Due to staffing levels in Signing On, could race vehicle crew members please try to sign on on Friday if at the track on time. This will help alleviate the rush on Saturday morning, as we will be a staff member down during Saturday. Thank you in advance for your help in this matter.
Custom Car Invitational returns to Dragstalgia. 30th June:
Thanks to Santa Pod Raceway events organiser Dan Melrose for announcing the return of the Custom Car Invitational run what ya brung at Dragstalgia:
Custom Car magazine, a staunch supporter of Dragstalgia since its inception, is pleased to announce the Custom Car Invitational is back for the 2022 event. The Invitational sessions on both the Saturday and Sunday will showcase some of the most diverse vehicles from the UK and beyond.
Successful applicants will be eligible to join this invite-only race class throughout the weekend. You can apply for a spot for either the Saturday or Sunday, or even both - but please specify your preference, by emailing details of your vehicle, along with an image and current PB to
2022@dragstalgia.com.
Spaces are strictly limited, and successful applicants will be notified within the next few days to enable them to purchase tickets.
We look forward to seeing you on the track.”
For those wishing to compete in race classes at Dragstalgia, the closing date for entries, which you can make by going to the Santa Pod racer tickets shop is tomorrow, 1st July.
8.50 Bike's record field at Summer Nationals. 30th June:
This weekend at the STP Summer Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway, there is a record entry of 23 in JKE Race Works 8.50 Bike. With the riding skill required and tuning necessary to go close to the quick class index, it is an impressive comment on the current strength of British drag bike racing.
In the class, there are some new racers with excellent pedigrees from other classes and returning racers who had a considerable gap away from competition before 2021. We contacted five of the racers newer to the class or returning after a while for their thoughts:
Paul Adams has raced with some success in ET Bike, being runner-up 2021, winner of the 2020 Covid Cup, runner up in 2019, 5th 2018 and 6th 2017. He said "The bike's a 2009 Suzuki GSXR1000 with an ex IOM Superbike engine. My focus has been to keep everything really light to make up for not currently using nitrous or a turbo. The bike is 35kgs lighter than standard, achieved by using BST carbon wheels, carbon fairings and removing the cooling and charging systems. I run a Hayes slider clutch, which I'll be tuning to get a faster reaction time necessary for the Pro tree and switching from unleaded fuel to VP MR12 with a new fuel map from Brock's Performance.
The bike is self built and very low maintenance. Apart from normal servicing, I oil the clutch plates after a days racing, then get the kettle on. My PB is currently 8.75 and I suspect I'll still be a bit slow for 8.50, so I'll be fitting a turbo system for the 2023 season. My racing is supported by my wife Terri and daughter Sinead and is self funded.
Lewis Burgess last raced 8.50 Bike in September 2019 after a full season in 9.50 Bike in 2018. Lewis said "I have had a 2 year break from racing due to buying our first family home and our very first baby girl born just 4 months ago, Amarni Grace Burgess. I have now teamed up with Ian Dales from FlowMotion who is now the motorcycle tuner and builder. We have built a 2002 GSXR 1000 N/A and my previous GSXR750 that won the 2017 9.50 bike is now sold. The bike has been painted by Mike Boote at Rage Designs and engine work and modifications have been paid by Ninemeister Porsche.
I have made 8 passes on the bike including three 8.7s passes. A new lighter weight shock spring is now installed for the Summer Nationals and a few minor tweaks also. We are hoping to be competitive within 8.50 bike running naturally aspirated only but we have the possibility of running nitrous if needs be. I am super excited to get back to it and get into race mode and of course, see all my wonderful race family.
Gary Malone of team Time-Chasers has a machine originally built by class originator Paul 'Grumpy' Watson. Gary sayd "The bike is a Suzuki Hayabusa 1340 Turbo; in the break since 2014 we have made some chassis upgrades. However, with covid restrictions we had only tested in October 2021 so every event entered this year has been work in progress. I am currently sitting 7th in the National Championships in a field of 20+ bikes and a very close class we feel our progress is going very well.
Our sponsors to who we are extremely great full for this year are Sussex Transport, Haselmere Motorcycles, Helmet City (Tatsfield), RockettWraps, BTC MOTEC and Nimbus Motorsport, although additional sponsorship is required. Thanks go to our team of Gary, Sharon, Dougie, Mitch, Charlie, Alice and Kian.
Michael Piggott (Warpspeed Racing) has tested Comp Bike in 2020 and is now making the big move into competition. Warpspeed Racing boss Stuart Crane said "Michael build the hayabusa turbo bike himself being led by myself. It’s a Maxx ecu E85 fuel based blow-through turbo set up. He’s had limited drag racing experience in competition, but has done plenty of RWYB’s. His personal best is a 7.6."
Patrick Rawnsley started in the class in July 2021 and last raced in the 2021 National Finals. He said "My bike is not changed too much for this year, just needed an engine rebuild due to a melted piston. Other changes made are a longer swing arm, new shock and cut down front forks, hopefully improve my 60 ft times.
I am pretty new to drag racing having bought my bike off Ebay as a whim a couple of years ago. I used to be a trials rider for 20 years but needed a little more speed so decided a drag bike might be fun. I own 2 companies, specialising in Air suspension, Automint Ltd (Spares for trucks) and OnAirsuspension limited where we design air springs and air suspension systems."
We wish all riders in JKE Race Works 8.50 Bike good luck and stay safe, and look forward to seeing close qualifying and races at the STP Summer Nationals.
STP Summer Nationals Perfect Awards. 25th May:£200 is up for grabs at this weekend's STP Summer Nationals courtesy of Eurodragster.com and our sponsors.
This weekend's Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award has been reset to £50 after it was won by Modurstang Pro ET racer Dave Cherrett at the FIA/FIM-E Main Event. The money will be paid to the first racer at the event to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds.
The Perfect Light Award is available in all classes during both qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event.
The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with Cath and Tig Napier of Modurstang Pro ET team Bad Habit Racing.
Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect Light Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried. Eurodragster.com decals are available
in Signing On or from Eurodragster.com staff.
The Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supported by Andy Hadfield and the Twister Race Team has been reset to £50 after it was won by Peter Nee Super Pro ET racer Pete Walters at the FIA/FIM-E Main Event. The money will be paid to the first racer at the event to run +0.000 on index or dial-in. The Perfect
ET Award is available in B Fast R Super Comp, Tony Morr, is Carburetors Super Gas, Peter Nee Super Pro ET, Modurstang Pro ET, Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, Springbridge Direct Wild Bunch, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster (eliminations only), JKE Race Works 8.50 Bike, Atlantic Fluid Tech 9.50 Bike, Blood Cancer UK ET Bike and Eurodragster.com Junior Drag Bike.
but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the weekend. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with Andy 'Fadster' Hadfield of the Twister Race Team.
Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect ET Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried. Eurodragster.com decals are
available in Signing On or from Eurodragster.com staff.
Bob's Photo Finish Award, which is presented in association with Eurodragster.com sponsor Bob Roberts, will award
£50 each to the racers involved in the closest race of eliminations at this weekend's event. At the FIA/FIM-E Main Event the Award was won by Track Worx Comp Eliminator racers Dan Williams and Spencer Tramm.
The closest race will be decided upon distance rather than time since, for example, 0.001 seconds at 230 mph is further than 0.002
seconds at 110 mph. For this reason the official timing data will need to be consulted so the winners will be announced here on Eurodragster.com
as soon as possible after the event and the winners will then be contacted for their preferred method of payment. The award will be paid on green light drag races only, and not on bracket races where there is a breakout.
Bob's Photo Finish Award is open to all classes during eliminations only and although Eurodragster.com decals are not mandatory we would
appreciate if it they are carried. Eurodragster.com decals are available in Signing On.
Big weekend for European drag races. 30th June:
There are several championship drag races in Europe this weekend, so let's summarise how you can keep up with them.
At Kauhava (LSK Business Park) in Finland, the FHRA hosts the Nitro Nationals, action taking place from 30th June to 3rd July. The action includes Top Fuel racers Tommi Haapanen and Timo Lehtimäki match racing, three Top Fuel Bikes, six Super Twin Top Fuel bikes, 10 Top Doorslammers and an impressive 19 Super Comp (8.50 Index) Bikes You can keep up to date with the news at the FHRA race forum thread. The race will also be livestreamed at livestream.com.
Clastres, France hosts the 18th European Dragster organised by Association Trophee Dragster. Sébastien Lajoux of Toxic drag racing will be running his two seater blown alky dragster and two seater Mach II Jet Funny Car with rides on offer for 250 € for the rail and 350 € for Mach 2. You can see a list of the 95 competitors by clicking here and results and photos will be posted at ATD's Facebook page.
Also in France, Run cap Sud will organize its 29th edition of the French Dragster Motorcycle Championship on July 2 and 3, 2022 at Péchereau aerodrome (36). The race is organised by Run Cap Sud and you can see more details at the Facebook page or AgendaAutomoto.Fr.
In Belgium the European Bug In takes place from 2nd-3rd July at the Rue du Grand Prix des Frontières Chimay Belgium 6460 Chimay, Belgium. This is edition #9 of the event, the first one since 2019. You can see detailed information at the European Bug Inwebsite and results and news will be posted at the event's Facebook page. The event is part-race, part-show, part slalom/off road and all fun.
In Sweden, Linde Raceway, Lindesberg, Sweden hosts Bergslagen's fastest # 1 on 2nd July, this is a steet based 1/8 mile race with car show at the picturesque location. You can see results at SHRA Lindesberg.
Malmö Raceway has the Bracket Fest 2022 organised by SRIF Malmö, the structure is simple, one bracket quicker than 5.1s and one slower than 5.1s (1/8 mile times). Bracket Fest is on 1st-3rd July with Test & Tune also on 2nd July. Results will be at www.dragracing.eu and Malmo's Facebook page.
HMK Hudiksvalls Motorklubb hosts the Drag Racing Tour at the 1/8 mile Hudik Raceway in Sweden. A range of sportsman classes together with five Pro Xtreme/Top Doorslammers will be competing, together with several teams doing test runs including Andres Arnover. More information and updates can be seen at the Hudiksvalls Motorklubb Facebook group.
Eastern Europe has a couple of races, a joint Slovakian and Hungarian Drag Wars SK vs. HU championship meeting will be taking place at the Boľkovce Airport in Slovakia. You can see information and results at the Slovak Drag Racing Championship web site and its Facebook page.
The Romanian Drag Racing Championship opens this weekend at Arad Results will be posted on the Dragracing Romania web site and you can see pictures at their Facebook page.
And if you're in the UK, we announced on Tuesday the Spitfire Raceway drag and drift event taking place at Perranporth Airfield on Saturday. And don't miss the Santa Pod Raceway STP Summer Nationals where you can see all the news updates on Eurodragster.com and why not go to see over 300 teams race, tickets are available at the Santa Pod ticket shop.
Swift snippets. 30th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Junior Dragster racer Damion Redshaw, VW Pro racer Jacob Kopasz and Nostalgia Funny Car crew chief Paul Stubbings. We hope you all have a great day.
Kieran has posted 22 minutes of footage from the Fast Show Reloaded to his Mk1Kieran Youtube channel. Kieran comments: "The Fast Show was back with it's 'Reloaded' edition of the event open to all cars & bikes, one of the highlights was the Big Man Ting Performance Civic smashing out it's first 8 second pass in style with an 8.88." You can see Kieran's video at this link.
Ålund back in business. 29th June:
Thanks to Pär Pippi Willén for his account of Europe's winningest Pro Stock racer Jimmy Ålund who returned to competitive action at the Summit Scandinavian Nationals at Tierp Arena on 17th-19th June.
When it comes to drag racing, Jimmy Ålund has not been busy these two last seasons. The world wide pandemic caused a shutdown of the FIA drag racing championships during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Things are looking good this season and the Jimmy Ålund team is now back on the track with the Summit Racing Pro Stock Camaro.
"These two last seasons have been different to say the least" says Ålund, "drag racing has been such an integral part of what I do going back for decades and it's great to be racing again".
The venue for this event was the famous Tierp Arena in Sweden. There was a very solid showing of racers with 245 entries. That crowd together with an as usual well prepared track and good weather made for a great weekend of racing.
The Pro Stock racers came out in force, all of nine teams were in place battling for an eight car ladder. Qualifying was tight but after the three qualifying rounds, Ålund was at the top of the charts but only 0.013 seconds ahead of #2, Stefan Ernryd, who ended up with a higher qualifying speed.
"It's fantastic to be back racing again" says Ålund, "nine good cars make for tight racing which is what it's all about". He continues, "as usual going up against these competitors, nothing can be taken for granted but we had a good race package in all and found the sweet spot."
Sunday is for eliminations. The track and weather was perfect for racing and made for much better elapsed times than during qualifying.
The Summit Racing Camaro cut some 0.03 seconds of the best qualifying time in winning both the quarter and semi finals. It was tight, Ålund got lane choice for the final run with only 0.01 seconds margin over Richard Sundblom from Finland. Ålund made the best showing of the two and won the event.
"This was a very good weekend for the team and the Summit Racing Camaro", says Ålund. "The guys gave me a good car and it was up to me to do them proud. Tough racing crowd as usual, the competition in Pro Stock is as tight as it can be."
As an added bonus, Ålund also competed in the Stock/Super Stock class with a wheel standing 1968 Camaro sporting a big block motor and manual transmission. Ålund did well, he qualified #9 in a very competitive field consisting of 30 cars and had the best showing in E1 on Saturday evening. Ålund had the best reaction time of the entire round and ran a 10.23 against a 10.22 dial in.
"That was a lot of fun" says Ålund, "this was part of the Swedish championship for the class and I got the opportunity from Krister Fogelin to drive his beautiful car. It worked out real good until round 2. I went up against a car in the same class which made for a heads-up round but I was a bit too eager to leave and turned on the red light."
That leads to the obvious question, will you drive that car again this year? "We'll see" says Ålund with his trademark smile, "that depends on a number of factors, it's not totally out of the question".
The next race for the team is the 2022 Drag Revival at the classic track of Mantorp Park the weekend of July 28-31. As for the FIA championship, the Summit Racing Camaro will be at the Scandinavian Internationals, Tierp Arena August 11-14. Next up is the NitrOlympx at Hockenhemring August 26-28 and the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod September 8-11.
Summit Racing Equipment is sponsoring Ålund Pro Stock Camaro this year as well. This is in addition to Viking Industrimålning, Sverigedemokraterna, KB Racing, Camaroskroten, All American AB, Stigs Axle and Parts and Tunghantering. Jimmy Ålund Racing is very grateful for the continuing support from such great companies.
A sad day for drag racing. 29th June:
It is with considerable sadness that Pro Mod and Super Pro ET racer John Tebenham has told us of the demise of one of his iconic race cars:
We announce the end of the Crew Killer Pop - very sad Darryl, I know...BUT only because we have been invited to Hockenheim by Jerry the top man, to show these Europeans how to do a burnout.
The new European Burnout King Ford Pop is being readied. New slicks, oil, plugs, wrap etc, etc, blimey... Please get tickets to come to The NitrOlympX, I promise you, you will love it. Come and cheer me on.
Any UK spectators will get 50% off our t-shirts at the track. £5.00 for the t-shirt and poster.
It’s a strange life, I try so hard to race and win in my beautiful Pro Mod. And all everyone loves is my crazy white Pop - bbbaaahhh.
Custom Gang Racing’s new car revealed. 29th June:
Thanks to Clément Dubois of Custom Gang Racing who has solved the mystery of our latest spy picture posted on 22nd June - a new dragster for cousin Elodie Dubois:
After more than 8 months of traveling, we are happy to reveal our new dragster, following last week’s spy picture.
After selling Elodie’s Super Pro E/T dragster to the Lagg family in Sweden, who is doing great by the way (Super Pro E/T Winner in Tierp in June), we started looking for dragsters for sale. We knew that we were looking for a car over the pond since we have been very happy with importing our cars from the USA. It is now our fourth imported car, with the Pontiac GXP in 2012 from Florida, our first ARC dragster in 2014 from Scott Lemen, Tennessee, and most recently in 2019, our Neil & Parks FED from the Fenton family in California.
After some consideration, our eyes, well, Elodie’s eyes set on another American Race Car dragster, from Joe Gary in South Carolina. It is a 2018 ARC Dragster that he raced in both Top Dragster and Super Pro. We were impressed with the quality of this car by Shelley Elrod, from ARC, who we have been working with for a few years and always does a top and fast job!
But importing the car over has, by far, not been the easiest; with Covid, container and driver shortage it took an extra long time to arrive and it only made it to our race shop in the south of France late at night last Friday, which only left us two days to be ready for the next race at Clastres Dragway. The entire team put all its efforts into getting the 585ci Steve Schmidt engine fitted in the dragster and fired on Sunday morning.
Elodie will be making her first runs this weekend at Clastres Dragway, in France. We will be back racing at Clastres at the end of July and then in Gardermoen, Norway and Tierp, Sweden!
More pictures, videos and results can be seen on our Facebook page @customgangracing.
Swift snippets. 29th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Super Pro ET racer and Feltham Urban Car Club founding member Phil Toppin, Gonzo The Great Topolino driver Alan Lloyd who we hope to see out soon with the rebuilt car and Association Trophée Dragster organiser and racer Eric Angeloni. Have a great day all.
Eurodragster.com plans to report from each of these events, so racers and organisers, please send your updates to news@eurodragster.com.
NitrOlympX sportsman quotas. 28th June:
For racers intending to enter the NitrOlympX, for a number of years the event has been limited to three days which has resulted in sportsman entry and elimination quotas. However the lack of a 'street race' warm up the preceding weekend and the race being held for the first time in three years has made it likely that there will be more sportsman entries than capcity. The following are the quotas and field sizes for eliminations:
Super Twin Top Gas quota 12, elimination 8
Funny Bike quota 12, elimination 8
Super Comp Bike quota 20, elimination 16
ET Bike quota 20, elimination 16
Competition Eliminator quota 12, elimination 8
Super Comp quota 12, elimination 8
Pro ET quota 36, elimination 32
Super Pro ET quota 36, elimination 32
Junior Dragster quota 20, elimination 16
Entry forms for the NitrOlympX can be reached by clicking here (closing date: 8th July).
Sjödin Motorsport triumph at Tierp. 28th June:
Many thanks to Andreas Sjödin of Sjödin Motorsport HB/ÅBM Racing who have written in about a successful Summit Scandinavian Nationals at Tierp 17th-19th June:
We won the EDRS Top Doorslammer round 1 at Tierp Arena! Thanks to all involved, friends, partners, families, fans and the team! And thanks to the crew at Tierp Arena for a crazy good track!
What a weekend we did have at Tierp Arena! It felt really good after 2 years off from racing and a couple of weeks of 20+ hours per day to win it all!
We did have some small issues over the weekend, mostly because we did build a race car at the track when we did run out of time home at the shop! We actually started to install all the wiring for the new MSD Pro 600 coil on plug ignition system on Thursday evening after we got the Chevelle unloaded and tech inspected! Why try do something simple for once? Well it would not be drag racing if we did!.. Hahaha!
We started with the first qualifying pass on Friday after 666 days since I drove the car with a 4.08 and I was looking for a 4.05 so I was happy with that and it felt good to be back in the race car again! That was also the slowest pass for the weekend! We did continue with a 3.98, 4.01, and then in eliminations we went 3.90, 3.89, 3.90 and then a 3.92 in the finals against Wulcano Racing where Mattias left early and red lighted plus that he had some trouble with the car!
I’m satisfied with the weekend but not with the performance on the car even that it was really consistent, first we did have Racepak problems that took 4 rounds to get a working drive shaft graph...And when we did I found out that the converter is too loose and we did not get time to fix it! Well we won! And that feels good!
Thanks to Lena Peres for the winner circle picture!
A huge thanks to all of our partners that makes our dream come true: Åkes Bil & Motor, Birka Motorrenoveringar, Sjödin Motorsport Race Cars, Swecomposite, LSF Custom Lackering, Swelube Amalie Motor Oil, LVV AB, Bengtssons Smide, Loggamera, Clearwrap, SnapOn Pro Tools Peter Hult, ICA Gärdet, W-Linds Bärgning, Kustservice, Supra Trading, T. Grundström Plåtslageri, Jonnie Lindberg Motorsports, Swedol Arninge, CP-Carrillo, Alwerco Svets & Smide, Catch With Care, Edlunds Maskinservice. Without you guys we are nothing!
I made a plan in December that I want to do four outings in the Top Doorslammer series during the 2022 season, and thanks to our partners it now looks like it will be possible for us to make it come true!
Now after 3 days off from racing to celebrate the Swedish Midsummer holiday we are now looking forward to the coming weekend and our first time for us racing in Finland! Next stop is Kauhava Raceway and FHRA Nitro Nationals! Hope to see you there!
You can follow Andreas's team at their website www.abmracing.se, and on social media by searching sjodinmotorsport.
This Saturday at Spitfire Raceway. 28th June:
This Saturday 2nd July, from 11am to 3pm Spitfire Raceway, Perranporth, Cornwall, TR5 0XS, hosts drag racing, drifting and show & shine. Additional attractions include fresh pizza, burgers, competitions and childrens' rides. Admission is £10 per person and the kids go free.
You can now sign up for the venue's Spitfire Park holiday camping area for a relaxing short or long time stay. Visit for more details on holiday camping at spitfirepark.com.
All vehicles welcome for drag racing, drifting and show & shine. You can drag race from £10 after admission, a crash helmet and full driving licence are required. Show & shine is no charge after admission.
Gates are open at 8am, track action 11am to 3pm, online entry for the drag strip is at this link and for drifting at this link. All vehicles have a safety check for drag racing and drifting and a drag strip riders' and drivers' meeting will take place at race control 10.45am.
Please respect the surrounding areas and speed limits when travelling to and from the track.
Marcus Schmidt def. Falco Rumpel
Tobias Riediger def. Enrico Grundmann
Uwe Waldek def. Sebastian Sammet
Justin Hecht def. Dieter Langner
Round 4
Marcus Schmidt def. Tobias Riediger
Uwe Waldek def. Justin Hecht
Round 5
Marcus Schmidt def. Uwe Waldek
Congratulations to winner Marcus Schmidt who won two out of the previous three FWD shootouts. On his way to victory, he ran what was described as the fastest side-by-side FWD pass in Germany against event organiser Rumpel Falcon, 9.479 @ 263kph against Rumpel's 9.686 @ 247kph. Marcus's best time was a new PB 9.350 @ 269. Low ET of the event, out of competition, was, from Poland, Dawid Lamik's 8.706 @ 274 kph in his Corsa R30 DSG Turbo which is a new FWD track record at Zerbst.
Swift snippets. 28th June:
Happy Birthday for today to former Super Twin Fuel racer and Super Pro ET crew Ian Turburville, who reaches 70 today, 8.50 bike racer Craig Wright, Super Pro ET crew Babs Saunders and from Malta, Funny Bike racer Glenn Borg and from Denmark, Top Doorslammer racer Mike Reymond. We hope you all have a fantastic day.
