marcus, new recruit Simon, Tom and Nikki have been working their tails off. Thanks!", he says. *Curtis cancels.* 28th March: Custom Car Street Eliminator racer Allen Curtis has had to withdraw from this weekend's Easter Thunderball. "We won't have enough time to collect, install and plumb our new engine", says Allen. "The new engine has taken nearly six months to complete, and we have taken two trips to the dyno to find the power, so this has put us way behind. This is a big disappointment for the team. We will post a full report about it on our Street Eliminator page within the next couple of days." You can find the No Manners Racing web site at www.nomannersracing.co.uk. *Sponsored Carter invites fans.* 28th March: FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter has announced two new sponsors, and will be at home to visitors in his pit at this weekend's Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway. "We would like to welcome on board IPA Print Associates Ltd of Chesham in Buckinghamshire", says Dan Welberry of Carter Motorsport. "IPA have been providing a quality print service for a number of years, and this weekend the public will be able to sample their work first hand! To mark this association, Carter Motorsport will be offering a fantastic, full colour, A2 poster featuring one of Andy's launches at last years European Finals. The poster will be available at just �3! As well as this, we will also have a brand new flier featuring full details of the new Supporters Club, which costs just £25 for the year. IPA Print Associates Ltd can be contacted on 01494 791532. "We would also like to welcome Hypa Colour to the team. Again based in Buckinghamshire, Hypa Colour offer a wide range of pre-print services, digital imagery and all the other usual reprographic services. An example of their work will be on display by way of a new display board featuring the car and its full spec, outlining the awesome power of our title-winning Top Fuel Dragster. Hypa Colour can be contacted on 01494 776965." Andy's FIA trophy and the Allan Herridge Memorial Trophy will be on display in Andy's pit throughout the weekend. "We are very keen to spend time with the fans in our pit area and look forward to seeing you all at the track", says Dan. You can find out more about the Carter Motorsport team on Andy's official web site at www.andycarter.net. *Thunderball running orders.* 28th March: The provisional running orders for Saturday and Sunday of this weekend's Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway are now available, courtesy of SPR's Race Director Darren Prentice. The running orders are of course subject to change due to track conditions, weather etc. The running orders are available on our Easter Thunderball event update index which you can view by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *Turbo-charged Graphics.* 28th March: Well-known drag racing designers John Andrews, whose company Motorgraphic is one of our Home and News Page sponsors, and Ian Turburville have joined forces to bring racers and their teams a range of professional products at sportsman prices for the 2002 season. High quality team shirts, hero cards, marketing proposals, photography and illustration are just five of the tightly co-ordinated services on offer from the sport's most experienced exponents of digital graphics and sponsorship acquisition. With a combined client list which reads like a Who's Who of European drag racing, Ian and John fully understand the needs of racers and can provide solutions to fit any budget. "Our philosophy is simple. If you look like a professional, you'll be treated like a professional and it won't cost you an arm and a leg", they say. Ian will be spreading the word at the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod this weekend, and the pair will be out in force at the Super Series Spring Nationals, at Shakespeare County Raceway on 4th-6th May. For further information visit Ian's web site at www.turboville.com, or check out some samples on John's Motorgraphic web site at www.motorgraphic.uk.com. *Perfect Light Award 2002.* 27th March: We are pleased to announce that the Eurodragster Perfect Light Award is to run again in the 2002 season. Starting at this weekend's Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway, the first racer at an eligible event to record a perfect Reaction Time, 0.400 or 0.500 as appropriate, in either qualifying or eliminations - not open practice - wins a minimum of £50. If the Perfect Light money is not won at an event, then £25 is added to the pot for the next race. If the money is won, then the Perfect Light fund is reset to £50 at the next event. The Perfect Light Award is open to any racer in any class, and will be awarded at any Championship race from which Eurodragster is reporting. At present the list of eligible events is as follows (others may be added): Easter Thunderball, Santa Pod Raceway Springnationals, Shakespeare County Raceway FIA Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway Midsummernationals, Shakespeare County Raceway Summernationals, Santa Pod Raceway Fallnationals, Shakespeare County Raceway FIA European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway UK National Finals, Santa Pod Raceway Good luck to everyone, and we look forward to writing the cheques! *Schöfer getting close.* 27th March: German Top Methanol Dragster racer Peter Schöfer is close to being ready for the coming season. Peter and his team took 2001 out to extend the chassis of the dragster and install a new engine. "We are almost ready to fire the car up for the first time", says Gittli Koller of Peter Schöfer Racing. "We are going to test in May, and then our first race will be the FIA Main Event at Santa Pod (of course!)." The PSR dragster has been on the show circuit recently, too. "We have already attended two car shows, in Nuernberg and Straubing, and we are going to the big car show in Leipzig in the middle of April", says Gittli. "We will be next to an F1 stand so it will be exciting I think!" The team are also pleased to announce two sponsorship deals. "Our deal with Castrol continues this year - we signed the contract last week", says Gittli. "We have also signed a deal with sparkplug manufacturer Brisk." Gittli promises an update soon to the official PSR web site at www.p-s-r.com. *Curbishley's big plans.* 27th March: Super Comp and Super Gas racer Martin Curbishley is delighted with the results of testing in his ex-Jon Webster roadster and has big plans for 2002. "We intend running a full season of Super Comp and Super Gas in 2002 and, if a sponsorship deal comes off, possibly a trip to Hockenheim", says Martin. "Testing went very, very well on Sunday with everything going to plan. Two Super Comp passes with an 8.91 and 8.87 both with .44 lights, two Super Gas passes with 10.40 and 10.02 with lots of valuable information gained from just four passes on a marginal track. Consistency and reliability are the key elements to index racing, and that's what we have in the roadster as proved by Jon Webster. "Thanks go to Jon Webster for making me feel at ease with the car at last November's RWYB (which netted five low 9.00s and an 8.93 all with .4 lights), Jeff Bull for reliable horsepower and for being a thoroughly nice guy, and the Great Gredzo for coming up with the striking design for the paintwork. "A new member of the team for 2002 is Logistics Manager Spencer Tramm, who will be helping out with pit and re-fuelling duties in between his busy VW schedule. "The biggest thanks go to my wife Ruth who helped to make 2001 my best season yet and who is very motivated for 2002. Let's make 2002 a safe and successful season for all teams." Martin very kindly allowed us a look at Mark Gredzinski's original artwork (right) for the outstanding design of the roadster. The small picture here doesn't do Mark's work justice, so click on the picture to view a larger version. *Eurodragster interviews John Spuffard...* 27th March: The last in our series of interviews in the lead-up to this weekend's Pro Fuel Shootout at Santa Pod is with John Spuffard, who has won both Shootouts so far in the Showtime Fuel FC. We spoke to Spuff to find out what his plans are for the hat-trick, and what the Showtime team are doing to defend their British Fuel Funny Car Championship. Click here to read the interview with Spuff, or click on the Interviews link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *...Ask the Crew Chief.* 27th March: On the subject of the Showtime Fuel FC, Crew Chief Bob Jarrett is also up for interview this weekend as he is to hold a Question and Answer session for fans at the Showtime pit on Sunday morning. Bob's offer of a Q & A came about as the result of the interest expressed in all matters FC during his recent live chat on the Dragsterworld web site. Bob tells us that he will be "Conducting a tour" of the Showtime FC, so if you have any burning questions about the operation of a Fuel Funny Car, then be sure to be at the Showtime pit at Santa Pod at 10:00 am this Sunday. Bob also had some news for us about this weekend's Pro Fuel Shootout, confirming that every round of the Shootout on both Sunday and Monday will feature Top Fuellers against Funny Cars. You can stay in touch with the news from the Showtime team on their official web site at www.showtimeracing.co.uk. *MSA TM Championship is go.* 27th March: This year's MSA British Top Methanol Championship cleared its last hurdle yesterday with the allocation of a Championship permit. The three-round Championship starts at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend with the subsequent two rounds at Shakespeare County Raceway in May and August. "It has been a bit of a close call getting the permit from the MSA before the season started", said Championship co-ordinator Dave Alexander. "Peter Todd at the MSA issued us the permit yesterday so the last issue is resolved and we can get down to the fun part of going racing! "We have four official entries for Top Methanol this weekend: Rob Turner, Dave Wilson, Steph Milam and Doug Bond. The Wratten brothers told me that they intend to be there to make observed runs (they're now on the entry list - Ed). Every team has either a new car or some serious new go-faster parts. I am sure that we'll see everyone making good progress towards reducing their ETs. "One major event I predict for this year is that the British record, currently held by Peter Beck, will be broken. Rob Turner and Dave Wilson both have the hardware, and when they find the tune-up I reckon that we'll see that record broken several times over the course of the season." The MSA Championship supplementary regulations are now available on the European Top Methanol Racers Association web site at www.etmra.com. The link to the MSA regulations is near the top of the Table of Contents on the left-hand side of the site. *Fireforce 2 in living colour.* 27th March: Fireforce Jet FC pilot Martin Hill has been in touch to announce the winner of the contest to design a new paint scheme for his five-second Fireforce 2 Chevy Lumina. "At last the body of #2 is in paint", says Martin. "Henry Spinks is the winner, and he will be spending Sunday with us at the Easter Thunderball where we will have some promotional pictures taken." You can see Henry's winning contest entry on the Fireforce web site at www.fireforce.co.uk. Congratulations Henry, and be sure not to stand too close admiring your design... *Catchin' the Fish.* 27th March: Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted the Nitro Fish logo on Knut Söderquist's Carbon By Design Top Fueller in our coverage of last weekend's testing. We asked Knut for the lowdown, and it turns out that the US T-Shirt, cap and decal manufacturer's products will be on sale on this side of the Pond. "My wife Pauline (who runs Elite Textile Printers - Ed) and I have done a deal with Robert Fisher", said Knut. "As you may know he was John Force's Crew Chief in the old days, but now produces Nitro Fish products. We will be selling the T-Shirts and decals at the track, starting this weekend." To get a sneak preview of what will be on offer check out the Nitro Fish web site at www.nitrofish.com, and take money when you go to Santa Pod Raceway at the weekend! *Easter Thunderball entry list.* 26th March: The official entry list for this weekend's Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway is now available, courtesy of Paul Marshall at Santa Pod Racers Club. The list shows a healthy entry in most classes with Pro ET (twenty three), Sportsman ET (nineteen), Custom Car Street Eliminator (fourteen), and Super Street Bike (sixteen) particular standouts. There is also an encouraging number of O's denoting new racers on observed runs or established racers in new or upgraded vehicles. Click here to view the Easter Thunderball entry list. For more information on the Easter Thunderball including ticket prices, check out Santa Pod Raceway's web site at www.santapod.com. Racers: It's not too late to send us your Easter Thunderball previews. Drop us an E-Mail at news@eurodragster.com up to midnight Thursday and we will post it here. *FB's Scooby stand-in.