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Can you i.d. the Drag Fest legends? 31st December: Full news service will be resumed tomorrow but courtesy of British Drag Racing Hall of Fame sponsor Geoff Stilwell of Beech Underwriting we have a New Year poser for the history buffs. Geoff tells us that the below picture was shared with him by US legend Tommy Ivo and shows the US team on the boat to the UK for the 1964 Drag Fest. Tommy Ivo is third from right but Geoff is wondering if any Eurodragster.com reader can identify the others. Click on the picture below for a large version. 
We can identify Don Garlits two to the left of Tommy Ivo, and we think that that's Bob Keith two to the left of Don Garlits. Despite appearances to the contrary that's not 9.50 Bike racer Phil Pratt to the right of Tommy Ivo. If you would like to take a shot at id'ing any of the racers then drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com. SPRC Perpetual Awards vote 3. 28th December: Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are again teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 11th February 2017. For several of the 2016 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC Committee decides upon their winners. This week's category is Best Appearing Bike. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows. You can see larger pictures on the official Perpetual Awards page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the SPRC Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. 
Garry BoweSuper Street Bike Vote for Garry Bowe 
Rikard GustafssonTop Fuel Bike Vote for Rikard Gustafsson 
Daniel Donat LencsesSuper Street Bike Vote for Daniel Donat Lencses 
Steve MeadSuper Street Bike Vote for Steve Mead 
Chris MottET Bike Vote for Chris Mott 
Alfie UdallSupertwin Gas Vote for Alfie Udall To place your vote, either use the links above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the SPRC Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to VWDRC Chair Luke Stevenson. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to sprcawards2016@eurodragster.com specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. For each of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. And every year we say this, but every year someone tries it on: please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates, forum members or Facebook friends to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. If in any doubt about what constitutes canvassing then please drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com. Additionally, if anyone should have issues with the content of any of the shortlists then please have the courtesy to contact SPRC direct rather than contacting Eurodragster.com or posting cryptic comments or bullying candidates on Facebook. E-Mails to Eurodragster.com regarding the content of the shortlists will receive neither a reply nor any other acknowledgement and comments on the subject on our Facebook pages will be deleted. The next voting category, due next Monday (2nd January), will be Most Professional Appearing Team. No Prep Nationals race format. 28th December: The organisers of the inaugral No Prep Nationals, to be held at Maitland Racing's North Weald Drag Strip on Sunday 2nd July, have been in touch to explain how the new event will work: The even is pre-entry only and is open to doorslammers, street-legal or otherwise. We have looked at how these events are organised in the States and we have listened to various UK teams and we have come up with the format below. As this kind of event is a little different to your normal drag racing, the rules are different to embrace the ideology behind this exciting new off-shoot. Its roots are essentially in illegal high-money street racing. The race will be held over an eighth-mile. No times will be recorded, announced or posted. First to the finish line wins, decided by a Judge of Fact who will be at the finish line. All being well there will be two test runs prior to eliminations. Elimination pairings will be decided either by callouts, with a minimum £50 side bet to which both drivers have to agree, or it's numbers drawn out of a hat. After the first round there will be no more callouts, strictly numbers out of the hat. Sixteen entry spots are available. The entry fee is £125 which includes your signing on fee at North Weald. So long as it's a full field the winner will receive £1000 cash on the day, whilst the runner-up gets his entry back. It's first come first served on the entry list although the option to enter will first be offered to those teams who have already contacted us to express an interest. The event will be filmed and