You can see video of Melbourne Raceway at the weekend posted by Rat Ford (aka Dave Anthony) at his Youtube channel by clicking here. A Facebook album by PWPics (Pete & Wendy), including several top end shots from the event, can be seen at this link.
Duck All Prep Pro AWD: Egidijus Gagilas (BMW M5) 7.67/98 def. Audrius Bagdonaviucius (Audi S2) 8.66/71
Duck All Prep Pro RWD: Ian Merryweather (Fiat Topolino) 5.68/138 def. Mark Todd (Pontiac GTO) (broke)
National Street Car Championship: Ian Walley (Ford Cortina) 6.52/109 def. Damian Halliwell (Chevrolet Biscayne) 7.62/101
Sunday
Duck All Prep Pro RWD: Mark Todd 5.57/140 def. Russ Pursley (Dutton Phaeton) 6.53/125
National Street Car Championship: Ian Walley 6.26/122 def. Russ Pursley 6.42/125
6.00 Bikes: David Storrie (BMW S1000RR) 6.20/132 def. Rob Briers (Suzuki Bandit 1500cc) 6.83/112
No Mercy Shootout (Bikes): Carl Mountford (Kawasaki ZX10R) 7.66/115 (7.48) def. Phil Gilson (Kawasaki ZZR1400) 7.18/113 (6.92)
No Mercy Shootout (Scooters): Eric Cope (Lambretta 248cc) 8.77/64 (8.40) def. Jo Taylor 13.70/47 (13.55)
No Mercy Shootout (Junior Bikes): Amy Wolstenholme (Gilera DNA special 70cc) 12.38/49 (12.34) def. Jack Taylor (Spiderman) 12.42/51 (12.33)
Picture by Tog: Ian Merryweather, Mark Flavell and Des Taylor, each with more than 40 years racing at Melbourne Raceway and its predecessor York Dragway.
You can see the detailed results of the Duck All Prep by clicking on these links for Saturday and Sunday, and NSCC eliminations by clicking on these links for Saturday and Sunday. No Mercy Shootout details can be seen at this link.
Thanks to former editor Tog who has posted galleries for Saturday and Sunday which you can see via the event coverage page, which also contains links to pit notes we gathered during the event, marred only by a blowout suffered by Tog's car which precluded us attending on Sunday morning whilst he found a replacement tyre. The racing itself was held in dry but windy conditions
You can also see an album on Facebook from Paul Fishwick Photography by clicking here.
The next event at Melbourne Raceway is the Straightliners Anniversary meeting on 30th-31st July.
Fast Show Reloaded gallery. 27th June:
Many thanks to Kieran for supply a gallery of his photos from the Fast Show Reloaded held at Santa Pod Raceway yesterday. You can see Kieran's photos by clicking here or via the Event Coverage list from the main menu.
Congratulations to Ahmed Jamshaid, winner of the FWD class at Doorslammers, who ran his first eight second run in his Honda Civic at the Fast Show Reloaded. After welding the intercooler after a series of 9.0s and 9.1s at the 10th June test day, he ran a 8.8865/167.98 yesterday.
Summer Nationals traffic alert. 27th June:
Many thanks to Andy Dibley for alerting us to the Formula 1 race at Silverstone next weekend which will have an impact on the traffic on the A43 in Northamptonshire and surrounding roads. Traffic information and some local diversion maps can be downloaded from this link.
Those spectators who find the prospect of sitting in traffic jams or car parks around Silverstone too daunting are advised to head towards Santa Pod and get advance tickets for the Summer Nationals where you will be able to enjoy an uninterrupted view of the action.
Swift snippets. 27th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Top Methanol Dragster crewman and BDRHoF member Glen Read and former 9.50 Bike racer Paul Furlong who celebrates turning his half century today. Have a great day guys.
The main gates to the track will open at 08.00 on Friday, 1st July.
Friday, 1st July:
10.00-18.00 Signing on office opens
09.00-18.00 Scrutineering open for cars at the Scrutineering building
10.00-18.00 Scrutineering open for bikes at the Scrutineering building
Racers planning on testing on 1st July are reminded that entries are limited to 100, and they will need to enter the test day in advance at a fee of £75. Entry can be made by phoning Santa Pod on 01234 782828.
Saturday, 2nd July:
07.00 Scrutineering and signing on open for cars
08.00 Scrutineering open for bikes
09.30 Track open for qualifying
Sunday, 3rd July:
08.00 Scrutineering and signing on open for cars and bikes
09.30 Track open for qualifying/eliminations
The detailed running orders and printable entry list can be seen in our event coverage page.
Midsummer Northern Showdown coverage. 25th June:
Editor Simon and former editor Tog are attending the Midsummer Northern Showdown from Melbourne Raceway. We will post results and galleries at the end of each of Saturday and Sunday and pit notes during the course of the day. To follow our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored coverage from Melbourne Raceway, go to this link or click on Event Coverage in the main menu to see the full coverage list.
Gasser Circus Retro Show report. 25th June:
Many thanks to Gasser Circus racer Sean Milsom who has sent in a report of the class's competition at the Retro Show last weekend:
Round 3 of the 2022 Gasser Circus Championship was contested at Santa Pod last weekend with qualifying on the RWYB day on Saturday and Eliminations on Sunday’s Retro Show event. Or at least that was the plan; as we all now know, the weather had other ideas with the high temperatures on Friday followed by rain all-day on Saturday, meaning that we would have to rely on a one-shot qualifier on Sunday morning.
Attendance was a little down with 9 cars in contention; some of the other drivers were busy with family events this coinciding with Father’s Day, one was in Las Vegas on a stag-do (hope you survive Steve!) and another was isolating having tested positive for Covid (get well soon Nick!). In addition, Jumpin’ Jalapeno was being driven at this event by Joanne Hollamby, wife of owner Jason, to get some track time in preparation for the completion of her own Austin Dorset which will hopefully be ready for Dragstalgia.
Sunday morning was cool but thankfully fine and dry and we would be first out onto the track; given the rain on Saturday, we anticipated less than perfect conditions and this certainly proved to be the case, especially for Lee in Honky Tonkin 2 who took the long way round using up all of his side of the track and crossing lanes after the stripe! Despite that, all the cars posted a time, although only 8 of the 9 would progress through to eliminations as Joanne in Jumpin’ Jalapeno, unfamiliar with the car and conditions had run outside the 13.5 second as required by our rules.
The first round of eliminations saw Tom Margesson take the win in The Tinseltown Hustler over the ’33 Willys of Martyn Hallam. In the second pairing Sean Milsom handed the win to the Straight Shooter Austin Devon pick-up, driven here by Simons son Sam, when Ain’t Misbehavin’ broke out by 0.001 seconds! Billy Jones in Grumpy Grizz progressed through with a win over Brian Gibson in the Identity Crisis Dodge and the final pairing saw Lee Pike in Honky Tonkin 2 take the win over Jason Pickett in his beautiful ’55 Chevy Cherry Bomb.
In the semi-finals, wins from The Tinseltown Hustler over the Straight Shooter Austin pick-up and Honky Tonkin 2 against Grumpy Grizz set the stage for the final. Tom in The Tinseltown Hustler knew he would have to cut a really good light, as he had been doing all day, to stand a chance against Lee. As the lights came down, the cherry on the tree showed just how hard he tried, leaving Honky Tonkin 2 to take the round win! Well done Lee and the HT2 team!
Thank you to all of our sponsors – Melliard’s Modern Striping, Rocket Racing Team, Serck Services, Renegade Fuels – and the track crew at Santa Pod who all worked so hard to bring the track up to scratch on Sunday; a great effort!
We look forward to seeing you at Dragstalgia for round 4 of our championship, when at least 2 new Gassers will be making their debuts in the class!
Himmel och Helvete… som vanligt. 25th June:
Many thanks to expat Stock Super Stock racer Carla Pittau for sending in her report on the EDRS Summit Scandinavian Nationals at Tierp Arena last weekend, showing firstly in Swedish and below a longer version in English.
Vi jobbade och jobbade med bilarna. Bromsarna i min bil ville inte samarbeta. Förra året var det jättesvårt att hålla bilen på startlinjen när de gula lamporna tändes, under den långa (en och halv sekund!) väntan på att den tredje lampan ska berätta för mig att det är dags att köra iväg.
Vi behöver mer bromskraft! Så köpte vi ett nytt bromssystem, med två bromsok i stället för ett per hjul i bakaxeln. $1500 senare (plus frakt, tull och MOMS) fick vi fyra nya glänsande bromsok att installera. Allt gick bra, och sedan luftade vi nya bromsarna, men pedalen kändes som en rutten svamp. Vi luftade igen, men ingen förbättring. Vi kollade slangarna, bromsbeslagen, luftningsskruvarna, men allt såg bra ut. – ’Vad var problemet? Efter mycket fundering, teorin som godkändes av de två trötta mekanikerna (Rick och jag) var att om man får fyra bromsok bak, och två fram, då blir det 24 kolvar som behöver röra sig, och det finns inte nog bromsvätska i bromsslangarna för att kunna få tillräckligt med tryck även med pedalen klämd till golvet! Så mycket arbete och pengar för att få ett sämre resultat! Lösningen blev att ta bort en av de nya bromsoken per sida, då kändes pedalen mycket bättre, och plånboken mycket sämre...
Min bil var färdig en dag innan tävlingen började. Ricks bil behövde nya avgasrör, som en kille i Sala skulle bygga, och bilen hade lämnats i hans verkstad nästan fem veckor tidigare. Jobbet borde klaras av under två veckor, och självklart blev det inte så, men mannen sa att bilen äntligen skulle bli färdig på fredag i stället. Eller inte...
Vi körde dit med släpvagnen för att hämta bilen, men två tekniker jobbade fortfarande med avgasrören. Vi väntade medan de monterade dem, sedan demonterade de rören igen och skar lite här och där, svetsade dem igen och försökte att montera dem på motorn en gång till. Till slut ville vi bara ta bilen hem, för att förgasaren, alla ledningarna och bränslerören satt på arbetsbänken och de borde installeras på motorn på en gång. Vi var inte nöjda med arbetet, eftersom alla rören borde ha varit av samma längd men ett av dem var mycket kortare än alla andra, och ett rör monterades för lågt och kunde slå i marken när bilen landade från ett hjullyft, men tiden var slut.
Hemma, kollade vi jobbet. Inget att göra åt det nu, måste klara allt annat. I sista minuten såg vi att ett däck hade ett djupt skärsår… vi borde ha beställt nya däck, men vi trodde att de gamla kunde fungera lite längre. Vi kollade djupet av skadan och bestämde oss för att riskera en tävling till.
Dags för att hämta teamet från Västerås! Bara två fick ledigt, de andra två stannade kvar i England, men vår nya svenska teammedlem, Sanna från Stockholm, åkte till banan för att hjälpa till. Även Elisabeth från Umeå ville hjälpa, trots att hon hade fått en operation på knän!
Första dagen i Tierp Arena måste man ta bilen till den tekniska inspektionen, och jag försökte starta den röda Camaron så snart som den kom ut ur släpvagnen. Men nej, startmotorn, som hade fungerat bra bara två timmar tidigare, lät som en väska fullt av skruvar och stenar… ja, den hade gått sönder.
Tyvärr, ICA, Lidl och Coop säljer inte small block Chevy startmotorer, så våra chanser var inte så bra i Tierp. Och inte i Sverige heller… förutom Persåkers Speedshop i Åkers Styckebruk! Resen tog två timmar för att åka dit och jag kom fram tio minuter innan butiken stängde, köpte två startmotorer för säkerhets skull så minst en skulle passa, sedan två timmar tillbaka till Arenan, där vi monterade och justerade delen, och äntligen blev det dags att ta det lugnt och dricka en öl, eller ”klockan öl” som vi säger på dragracingjargong! (Beer o’clock)
Kvalificeringstävlingarna var roliga som vanligt, vi älskar att köra på banan, fotograferna älskar våra hjullyft och vi blev intervjuade av Uppsala Nya Tidning och Bilsport Magasin. Min bil fungerade perfekt, och jag körde bra i kvalificeringen, och blev nummer 6. Ricks bil hade några problem och det verkade som motorn blev för varm, men alla delar som vi hade kollat, verkade fungera bra.
Första tävlingen i elimineringen körde vi mot två utmärkta förare: Iiro Mikkola och Teodor Brandt. Båda är unga och snabba och duktiga, men lyckligtvis hjälpte vår erfarenhet till att vinna, min reaktion till den gröna lampan blev 0.01 sekunder och Ricks 0.06, och vi gick vidare till den andra runden av elimineringen. De dåliga nyheterna var att vi då skulle köra mot varandra… Vi har alltid hoppats att förr eller senare skulle det kunna hända i finalen, men tyvärr, den här gången blev det inte så.
När det händer, vill vi bara köra bra, och vi bryr oss inte om vem som vinner, men jag gjorde fel och fick ett rött ljus… tävlingen var slut för mig, så tog jag av mig kördräkten och tog på mig team-skjortan. Rick blev vinnare i tredje rundan också och skulle köra i semifinalen, men vatten började läcka under motorn, och motståndaren fick köra ensam. Vattenpumpen (mindre än ett år gammal) hade gett upp, motorn blev för varm, trycket ökade, de tunna packningarna mellan topplock och insugsgrenrör pallade inte för trycket och vatten blandades med oljan. Inte ett bra slut på så mycket arbete, men det är helvete i teamets namn… De goda nyheterna blev att Rick fick SM-brons, eftersom mannen som vann inte var berättigad till svenska mästerskapet, så tvåan fick guld, den tredje fick silver, och Rick fick brons. Inte riktigt himmeln, men vi köper det!
Morgonen efter tog vi isär Ricks motor och kollade skadorna. Som tur var, fanns det ingen skada i något av topplocken, eftersom de kan vara mycket dyra att reparera, men nu måste vi rengöra allt och kolla motorlagren, därför att det är möjligt att några blev skadade av för hög värme. Mycket jobb kvar för teamet, som vanligt, så vi frågar varandra: ”påminn mig en gång till, gör vi det här för att ha det roligt?”
Vi skulle vilja tacka Dave Buckland, Grace Roaf, Susanna Sundberg, Peter Bohlin, Dan ”Dasse” Evertsson för hjälpen och fotona.
Heaven & Hell...as usual. 25th June:
Many thanks to expat Stock Super Stock racer Carla Pittau for sending in her report on the EDRS Summit Scandinavian Nationals at Tierp Arena last weekend.
We worked and worked to get the cars ready. The brakes in Carla’s car just wouldn’t cooperate. Last year it was really difficult to hold the car on the startline while the amber bulbs lit up, during the long wait for the third to tell her that it was time to launch.
We needed more braking power! So, we bought a new double calliper kit from Aerospace, with two four piston callipers per rear wheel. $1500 later (plus shipping, VAT and duty) we got our new shiny callipers to install. Everything went well, as we were replacing a very similar arrangement, and then we finally bled the system. The pedal felt like a rotten mushroom and sank to the end of its travel without ever becoming firm.
We checked the hoses, the fittings, the bleeding nipples, and all seemed to be ok, but the pedal just would not improve. We tried pressure bleeding, gravity bleeding, traditional bleeding and again bench bleeding of the master cylinder, and finally decided to see what would happen if we replaced it altogether. The bore was already the biggest available, the pedal ratio looked the best we could get, and there was no other choice of style for our application, so we bought one from Strange which was practically identical to our old one. We could have bought a rebuild kit, but thought it would be faster to just get an all-new master cylinder. We installed it. No improvement. We talked to Aerospace, and were told that we needed to link together the front and rear sections of the master cylinder and install a proportioning valve. Didn’t make a lot of sense to us, and we asked how this would result in an improvement, but the laconic answer that came was “just do it, it will work”. So we did, and sure enough, there was no improvement. We then replaced the Strange cylinder with a Lamb one, and found that, sadly, the only difference was the $200 higher price. Everything else was exactly the same.
At this point we started to give more credit to our theory that, very simply, when you get two four pot callipers in the front, and four in the back, you have a total of 24 pistons that need to be pushed towards the pads by the fluid, and it looked like there wasn’t enough fluid volume in the lines to do the job before we ran out of pedal travel. Reluctantly, we removed two of the new callipers and to confirm our theory there was an immediate improvement, but still the pedal wasn’t great. We left the car alone to meditate on its shortcomings, resolving to look at the problem later.
In the meantime, Rick’s car was at a workshop having new headers made. We left it there several weeks earlier, and expected to have already collected it, but the workshop was very busy and we got, as usual, to the deadline, the Friday before the race.
We drove there to collect the car but they were still working on it, so we had to wait while they tried them on and modified them. They were not really how we wanted them, as one of the tubes was much shorter than the others, and the steps not exactly what we had specified, plus one of the pipes was too low and we expected it to hit the ground when the car landed from a wheelie, but we needed the car home, as we had to assemble the rest of it and make sure all worked before the race.
We managed all, even if the collectors were really hard to install, and then it was time to pick up Dave Buckland and Grace Roaf from Västerås airport. Sadly, Christine and Colin, the other two valued members of the Heaven & Hell crew, couldn’t make this meeting, but Sanna Sundberg came from Stockholm to help and we even had a standby in Elisabeth Viklund, who gave us a push or two (and a few beverages!) even as she was recovering from a knee operation. Dave was just in time to help us with the final bleeding of Carla’s brakes, and with his magical touch the system seemed to work better in the end.
Finally at the Arena, the red Camaro was unloaded to drive to tech inspection, but when an attempt to start the engine was made, the starter sounded like it was hitting the flexplate with a hammer. Inexplicably, it literally broke in two pieces on the mounting side. Unfortunately, neither ICA nor Lidl sell Small Block Chevy starters, so our choices in Tierp were limited, or even in Sweden for that matter, if it wasn’t for Persåkers Speed Shop in Åkers Styckebruk, two hours away from the track.
Carla and Grace left straight away and got there 10 minutes before closing time, and bought two starters, just in case, and a further two hours later were back at the track, where one of the starters was mounted and adjusted, and was finally beer o’clock.
Qualifying was as fun as always, or it become so following changes in the rear shock settings and the tyre pressure in Carla’s car after a spin and tyre shake first run. The alterations resulted in good grip and a 10.54 second run, which was good enough for number 6. Rick was not faring as well with his new combination, due to teething troubles as well as an overheating problem that we did not figure out until the third elimination run.
During this time, we had the pleasure of being interviewed by Peter Bohlin for the Uppsala Nya Tidning and Stefan Boman for Bilsport Magazine, with the first appearing in print straight away. It was great for the drivers to have complete confidence in the crew, to know that the two cars would be immediately refuelled, checked over, the tyres would be ready and with the correct pressure and any problem would be tackled by sharp minds and a wealth of experience. Dave spent many years figuring out mechanical breakdowns as an AA man, has worked on our cars for over 15 years and has a methodical and logical approach to problem solving. Grace, even so young at 26, is a true star in many fields. She has a degree in mechanical engineering and after working as a fabricator with a prestigious company, is now a coach building teacher at the Heritage Skills Academy, as well as continuing to crew for a sportsman team and a pro team in the UK, helping with the clutch settings for the latter. During the weekend she had the opportunity of honing her teaching skills further by explaining procedures to Sanna, who is very eager to learn the trade.
The first round of eliminations, on Saturday evening, saw the team facing two very good drivers: Iiro Mikkola from Finland in the SS/HA blue ‘69 Camaro and Teodor Brandt from Söderhamn, in the G/SA white ‘70 Nova. Young, sharp, savvy racers. Carla was feeling so much more confident on the start line, nothing like knowing that the brakes are going to hold when the right foot mashes the loud pedal when the top amber goes on, as trusting the machine is the first step to gaining good focus on the lights. This worked well indeed, except for two mistakes (one of them very costly), as her lights over the weekend were 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.01, the latter against Iiro who pulled a respectable 0.04. The battle should have been at the top end, with 3 hundredths of a second advantage for the red Camaro, but Iiro slowed down and Carla tapped the brakes to run a 10.63 on a 10.59 dial in, getting the win.
Immediately after, Rick launched with a 0.06 against the 0.05 of Teodor, and it was at the top end that the race was decided, with both racers tapping the brakes and getting back on the gas. Rick crossed the line first with a 10.09 on a 9.98, and he also took the win. The team had survived the scary first round and could race on race day. The only fly in the ointment was that unfortunately Rick would face Carla in the second round.
On Sunday the two drivers pulled to the burnout box, wanting nothing but to run a good race and win or lose at the top end. This sounds lovely in theory, but in practice Carla lost her concentration, got on the two step too early and half came off, then didn’t know what was going on and pulled a red light. This robbed Rick of a better victory, as he pulled a 0.01 light and was dead on with a zero, and would have been very difficult to beat even with a good light instead of a red one.
But all was still good for the team, as Rick was through to the third round, in which he was to be paired with Lars Bodén in the D/S silver Cobra Jet. It was then, whilst waiting for Lasse in the pairing lanes, that an ominous water droplet was seen under the engine. We learned later that the almost new Meziere water pump had been working intermittently, due to a bad connection inside the housing, and this had no doubt contributed to the hotter, pressurized water, making its way through the intake gasket into the oil and out of the front of the intake, although for the time being it seems that the head gaskets were spared, as no oil was in the water and we have not yet taken the engine apart to check all the components.
In the meantime, it looked like we could not run, as although we were talking about literally a droplet, this could become much worse during the run and as well as being potentially dangerous for the driver, it wasn’t fair to the track crew or other competitors to have a spill. However, Lasse was having his own problems as his starter motor had given up, and he was a no show at this race. We therefore decided to just break the beam and take the win for points, which amazingly resulted in Rick getting the bronze in the Swedish National Championship, as the ultimate winner of the Swedish Nationals, being a Finnish national, was not eligible to win. So the meeting’s runner up (Erik Phersson in the lovely white Plymouth Sport Fury) won the SM gold, Thomas Strand in the gorgeous ex-Scott Burton’s white ’70 Firebird won silver, and Rick had the bronze. Another one for the trophy room, so not a complete catastrophe!
We would like to thank Dave Buckland and Grace Roaf for their invaluable help and support, wish you guys could always be with us, Susanna Sundberg for her help and enthusiasm and willingness to learn, and for her unbreakable sunny disposition! Thank you also to all racers in the Stock/Super Stock class, you are a fantastic bunch and we feel privileged in racing with you, to the Swedish Stock/Super Stock Association and its sponsors MECA Bilservice, Slangservice i Uppsala, Rogers Däck and Uppsala Alloffice who generously provided goods for Number 1, 2 and 3 qualifier as well as the class lottery and the Bounty Hunter prize.
See you all in Sundsvall!
Photo credits: Dan Dasse Evertsson, Peter Bohlin, Susanna Sundberg, Grace Roaf.