* 26th March: Custom Car Street Eliminator racer Ian Hook is to take to the track in a substitute car at this weekend's Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod, as the rebuild of his '34 Ford has not yet finished. As with all Championships, CCSE awards bonus points for attending all rounds, and Ian doesn't want to miss out. Necessity being the mother of invention, Ian has turned to Hanna Barbera's finest. "This weekend will see us competing in in JR and Whale's (crew - Ed) Scooby Doo, a Subaru WRX", says Ian. "The likelihood is that we will be knocked out in the first round - Scooby's quick but not when compared to a proper CCSE car! If this is the case then we will go home early as it means that Trevor and I can get an extra afternoon's work done on the '34." You can stay in touch with all the latest from Ian Hook and the FB Racing team, together with news from CCSE and the National Street Car Challenge, on the FB Racing web site at www.fbracing.co.uk. *The updated She Devil.* 26th March: UK Top Methanol FC racers Steph and Dave Milam have been in touch with a few words about their She Devil Racing FC, which makes it first outing of the season at this weekend's Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod. "The FC has been updated with a Hi-helix Retro blower", say Steph and Dave. "Our crew remains the same as last year. Proseal are continuing their support in 2002 and we are pleased to welcome Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems as a new associate sponsor." *Web site updates.* 26th March: The Nilsson Motorsports web site at www.nilssonmotorsports.com has been updated with more pictures of the construction of Swedish racer Håkan Nilsson's new Camaro Pro Mod. Eurodragster staffer Tog has updated his personal web site Tog's Drag Racing Page with some photographs from Sunday's Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway. Check it out at www.togsdragracing.com. *Nataas' engine nets 6.2 début.* 25th March: Norway's Thomas Nataas is the on the receiving end of a large amount of gratitude this morning after allowing his new engine to be used at the IHRA race at Rockingham this past weekend. Using Thomas' engine, John Russo recorded bests of 6.276/220.91 in qualifying and went two rounds in eliminations. "We at Quest Racing and Russo Motorsports would like to thank Thomas Nataas for the use of his new Quest motor at Rockingham", said Lonnie Houde. "We could only put a couple of laps on it and it went a 6.27 fairly easily", said Mike Faucher. "I think Thomas will be very happy with it. When we get back to the shop we'll pack it up and send it to Norway." "Watch out Patrik!", added Lonnie. *More Thunderball TF action.* 25th March: Fans attending next weekend's Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway will be seeing even more Top Fuel action than planned as Sweden's Susanne Callin has a number of licencing passes yet to make, and will be making them at the Easter race. Susanne made four passes in all over the weekend, having her bell well and truly rung on her final pass yesterday when she hit vicious tyre shake off the line. The Carbon By Design dragster in which Susanne made her licencing passes will be doing double duty next weekend as Robin Read is to drive it in the Pro Fuel Shootout. With at least half-track and representative full passes to be made, initial plans mooted were for Susanne to make one or two passes on Saturday and maybe fit in any additional passes needed at the end of Sunday or Monday. As if the Pro Fuel Shootout and Susanne's extra passes weren't enough, the UK's Darryl Bradford is also making licencing passes in the Wildside Inc Top Fueller at Santa Pod this weekend. We hope to have some more news about that later in the week. You can read more about Susanne Callin's licencing passes over this past weekend by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *RWYB coverage.* 25th March: It was a busy day at Santa Pod Raceway yesterday as a number of racers took the chance to test before this weekend's Easter Thunderball. Amongst the day's highlights were a pair of storming passes by Funny Bike racer Shaun Branch, a very sound 9.4-second pass by Custom Car Street Eliminator racer Sue Jackson, and the first look at the stunning new paintjob on Martin Curbishley's Super Comp/Super Gas roadster. Our coverage of yesterday's RWYB has now been updated with a photo gallery (including, of course, a picture of Martin Curbishley's roadster). Click here to view the RWYB coverage, or click on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *Web site updates.* 25th March: The official web site of the UK's Showtime Fuel FC team has been updated with a preview of this weekend's Pro Fuel Shootout. The Showtime team are on a hat-trick this year and you can see their thoughts on the subject at www.showtimeracing.co.uk. *Danny Gracia recovering.* 24th March: Courtesy of Geoff Martin comes the news that NHRA Technical Director Danny Gracia is back home in the USA and recovering well after being taken ill in the UK a few weeks back. Danny collapsed at Heathrow Airport after flying to the UK for the first stop in this year's SFI certification tour. "I spoke to Arnie Kuhns (SFI President - Ed) today and we spoke about Danny", says Geoff. "After seven days in Hillingdon Coronary Care, Danny was declared fit to fly. He was subsequently admitted to a specialist heart clinic in Arizona, where he underwent a triple bypass operation. Danny is now recuperating and the prognosis is very good. I know every one over here will send their best wishes." We second that and we are sure that all of our readers do, too. Get well soon Danny! *The illustrated Callin licencing.* 24th March: If you checked out our news page early yesterday evening you will have seen that we spent the day at Santa Pod Raceway reporting on Susanne Callin's first Top Fuel Dragster licencing passes. We have now updated our report with a small photo gallery. You can view the report and photographs by clicking here. Meanwhile we receved the following message from the stewards, clerk of the course and starters seminar with Swedish and Danish attendees in Stockholm, through Lars Pettersson (Chairman), Christina Boström (Secretary) and Rolf Lundberg (Tech Director) of the Drag Racing Committee in Sweden: "It's fun to read about one of our young drivers from Junior Dragsters getting her Top Fuel licence. When The Swedish Automobile Sports Federations Drag Racing committee started the Junior programme in 1994, Susanne Callin was one of the pioneers, at that time a shy ten year old girl. Now she is a role model for the junior racers of today, having gone from Junior Dragster and Super Comp for 16 year old's in senior classes to FIA Top Fuel Dragster. We wish her and her team good luck in the future." *RWYB racers: late call.* 24th March: We have heard from more race teams who are planning to test at today's Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway. Steve and Jayne Wells (aka Team Orange) will be testing a new engine in their popular Pro ET Ford Pop pickup. Steve brought the house down at last weekend's RWYB at Santa Pod with launches which our on-the-spot reporter Sharkman described as "violent". We mentioned the other day that Super Street Bike racer Pete Bellinie intends to run at today's RWYB; we received this from Pete last night. "A big thank you to Lee at Steelheart Engineering for staying up all of Friday night to do a mod to my chassis. I dropped the bike off to Lee at 7:00 pm on Friday and thought we would be at it Saturday and possibly Sunday. At 8:00 am on Saturday I got a call from Lee to tell me he had some good news, he had finished the mods. He had stayed up all of Friday night with the help of Gary so that I can go racing at Easter. THANK YOU Lee and Gary." UK Supertwin team Jade Racing will also be at Santa Pod Raceway testing Martin Bishop's Pro Stock Kawasaki H2, which Jerry Collier has renovated. "The bike last saw competitive action five years ago", says Ozzy Ewing of Jade Racing. "Jerry in a passing comment said that he would fix and ride the bike for Martin Bishop. The agreement sees Jerry race the bike competitively within ACU Competition Bike, and also take the bike to Hockenheim to race in this year's Nitrolympics. This weekend will see all of the team at Santa Pod to support and encourage Jerry, and to watch this phenomenal two-stroke Drag Bike lay its first rubber in 5 years." Last up is what UK Fuel FC racer Smax Smith describes as "the micro Menace and third generation Ant Hill Mob". Smax tells us that Aide and Rooz will be at Santa Pod making observed runs in a Junior Stock Dragster. We are attending today's RWYB and will be reporting all the action as it happens. You will be able to view our coverage by clicking here. *Tokyo Toy ready for 2002...* 24th March: 2001 UK National Pro ET Champions Team Tokyo Toy have been in touch with news of their preparations for the 2002 season. "Radical and essential preparations for the start of our Championship defence have meant changing the plugs as well as the annual oil change" says Steve Dunn, who together with Jon Evans drives the Tokyo Toy Toyota. "A puncture in the rear tyre of the pit bike very nearly put paid to being ready for Easter, but Jon found a 10-year-old puncture repair kit during his recent house move and saved our bacon. We would like to wish our fellow Pro ET racers a happy and successful 2002 season. " *...as is Time Machine.* 24th March: Also ready for 2001 are UK Junior Dragster team Time Machine Racing. Crew Chief Martin Gleadow tells us that the second-generation JD team are "all ready for a storming start to the season. We have just got our engine back from the USA where Frank of Metro Race Engines has refurbished and enlarged it." The official Time Machine Racing web site at www.eurodragster.com/timemachineracing has been completely overhauled. Amongst other things the site features a history of Time Machine Racing, going right back to the early days of Gleadow Brothers Racing and a team photo album. *Callin starts TF licencing.* 23rd March: If you were in or around the general area of Santa Pod Raceway this afternoon and thought that you could hear a Fuel engine, then don't worry - you were not hearing things. Susanne Callin commenced her Top Fuel Dragster licencing today in a private session at Santa Pod, and Eurodragster were invited along to see how she got on. Click here to read our report on Susanne's first licence passes, or click on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. Susanne will be continuing her licencing at tomorrow's Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway. Stay tuned and we will bring you news direct from Santa Pod during the day. *Eurodragster interviews Barry Sheavills.* 23rd March: The latest in our series of interviews with the contestants in Santa Pod Raceway's Pro Fuel Shootout is with UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Barry Sheavills. Click here to read Barry's thoughts on the Pro Fuel Shootout including his thoughts on the competition, and a few words about his chances in the FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Championship. You can also get to the interview by clicking on the Interviews link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *Main Event test invitation.* 22nd March: A formal invitation has now been issued to all racers to a private test session to be held at Santa Pod Raceway on Saturday 25th May, the weekend before the FIA Main Event. The strip will be open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on 25th May, and will be prepared to event standards. The usual range of timing facilities will be in place and there will of course be full safety cover. A Run What You Brung takes place on Sunday 26th May giving racers the chance for further testing. Entry to to the private test on 25th May is £110 plus VAT (17.5%); this is based on a minimum of seventeen racers attending. If less than seventeen racers attend then the fee will rise on a sliding scale to a maximum of £200 plus VAT. Pre-entry is mandatory and entries should be received by 1st May. For full details (including important points about licencing and insurance) and an entry form, both in PDF format, click here. If you have any queries then please contact Santa Pod Raceway by phone on 08700 782828 (+44 1234 782828 from outside the UK) during business hours, or E-Mail test@santapod.fsnet.co.uk. *More RWYB racers.* 22nd March: We've heard from a couple more racers who are intending to test at this Sunday's Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway. First up is UK National 9.90 Bike Champion Paul 'Grumpy' Watson, who hopes to test his Bandit. "I won't have the Nitrous on board" says Paul, "as some parts have not turned up. I have been a bit behind for personal reasons but am trying to make up for it now. I will be the fastest Bandit in Europe - Ken Cooper told me so, so it must be true!" Billy Macdermid has also been in touch. "I am hoping to attend on Sunday with my Pro Street Pop", says Billy. "I've recently fitted an ex-Super Gas 427 engine (570 bhp) and a Big Shot Nitrous kit. The car is still being fully street-legal so it should be fun! The only problem I have is a very restrictive exhaust system, I am hoping to run it with the exhausts on." *Free magazines!* 22nd March: Ian King has one hundred free copies of the new US Dragbike Monthly magazine to give away. To apply for your free copy, go to the Pit Lane Gossip page of the King Racing web site at www.kingracing.com, then click on the link to the Discussion Forum. If necessary, register to use the Forum and then go to the General category where there is a thread headed National Dragbike Magazine. Post your name and address, or if you do do not want your address on-line post your E-Mail address, and you will be sent a copy of Dragbike Monthly. *Web site updates.* 22nd March: The Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se has been updated with a few words from Markus Svensson, Crew Chief of NHRA Pro Stock points leader George Marnell. *Nitro-fuelled RWYB.