Grumpy's PSB for sale.
31st October: From UK Pro Stock Bike racer Paul 'Grumpy' Watson comes the shock news that his 7.6-second Hayabusa Pro Stock Bike has joined the For Sale list alongside his Bandit Super Street Bike due to work commitments.
©Eurodragster.com
"It is unfortunate that this comes now as I believe that with a bit more track time the 'Busa would have run 7.4s", says Paul. "The bike is an RRC chromoly chassis (ex-Paul Willis) 1500 GSX, 48mm Lectrons, new Orient five-speed, MSD digital ignition, datalogger, carbon fibre 'Busa bodywork, vacuum pump etc."

If you are interested in going PSB then drop Paul an E-Mail at grumpysbusa@hotmail.com or call 07711 0670197 or 01268 743817.

If you were tuned in last Saturday you will have read that UK Supertwin racer Bernie Hepworth is selling his entire operation due to illess. We were very sorry to hear from Bernie that things aren't getting any better. "I have been in hospital for a few days for more tests and the specialists inform me that I have Multiple Myeloma which is an incurable and fatal bone marrow cancer that affects the plasma cells", says Bernie. "This causes bone damage seriously affecting the strength of the bones causing them to fracture without cause. I already have fractures of the vertebrae and ribs and am taking morphine to ease the pain, consequently all my racing equipment is now for sale as a matter of urgency. The bike and a huge amount of new parts, the motorhome and all my workshop equipment. Interested persons please contact me on +44 1484 650000 or my mobile 07973 772963 - please do not E-Mail me as I am not at the office very much and unable to read my mail. I will fax a list if you state what you are interested in."

New Turbo CD released.
31st October: UK Supertwin Fuel racer and drag bike photo-journalist Ian 'Turbo' Turburville is the latest to step up to the Christmas present plate with the release of his ninth Photo Library CD-ROM, which contains over five hundred pictures from the 2003 season. Turbo very kindly sent us a copy to check out.

The Photo Library is configured as a web page with thumbnail images of every picture, which makes viewing simplicity itself. The vast majority of pictures - nearly four hundred and ninety - are of course of bikes, with eighty five car shots. The photo selection is made up of a mixture of still, action and portrait shots or sometimes a combination, such as your News Editor's personal favourite: a picture of Funny Bike racer Tim Blakemore looking at the camera whilst burning out on his Kawasaki. Some of the stand-out shots are of crew in action; Turbo has spotted that this is a subject of which we don't see enough in drag racing photography which is a pity, since without crew there would be no racing.
©Eurodragster.com
The Photo CD will make a welcome stocking-filler for any drag racing fan and particularly fans of drag bike racing. It will be available through Turbo's web site at www.turboville.com, for more details contact Turbo by E-Mail at sales@turboville.com.

Jade Racing party looms.
31st October: Just when you thought it was safe to relax, Sharron Collier has reminded us that it's almost time for the legendary Jade Racing party, which takes place at 6:00 pm on Saturday 22nd November.
©Eurodragster.com
"We have moved since last year, so to all the usual crowd (or virtually anyone who knows us!), if we haven't sent or E-Mailed you an invite, E-Mail us at sharron@jaderacing.com and we'll send you a new map", says Sharron. "A lot of our stuff is still in packing crates and we can't find everyone's addresses! Food will be plentiful but please bring beer; bedrooms are limited so let us know, or bring a sleeping bag and crash where you fall, or vans, campers etc. welcome - the first ten-ish vehicles can fit up the drive - or we have a B and B and a hotel within a mile. Hope to see lots of you here! We want to party bigtime, 'cos we've got an eight-second RD!"

You can read more by clicking on Jerry's Diary on the Jade Racing web site at www.jaderacing.com.

Flame and Thunder webcam.
31st October: Although Eurodragster's schedule of American Car Imports-sponsored Event Coverage is complete for 2003, we will be testing a new set-up of our Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam at the Flame and Thunder Show at Santa Pod Raceway tomorrow (Saturday).

The webcam is as usual scheduled to broadcast one picture every two minutes although please note that, as this is a test, service may be disrupted or stopped altogether during the day.
©Eurodragster.com
You will be able to view the webcam broadcast by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage feature on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page.

On the subject of Event Coverage, the Drag Race Central web site will be reporting from this weekend's NHRA Divisional race in Las Vegas where Dave Wilson will be contesting Top Alcohol Dragster in the American Car Imports Racing TMD. You can find Drag Race Central at www.dragracecentral.com.

VWDRC Championship outcomes.
30th October: The 2003 Volkswagen Drag Racing Club Championships end at Saturday's Flame and Thunder Show at Santa Pod Raceway. Championship co-ordinator Spencer Tramm, who will be racing in a borrowed VW Scirocco this weekend, kindly sent us a preview of this weekend's VW action:

"This year has seen increased growth in all three of the Club's classes. Pro VW has a nine-car field this weekend, and finally it looks like the year in which Russ Fellows wins the Championship, as a previous winner of the Street and Super Street Championships this will mean Russ will seal his position as the clubs most-successful driver. The race for second place is a fight between Justin Aldred in his Fugitive and Paul Bate in his street-legal eleven-second Bug. Joining Pro for the first time is Andy Kelly from the EBC Racing Team from Cardiff; Andy, in the ex-Brian Burrows Porsche Speedster is the first of the four car team to progress to Pro VW.

"Sportsman VW is a two-way fight between last year's Champion Stuart Hinds and rookie Graham Fairhead, and third place is being hotly contested by no less than nine cars! Added into the mix for this final round are Pro VW racers Scott Evison and Kevo Metcalfe and ex-Super Gas racer (and ex-Young Gun - Ed)...well, me!
©Eurodragster.com
"The Alternate Engine class looks as if it is heading to Birmingham for a second successive year, Matt Attwood in his Blacklisted Type 3 Fastback has a sizeable lead going into the final round and his fellow competitors would need a lot of luck to catch him.

"The VWDRC would like to thank the sponsors of the three classes: Jon Rathbone Race Cars for Pro VW; Beetlemania for Sportsman VW; and AMR Motors for Alt/Eng VW as well as to HSL Racing for the Prefect Light award which they sponsored at Bug Jam and to Eurodragster.com for the coverage which they have provided this year (Thank you! - Ed)."

You can find out all about the VW drag racing scene in the UK on the Club's official web site at www.vwdrc.com.

PMR expand sideways.
30th October: Paul Marston Racing have announced a deal which will see the second stage of their expansion into additional bigger premises, which follows on from the increased premises in early 2003. PMR will retain their two existing workshops and storage facilities for the moment. "This last phase of the original expansion plan gives PMR access to hugely-increased workshop and storage space, adding an additional 3700 square feet", says Paul Marston. "It comes at a time when taking advantage of this exciting new development is easiest, during the off-season. The new premises are also next to a major dual carriageway which means good road access at all times and makes us easy to find. All the usual conversion work needs to be done, which will include the laying of a new floor, construction of offices, clean room, electrics, lighting, plumbing for air, plant, ramps etc.
©Eurodragster.com
"This development is a joint venture with one of our existing sponsor partners, and to say that we are excited about it is an understatement. Both parties have been working on this for a long, long time and now looks like all the pieces are finally falling into place as we need them. With the work schedule as it stands we would hope to be open for the end of 2003 and fully operational for the very beginning of 2004. This represents the final phase of our scheduled growth plan and ties in with the expansion of the drag racing commitments at PMR and the success of the Drag Race Driving School and Drag Race Passenger Ride Experiences.

"We would like to thank all of our sponsors for help and advice with this venture, and everyone at PMR for their tireless efforts. We are all looking forward to a very busy off-season as we plan our campaigns for the 2004 season. Although both race car developments and sponsorship negotiations have yet to be finalised, 2004 will see a significant increase in track activity. Details of some very exciting developments sponsorship-wise and the work schedule in place for the race car fleet for the new season will be released as they are completed."

Updated TV dates.
30th October: We are indebted to Caroline Day of Santa Pod Raceway for sending us an updated TV broadcast schedule for the broadcast of the FIA, FIM/UEM and NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified Championships. The updated schedule includes dates for broadcast on Sweden's Viasat as well as the addition of the Extreme satellite channel.
©Eurodragster.com
Click here to view the schedule, or click on the 2003 TV Schedules link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page.

ACI ready to represent Europe.
29th October: 2003 FIA European Top Methanol Dragster and MSA British Drag Racing Champions American Car Imports Racing are looking forward to representing European drag racing in the USA, says Team Principal Anthony Cohen. Dave Wilson and the ACI team start their campaign at an NHRA Divisional event at Las Vegas this weekend, followed by next week's NHRA Finals at Pomona and then a number of events at the start of the 2004 season. We caught up with Anthony Cohen whilst he was in American Airlines' lounge at Heathrow waiting to fly out to the USA.

"Dave Wilson arrived in Las Vegas on Monday, having driven the rig two and a half thousand miles cross-country from Miami", said Anthony, who sponsors Eurodragster's Home and News pages and Event Coverage through American Car Imports. "The rig was sent from Southampton arranged by Malcolm Francis of Air Sea Logistics, who has been a sponsor for some years, and Shirley Kiriako at Sanko Inc in Florida. The rig was cleared through US customs in two days and this was entirely down to Shirley whom I consider North America's finest shipping agent. If you talk to any European team who have shipped their rigs to the USA they will tell you horror stories about being stuck in customs for weeks at a time. I can highly recommend Shirley to everyone in Europe, call +1 954 925 4594."

Shirley is one of a number attending this weekend's event in Las Vegas to support the ACI Racing team. "Dave Smith, the assistant editor of Classic American magazine, is going to be part of the team for the weekend", said Anthony. "He will live in the trailer like everyone else and will be writing a piece for the magazine about racing Top Alcohol in the USA. We will also be joined by Kiki Panayi of our sponsor Euro American, as well as one of our suppliers from Canada, and family member Helen Cohen. We are also delighted to welcome back Fred Wilbanks who was a team member for a couple of years before returning to the USA, he will be crewing this weekend. We could also have had another crew member in the person of Wolfgang from Peter Schöfer Racing who offered to help us out - we are very grateful indeed for the support of Peter and his team in this venture, they embody true sporting spirit."
©Eurodragster.com
Anthony, Dave, Crew Chief Andy Bissett and the ACI team are under no illusions about what will be required in Las Vegas this weekend as well as the rest of their US tour. "We are expecting very stiff competition", said Anthony. "There could be up to twenty Top Alcohol Dragsters this weekend but it is only an eight-car field. You will probably need to run a 5.4 to qualify, but we have already done that five times in Europe - the most by any European team. Then we are on to Pomona to compete in the NHRA Finals, you can already find Dave on the entry list as TAD 800. In 2004 we will continue to contest as many NHRA National and Divisional events as we can until it is time to come home for the FIA Main Event. We're going to try to kick American butt, but whatever happens we will do our very best to represent European drag racing."

The Las Vegas race commences Friday; results should be available daily on the Drag Race Central web site at www.dragracecentral.com and Anthony will be reporting in to Eurodragster from the USA.

Web site updates.
29th October: Thanks to Alex Damstra for letting us know that our Dutch readers can read more about K and H Racing's purchase of Thomas Nataas' Pro Mod in a piece by our good friend Remco Scheelings on the Dutch Autosport web site at www.autosport.nl/2003. "Click on Hot News to see the article", says Alex.

The official web site of Sweden's Andréasson Motorsports Top Methanol Funny Car team has been updated with several new pictures in the Photo Gallery including shots from the FIA Main Event and FIA European Finals, ESAB Sponsor Day and more. The Sponsor presentation page has also been expanded to take in the team's forty three sponsors and suppliers. "We might have to consider a larger body on the race car if we keep expanding", says team member Anders Magnusson. Check it out at www.andreassonmotorsports.com.
©Eurodragster.com
UK Wild Bunch racer Tony Smith has updated his Cunning Plan web site at www.cunningplan.net with two of Bob Valder's video clips of Tony's appearance at the Halloween Showdown at Shakespeare County Raceway. Tony has also announced the prizes for his annual Guess Who contest which commences shortly. "As well as a trophy from Paul Bland at Avondale Composites, the main prize is a trip on a Custom Car Street Eliminator cruise with Andy Frost in his eight-second Red Victor 1", says Tony. "I would like to thank Paul and Andy for these great prizes."

2004 SCR calendar released.
28th October: LA Performance Services have announced next year's calendar of events at Shakespeare County Raceway. The schedule includes three UK National Championship and Ultimate Power Championship dates as well as the retention of two of this year's specialist events, a new event for the Modified scene, and a number of Club Days.

The 2004 UK National Championships and Ultimate Power Championships are due to be contested at the Excitement Nationals on Saturday-Monday 1st-3rd May, the Power Nationals on 12th-13th June, and the Allstar Nationals on Saturday-Monday 28th-30th August.

"The three Ultimate Power events were very successful in 2003 with large entries and a lot of close-fought racing, and we are looking to go even bigger and better next season", says Lee Child of LA Performance Services, who sponsors Eurodragster's Links pages through his company LA Racing Parts. "Also the Allstar Nationals and the Nitrolympics at Hockenheim do not clash next season which will save racers the dilemma of deciding which race to attend."

Stay tuned for full details about other classes to be contested at the 2004 Excitement, Power and Allstar Nationals.

The Doorslammer Internationals will next year be combined with the Classic American Nationals and will take place on Saturday-Sunday 15th-16th May. The five-bracket format will be preserved and will run alongside the Run What You Brung, but racing will be for trophies, with no entry fee payable other than the standard RWYB fee and no prize money on offer. "These two events were ideal to combine", says Lee. "The Classic American Nationals was already a Run What You Brung and Show and Shine so we were able to fit the Doorslammer Internationals format into it quite easily."

The Modified Nitrous Nationals is a new event scheduled for Saturday-Sunday 29th-30th May and is aimed at European, Japanese and other Modified vehicles; more details to follow. The season-ending Halloween Showdown has been retained and takes place on Saturday-Sunday 30th-31st October. "We aim to build the Halloween Showdown into a themed end-of-season bash", says Lee. "We want it to be a real party weekend as well as a Test and Tune."

The APIRA Test and Tune opens the SCR season on Saturday-Sunday 3rd-4th April, with Club Day Test and Tune events on Saturdays-Sundays 17th-18th April, 17th-18th July (Mini Showdown), and 2nd-3rd October. The Club Days are open to all clubs; any club interested in testing and tuning at Shakespeare County Raceway on these dates is invited to contact LA Performance Services on 01803 554308 or E-Mail la.racing@virgin.net. The Bulldog Bash bike event takes place on Friday-Sunday 13th-15th August.
©Eurodragster.com
A very welcome development is the news that next year's NSRA Nostalgia Nationals and Hot Rod Drags have been moved so that they no longer clash with the SPRC Summernationals and FIA European Finals respectively. This removes what has long been a difficult decision for fans of both current and Hot Rod/Nostalgia drag racing.

The complete 2004 calendar of events at Shakespeare County Raceway is therefore as follows:

3rd-4th April: APIRA Test and Tune
17th-18th April: Club Day (Test and Tune/RWYB)
1st-3rd May: Excitement Nationals (UK National and Ultimate Power Championships)
15th-16th May: Classic American Nationals incorporating Doorslammer Internationals
29th-30th May: Modified Nitrous Nationals
12th-13th June: Power Nationals (UK National and Ultimate Power Championships)
3rd-4th July: NSRA Nostalgia Nationals
17th-18th July: Club Day, Mini Showdown (Test and Tune/RWYB)
13th-15th August: Bulldog Bash (Bike event)
28th-30th August: Allstar Nationals (UK National and Ultimate Power Championships)
18th-19th September: NSRA Hot Rod Drags
2nd-3rd October: Club Day (Test and Tune/RWYB)
30th-31st October: Halloween Showdown (Test and Tune/RWYB)

Whilst we were talking to Lee Child he mentioned that the official 2004 Custom Car Street Eliminator review video will be available very shortly, as voice-overs were completed yesterday. Lee tells us that the review features both on-track and Cruise action and will make a great Christmas present for the street-legal drag race fan in your life. Stay tuned for more news about that.

Gremlins gone from Time Machine pit.
28th October: After a year of hassle and uphill struggles which have sometimes seemed harder than scaling Mount Everest, and often made them think of taking up golf or an equally relaxed pastime, just over a week ago the UK's Time Machine supercharged Altered team actually had a really good weekend, writes driver Martin Gleadow.

"Norm Wheeldon very kindly agreed to meet us at the Halloween Showdown at Shakespeare County Raceway to help us tune the car, and tune it he did!", says Martin. "In the pits the motor sounded very strong, and we have all learnt a lot from him. However, on the track performance was a bit lacking, with the overall view being the gearing is too tall for the car, which resulted in a cooked gearbox and lacklustre performance.

"The gearbox is going to pay a visit to Al O'Connor and come back capable of taking a thousand horses, and we may be getting a new rear end ratio to help the car leave. Which means that 2004 should be a proper year for us, with shakedown passes planned for early RWYB's, and competitive action at the start of the season proper.
©Eurodragster.com
Now although this sounds like a mediocre weekend at best, it left us very happy as the engine is pretty much ready to go and we have caught and expelled all the gremlins who had taken up residency in our block. Thanks must go to all who made this weekend so good for us, especially Norm Wheeldon, Bob Glassup, Ronnie Picardo, all the guys and gals from the Supercharged Oulaws (especially Neil Townson and Mark Needham), UK Event Safety, Lee Child and all at SCR, and on a personal note, everyone who has worked so hard as a team in order to get me up the quarter mile all season.

And to continue the Oscar speech, thanks too to all those people who have helped us out all season, the names are too numerous to mention here but you know who you are, and we are grateful to you and to those who support our operation, including Lucas Oil Products Lucas Oil Products, RM Paints, and Speedflow. Roll on 2004 and a full season of supercharged altered action!"

You can find out more about Time Machine Racing including more race reports on the team's official web site at www.timemachine.co.uk.

Web site updates.
28th October: The official web site of the European Pro Mod Racers Association has been updated with a provisional 2004 calendar including a new date at Mantorp Park in August. Check it out at www.promod.nu.
©Eurodragster.com
Sheavills remembers how it's done.
27th October: UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Barry Sheavills has assured 2003 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Smax Smith that he has not forgotten how to drive a Top Fuel Dragster. Barry and Smax will be facing off in a Best of the Brits match race at the Flame and Thunder Show which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway this Saturday (1st November).

"Smax has a season over me, but I haven't forgotten", says Barry. "It was a shame I didn't get the chance to have a go at Smax in FIA Top Fuel, we have raced before in Top Methanol. He has done very well indeed this year, he grew up very quickly and took it all seriously. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to win, which he has done, and you have to be a reasonable driver, which he is! But even a rusty Sheavills can beat him!"

Barry has not raced at all this season after taking a year out to find sponsorship for a 2004 Top Fuel campaign, after suffering a 277 mph crash at the 2002 European Finals. "This is the first time in twenty nine years that I haven't raced", he says. "It has been a very strange experience. Sometimes I didn't even want to go to the track, but I keep telling myself that really I have not taken a year off, I was really only not racing from May to September."