Custom Car Star. 25th June:
In the latest issue of Custom Car magazine, Brian Savidge, known to his friends and the late Dennis Priddle as 'Star' is given treatment that befits his nickname. There are six pages on his immaculate Ford '32 roadster which he regularly drives from the West Country to Santa Pod Raceway where he runs 10s times. And there are additionally four pages on Brian's life in British drag racing where he was a crew member to Dennis, and currently works on Paul Harris's nostalgia funny car team.
Action pictures of Brian's '32 are provided by our own Julian Hunt, who also contributed all the photos to the race report on the STP Springspeed Nationals from Santa Pod Raceway written by editor Dave Biggadyke.
Other items well worth a look are Keith Lee's article on how the Fiat Topolino body has been used in a variety of British drag racing machines, and reports on the Pendine Sands Beach Races and the National Hot Rod, Custom and American Car Show from Peterborough.
You can get Custom Car from all good newsagents or by going to this link for single issues, or to subscribe, click here.
Swift snippets. 25th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Swedish Pro Stock crewman Kent Eriksson, best known for giving directions to Michael Malmgren, and Finnish photojournalist Pasi Uponen. Have a great day both!
With plenty of track time, some quick times were recorded. Here are the top ten according to our analysis of the timing data recorded on ETSlips.co.uk:
Paula Atkin (Pro Modified Mustang): 6.6789/168.57
Eric Richard (Funny Bike): 6.9600/192.94
Rocky Bhatell (Nissan GTR): 7.8127/181.38
Dave Swift (Comp Eliminator AMX, pictured): 8.2959/163.09
Richard Tunstall (Super Comp Brogie roadster): 8.8612/149.15
John Dalrymple (Pro ET Willys '33): 8.9200/154.16
Darren Scannell (Taz Racing Ford Escort Mk 1): 9.4104/146.7
Paul Margetts (Taz Racing Ford Escort Mk 1): 9.7711/140.36
Scott Collin (Modfied 100e): 9.8921/133.33
Wayne Durose (Subaru Impreza): 9.9111/149.65
Atkin Racing posted "We had a great day today testing at Santa Pod Raceway. Made good progress thanks to FuelTech USA Brad Personett for his tuning and ICE Racing Engines, Rob and Steve for all their help . Also thanks to Santa Pod Crew as always."
Rocky Bhatell announced there will be a video posted to the The Rocky and Buzz Show Youtube channel which will describe the quest of the team to run the first seven by a roadgoing Nissan GTR and why the car is now being retired from the quarter mile: "This isn’t some gutted out drag car! Air con, audio build, half cage, overweight driver and even a full boost logic exhaust."
Wayne Durose who ran his 'Panic' Subaru Impreza to his first nine, posted: "Lots more to come, thanks to Mgt Motorsport Ltd you truly are the gods of tuning! And Yam Yam Racing Drag Club for the chance to get this set up, brill day."
Serres Race this weekend. 24th June:
On June 24th-26th, the Serres track and the Serres Drag Race club will host the 3rd race of the 2022 Panhellenic Drag Racing championship. The race will be held by LENOE under the auspices of OMAE and AMOTOE. You can see streaming video of the event at the Sportal Youtube Channel.
The ADC Dragster ASI Cup 2022 ratings after 2 matches at this link and you can see pictures of the previous race at Agrinio by clicking here and results by clicking here.
More than one hundred drivers who will race, and the races will feature all car and motorcycle categories that will race at 400 meters, except Super Pro, Super Street, Real Street and Pro Street 2 motorcycles, and Index 7-8 and OPEN cars racing at 200 measures.
LENOE (Dragster Drivers Club of Greece) invites all friends of motorsport to come to the Serres Motor Station and enjoy the exciting spectacle for a ten euro ticket which will be valid for both Saturday and Sunday.
Swift snippets. 24th June:
Glad midsommer! to all our Swedish readers who will be celebrating their Midsummerfest today.
Big Bracket announced for Greenlight Nationals. 23rd June:
Thanks to Santa Pod Raceway Events Co-ordinator Dan Melrose who has announced a Big Bracket competition to take place at the STP Greenlight Nationals on 20th-21st Augut at Santa Pod Raceway.
Santa Pod Raceway is pleased to announce the addition of the Big Bracket for the Greenlight Nationals. Originally planned in 2020 before a Covid-induced cancellation of the class, the Big Bracket is now scheduled to take place on August 20th and 21st alongside the existing scheduled championship classes at the Greenlight Nationals.
The class is open to all cars running between 6.00 and 11.99 that meet existing MSUK and SPRC rules and will be run to the normal Dial-Your-Own format. Prize money is on offer for the winner and runner-up, each winning £750 and £250 respectively. Entries are available now via the SPRC website, with normal entry fees closing on 29th July.
Tierp Arena racing guaranteed for five years. 23rd June:
We thank photojournalist Remco Schneelings for posting a report on last weekend's Summit Scandinavian Nationals at Tierp Arena, which you can read in Dutch by clicking here on the Autosport.nl website (use a Chrome browser to see translation to your language of choice).
In his report Remco mentions that a deal has been made to guarantee racing at Tierp Arena for the next five years. This should bring to an end the uncertainty that has plagued racing at this first class venue ever since 2020 when it became clear that the owners were putting the site up for sale.
It was announced during the event that that the Scandinavian Internationals scheduled for August 11-14 will be a round of the FIA and FIM European Championship, bringing the 2022 competition up to four rounds.
Remco stated that delays in the imminent sale of Tierp Arena had made preparation for the June Tierp event as a FIA/FIM-E race impossible, after which it was decided to remove the race from the calendar as an FIA/FIM-E event and to give it the new title, eventually settled on as the EDRS Summit Scandinavian Nationals. "It was a top event that offered everything that makes drag racing beautiful", he commented.
As well as Remco's report for Autosport.nl he and Lena Perés have published reports on the event at the www.dragracingeurope.eu site administered by Speedgroup.
Photo of Super Twins Torsti Kettula (near lane) and Marko Lantto (far lane) courtesy Patrik Jacobsson.
Super Twin Top Gas report from Tierp Arena. 23rd June:
Many thanks to Super Twin Top Gas Europe President Mike Kraaij for sending us a pdf copy of his report from the Summit Scandinavian Nationals at Tierp Arena last weekend. You can download a copy of the report by clicking on the image or by clicking here (pdf format).
In the report Mike describes that, despite depleted numbers due to the cost of travel and a couple of machines being unable to run at the track, the five remaining bikes put on a fine show, with Jorg Lymant's ex Pro Stock Buell (which Mike points out is legal for STTG competition) running a new class ET record of 7.371 at 287kph. He also noted the track improving over the weekend thanks to the efforts of the track crew and despite not being used for quarter mile competition since August 2021.
You can read more about Super Twin Top Gas at their Facebook page and website. The next race for the category is at Clastres, France on 23rd-24th July.
Swift snippets. 23rd June:
Kieran has posted some great footage from the Retro Show to his Mk1Kieran Youtube account at this link. He commented "The Retro Show at Santa Pod Raceway was back in full form for 2022, open to all vehicles pre-2000 there was a great mix of stuff hitting the drag strip including the drag classes Gasser Circus, Supercharged Outlaws & Modified 100E."
Terry Robbins has posted a number of videos from the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals to his Pod Wheels Youtube channel. Included are Supercharged Outlaws, Outlaw Anglia and Gasser Circus. The videos are shot from the bank and capture the run from that perspective with great definition.
The NitrolympX is back! 22nd June:
Drag racing from the 26th-28th August 2022 - the Nitrolympx are back at the Hockenheimring motodrome.
After two years of forced break due to corona, the world's fastest motorsport returns to the Hockenheimring. The 35th edition of the NitrOlympX will be held at the Rico Anthes quarter mile at the motodrome. After a long wait, fans can once again look forward to 100% high speed, action and power, as well as acceleration duels at the highest level.
For the participants of the FIM and FIA European Drag Racing Championship, Hockenheim is about valuable points for the overall victory. The first round of the European Drag Racing Championship, which took place at the end of May in Santa Pod / England, could already give a good impression of the performance after the motorsport lockdown. A new record by top fuel newcomer Ida Zetterström and several other European bests made it clear that the teams mastered the full braking time with flying colors.
NitrOlypmX's wide range of drag racing includes both auto and motorcycle classes. The cars will feature the Big Boys, Top Fuel Dragster, as well as Top Methanol, Pro Modified and Pro Stock classes, all competing as part of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship. The professionals reach top speeds of over 500 km/h. Added to the starting field are some amateur classes, which are no less exciting and high-class staff.
Top Fuel, Super Twin, Pro Stock, Super Street and Junior Drag Bikes compete at the FIM Drag Racing European Championship. Also here, there are various sportsman classes, who fight hard for every hundredth of a second lead. With top speeds just under the 400km/h mark, the Rico Anthes Quartermile is a dream destination for bike riders.
Not only do the numerous different race classes, vehicles and race types invite fans to be amazed, but the open pit area also offers a unique opportunity to look up close at the teams and drivers as they screw over the shoulder.
If you still haven't had enough adrenaline pumping through your veins, you shouldn't miss another highlight of the weekend: the legendary Saturday night show. As soon as the dawn sets over the motodrome and the headlights dip the drag strip in colorful light, it's showtime. This is a stunning mix of great entertainment with lots of action and high speed. Wild stunts, meter-high flames and fireworks guaranteed.
Friday spectator tickets are available from 25 Euro and a weekend ticket for three days of action costs from 69 Euro. All tickets include admission to the driver's camp and are available via the ticket hotline of the Hockenheimring +49 (0)6205 950 222 or in the online ticketshop. For more information about the event, visit: www.nitrolympx.de, racers head to this link.
Spy picture. 22nd June:
We received this spy pictures without a caption.
If you know more, or have a spy picture of your own to send, please contact us at editor@eurodragster.com.
Blasts from the past in HD. 22nd June:
Many thanks to photojournalist Andy Willsheer for drawing our attention an offer of historic US video footage for a pittance for streaming rights. Don Prieto, Drag Racing Media Critic and Member of the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame writes:
The content of Main Event Video-produced programs is one of the greatest presentations of drag racing in the entire world. Filmmaker Dean Papadeas alone captured the essence of te thundering, smoking activity that only drag racing can produce with his hand-held inventive 'swoopy' camera. Running alongside and around fuel cars on the starting line produced stunning visuals up close and personal in areas where no man is allowed.
Reissued after 30 years, the newly re-mastered conversions of all 31 programs to High-Definition has brought to life the raw talents of Papadeas. Innovations he created in filming the action at the dragstrip as never seen before dramatized the sport in entertaining productions. Crisp visuals with cackling sounds in stereo are one of many marks of a signature style that set the standard for today’s method of shooting events.
As an example you can see the 36 minute documentary 'Big Daddy' Returns at this link.
Categories on offer are: Top Fuel (7 videos), Funny Cars (5 videos), Pro Modifieds (3 videos), Pro Imports (3 videos), Track Freaks and Jet Cars (4 videos), Nostalgia Drags (2 videos), The Hot Rods (2 videos), Crash Experience (3 videos), and Top Fuel Hydros (2 videos)
If you want to see other productions, head to MainEventVideos.com and click on the photo to go to the respective page from which you can buy streaming rights to for $3.99 (that's about £3.25).
Swift snippets. 22nd June:
Happy Birthday for today to Wild Bunch racer Matt Hollins, sprinter and nostalgia drag bike rider Justin Newall who turns 50 and former Pro ET racer Tony Harter. Have a great day guys.
John Hale to drive for Elsom. 21st June:
NHRA Funny Car and Nostalgia FC racer John Hale will be driving Rob Elsom's Dirty Deeds Camaro in the Dragstalgia Cannonball on 8th-10th July, Rob announced yesterday.
Known best for his 1969 Camaro, ‘One Bad Texan’, John has taken Nostalgia Funny Car event wins, multiple nostalgia track records and raced with Jim Dunn Racing full time for two years. He started in the cars with a '69 Camaro nostalgia car he drove from 2009, getting quicker over each year and running a 5.589/255.97 at the 2011 Californian Hot Rod Reunion which he won, repeating in 2013, and taking other track records and wins.
John licensed as a NHRA Nitro Funny Car racer in 2013 and then got a full time drive for the legendary Jim Dunn in 2015 and 2016. He continued racing the nostalgia car in until 2018 when he sold it to Dave Lewis. He still keeps his hand in with occasional drives in Paul Gordon’s Red Baron Avenger in the Funny Car Chaos series and co-incidentally also enjoys flying as relaxation from his day job running his company Best of Texas Barbecue Sauce.
John and car owner Rob Elsom have been friends for 10 years as Rob built his car and ran it first with the Firebird body and now with a lighter and more aerodynamic Camaro skin. "I've been over to spend Christmas with John and his wife Karen and have talked about him coming over to the UK for some time. At the end of April I made the call to make a firm plan, and it went from there. It's nice to be able to give something back to John for all the advice that, as a car owner and driver, he has given me.
Will John get involved in the operation of the Dirty Deeds Camaro? "No", says Rob without hesitation. "He is here purely for a holiday with Karen and to drive in the Nostalgia Cannonball contest at Dragstalgia. I will be taking a break from work to host them and show them round."
Rob's regular crew of Krister Kirk, Mark Dear, Jack Jeyes, John Haynes and Phil Ratcliffe will be joined by new regular driver Aaron Fensome for the effort on the Cannonball trophy, and those who saw the car at the Nostalgia Nationals will agree that it is fully race-ready.
Rob thanks sponsors Mick from M.J.Graham construction, Dave and Chris from D&C Fabrication, Alasdair from McEwans Industrial Boilers and
Stuart from J.S.Taylor engineering.
Melbourne Raceway Midsummer Northern Showdown. 21st June:
This weekend 25th-26th June, racing takes place at Melbourne Raceway for the Straightliners, National Sprint Association and Melbourne Raceway championships in cars and bikes in competition, Duck All Prep racing for cash prizes and run what ya brung.
To register for competition, you will need to go to straightliners.events, where you will need to complete a Melbourne Entry Form. All competitors, cars and bikes, should complete this form. You can also buy racer entry or spectator tickets by clicking on the relevant link on the Events Page.
Spectators will be welcome for £15 per day on the gate, camping for £35 per person. Track action will take place from 10am to 5pm.
Entry fees are £80 per day (£130 for the weekend) for one competition excluding Duck All Prep, £15 per day (£30 for the weekend) for an additional vehicle/class, and £150 per day (£215 for the weekend) for Duck All Prep (including run what you brung and driver entry). Crew entry costs an additional £12.50 per day (£25 for the weekend). If you don't have a competition licence, one is required (unless you are doing RWYB) which costs £15 for the event.
Spectator tickets are 1 day £15, weekend £25 and weekend camping £35. Under 16s get in free and don't need a ticket if accompanied by an adult. Dogs are also allowed if kept on a lead. Gates are open at 8am, parking, grandstands and pit access is free. RWYB tickets are available at Race Control on the day as well, you can sign on any time after 10.30am. You can get on site from 5pm Friday afternoon. Please also note the 11pm curfew for generators and loud music.
The Duck All Prep competition, held on both 25th and 26th June, is heads up, no prep, first to the finish line wins, with cash up for grabs and top three trophies for each category. All pairings are pulled out of the hat for eliminations until the finals in each category. The categories are:
Pro AWD: Modified, competition tyres, interior removed. Street AWD: Factory appearance, full interior. Pro Rear Wheel Drive: Modified, competition tyres, interior removed. Pro Small Tyre Rear Wheel Drive: Modified, competition tyres maximum height 30 inches maximum tread width 11 inches, interior removed. Street Rear Wheel Drive: Factory appearance, full interior. Pro Front Wheel Drive: Modified, competition tyres, interior removed. Street Front Wheel Drive: Factory appearance, full interior. Super Pro Comp: Pure competition vehicles, altereds, rear engine dragsters, front engine dragsters and funny cars where the driver is seated in a central postion in the vehicle.
In the event that numbers in each category are not filled there will be a reduced prize fund for example with a 4 car category £150, and 8 car category £200. In event of the category exceeding 16 cars the prize will go up from £400. We are looking for sponsor to increase the prize funds so be aware things are subject to change.
Eurodragster.com editor Simon and former editor Andy "Tog" Rogers will be attending the race to provide pit notes and galleries on both days and we will publish results courtesy of Straightliners timekeeper Martyn Greathead.
Swift snippets. 21st June:
Happy Birthday for today to Super Pro ET racer 'Mr 105e' Ron Bartlett and VW Pro racer Paul Bargate, have a great day guys!
Top Methanol Dragster: Daniel Jedborn 5.607/386.3 def. Magnus Larsson 14.104/101.4
Pro Modified: Jan Ericsson 5.806/399.4 def. Stian Rusånes (pictured right) 6.973/214.0
Pro Stock: Jimmy Ålund 6.615/335.0 def. Richard Sundblom 23.548/49.8 red
Top Doorslammer: Andreas Sjödin 3.923/306.0 def. Mattias Wulcan 3.958/335.0 red
Competition Eliminator: Stefan Winter 7.826/281.8 def. Jens Zimmerman 7.368/290.0
Pro Street (7.60 index): Birgitta Linström 7.654/295.4 def. Christer Åberg 7.586/293.0 breakout
Street (8.60 index): Patrick Wickman 8.613/236.3 def. Dennis Andersson 8.649/241.5
Super Comp (8.90 index): Michael Nilsson 8.877/268.5 def. Mats Arntzen Wanvik 8.833/222.4
Super Gas (9.90 index): Håkan Mattsson 9.900/246.6 def. Christer Uhlin 9.964/205.1
Super Street (10.90 index): Åke Törnqvist 10.976/183.9 def. Tomas Hägg 10.886/205.4
Super Pro Et: Isak Lagg 8.322/247.6 def. Tommy Abrahamsson 7.617/271.9 red
Pro ET: John Thidé 10.959/181.8 def. Mikael Kallin 10.675/199.9
Stock Super Stock: Bo Nyland 11.110/192.0 def. Erik Phersson 11.406/184.1 break out
Junior Dragster: Almathea Granholm 8.214/127.0 def. Kevin Granholm 8.410/123.6 red
Top Fuel Bike: Jan Sturla Hegre 6.111/363.9 def. Mikko Rajaniemi 6.696/331.3
Super Twin Top Fuel Bike: Samu Kemppainen 8.967/312.1 def. Ismo Mäenpää 9.025/270.0
Super Street Bike: Anders Blanck 8.092/210.3 def. Jani Blom 17.052/91.5
Super Twin Top Gas Bike: Joerg Lymant 7.555/276.4, unopposed
Super Comp Bike (8.50 index): Samuel Rundström 8.535/250.8 def. Peter Östlund 8.682/235.6
Super Gas Bike (9.50 index): Teodor Norling def. Tobias Wiklund
Pro Twin Bike: Stefan Gärdskog 8.86/242.0 def. Emmi Nordman, no-show
Junior Drag Bike: Jone Holm 8.4320/150.88
You can see the results to pro category eliminations in yesterday's update and complete results at this link.
With thanks to photographer Patrik Jacobsson we have posted galleries of pictures from Friday, Saturday and Sunday which you can see by clicking on this link, from which you can also see the final qualifying lists. We have also posted a link in our Event Coverage list.
Speedgroup have confirmed that the 11th-14th Scandinavian Internationals will be taking place at Tierp Arena and we plan to have our usual live reporting from that event, which will have FIA/FIM-E status as well as EDRS competition in the sportsman classes.
Retro Show results, gallery. 20th June:
Congratulations to the winners of yesterday's Retro Show held at Santa Pod Raceway:
Gasser Circus: Lee Pike 9.1375/149.07 (9.50) def. Tom Margesson 10.7260/120.77 (10.68) red Old School Stockers: Claire Rule 8.4683/154.16 def. Kevin Melling 8.8603/146.71 red
In Gasser Circus, eight cars made the one-shot qualifying session, with Tom Margesson qualifying first in his Tinseltown Hustler Pop, 10.7029/128.33 (10.65 dial-in). Lee Pike (Honky Tonkin' II Chevy Nova), who qualified 8th, defeated Jason Pickett (Cherry Bomb '55 Chevy) in round one and Billy Jones (Grumpy Grizz '41 Willys Coupe) in the semi final. In the final Tom left the line just 0.006 too early allowing Lee to keep his foot down to record his best time of the day.
Three of the Old School Stockers entered suffered mechanical woes so four bikes made qualifying passes. Claire Rule (Suzuki GSX 1100 1428cc) was #1 with a new PB 8.4682/152.62 followed by Kevin Melling (Kawasaki H2 750cc) on 8.6216/148.57, then Martin Blight (Suzuki GSX 1000) on 9.4063/145.21. Chris Spry ran a 10.8331/120.58 to go fourth. Rod Spry suffered a blown engine in his burnout with pieces of metal being deposited on the track and a window in the crankcase. In eliminations, Claire ran another new PB of 8.447/148.09 to defeat Chris and then her fourth 8.4s of the day against the red lighting Kevin.
Four of the Supercharged Outlaws put on a great show, with four runs apiece from Gary Parkes (23T altered Purple Daze) who ran a best of 7.4451/177.13, Mike Couch (slingshot Lil' Hemi Hustler) with 8.9871 and 150.56 and Keith Freeman (32 Coupe El Loco) with 9.4596/146.25. New class member Jim Tucker ( Ford 33 Coupe Hellfire Hemi) ran his first eight, 8.8356/142.94 and well done to him.
The Modified 100e's made three sessions, with a late run by Garth Wong being the quickest of the group at 9.1151/148.64 (he had previously run a 150.12 speed). Mark Haswell ran a best of 9.4133/144.31, Scott Collin ran a new PB of 9.8274/133.71, Stuart Flitton went 10.5586/129.78 and Julian Davison 12.0940/106.17.
There were a wide variety of vehicles on show and making passes down the quarter mile (pictured: Taz Racing's Paul Margetts). Kieran was taking photos and we have a gallery of 100 pictures of the event which you can see by clicking here.
Santa Pod Raceway also posted images from Retro Show in a Flickr album.
Our next gallery is from today's Yam Yam Racing private test day which Kieran is attending.
Swift snippets. 20th June:
Happy Birthday for today to UK Tech inspector and former altered racer Geoff Martin, Pro ET racer Marc Huxley, 8.50 Bike racer Lewis Burgess, from Germany Super Pro ET racer Norbert Schneider and from over the Pond British Drag Racing Hall of Fame ambassador Sharon Muravez. Have a wonderful day everybody.
With thanks to photographer Patrik Jacobsson we have posted a gallery of 129 pictures from Friday and 136 from Saturday which you can see by clicking on this link (Friday) and this link (Saturday). Sunday's gallery will be posted later this evening.