* 21st March: This Sunday's Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway gives fans an early sniff of nitro, as a Top Fuel Dragster leads the roster of race cars and bikes taking advantage of the prepped track. Sunday's Top Fuel action comes courtesy of Sweden's Susanne Callin, who will be putting in licencing passes in Knut Söderquist's Carbon By Design dragster. We understand that Susanne will be putting in a couple of burnouts and launches, and at most a half pass. The Sportsman classes are well represented. Super Gas racer Paul Hudson tells us that "thanks to Martin Curbishley!" he has got the hang of the throttle stop in his ex-Curbishley Camaro and will be there on Sunday. Martin Curbishley himself will be appearing in his ex-Jon Webster roadster together with Pro ET racer Rick McCann, Sportsman ET racer Darren Hulkes, Custom Car Street Eliminator racers Sue Jackson and Andy Oliver, and Junior Dragster racer Ricky Emms. On two wheels, Super Street Bike racer Peter Bellinie hopes to have the engine in his new bike in time to run on Sunday; fellow SSB racers Graham Dance and Mark Pointer are also looking at attending, and 10.90 Bike racer Fred Furlong will be there. For more details about this Sunday's Run What You Brung, check out Monday's news item, or visit the RWYB page of Santa Pod Raceway's web site at www.santapod.com. If you can't make it along to Santa Pod Raceway on Sunday then you will be able to stay in touch with events here on Eurodragster, as Sunday's Run What You Brung is the first event in our American Car Imports-sponsored live coverage of the 2002 season. We plan to post frequent reports during the day, with the usual gallery of photographs at day's end. We will of course post a link to our RWYB coverage here on Sunday, but it will also be available through the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *Let-down Deuchar misses race.* 21st March: UK Top Methanol Dragster racer Lindsay Deuchar has announced that he is to miss the first round of the MSA British Top Methanol Championship, which takes place at the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway next week. Lindsay has had problems with the dragster's rear wing, the supercharger restraints, and his pit awning, and as the problems are beyond his control, he has reluctantly had to throw in the towel for Easter. Lindsay plans to attend the second round of the MSA Championship which takes place at the Springnationals at Shakespeare County Raceway in May. For the full story check out the News page of the LA Racing web site at www.laracing.co.uk. *No paint fights at PMR.* 21st March: Paul Marston Racing have been hard at work on the support side of things as the start of the season fast approaches. The ChryslerCard-sponsored PT Bruiser was put aside for a short while as the workshop, transporter and other support equipment got some attention. "The workshop received a spring clean and its annual paint", says Paul Marston. "No, there was no paint fight, mainly due to the race cars and transporter still being too close for comfort! Particular emphasis has been placed on improving our storage facilities in the transporter and workshop, making better use of space, better working practices, and more user-friendly equipment. The addition of compressed air to the pit area will be one of our experiments in 2002; we have added an extra air tank to the air brakes on the transporter and plumbed it for air tools. This means that we no longer need to carry a compressor. We also plan on mounting a generator to the transporter, again making life easier for the support vehicle - and less to unload. Both our transporter and the support vehicle needed servicing and plating. They served us very well in 2001, that reliability needs to be maintained this season. "Now that we have a season under our belts, everything which we carry has been reviewed to decide if we really need it, and if so what is the best way to transport it. It is very easy to carry equipment that you don't really need. Equally it takes good planning to load things logically; our aim is to save time setting up and breaking down the pit area. Anythingwhich mahes that easier is a major improvement! For example, we are currently looking at a new pit flooring system which would be quicker and easier to assemble. In addition we want to add an oven to the transporter. And, by popular demand, put a fridge in the pits, as the one in the transporter resembles the Fosters advert at times, sweet sherry anyone?" On a more serious note, Paul says that the PT Bruiser�s performance during the 2001 was far ahead of the team's expectations. "Development was challenging, as it always is with an entirely new platform", says Paul. "The whole crew did a simply outstanding job, all the hard work and the long hours really paid off. We are at present putting the finishing touches to the development programme for the 2002 season. We achieved so much last year but there is considerable potential still in the Chrysler PT Bruiser. We still have work to do in all the major areas to help maximise its potential. We are aiming at a programme which helps us to introduce the phases steadily throughout the year; this is designed to help maintain the focus of development in each department, so that it is right before introducing the next phase. The fans will see the Chrysler PT Bruiser slowly evolve over the season. Subtle changes will take place: some visible, some not so visible. All striving for the seemingly unachievable goal, the perfect run." Regular readers will recall that the PT Bruiser was on public display last weekend at the launch of the Diesel PT Cruiser. Paul tells us that enjoyed his day. "We would like to extend our thanks to Sales Director Shane Catterick and all the staff at Motorway Sports in Canterbury", says Paul. "It was a successful day, enjoyed by all. We had a great time and were busy all day meeting and greeting. I am sure we will be seeing them again in the future." In other news, the official PT Bruiser web site is not far off, and a range of merchandise is also to be launched shortly. Stay tuned for details. *Swiss Pro Mod invasion!* 20th March: Following on from yesterday's news item about Peter Wacker's new Pro Mod, Peter also tells us that fellow Swiss PM racer Marcus Hilt will also be making the trip to Santa Pod Raceway in May. "Marcus is planning to spend some Test and Tune time with his '55 Bel Air the week before the Main Event", says Peter. "Marcus' car has a new clutch set-up and some secret gimmicks! As far as I know, this is Marcus' first UK appearance in five years; he was previously ruled out of competition because of his Billet heads." Both Marcus and Peter Wacker aim to be the first Swiss Pro Mod racer into the sixes and you wouldn't rule it out at the Main Event. For more information on Marcus Hilt and the Trouble Racing team, check out his official web site at drive.to/trouble-racing. *Serpent pictures sought.* 20th March: New UK Supertwin Gas team Serpent Racing will be unveiling a new website in the very near future, and we have received a plea from the site's designer for pictures of rider Barrie Gregory, crew Paul Bartlett and Adrian Hines, or 'cheerleaders' Viv Hutchinson and Mandy Bartlett ("In or out of clothes, on or off the track..."). "The site is looking good, with plenty of content, but not enough pictures", says designer Nikki Pilkington. "I'm looking for pictures from Barrie's Jade Racing days, snapshots from his Harlequin Racing days, and any other pics which anyone may have in digital format." If you have any pictures then you can E-Mail Nikki at lemonkitten@ntlworld.com. *Toy almost ready to play.* 19th March: Swiss Pro Mod racer Peter Wacker has been in touch with an update on the construction of his new race car. "My new '57 Bel Air in Andy Robinson's chassis shop, and is now starting to look like a Pro Mod!", says Peter. "The tubing is done, the body is chopped, and the 706 ci motor is already in place. The aim is to race at the Main Event together with Andy's brand new Studebaker Pro Mod." A picture of the latest stage in the constrction of the new Roofer's Toy is available on the News page of Peter's web site at www.roofers-toy.ch. *Nitrolympics details released.* 19th March: Thanks also to Peter Wacker for telling us that the official Racers' web site of the 2002 Nitrolympics has been updated with the first details of the event at Hockenheim in August. This year's Nitrolympics take place on a rebuilt facility boasting a relocated track, new stands and VIP facilities and more. Already in place on the web site are details of the car and bike classes to be run, class regulations, ticketing details, and some notes on entry forms. Check it out at www.nitrolympics.de. The fan-oriented Nitrolympics site, also updated for 2002, can be found at www.dragster.de. *UK Tech Committee minutes.* 19th March: The minutes of the latest UK Tech Committee meeting (25th February) are now available via the Entry Forms page of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. The minutes can be found at the bottom of that page and are available both as a web page and as a Word document. *Eurodragster interviews Gary Page.* 19th March: The latest in our series of interviews with the contestants in Santa Pod Raceway's Pro Fuel Shootout features legendary UK Fuel racer Gary Page, who was recently announced as the driver of the North Herts Engineering Fuel FC. In a very entertaining interview Gary tells us how his drive came about, his thoughts on the Shootout and this year's British Fuel FC Championship, and reveals which of the two Fuel classes he considers his home. Click here to read the interview with Gary Page, or click on the Interviews link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *Web site updates.* 19th March: As well as the Tech Committee minutes, the Santa Pod Racers Club web site has also been updated with entry and declaration forms for the Big Bang (VW event) in May. SPRC's web site can be found at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Bill Sly's Bad Boys Imagin' site has been updated with photographs from March Run What You Brung events at Santa Pod Raceway. Check it out at www.badboysimagin.com. *Prepped track for RWYB.* 18th March: This Sunday's (24th March) Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway is the last chance for racers to test before the season starts with the Easter Thunderball. Track manager Kjell Petterson tells us that the track is to be prepared with VHT to give racers a representative surface. It would be appreciated if racers planning to attend on Sunday give advance notice to Santa Pod Racers Club either by E-Mail at paula@sprc.fsnet.co.uk or by phone on 01933 313625. We understand that one of the Pro Fuel Shootout cars may be in attendance on Sunday although we will bring you firm news on this when we receive it. The RWYB is of course also open to regular and new RWYBers as well as racers. Entry to the RWYB is £9; a further £13 and the production of a valid DVLC licence buys you as many runs down the track as you can fit in. Racers please note that competition licences are not valid for RWYBs, however all safety rules appropriate to the class of vehicle should of course be followed. Gates open at 8:00 am, and the strip will be open from about 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more details including additional safety rules (for example when crash helmets are mandatory in cars) check out the Run What Ya Brung page of Santa Pod Raceway's web site at www.santapod.com. Racers: If you are planning to test at the RWYB this weekend then be sure to let us know at news@eurodragster.com and we will publish the news here later this week. *Web site updates.* 18th March: The Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se has been updated with an obituary to Funny Bike racer Fredrik Johansson, who died last week. We would like to extend our sympathies to Fredrik's family and friends. Dutch Top Methanol FC racer Lex Joon's web site has been updated with news of a world record attempt, plus some team changes. We were sorry to read of the departure of Lex's webmaster Theo Huber and wish him every success with his business. You can read more on Lex's web site at www.lexjoonracing.nl. *Classic American Nationals.* 17th March: If you're a fan of American cars then the place to be on 17th-19th May is Shakespeare County Raceway, where the Classic American Nationals take place, writes SCR Press Officer Jerry Cookson. Action on the track inclues a Run What You Brung, demonstration passes from the American Car Imports Racing Top Methanol Dragster, the Firestorm Jet Funny Car, the Super Modifieds and the Roaring Thunder Jet Truck, together with Chevy-powered sprint cars and Legends. Jerry tells us that the National Street Car Challenge will also be taking on all comers on the track. "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!", he says. Off the track there is a Show and Shine with prizes including a new Club Participation trophy. The Horsepower Cruise through Startford-upon-Avon and beyond on the Saturday evening is followed by a live band in the marquee, whilst a DJ will be on duty in the Clubhouse on Friday and Saturday. A free mini-bus shuttle between Shakespeare County Raceway and Stratford-upon-Avon will also be available all weekend. Entry is £10 per person per day; a weekend ticket is £18, or £15 with the voucher in the May issue of Classic American magazine. The Run What You Brung is £10 per day or £15 for the weekend. A driving licence must be produced to sign on. All racers should have a crash helmet, and all cars should have a radiator overflow catch can (Jerry tells us that an empty beer can will do) and a seat belt if orginally fitted. You can find more details on the Classic American web site at www.classic-american.com, the official Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com, or on the Avon Park International Racers Association web site at www.eurodragster.com/apira. You can also call 01379 740100 or 01789 414119. Traders call 0161 877 9977. *Web site updates.