posted on You Tube after the event, and Eurodragster.com plan to post end-day results and gallery. Entry will open in January; please spread the word and make sure that everyone who could be interested knows about it. If you have any questions or would like more details then please check the Paul Marston Racing or UK Top Sportsman Facebook pages, E-Mail me at pmracing@fsmail.net, or call Paul on 07831 650230. As well as entry details we will give you full details of arrival and pitting arrangements. Don't forget that North Weald Drag Strip has two events prior to the No Prep Nationals so that can test prior to the event. They are on 7th May (please arrive early for this one, it was a complete road block in 2016) and 4th June. Web site updates. 28th December: In the latest instalment of his exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with Gearhead Garage Paul Marston puts his twin turbo Cortina on a serious diet. You can take a look by clicking here or by clicking on the Gearhead Garage Blogs link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Hall of Fame looks to the future. 28th December: The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame has seen a seismic shift in its international profile since it decided to hold its Annual Awards Induction Ceremony as a standalone event. Celebrating the pioneers of British drag racing it is now recognised as one of the most prestigious motor sport social events in the world, attracting guests from across the globe. In 2016 these included Tom Hoover, Joe Schubeck, GiGi Carleton, Steve Gibbs, Ed Iskenderian, Harry Hibler, Bob McClurg, Eileen Daniels, Ed 'The Ace' McCulloch, Ron Hope, Paula Murphy, Don Schumacher, Fred Miller, Traci Hrudka, Tony Thacker, Bob Muravez, Carl Olson and David Marks of The Beach Boys. Also attending from the world of music were Dave Lee Travis and Mike Read. British drag racers attending included John Hobbs, Ian Messenger, Steve Murty, Gary Page, Peter Crane, Barry Sheavills, Roy Phelps and Jason Phelps, Andy Carter, Liz Rowland (aka Liz Burn), Dennis Priddle, John Hazelton, John Wright, Nick Davies, Gerry Cookson, John Whitmore, Bill Sherratt, Bob Hawkins, Geoff Hauser, Charlie Draper, Tim Garlick and Robin Read. Senior management from the three main UK drag strips were there along with the organising clubs and others from the media, sponsors and motorsport authorities. The spin-offs for British drag racing are many and varied, but as far as an annual social event is concerned it certainly has put the sport on an equal plane with other forms of motorsport. BDRHoF Chief Executive Officer Brian Taylor says "We have shown what can be achieved. But none of this would have been possible without the commitment of BDRHoF Management Board Members. Few in number, these enthusiasts give their time and expertise on a voluntary basis throughout the year. It would also have been impossible without the support of our fabulous sponsors and supporters Beech Underwriting; USAutomotive; Santa Pod Racers Club; Mintex; Pennine Drag Racing Club; Eurodragster.com; Avon Park International Racing Association; Shakespeare County Raceway; Santa Pod Raceway; York Raceway; Lucas Oil Products UK; the International Organization of Professional Drivers; National Street Rod Association; Aptitude; Atlantic Fluid Tech Ltd; Prop Portfolio; Dial-a-Flight; and Rat Trap Racing. "One sponsor in particular has been vital for that success and that is our Sponsorship Partner Geoff Stilwell of Beech Underwriting. In truth Geoff has been more of a benefactor than a sponsor and his support has resulted in a strong financial position for the BDRHoF and a wide range of international contacts. However we can't expect him to bear the lion's share of the cost burden for ever and we are actively seeking additional Sponsorship Partners to help fund the costs of organising such a prestigious event in the future. "Sponsorship is available to suit a range of company budgets. Joining our list of regular supporters helps - as does advertising in the Gala Awards Dinner Souvenir Programme. Becoming a Primary Sponsor brings more benefits to the sponsoring company and the BDRHoF, but becoming a Sponsorship Partner enables the widest possible programme of benefits to be developed. "Because the Awards Event has grown so quickly we also need more volunteers to help manage the work linked to it during the year. This starts as soon as the current event finishes. At the moment the work falls on a handful of people, many of them not getting any younger. We urgently need fresh blood; new people experienced in writing press releases, handling accounts, organising events, creating Powerpoint and writing scripts. Without new volunteers we cannot develop succession plans and the BDRHoF will eventually close down. "In a way this is a wake-up call to all those who believe that what has been achieved is worthwhile. If you cannot volunteer your time and skills then financial donations will enable us to buy in the requirements. The need is now." If you would like to join the team managing the BDRHoF, or talk about sponsorship opportunities, then contact brian@britishdragracinghof.co.uk or call 01395 579733. Brian or Industry Liaison Director Guy Loveridge will make an appointment to visit you. Drag Racing Unplugged XVIII. 