As well as chasing funding for next season, Barry stood ready to drive as a hired driver in 2003. "I did put my name about, but it didn't work", he says. "If you want to be a hired gun you have to bring big money with you!". One day, though, his phone rang. "I got a call from Santa Pod Raceway out of the blue", he says. "We struck a deal with Knut Söderquist to race his 'red' car this weekend."
©Eurodragster.com
Barry is looking forward to the Flame and Thunder Show for several reasons, although it will be in a car unfamiliar to him. "It's going to be good fun!", he says. "It'll be nice to get back into the 'office' although I suppose the desk will be somewhere different! The cockpit looks similar to my last car though, everything is in the same place, and on Friday we'll see if I fit in it!"

The plan is for Barry to make a checkout pass at lunchtime on Saturday before going into battle against Smax. "It's certainly going to be an experience to sit out most of the season and then get that thousands-of-horsepower kick in the butt!", he says. "Also I have a very good crew made up of a lot of my old friends: Gary Page, Terry, Mark, and Paul and Lee from the Showtime team. They are a very good group who are going to look after me. Not having sat in a car for so long it's better to have faces around me which I know and trust."

Barry is also looking forward to seeing all of his fans again. "I have had so many E-Mails and calls asking me about my future plans and wishing me the best", he says, "and I can't say how grateful I am. It will be great to see everyone and thank them in person so please come along to my pit so say hello". Whilst there fans will have probably the final chance to pick up one of Barry's limited-edition 'First to 300' T-shirts which he will be selling for £10.

Barry is not yet certain of his plans for 2004. "People assume that because I am at the Flame and Thunder Show I have a sponsor, but that is not the case", he says. "I was offered this drive so I took it. I am waiting on a decision from a company which would put me back on the track next year but if that doesn't work then I am not racing. You just can't run Top Fuel without money. But we'll all have to wait and see, and as soon as I have news then I will announce it on Eurodragster!"

Flame and Thunder contest winner.
27th October: Congratulations to Ian Bradley of Atherton, who is the winner of Eurodragster's Flame and Thunder Show contest. Ian wins a family ticket to Saturday's event.

The correct answers to the three questions were:

1. What type of car was Smax Smith racing before getting into the Purple Loans Top Fuel Dragster?
Fuel Funny Car

2. In which year did Barry Sheavills win the FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Championship?
1998
©Eurodragster.com
3. Who is the Guy on the Flame and Thunder Show preview on Santa Pod Raceway's web site?
Michael Schumacher

We would like to say another big Thank You to Kelly Ingall and Caroline Day of Santa Pod Raceway for organising and donating such a great prize for the contest, and thanks to everyone who entered.

You can read more about this weekend's Flame and Thunder Show including ticket prices on Santa Pod Raceway's web site at www.santapod.com.

Swift snippets.
27th October: Swedish Pro Mod racer Lars-Inge Johansson is recovering well from his top end crash at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod, and is already planning his return to the track. Speaking to Eurodragster at the NDRS Banquet on Saturday, Lars-Inge said that the engine and drivetrain of his six-second station wagon came through the crash unscathed, and that a lot of the chassis is reusable. Changes planned for the new car, again a station wagon, include a deeper rake, narrowed and lowered nose, and a Pro Stock-style 'lip' spoiler on the back of the body. Lars-Inge added that he had no recollection of his crash (probably just as well - Ed), his last memory being saying "Let's have a good race" to Håkan Nilsson beforehand.
©Eurodragster.com
Slightly-belated Birthday wishes go to FIA European Top Methanol Funny Car Champion Urs Erbacher and Peter Schöfer Racing team member and FIA Top Methanol Dragster representative Gittli Koller, who celebrated their birthdays on Saturday (25th). We hope that you had a great day, guys.

NDRS Banquet pictures.
27th October: Our good buddy Christer Abrahamson of Svensk Dragracing has updated the Svensk Dragracing web site with a number of photographs from the NDRS Banquet and Prizegiving, which took place at the Scandic Infra City in Väsby on Saturday evening. Check it out at www.dragracing.se.
©Eurodragster.com
Eurodragster News Editor Tog, who attended the Banquet and accepted Bruno Bader's Comp Eliminator trophy on the Swiss racer's behalf, would like to thank Sussy Hofbauer, Erik Zettervall, Lotta Andersson, Christer Abrahamson and all of the officials of Svensk Dragracing for their hospitality and generosity over the weekend. Sharkman and Tog would also like to thank Svensk Dragracing for the nomination of Eurodragster.com as one of the short list for the 2003 Eagle Award, which was won by Jonas Staflund to whom many congratulations.

Web site updates.
27th October: Many thanks to our good buddy Johnny 'Mental' Hall for letting us know that a new Supercharged Outlaws site is up and running at www.superchargedoutlawsuk.com, and that the previous site is no longer on-line. Built by Dave 'Fuzzy' McKenzie, the new site features points standings and reports as well as pictures and videos.
©Eurodragster.com
Joosten picks up a new ride.
25th October: Dutch Super Gas racer Robert Joosten will be contesting the 2004 season in a new race car after selling his Bad Nova. Robert and the team took a trip to California and purchased an ex-Pro Stock Truck.

"After being a race team without a race car for a while - not a great feeling! - we found a new race car which fits in with our future plans", says Robert. "We took a flight to sunny California and bought one of Panella's Pro Stock Trucks (right). He didn't want to sell the number one truck, so we bought the back-up, a former Brad Jeter car, also built by Jerry Haas. These Panella guys did everything to help us get all the right parts and get the car safely in a container to send it to the Netherlands."
©Eurodragster.com
Whilst Robert was at the Shop he checked out the facilities. "This is a Pro team, engines were off and on in the dyno room: I saw Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge Pro Stock engine's coming in then going out, and these engine are running in the top of NHRA Pro Stock. They have also engines running in Comp, like record holder Gary Anderson."

Robert tells us that the truck is scheduled to arrive next month. "The plan is that we run the truck first in Super Gas and Super Comp, and then in a few years take the step to Comp", he says.

Robert has updated his web site at www.doorslammers.nl with more about the truck, as well as news of the sale of the Pat's Toy Pontiac is sold to Greece, and the sale of Thomas Nataas' '37 Chevy Pro Mod to the K and H race team.

Flame and Thunder Show latest.
25th October: We are indebted to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall for sending us the current official entry list for next Saturday's (1st November) Flame and Thunder Show at Santa Pod. "This isn't the final version", says Paula. "I have heard from some more racers who have yet to go on the list, but if you have sent your entry form and you are not on the list then please contact me."

You can view the Flame and Thunder Show entry list by clicking here.
©Eurodragster.com
Meanwhile Kelly Ingall of Santa Pod Raceway has been in touch to remind readers that the deadline is fast approaching to book VIP tickets for the Flame and Thunder Show. "£69 per person or £400 for a group of ten gets you admission to the track, use of the VIP suite and balcony, refreshments throughout the day including traditional Firework Night food, VIP parking and toilets, complimentary programme and earplugs, and a souvenir", says Kelly. For more details or to book tickets call Kelly on 01234 782828 or E-Mail her at kelly@santapod.fsnet.co.uk by this Tuesday, 28th October.

Finally, don't forget that Eurodragster's Flame and Thunder Show contest is open until tomorrow night (Sunday). Santa Pod Raceway have very kindly put up the prize of a family ticket to the event, which admits two adults and up to four children. All you have to do is to answer three simple questions - for more details either click here, or check out Monday's news item.

Swift snippets.
25th October: Following on from yesterday's news that Leif Andréasson's Top Methanol FC is currently on display in Milan, Steve Wilson of Swiss TMFC racer Dezsoe Krivan's team writes to tell us that the 3D Tech-sponsored car is on display at a huge autumn trade fair in Basel for a week, starting today. The car is wearing its exhibition Coronet body (right). "Dez will be there with the TMFC working alongside our sponsor 3D-Tech (for all your rapid prototyping needs), there will also be some rods and customs on display", says Steve. "If you are feeling peckish whilst studying the Funny Car, no worries - the stand is right next to the Lckerli-Huus stand, these are excellent biscuits, really good for dunking in yourr tea!"
©Eurodragster.com
We were very sorry to hear that UK Supertwin racer Bernie Hepworth has put his entire racing operation up for sale due to illness. If you want to go Supertwin racing then you could do a lot worse than to check out the advertisement in the Bikes For Sale section of Eurodragster's Jeff Bull Race Engines-sponsored Swap Meet.

PMR books filling.
25th October: With the 2003 UK National Championship season now complete, the off-season - or sauna season in Scandinavia - kicks in until the 2004 Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod Raceway, but Paul Marston Racing continue to be busy with enquiries and bookings coming in thick and fast for the Drag Race Driving School and Passenger Ride Experience.

"To cope with this extra demand we are proud to announce the Driving School and Passenger Ride programmes will be expanding for the 2004 season", says Paul Marston. "This will entail more dates (details of which have yet to be finalised) plus the attendance of both School race cars at most events. This is an exciting development for everyone at PMR and reflects the success of the Driving School and Passenger Ride Experience.

"We must thank Santa Pod Raceway for their support of the programme; it has enabled PMR to complete the School's first year successfully. It has been great fun for all of us to be able to help fulfil some lifetime ambitions with the passenger rides. Equally with the Driving School we have helped people understand just how much is involved (Very true - Ed), plus we have helped drivers to get into National competition. It been very satisfying to watch pupils develop their talents and hone their skills, and as an added bonus along the way we have made some firm friends too. Everyone at PMR is now really looking forward to an even better 2004.
©Eurodragster.com
"We must thank each and everyone who has supported us: Santa Pod Raceway, Shakespeare County Raceway, Eurodragster.com, Street Machine and Custom Car to name but a few - people who realised it was essential for the Drag Race Driving School and Passenger Rides to have a future in Britain.

"We suggest that anyone who is interested in enquiring about more details of the packages available, or who intends to book either a drive or a ride but has not yet got round to it book, do so now. Drag Race Driving School courses or the Passenger Ride Experiences both come in the form of gift certificates and make one hell of a birthday present or a very special Christmas present! Details can be found either on our web site at www.paulmarstonracing.com, E-Mail office@pmracing.fsnet.co.uk, or call 020 8597 4575 or 07831 650230."

A rising star.
24th October: In his very interesting report of Hal Far's latest event which we published on Tuesday, Malta Drag Racing Association President Anthony Borda mentioned one of the rising stars of Maltese drag racing, Eric Baldachino (right). Anthony kindly sent us a biography of Eric.

"Eric is still a young driver, but he's a great driver and doing a great job at it too", says Anthony. "In my opinion he makes a good driver since he's very calm and it is as if he has years of experience in this kind of motorsport, although he has only been drag racing for the last five years. He is married man with no kids yet, but planning to have lots! The car is more precious to him than anything else in his life.
©Eurodragster.com
"This is not the first car that Eric has owned. He had a couple more Escorts before this one, but not this fast. After a few mishaps with this Pro Stock Escort, finally everything paid off during the last event which Malta Drag Racing organised. Thanks to a good and well-prepared track and the tuning expertise of Manty Bugeja, the car did what everybody in the Powerhouse Team of Eric, Tony, Raymond, Brian, Ismael and Emidio expected from it. In the near future, the engine will be fitted into a new dragster since there is more power to come."

"This Escort can't take anymore power than it has right now, since it would be dangerous to drive", says Eric. "When the time comes and the dragster chassis arrives, the engine will be given enough power to run low sevens. I would like to thank Anthony Borda and Remigio Arapa for the hard work they do on the track itself. If it wasn't for them no one will be running as fast as they are right now."

Swift snippets.
24th October: Swedish Top Methanol Funny Car racer Leif Andréasson is exhibiting his Alfa Romeo-bodied FC at the EMO Milano - International Metals and Machine Tools Fair in Milan, Italy until next Tuesday (28th October). Leif is there flying the flag for sponsor SECO who manufacture cutting tools.

If you were tuned in to Eurodragster News last week you will recall that Fireforce 2 Jet FC pilot Martin Hill's rig was stranded in Greece after he broke his wrist on his recent exhibition visit to Athens. Rick Cuthbert of Santa Pod Raceway tells us that Martin left for Greece yesterday and expects to be back in the UK and recovered enough to appear at the Flame and Thunder Show at Santa Pod on Saturday week, 1st November.

We are indebted to Kjell Pettersson of Santa Pod Raceway for forwarding us the very latest schedules for the TV broadcast of the 2003 FIA and FIM/UEM European and NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified Championships. You can view the schedules (PDF format) by clicking here, or by clicking on the 2003 TV Schedules link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page.

A piece of nostalgia is for sale on our Jeff Bull Race Engines-sponsored Swap Meet. Carlo tells us that he has the ex-Snitterbeast chassis for sale, and is looking for pictures of the car when it was racing. "I have been told it was an Escort Mk 1 and a Ford Thames Van", he says. "Any help would be welcome". If you can give Carlo any more information about the Snitterbeast, or if you are interested in purchasing the chassis, then drop him a line or check out the Cars For Sale adverisement on the Swap Meet.

Best wishes to our good friend and honorary Eurodragster staff member Andy Marrs of TSI Timers Europe who has been in hospital for an operation to curb excessive fertility and for other repairs which make us cross and uncross our legs very quickly just to think of them. Andy is now at home, tired, but in good spirits and relieved not to have to fear any longer the thought of his wife Debs creeping up behind him with two bricks as previously promised (although he would have us believe it would be breeze blocks).
©Eurodragster.com
Thanks to Mike Kason for letting us know that UK childrens' TV programme Blue Peter is taking nominations for Young Sports Personality of the Year. "The rules are that the nominee must be under 16", says Mike. "How about a concerted effort to push the winner of this year's Junior Dragster title (Collin Morrice - Ed) with a mass mail from Eurodragster readers. All you have to do is to send your nomination and the reason to:

Blue Peter
Sports Personality
PO Box 20
London
W12 6BP"

Web site updates.
24th October: Alan Currans has updated his Acceleration Archive photo site with the third page of pictures from Peter Jones' collection. The latest update includes the aftermath of the Thunderbird Pro Comp altered wheelie and crash, some shots from Mantorp Park, an unidentified Top Fuel Bike, Funny Car action shots and more. Check it out at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk.
©Eurodragster.com
UK Wild Bunch racer Tony Smith has updated the News and Reviews page of his Cunning Plan web site with a report of his final event of the year. "I would like to thank Roy Wilding for repairing my drive shaft overnight", says Tony. "I would also like to thank Tush, Tracy and Jim for the help with organising my wife Linda's birthday flight in Anthony Hodges' Jet Provost plane, also to Anthony for taking her up for the fifteen-minute flight - after the shock, she really enjoyed it". Tony's 2003-4 Guess Who contest will be starting on 18th November. You can find the Cunning Plan web site at www.cunningplan.net.

Eurodragster staffer Sharkman has updated his personal web site Sharkman's Top End Tales with more than a hundred Windows wallpaper files from the 2003 FIA European Finals. You can find Sharkman's site at www.topendtales.com.

Web site updates.
22nd October: Eurodragster staffer Sharkman has updated his personal web site Sharkman's Top End Tales with photographs from the Doorslammer Internationals, Big Shootout and Halloween Showdown at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can find Sharkman's web site at www.topendtales.com.
©Eurodragster.com
Fellow Eurodragster staffer Tog has updated his site Tog's Drag Racing Page with photographs from the weekend's Halloween Showdown at Shakespeare County Raceway, including pictures of the participants in the Costume Contest. Check it out at www.togsdragracing.com/2003halloweenshowdown.

Hot times at Hal Far.
21st October: The Malta Drag Racing Association held its sixth race of the season at Hal Far Raceway last weekend. MDRA President Anthony Borda kindly sent us a report of the weekend's action.

This was a day event, since the night events are over. It was another great event with lots of vehicles participating and lots of great elapsed times. It was great apart from a small accident which Emanuel Mangion suffered in his low eight-second Cosworth Pro Modified Escort. Thank God and thanks to a well-built car, Emanuel is fine although he had to be hospitalised for a few cracked ribs. I'm sure well see Emanuel racing again with us in a short time.

We started the event on Saturday with a days full qualifying, which started at 1:00 pm and finished at 7.30. During qualifying we saw lots of improvements from lots of competitors. We knew that there would be improvements since its almost the end of the National Championship (there is one event left) and we had some good weather for racing. This time the four cylinder cars stole the whole show with some incredible times. Its amazing how fast we can go with four cylinder cars on Malta.

On Sunday the event started with Elimination rounds in all classes and Bracket racing. We saw around eight hours of incredible eliminations on this day. As usual, the main attraction was that of the Top Methanol Dragsters with John Ellul and David Bonavia not doing that great this time. John Ellul with his freshly graffiti-painted dragster stalled during his qualifying run and in the final run shook very badly. As soon as he pedalled the burst plate blew off and that was the end of his run. Mind you, he still clocked a 0.96 sixty foot. Better luck to John Ellul and his team for next time. David Bonavia with his Top Methanol Dragster seemed on his way to a great elapsed time during his qualifying run, but at the 300 metre mark something went wrong with his engine and he aborted the run. He would have bettered his elapsed time during this run, but the luck wasnt with him on this day.
©Eurodragster.com
Apart from these two competitors, there were lots others who were very happy with what they achieved during this event, especially Chris Polidano who was on his best driving form and so was his Pro Modified Escort Cosworth (right), which is tuned by Manty Bugeja. They bettered their personal best times by almost three tenths of a second. Its amazing that this 2.6 litre Cosworth engine, without NOS, runs 8.2 with a terminal speed of over 160 mph and an incredible 1.1 sixty foot. We will see this car running under the eight-second mark in the near future. Another young competitor named Eric Baldachin registered his best ever elapsed time of 8.9 seconds and a terminal speed of 153 mph in a Pro Stock Escort fitted with a turbo two-litre Pinto engine with Nitrous. For a small and an old make engine like this to run this fast is incredible when you consider everything it has. In the near future were going to see this incredible engine in a dragster which one expects to run under eight seconds straight away.

Other best elapsed times were achieved by Jesmond Mangion in his Super Street Escort, Joseph Tabone, Jesmond Mallia and an Englishman named Jason Martin in their Escorts with Nitrous, Karim Cassar, Mario Mallia and Paul Pace in their Street Modified Escorts, Emanuel Muscat in his Classified Altered Cortina Mk1 fitted with a Cosworth engine, running an incredible 8.7 seconds. There were lots of others, but it's impossible to mention them all.

I have to mention the mighty diesel-powered trucks, the best time achieved of 11.4 seconds was by Tommy Agius in his Volvo-powered truck. One has to consider that these trucks weighs around four tons and their ability is incredible. In the Motorcycle section, Chris Vella on his Kawasaki 900cc Super Street bike ran an impressive 9.6 seconds.

In December we have the last race to organise. Lets hope that the weather will be fine and well see who the Champions will be in each class. The Executive committee would like to thank the competitors in general, and all the people and sponsors who made it possible to hold this event, one of the best-organised. Thanks to all.

You can find everything you could want to know about the Maltese Drag Racing scene on the very professional MDRA web site at www.maltadragracing.com.

Smax walking on air.
21st October: 2003 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Smax Smith says that his feet haven't touched the ground since he won the Championship at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. "I have been celebrating in fine style for weeks!", he says. Smax has one more race to win this season, a Best of the Brits match race with 1998 Champion Barry Sheavills which takes place at the Flame and Thunder Show at Santa Pod Raceway on Saturday 1st November. "This is gonna be ace, I am so up for it!" says Smax. "Barry is top dog but hopefully he will be rusty! I'm already like a fish out of water so I can't wait to get back in the hot seat!"