* 17th March: Our good buddy Hasse, webmaster of the Swedish Pro Street News Magazine, has been in touch to apologise for the break in service over the last couple of days. "My server was down from 15th-16th March, but is back up again", he says. The SPN site has been updated with English-language versions of the rules for the Hitech four-cylinder and turbo class, translated by Lennart and Patrik J. Check it out at www.spn-photo.com. *Direct from the Malmgren pit...* 16th March: Courtesy of Magnus Cato of Sweden's AC Delco/Malmgren Racing Pro Stock team comes the inside story from Michael Malmgren's pit in Gainesville. After two rounds (of four) of qualifying, Michael stands at #31 at 6.967/197.97. "The team tested at Brainerd with a couple of other guys, for example Jim Yates", says Magnus. "It was hot and humid (yes, I'm jealous), but they still managed some consistent 1.01-1.02 sixty-foot times (6.94-6.95) which is just what you need if you want to run with the wolves. But with our usual luck of course the new motor was hurt. Nothing serious, just a lifter and valve job needed. "So bear in mind that at Gainesville they are running with the spare engine. In the first round of qualifying Michael had terrible tyre shake and the car was skidding around. Michael said that he should probably have lifted but he was having a good time behind the wheel, so he floored it and ran 6.979/198.26. "In the second round of qualifying the weather went away a little bit, about three hundredths, but the team still improved to 6.967/197.97 with the tyres spinning off the line. Michael said that he will run a .92 or .93 at best with the spare engine, it is some twenty horsepower down on the other one. "The guys are very grateful to some good friends who have been helpful with good advice: Clive, Crew Chief of V Gaines' Western Racing, and Markus Svensson at Marnell Racing. You have taught us a lot, thank you! Michael says that the #1 motor will be fixed in time for the next race in Las Vegas, so watch out!" *Feature on Larsson Racing.* 16th March: In the latest in our occasional series of Team Features, we go back to Sweden to cover Pro Stock Bike team Anders Larsson Racing. Ex-professional Ice Hockey player Anders takes us through his career from his days in Super Street Bike right up to last year's victorious but painful European Finals, together with some funny stories from the pits and more. Click here to read the feature, or click on the Team Features link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *Win Anders Larsson's crash helmet!* 16th March: To celebrate this latest Team Feature, Eurodragster has teamed up with Anders Larsson in a contest to offer a lucky winner the chance to own Anders' 2001-season crash helmet. The crash helmet is painted in the same distinctive green and yellow flame-job as Anders' 7.5-second Hayabusa and must be one of the ultimate limited edition items. We are very grateful indeed to Anders for this very generous gesture. Click here to find out how to take a shot at winning Anders' crash helmet. Good luck! *Shockwave splice.* 16th March: Congratulations to Shockwave Fuel FC Crew Chief Dave Bryant and his fiancée Laura Hales, who are to be wed today. "The entire Shockwave crew would like to wish Dave and Laura all the very best for their future together", says crew member Stuart. Everyone here at Eurodragster would like to second that, and we are sure that all of our readers do too. *2002 UK Championships on.* 15th March: Santa Pod Racers Club and Avon Park International Racers Association are pleased to confirm that an eight-round National Championship is taking place in 2002. The dates are as follows: 30th March-1st April: Easter Thunderball, Santa Pod Raceway 4th-6th May: Springnationals, Shakespeare County Raceway 1st-3rd June: FIA Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway 15th-16th June: Midsummernationals, Shakespeare County Raceway 29th-30th June: Summernationals, Santa Pod Raceway 24th-26th August: Fallnationals, Shakespeare County Raceway 6th-8th September: FIA European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway 28th-29th September: UK National Finals, Santa Pod Raceway *Revenge 2002 starts today.* 15th March: Swedish Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren starts the first race of the AC Delco-sponsored team's 2002 US tour at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville this afternoon. Michael has described this year's three-race tour as the Revenge 2002 tour and he is determined to take it to the Yanks and make the most of the off-season changes to the car including engine work by Bob Ingles. After Gainesville the AC Delco team go to Las Vegas and then Houston. You will be able to stay in touch with Michael's progress over the weekend on the Drag Race Central web site at www.summitracing.com/stories and on the NHRA web site at www.nhra.com. You can find a tour preview on the AC Delco Racing web site at www.acdracing.net, and we will pass on any inside news we should receive from the team over the weekend. *European Stroud certification.* 15th March: Stroud Safety have announced the opening of a European Repair and Recertification facility in the UK. Kenilworth-based Beacon Webbing are now able to recertify and/or repair Stroud Safety diapers and harnesses, with other products to be added soon. "Andy Robinson Race Cars remains the UK agent for Stroud Safety, but their customers can now have products recertified or repaired by Beacon Webbing without the cost, time and distance which used to be involved", says Beacon's Danny Dalton. For more details contact Danny at Beacon Webbing at sales@beacon-uk.com, call 01926 857444 (+44 1926 857444 outside the UK), or Fax 01926 857458 (+44 1926 857458). *Chat with Bob Jarrett.* 15th March: Showtime Fuel Funny Car Crew Chief Bob Jarrett will be putting in an appearance on the Dragster World Chat Room this Sunday (17th March) from 19:00-20:00 UK, 20:00-21:00 European. "Please keep your questions brief and one question at a time please or else it could become too confusing!", says Dragster World's Gary Cottingham. "If we give Bob time to answer each question it should be a good way to find out more about nitro racing. This is the first time we have tried this and if successful we will do some more as the season goes on." You can find more details on the News page of the Dragster World site at www.dragsterworld.com. *Eurodragster interviews Robin Read.* 14th March: As promised yesterday, we have spoken to UK Top Fuel Dragster pilot Robin Read overnight about his return to the sport in Knut Söderquist's Carbon By Design dragster in the Pro Fuel Shootout at Santa Pod's Easter Thunderball. In a very interesting and wide-ranging interview, Robin tells us about Knut's call out of the blue, gives us his thoughts on the Pro Fuel Shootout, and tells us why he is relishing working with Knut and Alan Jackson again. Click here to read the interview with Robin Read, or click on the Interviews link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *Speedfreaks Ball online.* 14th March: In our news item about Sammy Miller on 9th March we mentioned that an official Speedfreaks Ball web site was soon to be launched. This web site is now up and running at www.speedfreaksball.co.uk. The site, run by Fireforce and Drag Torque webmaster Dave Nelson, tells you everything you need to know about the event at Santa Pod Raceway on 10th-12 May. Featured are a competitor run-down (including videos) for the Fuel Bike, Super Street Bike and Junior Dragster Shootouts, together with details of the Exhibition vehicles, RWYB, Custom Bike Show, other attractions such as live bands, ticket prices and booking details, and more. *Club together at RWYB.* 14th March: This Sunday's (17th March) Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway is to be attended by a number of Car Clubs. The VW GTi Club, Northants Peugeot Sports Club, and the Renault 5 Owners Club have confirmed their attendance, with the Impreza Car Club also looking at attending. A special area will be set aside in the pits for the car clubs although all are of course welcome. Entry to Santa Pod's RWYB is £9; a further £13 and the production of a valid DVLC licence buys you as many runs down the track as you can fit in. Racers please note that competition licences are not valid for RWYBs, however all safety rules appropriate to the class of vehicle should of course be followed. Gates open at 8:00 am, and the strip will be open from about 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more details including additional safety rules (for example when crash helmets are mandatory in cars) check out the Run What Ya Brung page of Santa Pod Raceway's web site at www.santapod.com. Also on the subject of Santa Pod Raceway, Robert Brothers' Circus is currently on the facility, with performances at 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm today and tomorrow, 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm on Saturday, and 4:00 pm on Sunday. Tickets are priced between £8 and £12 for adults and between £6 and £10 for children and can be booked by phone on 08700 782828. *Easter's slowest ETs.* 14th March: More news of the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway, with the confident prediction of the slowest ETs of the weekend. "Two teams from the charity Sye Ryder Care will take to the famous quarter mile on Easter Saturday with our first ever Charity Bed Push Drag Race!", says Caroline Day of Santa Pod Raceway. "Sue Ryder Care supports people with a wide range of disabilities and life-shortening diseases, as well as their families, carers and friends both in this country and abroad. It is hoped that a significant amount of money will be raised for this good cause as well as putting a smile on the faces of drag racing fans." *Read all about Thunderball.* 13th March: Thanks to Kjell Pettersson for letting us know that the UK's Robin Read is to make a return to the seat of a Top Fuel Dragster at the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway, where he is to be the third TF participant in the Pro Fuel Shootout. Robin last drove a Top Fueller at the 1999 FIA European Finals where he won the event in one of Knut Söderquist's Carbon By Design cars, recording one of the highest TF terminal speeds in Europe at 295.40 mph and getting his eyebrows singed in a pair of engine explosions. Stay tuned as we hope to speak to Robin overnight and will bring you his thoughts in tomorrow's news update. This news finalises the Pro Fuel Shootout line-up as Andy Carter, Barry Sheavills and Robin Read on the Top Fuel team, and John Spuffard, Gordon Smith and Gary Page on the Fuel FC team. For more details on the Easter Thunderball including ticket prices, check out Santa Pod Raceway's official web site at www.santapod.com. *SDC leads Gothenburg Festival.* 13th March: August's Gothenburg Motor Festival is to be headlined by a Scandinavian Dragracing Championship round, together with an Open Junior Dragster Championship and a legal street race. Leif Nilsson of Team Northrace has written with details. "If you are planning a week in Sweden you might like to have it in August! The Gothenburg Motorsport Festival starts on 9th August, when the monster trucks have a go on a temporary track in the middle of the city. On the 10th August is the first open Swedish Championship in Junior Dragracing, which takes place on a track located approximately two hundred metres from the Opera House. Also on the 10th, Street racers have a legal event of their own at Säve airport, ten minutes by car from the centre of Gothenburg. "On 10th-18th there is an international Karting competition, an international Mini racing event and some typical Swedish motorsports. "As a Grand Finale the SDC comes to town. A three day drag race will take place, also at Säve airport, on 16th-18th August. The fastest class will be Top Doorslammer, and the largest class will probably be the bracket category. In the bracket we are aiming for the first 120-car field in Sweden. "The City of Gothenburg and major local companies are making a lot of special offers to competitors, spectators and officials. The 9th-18th August is also the period of the 'Göteborgs Kalaset' which is a big annual music and amusement festival. Good food and beer for those who want it!" The full dates of the Gothenburg Motorsport Festival are as follows: 9th August: Monster Truck race 9th-11th August: Folkrace (inexpensive type of rally-cross) 9th-11th August: European Championship Mini racing 10th August: Open Swedish Championship, Junior Dragracing 10th August: Eurorace, legal street racing 11th August: Run What You Brung 15th-17th August: Karting 16th-18th August: Gothenburg Dragracing Festival Leif also gave us a run-down on the Scandinavian Dragracing Championship. "The new SDC adds Comp Eliminator and has also made changes to the bracket classes. Now all cars running between 8.90 and 14.00 seconds can participate. Pro Mods are welcome to join the Top Doorslammers, and the former Super Mod and Super Pro Street classes disappear." The 2002 Scandinavian Dragracing Championship calendar is as follows: 24th-26th May: Nyköping 8th-9th June: Feringe 15th-16th June: Vandel 28th-30th June: Orsa 12th-14th July: Piteå 9th-11th August: Stockholm 16th-18th August: Göteborg 23rd-25th August: Malmö For more details, check out the following web sites: Gothenburg Motorsports Festival: www.goteborgsmotorfestival.com Scandinavian Dragracing Championship: www.nitroz.se/sdc Team Northrace: www.northrace.com Förenande Motorsport: www.youfindall.com/fm Göteborgs kalaset: www.goteborg.com/kalaset/index1024.html *Bruiser shows new colours.