Pro ModifiedEliminations round 1:
Andreas Arthursson 5.713/417.00 def. Olof Andersson 6.338/377.9
Åke Persson 8.673/147.60 def. Micke Johansson No-show
Jesper Stenberg 6.770/313.60 def. Mats Eriksson 9.161/153.50
Stian Rusånes 6.204/363.40 def. Michael Gullqvist 6.230/385.70
Jan Ericsson 11.560/115.10 def. Marcus Perman No-show
Marck Harteveld 10.846/103.00 def. Roger Johansson No-show
David Vegter 12.512/91.40 def. Jan Brännvall 36.424, red
Jere Rantaniemi 6.028/396.80 def. Fredrik Fagerström 6.027/376.80
Incredible new PB for Andreas Arthursson and a new track and EDRS record. Some real upsets in the first round with the #4 and #5 Mats and Micke G. defeated and a no-shows from #8 Micke J and Roger Johansson. Holeshot win for Jere Rantaniemi against Fast Freddie.
Eliminations round 2:
Åke Persson 6.208/381.9 def. Andreas Arthursson No-show
Stian Rusånes 6.171/362.7 def. Jesper Stenberg 6.851/323.0
Jan Ericsson 5.833/396.8 def. Marck Harteveld 5.928/376.6
David Vegter 5.847/384.9 def. Jere Rantaniemi 6.031/390.2
Eliminations round 3:
Stian Rusånes 6.227/353.2 def. Åke Persson 11.045/113.5
Jan Ericsson 5.843/395.0 def. David Vegter 8.094/178.2
Final
Jan Ericsson 5.806/399.4 def. Stian Rusånes 6.973/214.0
Jan Ericsson ran another incredible race with four back to back 5.8s to win the event. Andreas Arthursson suffered a crack in the intake port filler material allowing oil to leak over to the #2 piston. The resourceful PPF team tried to fix it with J-B Weld but could not make it in time for round 2. Stian Rusånes' 6.171/362.7 in round 2 was a new PB and he ran consistently if not the quickest to make the final.
Pro Stock
Eliminations round 1:
Jimmy Ålund 6.607/335.2 def. Lasse Britsmar 7.040/315.6
Robin Noré 6.627/333.1 def. Michael Malmgren 7.766/250.7
Tommy Leindahl 7.018/319.7 def. Stefan Ernryd 7.825/319.3 red
Richard Sundblom 6.628/334.6 def. Christian Sagelv 7.377/212.5
Eliminations round 2:
Jimmy Ålund 6.606/334.6 def. Robin Noré 9.818/134.9
Richard Sundblom 6.617/332.5 def. Tommy Leindahl 7.374/306.6 red
Final
Jimmy Ålund 6.615/335.0 def. Richard Sundblom 23.548/49.8 red
Incredible consistency from Jimmy Ålund.
Top Methanol
Eliminations round 1:
Jonny Lagg 5.578/421.2, bye
Magnus Larsson 5.783/396.5 def. Silvio Strauch, No-show
Daniel Jedborn 5.495/413.2 def. Tony Bryntesson 6.594/325.5
Eliminations round 2:
Magnus Larsson 8.398/198.8 def. Jonny Lagg 5.954/390.2 red
Daniel Jedborn 18.138/46.2 bye
Final:
Daniel Jedborn 5.607/386.3 def. Magnus Larsson 14.104/101.4
Tony Bryntesson suffered fuel leaks, having to weld fuel pipes to stop the problem, and tyre shake in his other runs, team mate Daniel Jedborn took the event win after other A-Fuel Team Sweden member and #1 qualifier Jonny Lagg red lit in the semi final.
Top Doorslammer
Eliminations round 1:
Mattias Wulcan 3.702/331.7 def. Anders Vantahalo No-show
Michael Nord 4.210/242.7 def. Hannu Flink 4.033/294.9
Kenneth Lingvald 4.613/278.8 def. Jonas Boberg No-show
Anders Edh 4.696/185.6 def. Stefan Jansson No-show
Lasse Niskavaara 4.301/286.3 def. Mike Reymond 6.557/115.4
Andreas Sjödin 3.909/311.6 def. Mikael Lindahl 4.204/238.4
Lenn Lindell 4.292/284.2 def. Stefan Carlsson 4.928/179.3 red
Eliminations round 2:
Mattias Wulcan 3.671/333.3 bye
Michael Nord 4.445/276.4 def. Kenneth Lingvald 4.536/277.4
Anders Edh 4.033/314.1 def. Lasse Niskavaara 4.268/285.3
Andreas Sjödin 3.897/310.3 def. Lenn Lindell, no-show
Eliminations round 3:
Mattias Wulcan 3.681/332.7 def. Michael Nord, no-show
Andreas Sjödin 3.909/306.0 def. Anders Edh 4.068/306.1 red
Final
Andreas Sjödin 3.923/306.0 def. Mattias Wulcan 3.958/335.0 red
#4 qualifier Hannu Flink went out on a holeshot against Michael Nord. #5 Jonas Boberg a no-show and #6 Stefan Carlsson a red light against Lenn Lindell.
Andreas Sjödin had suffered a leak from his Bruno converter which also suffered a broken fixing, the team managed to make repairs overnight and then changed the tune for the second round after Lenn Lindell suffered engine damage.
Top Fuel Bike
Eliminations round 1:
Jan Sturla Hegre 6.051/356.9 def. Aku Lantto, no-show
Mikko Rajaniemi 10.244/230.6 def. Sverre Dahl, no-show
Thomas Pettersson 7.686/192.3 def. Jaska Salakari 11.887/163.5
Eliminations round 2:
Jan Sturla Hegre 6.364 bye
Mikko Rajaniemi 6.755/338.6 def. Thomas Pettersson 21.409/37.2
Final
Jan Sturla Hegre 6.111/363.9 def. Mikko Rajaniemi 6.696/331.3
Quick, consistent performances by Jan Sturla Hegre.
Super Twin Bike
Eliminations round 1:
Samu Kemppainen 6.539/343.5 def. Greger Johansson 7.256/236.5
Julia Wagner 7.738/292.2 def. Frank Aaslund 9.524/194.0
Ismo Mäenpää 36.097/24.8 def. Juha Hintukainen, no-show
Marko Lantto 8.957/203.2 def. Torsti Kettula 9.174/181.6
Eliminations round 2:
Samu Kemppainen 6.544/339.4 def. Julia Wagner 7.972/274.0
Ismo Mäenpää 6.649/342.9 def. Marko Lantto 11.495/164.0
Final
Samu Kemppainen 8.967/312.1 def. Ismo Mäenpää 9.025/270.0
Ismo had to replace his engine which exploded on his second pass on his new build bike, then ran a 6.6 in the semi final.
Super Street Bike
Eliminations round 1:
Jani Blom 15.748/144.9 def. Mathias Bohlin, no-show
Anders Blanck 7.361/291.4 def. Jens Karlsson 8.098/277.5
Final
Anders Blanck 8.092/210.3 def. Jani Blom 17.052/91.5
In round 1 of Competition Eliminator, #1 qualifier Roger Forsström came to a halt on track as Jens Zimmermann from Germany went through with a 7.160/308.4 improving on his qualifying time. #2 Jens Eklund was a no-show and #3 Gideon Liljegren red lit against Krister Adeen who then lifted.
In round 1 of Stock Super Stock, expat Santa Pod racer Carla Pittau defeated her opponent Iso Mikkola, however the way the ladder works she raced partner Rick McCann in round 2 and Rick came out the winner. We look forward to receiving Carla's account of the race.
See yesterday's latest update for final qualifying times and notes on some of the quicker classes. We will post further highlights of today's eliminations following their conclusion.
Speedgroup have confirmed that the 11th-14th Scandinavian Internationals will be taking place at Tierp Arena and we plan to have our usual live reporting from that event, which will have FIA/FIM-E status as well as EDRS competition in the sportsman classes.
We will post sportsman results in tomorrow's update.
Swift snippets. 19th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Top Fuel racer and British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Barry Sheavills, former Super Twin Top Fuel racer and Street Harley race organiser Gert-jan Laseur, Super Pro ET crew chief and class admin Richard Walters, Super Gas racer Rick Johnson and Morrice Boys crew Sandy Morrice. Have a fantastic day all.
The final qualifying and elimination results are at www.dragracing.eu or you may download results after the first session of Saturday qualifying from this link after the second session at this link (pdf format).
With thanks to photographer Patrik Jacobsson we have posted a gallery of 129 pictures from Friday and 136 from Saturday which you can see by clicking on this link (Friday) and this link (Saturday).
Final #1 qualifiers are:
Top Methanol Dragster: Jonny Lagg 5.4585/433.04
Pro Modified: Andreas Arthursson 5.7806/414.75
Pro Stock: Jimmy Ålund (pictured right) 6.6352/335.40
Top Doorslammer: Mattias Wulcan 3,7282/329,87
Competition Eliminator: Roger Forsström 6.6976/327.89 (7.59)
Pro Street (7.60 index): Christer Åberg 7.6114/292.05
Street (8.60 index): Dennis Andersson 8.6004/241.83
Super Comp (8.90 index): Mats Arntzen Wanvik 8.9322/216.69
Super Gas (9.90 index): Håkan Mattsson 9.9338/225.28
Super Street (10.90 index): Kent Forschner-hell 10.9732/194.10
Super Pro Et: Isak Lagg 8.3007/249.54 (8.30)
Pro ET: Mikael Kallin 10.5566/204.39 (10.55)
Junior Dragster: Joakim Eriksson 0.0120 RT
Top Fuel Bike: Jan Sturla Hegre 6.1354/304.23
Super Twin Top Fuel Bike: Samu Kemppainen (pictured right) 6.5020/346.60
Pro Stock Bike: Frederik Kirkhoff Schack 7.3018/293.32
Super Street Bike: Mathias Bohlin 6.9084/338.35
Super Twin Top Gas Bike: Joerg Lymant 7.3716/276.07
Super Comp Bike (8.50 index): Per Olsen 8,5062/257,88
Super Gas Bike (9.50 index): Jesper Jerresten 9.5221/234.17
Pro Twin Bike: Stefan Gärdskog 8.8486/244.34
Junior Drag Bike: Jone Holm 8.4320/150.88
In this morning's pro session, Pro Modified racer Andreas Arthursson didn't improve (he stated the team had set the car up to run a low 5.7), but still ran a great and consistent 5.781. Andreas posted "Weather and track did eat our changes up also a small short shift to third gear.
Happy to have made 2 solid hits in both lanes and car works awesome in 4-link and shocks now!"
However the Pro Modified order changed a little in the mid-pack. Jan Ericsson in #2 improved to 5.8884/393.30, David Vegter hooked up to go 5.9152/389,05 to go from 12th to #3. Roger Johansson ran a 6.1271/354.33 but went down a place to #7. In his first run of the event, Micke Johansson ran 6.1874/366.60 in his new Paige Racecars built Dodge Daytona, a very creditable first run and new PB (thanks to Robin Jackson for PB info). Fredrik Fagerström improved to 6.3484/352.71 but also found himself one place lower in #9, Michael Gullqvist went 6.9502/288.46 to go up a place to #10.
Patrick Wikström (back after a long break since 2013 but with the same Thriller Camaro) announced he was unable to make the event but will be racing later in the summer. Michel Tooren appears to have decided to concentrate on the UK Championship. This makes a 16 car field with no alternates.
In the final session, Jan Ericsson improved again to 5.8323/395.60, very consistent but short of the 5.7s he was running at Santa Pod at the Main Event. David Vegter in #3 also improved to a 5.8730/388.49, Mats Eriksson in #4 to 5.9208/387.10. Michael Gullqvist went from #10 to #5 with a 5.9389/393.30 and Jere Rantaniemi in the PPF Camaro went from #13 to #6 with a new PB 5.9628/402.99. Marck Harteveld slipped from #4 to #7, his improvement to 5.9748/386.82 not quite matching those of others, but seven cars in the fives an impressive display. Other notable runs were new PBs for Stian Rusånes ('41 Willys) of 6.287/360.72 and Jesper Stenberg ('63 Corvette) of 6.738/324.91.
In Pro Stock, Stefan Ernryd improved marginally to 6,6491/336,66 to stay in 2nd. Richard Sundblom ran a great 6.6894/323,94 to go from 6th to #3. Robin Norén who has a new Jerry Haas Race Cars-built Pontiac GXP continued his development in the class with a 6.7382/319.91 to go up a place to #4. Tommy Leindahl went 6,9551/319,15 in his first pass to go #5. Lasse Britsmar, Michael Malmgren, Sampsa Palos and Christian Sagelv remained in 6th to 9th places respectively.
In the final session, Robin Norén improved to 6,7089/333,33 but remained in #4. Michal Malmgren moved up from #7 to #5 with 6.8379/300.17 (the low speed denoting an early shut off), Christian Sagalv hooked up to go 6,8599/320,86 and from #9 to #6 in the order.
This morning's Top Methanol session saw Daniel Jedborn make his first pass, recording a great 5.4991/412.53 to go into 2nd place. Silvio Strauch in the ex PSR dragster improved his time to 5.7532/373.70 but dropped a place to #3. Magnus Larsson in his Monte Carlo Funny Car had run a 6.0253/390.46 yesterday and is in #4, the five car field completed with former Top Fuel racer Tony Bryntesson on 6.5980/179.64 recorded yesterday in his A-Fuel dragster.
The final Top Methanol session had Silvio Strauch in #3 improve to 5.5818/416.02, Magnus Larson in #4 to 5,8739/393,01 and Tony Bryntesson in #5 spot 5.8847/349.29.
Top Fuel Bike had the best performance in the last session with Jan Sturla Hegre in #1 running a 6.1354/304.23 however the other five bikes struggled without any notable improvements.
Super Twin Motorcycle had Samu Kemppainen displace Ismo Mäenpää (whose 6.660 from yesterday being a new PB) from top spot, Samu running a 6.5020/346.60 with his V-60 machine. Torsti Kettula ran his first six of the event, 6.9652/320.47 to go #3. The remainder of the seven bike field were in the same order, with Julia Wagner running an early shut off eight, and Greger Johansson having problems off the line on his first run this morning.
In the final session, Ismo Mäenpää suffered a big engine explosion but fortunately was unhurt. Juha Hintukainen made a pass to bring the numbers up to eight.
In Top Doorslammer, Mattias Wulcan dominated the qualifying improving in the last session to 3.7282/329.87. Anders Edh made his first pass of the event going straight into #2 with 3.8937/310.70.
You can see the entry list at www.dragracing.eu. Organising body Speedgroup have also posted running orders which you can see by clicking on the links for the overview order, Friday and Saturday.
Happy Wedding Day Chris and Nicole! 18th June:
Thanks to Steve and Lesley Field of Black Pig Too Wild Bunch who have sent in a special greeting for two members of their team:
We would like to wish our fabulous crew Chris Head and Nicole Rumble many congratulations and every happiness on their wedding today, June 18th.
Whilst leading very busy lives, out and about all year at many car and music events, their number 1 priority in January is to confirm the race dates with us. Their time, effort and dedication to both us and the car at the track is unsurpassable and very much appreciated.
Here’s to you Mr & Mrs Head.
NSA at WZ: a whole lot of ‘Boz’ going on. 18th June:
The avenging sons of Cornwall’s B&H Motorcycles were certainly smiling in the depths of Somerset last weekend (June 11th/12th) for the latest round of the National Sprint Association championship at Westonzoyland Sprint Strip otherwise known as ‘WZ’, writes NSA commentator Jerry Cookson.
With the overall strip record firmly established in the fives earlier this year (5.905/126.86) and in the hands of Peter Ford’s blown 750cc Suzuki, for a whole two days whatever Pete dialled into his machine and with the aid of grip juice (bearing in mind the riders were facing a head wind each day) the bike spun its rear tyre up to the eighth miles first 60ft on virtually every hit. Sunday it started to hook up but still resulted in a frustrating lone 5.977/121.73 mph.
Although Pete runs what I would call an intermediate tyre, in the B&H stable young Andy ‘Boz’ Boswell (running in the Unlimited class) found some grip, a lot of grip, and in the same lane. Using a full race slick Andy not only traversed the eighth mile war time runway once but a further 5 times, some a little shakey at mid track, but others simply deadpan straight. With tuning and set up assistance from brother Terry, himself a wild horse on his own Harley, the brothers certainly found the best combination for the 1200cc Sportster drag bike resulting in a class winning low ET at 5.990s on Saturday to an even quicker 5.922/118.44 mph the very next day ending a perfect weekend. Only Barry Varndell’s Super Street Kawasaki Z1170 Turbo topped out at 125.88s for the weekend’s mph honours.
In fact it could have been a double celebration if ‘H’ Haward Boswell; the ‘big chief’ of B&H Motorcycles had matched April’s WZ times of 7.980s and 7.995s. But against Somerset’s rather annoying weekend head wind all that the 750cc stock street Harley could muster was an 8.039s.
It was good to see Stuart Buchanan back after his early season ‘prang’ at Dakota Raceway which almost wiped out the front end of his 250cc Honda drag bike. Alone in class Stuart’s best of the day was an 8.956s.
In the 400cc class Kerry Phillips urged his KH500 H1 to new PB’s not once but three times to oust former Euro Champ Peter McGuiness who is also running an H1. Kerry, who’s straightline career started at way back at Shakespeare County, built his KH500 from a pile of scrap parts and turned it into a mid-seven second racer. The best that his machine achieved was a 7.687s on Saturday but come Sunday, and in open practice, Kerry let rip with a 7.495s; just 2/100ths away from the class record held by Pete.
Scooter enthusiast and holder of 8 UK national records Adie Horrocks pushed his highly tuned and highly expensive modified VBox Racing/Greenlight Vespa to an 8.181ticket! Built for the road more than the sprint strip Adie’s other ride ‘Slug - The Renta Scooter’ was also in fine form belting out times to the tune of 9.390/72.01 mph from its diminutive Quattrini M200s motor. The class also welcomed ‘Dan The Man’ Ashman with his mentally aggressive Vespa PX. Dan did well trying to show it who really was the boss to end the day with a 10.580s.
More track records fell to Japser Joy’s classic 973cc Triumph T160 Trident starting with a 7.718s and ending with a 7.700 while in the Vintage 250cc class Richard von Mach’s Ariel Arrow reset his own PB with an 8.880 from the machine’s previous 9.134s.
In the Road Legal classes it was all down to the Busa’s of Steve Everett and former Super Pro ET racer Nick Spence. In fact it was Steve who ended the time sheets both days with a best of 6.162/117.82 mph.
All in all, and despite the head winds the riders adapted their set ups to compensate and got on with it in more ways than one resulting in track records and PBs. The next round of the national series sees the riders take on Smeatharpe Airfield’s Dakota Raceway on Saturday July 9th for another bike, car and drift day. For further updates near to the date check out the tracks Facebook page Dakota Raceway Southwest.
You can see Jerry's and Carol Jenkinson's photos from Westonzoyland Sprint Strip by going to our gallery by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link at the top of any Eurodragster.com page, and to view a full set of results click here to access the National Sprint Association’s Results web site page. Event coverage is sponsored by John Woolfe Racing.
Swift snippets 18th June:
Best wishes for a Happy 80th Birthday to Pro ET and Sportsman ET racer Brian Huxley, we hope you have a great day Brian and keep on racing! Also celebrating today are Supercharged Outlaw crew member and wife Hilary Grabham and returning Top Methanol dragster racer Esko Raisvuo. Have a Happy Birthday each of you.
Good luck and stay safe to expat Dutch Top Fuel racer Lex Joon who has qualified #7 of 15 in session one at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, Tennesee. Lex who ran a 4.253/212.19, lifting after losing traction, posted "hard work is paying off after first qualifying round, Gerda & Myself are enjoying life." You can follow Lex's progress by going to www.dragracecentral.com, or for live timing and results www.nhra.com.
The latest news from the Sweden Nationals at Tierp Arena is that the track is being dried after overnight rain. As soon as further results are posted we will update our news to include the top qualifiers and any outstanding performances.
The latest qualifying results are at www.dragracing.eu or you may download results after the first session of sportsman qualifying from this link, after the second session from this link and after the third session this link (pdf format).
With thanks to photographer Patrik Jacobsson we have posted a gallery of 129 pictures from today which you can see by clicking on this link.
Current #1 qualifiers are:
Top Methanol Dragster: Jonny Lagg 5.4585/433.04
Pro Modified: Andreas Arthursson 5.7806/414.75
Pro Stock: Jimmy Ålund 6.6352/335.40
Top Doorslammer: Mattias Wulcan 3.8007/324.52
Competition eliminator: Roger Forsström 6.6976/327.89 (7.59)
Pro Street (7.60 index): Michael Maderer 7.6239/274.25
Street (8.60 index): Lars Erik Persson 8.6145/249.54
Super Comp (8.90 index): Wilma Andersson 8.9755/269.19
Super Gas (9.90 index): Håkan Mattsson 9.9338/225.28
Super Street (10.90 index): Peter Nilsson 10.9749/196.08
Super Pro Et: Niklas Larsson 8.7522/242.04 (8.75)
Pro ET: Ronnie Gustavsson 10.6137/205.79 (10.60)
Stock Super Stock: Jonas Bengtsson 9.9828/212.85 (11.25)
Junior Dragster: Lina Andersson 0.0378 RT
Top Fuel Bike: Jan Sturla Hegre 6.6448/273.00
Super Twin Top Fuel Bike: Ismo Mäenpää 6.6606/338.13
Pro Stock Bike: Frederik Kirkhoff Schack 7.3779/269.33
Super Street Bike: Mathias Bohlin 7.2425/262.14
Super Twin Top Gas Bike: Joerg Lymant 7.3812/280.52
Super Comp Bike (8.50 index): Tomas Jonsson 8.5567/263.16
Super Gas Bike (9.50 index): Jesper Jerresten 9.5221/234.17
Pro Twin Bike: Stefan Gärdskog 9.1271/242.81
Junior Drag Bike: Jone Holm 8.4320/150.88
Pro Modified had Andreas Arthursson go quick on his first run, Jan Ericsson 5.9315/391.30, Marck Harteveld 5.9844/385.71 and Mats Eriksson 5.9922/387.93 also into the fives in the first session, with Åke Persson in the 6.0s with a fine 6,0379/361,45. Roger Johansson also had a decent but early shut off pass at 6.2303/325.50. Others running in this session were Jan Brännvall, Fredrik Fagerström (1.0735 launch and 4.5554/255.32 to half track then shut off to 7.724), Stian Rusånes and Olof Andersson).
Comp Eliminator racer Roger Forsström's 2.1ltr Volvo based engine tuned by PPF in his Volvo C70 was an outstanding -0.8924 below his 7.59 D/TA index. Tuners PPF said the output of the turbo engine is an astonishing 1792hp at 10.000rpm.
Expat Santa Pod racer Carla Pittau is qualified #5 in Stock Super Stock with a 10.5581/199.04, -0.9919 on her 11.55 index.
Frederik Kirkhoff Schack ran a good 7.3s pass on his first time in Pro Stock Bike, he is assissted by the previous owner of the bike Jesper Thiel.
Thanks to Mike Kraaij for letting us knwo that the 7.3812/280.52 recorded by Joerg Lymant in Super Twin Top Gas Bike is a new class record, the speed backed up with an earlier 'too fast' 287.08kph.
You can see the entry list at www.dragracing.eu. Organising body Speedgroup have also posted running orders which you can see by clicking on the links for the overview order, Friday and Saturday.