If you were tuned in last Saturday you will have read that Smax has sold the ex-Leif Helander Top Methanol Funny Car to UK racer Trev Capewell in a part-exchange deal which saw Trev's Southern Rebel altered go in the other direction. Smax gave us some background on his end of the deal. "I decided that I really like Top Fuel so I thought that rather than sit on my Starkotter Alky Funny Car I would sell it", he says. "I had great ideas to start a drag racing school with the FC and had a great response but the reality was that it's just too nice a car to be beating it up at a driving school. Then out of the blue Trev phoned me offering a deal to trade in his beautiful altered. I have seen this car and I know that Trev sunk about £36k into building the 33 Plymouth, cutting no corners, and I have a huge soft spot for Altereds anyhow, still holding the alky record of 6.92/203. Trev has already run eights with no blower! So a deal has been done and now I'm working with mate and team manager Paul Townsend on the sponsorship package for 2004. It's going to be mind-blowing - watch this space, without question though the fact is that we will be racing one of Knut Söderquist's missiles!
©Eurodragster.com
"In the meantime I have put the Altered up for sale at £20k turn-key, if anyone out there is looking for a cherry bit of kit it has a 980 hp dyno'd 540 ci Jeff Bull BBC and new everything (Check out the ad in Eurodragster's Jeff Bull Race Enines-sponsored Swap Meet - Ed)! If it doesn't go then watch for the blown-alky Supercharged Outlaw machine next season! The Ant Hill Mob drag racing team wish Trev and the gang every success in the future and hang on!"

In other news, Smax has been starring on TV yet again. "A couple of weeks ago I was selected to appear on Monster Garage, a new ITV show which will be on ITV on Monday nights starting next March. My best mate Odgie and I went with two other skilled technicians (one who has sent a probe to Mars to collect samples!) to London for a week to build a working machine - my bit was the V8, I can say no more as I can't spoil the programme! But if the machine wasn't successfully tested by midnight Friday then it was to have been cut up and crushed! However we were successful and rose to the challenge in Windsor last Thursday. Have I got you interested? Well, that's all you're getting!"

Smax asked us to thank the hundreds of fans who sent E-Mails and messages of congratulations. "You are the best!", he says. "Also I want to thank Knut, Al Jackson and all the team - again! - for helping me to realise a dream which we all share in drag racing!"

Swift snippets.
21st October: Swedish Top Methanol Funny Car racer Martin Lundqvist has kindly forwarded us a picture of the body which his FC will be sporting next season, an ex-Jim Dunn Racing Firebird (right).

UK Custom Car Street Eliminator racer Allen Curtis and his team are very pleased with their season. "We have knocked over half a second off our Personal Best with more to come, and finished fifth in the Championship", says Allen. "I would like to thank my sponsors Callanan Earth Moving Contractor, Central Auto Supplies and NGK Spark Plugs, who have all helped one way or another this season. We would also like to thank Lee Child and Kev Elliott for the Street Eliminator, all the other competitors in the class, yourselves at Eurodragster for such good coverage over the year (Thank you for giving us so much to write about - Ed), and Santa Pod and Shakespeare County, for without the tracks there would be no racing. If anyone would like to sponsor the team for the 2004 season in return for having your name/company logo on the van then please contact me by E-Mail at sponsors@nomannersracing.co.uk". The No Manners Racing web site at www.nomannersracing.co.uk has been updated with reports from the last three Championship rounds of 2003.
©Eurodragster.com
UK Junior Dragster racer Matthew Seamarks will be contesting the 2004 Championship in a car acquired from Scott Hauser. "We already have sponsors but we are looking for more", says Matthew. "If you are interested then please contact us by E-Mail at Gingerman_racing@belly412.fsnet.co.uk."

Rick Swan has acquired Tim Cook's old '55 Chevy race car and would like to get in touch with Tim. If anyone can provide Rick with contact details for Tim Cook then please drop him a line at fitnfast@fitnfast.fsnet.co.uk.

End-season thanks.
21st October: Glenn Ramsden of UK Event Safety has written to thank everyone at Shakespeare County Raceway for their support and friendliness during the 2003 season. "2003 provided learning opportunites for us all and hopefully the services provided by us have gone some of the way to ease some of the burdens", says Glenn. "Thank you also to the racers and their crews for having faith in us, we enjoy our circuit of the pits in the mornings, thank you for welcoming us with smiling faces (sometimes!). The staff at SCR should be proud of their attitude and enthusiasm towards drag racing, we were certainly impressed with their professionalism. From Santa Pod we must thank Jon Cross and Darren Prentice for their support, thanks guys. I've gone home after every meeting with a throbbing headache, not from the nitro fumes or noise levels, but from the constant banter from Rocket Ronnie, it's great to be back in contact with him after all these years, thanks mate. Sorry that this a little like an Oscars speach but you have all been so friendly and supportive. Last but not least Tog and Sharky, cheers lads (Thank you! - singed-around-the-edges Ed). From the staff at UK Event Safety wish you all a very merry Christmas and a successful New Year."
©Eurodragster.com
Shakespeare County Raceway's Race Director Richard Warburton has also written to express his appreciation of the hard work of everyone at Shakespeare County Raceway in 2003. "It's been mixed season for various reasons upon which I will not elaborate, but a successful one", says Richard. "I hope to see everyone back next season and can I be the first to wish everyone Merry Christmas (Sorry, Glenn just beat you to it - Ed)! I hope that Santa brings you all everything you want, whether it be a new nitrous system, a set of slicks, a quicker reaction time or in my case I want a Custom Car Street Eliminator car....and I want it now!"

Web site updates.
21st October: The European Pro Mod Racers Association web site at www.promod.nu has been updated with teams' 2004 race numbers.
©Eurodragster.com
If you were tuned in to Eurodragster News back in July you will recall that Kelsey Publishing, publishers of Custom Car magazine, have organised the Kelsey Cup, an event which combines a Cruise with a team karting challenge. James Draper has dropped us a line to let us know that the event now has an official web site at www.kelseycup.co.uk.

Flame and Thunder Show contest.
20th October: Eurodragster.com has teamed up with Santa Pod Raceway to offer a Family Ticket for the Flame and Thunder Show which takes place at Santa Pod on Saturday 1st November. We are very grateful to Caroline Day and Kelly Ingall of Santa Pod Raceway for posting such a great prize.

The ticket admits two adults and four children up to sixteen, who will be able to enjoy a Top Fuel Dragster match race between Smax Smith and Barry Sheavills, France's Eric Teboul on his five-second Rocket Bike, Martin Hill and Tony Baker in the Fireforce Jet FCs, all-in bracket racing, the final round of the Volkswagen Drag Racing Club Championships, Russ Swift performing his incomparable Mini stunts, Low Riders, the traditional huge bonfire and firework display, children's entertainment, and much more.

For the chance to win the family ticket, all you have to do is to answer the following three questions:

  1. What type of car was Smax Smith racing before getting into the Purple Loans Top Fuel Dragster?

  2. In which year did Barry Sheavills win the FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Championship?

  3. Who is the Guy on the Flame and Thunder Show preview on Santa Pod Raceway's web site?
The winner will be chosen at random from the correct entries received.
©Eurodragster.com
To enter, E-mail contest@eurodragster.com, specifying Flame and Thunder as the subject, and give the following details:
  • Your answers to questions 1, 2 and 3
  • Your name
  • Your full home address
  • Your daytime telephone number
Entry closes at midnight European Time (23:00 UK time) on Sunday 26th October, and the winner will be announced on Eurodragster News on Monday 27th October. The winner will be notified by Eurodragster.com and will also be contacted by Santa Pod Raceway to arrange delivery or collection of the Family Ticket.

For more details including the contest rules, check out the contest web page by clicking here, and for more details about the Flame and Thunder Show check out Santa Pod Raceway's web site at www.santapod.com. Good luck!

Championships decided at SCR.
20th October: The 2003 Outlaw Anglia Championship and the 2003 National Street Car Championship were decided at the Halloween Showdown at Shakespeare County Raceway today.

Paul Hensher is 2003 Outlaw Anglia Champion after winning his semi-final race, Pete Ashworth is a close runner-up in his first year with the new Dayglo Twister. Paul celebrated his Championship by taking the event win at 8.737/152.54 to Pete's 8.878/146.10. Dayglo Twister team member Lorraine Beale won the Costume Contest with an Elvira-style outfit (Elvira and Lorraine, right), Lorraine won a trophy and event promoter Lee Child awarded four 2004 Excitement Nationals tickets to both Pete Ashworth's and Paul Hensher's Outlaw Anglia teams for their fancy dress efforts all weekend.

James Murray took the 2003 National Street Car Championship, and Gary Leece took runner-up spot.

Clive Mechaell was the quickest and fastest of the Fuel Altereds at 6.763 seconds and 205.48 mph, whilst Pete Radcliffe took the Alcohol Altered FTDs at 7.853/173.08. Also in exhibition, Jet FC pilots Roger Goring and Tony Baker recorded weekend bests of 6.329/247.25 and 7.092/228.43 respectively.
©Eurodragster.com
On two wheels, Tony Clark put in his first passes on Paul Rose's Pro Stock Bike, a competent set of familiarisation passes resulted in a best of 8.828/156.79. Martin Clitheroe sensibly took it gently on the ex-Tim Blakemore Funny Bike with a best in the tens. Dave Peters put in his first passes on his Funny Bike after Mike Vickers made a couple of checkout passes.

You can view our American Car Imports-sponsored end-day summaries and photographs by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page.

Ripley aims to be quickest.
20th October: UK Top Methanol Funny Car racer Doug Ripley has acquired Mark and Jackie Hawkins' Fuel FC chassis and body as he continues his quest to become the quickest and fastest TMFC racer in the UK. Crew Chief Cliff Gould says that Doug and the team would have liked to retain their Ford Probe body but Doug really needs to see where he is going.

"We purchased the car from Mark Hawkins because of visibilty problems since fitting the Whipple supercharger", says Cliff. "If we could we would still be running the Probe body.but we feel this is the only way to move forward. We have already bare-metalled the chassis, made some modifcations and fitted our running gear. Also new is a nine and a half inch top loader rear end, a titanium clutch can and a datalogger. We we still have lots to do, paint the body etc.
©Eurodragster.com
"I will be doing an R and D exercise when I go to Pomona in November. I hope to bring back a few ideas and make some new friends.

"All at CC Racing are committed to making the Dodge Avenger the quickest and fastest British TMFC."

Tee Rat second in the queue.
 19th October: One of the questions which the Eurodragster staff are most asked is "Do you know the latest on the Tee Rat replica?". We had a word with Nick Davies of our Home and News Page sponsor ICE Automotive Racing Engines and asked him how his and Rob Loaring's replica Fuel Altered project is coming along. We discovered that Nick and Rob are building not one altered but two, with the first to appear next season.

"Things have moved forward, albeit at a slower pace than we had originally hoped", says Nick. "The observant will have already noticed (picture right, click to see large version) that both the wheelbase and, more obviously, the fuel tank are incorrect for the replica of Tee Rat which has been much talked about. A number of factors have caused a delay in the commencement of that project. These include our own decision as to which rule book to adopt in order that the car be legal to run when and where we wanted it to, the obvious restrictions around classes in which Nitro is a legal fuel, and lastly the problems caused by an unexpected denial of access to one of the original components which would have aided the pursuit of authenticity. Worry not, each problem has been addressed and Tee Rat will be the very next chassis on the jig.
©Eurodragster.com
"We would like to greatly thank the Stone family for their input to date, particularly in the donation of the original valve covers and steering wheel toward the project, and also the loan of their own memorabilia to help in the accuracy of detail.

"So what to do in the meantime? A blown-alky altered in the early 1970s style, of course! With a Pro Mod-specification 526 ci Big Block Rodeck Chevrolet and three-speed, the plan is that it will début in Super Pro ET in 2004, combining a current drivetrain and nostalgia appearance. The (soon-to-be) 1932 Austin Bantam-bodied altered is being built entirely in-house at the new Silverstone-based ICE Automotive workshops. It will feature an SFI 10.1D chassis, twenty five per cent engine setback, 114 wheelbase, magnesium twelve-spoke mags, Moon tank and whatever else is considered necessary to make the car a competitive, reliable and safe race car whilst not forgetting the appeal of this era of our racing history"

From one Rebel to another.
18th October: Longtime readers will remember that at the start of this year Eurodragster broke the news that UK then-Fuel FC racer Smax Smith and Swedish then-Top Methanol Funny Car racer Leif Helander had swapped cars. Leif Helander has put in a couple of appearances in the ex-Smax Fuel FC this season, but nothing has been seen of Smax's five-second ex-Helander TMFC. We will however be seeing the Top Methanol FC on the track in 2004 as UK Super Pro ET racer Trev Capewell has acquired the car from Smax, in a part-exchange deal which saw his wild Southern Rebel altered head north to Smax's Preston base.

"I wanted to build a Top Methanol Funny Car ten years ago", says Trev. "I had a blown-alcohol Rodeck, a Funny Car body from Tony Betts, everything I needed. Then I had a bit of a setback and I had to go back a step, so I turned it into an Altered". Trev says that he knew that he would have a Funny Car one day, and a short while ago the chance arose to purchase a proven car. "Converting the Altered would have been too much trouble", he says. "I was looking for a successful car, and Doug Ripley told me that Smax had Leif Helander's Funny Car."
©Eurodragster.com
Trev called Smax and a deal was done. "The only way I could do it was to trade the Southern Rebel and some parts", he says. "I also put up some money; my brother Bob, who is also my Crew Chief, contributed money too. My wife's support has also been unbelievable."

Trev says that will be a lot to learn to run in Top Methanol but that he and the team are up to the challenge. "It's a very steep learning curve but we are going in with our eyes open", he says. "I've got a lot to learn both about running the car and driving it. The whole team are very keen and willing to learn, and we're all excited about it. We think we did pretty well with the Super Pro car this season and we will be looking to do as well as we can with the Funny Car. I am sure that with the help of our fellow racers we will get through. We will need more crew, though, so if anyone would like to join the team then I would be pleased to hear from them."

Depending upon finance, Trev and the team plan to attend a test session before the season-opening British Championship round at the Easter Thunderball. "I have to upgrade my licence", says Trev. "We have to get a lot of new stuff right down to the helmet and firesuit, and I could only just get the Funny Car into my transporter so I might have to get a new transporter. We will be looking for sponsorship for next season."

If you would be interested in crewing on the Capewell Racing team or sponsoring the Funny Car, then drop Trev an E-Mail at enquiries@southernrebel.co.uk. Alternately, if you are interested in running in Super Pro ET then you can find the Southern Rebel in the Cars For Sale section of Eurodragster's Jeff Bull Race Engines-sponsored Swap Meet.

Lundqvist: No new flame job.
18th October: Swedish Top Methanol Funny Car rookie Martin Lundqvist set some sort of record at the Nitrolympx at Hockenheim in August when he suffered a fire bad enough to put his Firebird body beyond use (right), such serious fires being a rare phenomenon in alcohol-burning cars. Martin quickly bounced back to appear at the FIA European Finals a couple of weeks later, his FC sporting an earlier-model Firebird body borrowed from Magnus Larsson. He tells us that things are looking great after his first season in TMFC competition.

"As I always say, how hard can it be!", says Martin. "The 2003 season has been a great learning year for me and my super crew. Now we know how to fill a Funny Car with flames (aren't Firebirds supposed to have flames Freddy?), how to pull outstanding wheelies, that the starter motor likes charged batteries, and a lot of other great things. The only thing we didn't learn was how to make that machine to run fast but hey, so what, we had a lot of fun.
©Eurodragster.com
"I would like to say a big Thank You to all the teams who have helped us during the season and put up with all our stupid questions (wow)! I would also like to say Thanks to my crew who have made this possible.

"With the help from our sponsor Moon we now have a 2002 Firebird body from Jim Dunn Racing and no, we won't give it real flames (I hope). I'm looking forward to the 2004 season and I'm sure that someday I will beat you Urs! You guys better take care."

Erbacher on the road.
18th October: 2003 FIA European Top Methanol Funny Car Champion Urs Erbacher and his team are already thinking about next season whilst on the road between show bookings.

"There is not one guy or girl in the team who does not want to race next year", says Andrea of the Fat Attack team. "But dont worry, we will let you know as soon as the season is confirmed. At the moment we are travelling with our Funny Car across Switzerland and Germany from one exhibition or Sponsor event to another. First we were at the biggest tuning fair in Switzerland in Bern, the next weekend we are at the High Performance exhibition in Germany. After that, the car show in Zurich is the place to be. We like it and it is always great to see the big, astonished eyes when you say 'Yes buddy, 3500 hp and 0-100 km/h in 0.8 seconds'.

Meanwhile some of the team are taking advantage of the off season to go on bike rides or try other motorsports like long distance racing seventy three laps at a time. "Not really like drag racing...", says Andrea.
©Eurodragster.com
Andrea also tells us that the new Fat Attack web site is now on-line. "The site is available in both German and English", says Andrea. "But the words will hold no interest the moment you see the pictures of the bikes which Urs builds for a job. Take a tour through his workshop and the new bike store, and have a look at the Fat Inn, where the drag race team meets every week. Here we will celebrate our Championship victory with all our friends, family and sponsors next Saturday. It's sure be a party to remember. Some pictures will probably find their way onto the web!"

You can find the Fat Attack web site at www.fatattack.ch.

Who said "Could do better"?
18th October: 2003 was a year of mixed fortunes for UK Custom Car Street Eliminator racer Ian Hook. "It all started when we attended the Season Opener event at Shakespeare County which incorporated Round 1 of the National Street Car Challenge", says Ian. "A less than brilliant track confined us to mid-nines in qualifying but the real problems started on the cruise to a local pub when the engine started blowing oil out in some fashion. A strip down in the pits revealed ring problems and the rush was on to get a set and rebuild before the first Custom Car Street Eliminator meeting at the Easter Thunderball just a couple of weeks later. Little did we know that as the season progressed we were to become very familiar with the inside of the '34's engine!

"The Easter Thunderball rolled around and we were ready. Although we progressed to a low nine in qualifying, it wasn't until round one of eliminations that the tyres seemed to really start working rewarding us with our first eight of the year. In round two we improved to a new Personal Best of 8.87 but a nitrous failure meant we couldn't even worry Steve Pateman in the semi-final. However, we were third after Round One of the Custom Car Street Eliminator Championship and the car was still in one piece.

"Two weeks later, at Shakey for Round 2 was a different story. Our first pass netted a PB speed of 162.45 mph but a routine leakdown check revealed three damaged pistons. Unfortunately we'd gone with too little retard and had paid the price. With only one spare piston we had to call it a day at that point going home having dropped to sixth. Round Three was six weeks away so a set of pistons was hurriedly acquired and we embarked on our second rebuild of the year. Fortunately we were offered the chance of some free testing at Mark Needham's UK Modified Nationals at the end of May, so off we went for a little match racing with Andy Frost. First race was a pedalled 9.2 beating Frosty - but at what cost. As I slowed, the car filled with smoke and the engine felt rough all the way back down the return road. A compression test showed several cylinders with no compression at all. The diaphragm in one of the fuel regulators had broken up and had blocked several of the nitrous fuel jets resulting in a very lean mixture, melted pistons and bent valves. The rest of Saturday was spent rebuilding the motor with any spares we could find and Sunday lunchtime saw us back on the track with our 'bitza'. A final run of 9.5 was reassuring despite losing to Frosty.

"Another two weeks passed and we were back at Shakey for Round 3. Try as we might we couldn't run an eight, although a stronger nitrous tune produced a 9.002 at 160 mph as we went out to Steve Pateman in the second round. With Sue Jackson not competing due to a crash in the Vette it was enough for us to leapfrog Team Silver Fox into fifth place.