* 13th March: Paul Marston Racing will be unveiling the new colours of the PT Bruiser this weekend. The ChryslerCard-sponsored Super Comp will be appearing at the launch of the Diesel PT Cruiser at Motorway Sports Chrysler dealership in Canterbury, Kent, on Saturday (16th March). As well as the race car, there will be a large display including videos, pictures of the Bruiser's conception and construction, magazine coverage, press releases and more. Paul Marston will also be on hand to meet-and-greet and to answer any questions. "There is simply no way we can have this kind of information on display at the race track, so these exhibitions at Chrysler dealerships provide the ideal opportunity to the enthusiast and public alike", says Paul Marston. "Also there is no pressure here. I don't stand talking to fans thinking 'My next qualifier is in 30 mins, I should start getting ready'. I can simply relax, take my time, and enjoy the day. Drag racers seldom get the chance to meet the public and race fans away from the race track, but we can at these events." On display at Motorway Sports will be PT Cruisers including the exciting new Diesel model, along with all the other models in the Chrysler range, and test drives will be available all day, starting at 9:30 am. "Arrive early to book your drive, the warm hospitality for which Chrysler are famous awaits you, so come and see us and make a day of it", says Paul. "Personally I�m excited about going. I can't wait to test drive the new Diesel model, it will be the first time I have driven a road-going version since we modified my Cruiser - it's just a little bit faster now! I spoke to Sales Director Shane Catterick on Monday, and he said that they are already getting phone calls asking about Paul Marston Racing attending their fine facility. It's going to be a great day!" For more details call Motorway Sports on 01227 732233 or E-Mail sales@motorway-sports.co.uk. *Web site updates.* 13th March: The Grebbestad Racing web site at www.grebbestadracing.com is currently being redesigned but in the meantime Kjell Lindqvist has invited visitors to have a go at a drag racing game on the Home Page. "You will need to have Flash installed on your computer to play it", says Kjell. "Unfortunately we don't know the origin of this game, but it seems to be sponsored by goosehead.com. Anyway, you will have lots of fun playing it!" Andy Frost has updated his Red Victor web site with the latest progress on the construction of his Custom Car Street Eliminator-bound race car. "My webmaster's computer is back online, so I should be able to update the site a little more regularly", says Andy. Check it out at www.redvictor1racing.co.uk. Eurodragster staffer Sharkman has updated his personal web site Sharkman's Top End Tales with pictures from the latest Run What You Brung at Santa Pod Raceway, including the first shots of Jon Webster's new Custom Car Street Eliminator Mustang in action. You can find Sharkman's site at www.topendtales.com. *TF25: we're still here.* 12th March: Sweden's Lorentzon and Möller Top Fuel Dragster team have new sponsors, a new paintscheme, and race dates to announce - and will do so very shortly says Crew Chief and co-owner Kenneth Lorentzon. "I just want to let race fans know that we are still alive and kick'n, and ready to lay down some rubber!", says Kenneth. "At the end of this month we will reveal the sponsors who are willing to help feed the beast! In the meantime please visit our web site which has had a facelift." The web site at www.tf25.com has some new action photographs from 2001 as well as a new look. Stay tuned for more news! *Matrix Racing offer JDs.* 12th March: Courtesy of APIRA Press Office Jerry Cookson comes the news that the UK's Matrix Racing have entered the Junior Dragster construction market. Norfolk-based Matrix Racing is managed by Dick and Wendy Talbot, and are offering turnkey 148-inch Junior Stock Dragsters to MSA and NHRA spec for £3500. Motive power comes from a 5 hp Briggs and Stratton petrol-driven Raptor 3 engine which is considered by many to be an ideal starting point for Junior Dragster. A kit can also be supplied if you fancy building the car yourself. "What appealed to us most about Junior Drag Racing was its style, simplicity, and versatility, but little did we know how much fun it would be for the big kids as well", says Dick, whose grandchildren Holly and Hazel have both competed in the Matrix Junior Dragster. "Now that we've learnt a few things in the set-up and running of the car we're going to make the most of it, and have fun in the process. I know I am!" For further information contact Matrix Racing by E-Mail at dick@pops-place.fsnet.co.uk or wendy@shakespearecountyraceway.com, by phone on 01379 741409 (days) or 01986 788828 (evenings). *A tale of four flex plates.* 11th March: UK Pro ET racer Rob Faulkner is hoping for better luck this season after suffering a number of breakages in 2001. "I can't think where to start, and I'm not sure that my computer has enough memory for storing everything which went on!", he says. "I built a completely different motor for 2001. After getting through scrutineering at the first race I thought 'Right, this is an alky motor so let's get some heat into the block'. I sat in the car, hit the starter, and smashed the teeth straight off the flex plate. What a great start to the year! Glyn Robinson had a spare flex plate so we went off to Coventry to get it and then worked into the night to fit it. The starter broke that too - that was that race done and dusted. "In between races I got a new flex plate and sent it off to be balanced. I checked that the starter was shimmed-out correctly, put it all back together again and it all seemed fine. At the next race we fuelled-up and made our way to the start line. When I got there, the car just wasn't playing at all. It turned out that my crewman had filled the fuel cell with unleaded petrol for the generator, rather than alcohol. We sorted that out, got back on to the track and the car only ran a ten. When we had a another go I gave it some stick and off she went - 9.36, now that was more like it! Then I smashed the teeth off the flex plate again. "So I bought another flex plate, had it balanced, it wasn't perfect but it stayed together for the rest of the season. We got to a semi-final but I was always looking to go faster than to score points. By the end of the year I had run 9.26, but I trashed a converter which I had borrowed from Nigel Payne. The car was going through the top end at 8000 rpm which is a little high. "Over the winter I've ally-headed the motor, upped the cam, re-ringed it, and put a nice sump on it. It should go a bit quicker but in this sport you never know what's going to happen: when I stripped the engine the oil pump gauze pick-up had broken off and spun round. I wondered why I had an oil problem! So here's to a great year for everyone - see you there." *On-line Championship.* 11th March: Kevin Waller is organising an on-line NHRA 2 Championship along the lines of that which is run in the USA, only not at 3:00 in the morning! If you are interested in a CET/GMT Championship then contact Kevin via his web site at b1gf15h.tripod.com. *Web site updates.* 11th March: FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter's web site has been updated with a report from last week's Super Series Gala Night, at which he received the Allan Herridge Trophy and his crew won the Obsession Motorsports Best Achievement award. Check it out at www.andycarter.net. Andy is also the subject of a four-page feature in the April edition of Custom Car magazine, which is in the shops now. The official web site of the Scandinavian Dragracing Championship has moved to www.nitroz.se/sdc. The Swedish Pro Street News Magazine at www.spn-photo.com has a new look, and continues to be updated with the latest news and gossip, including news from from Svenska Bilsportförbundet. Feel-the-noise.com have added a new Wallpapers section to their photo site. Readers now have the facility to request their favourite of Anni Valder's pictures in a larger size, re-cropped to suit the Windows desktop. Requested wallpapers will remain available on the site for others to download. Webmaster Bob Valder would also be grateful for reports of any broken photos or links. *SDC at ELMIA.* 10th March: SDC kommer att ha en stor monter p� 150 kvadratmeter under ELMIA utst�llningen i J�nk�ping 28 - 31 Mars 2002. Man kommer att marknadsf�ra sitt nya namn, SDC, visa upp sin nya logga och naturligtvis kommer det att snackas v�ldigt mycket dragracing i denna monter. Vi h�lsar alla intresserade att bes�ka oss f�r att titta i en riktig Dragracing monter, prata motor eller bara h�lsa p�. Vi kommer ocks� att bjuda in de som ska st�lla ut i montern och f�rhoppningsvis kommer det att st� en riktigt h�ftig Dragracing bil d�r. V�lkommen till SDC:s monter p� Elmia 2002. The Scandinavian Dragracing Championship (formerly Nordic Pro Street Cup) will have a 150 square metre stand at ELMIA in J�nk�ping on 28th-31st March. They will be promoting the new SDC name, revealingtheir new logo, and of course will be talking up drag racing. Everyone is invited to visit the display. Some of those involved in the SDC will be on hand to talk to visitors and it is hoped that an awesome car will be on display. Thanks to Lennert M for the translation - Ed. *Web site updates.* 10th March: Ich habe jetzt endlich die neue Dragracing Seite fertig. Unter www.dragracing.de befindet sich ab sofort ein aktives Forum mit Portal indem alle die Lust haben aktiv mitwirken k�nnen. Ihr braucht Euch bloss zu registrieren (am besten mit dem echten Namen - gibt dann mehr Rechte) und schon k�nnt Ihr aktiv mitmachen. Ich suche noch dringend Moderatoren die Kust haben einzelne Foren zu �berwachen und zu leiten. Wenn Ihr ein spezielles Forum w�nscht schickt einfach eine mal an webmaster@dragracing.de. So und nun viel Spa� mit der neuen Seite und postet was das Zeug h�lt (Und wenn Euch meine Arbeit gef�llt dann belohnt mich mit Eintr�gen im G�stebuch). Am Sonntag, den 10.03.02 findet ab 19:00 Uhr wieder der Drag Racing Chat statt. Da dies ein neuer Chat auf unserer neuen Seite ist mu� bei der Installationsaufforderung von JPilot auf ja geklickt werden (ist harmlos!). Am besten ihr klickt gleich an das ihr immer vertraut dann gibt es in Zukunft keine Fragen mehr. Also bis zum Chat! The German Drag Racing Page at www.dragracing.de has introduced a new Forum. Webmaster Torsten Kath tells us that the Forum is currently German-language but that contributors are invited to post in any language. There will also be a chat session tonight, Sunday, at 19:00 European (18:00 UK) to which everyone is invited. Eurodragster staffer Tog's personal web site Tog's Drag Racing Page is again paying host to a set of US photographer Bob Frye's pictures from a race at Pomona. This time around the pictures are from the recent NHRA Winternationals and feature Top Fuel, Funny Car, Alcohol Funny Car, Pro Stock, and some of the Pro Mods running in Comp Eliminator. Check out Bob's pictures at www.togsdragracing.com/2002nhrawinternationals. *Testing, 5-4-3-2-1.* 9th March: Legendary US rocket pilot Sammy Miller is to make a return to the track at the Speedfreaks Ball at Santa Pod Raceway in May. Fan favourite Slammin' Sammy holds the absolute drag racing world record at 3.58 seconds, a feat which he achieved with the Vanishing Point Mustang at Santa Pod in 1984. That Rocket FC last ran in 1994 but has now been refurbished, and Sammy is to test the car at the Speedfreaks Ball with a view to further appearances if testing proves successful. "We have done a lot of work to on the car", says Sammy's good friend Antony Billinton of G-Max Fuels. "We are very happy with it, especially the safety aspect." This could be fans' only chance to see Sammy Miller back in action. "We have some high-purity fuel", says Antony, "and we are out to test the car. If it performs, it performs. If it doesn't perform, then we will put it away again." Antony tells us that Sammy is just as his fans remember him. "Sammy is as keen and fit as he ever was, and his sense of humour remains about the same", he says (Donald Duck may be at the facility, then - Ed). Meanwhile the plans for the rest of the Speedfreaks Ball are continuing apace. "The event is gathering momentum so we should be in for a decent weekend!", says organiser Martin Hill. The Speedfreaks Ball takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 10th-12th May. The event features a Fuel Bike Shootout, Super Street Bike Shootout, Bike-only RWYB, the Fireforce Jet Funny Cars, Jet Trike, Jet Go-ped, Junior Dragster exhibition, live entertainment, trade stands, Custom Bike Show and more. Advance weekend tickets at £20 are available on 08700 782828, with gate admission £25 for the weekend and £15 for Saturday or Sunday. An official web site is to be launched shortly; stay tuned for details. *NAST dates confirmed.