Helmet visors. 17th June:
Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for a rules update to helmet requirements:
Following discussions between our UK Scrutineers and Technical Committee, the following change (in red) has been made to the helmet requirements within the Drag Racing white book for Motorsport UK (cars only) events.
GSR 10:7 HELMETS & GOGGLES See Motorsport UK Competitors Yearbook (Blue Book). Drivers of any open bodied car wearing an “open face” helmet must wear “racing type” protective goggles and a dual eye port, flame retardant balaclava. If a “closed face helmet” is worn a balaclava is still required. See class Requirements. Modifications to helmet/ visor/shield are prohibited. All helmets must have the appropriate certification sticker affixed inside the helmet. See also class requirements. The use of built in Pneumatic Helmet removal systems is recommended. Commercially available coloured or tinted visors are acceptable in all categories, a clear visor is recommended for night racing.
Retro Show preview. 17th June:
The Retro Show takes place this Sunday 19th June 2022 at Santa Pod Raceway, with a run what ya brung on Saturday to make a weekend of retro action. What does Retro mean? Unlike other more nostalgia based races, the Retro Show is open to all 1950-2000 vehicles including cars, bikes, scooters and lorries.
Drag Racing consists of Supercharged Outlaws, Gasser Circus, Old School Stockers and Modified 100e Challenge. You can see the entry list at this link on the Santa Pod website.
This will be the first 2022 appearance of the Old School Stockers, based on historic ACU pro stock rules. The class is for pre-1980 bikes with stock appearance, 7” tyres, carbs and stock main chassis. The seven bikes running at the Retro Show include last year's class champion Claire Rule (Suzuki), four Kawasaki H2's of Kevin Melling, Rod Spry, Chris Spry and Dean Stevens, plus class newcomers George Dann and Martin Blight (Suzukis).
Also of note in Supercharged Outlaws is Jim Tucker's Hellfire Hemi '32 Ford Coupe (pictured), first seen in its current form at the Nostalgia Nationals, who will be running alongside regulars Gary Parkes, Mike Couch, Aaron Windridge and Keith Freeman.
RWYB for Sunday will be for trophies for the quickest vehicles in 8 classes:
Class A - 2000cc & Under without power adders
Class B - Over 2000cc without power adders
Class C - 2000cc & Under with power adders
Class D - Over 2000cc with power adders
Class E - 2 Wheels 300cc & Under
Class F - 2 Wheels Over 300cc
Class K - Kit Cars
Class X - Non-Road legal cars & bikes
There will be an Autoglym Show & Shine for trophies in 10 categories, a number of retro based motoring clubs will be on show, KitFest will be held as a 'show within a show' for all kit cars, and there will be a pre-2000 Autotest.
With Fireforce 3, Oklahoma Willy, retro drifting and many other attractions, the Retro Show is genuinely for everyone. You can buy tickets at this link including RWYB track sign on fee. To ensure a free flow of traffic, only advance purchase tickets will be allowed entry at the gate.
Editor's note: Kieran will be attending Retro Show and a private test day being held on Monday, and we will be publishing galleries from both days.
JT's offer to The Boss. 16th June:
Thanks to new sponsor John Tebenham for letting us know his plans to share the joy of running his The Fabulous Lightning McQueen '53 Corvette Pro Modified with Santa Pod Raceway CEO Keith Bartlett:
I have offered Keith a drive in my beautiful Pro Mod. This needs to start slowly with a new driver, so Keith is going to do a couple of start-ups in the pits at the Euro Finals, if nothing in the world, start it up.
I am also offering Brian Pateman and Billy Gane a chance to start my baby up. I have every respect for everyone who drives in drag racing. My top man, I always go to him, is Andy Robinson. I said it was wheel spinning and shaking at 200, yes, 200 mph, and I sat it on the rev limiter at 10,400 for 6/10 of a second. He just said "That’s the Pro Mod way". Bee brave, JT.
We have sponsored Eurodragster.com (many thanks - Editor), so click on the side link or here to see my mad cars. Also a massive thanks to all who buy t-shirts and posters.
Swift snippets. 17th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Wild Bunch Rover engined dragster racer Faye Hern, Supercharged Outlaw crew chief Martyn Hannis and from Finland Top Fuel racer Timo Lehtimäki. Have a great day all.
John Hobbs' final appearance. 16th June:
Many thanks to author and photojournalist Keith Lee for telling us that the subject of his highly recommended book John Hobbs and the Age of the Twins, will be retiring from on track action this summer:
This year’s edition of Santa Pod’s Dragstalgia event is fast approaching. The annual feast of nostalgia drag racing attracts many legendary names of the sport - both on track and off.
The NSA Shootout class has featured many historic riders and machines over the years, which have made their mark in the sport’s history. Headlining the two-wheeled action at Dragstalgia from the very start has been one of the legends of the sport - John Hobbs. The first bike member of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame is famed for his bikes, Olympus and the Hobbit, on which he established a lasting reputation.
Sadly, this year will mark the end of an era, as it will be John’s last ride on Olympus. He will turn 75 in mid July, will finally be hanging up his leathers following July’s Dragstalgia event. It was when I was just about to publish my new book, John Hobbs and the Age of the Twins, that John told me that he felt that it was at last time for him to stop. John started sprinting and drag racing back in 1966, and competed in the very first drag bike event at Santa Pod Raceway, where he set many records in the years which followed. After record-breaking success riding Olympus, he spearheaded the age of the twin-engined machines.
His old friend Dave Clee, who is known for his Shotgun machines, actually started racing just before John. He too will be making his farewell ride at this event. Dave is looking forward to a final match race against his old rival. Be there to enjoy a memorable weekend of racing - and this one last chance to see these two out on track.
Copies of John Hobbs and the Age of the Twins, which is published by Keith Lee Images, are available to order from: www.JohnHobbsBook.co.uk.
Bonneville beckons. 16th June:
Our Nitro Revival sponsor and land speed racer Geoff Stilwell writes: Looking for Holiday Ideas this year?
With the USA now opening up to overseas visitors and “PreFight” Covid testing now not required how about Speedweek which happens each August and is probably the most recognised speed event in the world.
To set a record on the “Haloed Salt” is an amazing accomplishment and competitors from all over the world will start migrating their way to the Bonneville Salt Flats in early August. Speedweek starts August 6th. For those that don’t know Wendover which is the nearest town just a few miles from Bonneville Speedway is only a 4 to 5 hour drive from Las Vegas or just 2 hours west from Salt Lake City. Both places are just right for those wanting to take in some racing and then tour round ending up in Los Angeles or San Francisco.
The Bonneville Salt Flats are actually quite surreal in that nothing actually sustainable lives there. No Mosquitos, No Ants, No Bugs or any kind. You have incredible extremes in Temperatures, UV Factors and Humidity. But at the same time it is one of the most amazing places to be especially early in the morning when you look down the course and you can see the curvature of the earth. From 7am on Sunday and then each day the backup runs take place and to hear and see some of these cars travelling at speeds in excess of 450mph is something you will never forget.
The 7707 Landspeed team are very busy getting our Blown Fuel Roadster ready after our shakedown runs in May at El Mirage. The car is having a complete service and that includes checking the Motor, Fuel Systems and the Racepak Sensors that adorn 7707. Trust me, nothing can be left to chance. There is 2 weeks solid work going through the chassis and then a good weekends work going through the motor etc.
In addition to that our “Rig” has to be serviced….With new wheel bearings being fitted, and then we have to replace all the trailer tyres as they are now out of date, doesn’t matter how many miles they have done they have to be replaced. The air conditioning system in the trailer needs replacing so we are waiting on the air con engineer to replace that. Bonneville from Pomona is over 800 miles each way and everything has to be up to date, as breaking down in the middle of the Humbolt National Forest Desert Road is not recommended. To give you some idea our convoy consists of:- Truck and Trailer (Rig), our RV, Spares Van, and Rental Car to run around in. We move our whole operation for a week!
Already entered for this years event is “Target 550” a twin blown fuel streamliner looking for 500mph plus…..”Speed Demon” another entry which is already the world’s fastest single engine car and is also looking for 500mph, or try the 911 Blown Fuel Roadster which runs at over 300mph….plus many other very fast cars and of course including the 7707 Rear Motored Blown Fuel Roadster and UK favourite Ron Hope in his Twin Turbo Roadster who is also looking to run 300mph.
Bonneville is not for the faint hearted, to make any of these cars travel at these speeds takes a great deal of skill. Putting things into prospective the pits are 5 miles long, the start line will be at least 2 miles away oh and you cannot stay on the salt at night unless you camp at the site near the “Bend in the Road” which is on the approach road to the Speedway. How much does it cost to get in? $20 per day or buy a week pass.
So now you have read this, please come and support the 7707 Blown Fuel Roadster trying to reset our class record at over 300mph and join the “Brit” contingent including Nick Davies, Rob Loaring and Scotty Barnes celebrate.
Geoff sends a Happy Birthday shout out "To my dear friend Ron Hope of Rat Trap Racing, have a fantastic day Ron. Best wishes from everyone on the 7707 Landspeed Team."
You can see highlights from last year's Bonneville Speed Week by watching the excellent videos of John Wylie Media on Youtube. Also see see a wealth of information for the 2022 event and past events by going to the Southern California Timing Association website.
Swift snippets. 16th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Top Fuel racer Jndia Erbacher, legendary Funny Car racer who ran at Santa Pod in 1973 Paula Murphy, driver of the Gasser Circus racer Steve Matthews, Super Pro ET racer Bob Doyle, Willys War racer and former Santa Pod announcer Steve Young, Wild Bunch and Junior Dragster crew member Steve Cassisi and German Comp Eliminator racer Bernd Rudolph. We hope you all have a wonderful day.
Tierp Summit Scandinavian Nationals. 15th June:
The largest championship race in Europe this weekend is the Summit Scandinavian Nationals 2022 at Tierp Arena, running from Friday 17th-Sunday 19th June.
Sadly, we won't be able to attend Tierp Arena to report on it, nor will there be streaming video of the event, however we will keep a close watch on the results as they come in and highlight any exceptional performances. The field, after a slow start in entries, has increased to 245 teams with large fields in many classes. It's hard to pick highlights but 18 Pro Modifieds, 14 Top Doorslammers, 9 Pro Stock, 7 Top Fuel Bike and 10 Super Twin Top Fuel Bikes are a good showing, many of them being restricted to testing only in the last two years and the last event at Tierp in August last year.
You can see the entry list at www.dragracing.eu. Organising body Speedgroup have also posted running orders which you can see by clicking on the links for the overview order, Friday and Saturday.
We will be carrying reports of the event by Remco Scheelings and photos by Patrik Jacobsson.
Summit Racing Equipment Super Series returns. 15th June:
The Nordic Summit Racing Equipment Super Series for Super Pro ET and Pro ET is back in business, writes Lena Perés.
Qualifying events are hosted May-August by all tracks in the Summit Racing EDRS Series in four countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia) ending with a shooutout final event at Tierp Arena, Sweden August 11th-14th (which Eurodragster.com plans to attend). The remaining qualifying races (earlier races at Gardermoen 20th-22nd May, Kauhava 27th-29th May, and Vårgårda on 27th-29th May alo qualified) are:
16th-19th June Tierp Arena, Sweden
24th-26th June Tallhed, Sweden
30th June-3rd July Kauhava, Finland
9th-10th July Haapsalu, Estonia
8th-10th July Piteå, Sweden
15th-16th July Fällfors, Sweden
22nd-24th July Sundsvall, Sweden
11th-14th August Tierp Arena, Sweden Shootout.
During the final event these pre-qualified event champions can enjoy the opportunity to race each other for as well glory, trophies and monetary awards provided by Summit Racing Equipment! There is as much as 10,000 SEK per class to be distributed as follows:
Winner: SEK 4000
Runner-Up: SEK 2000
Semi final losers: SEK 1000 / each
Quarter final losers: SEK 500 / each
BDRHOF Benevolent Fund donates to Melbourne. 15th June:
The trustees of the BDRHOF Benevolent Fund are pleased to announce they have made a donation to Melbourne Raceway to cover the expenditure on rescue ambulance services and fire engine hire for their April season opener in 2022.
Trevor Duckworth of Straightliners, organisers of events at Melbourne Raceway, said "My thanks to the BDRHoF Benevolent Fund, their kind donation will help us a great deal as we continue to build Melbourne Raceway. The level of help and commitment in what we are doing is truly amazing and very humbling. We are obliged to pay for rescue ambulance services and fire engine hire at a fixed cost for each meeting and any help to meet these expenses is very welcome."
The BDRHOF Benevolent Fund has been created as a registered charity no. 1167197 and is run for racers or officials who through injury have fallen on hard times and may be invited to apply for grants. All money raised goes to supporting these people and drag racing in general by a donation or equipment the trustees feel is necessary.
Photo credit: Panmanstan (Flickr).
Swift snippets. 15th June:
Congratulations to photographer Callum Pudge who will be starting a new full-time job at Santa Pod Raceway in mid July, doing social media, graphic design, and helping with event photos/video. Callum says "I cannot even begin to say how ecstatic I am to be given this opportunity and I’m going to put my absolute all into it." As well as publishing his own albums on his Pudgeys Pictures Facebook page, Callum has been a great help supplying photos to Eurodragster.com, and we wish him every success in his future role.
Meanwhile current social media person at SPR Scott Gay has announced his departure to join the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. Scott posted "It's been an unforgettable 4 years at Santa Pod Raceway and I can honestly say I've loved every second of it!" Good luck to Scott in his new job and thanks to Scott for his social media output during his time at SPR.
Simon Letkey of the VeeDubRacing Youtube channel has posted a 50 minute video of Saturday at the Doorslammers which you can see by clicking here. Simon says "Without doubt the best event of the year at Santa Pod Raceway. You get all the usual racing, but this time big cash prizes are thrown in, to add to the excitement. Not just 40 minutes of racing, but some interaction with the teams and details of the cars they run. Stay tuned, as the Sunday video will be out soon..."
Other outstanding passes were by Sébastien Lajoux from France who ran an off the trailer 7.214/322.87kph (1.106 60ft) time trial in his supercharged Super Pro ET dragster with a pedal. In the Extreme Outlaws group, Dominick Reinhardt (23T Altered 540ci, pictured above) was #2 with 5.448/198.35, Jannik Martens ('63 Pontiac Tempest LeMans 522ci turbo) #3 with 5.994/206.30, Mario Bellio (Pontiac Firebird Gen 3 turbo) #4 with 6.258/165.14, Micha Vogt ('41 Willys Coupe) #5 with 6.355/175.18, Walter Strobel (Camaro Gen1) #6 with 6.867/127.89 and Olaf Martens #7 with 12.110/113.74 Gerd Habermann did jet demos with the Dragon Hunter on Saturday and Sunday.
Mike Kraaij reported: "After a lot of work, the drag strip was prepared as well as possible by crew from Germany with their machines to generate as much traction as possible on the asphalt that had not been used for drag racing for years. The build-up of the timing and race organization was in the hands of DHRA and all volunteers worked very hard to get everything done. Much respect to all who were willing to make sure everything went well.
Emotionally it was also after the death of two DHRA crew members who now look down on us from the sky and were thinking about the race.
1 minute of silence made a big impression.
Many things happened during the entire weekend. There was a fantastic turnout during the event, which was co-organized by 402 Automotive and Drag NL, who were able to make this happen through collaboration with DHRA. Fortunately the weather was good and the sun gave it a great atmosphere of course.
During two incidents, one involving a car and the other a bike, both vehicles were badly damaged, but the racers were uninjured and their safety equipment and the barriers worked fine.
Some great times were clocked and the grip took some getting used to, given the times that were run, there certainly appeared to be grip available.
Teams that were present had a lot of fun and conviviality was everywhere. The mutual struggle indicated that nothing has changed, even after a long absence, in fact everyone couldn't wait to improve their PB.
Mike Olie with his Funny Bike (above left) clocked the fastest time of the day on Saturday with a tight 7.7 run showing there was definitely grip, and improved it with a strong 7.34 run on Sunday. His wife Jacky Olie did a little less by forcing the connecting rod out of her Turbocharged Kawasaki FB. Too bad she was unharmed and will definitely be back!
Gert Jan Laseur had specially set up a Street Harley class and with success. 20 Racers came to participate and had the time of their lives on June 12th,
Zodiac International was co-Sponsor and it was Gert Jan himself (above right) who took the win!
Drag racing has ups and downs and you can never tell what the outcome will be!
Jan Scheppers wrote "Velocity Racing team sponsored by www.VelocityClassics.eu had 2 cars present. The new Viper that hasn't been driven for a while was plagued by bugs. But the Mustang with new owner and driver Nick Weel was close to his dial in. We want to thank everyone who made this possible, especially the Velocity Racing team and all the help from friends acquaintances. Also special thanks to all the volunteers who worked round the clock. Many thanks also to the Extreme Outlaws from Germany, the Dragon Hunter of Gerd Habermann, the Street Twin Battle organized by Laseur Motoren Almere and all the teams that provided a spectacular show!"
You can see media from Dragrace Madness by clicking on the following links:
"Top 3 on the day were Stu Harvey getting to grips with the ex Gary Leach Kawasaki closely followed by another of the locals, Colin Bridson riding his usual Hayabusa. 3rd fastest was Phil Wood on his Turbo Busa laying a full strip darky to please the crowd before turning down the boost for a more sedate but quicker second run just before rain stopped play.
"Putting a smile on people's faces and making for some great photo opportunities was Dave Sargent on his sidecar outfit with Dave the border collie safely strapped in on passenger duties!
"With the weather playing ball again with glorious sunshine we witnessed some super close times in the various classes, in particular Street Legal Unlimited cc and Competition Unlimited cc.
"In the Street Legal Unlimited cc class we saw the largest number of entries and the battle for top honours was hard fought, Kev Kearsley and Scott Collier trading times split by 100ths of a second with Paul Walcott holding a constant 3rd place. Kev and Scott, both on borrowed old school 80s Suzuki's, were eventually trumped for top spot by the more modern Hayabusa of experienced Richard Renton- Cooper late in the day posting a best 7.07sec run, Kev on 7.26sec and Scott 7.27sec.
"In Competition Unlimited cc the top 4 were in the low 6sec bracket. Stu Harvey, riding the ex Gary Leach Kawasaki for the first time on the Sprint course, held off the opposition with some nice straight runs with Phil Wood, Mark Patman and Colin Bridson snapping at his heels. Phil eventually got the right settings dialed in on the turbo Busa to eclipse the field with a stunning 6.19sec run. There was then a 4 bike shootout to finish the day and both Mark and Stu posted identical and improved times Stu taking 2nd spot on 6.25sec at 125mph and Mark 6.25sec at 122mph on the ZZR1400, Colin 4th on a 6.33sec best.
"In Street Legal up to 900cc Shantelle Thorpe stood out with her consistently good runs holding top spot till late in the day pipped by Pep Quist.
"Taking Fastest Lady of the day trophy was Voirrey Harvey who'd over the course of 3 days achieved 2 of her ambitions, Sunday on her birthday, 100mph at the 1/8th and then a brilliant 7sec run on Tuesday on the Hayabusa, 7.86sec her new PB.
"Finally a special award went to the popular and much photographed Dave the Dog for fastest dog with Dave Sargent.
You can see the results of the Ramsey Sprint by clicking here. Youtube video of the event including some more lighthearted antics is at TMVinyl's YouTube Channel.
The Drag Racing event was held on Sunday only due to a rescheduled senior TT race taking place on Saturday. This featured heads up 1/4 mile drag racing all day from 10am - 5pm including car and bike shootouts, sadly with a smaller field of vehicles than previous events. You can see the times run at the Jurby Drag Racing by clicking here and results of eliminations by clicking here.
Congratulations to winner of the bike eliminations Paul Hodgson on a Suzuki GSXR 1000cc who ran a 9.83/153 on a 9.79 dial in to defeat Tomo Burnett who ran a 12.03/129 on his Kawasaki 600cc. In the car eliminations John Adcock (BMW 2.3 Ltr) ran a 15.64/88 on a 15.57 dial in to defeat Jake Mayers (Honda Civic 2 Ltr) who ran a breakout 14.59/97 on a 14.71 dial in.
Also spotted and photographed by Mike Greenhalgh was the supercharged Chevy engined dragster of Mac Forbes which ran a best of 9.78/150 on the Jurby Motordrome quarter mile.
Swift snippets. 14th June:
Happy Birthday for today to VP Racing Fuels UK & European Business Development Manager Tom Davis and to FWD drag racer Kiel Priestman, have a great day!
The Motor Psycho AA/Fuel Altered team headed by driver Adam Gleadow have put a video on Youtube of Adam's testing from Santa Pod Raceway last Saturday, running a 60ft of 1.2159 and half track time of 5.3947/103.10, Adam doing a great driving job when the car did what Fuel Altereds do. You can see the video, and subscribe to see others like it at this Youtube link.
Gary Colman of GJC Motorsport Media has updated his Smugmug website to include some galleries not already included from his Facebook site, also his Automotive Art images based on some of the most popular cars in British drag racing. There are opportunities to buy paper prints in a variety of sizes.
The format is a little different race wise, as we will be running out of the hat, with everyone racing for points for every round, this way everyone should get eight rounds of competition. The usual no time, no speed, instant green start.
We race Sunday, with possibly an open test session Saturday late afternoon. You can arrive from Friday afternoon, there is a full programme of other formulas racing Saturday for you to watch, there will be evening entertainment. For competitors there is hardstanding pits plus an electrical hookup is available at very very reasonable rates.
This is where we need your help, we all know times are a little tough right now, the entry for this event is getting there, but we really want to show Lydden Hill management that its worth having drag racing at their facility. So if you are coming please enter as soon as you can, if you are thinking of entering please talk to us with any questions you may have.
This is a real grass roots event, its where we all start racing, you only need a UK license and some silencers. For this event to become established it needs competitors. The emphasis is on having fun and enjoying a day’s racing. For entry details, please like our FB page no prep drag racing and message us, or call/Text Paul on 07831 650230.
Spectators and very welcome too, camping is available, ticket details are on the Lydden Hill website. We look forward to seeing you all there and thank you Eurodragster for covering the event in 2022. (You're welcome - Editor).
Swift snippets. 13th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Pro ET racer Steve Unsworth, photojournalist Rose Hughes, Sunshine Express Top Fuel Bike crew member from Norway Morten Dekko, and Finnish fan and supporter Kettil Rautio, have a great day all!
The July issue of biker magazine Back Street Heroes has a nine page photo report of the Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway with many photos. To get a £3 trial subscription for three issues at a huge discount of 78% on cover price go to this link.
Santa Pod Raceway have posted 161 photos from the weekend's BMW Show at their Flickr page, which also contains galleries of championship drag racing events going back over 10 years.
Videographer John Fire has posted footage from the the Wide Open Spring Nationals at Rivanazzano Dragway, Italy. The videos include cars racing in Super Pro ET and Pro ET and the videos which together run to over 40mins duration can be seen at John's Youtube channel.