"For Round 4 we were back at The Pod. The 9.002 had given us hope of getting back in the eights, but massive tyre shake in the first round of qualifying caused a brief encounter with the rev limiter (whilst the gas was on!). The motor seemed OK when I drove it round for our second session where we were paired with Andy Frost. Again, beating him seems to have cost us. Puffs of smoke were issuing from the bonnet side panel as I drove back to the pits. It seemed the previous run's visit to limiter-land had done another two pistons as well as damaging some rings. We'd used up all our spares building the 'bitza' so there was no option but to open the beers. We were to spend the long summer break back in sixth place having given up fifth to Alan Simms.

"During the summer shutdown we had some of the crushed pistons machined to open up the ring grooves and rebuilt the engine again. Although new pistons would have been preferable, a lack of funds ruled that option out. August Bank Holiday's meeting was the Allstar Nationals back at Shakespeare County Raceway. With fresh rings and a hone but 'iffy' pistons I was quite nervous on the first run and rightly so. A massive nitrous backfire just before the finish line resulted in two damaged pistons and one damaged inlet valve. Our depleted spares box fortunately contained two pistons and one inlet valve! I must admit that I'd had just about enough at this point and was thinking about taking up fishing! However, the enthusiasm of my superb crew is infectious and by Saturday evening the car was up and running again. The problem this time? My fault - I'd neglected to correct the rotor phasing, the out of phase spark causing the misfire - a real no-no with nitrous.

"Despite the repairs we still couldn't run an eight at Shakey, our 9.02 against Moose in round one being our quickest pass of the weekend. However, from that point on we had a real change of fortune. We thought we'd be on the trailer in round two as Jeff Meads, our opponent, was a good three tentths quicker than us. Engine problems saw him no showing so we were into the semi-final for the second time this year. What looked set up for a close race came to nothing when Colin Lazenby had his own nitrous backfire on the start line and we were into our first final for six years! And our opponent - none other than arch-rival (and good mate) Andy Frost. Unfortunately another potentially close race was spoiled as Andy had valve problems allowing me to cruise to a 9.27 victory. So, with a lot of hard work and some good luck, what looked like another wasted weekend turned into the best for six years! The big points haul also meant that we jumped from sixth to fourth in the Championship.

"The Doorslammer Internationals at Shakey was the venue for Round 6 and we made the short trip into Warwickshire with a new device on board. Mike Thomas of Nitrous Solutions had loaned us a nitrous controller to try and tame the wheelspin we were still experiencing. It worked. On our second pass we ran an 8.79 accompanied with a big cheer from the stands and fire up road - we'd done it at last, an eight at Shakey. Although going no quicker we did hang on to the number three qualifying slot, another best for us this year. We progressed to the semis where we went out to Steve Pateman, we with an 8.83 and Steve with a record-breaking 8.22. We were now pretty safe in fourth place needing only to make the first round at the UK National Finals to secure it.

"We'd noticed that our second-halfs (660 to 1320 feet) had been tailing off and had come to the conclusion that we were losing nitrous pressure. To try to resolve this we had two bottles (just wash'n'go!) on board for the National Finals. The first qualifier of 8.91 would normally have pleased us but the very low mph of just 146 gave cause for concern. Investigation (with the invaluable help of Frosty - cheers) eventually led us to the conclusion that we had a faulty torque converter. It had got so hot that the case had 'blued'. It was very frustrating as we had to sit there watching almost everyone go quicker on the best track of the year. We made the cruise OK and got through the first round, so securing fourth place. We exited in round two at the hands of Steve Pateman (again!) who despite a massive wheelie ran an 8.4, considerably quicker than my 9.3! Steve went on to reset the record again at 8.14.

"With the damaged converter and depleted money-box there was no way we'd make the Halloween meeting so that was the end of our season. Five rebuilds had not helped our cause but fourth place in such a competitive class was a great result. I feel we made some real progress over the last two meetings and am looking forward to mixing it again next year.

"I know this isn't the Oscars but I really do have to say some 'thank-you's. Firstly the FB Racing crew. They have worked their socks off this year without complaint (well, not much anyway!). I am very lucky to have such a great bunch working for me. Secondly to all the FB Associates and also our sponsors:A & E Fire Equipment, The Everest Balti House, Widdows Motors, Hot Rod Tees, Shakespeare County Raceway and JWR Motorsport. We couldn't have done it without your support.

"I also have to say thanks to Kev Elliot, Lee Child and Dale Reardon for their organisational contributions and, of course, to everybody working so hard behind the scenes at both tracks - marshalls, safety crew, track prep, signing on, commentators, etc. You know who you are - thanks for all your hard work.

"And not to be forgotten are all the other racers and their crews. Despite the cut-throat rivalry on the track the atmosphere in the CCSE pits is always excellent and it's not unusual to find racers and crew helping out on cars other than their own. They make the class what it is - thanks.

"Finally, a brief plug. If you'd like to get the inside track on building, running and racing a Street Eliminator car and see your name on the FB Racing '34 next season why not join our 'supporters club' - the FB Associates. The fee is 25 per year (30 for Business membership) and you'll receive regular updates straight to your desktop on all the work that goes in to preparing and running the car. We'll even send you an FB 'goodie' to welcome you aboard. Click here to register, or for further information drop me an E-Mail at fats-hook@supanet.com.
©Eurodragster.com
A winning shirt design.
18th October: Longtime readers will remember that Eurodragster, Turboville and Santa Pod Raceway helped to sponsor a team in the F1 in Schools Challenge with some uniforms last year. The team had to design, build and attract sponsorship for a carbon dioxide-powered model dragster which they then raced at heats all over the world. Ian Turburville tells us that Adam Charnley from the St Joseph's College team took a younger team under his wing this year and persuaded them that team shirts should be an important part of their strategy too, so Adam went back to Turbo for help. Turbo provided them with his new Pit-Polo shirts at a fraction of the cost of pro start-line shirts and again the plan worked a treat! Adam sent this letter to Ian, which we are pleased to publish verbatim as it perfectly reflects his enthusiasm:

"Hi Ian, The competition was today....as you know we won the regionals last year with St Joes...and as you know the shirts I had made were for a bunch of 12 yr olds I'd been teaching for the last 6 months....well....you can add another winning team to your list!!!!...not only did they win their key stage...out of 20 teams....they beat all the older kids of which there were 40 teams!!!!they quite simply obliterated the competition.....although everything was brilliant...they couldn't have done it without you!!....the point that the judges picked up on was the team presentation and more importantly the shirts!....they got 40 more points than every other team just because of your shirts!!!! so thanks...i'll send you some photos as soon as I can get them....oh yeh I almost forgot......they were on Midlands Today TV tonight....I believe a certain shirt designer got a mention when asked where they got their shirts made!!! So on to the nationals now...lets hope they can repeat the performance...and maybe put one over on us from last year and win the whole thing!!!!!"
©Eurodragster.com
A chat about Super Modified.
17th October: The Super Modified Racers Association are to hold a meeting on Sunday 9th November to discuss rule changes for 2004 (see below), elect a Chairman, Secretary and PR/Marketing officer, and to discuss any other matters. All Association members, Super Mod racers and crew, prospective Super Mod racers, and other interested parties are invited.
©Eurodragster.com
The meeting is to take place at 11:30 am at:

Tewin Memorial Hall
11a Lower Green
Tewin
Welwyn
Hertfordshire
AL6 0JX

Tewin is not far from Junction 6 of the A1M. Click here for a map of the hall's location.

We spoke to Super Modified racer Tim Garlick, who describes himself as "Appearing to be Chairman-elect" of the SMRA, about his role and about prospects for the class for next year. "I will try to gel the racers together, to keep continuity in between rounds, and to organise race dates with promoters", he said. "I have spent a lot of time on the phone talking to racers about next season. I also talk to interested parties about their options if they would like to compete in Super Mod; although my knowledge of American V8s is limited because I run a Rover, I am able to call upon experts such as ICE Automotive and Jeff Bull to advise them. A big part of my role will be to liaise with our PR/Marketing officer; George Kinghorn has been nominated for election and he has a lot of ideas, for example more media awareness and a new web site which will shortly be launched at www.supermod.co.uk.
©Eurodragster.com
Tim gave us some information about the proposed rule changes for Super Mod for 2004. "The only change is to the operation of Nitrous systems", he said. "It's taken three years to ascertain how quickly the Nitrous cars can go on a five-pound bottle, and both Danny Cockerill and Graham Ellis have pushed the five pound bottled Nitrous cars to the limit. Subsequently too large a gap has opened between the Nitrous and the normally-aspirated cars. The object of the class, right from the start, has always been for Super Mod to run to the bottom end of the eights with a seven-second pass the exception. The proposed rule changes are designed to create parity and result in very close racing. If you look at the final of Super Mod at the National Finals, you had Andy Hone and Steve Rawlings, Steve ran a 7.9 but Andy won with an 8.2. So the idea is to win by having your stuff together on the start line rather than having a huge performance advantage. We are also going to propose that rule changes can be made on the fly during the season if any particular combination is deemed to have too much of a performance advantage. This is all to be discussed at the meeting on 9th November."

Tim said that he has spent several hours on the phone talking to racers, from which he thinks that 2004 promises a very strong Super Mod field. "Returning are Paul Brooks, Tim Garlick, Jon Hogarth, Andy Hone, Andy Kirk, Ian Marshall, Nigel Payne, Steve Rawlings and Rob Smallworth and we are looking forward to welcoming Simon Farmer and Craig Gibbs. A number of other racers have expressed an interest in running Super Mod in 2004 including current Super Comp and Super Gas contestants. We hope that Graham Ellis or his Oldsmobile will return in some shape or form. As far as the 2004 calendar is concerned, it is too early to say for sure because the National Championship dates have yet to be agreed but we envisage a similar number of dates to this season."

If you have any queries about Super Modified or matters which you would like to discuss at the SMRA meeting then call Tim Garlick on 01702 512672 evenings or on his mobile at 07970 518742.

Swift snippets.
17th October: UK Top Methanol Funny Car racer Steph Milam and husband and Crew Chief Dave say that they have had an awesome year. Europe's quickest female Funny Car pilot was runner-up in the 2003 MSA British Drag Racing Championship. "We would like to thank our sponsors Pro Seal, Champion Spark Plugs, Goodridge Hoses, and K and N Filters; our crew for all their hard work; and last but not least all the fans who have given us so much support throughout the year", say Steph and Dave. The team's very nice web site at www.shedevilracing.com has been updated with the latest news from the She Devil pit.
©Eurodragster.com
Shirty Goring continues tweaking.
 16th October: UK Jet Funny Car pilot Roger Goring has been reaping the benefits of gentle tweaking of the FC's J85 jet this season as he has recorded new Personal Bests on just about every outing, most recently a 6.278 at the Big Shootout at Shakespeare County Raceway. The Firestorm team will be continuing the light-adjustment policy at the Halloween Showdown at Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend, their last outing for 2003.

"We just tweaked it a little bit at the Big Shootout and the 6.278 was the result", says Roger. "Small increments don't get you into trouble! We hope that we will continue to go quicker, but we'll take it carefully again this weekend. And we've already got our game plan decided for next year!"
©Eurodragster.com
Roger is quick to credit those who have helped him this season. "We've had a brilliant year courtesy of Lee Child, the Isle of Man, Trevor Duckworth and Steve Murty", he says, "not forgetting all of the fans who keep coming back to see us and E-Mail us in between with good wishes."

Roger was sorry to hear yesterday's news that this weekend's Jet FC contingent is down to two after Martin Hill broke his wrist. "It's a real pity that Martin can't make it", he says. "It was a good move on Lee Child's part to have three Jet FCs at the same event for the first time in years - it is really good for the sport."

The Firestorm team will be selling their new T-shirts for the first time at Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend. The design (right) is the work of graphic designer Darren West who is no stranger to these pages. "We are absolutely delighted with the shirts", says Roger. "I just said to Darren 'Do your best' and he knew exactly what was required. He has done us proud and I can highly recommend him - a real professional!". The T-shirts come in Adult Medium, Large, Extra Large and XXL and Kids' 9-10 years and 11-12 years. The T-shirts are also available by mail order. For more details click on the picture, which will take you directly to the Firestorm web site at www.firestorm-jfc.co.uk.

Showdown snippets.
16th October: National Street Car Challenge racer James Murray tells us that this year's NSCC, which has its final round at the Halloween Showdown this weekend, is very close indeed. "Positions one and two have everything to play for, with just 150 points between Gary Leece and myself", says James. "Other points are close and the drag action will be the decider. If you want to see what NSCC is about come along and see us!". For more information about the NSCC, check out the series' official web site at www.nscc.info.
©Eurodragster.com
Web site updates.
16th October: Our buddies at Svensk Dragracing have updated their web site with a photo diary of the Veidec Drag festival featuring photographs taken by Swedish Car Sport Federation Chairman, FIA Drag Racing Commission member, and all-round good guy Lars Pettersson. "We gave Lars a camera and told him to capture his weekend!", says Christer Abrahamson of Svensk Dragracing. You can check out Lars' photographs at www.dragracing.se.
©Eurodragster.com
Photographer Bill Sly has been in touch to tell us that his Bad Boys Imagin' web site has been the unwelcome target of a hacker attack, which removed the contents of the site from his server. "We have reloaded an earlier version of the web site, but we still have some problems", says Bill. "However we hope to have it up and running by the end of the week."

Lars Wahlberg.
15th October: We were very sorry to hear from Christer Abrahamson of Svensk Dragracing that longtime Supertwin racer Lars Wahlberg has died. Lars finished seventh in the 2002 FIM/UEM Supertwin Championships and this year had developed a supercharged engine with his Killinge Racing team.

You can read more on the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se.

We are sure that everyone will join Sharkman and Tog in sending our deepest sympathies to Lars' family and friends at this difficult time.

Rose takes advantage of Showdown.
15th October: UK drag bike team Paul Rose Racing are taking advantage of this weekend's Run What You Brung at Shakespeare County Raceway's Halloween Showdown to start testing in preparation for the 2004 season. Super Street Bike racer Tony Clark will be putting in his first test passes on the PRR Pro Stock Bike with a view to running a full season in PSB next year, whilst Martin Clitheroe will be familiarising himself with the Kawasaki Funny Bike, previously campaigned by Tim Blakemore, which he has recently purchased.

"Tony Clark will be trying out the Pro Stock Bike which Helen Curran rode into the sevens", says Paul Rose. "The bike now has a Dave Schultz engine in the frame, and in the van there are two spare engines built by Roger Upperton. Roger and Dave Beck have been a real help, I don't buy parts through anyone else. Mark Fossey will be crewing at Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend and Dave Beck will be helping out too."
©Eurodragster.com
Martin Clitheroe will also be starting familiarisation passes on the ex-Tim Blakemore Funny Bike. "He'll be doing burnouts, launches, sixty foots, that sort of thing", says Paul. "We'll scare them to death!". Paul Rose Racing will be borrowing the ex-Blakemore Kawasaki back again to form the focal point of the Kawasaki stand at the Mototcycle Show at the NEC in November.

Meanwhile the frame of Tim Blakemore's 2004 ride is currently being constructed at Webster Race Engineering, although Paul says that Tim has every intention of running the new Funny Bike at Santa Pod in November. "The pipes are being bent even as I speak", says Paul. "The bike is to be a Kawasaki ZX12, and we will be running it next year with continued support from Kawasaki. We have all the parts ready to go in the frame, Steve Rice has been helping us all the way and Frank Brachtvogel has helped us with the injection. If my kids are wondering about their inheritance, then all of these bikes is where it's going!"

Ex-Supertwin Gas racer Nick Daniels has taken possession of Paul's 'Zebra' Comp Bike and will be giving it a new paintjob before contesting the ACU season in 2004. "Nick is very keen and he is willing to listen", says Paul. "I think he will do very well next year, as will Tony, Tim and Martin - as long as everyone is happy, we don't want any dramas!"

If you want to share the pairing lanes with Tony Clark and Martin Clitheroe then all bikes are invited take part in the RWYB at the Halloween Showdown this weekend. Advance weekend entry tickets are still available from LA Performance Services on 01803 554308 priced at £20. Gate prices will be £15 on both Saturday and Sunday or £26 for the weekend. A further £15 per day or £25 for the weekend and the production of a valid DVLC licence and a crash helmet will buy you unlimited runs on the strip.

And then there were two.
15th October: UK Jet FC pilot Martin Hill has had to withdraw his track record-holding Fireforce 2 Chevy Lumina from this weekend's Halloween Showdown, where it was to have been one of three JFCs present. Martin broke his wrist during his recent trip to Greece and has not been able to drive the rig containing the five-second car back to the UK. Tony Baker will, however, still be appearing at the Halloween Showdown in Fireforce 1 together with SCR regular Roger Goring in Firestorm.

"I was in the middle of Athens and I tripped over a steel bar in the road (Ah, that sort of bar - Ed)", says Martin. "I can't roll up to a race meeting in the UK with a cast on my wrist! I managed to run in Athens but I just could not physically drive the truck back afterwards. I hope to go back next week to bring the rig back in time for the Flame and Thunder Show at Santa Pod, and the hospital think that my wrist should probably be OK in time for that event. We'll see what happens."
©Eurodragster.com
Martin and his Jet FC, clad in the replacement body after the original departed at the finish line at the FIA European Finals at Santa Pod, were very well-received at his demonstrations in Athens. "They'd never seen anything like it before!", he says. "The Greek crowd were very enthusiastic. We had a GPS system on the car and according to that we got up to 245 miles per hour. The new body seems OK, we'll keep it steady and then see if we can come up with something else."

Martin will be at Shakespeare County Raceway this weekend keeping an eye on Tony Baker and Fireforce 1 but he would dearly have loved to have run his own car. "We don't like letting people down", he says, "but the logistics were just impossible."

All invited to Flame and Thunder.
15th October: Entry to Santa Pod Raceway's Flame and Thunder Show, which takes place on Saturday 1st November, is open until Thursday 23rd October, says Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Paula Marshall.

"The racing is billed as invitational but that invitation extends to all registered race cars and bikes", says Paula. "We are accepting entries for the all-in dial-your-own Car and Bike brackets, Volkswagen Drag Racing Club classes, and Junior Dragster."
©Eurodragster.com
Qualifying will take place on the morning of the event, with eliminations in the afternoon.

You can find the official entry form on the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc.

On the subject of events at Santa Pod Raceway, we understand that both the FIA Main Event and FIA European Finals are to be extended to four days as from next year. We will bring you more news about this as we receive it.

Official: drag racing not easy.
15th October: Andy Barnes drove away with Santa Pod Raceway's Japanese Performance Show trophy on Sunday after clocking up an astounding 10.24 second pass at over 145 mph in his street-legal Sumopower Nissan Skyline GTR (right), writes Rick Cuthbert of Santa Pod.
©Eurodragster.com
"The four-wheel drive car puts out close to a thousand horsepower at the crank and uses the original engine, chassis and running gear, with two massive turbos but no nitrous!", says Rick. "Andy had to fight the car all the way to the finish line every time he ran, and afterwards said 'Anyone who thinks drag racing is easy should try driving a ten-second car (Are you reading, Top Gear? - Ed)'."

You can read more about the Japanese Performance Show on the event's official web site at www.japshow.com.