* 9th March: The UK's National Association of Supertwins have now confirmed their Championship dates for 2002 in Supertwin Fuel, Supertwin Gas, Supertwin Modified and Supertwin Street. The Championship has five rounds, as follow: Round 1: Springnationals, Shakespeare County Raceway, 4th-6th May Round 2: Midsummer Nationals, Shakespeare County Raceway, 15th-16th June Round 3: Summernationals, Santa Pod Raceway, 29th-30th June Round 4: Fallnationals, Shakespeare County Raceway, 24th-26th August Round 5: National Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, 28th-29th September NAST racers also have the opportunity of a Test and Tune at the Speedfreaks Ball, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on 10th-12th May. The organisers have agreed to allow the Supertwins to run as a group within the exhibition and demonstration vehicles, as well as offering pitting space with the other demonstration vehicles on the hard standing. Entry to the Speedfreaks Ball will be £20 per person, with an additional fee of £5 per day to run on the track. If you intend to run your Supertwin at the Speedfreaks Ball, or if you have any queries about the Championship, then please contact NAST Chairman Rush Carruthers at Rush@SuperTwinsHQ.freeserve.co.uk or NAST secretary Sue Beneke at NitroSue@NTLWorld.com. You can find the official NAST web site at www.supertwins.com. *Mum What You Brung.* 9th March: Santa Pod Raceway have announced a special deal for tomorrow's Run What You Brung. Tomorrow being Mother's Day, all mothers attending the RWYB will be given a special gift on the gate. Entry to Santa Pod's RWYB is £9; a further £13 and the production of a valid DVLC licence buys you as many runs down the track as you can fit in. Racers please note that competition licences are not valid for RWYBs, however all safety rules appropriate to the class of vehicle should of course be followed. Gates open at 8:00 am, and the strip will be open from about 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more details including additional safety rules (for example when crash helmets are mandatory in cars) check out the Run What Ya Brung page of Santa Pod Raceway's web site at www.santapod.com. *Pictures from Hal Far.* 8th March: Our good friend Paul Galea has very kindly sent us a number of pictures of last weekend's action at Malta's Hal Far Raceway. Click here to view Paul's pictures. *Custom Car back Doorslammer Shootout.* 7th March: Custom Car Magazine has announced an association with Shakespeare County Raceway and Obsession Motorsports for the Doorslammer Shootout planned for early October. "Doorslammer racing is a particular favourite of the magazine - witness the Street Eliminator series - and it seemed natural for Custom Car to become involved with a Doorslammer event of this type", said Custom Car editor Kev Elliott. The magazine will be promoting the event and handling the entries. Fees and prize structures will, as already announced, be released in due course. "We are also pleased to announce, especially in the current economic climate, that LA Racing Parts has also come on board as an associate sponsor, and the company's Lee Child will be co-ordinating sponsorship for the event", said Kev. Any sponsors wishing to support the Doorslammer Shootout should call Lee on 01803 554308 or E-Mail la.racing@virgin.net. "I'm really excited about this event", said Kev. "To my mind there hasn't been anything like it since the '80s, and a broad-ranging doorslammer field will make for some exciting racing. We here at Custom Car are also pleased to be associated with Obsession Motorsports, the driving force behind the event." *Cool Green update.* 7th March: UK Junior Modified Dragster team Cool Green Racing are well into their preparation for the 2002 season. "A freshened-up motor with a lot of new parts from Halfscale U.S.A. has just been put back into the car", says Chris Emms, father of driver Ricky. "Alas we can still only run 8.90 until July then we will go for it big time! The car body is currently at the Turners' race shop being painted by Steve Turner - we would like to thank Steve, Rob and Carmel Turner for their continued support over the winter. When painted the dragster will be delivered to Peterborough Signs to have the new design graphics added. New sponsors are now on board for the new season - more news to follow. The car will be out testing soon albeit later than planned." Chris tells us that a Junior Drag Racing Club has now been set up, and is currently offering deals to anybody contemplating racing in Junior Dragster this year. For more details contact Chris by E-Mail at chris@cemms.freeserve.co.uk or phone 01733 260756. *HGC Scaffolding support ACI Racing.* 7th March: UK Top Methanol Dragster team American Car Imports Racing is delighted to welcome on board Oxford-based HGC Scaffolding as an associate sponsor. The company helped the team with their recent trip to the USA and will remain involved throughout the 2002 drag racing season. HGC Scaffolding was formed in 1980 and has now grown to a CITB registered workforce of twenty five. They have the capability and resources to carry out the capacity of work required by national housing companies, airports and railway stations. No job is too small or too large. HGC have successfully completed and continue to have regular contracts throughout the South, South West and Midlands with companies such as Berkeley, Crest, Barratt and Bellway Homes. They have a full liability insurance cover of £5,000,000 and employer's liability cover of £10,000,000. You can contact HGC Scaffolding on 01865 390653. Quotes are available on request. To stay in touch with the latest news from American Car Imports Racing check out their new web site at www.americancarimportsracing.com. *Web site updates.* 7th March: AC Delco/Malmgren Racing crew member Magnus Cato has updated the team's official web site with a preview of their US tour, which starts at the Gatornationals in Florida next week. Magnus has promised updates during the event so stay tuned. In the meantime check out the preview on the Inside Reports page of the AC Delco/Malmgren Racing web site at www.acdracing.net. *Upton's good and bad weekend.* 6th March: We are indebted to Luke Nieuwhof for sending news of ex-pat Brit Jay Upton's weekend at the Marlows Westernationals at the Kwinana Motorplex, Western Australia. "Jay's first qualifier saw him break yet another belt, as had happened on the last four runs. Things were not looking good. However on the next run, the bike went like a rocket to half track, were he pedalled/throttled it to the 1000' mark, shutting off for a 6.97. In the opposite lane West Australian Ian Ashelford went 6.96 on his Top Fuel Harley. "The next pass saw Jay slow to launch, but once again the bike flew to half track, recording 660' figures of 4.30 and 182 mph (that speed matches 6.2-second Top Doorslammer passes!) before shutting off again to glide through for a personal best 6.78, and a top qualifiers medallion. In the other lane, Ian Ashelford also improved, running 6.85/199 mph. "Race day saw a round one solo for Jay, where he ran hard to 330' and shut off. The semi finals saw Jay smoke the tyre before the 60' beams, get off it, let the bike settle, then hit it again and shut off at the 1000' beam yet again for a 7.88, but here it all went wrong as the bike veered towards the concrete barrier, Jay climbing off before the bike hit, then sliding as the bike continued riderless into the sandtrap. Jay was alright to begin with, but was later taken to hospital. Damage to the bike was limited to bodywork and an injector hat, lucky for a 170+ mph incident! We hope to see Jay back soon." Check out Luke's Western Australia Drag Racing web site at www.wadragracing.cjb.net for some great pictures, movies and news from Kwinana. *Web site updates.* 6th March: The official web site of the UK's Fang Supertwin Modified team has been updated with details of the work done on the bike over the off-season. "There is still a long way to go but we hope to debut the new bike mid-season", says Fangmeister Carl. Check it out on the great-looking Fang web site at www.thefang.co.uk. The Swedish Pro Street News Magazine at www.spn-photo.com has been updated with a tribute to Steve Grebeck. The Dragsterworld forum at dragracing2.community.everyone.net has introduced mandatory registration for posting, although it can still be read whether or not you are registered. *Steve Grebeck.* 5th March: We know that the US Street scene is very popular indeed amongst European racers and fans, so we were very sorry to receive the following news from UK Sportsman ET racer Simon Chalkly. "It was a sad day on Sunday as Pro 5.0 racer Steve Grebeck was killed in a nasty accident at the top end at Orlando Speed World, competing in the first race meet of the year at the Fun Ford Weekend. Steve ran a 6.65 pass last year in his turbocharged small block Pro 5.0 Mustang, which is the quickest pass so far in a Pro 5.0 car. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Steve's family, and fellow Mustang racers who knew him." We would like to join Simon in sending Steve's family and friends our deepest sympathies. *Grumpy's quick-stop dream trip.* 5th March: UK Top Methanol Dragster racer Dave 'Grumpy' Wilson fulfilled a lifetime dream when he raced the American Car Imports Top Methanol Dragster at the recent NHRA Winternationals at Pomona. "After racing for twenty five years the chance came up to race in America", said Grumpy. "You just have to do it, don't you!" Preparations for the Winternationals commenced when Dave and son David flew over just after Christmas to fit the car to Grumpy. "There were only a few things to change", said Dave. "The main alteration was to the driver's seat - I felt like I was slipping down so I put a ledge on the front of the seat and it felt a lot better." The American Car Imports team, with whom Eurodragster shares a sponsor, then flew out a few days before the Winternationals to finish building the dragster. "When we unloaded the car on Tuesday it just had a bare short block in it", said Dave. "We worked very hard putting it together and doing little jobs - I went to America and made swarf! By Wednesday night we'd finished and we fired it up for the first time fifteen minutes before the curfew." After finally being allowed to hit the throttle in his first burnout on Thursday, Dave and the ACI team got down to the serious business of qualifying and racing. He quickly discovered how short Pomona's shutdown area is, but the new dragster had it covered. "It doesn't half stop!", said Dave. "I've never used two parachutes before, but the two releases are very close together in the new car and this wasn't the place to experiment, so I pulled them both. On my last run, the battery came off the car when I hit the chutes, and I followed it down the shutdown area." Dave thinks that the trip to Pomona has been very useful. "It's given us a serious baseline", he said. "Almost the most serious baseline we ever had". He also has some very pleasant memories. "Everyone was really nice", he said, "especially the Top End crew. I got out of the car to pick up my chutes and found that they were doing it! Then a woman came over and gave me a bottle of water!" The dragster was last reported in Houston for the next leg of its trip to the UK. You can stay in touch with the latest from the team on their official web site at www.americancarimportsracing.com. *Eurodragster interviews Andy Carter.* 5th March: The latest in our occasional series of exclusive interviews is with FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Andy Carter. We asked Andy about his forthcoming appearance in the Pro Fuel Shootout at Santa Pod Raceway's Easter Thunderball, and about his plans for the defence of his European title. You can read our interview with Andy Carter by clicking here, or by clicking on the Interviews link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *Weekend report from Hal Far.* 5th March: Our good friend Michael Buhagiar has very kindly sent a report on the March event at Malta's Hal Far Raceway this past weekend. "It was not the usual great race", says Michael. "There were less participants than usual, although there was a lot to see. The Peel'n'Go dragster, with a new driver, recorded good times of 8.1 and 8.3 sec. Alan Desira was there with his newly-purchased V8 dragster formerly owned by Joe Catania instead of his usual funny car, along with John Caruana's Chevy 350 dragster. On Saturday we had John Ellul of Elbros Racing who made a 6.0-second run, but on his 2nd run he had tyre shake and popped a burst panel. Unfortunately he didn't participate on Sunday. "Together with these were the usual modified Mk I and II Fords in many different classes together with all the other street cars. There were also three trucks today, Mario Attard of Xambekk Brothers, EVS Racing Team with their Sisu, and Tommy Agius with his Ford Cargo who ran a great time of 11.85 sec twice on Sunday. "I also met Joe Carabott, owner of the Mr. Whippy dragster, who told me that after last year great success around Europe he is going to take a break from drag racing this year and make some modifications to his great dragster. All Maltese drag racing fans wish him a rapid return to the track. Also we are hoping that John Ellul (Banzai) will find a sponsor who will help him to go abroad with his dragster. "A report and photos from the event will be added to my web page soon. I have also updated my site with this year's race calendar on Malta." You can find Michael's web site at www.dragraceway.cjb.net. *Hepworth back on two wheels.