In the Bracket race, there were two perfect ETs in qualifying with Morgan Wilson (Beetle) going #1 +0.0002 on 18.00 after James Hodson (Golf Mk2) had previously run a 10.8005 on a 10.80 dial. 12 of 19 qualifiers were less than 0.1s off their dial in. James defeated Daniel Hughes and Adam Williamson (Audi S6) in rounds 1 and 2, then had a bye in the quarter final. In the semi final James defeated Graham Fairhead (Type 3 fastback) and the final saw Jerry Sadler (Beetle) broke out, giving the win to James.
Racers posted their thanks to the organisers on the VWDRC Facebook page. Tom Herbert posted "Feels good to be back on top. Amazing day with the best club in the world! Couldn’t have done it without my golden crew chief Paul Herbert as always. And what a final to do it in, one of the closest races I’ve had to date with Jose Leite, 0.008 at the stripe! And to top it off, sharing the top step with my heroes Luke Stevenson and James Hodson."
There was also run what ya brung at the Drag Day, open to all vehicles. Noteworthy was the return to the track of Paula and Stan Atkins' Pro Mod Mustang with additional knowledge from their trips to Florida in the winter, and recording a 1.1604 60ft and 4.8483/116.52 to half track after lifting.
Also testing was FWD Honda driver Ahmed Jamshaid who ran a string of 9.0s and 9.1s runs but was prevented from reaching an 8s run by boost pressure not rising above 43psi. He said "We strongly believe that there is a boost leak hair line crack somewhere in the pipes from the intercooler, we will inspect and be back out for Fast Show, till then stay safe, a big up to everyone that was involved and tuner Gordon Darby."
Morrison Racing expands. 11th June:
One of the biggest ever Eurodragster.com Junior Drag Bike fields has entered the STP Summer Nationals to be held at Santa Pod Raceway on 2nd-3rd July, 11 bikes. In this entry, there are two first time racers with a familiar name in Morrison Racing. They are Leah Morrison and Brad Morrison. Thanks to dad and Super Street Bike racer Alan Morrison Jnr for supplying background on Leah and Brad's introduction to the sport:
"Leah is currently 12 and is very excited to get going at Santa Pod with the other Juniors. She is good friends with Holly King, and both go to the same secondary school. She has been out for a few runs locally and is now ready to tackle the tree at Pod.
"Brad is 9 and has been nagging me for the last 3-4 years, saying he wants to ride, so again he is super excited. We are going to Pod for the next three run what ya brungs in preparation for the Summer Nationals in July. We are hoping to catch up with Ian Marshall over the coming weeks to get them fully licensed ready or July.
Their bikes have been fabricated and built by David Taylor at Taylor Made Solutions. We are all really pleased on how they have turned out (Leah's is powered by Honda 125cc and Brad's by Honda 50cc). All that’s left is a few minor alterations to the bikes and a lick of paint, but all should be ready for their first meeting.
Nostalgia Nationals Gasser Circus report. 11th June:
Many thanks to Gasser Circus co-ordinator Nick Brooke Langham for sending a report on the class at the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals:
Round 2 of the Gasser Circus Showdown, took place at Santa Pod at the Nostalgia Nationals. It turned out to be a weekend where qualifying well, took on an extra special meaning, as the torrential downpour over Saturday into Sunday and continuing drizzle ensured that eliminations were never commenced. The decision to call the event was as disappointing as it was logical. The situation with an event ending early, creates unease with many racers, as they have their day planned out. For those with a long way to travel it means they hit the road early, and for others it meant ‘what do I do when I get home!
The Jubilee weekend of course began on Thursday when some ever eager racers arrived at the Pod. The vast majority arrived on the second of the bank holidays Friday, it was a day when cars entered RWYB and following so closely on the back of the Main Event, track conditions were superb, this being reflected in a series of personal bests across several of the classes. A strong tail wind may have also been a factor. However, the wind was not a factor when Martyn Hallam came to the line in his 33 Willys Gasser. The car now has a fully on song blown Hemi up front, and the power that is now generating was a contributor to a relatively unusual moment as Martyn launched off the line, popped his now customary wheelie, but this time when the front wheels landed the resulting inertia made the car bounce, which meant none of the car was in touch with the strip, with clear daylight below all 4 tyres! A photographer’s delight.
Elsewhere there were some drivers making their Santa Pod debut, with Jason Darling in his ‘Sinister’ Chevy Coupe, Simon Prest in his recent import The Rocket Mercury Comet and Drew Mason taking up the driving duties on Nogbad the Bad. Adam Kruczynski made his first full session of qualifying at the Pod, having clutch issues at his debut at the end of last year. ‘Hoch’ John Grant returned to the driver’s seat of the current Gasser Circus Champion car the B&G Racing Falcon, which by the end of the event had a new owner. Returning Gasser Circus stalwart was Ray Turner with his superb new Jeff Bull built Small Block Chevy powering his Green Onions 55 Chevy for the first time into the 10’s with a PB of 10.85.
Another new vehicle although not a Gasser was the mobility scooter resplendent in Honky Tonkin colours which was ideal really as Crew Chief on the 57 is Ted Booth, and having aggravated ankle surgery at Melbourne, the Honky Tonkin crew had acquired the scooter so Ted could get about. However, following a pit lane accident at the Main event Steve Matthews had injured his knee. The Honky Tonkin crew ever resourceful had made and added a trailer seat to the scooter, it was quite a sight when both Steve and Ted cruised the pits at what for both racers was a snail’s pace!
On Saturday after the first runs, some drivers knew they could better and one in particular, knew he had some work ahead of him as his transmission caused significant issues. 56 Chevy Guzzler driver Tony Pearson ably supported by his crewman H and for this weekend Pro Mod racer Odd Rune Olsen from Norway, soon had it out, stripped down and rebuilt for later in the day. Which during the afternoon became rain affected, but as usual the Santa Pod crew did a superb job of returning the strip to race condition, with no sign of the wet stuff returning.
The rain delay had meant that for one team and in particular the driver Tom Margesson, the next few hours until the qualifying was over would be a tense time. Tom had put the Ford Pop, The Tinsel Town Hustler into number 2 in the first qualifying. However, he had an appointment with the ‘Killers’ in London, so had no option but to leave the Pod and hope he had done enough with his 10.69 on a 10.62 dial in. Only time would tell.
Round 2 of qualifying was urgently required for Drew Mason, as due to a failure with the starter motor, he had not put a time on the board. Bringing all his efforts in installing his race seat into the Austin Devon on Friday into focus. He soon had the Devon in number 7 spot, with an 11.68 on an 11.60 dial in. Through the ranks drivers were having mixed out comes. Sean Milsom was once again hanging them high as he left the line and replaced Tom as number 2 qualifier, Jason Pickett popped himself into number 3, Steve Matthews at 4 and Simon Glenn into 5. Graham Barton moved from the bump spot (17) upto 11th and his friend Ray Irish was down in 21st with Keith Bartlett in Roarin Rat 57 Chevy just above him in 20th with a 10.95 on a 10.45 dial in. They were in good company showing how competitive the race series is with Lee Pike, and Brian Gibson joining them.
Late afternoon and the Gassers filled the support fire up road with 22 cars stretching from one end to the other. The slowly setting sun added a serial feel as crews pushed their cars into the main lanes. Just before 8 o’clock the engines were fired and two by two they pulled round and burnt out, before heading to the startline. With only 16 slots available in eliminations 6 gassers were set to miss out, but this qualifying session would see some significant movements with gassers moving up and down the ladder.
Brian Gibson Identity Crisis went from 19th to number 3 with an 11.24 on an 11.20 dial in, Ray Irish Gas Junkie went from 21st to 6th on a 9.32 on a 9.88, Katie Booth The Mighty Mouse moved up from 13th to 8th. Jason Hollamby Jumpin Jalapeno had occupied this position but this qualifying was to see him stay in the show but drop to 14th with a 10.63 on an 10.54 dial in. Simon Glenn had a bit of a tumble as he moved from 5th to 15th. Paul Dominey in his 640 Austin Dorset got it all together just in time, and made the final qualifying spot his. Billy Jones was frustrated as he dropped from number 14 to oh so close but not close enough as first alternate at number 17 and Simon Prest was to experience the joy and the agony all wrapped up in one, as he set a new PB with a 10.97, but did not make it into eliminations. He was joined by Billy Jones, Lee Pike, Keith Bartlett and Adam Kruczynski.
At the other end Martyn Hallam held onto his number 1 qualifying position no wonder with his stunning 9.77 on a 9.77 dial in and Tom Margesson had slipped to 11th, but was in the show and the qualifiers looked like this:-
Martyn Hallam – Hallam Hallam & Couch 33 Willys
Sean ‘Chili’ Milsom – Ain’t Misbehavin Morris Van
Brian Gibson – Identity Crisis 64 Dodge
Jason Pickett – Cherry Bomb 55 Chevy
Ray Turner – Green Onions 55 Chevy
Ray Irish – Gas Junkie Willys Pickup
Steve Matthews – Honky Tonkin 57 Chevy
Katie Booth – The Mighty Mouse Ford Pop
Simon Glenn – Straight Shooter Austin Pickup
Hoch – B&G Racing Ford Falcon
Tom Margesson – Tinsel Town Hustler
Drew Mason – Nogbad The Bad Austin Devon
Tony Pearson – Guzzler 56 Chevy
Jason Hollamby – Jumpin Jalapeno Ford Falcon
Graham Barton – High Anxiety Austin Devon
Paul Dominey – 640 Austin Dorset
Saturday night turned into Sunday and with it came the most savage of rain storms which lashed Santa Pod for most of the night. The early morning wakeup call of the track being prepared never arrived, and peering through the caravan curtains, you were greeted with not only rain, but flooded areas of the pits. Racers are a hardy bunch, but all over the pits cars were being loaded and for some the trip home commenced. Our hope of getting out and racing only faded when the public address system announced the event had been called.
The Gasser Circus rules are quite clear on what happens in this instance, and so it was that the number 1 qualifier Martyn ‘Marv’ Hallam stepped forward to collect his winner’s trophy and winnings from Neil Melliard. Due to the weather conditions a substitute trophy was utilised, and Marv also picked up the number 1 qualifier monies and Sean Milsom the Best reaction time monies from The Rocket Racing Team for his blistering 0.002.
Despite the weather, the weekend was a great success, and the sight of 22 Gassers in the fire up road, will live long in the memory.
The Gasser Circus will roll into town again for the Retro Weekend, and we would like to thank Neil Melliard of Melliard’s Modern Lettering, The Rocket Racing Team, The National Street Rod Association, Renegade Fuels and Serck Services for their continued sponsorship, and Santa Pod Raceway for their brilliant support.
Gasser Circus – Racing The Dream.
Swift snippets. 11th June:
We wish a Happy Birthday for today to Outlaw Street and Modified 100e racer Tom Semper, Top Doorslammer racer Andreas Sjödin, former Fuel Altered racer Terri-Anne White, former Comp Bike racer T.J. O'Brien, and PR extraordinaire Dan Welberry, we hope you all have a wonderful day.
We were sorry to hear that leading European FWD racer Steeve Durante suffered a crash at the 17th European Dragster event in Clastres last weekend. During an 8 second pass at over 150mph at the 1/4 one of the slicks on the 1050hop made contact with the wheel arch, sending the car sideways and off the race surface, rolling about 5 or 6 times before coming to a halt. Steeve was extracted from the car and is now resting at home now after a hospital checkup.
The National Sprint Association will be back in action this weekend at Somerset’s Westonzoyland Sprint Strip. Heading up the 750cc Racing class will be retired engineer and current overall track record holder Pete Ford. Last time out Pete wound his blown 750cc Suzuki up so tight that he covered the eighth mile strip in 5.905s at 126 mph. When Pete’s not going in straight lines he’s also been known to chuck a similar machine up hills at Wiscombe Park Hill Climb course which, as we know, is a great deal longer with fast bends!
But this weekend Pete might not get it his own way as in hot pursuit for overall honours will be Andy Boswell with the Cornish based B&H Motorcycles 1200cc Harley Sportster. Last time out Andy took this machine down into the fives at 5.999s.
Although the two day meeting is largely made up of modern race and street bikes there will be a smattering of vintage and classic class machines too featuring such legendary British marques as Vellocette, Rudge, Ariel, BSA, Triumph and Norton alongside the mighty JAPs. One particular Triumph making a comeback, and in the ownership of 2021 NSA southern champion Jasper Joy, will be Mickeytaker from the 1980s when then owner Mike Taylor raced it regularly at Long Marston Raceway in the NDRC Competition Bike Championship.
Timed runs commence at 12 noon both days. Admission is just £5.00 each day while kids under 15 go free. Westonzoyland Sprint Strip can be found 5 miles South-East of Bridgwater (TA7 0PR).
Results from Clastres. 10th June:
The French Association Trophée Dragster have published the results of the 17th European Dragster meeting held on 4th-5th June. You can see the results at this link on the ATD web site. We summarise below some of the best performances by class.
The quickest class was Super Pro ET, the #1 qualifier being Stephane Jacquot (Toplino Altered) with a perfect 7.580/284.58kph. Other seven second runners were Fabien Dubois (Dragster) who ran 7.443/288.00 on a 7.43 dial, Claude Knope of Switzerland (Chevy Camaro) who ran 7.834/277.99 on a 7.60 dial, Sebastian Lajoux who ran 7.833/275.86 on a 7.50 dial and Patrick Dubois (Dragster) who ran 7.680/306.38 on a 7.000 dial. There were 24 qualifiers in all. In eliminations which were halted at the semi final stage by rain, Alain Duerr from Switzerland (Alfa Romeo GTV), Fabien Dubois and Robert Gasner from Germany (Chevy Camaro) were the remaining competitors and were awarded places based on their closeness to dial.
Photo credit: Philippe Maquin (pictured: Super Pro ET racers Stephane Jacquot and Christian Schnerbeli)
Pro ET was the largest class with 32 qualifiers, led by Peter Soursas (Plymouth Barracuda) who ran a 10.535/206.30 on a 10.53 dial in qualifying. Again eliminations were halted by rain at the semi final stage with the UK's Ronnie Mercer (Ford Pop), Germany's Armin Widmann (Chevy Camaro), Didier Billaut (Dodge Challenger) and Andre Nahler (VW) all still remaining in competition.
Super Gas was contested for the first time at an ATD event since 2010, and three competitors made qualifying, Marianne Wisotzke (BMW E30) running a 9.916/221.54 to go first. Remaining competitors when the rains came were Marianne and fellow German Stephan Blauwitz (Chevy Camaro).
The Street Run class with ten qualifiers had Maurice Heller qualify #1 with a 12.802 on 12.80 dial in his Ford Mustang. Eliminations came down to the final with Guillaume Boisson (Mazda MX5) and Jean Luc Jacot (Pontiac Trans Am). Junior Dragster had 12 qualifiers led by Marie Camillieri with a RT of 0.003 followed by Lucas Schmid of Germany (0.005 RT) and Hugo Lajoux (0.006). The final was due to be Marie v Hugo.
You can see media from the race at the following links:
The next ATD meeting is on 2nd-3rd July, the entry deadline is today, you can see details about the event on the ATD website where you can register and the ATD Facebook page.
Swift snippets. 10th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Supercharged Outlaw racer Gary Parkes, former Outlaw Anglia racer Andy Przybyl, Outlaw Flat Four racer Jonny Marriage, Santa Pod Raceway Social Media wunderkind Scott Gay and German drag racing official Mike Barnett. Have a great day all.
You will be able to see the latest official points in the FIA Drag Racing championship, and unofficial Nitro Funny Car Cup points by going to our points page.
A reminder that today is the final day to register for the STP Summer Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway which you can do by clicking here. The entry list now comprises 270 teams, with several classes having record entries.
VW Drag Day tomorrow. 9th June:
Tomorrow (Friday) at Santa Pod Raceway the Volkswagen Drag Racing Club will be holding the 2022 VW Drag Day. Open to all racers, the event will be holding three Volkswagen Group competitions, Heads Up, 12.00 Index Class and Bracket all for cash prizes. There will also be run what ya brung.
The Heads Up Class has no index, and first to the finish wins, however your car must be capable of running 11.99 and quicker. The Index Class has a 12.00 second index, racers should get as close to it as possible, without going quicker, your car must be capable of running at least 13.99. With the Bracket Class dial in your own index, get as close to it without going quicker. Four qualifying sessions are planned before eliminations. Run What Ya Brung is available for those cars and bikes who wish to test on the track.
There are still places available at this link at a price of £175 if you wish to take part in any of the three Volkswagen Group competitions and £100 for run what ya brung. Those eliminated from their Volkswagen Group competition have the opportunity to continue testing in the RWYB Sessions. These charges are for DVLC or Motorsport UK licensed drivers only, admission for crew members is £15 each, all must have at least associate membership of the VWDRC to enter.
The event will be live-streamed, streaming sponsored D.H Automotive, on the VWDRC Facebook page and VWDRCTV Youtube channel with Colin Theobald doing the track announcing.
Spy picture. 9th June:
We received these spy pictures with the caption "Coming soon".
If you know more, or have a spy picture of your own to send, please contact us at editor@eurodragster.com.
Drachten Internationals this weekend. 9th June:
Drag racing in Drachten Airport, Netherlands is back after four years of absence, and how! In the weekend from 10th-12th June it's time for the first edition of Dragrace Madness with the Drachten Internationals 2022!
A spectacular national and European field of participants will start the 1/4 Mile race. That means old-fashioned enjoyment of the familiar drag racing sounds in the Frisian polder. Make sure you don't miss this event and keep an eye on our social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.
Most of the classes below will be in action in Drachten during a beautiful summer weekend, with more than 170 participating racers! The event will start on Friday at 15:00. with the first training sessions. On Saturday the show starts at 10:00 am until late in the evening and on Sunday we start at 10:00 am with the finals! On Saturday and Sunday there's a demo with the spectacular 15000hp Jet Car, Dragon Hunter II driven by Gerd Habermann. You can buy tickets per day or opt for a passe-partout for all 3 days. Ticket sales are going fast, so make sure you don't miss out. The parking spaces are limited, so order your parking ticket right away! Tickets can be bought at www.dragracemadness.com.
The event will incude as well as Dragon Hunter II, Extreme Outlaw (Cannonball race), Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Street Modified, Street legal Cars, Supercar demos, Junior Dragsters, Pro Street Bikes, Super Street Bikes, Street Modified Bikes, Street Legal Bikes, Street Twin Battle (organised by Gert-Jan Laseur and sponsored by Zodiac), Junior Bikes, and more.
Track Opening hours:
June 10th: 14:00 - 22:00
June 11th: 09:00 - 22:00
June 12th: 09:00 - 18:00
Track location: Airport Drachten, The Knots 100, 9202 XJ Drachten
The Drachten Internationals is an initiative of DRAG NL and 402 Automotive . Timekeeping is controlled by the DHRA and it is driven according to the KNAF and KNMV guidelines.
Order your tickets online now with a pre-sale discount at www.dragracemadness.com! During the event, tickets are also available online and at the counter, but without the discount!
Swift snippets. 9th June:
Happy Birthday for today to British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member and motorcycle drag racer Pip Higham, Wild Bunch racer Keith Crampton, Comp Eliminator racer David James and Norwegian Super Twin Top Fuel racer Vidar Ravnsborg. We hope you all have a great day.
Fans of Nitro Revival in the US are recommended to watch this week's episode of 'Hook Knows' with organiser and former NHRA Competitions Director Steve Gibbs telling the best stories from his long career about why starting rollers were introduced, driving funny cars through the pits, the worst ever oildown, and the legendary Brent Fanning cow-dung burnout. To see this week's segment click on this Facebook link.
Robin Read and myself had been messaging each other on FB as we have already had a grudge match in the past, but it didn’t turn out as proposed, the tower was meant to run a pro tree but instead ran a sportsman tree so, me being me, I was off like a scolded cat on the first amber, Robin must have sat thinking what the heck is he up to. So after some discussions with the powers at be it was decided to run with Robin at the last Outlaw Anglia qualifying session on Saturday night and to be the last pair, I was fully aware that Robin had had a massive PB in Spirit of Le Patron of 6.37 so I thought I'd better turn it up and I did for sure, I was either going to pull a red light or have a fantastic reaction time as this would be the only way i would be able to keep up with his speed.
Unfortunately Robin and the team had a massive engine explosion and commiserations to everyone involved, I hope they return stronger and faster but we are all aware this type of damage doesn’t come cheap, I take my hat of to the dedication and engineering which goes into the operation, its mind blowing, however for me I ran a speed of 196.41 the quickest The Flyin Fyfer has ever gone absolutely over the moon is an understatement, my thanks go out to our Crew Chief Aaron Springford for keeping me on the straight and narrow my wee Lynn for being Lynn and Jedd Guy for helping with the tune as well as all the fantastic OA guys and gals, racers, supporters, Santa Pod Raceway and all the marshals who keep us safe out there, see you all real soon!
You can see video of Colin and Robin's race on Youtube on the channel of Terry Robbins Pod Wheels, and also from onboard the Flyin' Fyfer.
100e Challenge Nostalgia Nationals report. 8th June:
Many thanks to Modified 100e Challenger co-ordinator Scott Collin for sending a report on the category's outing at the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals:
Unfortunately the points day with the Challenge Dial In would have been on the Sunday with more cars, but that didn't stop seven cars getting on track Friday and Saturday. There was a mixture of highs and lows, with most drivers achieving new PB's.
I managed to achieve my first ever nine second pass with a 9.97/131.69mph. An earlier run of 139.97 suggests there is a bit more to come. Mark Haswell was trying out his transbrake for the first time, and managed several PB's with a best of 9.36/144.36. Jools Davison, with a lot of tuning, managed to almost break into the 10's on his new combo, with an engine refresh and having moved to a Glide from the original four speed, and is almost ready to start hitting it with the nitrous, hopefully by Round 3 in 2 weeks time.
David Mott found his electrical gremlin, and immediately dipped his 300e Gasser 'The Brickyard Shaker' in to mid 12's with a 12.67@107.93 and Tim Evans also set himself a new PB of 13.42@105.92. Unfortunately Steve Watson was having a few trans issues with his Gasser 'Bad Apple', having moved to an auto from a T5, and Matthew Seamarks threw a pushrod early on.
Round 3 will be at The Retro Show where we can expect to see the regulars, along with Garth Wong who'll be continuing to tweak his recent suspension mods to see if he can improve on his 60ft times from Round 1 with a 1/4 mile run of 9.20 without gas, before chasing a new PB which he already has in the 8's using nitrous. We'll also see the return of Stuart Flitton battling for his first 9 second pass.
Racer quotes from Nostalgia Nationals. 8th June:
Yesterday we published racer quotes from the invited classes at the Nostalgia Nationals. Today we have quotes from the Run What Ya Brung racers which at this event include Wild Bunch, Outlaw Street, Modified 100e, and Willys Wars cars as well as a wide range of hot rods from the membership of the NSRA.