Xtreme Wheels 2004 press release.
15th October: Xtreme Wheels 2004 is the show that everyone's talking about. Those within the motoring/motorsport industry all agree that Xtreme Wheels will be a welcome addition to the show calendar and fans of all things xtreme can't wait for this unbelievable collection of wild vehicles to rumble into the capital. With such a positive reaction, it was only a matter of time before an additional day was added to the event schedule. This debut show will be open to both trade and public on Friday 13th - Sunday 15th February 2004.

With the ultimate collection of Drag Racing, Hot Hatch, Imports, Custom Cars, Street Rods and Bikes being carefully assembled, Xtreme Wheels 2004 have now released ticket price information with savings to be had by booking in advance:

Adults: 12.00 - Advance 10.00
Children under 16: 6.00 - Advance 5.00
Family ticket (2 adults - 2 children under 16): 32.00 - Advance 30.00
OAPs FREE with proof of ID

Visitors to the show can also visit the Alexandra Palace Ice Rink for only 3.00 on production of a show ticket helping to make this show a true family event. Xtreme Wheels 2004 will offer 2,000 FREE car parking spaces to visitors!

If you would like to be at Xtreme Wheels 2004 either as a trader or an exhibitor, you can now visit www.xtremewheels2004.com where you will find all the information you need and even download the relevant forms required. With a huge number of Trade/Sponsorship/Advertising opportunities too good to miss, a visit to the site is highly recommended where trade space is available from just 55.00 per sq m + VAT! (Floor space only. Shell scheme etc. additional).

For further details on any of the above, please E-Mail info@xtremewheels2004.com.

AC Delco Camaro for sale.
14th October: From 2003 FIA European Pro Stock Champions AC Delco Racing comes the news that Michael Malmgren's six-second Camaro is for sale. "Right now we are trying to sell the car, but don't worry we are not quitting!", says team member Magnus Cato. "We are currently looking at different scenarios for the future, let's see what happens."

"The car was custom-built by Jerry Bickel in 2000 with no expense spared", adds Magnus. "It's an ultra-lightweight car with all the latest technology and the best parts. According to the workers at Jerry Bickel Race Cars it's the finest Camaro ever built. It holds the European records of 6.940 and 199 mph, has made less then two hundred runs, and can be yours turn-key for less than you think!"
©Eurodragster.com
If you are interested in purchasing the AC Delco Racing Camaro then contact Michael Malmgren either by E-Mail at michael.malmgren@myresjohus.se or call +46 42 155910 or mobile phone +46 70 6021505". You can also find details on Eurodragster's Jeff Bull Race Engines-sponsored Swap Meet.

Things have been quite quiet for the AC Delco team since the FIA European Finals although they recently attended a VIP day at the Swedish Touring Car finals along with Micke Kgered, Håkan Mattson and Pelle Eriksson. "That bunch of drag racers certainly showed the true meaning of drag racing to a new group of people", says Magnus. Magnus himself is eagerly looking forward to the start of the sauna season, which he tells us is this Friday although for some reason we have not been invited to post Event Coverage.

Fancy Dressing up for a prize?
14th October: If you were tuned in to Eurodragster News last Thursday you will have read that Pete Ashworth's Dayglo Twister Outlaw Anglia team are planning to appear on the start line in costume at this weekend's Halloween Showdown at Shakespeare County Raceway. Prompted by team member Jon Best's promise (or threat - Ed), event promoter Lee Child of LA Performance Services has decided to put up a prize for the best fancy dress of the weekend.
©Eurodragster.com
"I will award a family or weekend ticket to next year's Excitement Nationals, and a trophy, for the best costume worn by a crew member on the start line this weekend", says Lee, who sponsors Eurodragster's Links pages through his company LA Racing Parts. "Of course safety should be borne in mind - for example no long wigs or tassels if you are going to have to lean over a supercharger! - but as long as you are safe then be as imaginative and/or outrageous as you like."

The judges will be Lee Child, APIRA Chief Marshal Bev who heads up the pairing lanes, and Sharkman and Tog of Eurodragster.com. The winner will be announced on Sunday afternoon. We will endeavour to photograph as many costumed crew members as we can and post the pictures on Eurodragster's Event Coverage over the weekend.

Racers: Are you planning on attending the Halloween Showdown? Drop us a line at news@eurodragster.com and we'll let your fans know.

Kats Krazy over title.
14th October: Bob 'Bert' Sharples of 2003 ACU UK Super Street Bike Champions Team Krazy Kat dropped us a line to let us know the level of celebration in the team since taking the Championship at the UK National Finals. "Very high!", he says.

"After what can only be described as a frenetic season with all the usual (and some unusual) highs and lows, we are still trying to come down from the high of clinching the ACU title. Along with that rather quick 8.16-second run it was a great way to wrap up the season. The team as whole have operated really well this year with special thanks to the following people:

"Karl 'Hollywood' Larcombe for some awesome riding; Roger Yelland of our main sponsor Braggs of Surbiton for all the long hours building/re-building/dyno'ing etc, and the initial creation of the chassis which has carried the Kat powerplant so well this year; and Steve Bassett and Bob 'Bert' Sharples for the usual super crew efforts.
©Eurodragster.com
"On our last run at the UK National Finals against Ivan Birch - who by anyone's standards was really 'one one' that weekend - you may have seen Kat 3 slow and a puff of smoke coming from the bike, and after a quick inspection trackside it looks like some damage has been inflicted on the outrigger plate/bearing and gearbox. We'll keep you updated as to the extent of this once we have had a good mooch round the engine!

We came into this season with one goal, to win the Championship (and maybe chuck a seven second run down whilst we were at it!), but none of the close racing seen this year would have been possible without the other racers in Super Street; notably Tony Clark, Graham Dance, Ivan Birch and Dave Bailey to name a few - all of whom are exceptional riders and worthy opponents, nice one guys!

"Our intrepid photo man Nigel will be following the progress of Team Krazy Kat at events next year, we will let you know when his web site is up and running. The team will also be releasing a DVD which should be ready for next season, and which has captured the slightly-alternative mode of racing Super Street Bike with Team Krazy Kat."

Bert has promised to keep us posted with news from Team Krazy Kat over the off-season.

Want to go Top Fuel in 2004?
13th October: Carbon By Design Top Fuel team owner Knut Söderquist has a Top Fuel Dragster available for hire for 2004 and is inviting enquiries from interested parties.

"The Top Fueller is a proven race-winning car", says Knut. "It comes ready to race with spares, a fully-kitted-out double-deck trailer and a couple of crew members. It is not necessary to have a licence but we would prefer a Top Methanol or Pro Mod racer as licencing is easier. But all you need to bring are good driving skills, money, and a couple of crew."
©Eurodragster.com
If you are interested in going Top Fuel in 2004 then call Knut on 01933 385090 (outside the UK +44 1933 385090). "Don't forget that I speak Swedish as well as English!", he says.

Knut tells us that the CBD team are already running two Top Fuel Dragsters in 2004; as we revealed a short while ago Knut is also having a new Top Fueller built. Stay tuned for more news from the CBD pit.

Mechaell's pedal to the metal.
13th October: UK Fuel Altered racer Clive Mechaell is looking forward to returning to Shakespeare County Raceway for this weekend's (18th-19th October) Halloween Showdown. Clive, who has campaigned the California Kid '27 T out of his own pocket since 1988, thinks that with the right conditions he could improve upon his European Fuel Altered records of 6.205/219.57 and in the process take care of his SCR track record of 6.410 and see off the other five blown altereds.

Clive's last outing in the car was at the Bulldog Bash at Shakespeare County Raceway back in August. "The car ran well, but I had too much power for the track - it had had Run What You Brungers on it all weekend", says Clive. "The tyres were smoking all the way down the track, and when it started to move around it was a bit like rallying!"

Clive is hoping to approach or better his European bests at Shakespeare County Raceway next weekend. "The car can run 6.4s all day long with a good track and if everything stays in one piece, and I can tune that combination for the conditions. If the track and air are good and it hooks up then it will be awesome - the best ever! But everyone's in the same boat, you have to get the power to the ground. It might be that I have to take power out - I want to put the pedal to the metal without lighting the tyres."
©Eurodragster.com
Clive's altered is renowned for giving him a wild ride, but he tells us that it never worries him. "It's never scared me because I treat it with respect", he says. "Look after the car and it will look after you! Over the years I've done more or less everything you can do with a Fuel Altered. For example, once at Santa Pod I did an eighth-mile burnout which really pleased the crowd, then the car left really well, it shook which blurred my vision a bit, the shaking stopped at the eighth and when my vision cleared I was looking at the guardrail and four rods were hanging out. I've also been sideways through the lights at two hundred with rods out, I've had to do engine rebuilds and rebuild the chassis."

Clive is looking forward to taking on the rest of the blown altereds next weekend, especially the Fuel contingent of Jim Seward and Mickey Moore. "A combination like Jim's, single mag, is the best for the UK", he says. "I started like that but as the years went on I had to try other things. But they've all got their acts together and they all want my record. And I say good luck to them! If we can all put on a good show then hopefully it will bring out the crowds, the promoter will make money, and we can have some of it!"

King Racing T-shirts released.
13th October: UK Top Fuel Bike racer Ian King is the next racer to send us a suggestion for an early Christmas present - although don't wait that long to order one - with the release of some very nice-looking King Racing T-shirts. The limited-edition shirts feature the King Racing logo on the front and a full-colour picture of the six-second bike on the back.
©Eurodragster.com
For full details including prices and ordering details, check out Pit Lane Gossip page of the King Racing web site at www.kingracing.com, which is also currently experimenting with automatic multi-language translation.

Flame and Thunder entry forms.
11th October: Entry forms for Santa Pod Raceway's Flame and Thunder Show, which takes place on Saturday 1st November, are now available on the Entry Forms page of the Santa Pod Racers Club web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. Classes to be contested at the Flame and Thunder show are all-in Car and Bike brackets, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, VW Alternative Engine, and Junior Dragster.
©Eurodragster.com
CCSE has it taped.
11th October: The 2003 season in Custom Car Street Eliminator is likely to go down as one of the very best in the UK street-legal class' history with times creeping ever closer to the sevens, speeds approaching one hundred and eighty miles per hour, and large fields at every event. Each round has been committed to tape for posterity and the fruits of that labour, a video named Hardcore Street, is to be released very shortly.
©Eurodragster.com
"It's going to be an excellent Christmas present for every motorsport fan!", says CCSE racer Andy Frost who will doubtless feature in his 8.5-second Vauxhall and who resets the record for the earliest mention of Christmas on Eurodragster. You can find more details on the Quartermilehigh web site at www.quartermilehigh.com.

National Finals Pro ET review.
11th October: We are indebted to UK Pro ET racer Carla Pittau for sending us a review of Pro ET at the UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway.

I can't believe this is it, the end of the Championship season. It all happened in a flash, we are testing at the first Webster Race Engineering Test Day and then it's the National Finals and this despite all the hard work in between. I believe that the Heaven and Hell team should get a prize for the maximum number of times a transmission was removed and replaced, with only Gino Bernadine a serious contender in the challenge - but even he conceded graciously when he heard that we even swapped transmissions after testing them doing a burnout outside the garage door!

Anyway, the National Finals came and went, bringing a bag of surprises, at least for certain teams! It was nice to welcome back Paul Baynton, minus his gorgeous '32 but plus a beautifully-presented 327ci-powered Capri, and plus an enthusiastic complete crew composed of wife/Crew Chief Mandy and daughter/junior mechanic Laura. Paul Marston also entered Pro ET and Super Street with his Grumpy's Dodge Dart (he only has the problem of choosing which car to use!) and we hope he had fun rushing from one class to the other.

Qualifying started with most people in the class running a lot quicker than they thought lots of breakouts! and a few running slower than they should, so the Heaven and Hell team led qualifying for the briefest moment with a +0.036, which only lasted until the beginning of the second qualifying session. Soon enough, once again Malcolm Motler performed his magic with (appropriately) the Spellbound Morris Minor Pick up and got within 0.002 of his dial-in. Keith Herbert also hit a +0.002 and combined that with a 0.505 reaction, enough to chill anyone's spine, while Paul Marston showed he meant business by hitting a +0.008. You would have thought that those numbers were close enough, but in the third session people kept splitting hairs, so Wayne Hiscock in the bright orange big Chevelle came up with another +0.002, Marius Blackburn hit a +0.004 and Terry Wareham got in the show as number 5 with a +0.006, pushing Paul Marston into sixth place.

On race day, after spending half the day under the umbrellas whilst the Santa Pod crew worked relentlessly to dry the track, the first round finally came. Alan Didwell in the 455ci-powered yellow Capri stormed off the start line with a 0.523, which put him well in front of Malcolm Motler and secured the win light despite slowing safely down to a 10.60 from his 10.34 dial-in. Brian Huxley in the Top Banana '32 roadster was the next first round victim, despite pulling a better light than Carl Burton in the 'tattooed' 4300cc Sierra, when he slowed to a 10.998 on a 10.84 dial-in. Bob Doyle had a good close race with Paul Marston, taking the win light thanks to a 0.023 advantage on the tree. Rick McCann in the Heaven and Hell Camaro pulled a 0.578 and had a lucky escape when the torque converter decided once again not to co-operate and slowed to a 10.809 on a 10.61 dial-in, as Keith Herbert redlit with a very unusual 0.375. This after stealing half of the Heaven and Hell crew with some excuse that his dad had knee problems and could not push the car. Everyone can clearly see that Keith's dad is twenty nine and is actually younger than his son, while son Luke is just more mature and responsible, so this was clearly a clever ploy to weaken the opposition.

In the meantime Paul Baynton advanced to the second round defeating Gareth Mogford who doesnt seem to have had a lot of luck this year, as he slowed to an 11.98 after red lighting. Ian Brown in the Thatadoo Camaro (what a great name) nailed Wayne Hiscock to the tree with a 0.507 reaction which forced Wayne twenty five thousands under his dial-in. In the meantime Kev Taylor was busy red lighting and breaking out against Terry Wareham, whilst Chris Johnson used a quicker reaction to force Steve Good under his dial-in. Jack Brewster was once again denied going a few rounds despite fixing his ailing transmission with a piece of an allen key, showing much inventiveness but then throwing his chances away by red lighting against Steve Wells. Steve Dunn at the wheel of the Tokyo Toy Celica got past Marius Blackburn thanks to a closer run despite Mariuss slightly better light . Gino Bernadine, in the mean time, swapped the broken transmission (yes, again!) and presented himself at the start line with no idea as to what to dial, so crew chief Peter pulled a 9.48 dial-in out of thin air. Gino used a 0.167 advantage on the tree against an unusually slower Aidan Kenny to hit the brakes big time at the top end, running a 9.502 at 116mph (!) and making it to the next round.

The second round saw Steve Wells redlight his chances away against Terry Wareham, whilst Carl Burton was forced under his dial-in by a slower light than Bob Doyles 0.569 and Ian Brown and Chris Johnson had a red light battle with Chris going through by redlighting second (and hitting his dial-in plus three thousandths). Paul Baynton tried hard for a good light by going in deep, and was rewarded by a 0.513 light against Rick McCann. Unfortunately for Paul Ricks 0.575 was enough to go through as the Capri slowed down to an 11.884 on an 11.50 dial-in which allowed Rick to safely brake at the top end and run a 10.945 on a 10.80 dial-in. Alan Didwell enjoyed his hard-earned bye and Gino Bernadine went up against Steve Dunn. This time the crew decided on a more daring 9.17 dial-in and Gino enthusiastically shaved the tree with a 0.524 reaction against Steves respectable 0.574. Unfortunately his enthusiasm weighed down his foot far too much and he did not lift, breaking out with a 9.147. Gino was quite happy about the reason for his defeat, the new gear box obviously rowing quite a lot quicker than the old one and the dial-in being quite close for the utter lack of data. This suggests Super Pro ET not too far in the future for Gino good for him (in a four pot!) but a pity for Pro ET, well miss you.

The third round saw a good close race between Terry Wareham and Rick McCann, with Rick taking advantage of thirteen thousandths on the tree with yet another 0.570 and one hundredth on the ET to take the win. Meanwhile Alan Didwell fell victim to a cherry, letting Steve Dunn through, and Chris Johnson did likewise, by pulling a 0.480 against Bob Doyles 0.604, with both drivers breaking out. The fourth round was a matter of great emotion for the three teams still in contention, as Tokyo Toy, Heaven & Hell and Zed Case pulled to the fire-up road, being best mates and the last racers still in competition. Heaven and Hell went through on a bye run, with Rick daring one more bump on the start line and getting a 0.514 reaction as a result, while Bob and Steve were denied a great race by Steves red light, as Bob ran a 10.371 on a 10.37 dial-in and Steve ran a 10.053 on a 10.05.

And then there were two as darkness slowly fell. The Zed Case and Heaven and Hell crew chiefs attempted a confused can-can on the start line, and what a great race it was, despite the crap lights pulled by both drivers dazzled by the tree in the dark. The win light was awarded by one thousandth of a second to Bob, with Rick paying dearly for his decision to tap the brakes ertwo thousandths of a second too soon! But who cares? What a great event, what fun!

Now all teams are back to the garage, to do all the things we put off during the season, to be ready to do battle at the Easter Thunderball, but hopefully to see you at the Dinner Dance for some bench racing (We'll be there - Ed).

You can find out more about UK Pro ET on the class' web site at www.pro-et.co.uk.
©Eurodragster.com
Web site updates.
11th October: UK Supertwin Fuel racer and photo-journalist Ian Turburville has updated his web site with photographs from the 2003 season. Check it out at www.turboville.com/turbo-7/sshotweb/frameset.htm.
©Eurodragster.com
Doignie's Super year.
10th October: UK Super Gas racer Stuart Doignie has had a dream start in his very tidy BMW-bodied car which took its first trip down the track in May.

"After making only five passes at a Press Day, we entered Super Street at the Main Event at Santa Pod. Little did I know that following this event I would have a permanent smile for the next month! We ended up number two qualifier - by 0.001! - and then went on to win the event in a series of tough races. The next four rounds did not produce any more trophies but saw us really dial the car in and have some great races.

"As long as I can remember it has always been my goal to have a Super Gas car. We built the BMW with this purpose in mind and we opened her up for the first time at the European Finals press day netting 9.7 best. The intention was now to compete the remaining events in Super Street and then move up into Super Gas for 2004. However after the FIA European Finals I kind of got the bug for going fast and entered Super Gas for the last meeting.

"However, before the UK National Finals we decided to have a go at the Doorslammers in the 10.50 class. We qualified well with an off-the-trailer 10.54 and then proceeded all the way to the final to meet Conrad Stanley in his Vega. This promised to be an excellent race as we were both cutting good lights and running right down on the index. I had a slight holeshot on the line but then mid track encountered a problem when the shifter would not select second so the race was all over before the stripe. It was a shame but I was still so happy with what we had achieved for the weekend.
©Eurodragster.com
"Onto the National Finals and Super Gas! It felt great to finally be part of the class I had always dreamt about. It felt even better to qualify number one with a 9.91! We then proceeded two rounds to find ourselves in the final three up against Pete Cresswell. I was really taught a lesson as Pete hit me with a .40 light to my .47 and my 9.93 was not good enough to win the race. Well done Pete!

"The car will remain unchanged for 2004, and we are looking forward to a full year of Super Gas. I would like to say thanks to my crew Rachael, Tim and Dad for all of their help in the season. Roll on next year!"