* 5th March: The UK's Bernie Hepworth is returning to his roots, having bought a Supertwin Top Fuel Bike from Holland's Willem Been to compete in this year's FIM/UEM Championship. "I raced bikes for fifteen years", says Bernie. "I then moved to four wheels, running first a Super Gasser then a seven-second Pro Mod, car then an alcohol funny car which was sold to Lex Joon. This was rapidly followed by a girls' car, an Alcohol Dragster, before going to race in Malta and tuning the Borg Brothers to the first five-second pass on Malta, and working in the UK with my good friend Lex Joon and his super team." "My new bike ran a best of 7.1/194 with Willem Been on board, and made the final at the last FIM event", says Bernie. "I have bought it race-ready complete with all the spares and equipment. It's a tried and tested machine, but will take some time to get to grips with as I've been messing around with blown-alcohol four-wheeled things for so long and this is nitro injected and has less wheels. Willem's new ride, being built at Rob van Geffens shop, isn't ready so he going to act as our Crew Chief and tutor until he is racing again. That should greatly speed up the learning curve. I went over to Amsterdam to collect it and I think we got on well so I'm looking forward to my first run on the bike and to working with Willem." Bernie plans to test the bike the weekend before the Main Event, and even though that is still some weeks away there is plenty to do. "The motorhome/transporter we bought has turned out to be an absolute lemon, and will take a lot of time and money to fix and convert to carry the bike, but we will be out in time", he says. As if that wasn't enough, Bernie will continue to tune the Borg Brothers Racing five-second small block in 2002. "It's going to be a busy year", he says. *Race trailer stolen.* 5th March: We received the following bad news from John Andrews of our sponsor Motorgraphic. Bristol-based drag racer Aiden Kenny had his trailer stolen from his Brislington home on the night of Wednesday 27th or Thursday 28th February 2002. The 18 foot tilt-bed unit has a galvanised steel chassis, a winch and bike-rack on the front, and four distinctive chequer-plate pads on the deck. Like so many club racers, Aiden has had to work hard to participate in the sport he loves, so the theft is a major loss. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone who knows anything about the theft or is offered the unit for sale should call Aiden on 0117 909 6079 or contact him via the Motorgraphic web site at www.motorgraphic.uk.com. *Drag Racing on UK TV.* 5th March: Starting tonight on the UK's Discovery Home and Leisure satellite channel (digital channel 133) is a revolutionary new series covering motorcycle sport. Each episode focuses on a different sport and tonight's two part programme features drag racing at Santa Pod. Although primarily focused on the bikes, and in particular European and UK Top Fuel Bike Champion Ian King, there is some excellent footage of cars. Alongside Ian, the programme features interviews with Matt Nixon, Helen Curran, Andy Newcombe and Paul King, Ian Marshall and Keith Bartlett. On-track bike footage includes Neil Midgley, Martin Bishop, Dave Beck, Brian Johnson. For the car fans, great footage includes Steve Green, Dave Wilson, Gordon Smith, Pat Talbot and Martin Hill to name but a few. The drag racing programme is due to be broadcast as follows: 22:30 tonight, Tuesday 5th March 14:00, Sunday 10th March 15:00, Tuesday 26th March *Web site updates.* 5th March: Our good friends at Svensk Dragracing have updated their web site with a report and photographs from the Swedish SFI inspection which took place in Stockholm over the weekend. There is also an update on the NHRA's Danny Gracia, who suffered a heart attack on his arrival in the UK last week (we didn't mention this in our own report on Friday as we'd had no official news of Danny's condition - Ed). Check it out at www.dragracing.se. Andy Frost has asked us to pass on his apologies to fans for the lack of updates on his Red Victor web site recently. "My webmaster's computer is kaput, so all of the new pictures and news I have will have to wait until his laptop returns, which should be in a week", says Andy. "I was hoping to be out (in Custom Car Street Eliminator - Ed) for the start of the season, but as I still haven't got an engine or gearbox it doesn't look likely. The business is also extremely busy at the moment so I haven't got a lot of time to spare. I'll get there though!" Editor's note: Apologies to Dan Nordlöf for incorrectly crediting his Swedish Nostalgia web site in yesterday's news. *Super Series in UK Championship?* 4th March: There are moves to reinstate the UK National Drag Racing Championships for Super and ET classes, Junior Dragster, 9.90 Bike and 10.90 Bike. Speaking at the Avon Park International Racers Association AGM yesterday, Super Series organisers Terry and Tina Gibbs revealed that a meeting is trying to be convened in the next fortnight between APIRA, Santa Pod Racers Club, promoters and track owners. Subject to the outcome of this meeting, the format of two of this year's three Super Series events at Shakespeare County Raceway will be changed. The two three-day events, the Springnationals in early May and the Fallnationals in late August, will see National and ACU-class qualifying on Saturday and eliminations on Sunday, with an all-in car bracket to run on the Monday to support that day's British Fuel FC Championship and MSA Top Methanol Championship eliminations. The format of Monday's bike competition is yet to be decided. 9.50 Bike and 10.50 Bike will be run alongside their .90 equivalents, subject to a minimum entry of eight in each class. If the Super Series events form part of this year's UK Championships, then in addition to the UK National and ACU classes the Wild Bunch, Super Street Rover, Outlaw Anglia, National Association of Supertwins and European Top Gas classes will also be run. If the Super Series events do not form part of this year's UK Championships then class structures could be changed. Other main Super Series points from yesterday's meeting were that entry fees will be £75 in 2002; that ticket allocations remain the same; and that the Junior Dragster pits are possibly to be moved. The layout of the pits is to be reviewed. In anticipation of large entries, racers with more than their allocation of vehicles in pit areas will be asked to remove them. Refusal to co-operate will result in exclusion from meetings. Terry Gibbs also revealed some more details about the planned Doorslammer Shootout at Shakespeare County Raceway in early October. "There will be four heads-up brackets", he said. "They will be Outlaw, Top Gun, Top Sportsman and Street, with the time ranges catering for everything from Pro Mod to daily drivers. Subject to safety rules, anything goes. The only proviso is that cars must have two opening doors". Entry fees and prize structures for this event will be staggered across classes and will be announced in due course. Any sponsors wishing to support the Doorslammer Shootout can call Obsession Motorsports by E-Mail at superseries@eurodragster.com or by phone on 01483 236262. *Wratten TMFC all set.* 4th March: A new UK Top Methanol Funny Car is set to make its début at the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway. The Firebird-bodied FC is the work of the Wratten family. "The body has been painted and the artwork done", said Dennis Wratten at the UK SFI Day on Friday. "We're aiming for the Thunderball if everything goes OK today (it did - Ed)!" The FC has an unused chassis which was purchased five years ago, and the ex-Mobil 1 Firebird body. The team have spent the intervening years collecting parts and putting the race car together, and are now ready to go. "The trailer is all done", said Dennis, "and we were up to twelve o'clock on Wednesday night getting the van ready!" *Bob Ingles smiles!* 4th March: Swedish Pro Stock team AC Delco/Malmgren Racing are flying out to the USA today for next week's Gatornationals in Florida - or at least most of them. "Everything's going as planned", says team member Magnus Cato. "Some of the guys are flying out today. I'm going at Easter, so I have to sit out the Gatornationals. It's OK as I'm going to drive the bus to Las Vegas, and I'm planning to stop for some fun in Austin, Texas!" The six-second Camaro's engine has been checked over and updated by Bob Ingles. "According to Michael, Bob was happy with the numbers - Bob even smiled!", says Magnus. Magnus says that the team has been contacted by fans who are planning to attend the Gainesville race. "We are really looking forward to showing them what we can do with the Camaro", says Magnus. "I would like to take this opportunity to invite them to our pit." You can stay tuned with the latest from AC Delco Racing on their official web site at www.acdracing.net. *Krivan starts Indoor Association.* 4th March: Swiss Top Methanol FC racer Dezsoe Krivan has started an Indoor Drag Racing Association. "I think that you already realised that on this side of the pond we do things differently sometimes, and especially in Switzerland we have to find some solution to pass the boring bench-racing time", says Dezsoe. "In 1998, US artist Max Frazee contacted us to put on a performance at the opening of his exhibition. He wanted a burnout in front of an art gallery! That was something new, not just for us, but I think for the whole of drag racing. "In front of the gallery was a industrial road: nice and flat and long enough to put some black rubber footprints! The plan was to do it on the evening of the opening day. But cold weather, heavy rain showers and temperatures around freezing forced us to give up that plan. Whilst looking around the gallery to find somewhere where we at least could start up the engine, I realised that there might be enough room to do the show inside the gallery." Now, we can hear you all saying "He didn't, did he?". Oh yes he did! You can see a video of Dezsoe's astounding indoor burnout at www.maxfrazee.com/drag/video.html. "I'm now taking subscriptions to the WWIDRA (World Wide Indoor Drag Racing Association), so I can start to organise the No More Bench Racing Season 2002", says Dezsoe. *Super Series special awards.* 4th March: Saturday evening's Super Series Gala Night in Birmingham saw the 2001 Champions and runners-up presented with their trophies. As is traditional with the Super Series a number of special awards were also presented. Congratulations to the winners (in order of presentation): Obssession Motorsports Best Achievement: Carter Motorsports Top Fuel Dragster crew, received by Crew Chief Eddie Corr Super Series Best Appearing Car: Malcolm and Marcie Motler (Pro ET) Super Series Best Appearing Bike: Ian King (Top Fuel Bike) Allan Herridge Trophy: Andy Carter (Top Fuel Dragster) Archie Pitt Trophy: Chevy Llewellyn (Sportsman ET) Red Light Award: Steve Dunn and Jon Evans (Pro ET) Anya Yates Trophy: Jerry Cookson Alan Wigmore Trophy: Sophie Sanderson-Brown Obsession Motorsports Special Awards For Dedication And Enthusiasm: Roy Wilding, Ian Jackson, John Ledster, Phil Evans Iris Page Memorial Trophy: Sue Jackson (Custom Car Street Eliminator) Super Series Sportsman Of The Year: Ian King (Top Fuel Bike) Super Series organisers Terry and Tina Gibbs received what Chief Marshal Bruno Sanderson-Brown described as "A special Thank You award" from APIRA, FAST and everyone else involved in drag racing at Shakespeare County Raceway, and a special presentation was made to Tina Gibbs and secretary Val Groom. *Web site updates.* 4th March: Nostalgia fans should check out Dan Nordlöf's Photo Gallery of Swedish race cars and street cars from the 1970s and 1980s. The site is a great memory-jogger, although we'll say nothing about it reminding your News Editor just how old he is since he remembers seeing some of the cars racing! You can find Dan's galleries at medlem.tripodnet.nu/nostalgi68. The York Dragway web site has had a major facelift and moved to yorkdragway.intrica.co.uk. Amongst the updates is a 2002 race calendar. The Swedsh Pro Street News web site at www.spn-photo.com has been updated with the latest gossip from the Scandinavian doorslammer scene. The site is presented in both Swedish and English. *Page fills North Herts seat.* 2nd March: Legendary UK Fuel racer Gary Page is to drive the North Herts Engineering Fuel Funny Car in 2002. He takes over the ride from Norm Wilding, who won on his first outing in the car at Super Series 4 at Shakespeare County Raceway last year but is unable to drive this year due to business commitments. "Norm is expanding his business in the USA, and is putting a lot of effort into it", says car owner Jackie Hawkins. "For him to come over to the UK five times at the same time would just have been too much. But Mark and I would like to thank Norm for his brilliant driving job in August, and we wish him every success with his business." Mark and Jackie spoke to Gary Page on Thursday and the deal was quickly done. "We had Gary in mind, and he is very happy to take over", says Jackie. Gary's first appearance in the North Herts FC will be at the Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway where, after a familiarisation pass, he will be one of the three Fuel FC participants in the Pro Fuel Shootout, and then he will be competing in the 2002 British Fuel FC Championship which commences at Shakespeare County Raceway at the start of May. *UK Pro Mod: it's back!