The Wild Bunch had a great field of 21 cars signed on for RWYB which enabled the class to run as many passes when they wanted to. Congratulations to Lee Hartnell in the Metal Mistress 23T altered, Matt Hollins in the Cheap Thrills slingshot of Ratchet Strap Racing, Graham Rawlings' VW engined Little Digger, and Paul Tarry with his Trigger's Broom 23T altered, all of whom ran personal bests. The Wild Bunch also welcomed the car debuts of Gary Atkinson with a new Topolino Time Lock altered (below left), John Sharod in his 'Never Say Never’ altered (ex-Sam Freeman car) (below right) and Dan Wilson with the ex Brian Watson slingshot.
Commiserations to those Wild Bunch racers who had problems and were unable to make a pass, Chris Hartnell with Backdraft and Faye Hern with the newly Wildcat headed but still Rover engined Daddy Cool both pushed back after the burnout, as well as Steve Garlant with Sonic Attack 2 slingshot (formerly owned by Ollie H Smith).
Team Sonic Attack 2 posted: "After discovering an issue with the car and the forecasted incoming bad weather, the team decided to pack up and head home yesterday. We have a plan of attack to get the car sorted and have the right people in place to resolve this. But don't worry because the Fat F..kers Racing team will be back at Dragstalgia with one of the cars from our paddock. Hopefully Sonic Attack II will be ready but if not we still have Sonic Attack Altered ready to go!"
You can see a provisional list of best Wild Bunch times we have collected from the timing system at this link.
Outlaw Street had nine cars making passes, with PBs from new members James Griffen of 9.5499/141.14, Jason Blott's Zephyr Mk1 of 10.2729/138.12, Matthew Southcott's '39 Ford Coupe of 10.2941/134.12, Alan P's 1934 Ford (below right) of 11.347/115.25 and Gary Semper's Firebird of 11.4179/121.49. You can see a provisional list of best times we have collected from the timing system at this link.
Outlaw Street organiser Mark Wallington posted: "Massive well done to Gary Semper OS-69 who ran new PBs of 11.5 & then 11.4s, OS-44 James who spent all weekend fighting mechanical & electrical gremlins but at the last run of the day netted a new PB of 9.5. Also OS-12 Matt with the Assasin coupe also with a new 10.2 PB, well done to Sally OS-59 (below left) who pulled a big ole wheelie off the line, caught it got straight and then put her foot back in, full credit, nice to meet new member Jason and his stunning super clean Zephyr, netting a 10.2 first time out."
You can see Modified 100e organiser Scott Collin's comments on the class above, of the six cars making passes, Mark Haswell's 572ci 100e ran an outstanding series of nine second times with a quickest and new PB of 9.3615/145.83; Scott himself went into the nines for the first time at 9.973/139.97. Commiserations to Matthew Seamarks who suffered extensive engine damage after a pushrod failure. You can see a provisional list of best times we have collected from the timing system at this link.
There were other great runs from cars in the RWYB which are listed in the timing data. Thanks to David Anniwell of the Santa Pod Timing Crew for sending us detailed timing data, including test day results, which we have posted to our timing data area which you can see by clicking on Data, then Timing Data at the top of any Eurodragster.com page. Official results can be seen at Santa Pod's Official Results Site.
Swift snippets. 8th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Wild Bunch racer Phil James, Comp Eliminator mum and crew Sarah Payne, Youtubers Spottedmotors' Michael Castle, and Mustang racer Rick Swaine. Have a great day all.
Kieran has posted to his Mk1Kieran Youtube channel a number of videos from the Doorslammers and Main Event. There are class reviews from Doorslammers of European FWD Front Wheel Drive, Pro Doorslammer, 4 Cylinder, 6 Cylinder and Pro Street. You can see footage of individual cars of Ashley Cooper (Street Eliminator Ford Transit), Ron Bartlett (Super Pro ET Ford Anglia 105E), David Smith (Comp Eliminator Jaguar XKE), Jan Ericsson (Pro Modified Chevy Camaro) and last but not least, Kieran's team car, Kevins Jenkins (Comp Eliminator Ford Escort Mk1). Whilst looking at the videos, why not subscribe to Kieran's channel and click on notifications to get informed of future uploads?
Just a reminder that credit to Eurodragster.com will be appreciated on any material that is sourced from this website and posted to social media . This includes photos, screen shots of results and news items. Remember, leaving out such a credit is not only a little discourteous, it also is a disservice to our sponsors.
NEM Plant UK Nostalgia Superstock had a field of 39 qualified cars. Blogger and racer for the first time at the Nostalgia Nationals Nïamh Frances Smith (above right) posted "What a bleddy brilliant weekend! Feeling very proud of this little car for getting me from Sheffield to Santa Pod and back, plus a few goes on the strip. I ran a best of 15.1, and Jake ran a best of 14.9 in it all while battling a knackered gearbox. Few more bits to get the car properly finished - including changing the gearbox - and hopefully we’ll do even better at Dragstalgia next month, but for now we’re super pleased with the Fairlane! Thank you to everyone for your advice and kind words on the build, and to everyone who’s helped me and Jake get the car ready in a mad dash (particularly Jake’s dad Rob)."
Other first timers in the class were former Street Eliminator racer John Sleath, Ian Johnson, Mick Sharpe, Shelby Watts, Chris Tyhurst. Commiserations to Roydon Mitchell and Dave Simcock who ran on Friday but couldn't make the call for Saturday. qualifying.
Gasser Circus with 21 cars trying for a 16 car field, had some driver swaps. Lee Pike, usual driver of Hony Tonkin' 2 (below left) posted: "Fantastic weekend at NOS nats, Donna Sayce Allen taking the helm on Friday doing an awesome job, chasing the 8’s on every run in qually saw the wind and track get the better of us on Saturday….thanks to GC and chorkers, only a new rear end needed for the retro show." The 2022 Gasser Cicus Showdown Round 2 Winner was Hallam, Hallam & Couch Racing; after the event was rained off, Marv won being number 1 qualifier, running a 9.7708 on a 9.77 dial in.
Renegade Outlaw Anglia had an entry of 20 cars, with Paul Hensher taking the early lead with a new PB of 7.3670/182.15, then in session 3, Colin Millar ran a new track speed record for the class, 196.41 in 7.0484s alongside the Spirit of of Le Patron dragster of Robin Read. Other moments in the class included the presence of British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member and racer for over 50 years Al O'Connor, Rob Nixon's wheelies with his Prefect and match race against class racer from the mid 90s Bob Hancox, driving a stock Prefect. Class rookie Ben Montgomery made 11 runs on Friday.
Ian Tweddle (above right), who joined the class in 2014, posted: "Nostalgia Nationals, what a blast, so many ups and downs, was great to see everyone after a three year absence. Anxious was flying Friday as all non nitrous PBs then Saturday threw me a curve ball and decided to leak water every time we reached the line. Very frustrating, so a big thank you to Shaun Edwards for his perseverance with the temporary fix using the jubilee clip provided by Wayne Power, much appreciated Wayne, which got me on the track for the final qualifier.
After an overzealous burnout due to pent up frustration I ran another PB they say things happen in threes so 1.Rad Leak temp fixed 2.Racing boot sole came off thanks Wayne for sticking it back on 3.Thought I’d got away with it but had a trailer malfunction unloading Anxious so need to fix the door. Still, a great weekend and thanks to everyone I may have missed who helped and supported me. Roll on Dragstalgia see all you lovely people then.
Supercharged Outlaws had two qualifying rounds, and Roy Wilding (below left) was quickest qualifier with a 7.1945/188.84 in his alky fuelled hemi slingshot. They were followed by Freddy's Revenge with Robbie Grabham (below right) in their first outing of the year, running a best of 7.267/192.21. Freddy's Revenge posted: "Not quite the Nostalgia Nationals we had in mind, but not entrirely unsuccessful. We were testing increased tyre pressures this weekend which we can confirm the Topolino does not like! The A35 likes the higher pressures with the increased weight of the body, however the Topolino gets rather bouncy in the early part of the track. So back to the lower pressures we go.
"We had our fair share of issues over the weekend, after our first and only successful pass we found a split in the weld on the fuel tank at the top end. After a quick chat with Leo Knight and Jake at JKE, a plan was hatched and we were quickly back in action so massive thanks to those two! Freddy is now sporting some JKE decals as a small thank you to Jake!
"The second run was looking ok, still a bit bouncy but the engine cut out just past half track. We found that to be a wire from the coil that had broke away so it cut the ignition, a nice easy fix but it left us pushed for time for the last run. We had two cylinders out on the last run so were massively down on power, we found the problem just after the run and has been rectified so we are greatly looking forward to Dragstalgia, where we can take on the big nitro burners. Fingers crossed we can improve on our two runner up finished from the previous two Dragstalgias!
"Perfect ET Award sponsor Andy 'Fadster' Hadfield suffered a broken crankshaft. He wrote: A tough weekend for the Team Twister and it’s only right to thank my crew for their tireless work and encouragement. After all the hard work last week, it was a poor reward to find our crank broken but we aren’t downbeat. I’m already making inroads to getting a replacement and enquiries going out to my usual suppliers so that we can try to be ready for Melbourne Raceway at the end of this month. Such a shame for the NSRA with the weather and despite the hard work from the Santa Pod Raceway crew, who always provide a superb track, the odds were heavily stacked against them today. Thanks to all our friends who offered commiserations and support. Love the drag racing community.
Nostalgia Nationals media has been posted since the weekend, here are the links so far:
In tomorrow's update, we will cover run what ya brung including Wild Bunch and Modified 100e.
Summer Nationals party in the pits. 7th June:
Thanks to Pro ET class sponsor Mike Lacey who sent details about arrangements for this year's annual party in the pits, being held after racing on 1st and 2nd July:
Pro ET’s Summer Nationals party in the pits has been a regular thing for a good few years now. With total support from Santa Pod, this has grown and grown each year. This year we have decided to try something a little different. We, as in Pro ET, are going to have a go at putting a band together, with a little help from a few guests you will all know. This year it will be a two night event, Friday and Saturday.
Friday night will be a jam session where if you have a instrument and wish to have a go or join in, you will be more than welcome. All are invited, not just Pro ET. I’m hoping this will be a great night, as many have shown interest, and I think our racing community might have a little more talent up their sleeves than others may know. Come and join in. Remember to bring your own instruments, unless you have a friend who you have asked very kindly to borrow.
Saturday will be supported by Gawain Simons' (ex-Boozy Suzie Pro ET car) son Kieron and his college band for the first hour, and then a short break where Kieron will continue as our bass player, Gawain on guitar, Bob Molden on rhythm guitar and a few of his own songs from his old band, back in the 1940’s... ish...! Ian Hart on vocals and guitar. And Pete Dodd on drums. They will be known as “The Timing Retards”. Prove yourself on Friday night, and you never know, you may become a Retard on Saturday night.
Nitro FM, and in particular Pete and Nikki, will be supplying the PA system and the mixing, possibly broadcasting the event on Nitro FM on Saturday night. Be prepared and don’t listen if there are children present. This will not be a family show and is after the 9.00 pm watershed.
Please contact me by phone on 07415451050 or email modurstang@yahoo.co.uk if you would like to join in, or feel you have something to offer for the weekend. Turning up on Friday night with a triangle will also be appreciated.
Cant wait. Fail or succeed, I’m sure it will be great fun.
Photo by Karen Stevens: flashback to Party in the Pits 2015.
FIA/FIM-E by the numbers. 7th June:
Many thanks to honorary Eurodragster.com member Andy Marrs who identified a gap in the seemingly never-ending statistics on our sport. Andy has now come up with a table of counts of championship wins, event wins, event runners up, #1 qualifier, low ET and high speed from 1996 (FIA) and 1992 (FIM-E and its predecessor UEM). You can see the links to Andy's count tables, updated to the 2022 Main Event, in our Champions Champions page or directly to the pages for FIA data and FIM-E data. Click on the tabs at the bottom of the page for the category you want to see.
Andy remarks: "As some of you will know already, if I get an idea in my head I find it difficult to let it go. After a comment I made last week concerning top tens, and having a bit of time on my hands over the weekend, I have been through all the statistical and historic data I have and created the attached. I don’t think they need explaining, you’ll know what you’re looking at.
Just a couple of points though. Firstly there is my usual caveat that there are some small gaps in my historical data, particularly the early FIM data. Top Methanol includes all TM data, both from when TMD and TMFC ran as single classes, and when they ran as a combined class.
Remember, you and everyone else who may see this are my proof readers. Beyond help from some of the tools in Excel this is very much a manual process, much as I try to avoid it mistakes do happen. If anyone spots any please let me know via e-mail.
Mälardalen Open #9 at Kjula Dragway. 7th June:
The Mälardalen Open #9 was held at Kjula Dragway on 28th-29th May. The race held over the quarter mile at Kjula, Eskilstuna, Sweden was in good conditions, allowing eliminations to be completed, and 110 vehicles attended racing in 12 classes plus test & tune. You can see full results at www.dragracing.eu, we highlight here some of the interesting vehicles that were on track, thanks to the Facebook album posted by Henrik Lindberg Photography.
A class called 440 Outlaw, with an index of 4.40 run over the eighth, featured the two dragsters of Ida Lindqvist and Anton Garner (below left). Ida, from Åland, was the winner of the match race 2:1, in a Spitzer chassised car with a naturally aspirated 543ci Merlin block Chevy engine and Powerglide transmission that ran a best at the race of 4,8711/230,97. Anton's car, formerly a Top Fuel car from 1990 has a Gene Gaddy chassis and is powered by a naturally aspirated 672ci Merlin BBC engine with Leanders clutch and Liberty gearbox, running a best of 5.0786/235.40kph.
Street, the doorslammer class with an 8.60 index, had 15 qualifiers. #1 qualifier was Fredde Carsting with a 8.604/257.1 run in his supercharged 454ci BBC engined and Powerglide gearbox Volvo (above right). Fredde reached the semi final when he was defeated by eventual winner Benny Wallenbro in his nitrous small block Nova.
In Pro Comp Bike, Peter Andersson (below left) was the winner in a four bike field, running his best time of 7.668/298.20kph in the final round defeat of #1 qualifier Jens Karlsson. Peter's Hayabusa 1300cc Funny Bike is turbocharged, and the bike built by his company Andersson Turbo.
In the Bracket race, Thord Andersson (above right) had a nice looking supercharged five window coupe that could be mistaken for a certain Supercharged Outlaw entry.
Swift snippets. 7th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Pro Modified racer-in-waiting David Murdoch, Comp Bike racer John McLean, Sportsman ET racer Ashleigh Clark, photographer Andrew Green and from Sweden, retired racers Charley Karling (Super Twin) and Michael Callin (Pro Stock). Have a great day all.
Photojournalist Steve Moxley has published a report from the FIA/FIM-E Main Event on the FIM-E senior bike classes at the ACU website and, separately a report on Eric Teboul's runs at Santa Pod at this link on the ACU website. Steve's reports are as detailed as ever and include many snippets from the pits.
A new addition in our Jeff Bull Race Engines-sponsored Swap Meet is the Funny Bike of Phil Crossley being sold turnkey for £16,950. If you're interested, contact Phil via the e-mail address in the swap meet ad.
Fast Show Reloaded Shootout entries are open for all door cars with ‘compact’ engines, with prize money and trophies for the winner and runner-up. Entries close 5pm Friday June 17th, and can be booked at this link on the SPR racer entry site."
Entry is also closing soon for the STP Summer Nationals on 2nd-3rd July organised by the Santa Pod Racers Club. Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall says "The closing date for entries at normal fees is this Friday 10th June and a surcharge will apply after this date. You can see the current entry list for the STP Summer Nationals at this link on the SPRC website which is where racers need to enter.
Nostalgia Nationals rained off. 6th June:
Following heavy rain on Saturday night and drizzle of Sunday morning coupled with cold temperatures, the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals was declared a rain-off by track officials on Sunday morning.
Previously Friday had been a full day of run what ya brung with around 140 cars making almost 500 runs, then on Saturday the invited classes took part in three qualifying passes (two for UK Nostalgia Superstock) and the first round of NSS eliminations, the track crew once again making a huge effort to drive the track after an afternoon downpour.
We'll assemble comments from racers for publication later in the week; if you have your own snippets to send to us at news@eurodragster.com we'd be grateful.
The race was incident free apart from some mechanical damage sustained. Most spectacular was Robin Read whose dragster had on Friday run the quickest wheel driven pass of the event at 6.3748/208.02, new PB for him. However a second pass alongside Colin Millar unfortunately resulted in a big engine explosion (captured by K.L. Eyken photo designs), as Colin ran a great 7.0484/196.41 for a new SPR track record speed for Outlaw Anglia.
You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored NSRA Nostalgia Nationals reports, results and galleries by clicking here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link in the main menu above. A big Thank You from Simon to photographers Julian and DD for their hard work and good humour in the unpleasant conditions.
Team Annie prizewinners at Clastres. 6th June:
Congratulations to Ronnie Mercer and Team Annie, wife Annette and crew Mick Hewitt and Jordan Amps, for their first prize in Pro ET at the 17th European Dragster meeting at Clastres Dragway, France which ran for two rounds until rain halted the meeting after two rounds of racing.
Jordan Amps posted "What a great ending of a great time away in France a win for team Annie in Pro ET, this was down to the closest dial in on the quarterfinals, even with the rain that came it was a wicked time, well done to everyone involved! We're coming home with the big win."
Ronnie was one of two Brits who drove to Clastres in their race cars, the other being Pro ET racer John Bean, driving being a convenient way around the carnet requirements. At the end of qualifying after three sessions, Ronnie qualified #3 in Pro ET with a 9.115/149.50 on a 9.10 dial after two sessions, whereas John was #9 with a 9.687/139.37 on a 9.66 dial.
We'll have more details about the race when full results are published by organising body Association Trophée Dragster and media posted. In the meantime, videos of action over the weekend have been posted by Pascal Koch of the European Drag Racing Videos Facebook page.
Swift snippets. 6th June:
Happy Birthday for today to Swedish photographer Patrik Jacobsson, former Super Comp racer Zane Llewellyn, VW Sportsman racer Ian Dance, and Outlaw Anglia rookie Ben Montgomery who won the NSRA trophy for most runs (11) on Friday at the Nostalgia Nationals. Also Super Comp racer Martin Curbishley has written to wish a belated Happy Birthday for yesterday (Sunday) to to Stuart Cameron, Managing Director of his sponsor Fix Auto Penzance from Ruth, Martin, and all the staff at Fix. We hope you had, or a having, a great day.
Thanks to photojournalist Remco Scheelings for posting a story about Pro Modified racer David Vegter's Main Event in his Camaro which you can see at the Dragracing Europe site, or in Dutch at autosport.nl.
A couple of new Zenfolio photo gallery posts, Richard Smith has posted 176 photos of the Japanese, German, Mini event at Melbourne Raceway to his RDSmith Pics site. Also photographer Paul Lister has posted 122 photos of the FA/FIM-E Main Event to his website Dragcaranon2.
You can go to our coverage by clicking on this link, or by going via the Event Coverage list in the main menu at the top of the page. Our coverage will consist of a regularly updated race report, with end of day galleries of on-track photographs and pit pictures courtesy of Julian and Diana.
Our usual news service will resume on Monday 6th June.
The up and coming Nostalgia Nationals at Santa Pod marks Round 2 of the Gasser Circus Showdown. With 23 Gassers already entered the Northamptonshire strip in is the place to be, especially if you need to get a Gasser boost.
With only 16 Gasser’s guaranteed to make it through to eliminations on Sunday, qualifying on Saturday will be an action packed event and a voyage of discovery for the new cars and their drivers. These being Simon Prest in his 64 Mercury Comet ‘The Rocket’, Chris Layram in his 53 Ford Anglia ‘Outa Gas’ and Jason Darling in his ‘Sinister’ Chevy Coupe. These will of course be ably supported by the rest of the returning Gassers. Be sure not to miss this and drop by the pits, as we all enjoy talking Gassers as well as racing them.
Chris O's Main Event. 2nd June:
Comp Eliminator racer Chris Orthodoxou has been in touch with his tale of a mechanically troubled Main Event, after running a succession of mid sixes at the Doorslammers:
For anybody wondering what happened with the ‘Apocalypse’ Viper at the Main Event...we suffered catastrophic blower failure! Anybody who saw the damage will know what I’m talking about. Enough said.
A huge thankyou on our behalf to David Vegter for helping us with a QuickDrive pump bearing and seal, he even helped us fit them in his trailer, what a top guy! David, if you read this, I can’t thank you enough mate, and please get in touch, as I must owe you money for the parts?
Also to Kev Slyfield for the ignition leads and bits & bobs he lent us when we thought we had a spark break-down. Andy Robinson for visiting us many times in the pits to try and get to the bottom of our problem and also ‘young’ Andy Wright and Wayne Nicholson from the Lucky Devil team, who did what they could to help. Also to Dave ‘Suicide’ Smith for the use of his valve lapping paste & tools.
Great guys, all of you. Cheers! All the best chaps and see you soon.
Hawk Racing wins FC at Main Event. 2nd June:
Hawk Racing comprising car owners Mark and Jackie Hawkins and Gladiator driver Jason Phelps, have posted a review of their win of Nitro Funny Car at the Main Event:
Firstly, we would like to thank each and every one of you that has taken the time to congratulate and praise our team for taking the winner’s trophy at The Main Event '22. Anyone that has followed The Hawk Racing Gladiator saga will know that it’s been a journey, with some small wins, a catastrophic low but all with a gritty determination to see the job through.
This is more of a team sport than football is. In football, you can have an off day and the team will still win, however, if one of our guys or girls has a bad day and something don't work, the car is finished. We absolutely rely on pure volunteer enthusiasm just to get to the track, let alone put the starter on it… And finally, that determination and enthusiasm paid off! Main Event winners ’22! And won in a proper gutsy drag race against a proper gutsy team and driver, we are all on cloud 9!
Now is our opportunity to thank not only our dedicated crew and people that have congratulated us, but every single person and company that has stood by us over the past few years through all the highs and lows. The people at Santa Pod Raceway, the marshals and fire crews that have looked after us and swept up more than their fair share of our debris whilst we worked it out. Our sponsors, partners or friends that have stuck by us (not one that has ever come with us has left) and last but definitely not least, the other Funny Car teams in the class. It’s a small world, and the other crews face exactly the same problems as we do on a day to day basis, and will always help you if at all possible whilst we try our damndest to keep this lunacy going...
Kauhava FIM-E cancelled. 2nd June:
FIM-E Drag Racing Commission Chairman Job Heezen has announced the cancellation of the FIM-E round at Kauhava Raceway, Finland on 30th June-3rd July. The event will still be run as a Finnish Championship race as all the equipment required is already on site and track preparation carried out.
"Much to our regret we are notified by FHRA that the upcoming European Championship race at Kauhava will be cancelled. They have informed us today that they can’t find solutions for various issues."