Knight seeks new recruit.
10th October: UK engine builder Peter Knight is seeking a new member of staff to join his Daventry-based business. Peter, who tuned Jon Webster to a remarkable début in the Canto Consultancy-backed Top Fuel Dragster in September, has a very successful company specialising in building Championship-winning high-performance V8 engines for everything from Historic cars to the European Le Mans Series as well as engines for street and marine use. Knight Racing Services builds some fifty to sixty engines each year.

"We're looking for an American engine enthusiast to join our team", says Peter. "You need to be hard-working, enthusiastic, and able to work to close tolerances and high standards. We are not looking for a professional engine builder but someone who would like to become one. The candidate should preferably be familiar with Chevy and Ford V8s and familiar with the principles of engine blueprinting."
©Eurodragster.com
Peter tells us that the vacancy would ideally suit someone with their own race car, "Who thinks that they are good at putting engines together!". If this sounds like you, then contact Peter for more details either on the phone on 01327 871177 or by E-Mail at luty.knight@virgin.net.

Swift snippets.
10th October: UK Pro ET racer Steve Wells says that those who didn't attend last weekend's Big Shootout at Shakespeare County Raceway missed a great chance to set Personal Bests as the track and air were excellent. "We improved our PB to 9.764 and got the hang of the Pro tree at last running six consecutive 0.4-something lights. Super Gas next year? Quite possibly. We have a lot of plans for the Pop over the winter and will update our web site at www.teamorange.org.uk with news of our progress."
©Eurodragster.com
Web site updates.
10th October: UK Custom Car Street Eliminator racer Ian Hook has updated his FB Racing web site with a report on his weekend at the UK National Finals, which was this season's last CCSE round, as well as the provisional points standings in the CCSE Championship. Check it out at www.fbracing.co.uk.
©Eurodragster.com
Cacklefest UK!
9th October: Next week's (18th-19th October) Halloween Showdown at Shakespeare County Raceway is to feature a US-style Cacklefest as the three Fuel Altereds and now three Alcohol altereds are fired up together as a curtain-raiser to the day's Altered action.

Jim Seward in Harry The Spider, Mickey Moore in The Mob, Clive Mechaell in California Kid, Neil Townsend in Northern Spirit and Pete Radcliffe have been joined by Mark Needham to make it a 50-50 Fuel/Alcohol field. All six cars are to be brought to the start line at 11:00 on the Sunday of the Halloween Showdown and started up. The Cacklefest will serve as the pre-race engine warm-up for the six Altereds which will quickly return to the staging lanes to go head-to-head.

"Cacklefests are a popular feature of Nostalgia racing in the USA", says LA Performance Services' Lee Child, who sponsors Eurodragster's Links pages through his company LA Racing Parts. "It's been far too long since it happened here in the UK and I can't think of any better way to keep fans going through the off-season than to end Shakespeare County Raceway's year by filling their heads with nitro and alcohol fumes!"
©Eurodragster.com
As far as we can remember this will only be the third, and second planned, start line start-up in UK drag racing history. The first was at the 1979 World Finals at Santa Pod Raceway when the entire Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Comp field was assembled on the track and fired up, and the second was at last year's Flame and Thunder Show also at Santa Pod when rain curtailed the Top Fuel and Fuel Altered match races and all four cars were brought to the start line and fired up in pouring rain.

The start line festivities may not be limited to the six Altereds. "We will have a number of Supercharged Outlaws at the Halloween Showdown, and if any of the Outlaws are reading this then you are very welcome to come down to the start line and join in!", says Lee Child. "The more the merrier!"

Whilst we're on the subject of the Halloween Showdown, Jon Best of Pete Ashworth's Dayglo Twister Outlaw Anglia team tells us that the Championship is on the line at the event, but it would seem that Pete Ashworth has chosen just the right time to step up. "Paul Hensher currently leads with 1560 points to Pete Ashworth's 1280", says Jon. "At the Big Shootout Pete ran a new PB of an 8.85 in the dayglo Pop. Running times like that means that Pete and Paul are virtually identically matched! So get along to Shakey and see the dayglo cars doing their thing, or just look at me and the rest of Pete's crew in our Halloween costumes..."

For more details about the Halloween Showdown including ticket and Run What You Brung prices, check out Tuesday's news item or call LA Performance Services on 01803 554308.

Junior Club seeks members.
9th October: David Wepinski who runs the European Junior Dragster web site is still seeking European Junior Drag racers and JD fans to join his new Junior Dragster Club. "If the Club doesn't get more members then it doesn't have a chance of working", says David. "So I would like all Junior drag racers and fans to contact me. I am also looking for articles for the first Club magazine."
©Eurodragster.com
If you are interested in joining the European Junior Dragster Club, or if you would like to contribute an article to the magazine, then drop David an E-Mail at top_fuel_juniorracer@msn.com. You can find David's European Junior Dragster web site at www.junior-dragster.de.

Web site updates.
9th October: Eurodragster staffer Sharkman has been burning the midnight oil and has updated his personal web site Sharkman's Top End Tales with over four hundred photographs from the UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. If you need proof that street-legal cars can pull huge wheelies, or if you want to puzzle over what VW racer Andy Brooke is looking at, check out Sharkman's site at www.topendtales.com.
©Eurodragster.com
Furlong's good call.
8th October: UK National 9.90 Bike Champion Fred Furlong decided that the time was right to move up in 2003 after spending two years in 10.90 Bike, a decision which paid off.

"10.90 Bike is dominated by Big Bore GSXR's, Nitrous Bandits and Hayabusas so should we tune the old oil-cooled GSXR1100 or go for something completely different?", says Fred. "After talking to Martyn at Crescent Suzuki the latter choice was taken and a new GSXR1000 puchased and run in on the road over the 2002 Christmas period. The dyno showed a very healthy 150 bhp so it was decided that chassis changes were all that was needed to make this bike a winner. The engine and clutch was left completely stock, no nitrous, lockup or shifter to complicate things and only 988cc, but what a flyer this little bike turned out to be. Several number one qualifiers, one being a perfect 9.900, getting on the podium five times out of the eight rounds and unfortunately losing the closest drag race in European history are just a few of the highlights we have had this year.

"At this point I would like to thank all the other 9.90 riders for without them we would not have a Championship, particulary Steve Coombs who chased me all the way, the result not being decided until the final round at Santa Pod. Thanks to Eurodragster.com for keeping us informed down here in Somerset, and to Sandra my partner and burnout inspector - Sandra would like to add that she had nothing to do with my burnout over the start line at the National Finals for which I was rightly reprimanded, sorry Ian.

"We are now looking forward to next year whether it be in Super Street or defending our number one plate in 9.90/9.50. Final thanks goes out to all our sponsors including Martyn at Crescent Suzuki, Steve at Goodyear Dunlop, Barry at Fuchs Silkolene, George at Talon, Adam at Earl's Performance, Robin at Falcon Shocks, RST Leathers, and Furlong Tyres."
©Eurodragster.com
Flavell and Taylor victorious.
8th October: Team Flavell and Taylor clinched the Hot Rod Challenge Championship at York Dragway last Sunday. Des Taylor took the win in his '34 Ford, whilst Mark Flavell made a very welcome return to the track after recent surgery, although in a "Non-bending down and not lifting anything advisory capacity", although Des tells us that against doctors' orders Mark did use the timing light to good effect.
©Eurodragster.com
"The Championship went right down to the wire", says Des Taylor. "Russ Pursley was leading the Championship going into the final event with his very quick and consistent V8-powered Dutton. We qualified number one at 10.40 then managed to beat Russ with a season's best of 10.20. We then faced Ian Walley with his exceptionally-engineered and self-built twin turbo'd, supercharged, nitrous oxide-injected, four-wheel-drive Mark 2 Cortina. We managed to hold it all together and win with another wheels up 10.20, taking both the Championship and the Year's Fastest Doorslammer trophy, a great way to end a troubled season.

"I can't really afford to race, but thanks to the help of a lot of mates I've managed to get out and do it. My sincere thanks go to Mark Flavell for the loan of the engine, Terry and Tina Gibbs for the transmission, Nev Mottershead for lending me the carb, Dave Cherret for the loan of the nitrous kit (not used on his car) and Dave McCallan for letting me take the fuel pump off his car at the track and put it on mine, and my crewchief John Balmforth who has had to help me remove the engine and transmission four times this year! Oh yes, and of course my lovely wife Karen who has put up with the bedroom roof leaking for the past nine years."

Des would like to hear from anyone who can loan him a supercharger next season; if you can help then please drop Des an E-Mail at des1954@supanet.com.

TV schedules updated.
8th October: We are grateful to Caroline Day of Santa Pod Raceway for sending us an updated schedule for the TV broadcast of this year's FIA, FIM/UEM and NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified Championships. The schedule contains dates for broadcasts on Sky Sports, Granada Men and Motors and Channel 5 in the UK, and Sweden's TV4. "The schedule is looking very healthy!", says Caroline.
©Eurodragster.com
Click here to view the latest TV schedules, or click on the 2003 TV Schedules link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page.

Web site updates.
8th October: Eurodragster staffer Tog has updated his personal web site Tog's Drag Racing Page with a large number of pictures from the weekend's Big Shootout at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can find Tog's pictures at www.togsdragracing.com.
©Eurodragster.com
Showdown spectacular.
7th October: Shakespeare County Raceway is set to close its 2003 season in spectacular fashion with LA Performance Services' Halloween Showdown on 18th-19th October. Fuel and blown-alcohol Altereds and three Jet Funny Cars head up the exhibition action whilst a Run What You Brung open to all incorporates an Outlaw Street Eliminator and Quick 64s for both cars and bikes.

Already confirmed to appear on the Fuel Altered front are Jim Seward in Harry The Spider, Mickey Moore in The Mob, and Clive Mechaell making a welcome return in California Kid; lining up against them will be Neil Townsend and Pete Radcliffe in their blown-alcohol altereds. Also booked are SCR regular Roger Goring in the Firestorm Jet FC as well as track record holder Martin Hill in the Fireforce 2 JFC and Tony Baker in Fireforce 1.

Fresh from their seven- and eight-second antics at last weekend's Big Shootout, the Supercharged Outlaws return with their mixture of slingshot and rear-engined dragsters and doorslammers, and the popular Outlaw Anglias will be providing their own style of wheels-up, long-way-round action.
©Eurodragster.com
The Outlaw Street Eliminator is open to all street-legal cars, and that stricture aside more or less anything goes including slicks and nitrous. "All you need are mufflers and a tax disc", says Lee Child of LA Performance Services, who sponsors Eurodragster's Links pages through his company LA Racing Parts. "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!"

The car and bike Quick 64s are open to all comers and the winners will be presented with trophies as will the winner of the Outlaw Street Eliminator.

If you can't take the heat then a normal Run What You Brung will also be running on both days for cars and bikes. The track will as usual be prepped to event standard.

Advance weekend entry tickets are now available from LA Performance Services priced at £20. Gate prices will be £15 on both Saturday and Sunday or £26 for the weekend. A further £15 per day or £25 for the weekend and the production of a valid DVLC licence and a crash helmet will buy you unlimited runs on the strip.

Entry to the Outlaw Street Eliminator and the car and bike Quick 64s is free after the RWYB fee has been paid. Entry to these brackets is not automatic; if you wish to enter Outlaw Street Eliminator or the Quick 64s then you just need to say so when signing-on for the RWYB.

For more details, or to book advance tickets, call LA Performance Services on 01803 554308.

Web site updates.
7th October: Our good buddy Christer Abrahamson has been in touch with news of the latest update to the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se. "When I started to clean up my laptop, I found a couple more folders with pictures which I had forgotten I had!", says Christer. "So I have started out by posting two more galleries from NDRS Finals at Alastaro. Some of the pics are a bit dull since the weather was really autumnal, but some of them are really good!". Christer is also promising further photo updates soon including shots from Hockenheim.

UK Custom Car Street Eliminator racer Andy Frost has updated his web site with a report from the UK National Finals as well as the latest news from the workshop of his eight-second street-legal Vauxhall. Check it out at www.redvictor1racing.co.uk.

Hot on the heels of the twenty thousandth visit to his Acceleration Archive site comes news from Alan Currans of the addition of the site's sixty sixth photo gallery, featuring the pictures of Geof Hauser. "Geof has been involved in drag racing for a long time and in a variety of ways", says Alan. "He crewed for Clive Skilton on his Pro Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars before moving to Liam Churchill's team working on The Sting FC. Geof then went on to campaign a number of successful street cars with his then-wife, and since 1983 has run Hauser Race Cars. Geof's first page features pictures from 1968 taken at a dual carriageway strip in Canada (have a look if you don't believe me), the legendary 1972 NHRA Supernationals meeting held at Ontario Motor Speedway, and early 1970s action from Blackbushe and Santa Pod". You can find all of this great nostalgia at www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk.

From UK Wild Bunch racer Tony Smith comes advance notice that he has decided to repeat last year's highly-successful Guess Who photo contest on his web site at www.cunningplan.net. "The competition will be run on the same lines as last year's, with photos of parts of cars and bikes which have run during the 2003 season", says Tony. "The photos will be taken from the Feel The Noise web site. The first picture will be posted at 18:00 on Tuesday 18th November, and the contest will continue to 2nd April 2004 with a break for Christmas and the New Year. I am looking for ideas or even an offer of a prize to be given to the winner, if you have have any suggestions then please E-Mail me at tony@cunningplan.net. Please E-Mail me guesswho@cunningplan.net if you would like to be placed on the contest mailing list".

SPRC Dinner Dance booking form.
6th October: The official booking form for Santa Pod Racers Club's 2004 Dinner Dance is now available on the Forms page of the SPRC web site at www.eurodragster.com/sprc. The Dinner Dance takes place at 7:30 pm on Saturday 21st February 2004 at the Bedford Moat House hotel.
©Eurodragster.com
Dinner will be followed by the trophy presentation to the 2003 UK National and SPRC Club Champions and then a disco. The annual SPRC Dinner Dance Paper Plane Championship will doubtless be contested too.

Tickets for the Dinner Dance have remained at £25, and the price of hotel rooms has also been held at £30 per person including breakfast. Please note that as usual no disco-only tickets are available.

You can find more details about the evening on the booking form, or if you have any enquiries then call Paula Marshall at SPRC on 01933 313625. To book rooms at the Bedford Moat House call 01234 799988 quoting Santa Pod.

Leamon: pinch me.
6th October: 2003 ACU UK Comp Bike Champion Phil Leamon says that this season is without his best ever. "Pinch me, I must be dreaming!", he writes. "To win an event is an achievement, to win a Championship is mind blowing.

"I took the decision at the beginning of the year not to chase horse power, but to develop a super-reliable ride. Some would say that was boring. I thought that grinding out the number every run, bracket-bike style, would put me in the hunt and that with a little luck (must be my Irish roots) and the backing of a well-oiled crew, we may even finish in the top three.

"Drag racing is a learning process and I am most grateful to Paul Rose and the Nitrous God Steve French pointing out the bleeding obvious from time to time, when frankly I was lost. It has taken me two years on and off to understand how to ride this bike, another year or so to sort the tune and this year to really go for it. So with a deep inhale of an oxygen rich chemical, here come the Thank Yous.
©Eurodragster.com
"First up is the super crew of Denis, Chris and my ever dependable brother Robert. Winning with this crew became a habit and we all had immense fun on and off the track. For a bike to be dependable you need a good chassis and above all a strong motor. Dave Branch not only put together an A1 lump from mostly stock Suzuki parts, but was also able to turn my ideas into metal. Dave deserves, in my opinion, some sort of lifetime award in recognition of his unswerving devotion to drag bike racing. (Hear, hear - Ed). If you want to deal with somebody, who really has that certain empathy with the racer and understands the bike side of drag racing, Dave is the man you need to seek.

"My company Vehvac have come up with the odd shekel or two when needed and supplied the means of transport to get to the track. A sincere thank you also to Terry and Jan (would you like a cup of tea?) for support at the back end of the season...drag racing is after all a mind game. To all the other racers in Comp Bike thank you for some close racing. To my wife Tanya and sons Martin and Alexander for their encouragement and help in finding room for the silverware!"

You can have fun with a Rover!
6th October: UK Wild Bunch racer Gareth Kent has had a year to remember with his Hot Dog altered, culminating in an event win at last week's UK National Finals at Santa Pod - his second event win of the year.

"I knew this would be my first and last full season for a while as myself and ever-supportive girlfriend Lou are expecting our first child in December this year", says Gareth. "With this in mind, and a wind-up from last year's Wild Bunch Dinner Dance - I was saying that I would get WB1 this year - I planned a full-out attack. The first WB round was a good one but also a learning curve; I had only done nine passes in this car, or any car for that matter, and found that the improvements made from last year's closed season took six tenths off my Personal Best with a 12.6, but I also took second place at the event. A good start!

"The next round was the first Ultimate Power round. This was my first MSA event and again a learning curve. We qualified number three, but inexperience saw me go out in the first round with a breakout. But I learnt a lot and received a few spot prizes for my troubles. The season took a quiet turn for the next three races, no high qualifying or good places, only a PB of 12.1/107 at the Nostalgia Nationals. We also missed the second visit up to York as I had to work, so I knew I would lose the extra five points at the end of the season for all rounds attended, not looking promising so far!

"But then I had a re-think and went back to what I knew and had learnt through the years for the Allstar Nationals. It didn't look good in the Ultimate Power Championship as we were in tenth spot and a lot of points behind the top guy! But back-to-basics seemed to work as we qualified third. I always said to myself and others that if I could make it past the first round I could go all the way - and guess what, with help of an unfortunate bye in the first round (as I was paired against Dick Sharp who had had a horrific accident in Dorset Horn in qualifying), I was happy knowing I was past the first round! But then I had a tough second round, I was against Tony Smith who was WB2 last year, not good but would you belive it we won, great! But the in the quarters we had last year's WB3, Crazy Chris Hartnell, at this point I thought the whole world was having a go, but we managed just to take Chris out of the running as well (but I felt guilty as it was Chris' birthday, sorry mate!). Now a bye to the final, my first final. This was against Tom Coe, always a tough one to race, with a bit of help from Tom's breakout I won my first event! It was such a great feeling, and also helped me finish up third in the series, unbelievable! We also got Best Appearing Team, many thanks to Les, Lou and Si for their efforts!
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"With this I also bumped up to joint fourth in the Wild Bunch series, with one event to go at the Pod. This was one of the best meetings I've been to. The air wwas good and the track was great, it also gave me the chance to race at night which I've always wanted to do. Again the back to basics idea worked well putting us as number one qualifier for the following race day. With some very hard rounds we made it to the final again, but not without the heip of John Munday and top dog Andy from Thatadoo Racing who helped to find and sort out an ignition fault which was causing dangerous leaning of the engine and a fast-growing misfire, so thanks millions to them! In the final which was run in the dark at 8:15-ish I was against Alec Coe, father to Tom who had already wrapped up the Wild Bunch series even though his dad had taken him out in the semis - it may have been different if Tom was racing at three-quarter track instead of waving to the Bristol lot! I was told by Claire (Meaddows, Championship Co-ordinator - Ed) that if I won I would get second in the series but wouldn't finish in the top four if I didn't. Oh great, not too much pressure!

"So with this in mind I pulled a .453 reaction (not bad for a manual, clutch car) and blasted up the quarter mile, what was-off putting was hearing Alec coming up behind me fast, but it was fag-paper stuff at the top end, I just got my second win in a row! Fantastic!