* 2nd March: Pro Modified is set to make a return to the UK in 2002, with the reappearance of a number of racers. Speaking at the SFI Day yesterday, Andy Robinson filled us in on the latest including the début of his new '53 Studebaker Pro Mod. "The car is being painted next week", he said. "I'm hoping for Easter but it's not there yet! The car has the freshened engine from the Rover (which crashed in 1999 - Ed)." Andy is planning to run in Europe as well as the UK this season. "I would really like to race in Sweden and Norway and then go to Hockenheim, but I will definitely run at Hockenheim", he said. Bert Englefield's new Pro Mod, built by Bert himself with Andy Wright, is expected to appear soon. The body also about to be painted. "It was originally a '37 Ford, but they've made a few changes to it and are calling it a '38!" said Andy. Andy also said that Bill Weston plans to race his Mustang again in 2002, and that Steve Hall is expected to be running Pro Mod in his ex-Dave Pollen machine. As if that wasn't enough, Andy added that Swiss racer Peter Wacker's new Pro Mod is coming along well, with the chassis fresh off the jig. Also returning in 2002 is John Ellis in the Lethal Calibra. "The engine is now 572 cubic inches", John told us at Santa Pod yesterday. "It has new rods and pistons, and I'm expecting to run high sixes. I hope to be out at the first race at Shakespeare County Raceway in May. I still have Ray White as my Crew Chief, with my crew Chris still there and maybe Kevin Moore to lend a hand". John added that he is looking at going blown-alcohol in 2003. *SFI Day report.* 2nd March: We went along to Santa Pod Raceway yesterday to find out what goes on at the annual SFI Day. We spoke to Murf KcKinney and Tim Hyatt, and watched as they inspected bellhousings and clutches belonging to the several racers who attended. We have posted a report and pictures from the SFI Day, which you can view by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page. *Welcome to our new sponsors.* 1st March: We are very pleased to announce Eurodragster.com's sponsors for 2002-3. Please welcome this year's partners who make it possible for us to continue to bring you the best very best news, coverage, links, and other European drag racing information, and please be sure to return their support of European Drag Racing by using their services. HOME AND NEWS PAGES: I.C.E. Automotive Racing Engines and Motorgraphic I.C.E. Automotive Racing Engines return for their second year of Eurodragster sponsorship. With experience of building high performance and racing engines over the last two decades, I.C.E. are in a unique position in the U.K. to spec, supply, build and support American domestic V8's to any stage of tune. From small block Fords, through to mountain Chevrolets, success has been achieved on the circuit as well as the quarter mile. With customers across the drag racing fraternity from Street racers to Pro teams, the service is considered by many to be second to none. "The record books and Championship rosters have time and again been testament to I.C.E.'s abilities", said Tog of Eurodragster.com. "You'll find ICE engines in the meanest street-legal cars, the baddest Super Mods, and across the Sportsman classes. We are very grateful to Nick Davies and Rob Loaring for renewing their support." You can contact I.C.E. Automotive via E-Mail at rooster.ice@btinternet.com or by phone on 01268 727317. Following a year�s sabbatical to concentrate on developing business in the circuit racing and rallying sectors, Motorgraphic return to drag racing with three new sponsorship packages and an expanded range of products and services aimed at professionally-minded teams, clubs and drivers. The Bristol-based Company specialises in the design and research of Sponsorship Proposals and other marketing material such as Hero Cards, Team Logos and Racecar Graphics. The company has also recently developed their groundbreaking 'CrossBow' demographic profiling system, which provides the very latest data, demanded by business professionals considering motorsport as part of their marketing mix. In the past twelve months, Motorgraphic have built up an enviable roster of clients racing in Top Fuel Bike, Top Fuel Dragster, European Formula Renault, the Australian, Scottish and British Rally Championships and the awesome British Touring Car Championship. Motorgraphic's sponsorship packages for the 2002 Drag Racing season include support of the new-look Super Series, the APIRA as well as Eurodragster. "Our company�s roots lie in drag racing, so naturally we chose Eurodragster as our primary advertising media for the 2002 season", said Motorgraphic boss John Andrews. "We look forward to working closely with Tog and Sharkman over the coming year to promote the sport and broaden its appeal." "We are very pleased to be associated with a company whose reputation is reflected in its list of clients", said Tog. "We would like to welcome Motorgraphic on board. Our association will have benefits for our readers as well as ourselves; for example we will be working together on the Super Series web site whose new design will be a great showcase for John's talents." For further information on Motorgraphic's services visit their website at www.motorgraphic.uk.com or call + 44 (0) 117 946 7052. EVENT COVERAGE: *American Car Imports* "American Car Imports is proud to sponsor Eurodragster for the 2002 Season on the Event Coverage pages", says managing director Anthony Cohen. "American Car Imports is the UK market leader in the sourcing and importation of new American vehicles and has the largest stock of these to view in the UK. We believe that there is a very strong link between drag racing and the desire to own an American vehicle. Indeed many of the new vehicles we import such as the Ford Lightning and the Chevrolet SSR pickups are modern hot rods in their own right, selling to regular visitors to Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceways. We are committed to increasing the numbers of these vehicles on European roads, which in turn reinforces an interest in drag racing. In our new collaboration with the experienced and dedicated Nemesis team led by Dave Wilson and Andy Bissett, the new Top Methanol team American Car Imports Racing has just run a 5.62 at 255mph at Pomona in the Winternationals and is now striving to give the European fans the ultimate in performance." "You can't have drag racing without American metal", said Tog. "In American Car Imports, Eurodragster and European Drag Racing have a sponsor perfectly placed to fulfil the desires of every fan of American cars. We are very grateful to Anthony Cohen for his support, and look forward to hearing about the new customers generated by this sponsorship." Check out American Car Imports' extensive stock list and services at www.americancarimports.com or call 0208 889 4545. SWAP MEET: Jeff Bull Race Engines Another returning sponsor is Jeff Bull Race Engines, whose second year this is as sponsor of Eurodragster's free classified advertising service. Jeff's V8 engine construction and modification business is based near Colchester where he has a large parts inventory, especially for big-block Chevy fans. "I am pleased to renew my sponsorship deal with Eurodragster in support of a great website, long may it continue, and of drag racing in the UK", said Jeff Bull. "I've had a good year thanks to Eurodragster.com and look forward to another good one!" "The Swap Meet is one of the most popular pages on Eurodragster", said Tog. "It is only fitting that its sponsor should be the engine supplier for a number of popular race cars. We would like to thank Jeff for his renewed backing." You can contact Jeff Bull Race Engines by E-Mail at jeffbull.raceengines@virgin.net or by telephone at 01787 227789. We are also very grateful to Stephen Talbot for continued financial backing and IT support. A fond farewell and thanks to Speedflow, LA Racing Parts, Chris Isaacs Race Cars and Plough Garage who via ukracer.com sponsored our Home and News Pages for 2001-2. *Wikstrom making headway.* 1st March: Sweden's Nordic Drag Racing Series Pro Mod Champion Patrick Wikstrom is making big headway on his 2002 plans with the announcement of a new primary sponsor, a new dry sump system, and a new team member. "We have just signed a new main sponsor, Lady Ellen charter boats in Gothenburg" says Krister Peterson of Outlaw Racing. "We feel really comfortable with this deal, and we can now focus on remaining the #1 Pro Mod in Europe." Patrik's last outing in 2001, at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway, was wrecked by a broken rod, but Krister says that the cause has been found. "We traced the problem to oiling, which came up when we raised the shift point to 9800 rpm with the wet sump system we had on the engine. It's now changed to a dry sump system which will solve the problem." Last season the Outlaw Racing team set nine Pro Mod track records at five strips. "We just missed one ET record at Alastaro, to Michael Gullqvist (6.456 seconds)", says Krister. "The team's lowest ET last season was 6.323 seconds at Santa Pod, and our highest terminal speed 222 mph (357.19 kmh) at Alastaro. In all, Patrick has held twenty track records in two classes, set over three years." Krister has also announced that Bertil Karlsson has joined the team. "We would like to welcome Bertil", he says. The team are working on a new web site, details of which we will post as soon as we receive them. *Junerud runs limited schedule.* 1st March: Swedish Supertwin Top Fuel Bike racer Stefan Junerud will again be running a limited schedule of races this season. "The high cost of running a team, the limited amount of sponsorship, and family commitments are all contributing factors in this decision", says Stefan. "At the same time, it is almost impossible to give up completely when it is in your blood. So if nobody complains loudly and if we get things together, you will meet us out there again." Stefan is actively looking for sponsors to extend his season; if you would be interested in backing him then you can contact him by E-Mail at snabbsomfan@servexab.com. In the meantime, the Nitro Twister will be on display on the Supertwin Club stand at the Elmia Custom Show in Jonköping at the end of March. You can find out more on Stefan's web site at www.servexab.com. *Upton ready to star in Oz.* 1st March: This weekend sees the Marlows Westernationals at the Quit Motorplex, Kwinana Beach, just outside Perth, Western Australia writes Dragster Australia's European Correspondent Ivan Sansom. Top Doorslammer and Top Bike headline the meeting, with European interest particularly focussed on UK ex-pat Jay Upton and his unique Top Bike Streamliner. Jay will be looking to build up on his on-off-on-off-on-off-on the throttle 6.8 top qualifying effort at the ANDRA Nationals hosted at Willowbank Raceway six weeks ago and also keep the primary drive belts in place this weekend at his home track. The meeting also sees the resumption of the "doorslammer race to the fives", as the Top Doorslammer class returns to the site of Peter Kapiris' 6.07-second attention grabbing pass last December. If track conditions don't get too hot, look to Kapiris and Victor Bray to hammer loudly on the door of the fives. You can keep up with the results over the weekend at the ANDRA website at www.andra.com.au, the Quit Motorplex website at www.motorplex.com.au and Cackling Pipes at members.optushome.com.au/cacklingpipes/mainpage.htm. *Web site updates.* 1st March: It's a big news day for American Car Imports, as not only have they become one of Eurodragster's sponsors but they have also launched a new web site for the American Car Imports Top Methanol Dragster team. The web site at www.americancarimportsracing.com features a great new look, retains all of the features of the previous Nemesis web site, and has some great new features including videos. Don't miss the excellent gallery of photographs from the ACI team's recent outing at Pomona Raceway! The Wordweaver web site has been updated with a new page dedicated to 9.90 and 10.90 Bike. "The idea is to promote the classes and give us all an outlet which the bikes don't currently have", says Dave Stanley. "We are going to do a piece after each round, keep it light hearted but informative. It came about as all the guys were moaning that we don't get much exposure, but then we are the entry level class. Anyway it seems I got nominated as the person to do something about it as I have a web site!". Dave has made a great start with an introduction to some of the racers in both .90 classes. Check it out at www.wordweaver.co.uk. The UK's Rat Fink team have launched a new web site at www.kirkmotorsport.com. The site features news, team run-down, race car details, pictures and links. "A big thank you to Moldy Marvin and the late Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth at www.ratfink.org for giving up some of their server space to us for the last two years", says Crew Chief Lee Kirk. Lee also tells us that Andy Kirk's Camaro will be running in Super Modified this season. "Watch out for a '67 Camaro at the front of the pack come mid-season!", he says. Earlier news All news, photographic and other material submitted to Eurodragster.com is accepted and published in good faith. Although we make every effort to ascertain the accuracy of published material, Eurodragster.com and its staff are not responsible for any errors in submitted news and photographs. Inaccuracies or other issues in published news items or photographs should be taken up with the named contributors, or with the Eurodragster.com staff only if the item is not credited to any individual. This page ©Eurodragster.com. Eurodragster.com aims to bring you links to all the best European Drag Racing web sites. To add your site to Eurodragster's listings, simply email links@eurodragster.com with your URL and a little information about your site and we'll do the rest. When you update your site, drop us a line at news@eurodragster.com and we'll feature your site in our "What's New" section. 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