Despite this disappointing announcement emanating from FHRA, there has been support for the sport from FIM Europe President, Mr Martin de Graaff, and the 1st Deputy President and Chairman of the Sporting Council Mr Michal Sikora both of whom attended the Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway.
President de Graaff commented “After two years without the European Championship all fans looked forward to watch the exciting races again on the beautiful Santa Pod race track. The number of fans showed us how they missed it. Together with the 1st Deputy President Michal Sikora I enjoyed the spectacular races with small differences in the running times and high speed at the finish of the quarter mile (about 400 m). Drag Racing Commission Chairman Mr Job Heezen renewed his contacts with the riders and was happy with the technical development in this sport. Important for the Federations is the promotion of Dragrace, encouraging riders to take part in this Championship. All riders have done a lot to make their bike faster. Many new bikes are developed by top technicians to reach a faster run than the last years. The CEO of Santa Pod, Mr Keith Bartlett, did what was important to entertain all fans of motorsport and both races of cars and motorbikes were a great success”.
Editor's comment: the cancellation of the European Championship part of the 30th June-3rd July Finnish round, which also affects Pro Modified, and similar changes affecting the Tierp June event indicate there is a shortfall of organising clubs or tracks in Nordic countries being able to finance the requirements of the governing bodies of the sport for European Championship events. Until this gap can be bridged, it is difficult to see the return of the championships to the level they enjoyed in the 25 years before the Covid pandemic.
Nordic events review and preview. 2nd June:
Despite the disappointing news surrounding the European championship status of the Tierp June and Kauhava July events, there are signs of a recovery of the sport in the Nordic countries from a period of two years in which crowds were subject to strict limits due to Covid.
The first EDRS race of the season at Tallhed, Orsa was unfortunately cancelled, however since then three races have been completed with a noticeable uptick in entries. At the Gardermoen Spring Nationals, 126 vehicles took part in most classes, with small numbers of Top Methanol Dragster, Top Fuel Bike, Pro Modified and Top Doorslammer. Sadly eliminations couldn't be completed due to rain on Sunday, but many vehicles got three qualifying passes in. You can see an album of images on Patrik Jacobsson's Facebook page.
The next EDRS race was the Vårgårda Nationals 9, held 27th-29th May in south west Sweden about an hour's drive from Gothenberg. The racing, over the eighth mile, was in sportsman classes, with three qualifying rounds and eliminations on Sunday. Patrik Jacobsson attended, and you can see his album from it on his Facebook page. Two Super Pro ET vehicles that caught our eye were the 59 Cadillac powered by a 500ci supercharged Chevy engine of Norwegian Kristin Mathisen, and the 351ci turbo Ford Consul Capri of Andreas Bengtsson.
In Finland, round 1 of the Finnish Championship took place at LSK Business Park, Kauhava on 28th-29th May. Rainy and cold weather disrupted Saturday. On Sunday, however, one round of qualification and eliminations was possible. You can see streaming video of the event at this link. The photos below are of Tero Rojola's Fireball dragster and Super Pro ET Camaro of Tony Stahl.
Sadly round 2 and the associated test & tune and Street Mayhem planned for Motopark, Virtasalmi on 10th-12th June at Motopark, Virtasalmi has been cancelled. The FHRA announced yesterday "The primary reason is the low number of entrants to the competition and test day. The completion of the event has already been announced in advance in terms of the number of participants. The situation with the implementation of the event has not been eased by a significant increase in the cost level compared to 2021."
The entry list for the EDRS Sweden Nationals 2022 at Tierp Arena on 17th-19th June has been finalised and, after a late surge in entries, it gives cause for optimism about the sport in Sweden. You can see the entry list at
this link. It includes 4 Top Methanol Dragsters, 9 Pro Stock cars, 18 Pro Modfied, 6 Top Fuel Bike, 10 Super Twin Motorcycles, 14 Top Doorslammers, and a full field of sportsman racers. Why this race isn't an FIA/FIM-E round is explained in our previous news story. Nevertheless, we plan with the help of photojournalist Remco Scheelings, to bring you news from this event on the same day.
You can see the results for all Swedish and Norwegian races at www.dragracing.eu or Nitroz.se on this link. Finnish race results for round 1 can be seen at the FHRA website forum.
Swift snippets. 2nd June:
We have several birthdays to celebrate today. Happy Birthday to team nutritionist Syd McDonald, Street Eliminator racer Nigel Hale, Sportsman ET racer Ricky Hale, 8.50 Bike racer Alan Morrison and from Sweden, 2021 Street Week winner and Comp Eliminator racer Michael Westberg. We hope you all have a great day.
Videographer and Andy Hadfield's Twister crew member Thomas Cook Abbott has posted three videos of his and his team's exploits at his TCA Racing channel. Included are some behind the scenes moments when things didn't go as planned. We wish Andy, Thomas and team Twister best of luck as they prepare for the Nostalgia Nationals after a trouble-filled Main Event.
Rikard Gustafsson (picture courtesy Remco Scheelings) went into #1 in session 1 5.8340/243.75 which stood as low ET of the meet in TFB but missed the rest of Friday after the head was torched and by Saturday he spun the tyre in session 3. In eliminations he suffered another torched head in the first round. Warpspeed Racing had three bikes, Stu Crane the quickest following his 6.32 track record (quickest European FB pass) at Easter. Mark Smith got his first 6 second pass and grew in confidence over the weekend until he reached the final and was outgunned by Rene, however his performance was better than ever. Louis Davies also ran a six, 6.874, and had a round win when Stu Crane had a red light in round one, going out against Rene in the semi final.
The PBR team of Al Smith suffered mechanical issues, as explained by builder Phil Baimbridge in his Facebook blog which we summarise: "The Rocket was fitted with the upgraded ignition and a new rear tyre. The oil pump spares hadn’t arrived from the US, so the pump had been stripped, cleaned and inspected and then rebuilt with the same parts. In Q1 Al shut down between 400' and 660’ and rolled through at 6.51/161, clipping the finish timing cone with his foot on the way through, so the time didn’t count. We noticed that one of the magnetos appeared to have physically moved and we found a problem with the internal wiring. A quick phone call to Steve Woollatt who kindly agreed to loan us his 4 cylinder PM44, driving to his home to collect the magneto.
After a 7.08 in Q3 we pulled the oil pan and found it was full of shrapnel. Disassembled #1 big end to find that the bearings had spun in the con rod, which had scrapped the rod and hurt the crank journal. After replacing parts and reassembling the engine a thread on one of the block to head bolts stripped, we took the head off again and installed the spare cylinder finishing at 2am. Against eventual event winner Rene van den Berg (congratulations on a well deserved first FIM Championship round win). Al hit the throttle, huge revs (a little of 10,000rpm) and the Rocket didn’t move – rolled the gearbox sprag. Another frustrating event for the PBR team but thank you to all the overseas competitors who gave up their time and incurred the expense of attending the race meeting." You can read Phil's full blog post at this Facebook link.
FIM-E Super Twin Top Fuel Bike winner Martijn de Haas said "Main event was a rollercoaster: great to see Samu Kemppainen, Vesa Lipponen and team again and doing this awesome 5sec pass. On the downside the big bang from Marcus Rubæk Christiansen which luckily only caused material damage. Chris Van Nimmen and team performed like pro’s in their first event, well done! Thanks Vincent Pels for your support.
Team Haas Brothers, thanks for this weekend. We are back!"
Samu Kemppainen was riding the bike of Vesa Lipponen with a combined Finnish team. His Skull Racing team posted: "We run a new SuperTwin TF European record with 5.999 sec (0.98s 60ft 3.83s 1/8) which is also the third quickest time in the World in our class. Unfortunately the bike took some damage and we couldn't make it to the finals. Still we are really happy with the new record we made. Thanks to both of the teams: Vesa Lipponen, Kari Oravainen, Kari Kojonkoski, Erkki Heinämäki, Simo Hokkanen, Samu Kemppainen, Mikko Haapalainen, Mika Sjöstedt, Tommi Jokinen & Tapio Illi. And thanks to our sponsors and all of you for your support!"
Commiserations to the Speedys Racing team of Marcus Christiansen and dad Speedy, who suffered a catastrophic engine explosion in Friday's qualifying. The team posted: "We got on top of yesterday, we both feel good but are done for this weekend and the next few races. The engine exploded and destroyed everything in its path. We have a big challenge getting everything ready again this year but expect to be clear in August with some support and be able to run the last 4 races of the season. There are many ways you can support, sponsor the team, buy advertising on the bike, big or small amounts, we accept everything, buy some of all our merchandise -. we have t-shirts, jerseys, jackets, caps.
In FIM-E Super Street Bike winner Dániel Lencsés said "After nine years, we managed to win at the European Championship, and not in any way, I also ran Europe's speed and time record (6.74 and 225.72mph)! In the final the chain broke, which hit me a bit in the back, but I didn't feel that, I was just watching the goal! Congratulations to Steve Venables and all the other competitors! What a weekend it was, thanks to my family, team, friends and fans for the support!"
Runner up Steve Venables commented "Our race family is nothing short of amazing. We destroyed the transmission in elimination round 2 but still managed to take the win light. On returning to the pits I had so many offers of help and encouragement form other race teams to try making the next round.
Alex Hope and Ryan Davies both rolled up their sleeves and got to it swapping motors over. With Jonathan Hines jumping on the heavy lifting side of things, we had the motor out and new one in running in about 1hr 15mins. And then the sportsmanship of the other racers when being told to get to the pairing lanes stood their ground and waited for me.
Sorry to Jake Mechaell for taking you out in the semi finals with the quickest side by side race ever in Super Street Bike, 6.800 to Jake’s 6.79
Just taking a bit off him on the tree.
But congratulations to Daniel Lencses on the win even though he snapped his chain at the 1000ft I couldn’t catch him due to my bike struggling with traction in the first half of the track. See you all again in a few weeks at the Summer Nationals.
Jake Mechaell commented: Another awesome race weekend, we came away with another PB of 6.79 @ 210mph. Thanks for all the messages congratulating me and hoping I hadn’t damaged the bike after disappearing into a cloud of smoke in the semi finals!
Fortunately I’m pleased to say that there wasn’t any engine damage. It was just an oil scavenge pump that has worked its way loose on the starter clutch cover and dropped oil onto the exhaust. Apologies to our amazing Santa Pod crew for dropping fluid on the track and causing a delay to the racers.
Checking those pinch bolts has now been added to the maintenance schedule!
Well done to Steve Venables for reminding me who’s boss in the best race I’ve ever had and to date the fastest side by side race in Superstreet bike history!
Also congratulations to Danny, Rita and the team for getting the event win. Thanks to Craig Wright for crewing for me and my friends and family for all the support, Santa Pod tv and Eurodragster.com for the live coverage (you're welcome - Editor), Callum and Lewis for the pictures.
See you all at the Summer Nationals on the 2-3rd July.
SSB racer Mark Hope said "An unfortunate ending to the fairytale weekend. Bike didn't want to start in the lanes before E2, and when it finally did, it didn't sound happy so we didn't make the run. Our aim this weekend was to come and run 7.0. We achieved that goal and then some. We've learnt a bunch and had some fun.
"One of the many questions we get asked as racers is what does it cost? A better question would be what does it take? A little insight into trying to run a 6 second 1/4 on SSB. I've been home from the track for 24 hrs, in that time I've slept, worked 12hrs and had a small amount of family time, oh and I've also stripped the bike and removed the engine ready for inspection at dad's on Wednesday. The funny thing is, as racers we all ask ourselves at times why do we do this to ourselves. The honest answer is because we love the sport, and the challenge it throws at us. Dedication, passion and obsession are a must, teamed with the most supportive family and friends you will ever find."
Although there was only a small field of Junior Drag Bikes, it was a good weekend for them but not without problems. The Junior Drag Bike Club posted "Great weekend of more PBs and breakouts. We only had 3 racers at this event, Meg, Hollie and Anouk.
"Friday saw first round of qualifying with Meg taking #1 spot on first run, the second session saw Hollie take the #1 spot whilst Anouk had a problem with her bike with her stopping mid track. Unfortunately they weren't able to fix her bike and she sadly couldn't finish the event. Saturday came with Hollie keeping hold of the the #1 spot, which gave her a bye to the final, with Anouk out and not able to run the semis that also gave Meg a bye to the finals.
And wow what a final, both girls battled it out with just 0.012 between them with Hollie taking the win. Well done to all 3 girls this weekend.
Next event will see all the juniors return with 2 new riders joining!"
Thanks to FIM-E Drag Racing Commission Chairman Job Heezen for sending us FIM-E points for all bike classes which you can see at our points page or by clicking on News, then Points Standings in the main menu.
JT's tough times. 1st June:
Many thanks to sponsor John Tebenham for sending his thoughts on a frenetic two weekends of racing in his Crew Killer Pop and Pro Mod Corvette:
"Wow that was tough on the crew, the car and definitely the driver. My two new crew Jim and Graham were ready to walk after the first weekend. 12-14 hour days are no fun covered in oil. We were only testing at the Doorslammers, so mainly half passes and probably the longest 1000 ft ever. Definitely not our weekend. To be absolutely honest if someone had offered me money for either car they would have gone.
"Then onto the Main Event, a massive burnout in the little white Pop. Once the smoke cleared, all I could see was startline Dave laughing. We were missing my dial in guy Dan and also the wind was killing us. Dave Cherrett taught us how much this shape of cars are affected, we ran 9.04-9.04-9.05 on the headwind day, then the next day 8.93.
"Then the pro mod 6.24-6.19. Going nowhere. Then we found the problem, yeah, 6.02-6.00, more like it. Then onto race day against Marck and I went two yellows (sorry Mark) and I barely touched one, I knew this was odd. Marck being a great sport didn’t call me back. Rolled it in and on the chip forever. I was screaming at the lights to drop. And the fastest run ever in the car. Bah, no time, I really think we had Marck beat and he probably did as well as when we went down for the rerun, he made us change lanes. We went 5.99 on a 0.01 light which would have been tough to beat, he went red. We all know it’s fast as on the run we slipped the clutch all the way through 3rd gear.
"A massive thanks to Luke, like I’ve said before, if you ever get offered a Luke get him. He is beyond smart. And to Mike Janis for the wicked blower. See you in Hockenhiem. JT.
"P.S. A free t-shirt and poster for the first person to tell simon@eurodragster.com what is different about the look of the Pro Mod. (apart from the blower)."
Outlaw Anglia Nostalgia Nationals preview. 1st June:
Outlaw Anglia co-ordinator Colin Millar writes: "Outlaw Anglia is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022 and we will be fielding a 20 car field next weekend at the NSRA Nostalgia Nationals, not too shabby for our first non-MSA event, you can see the full entry list on the link Santa Pod Raceway - Nostalgia Nationals Entry List.
"RWYB being held on the Friday for the guys and gals wanting to test and full on racing Saturday and Sunday with twenty Gasser Circus, ten Supercharged Outlaws, Nostalgia Superstock have a massive field of 39 cars and of course Outlaw Anglia as well as all the mix of Wild Bunch, 100E Challenge and all the RWYB NSRA guys and gals.
"We do have a number of teams sadly missing, Mark Bracking has a sick tow truck, Ted Booth has a badly broken foot and Jedd Guy is still waiting on new con rods, Phil Drewitt is going Fueltech and is on with a full re-wire of his car, Ronnie Mercer is on his third weekend of racing this time heading to Clastres in France, good luck Ronnie, it’s a real shame it clashed with the Nostalgia Nationals, Ben Rushforth just got married at the weekend so big congratulations to Ben and Ellen with Barnaby Levy doing the honours of Best Man, we will never see Ben ever again lol, Jon Webster will be fully committed to Pro-Mod this year and we wish Jon the very best in that campaign, please remember Jon’s Outlaw Anglia is up for sale and it could take you directly into racing in the class by just crossing Jon’s palm with some silver, Dalton Scarlet just didn’t make it in time but the van is nearing completion and should be out for Dragstalgia, fingers crossed Mark and Dalton, Adam Cuthbert is out with engine damage and Luke Hoskins baby is due pretty soon so kinda got to stay home, however we do have a new member joining us for the first time Ben Montgomery in his green pop, we all wish him the very best, it’s also fantastic to see Al O’Connor back out in the seat which will be his 52nd year in Drag Racing, that’s some career for sure, Paul Hensher makes an appearance after a bit of damage at last year’s Hot Rod Drags, good luck Paul.
"Its all to play for in the championship and as always you can be sure that the class will put on a show as that’s what we do, I for one will be calming the drive for speed and ET down a bit as the amount of Nitrous I used at the Festival of Power is embarrassing, so much so I had to shred the invoice in case my wee Lynn got to see it lol.
"We hope to see the OA Bracket Class running after the first round eliminations where all the losers go into the bracket class and run a separate class which also enjoys a 1st place and 2nd place trophy, it’s a real hard light to judge on a Pro-Tree especially if your last to go, you should try it ??
"As well as the action I will also have Outlaw Anglia 30 year anniversary quality screen printed tee-shirts and hoodies and zipped hoodies with me at the Nostalgia Nationals so please pop round and get some, the art work is stunning and as always comes from the very talented Tom Pugh, thanks Tom.
"Hope to see you at the track next weekend if not make sure you get that live feed courtesy of Santa Pod Raceway set up on the big screen and grab a beer and a comfy chair and watch it all unfold in front of your eyes."
Dragster DTF and DTA class: Alan Muscat (unopposed)
Dragster DTA 5 class: Clifton Abdilla (unopposed)
Dragster D5 class: Clifton Abdilla def. Alan Zammit
Dragster D4: Roderick Fenech def. Curtis Bonnet
Open Class 6: John Martin def. Alan Zammit
Front Wheel Drive Open Class: Wayne Scicluna def. Jurgen Caruana
CA6 clss: Garry Camilleri def. Anthony Vella
Extreme Class 3: Garry Camilleri (unopposed)
SM4 Class: Stephen Xuereb (unopposed)
SM2 Class: George Cutajjar (unopposed)
Escort Class 3: Mariano Ciantar def. Rosello Cassar
Escort Class 2: Christian Pace def. Mariano Ciantar
Open Class 1: Matthias Caruana (unopposed)
Junior Dragster: Luca Mangion
Index Class 2: Sean Cassar def. Mark Brincat
Index Class 1:John Martin def. Chris Mercieca
Bracket 8.00-8.49: John Martin (unopposed)
Bracket 8.50-8.99: Lewis Vella (unopposed)
Bracket 9.00-9.49: Stephen Xuereb (unopposed)
Bracket 9.50-9.99: Wayne Scicluna def. George Cutajjar
Bracket 10.00-10.49: Jurgen Caruana (unopposed)
Bracket 10.50-10.99: Joe Ashton (unopposed)
Bracket 11.00-11.49: Chris Mercieca def. Terry Gilam
Bracket 11.50-11.99: Kevin Gauci def. Sean Cassar
Top Fuel Bike: Franklyn Borg (unopposed)
Open class: Valter Mallo def. Franklyn Borg
Oulaw class: Simon Giordmaina (unopposed)
Super Street Bike 1: Briegel Micallef (unopposed)
Bracket 8.00-8.40: Chris Vella (unopposed)
Index 8.50: Leslie Said def. Chris Vella
Bracket 9.00-9.49: Flavius Permit (unopposed)
Best reaction time: Warren Gauci.
Winner in the DTA5 and D5 classes with a Toyota powered Dragster Clifton Abdilla (pictured right, top) said "With the initial tests of our new dragster complete, it was now time to focus on 2 things, consistency and competitiveness. We managed to run 4 back to back 6.4 second 1/4 mile passes with the best being 6.42@212.8MPH.
Having then moved onto some competitive side by side racing we completed and won our first race! We are beyond happy with the results we achieved last weekend and it continues to confirm that we are headed in the right direction. We didn’t manage to get to where we are at with luck though. This is yet another great result which our team worked extremely hard to achieve, both before and during the event."
D4 class winner with his Nissan powered dragster Roderick Fenech (pictured right, middle) said "What a weekend of racing that was, personal best of 6.5sec @ 205mph, multiple 6.5 runs and into the winners' circle for the first time. I always knew that the package was there and that it was a matter of time when it came to usm finally here we are, competitive, strong, reliable and consistent. Lucky to say I have one badass crew, Christian MadMax for building the car with safe and reliable tuning, Clint D'Amato as Crew Chief/Team Manager, clutch Guys Neil Farrugia & Clayton Johnson, Also big thanks to: Noel Aquilina, Justin Bugeja, Christian Calleja, Mandy Azzopardi for their helping hands, Emtron World for creating one amazing engine management system, Zisco Pro for a top fabrication job,
Mark Mazurowski Mazworkx Engines for all the support, Dennis Alan Desira for delivering the car safe to the track and back and MDRA for putting up a good event and Ttrack and finally to my family."
TF Bike winner Franklyn Borg commented: "Big thanks to our team that make this happen again to me, we're in the 6 sec zone again with a fully rebuilt new bike.
Can't wait for the next one, there is much more potential in the bike, also thanks to MDRA for their hard work. Big thanks to my family for your support."
The Lixxu Racing team of Clint Fenech said "Our first drag meeting this weekend with our newly built 2JZ Pro Import Mustang Promod. We managed two 60ft launches and two full passes. The first full pass ended out to be much more promising than we hoped for, 1.06 to 60ft, and 6.912 ET at 204.45mph.
It's a milestone for us to have the first Maltese door car reach over the 200mph mark.
Unfortunately, we had to stop racing weekend early due to minor engine problems which couldn't have been repaired due to lack of parts.
Big thanks goes to all the team for all their dedication and hard work, all who gave a helping hand in trying to source the parts needed, but especially huge thanks goes to Eric Luzinski from EZ Motorsports for the car setup and tuning. Thanks to our sponsors Intune Performance Malta, John's Diesel Service,
ProspeedParts, K&O Auto Detailing, R.T.K Dimech Co. Ltd., Solana Hotel & Spa, AMC Towing/Recovery Services, thanks also these guys who helped in the build
Grampun Works, PG Signs - Art Studio, Venom Concepts, Quttu Garage, Balsons Silencers & Car Repair and Vince Auto Mechanic."
Swift snippets. 1st June:
Happy Birthday for today to legendary US photojournalist and author Bob McClurg, German motorsport official and expat Brit Andrea Morris Kloss and Maltese Escort Mk1 racer Vince Farrugia. We hope you all have a wonderful day.
Thanks to photographer Ashley Dale who has supplied a gallery of the Melbourne Raceway's Japanese, German & Minis held on 28th-29th May which you can see at his Flickr page.
Photojournalist Remco Scheelings has published two articles about The Main Event on autosport.nl (in Dutch, use Chrome browser for automatic translation). You can see them by going to the links to
Winners and Records at Main Event and
Around The Main Event 2022 the latter of which includes pit snippets.
A welcome back to bike photojournalists Rose Hughes and Ivan Sansom who have returned after taking a couple of years off and published same day updates from the Main Event in the Dragbike.com website, you can also see their work in Dragbike.com's FB page.
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