"WB2 for next year, top four for the Real Steel Championship, third in the Ultimate Power Championship. What more could I ask for, I shall never forget my first season of racing. I must admit, though, that if it wasn't for a wonderful race car built by John Munday, a second-to-none crew of Les Stephenson, an understanding and supportive girlfriend Lou, my great mate and fellow racer Simon Williams and his old man Paul, Fay and all at Thatadoo racing, Mad Rs racing, C and C Racing, Jimmy Hibberd, Daz Selwyn, the rest of the Wild Bunch, all my friends at FAST (the best there ever will be!) and the other members of the Renegades Car Club, I don't think any of this would have happened. Thank you all so very much. See you at some point in 2004."

Editor's note: Could Claire Meaddows please contact us at news@eurodragster.com.

Big Shootout results.
5th October: The outcomes of the brackets at this weekend's Big Shootout at Shakespeare County Raceway were as follow:

Super Eliminator: Ian Tubb v Ian Bishop did not take place, Ian Bishop declared winner
Top Gasser: Mick Combes 8.544/143.31 def. Zane Llewellyn 8.630/154.64
Super Sportsman: Frank Mason 9.825/140.19 def. Ron Bartlett red light NTR
Sportsman: Mark Watkins 11.847/98.68 def. Rich Davies 11.897/106.38
Junior Dragster Shootout (best Reaction Time): Tom Watts

Darryl Bradford did not receive a time or speed for his demonstration pass in the Wildside Inc Top Fuel Dragster, estimates put the very strong run in the 5.3s at 260 mph before the dragster kicked four rods on the finish line. Roger Goring set a new personal best ET of 6.278 in the Firestorm Jet FC.

You can view our American Car Imports-sponsored pictures and end-day summaries by clicking here, or by clicking on the Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page.

Santa Pod JD for hire.
4th October: Rick Cuthbert of Santa Pod Raceway tells us that Santa Pod's own Junior Dragster is available for hire on two Run What You Brung days in October, as well as over the Flame and Thunder weekend in November.
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"If you have ever fancied giving your kid a treat they will never forget, then the Santa Pod Junior Dragster is available on Sundays 19th and 26th October", says Rick. "The hire fee of £99 includes tuition and a huge amount of track time. Also, if you are interested in competing in the Santa Pod Junior Dragster at the Flame and Thunder Show then please E-Mail David Lloyd-Jones at david@santapod.fsnet.co.uk."

New sponsor for Showtime.
4th October: 2003 British Nitro Funny Car Champions Showtime Racing have announced that Ringers Gloves have signed up as a sponsor for the 2004 season.

"Ringers offer a wide range of specialist mechanic's gloves along with accessories such as knee pads, heat sleeves, aprons and extrication gloves", says crew member Chris Dossett. "The mechanic's gloves come in four varieties: Authentic, Quick Fit, Cold Weather and Split Fit Air. They all offer maximum protection and comfort in the harshest conditions and are fully machine washable. You can check out the full Ringers Gloves range on their web site at www.ringersgloves.co.uk."

You can stay in touch with all the latest news from the Showtime team on their web site at www.showtimeracing.co.uk.
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Web site updates.
4th October: Eurodragster staffer Tog has updated his personal web site Tog's Drag Racing Page with a large number of pictures from the recent Doorslammer Internationals at Shakespeare County Raceway. You can find Tog's web site at www.togsdragracing.com.
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Wildside's last blast.
3rd October: The UK's Wildside Inc Top Fuel Dragster team can't see any better way to close out another hectic season than a visit to Shakespeare County Raceway, says driver Darryl Bradford.

"Alas we're not allowed to run in the bracket classes this weekend which is a real shame", says Darryl, "Especially as wed love to be able to dial a 5.00 and break out! The whole Wildside team are very much looking forward to ending the year in style, and we are grateful to Lee Child of LA Performance Services for making this our third and hopefully quickest outing of the year at Shakespeare County."

The Wildside Inc team will be joined by their season sponsors Royal Purple, Racing Champions, Flint Insurance, Cambridge Motorsport, Lipsync Post and Datron Technology whose 2D Datalogger the team have been using this season, to great effect and with some surprising results, and for whom they recently appeared at an Open Day at the MIRA Proving Ground near Nuneaton.

"The Wildside Inc dragster, displaying its complete 2D logging system, was centre stage alongside two Yamaha British Superbikes (also users of 2D systems) and a TVR Tamora, the latest sportscar from the Blackpool manufacturer" says Dave Burditt of Datron Technology who has been a drag racing fan since 1968. "The Top Fueller created a huge amount of interest amongst the visitors. Datron staff and Wildside team members were on hand to answer questions about drag racing and Top Fuel technology to the uninitiated. Some of the liveliest interest was from engineers from Formula 1 teams and other top levels of motorsport. Datron would like to extend their thanks to John and Lesley Wright, owners of the Wildside Inc car, for allowing allowing it to be exhibited at MIRA."
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Dave explained a little more about the use to which the Wildside Inc team have put the 2D datalogging system this season. "The 2D system has been used to record inputs from engine RPM and rear axle speed, fuel pressure, supercharger pressure and exhaust gas temperature. As an extra feature the 2D Logger was fitted with X and Y accelerometers which as well as showing the acceleration profile of the car down the drag strip also showed the sideways forces generated on the car at periods during the run due to tyre shake under hard acceleration and deceleration. Track surface temperature has also been measured using an infra-red sensor mounted under the car, and a GPS system was used to track the position of the car on the track to the nearest two centimetres. A Top Fuel dragster is acknowledged to be one of the harshest environments in motorsport anywhere and the 2D systems have proven to be tough and reliable."

You can read more about the Wildside Inc team's use of the 2D datalogger in a very interesting brochure which Dave has sent us, and which you can view by clicking here (PDF format), and you can find Datron Technology's web site at www.datrontechnology.co.uk.

Back to this weekend's appearance at Shakespeare County Raceway, and Darryl Bradford tells us that this weekend could be fans' last chance to purchase Racing Champions' collectible model of the car in full Union Flag livery. "Well also have some more of the Racing Champions range of American Muscle Car models and some Harley Davidson bikes, including the Vance and Hines Screaming Eagle Pro Stock bike models - there are only two left!

"Thanks to everyone for their support this year and see you at the track for one last blast!"

The Events page of the team's official web site at www.wildsideinc.co.uk has been updated with a full race report from the FIA European Finals.

No more pain for Goring.
3rd October: UK Jet Funny Car pilot Roger Goring is fit and ready for action at this weekend's Big Shootout at Shakespeare County Raceway after recovering from a leg injury. Roger dislocated a joint and was in considerable pain in his last outing at the Doorslammer Internationals at SCR.

"We're looking forward to our trip to Shakespeare County, as always", says Roger. We've been enjoying ourselves - give or take the odd bit of agonising pain! - and having a ball, and we aim to keep it that way. I was pretty uncomfortable with the leg, but I am OK now."
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Roger and his team of Ian Blaylock and Helen Rusling are very pleased with developments this year since making major changes to the set-up of the Firestorm Jet FC's J85 engine. Roger has run into the 6.3s and equalled his personal best speed of 250 mph, and the team have decided to leave the set-up unchanged from the Doorslammers, at least for the first pass. "It's nearly a bracket car!", says Roger. "We are consistently running a tenth better than our previous best times, and that's really encouraging."

Roger tells us that he already has a game plan for 2004, but won't be drawn. "Just come and see us run in 2003 first!", he says. You can find the official web site of the Firestorm Jet FC at www.firestorm-jfc.co.uk.

Moores set World best.
3rd October: UK Super Pro ET racers Roger and Dave Moore tell us that they have had a great 2003, with the undoubted highlight the first seven-second pass by the zippy Pontiac-powered Triumph Herald at the FIA European Finals - a run which made it the quickest 400 ci Pontiac doorslammer on the planet.

"As Steve Talbot mentioned, personal milestones are often more important than winning races", says Roger. "Running the car consistently in the 8.0s has been hard work but worth the effort. Super Pro ET has been a great class and it's been good to see so many entrants. Well done to Ian Bishop for winning the Championship and to Al Golding for getting into the eights. I suppose I'll have to congratulate Pat and Steve Talbot - even though they have a long thing! - for running their six, and I would like to thank Steve for all the Jack Daniels, but not for the mornings after!
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"A big Thank You to our sponsors Shakespeare Engineering and Challenger Solutions, we couldn't race without their help.

"The car is now the quickest 400" Pontiac-engined door slammer in the world, and you can see it on the Pontiac Power web site at www.pontiacpower.com - click on Eat Your Heart Out.

"I think there are a little bit more in the combination so just a few minor improvements over the winter. Like two more stages of nitrous!"

Grateful Shaggy's career move.
3rd October: UK ex-Supertwin Top Gas rider Nick 'Shaggy' Daniels ended the 2003 season on a high after moving from STG to ACU Comp Bike, riding a bike from Paul Rose's stable.

"After a great season in Top Gas, with a new personal best of 10.3 on Scooby - at 350 cc the smallest bike in Top Gas - the time has come to move onwards and (hopefully) upwards!", says Nick. "The end of any era is usually marked with thanks, and this one is no exception.

"After six years of racing in Top Gas, I have thanks aplenty for the people who have helped me along the way. Thanks go to Mick Bubb of MPG Racing for getting me into the sport in the first place, and supporting me all the way; to Dave 'Fluffy' Hirst for his prototype ignition which helped me achieve my PB this year; Barrie Gregory, Ric Naylor, Don Irvine and Andy 'Duck' Smith for some great close (and not so close!) racing throughout the season. Although not a racer, thanks have to go to Spec for numerous hours spent welding and fabricating into the night! And Scooby would like to send a special thanks to George Laycock, whose overpowering TL1000 cut through the competition like a knife and made me realise that the era of the two-stroke is coming to an end, thus helping me make the decision to move classes into Comp Bike.
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"Which leads on beautifully to the biggest thank you of the moment. Who would have thought that a one-day ride in 2002 on a GSX1100 Comp Bike would inspire the move that then took a year to make? Twelve months later, for three weeks on the trot, Paul Rose has helped, supported and mentored me through the tentative steps into another class. After a RWYB, an NSA meeting, numerous phone calls and text messages, culminating in me riding the same bike as a year ago (albeit with the Zebra bodywork made famous by Helen Curran) at the National Finals, the decision has been made that Comp Bike is the way to go!

"So a huge Thank You to Paul for giving up his time (not to mention a weekend at the seaside with 'The Missus'!), travelling half way across the country on three consecutive weekends, just so I could get to grips with riding a bike three times bigger than Scooby (and play with nitrous!). Apreciation and gratitude to Andy Haley for: towing the bike because Nikki didn't want to; Spending the night in the van so that he could help on the Sunday; and general encouragement and arse kicking.

"Thanks also to the rest of the Paul Rose Racing Team: Kim, Viv, Dave, Richie etc. (as Ian King mentioned on the King Racing web site, the menagerie of 'weird and weirder') for their help, support, advice and general abuse, along with everyone else in the CB class for their friendliness, help and advice, as well as spare nitrous!

"I'm looking forward to a great 2004, whilst being very grateful for the last six years in a great class with great people!"

Supertwin snippets.
3rd October: UK Supertwin Gas racer Barrie Gregory has sold his Purple Haze bike and has a new mount for next season, an Aprilia RSV Mille-engined bike to run in the same class. Barrie tells us that the new engine was supplied by Junction 3 Motorcycles in Bedworth, who can be contacted on 02476 369858.
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We were pleased to hear from Supertwin Fuel racer Bernie Hepworth that the engine damage which he suffered at last week's UK National Finals is not as bad as we feared. "A piston and four studs is no big deal at all, just part of nitro racing", says Bernie. "The rain was the biggest problem."

Not bad for PMR.
3rd October: Last weekend's UK National Finals saw the return of Paul Marston in his Grumpy's Dodge Racing School and Passenger Experience Dodge Dart, racing in both Pro ET and Super Street.

"As expected the Pro ET competition was extremely tough", says Paul. "I ran a 10.208 on a 10.20 dial-in and qualified sixth! In the first round I was pitted against Rob Doyle in his formidable Big Block Datsun, in a close race all the way down the track Rob took it by two hundredths. In Super Street I qualified ninth, and took out Conrad Stanley in the first round with a killer .506 light, winning with a 10.99 to a 10.96. But I got the better of myself in the second round with a .477 red-light and put myself on the trailer for the winter.
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"The weather was real good to us on Saturday, which made for excellent conditions, good air and an excellent track, thanks to Darren, Kjell and the rest of the Santa Pod Crew. After Grumpy ran so well at the Doorslammers the previous weekend, it only seemed right to carry on and see how fast we could go in Pro ET, instead of just carrying the same dial-in as Super Street. Flat-out we managed to run a best of 10.17/130.58, not bad considering the motor is untouched and we started off the season with runs in the 10.80 zone. This was an improvement of a whole tenth over the best pass of 10.27 at the Doorslammers. There is still some room for improvement too with more chassis tuning, its all just for fun really but nice to see Grumpy getting faster and faster. Even more significant is that the Reaction Times are becoming very competitive for Super Gas. I was not trying to lean on the Tree at all and the numbers kept coming up in the .450 zone; this all bodes well for 2004. We also have some nice little improvements for the 2004 season (Ooh good, Mister Nine beckons - Ed) and Grumpy will definitely stay as a Drag Race Driving School Race Car during 2004. We had absolutely no problems with Grumpy's Dodge over the weekend other than amusing ones and everyone at Paul Marston Racing had a great time.

"I must thank our tireless crew at Paul Marston Racing and our returning master tactician Dave Kalisz, plus ChryslerCard guest Anthony Middleton; our main sponsor for the event Disco Equipment Hire (0208 597 4575); plus all the guys who keep us out there, Chrysler UK; ChryslerCard (of course); ATI Performance Parts; MAC Tools; London Road Tyres; Jeep Club (Gary 0208 501 4471); Black Box London Ltd (01708 377523); and last but not least everyone at Eurodragster who have collectively done a simply outstanding job this year, surpassing 2002, setting an even higher standard in reporting coverage. Our great sport owes you guys a great deal (Thanks very much, Paul - Ed)."

Ultimate sunny Sunday.
3rd October: York Dragway hosts the Ultimate Run Wot You Brung this Sunday (5th October), writes York PR Howard Holmes. "Also included is the-fiercely contested Hot Rod Challenge series with everything to be played for in this, the final round. Also included are a display from the American Superstock Series now concluded for this year; the final round of the Cruise Missile Shootout, with a nitrous kit up for grabs; and much car and bike Run Wot You Brung-ing.
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"Historically, this has always been the 'Banzai' event at York; as the last track event on the calendar, racers take the tune to the edge and run hard. Because if it doesn't go quite right, you've got winter in the garage to put unbroken bits back in the engine.

"And, the Met Office is forecasting an excellent sunny Sunday!"

You can find the York Dragway web site at yorkdragway.intrica.co.uk.

CHRR webcast.
3rd October: 1010TV will be webcasting this weekend's Twelfth Annual California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield California. Jim Greer of 1010 sent us more details about the pay-per-view webcast.

"Never before has anyone been able to bring you the sights, sounds, and breathtaking action that you are about to see on 1010 TV's webcast. All the Super Stars of old and present, the famous Cacklefest will light up the Bakersfield Sky's with Fire and Thunder, a sight and sound you don't want to miss. Interviews, and highlights from Friday nights CHRR Reception. A showcase of this years honorees, John Bradley, Gary Cochren, Bruce Geisler, Pete Miller, Glen Stokey, and Bob Muravez along with Floyd Lippencotte Jr. this year's Grand Marshal. Who is Floyd anyway? I'll bet Steve Gibbs knows and so will you.
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"Coverage October 4, 2003 will kick off at 11:00 am on Saturday morning (Pacific), and will run until the last Cacklefest car rock's the Bakersfield sky. Coverage October 5, 2003 will kick off at 11:00 a.m. with eliminations runs in all classes. Viewers can catch all the action plus play nostalgia trivia for prizes online.

"1010 TV coverage is a pay per view event supporting the Wally Parks Motorsports Museum. The cost of the two day event is twenty dollars. Log on to www.1010tv.com to sign up."

Web site updates.
3rd October: The official web site of 2003 FIA European Top Methanol and MSA British Drag Racing Champions American Car Imports Racing has been updated with a report from last weekend's UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. Fans of Crew Chief Andy Bissett's reports, and we know there are several of you out there, will be pleased to hear that Andy is hoping to post reports from the team's upcoming tour in the USA. You can check out Andy's UK National Finals report at www.americancarimportsracing.com.
©Eurodragster.com
Thanks to Paul Somerville for passing on details of a web site which will "Keep the kids amused (well, we have been playing all afternoon). Go to www.justmods.com, click on Create a ride, build your car and then click on Backdrops until you reach the drag strip. Inter-office competition at this point can be a day-waster".

Pod Shop burgled.
2nd October: Rick Cuthbert of Santa Pod Raceway has been in touch with the unwelcome news that the Pod Shop was broken into on Tuesday (29th September).
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"Hundreds of Santa Pod-branded goods were stolen, including jackets, t-shirts, shirts, watches, and models amongst other items", says Rick. "These products are very distinctively branded with the Santa Pod logo. If anyone sees them being sold at non-Santa Pod events or in markets, then please contact us or the police immediately. A substantial reward is available to anyone who helps catch the criminals involved. The privacy of callers will be respected at all times."

If you have any information then please contact Santa Pod Raceway on 01234 782828 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

DIY saves Happy Chappie.
2nd October: UK Super Modified racer Steve Rawlings, also known as 'Happy Chappie', has had a very enjoyable season. He won a professional socket set in Eurodragster's Fifth Birthday draw even before the racing started, then ran Personal Bests in his Toyota more or less every time he went down the track. Steve made it into the final at the UK National Finals where he lost to Andy 'Fred' Hone, but without an on-the-fly repair he may not have contested the final at all.

"I had a bit of an early start on Friday getting the van and car loaded at 5:00 am, headed off to Webster Race Engineering to get the chassis baselined (methinks I should have done this at the start of the season, but better late than never), then onto the track to get set up ready for playtime", says Steve. "On Saturday morning, there was a bit of a panic when my firesuit failed scrutineering, but a visit to Dan (The Rug) Cockerill's Used Firesuit Emporium soon had me kitted out in a rather natty little number.

"The first round of qualifying began with a rather wild burnout, but an arrow straight run resulting in a 7.907 ET and a new best sixty foot of 1.140, that was a good start to the day it put me in second spot. In the second round of qualifying, we made a small change to the Nitrous tune and ran a new PB of 7.888 to keep the #2 spot. We made another small change for the third session, the car left hard, ran straight, I thought this is going to be quick but unfortunately no time or speed were recorded. So at the end of play I was number two qualifier and looking forward to the morning.

"The first round of eliminations on Sunday saw me paired with young Mr Perkins in the Team Steelcraft Rover - currently for sale at a very reasonable price , the car not Kev. Hey! I won! And with a new PB of 7.871, 1.130 sixty foot - yes, Fred, 1.130, what's yours? The second round was a bye, this was a bit slower at 8.068 but what the hell, I was in the final.
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"Well what can I say about the final, here I was facing off against Fred, neither of us could have hoped for a better finish to the season, since we were evens as far as wins over each other were concerned so far this season. This would give one of us bragging rights over the other till Easter 2004! Both cars are very evenly matched so we knew it would be very close. After a strong burnout, I lost sight of the track! My overhead switch panel dropped open (excuse time), but thanks to a Dangerous Brothers tip of handy things to carry on board I managed to wedge a cable tie into the casing to keep it shut. So with one eye on the tree and one eye on that damn panel my concentration was gone, as was Fred. I had to play catch up, and I very nearly did it, for the most part I was getting up alongside him, but just couldn't quite make it. The old boy won with an 8.127 to my losing 7.937, well done mate. I think a fitting final to the Super Mod season - close race with the ETs in the right area.

"I would just like to say a few Well Dones: Danny Cockerill and Kev Perkins on winning the Championship, Tim Garlick on that 8.14 from a Rover, and Dinger (Ashley Bell) on getting somewhere near that 9.90 index - the 9.20's being entertaining but maybe a little quick. Also congratulations to Nick and Jo Davies on the birth of their baby boy best wishes to Sharon Hogarth for a speedy recovery from her recent operation. Thanks to Mick and Paul for all the help this year.

"So what next? Well, apart from having to change my phone number and possibly move home or leave the country for six months to escape the no doubt constant ribbing from Fred, Mick, Matt etc. I'll be going to the Super Modified Racers Association meeting in a few weeks with the rest of the guys and a few new faces to settle next year's rules to tighten up the ET range to the low eights/high sevens as originally planned now that we have the relevant data from the season's racing. Then I'll be plotting and planning my revenge, I will beat that damn Ford! See you all next season."

Bissett's gratitude.
2nd October: It has been an "Incredible, record-setting, barrier-breaking, twin-Championship" year for the UK's American Car Imports Top Methanol Dragster team, and Crew Chief Andy Bissett has been in touch to express his thanks to everyone who helped to make it possible.

"Firstly I would like to thank the crew of Dave, Linda and David Wilson, Ricki Packham, Mike Nicholls, Phil James, Brian Palmer and Jennifer Saltis", says Andy. "They have all worked extremely hard all year with endless good humour, commitment and enthusiasm and have made my job much easier. Dave and Linda have also let me stay at their house over a hundred times this year, and when I wasn't staying in their spare room, I was usually sleeping in the back of the van they lent me for the summer!
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"Anthony and Jon Cohen at American Car Imports have put an incredible amount into our team over the last two years and without them we simply couldn't have done it. Their efforts working with PlayStation, HGC Scaffolding, Alternative Automotive Fuel Conversions, Silverline Tools, the American Appliance Centre, Footman James and Portman Business Consultancy have given us the equipment necessary to win sixty per cent of our races this season.

"Fellow TMD racers Peter Schöfer, Rob Turner, Krister Johansson, Simo Patoharju and Jari Halinen have made the racing challenging, rewarding and fun whilst the support and interest from our friends, family and fans has made the tour all the more enjoyable.

"It is hard to believe it could get any better than this, but with help from Malcolm Francis of Air Sea Logistics our truck went to Southampton Docks yesterday on a six thousand mile journey which will take it to NHRA races in Las Vegas and Los Angeles in November and as many more US races as possible next Spring. With the help of Gavin Evans at Expert IT, I will be posting Stateside race reports at www.americancarimportsracing.com, so stay tuned folks."

Happy Grumpy.
2nd October: UK Pro Stock Bike racer Paul 'Grumpy' Watson is very happy with his first season in the class. "We have finished third in the ACU Championship, run a Personal Best of 7.62/175, and although we have been chasing a few problems over the season we never gave up and now we have enough information to plan for next year", says Paul.

"A huge Thank You to my crew: Kev, Kim, and last but not least my girlfriend Karen. As those who know me already know, I have been struggling with a back injury all year and my crew have been superb in looking after me. Without the following people I could not have achieved all this: Ken Cooper, who put himself out every time to help me when I was in trouble; Paul Rose, who lent me so many parts that I could have built another bike, Dave Beck who has helped me throughout the season, and Mike and Danny of my sponsors Q8 Oils for all the tech advice.
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"As ever, we will be looking for sponsors over the winter so that we can step up our program for the next season. So no matter how much you think you can help we would be very pleased to hear from you at pwatson440@hotmail.com.

A dream finish for Turbo.
2nd October: UK Supertwin Fuel racer Ian 'Turbo' Turburville had a dream ending to his first season in the class with what he modestly describes as a surprise win at the UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway.

"Although not as hard-fought as we would have liked, the class here in the UK should be better-subscribed next year and we will be ready for them", says Turbo. "Commiserations to the teams of Bernie Hepworth and Chris Stebbings, who both suffered catastrophic engine failures at the weekend but we know they will both be back bigger and stronger in 2004.

"The season was a frantic one for us as we started at the Speedfreaks Ball with our own mechanical mayhem which put us out of the first round of the Championship. We then proceeded to get as much track time as possible to learn the black art of racing with Nitromethane and it was indeed a steep curve, but great fun nevertheless. A lot of advice was given by gurus like Rob Geffen, Bernie, Tony Ruggerio, Dale Nungesser, Willem Been, Krusi, Ronny Aasen, Svein Gottenberg, Al Smith, Frank Brachtvogel, Vincent Pels etc. and we heeded it all, then applied the relevant parts to our set-up. The goal was simple, like Steve Clutterbuck's, to race a Nitro Harley on the cheap and survive to race next season. We took it all very cautiously in small steps and aimed for consistency while resisting the overwhelming urge to tip the can in search of power. The S&S Sure-Shot is a small capacity, single cam street motor, in a heavy mild steel chassis with a small back tire so we were going to have to work out our own settings to make this bike work. A lot of people couldn't understand what we were doing and just presumed that any Nitro Harley would instantly run into the low sevens, and I spent a lot of time trying to explain the reality of the game. The rule for us was 66% nitro max if the cast engine cases were to survive, so we kept to that and chiseled away at the tune-up bit by bit until we had a 9.9 bracket bike. By that time we had a better understanding of what was doing what and why with a good database of runs to refer to.

"It was this consistency which saw us through the finals at Santa Pod this Fall as each run gained us a tenth improvement on the last finishing up with an arrow straight 9.36/146 in our final ride into the sunset on Sunday. It was a great event for the Sportsman racers and a fitting end to one of the best years of drag racing I have ever seen in the UK. The tracks and facilities were superb all year and we were blessed with great weather all season. I don't think I have ever seen the Santa Pod track so well-prepped all year, even at Test and Tunes. Kjell just worked his magic and the staff were incredibly helpful at all times, as were the Shakespeare County staff. It just made it so much easier for a rookie like me so big thanks to all!

"Massive thanks must go to Ian 'Rush' Carruthers who supported me all year, made all the parts for the bike, crewed for me, advised me, kept me safe and sane, all for the price of an occasional cup of tea, the man is a star and no way could I have done this without him. Also big thanks to Dave Witts, Leo, Gareth, Ben, Mark, Paul, Jos, and Barry Sheavills, and all the others that got roped into helping all year, I owe you. Thanks also to my fellow paparazzi for some great shots, it felt strange being on the receiving end of the lens. Must say a special thanks to Sharkman and Tog who work so hard for the cause of European Drag Racing, we all owe you two a lot (We think it works the other way round, but thanks! - Ed)!

"I can honestly say I have never enjoyed myself so much as I have this year racing Top Fuel and I will endeavour to improve next year, funds permitting. The bike would never have existed without the continuing support of my fantastic sponsors S & S Cycle, Red Line Oil, Rivera Engineering, Pro Mod Engineering, Custom Chrome Europe, Zodiac, Milwaukee Sprayer, Jims Machining, Jim McClure, Aasen Racing, Sprint Dampers, Braided Steel Aerotek, King Racing and Rune Fjeld Motorsports."
©Eurodragster.com
Coe conjures up Championship.
2nd October: UK Wild Bunch racer and amateur magician Tom Coe also had a dream end to his season. He got engaged to long term parter Jenny Archer the weekend before the UK National Finals at Santa Pod, and then had one of his best weekend's racing ever culminating in the Wild Bunch Championship.

"First and foremost, can we say a massive thank you to Sarah and Darryl Howells and the rest of the Dogs Bo***cks team for the presents and the firework display, Chris Hartnell and Claire for the Champagne and all the other racers for making it a great weekend", says Tom. "The racing was very good, I won the Wild Bunch championship at last, my Dad Alec won the Real Steel Series and I came second in that series. Alec also won the Ultimate Power Championship, and I came second in the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Car series.
©Eurodragster.com
"Can I also thank Carla Pittau and Rick McCann of the Heaven and Hell team for stopping on the motorway on the way home to see if we were OK when the van overheated in roadworks.

"Our team has had a great season overall and we can't wait for next year."

2004 FIA race numbers.
2nd October: We are indebted to FIA European Championship Co-ordinator Kjell Pettersson for sending us the official FIA race numbers for 2004:

TOP FUEL DRAGSTER
Smax SmithEnglandTF 1
Mikael KågeredSwedenTF 2
Tommy MllerSwedenTF 3
Kim ReymondDenmarkTF 4
Anita MkelFinlandTF 5
Andy CarterEnglandTF 6
Peter BeckSwitzerlandTF 7
Øyvor JacobsenNorwayTF 8
Susanne CallinSwedenTF 9
Gary PageEnglandTF 10
 
TOP METHANOL DRAGSTER
Dave WilsonEnglandTMD 1
Peter SchöferGermanyTMD 2
Rob TurnerEnglandTMD 3
Krister JohanssonSwedenTMD 4
Jari HalinenFinlandTMD 5
Lassi LuomaFinlandTMD 6
©Eurodragster.com
TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR
Urs ErbacherSwitzerlandTMFC 1
Dan LarsenDenmarkTMFC 2
Ulf LeandersSwedenTMFC 3
Leif AndréassonSwedenTMFC 4
Niclas AnderssonSwedenTMFC 5
Fredrik FagerstrmSwedenTMFC 6
Martin LundqvistSwedenTMFC 7
Jrgen JohnssonSwedenTMFC 8
Stephanie MilamEnglandTMFC 9
Dezsoe KrivanSwitzerlandTMFC 10
 
PRO STOCK
Michael MalmgrenSwedenPRO 1
Jimmy lundSwedenPRO 2
Jan MurénSwedenPRO 3
Magnus HanssonSwedenPRO 4
Rune BergNorwayPRO 5
Eero KnihtiläFinlandPRO 6
Tommy LeindahlSwedenPRO 7
Krister AnderssonSwedenPRO 8
Kenneth SderströmSwedenPRO 9
Jran PerskerSwedenPRO 10

Antoniou needs help.
2nd October: Before anyone thinks "You're telling me", we must point out that UK Super Street racer Perry Antoniou is seeking the help of Eurodragster readers not for himself, but for two of his crew.

"Is there any Eurodragster reader out there who can give us some help with tuning, modifying and fuelling Yamaha engines, especially their R-6 engine?", says Perry. "Please note I am not moving over to the crazier side of drag racing - have you seen the bikes from behind when they race? You won't catch me on one of those! My two crew men, 'The Twins', are still at City University doing their degree in engineering, and they have started this year researching something Top Secret using Yamaha engines. The problem is, I need to make sure that they finish this project sooner rather than later, because I plan on finally getting back to the track next year. This means I need them free to help me from the moment their Christmas holidays start!
©Eurodragster.com
"If anyone has some knowledge to share or spare, please send an E-Mail to me at perry@n2oxide.com. Your help will be greatly rewarded with beer and women, and anyone who has spent a weekend with me at the drag strip will know that there is plenty of both in my motor home, and that I share them both!"

UK National Finals stats.
2nd October: Many thanks to Andy Marrs of TSI Timers for providing the usual 'Anorak Stats' for last weekend's UK National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway:

Blue lights (track clear/Tower ready): 651
Pairs: 550
Single runs: 72
Byes: 29
Total vehicles entered in PC: 1201
Made it to the finish line: 1149 (including 73 Junior Dragsters)
Made it to Quarter: 1076
©Eurodragster.com
Average ET (not including JDs): 11.121
Average MPH (not including JDs): 126.29
Lowest ET: 5.617, Dave Wilson
Highest MPH: 250.58 Dave Wilson

Closest Race of Eliminations: Pro ET final, Bob Doyle (win) v Rick McCann - 0.001, or 2.24 inches
Closest to dial in: Neil Davies (VW Sportsman) spot on, 15.840
Best Reaction Time: Graham Fairhead (VW Sportsman) 0.500

Total run time (all cars to reach finish line including JDs): 3 hours, 33 minutes 59.238 seconds

Runs under 6.0 seconds: 3, Dave Wilson
Runs over 200 mph: 8, Dave Wilson, Tony Baker, Steph Milam

Web site updates.
2nd October: Dennis Kieselhorst has posted issue seven of the Dragracer.de on-line magazine. The magazine is presented in German and features all the latest news from the German and European scene as well as a feature on the UK's own Cunning Plan Wild Bunch altered. Check it out at www.dragracer.de.
©Eurodragster.com
Michael Buhagiar has updated his Maltese Drag Racing fan site with a number of Nostalgia pictures including photographs by Glenn Desira of the Fireforce Jet FC's legendary visit to Hal Far. You can find Michael's web site at www.dragraceway.cjb.net.

Wright proud of team.
1st October: UK Super Street racer and Championship and event sponsor Matthew Wright says that he is proud to have had the name of his company Gleeson Wright Security on the side of Andy Hone's Super Modified Granada Scorpio. Matthew, who was one of the sponsors of this year's Ultimate Power Championship at Shakespeare County Raceway, was looking forward to getting into the tens in his refettled pick-up at the UK National Finals at Santa Pod but a bent valve meant that he had more time to help the Gleeson Wright stable of Andy Hone and Super Gas racer Ashley Bell.

"First and foremost, congratulations to Andy Hone on his win at Santa Pod this weekend", says Matthew. "This also put Andy second in the Super Modified Championship, a great result considering the stiff competition and an encounter with the barrier at Shakey earlier in the year which damaged the car quite considerably - but with a lot of help from Andy's mates, who are all recognised on the side of Andy's car, he was back out for the next meet driving the car as hard as ever. So well done mate, Gary and I have been proud to have our company name on the side of Fred's awesome Granada Scorpio. I must also mention Andy's Crew Chief Mick Combes and the rest of his super crew who all work very hard to keep the car on the track, well done guys. Congratulations of course must go to Danny Cockerill and Kev Perkins and the Steelcraft Rover on winning the Super Mod Championship again, well done, and I think you will all agree that Steve Rawlings had a much better year than last year. Now in the sevens, well done mate, nice to see you have some good luck for a change.
©Eurodragster.com
"As for myself, it has been a development year for the truck in Super Street and after bending a valve at the Finals last weekend we did not get a chance to see if the hard work which John Sleath had done on the truck had worked. Andy Hone and I put a nitrous cheater kit on the truck on Thursday Night (cheers Andy) with the hope that we could get in the low tens. But after the second run the damage was done and that was the end of our season. Ashley Bell and I pulled the motor on Monday night and on inspection the only damage was a bent valve...ally heads are on my Christmas list. I would like to thank my super crew: racer chick and my gorgeous girlfriend Cheryl, Crew Chief Ashley Bell, Harry, and new crew member this year Paul Johnson."

Matthew tells us that there is a story behind Paul's involvement on his team. "We met him in the bar at Shakey on one of those Jack Daniels-fuelled nights. At the end of the night Ashley invited Paul and his cousin Adam round to have a look at the truck. The next morning there they were asking what they could do to help, so I threw them a rag and a bottle of polish. To my amazement off they both went and polished my truck. Result - I hate that job! After going a few rounds we loaded up said our good byes. The very next week I got a call from Paul's wife Louise saying how Paul would love to come and help again, so I called and invited him to the Main Event at the Pod. I knew that Cheryl and I could do with help, as Ashley and Harry were on holiday. We met Paul there on the Friday, showed him how we do things, and the rest he has picked up has we muddle along. Now Paul had only ever been a spectator up until our chance meeting. Within three meetings he had crewed on three different cars (my truck, Ashley's Monza, and my Escort before I sold it). I cannot praise this guy enough, he has taken time off work, bought a newer car so that he can make the drive from Banbury, often pays for his ticket and won't take a penny in return. Of course we do feed him but apart from a few burgers and a cup of tea he asks for nothing. He works like a dog and both Ashley I cannot thank him enough. To this end it's now our turn. At this weekend's Big Shootout Paul is in the hot seat of my '89 Paxton supercharged 5.0 GT Mustang and Ashley and I will be crewing for him! Knowing his ability to pick things up we have every confidence in him. We have also bought him a passenger ride in Paul Marston Racing's Grumpy's Dodge which was presented to Paul by none other than track announcer John Price. Thank you so much John, and a big thank you to Sam and Paul Marston for organising it for us. So good luck Paul, and thank you very much from Ashley, Harry, Cheryl and myself.

"Finally, congratulations to Mike Bentley on his Super Street Championship - it will be mine next year mate! Here's looking forward to next season."

Bad start, great end.
1st October: The 2003 season didn't start off particularly well for UK Pro ET racer Chris Johnson. A blown engine right at the start of the year put paid to plans to run the beautiful MG ZS in Super Pro ET, but things soon improved when Chris returned at the Allstar Nationals at Shakespeare County Raceway and qualified number one in Pro ET with a 9.500 on a 9.50 dial-in. Chris has also since run a number of Personal Bests. Team member Paul Somerville wrote to express the team's thanks to everyone who has helped this year.

"We would like to say a big thank you to our sponsors who have been very patient this year", says Paul. "Although the year started badly, we finished on a better note with some very consistent runs and an aero package on the new body which has surprised all of us. A big thanks to everyone who has commented on the car - both spectators and other racers. It's especially nice when an MG Rover Director congratulates you on the car; thanks Nick and we hope that we can continue to fly the flag for you next year. We honestly havent bribed John Price, but if you want our PR job then it's yours John!

"Our sponsors this year Scorpion Racing, Electromec, Owlslebury Crankshafts, Oran Shockabsorbers, Alresford Motor Services, Viking Garages and MG X-Power have all been very patient, in what has been a much longer-than-anticipated wait for the car to hit the track running. We sincerely hope that they will continue their involvement with us next year as we move forward. We are determined to increase the profile of Sportsman racing and to give these companies a team and corporate environment in which they want to be involved.
©Eurodragster.com
"As for the car, more BHP is on the cards for next year. We were desperate to set the car's chassis and aero package this year so we had to build a new Pro ET engine. This engine is now up for sale; interested buyers can contact us via Eurodragster's Swap Meet. Sorry that we can't be at the Big Shootout this weekend but we want to get an early start on the car for next year, and that means sending the suspension via Scorpion Racing to Oran shock absorbers in Italy for some hand-made units to be manufactured for the car.

"Finally we would like to appeal for photos of the car in action. We desperately need images for sponsors, so if you can help then please contact us at the.johnsons@talk21.com.

"We're looking forward to next year. Good luck to everyone at the Big Shootout this weekend - keep those wheels down Steve."

UK National Finals ladders.
1st October: We are very grateful to our good friend and honorary Eurodragster staff member Andy Marrs of TSI Timers for sending us the ladders from last weekend's UK National Finals at Santa Pod. Click here to view the ladders, or click on the Timing Data link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster page.
©Eurodragster.com
Web site updates.
1st October: Our good buddies at Svensk Dragracing have updated their web site with a schedule for the TV broadcast of the 2003 FIA and FIM/UEM European and NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified Championships. The programmes are to be shown on TV4; check out the Svensk Dragracing web site at www.dragracing.se for more details as well as news of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen's end-of-season party and details of the NDRS banquet.
©Eurodragster.com

Earlier news


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