24th December: As has become traditional on our last pre-Christmas update, we have posted a page of the best quotes from this season's Eurodragster.com Event Coverage including Tog's, Simon's, Kirstie's, Julian's and Grace's personal Quotes of the Year, together with a few one-liners we didn't publish at the time. In association with Event Coverage sponsor John Woolfe Racing we are pleased to present Drag Racing Unplugged XVII, the 2016 collection. Click here to view Drag Racing Unplugged XVIII, or click on the John Woolfe Racing Event Coverage link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. 2016 Champions' Champions. 24th December: Honorary Eurodragster.com staff member Andy Marrs of TSI Timers and our own Simon have again been hard at work to compile lists of European and UK Champions' Champions. The Champions' Champions tables show the all-time highest points earners since the FIA and FIM European Championships began in 1996 and 1992 respectively, and since the UK National Championships began in 1999. In the table of all-time FIA career points, multiple Pro Stock Champion Jimmy Ålund moves up from #5 to #4 whilst Top Fuel Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher moves up from #7 to #6, multiple Pro Modified Champion Micke Gullqvist moves up from #9 to #8, and 2016 Top Fuel Dragster Champion Anita Mäkelä moves up from #19 to #12. Stig Neegaard moves up from #5 to #4 in career FIA Top Fuel Dragster points and also passes 2000 career points. Reflecting a sparsely-populated class in 2016 there are no changes of position in FIA Top Methanol Dragster. In FIA Top Methanol Funny Car 2016 Champion Johnny Oksa moves up from #20 to #14, Ari Pietilä moves up from #27 to #19, and Micke Larsson moves up from #29 to #26. Norbert Kuno moves up from #10 to #9 in FIA Pro Modified whilst David Vegter moves up from #11 to #10. Micke Gullqvist passes 4000 career points whilst Bruno Bader and Mats Eriksson pass 3000 career points. In FIA Pro Stock Thomas Lindström moves up from #6 to #5 and Richard Sundblom moved up from #8 to #7. You can check out the FIA Champions' Champions by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Congratulations to multiple Top Fuel Bike Champion Ian King who takes over #1 spot in the table of all-time FIM Europe career points. Pro Stock Bike racer Fredrik Fredlund moves up from #4 to #3 and fellow PSB racer Martin Bishop moves up from #8 to #7. Top Fuel Bike racer Rikard Gustafsson moves up from #10 to #8 and also passes 2000 career points. Rene van den Berg moved up from #10 to #9 in FIM Top Fuel Bike, whilst in FIM Supertwin Ronny Aasen moves up from #5 to #4 and Samu Kemppainen moves up from #11 to #8. Congratulations also to Fredrik Fredlund who takes over #1 spot in FIM Pro Stock Bike career points. Roger Pettersson had been top of the Pro Stock Bike table since the year 2000. 2016 Pro Stock Bike Champion Gert-Jan Laseur moves up from #9 to #8. In the FIM Europe Super Street Bike Cup Richard Stubbins moves up from #7 to #4. Daniel Donat Lencses moves up from #10 to #8 whilst Shawn Buttigieg moves up from #14 to #10. 2016 Super Street Bike Cup Champion Garry Bowe and Steve Venables both pass 1000 career points. Super Street Bike racer Richard Hann became the 500th points scorer in FIM Europe competition in Q2 at this year's FIA / FIM Main Event (18:09 on 28th May). You can check out the FIM Europe Champions' Champions by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Back to FIA European Championship competition and Andy Marrs has also updated his 'Spreadsheetosauruses' showing qualifying positions, results and round wins for all FIA Championship events. Top Fuel Dragster racer Micke Kågered moves up from #4 to #3 in career FIA Championship round wins whilst Pro Modified Champion Micke Gullqvist moves up from #6 to #4. Stig Neergaard moves up from #8 to #6 in FIA Top Fuel Dragster round wins, whilst Anita Mäkelä passed 50 Top Fuel Dragster round wins at the Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena in August. Dennis Habermann moves up from #7 to #5 in FIA Top Methanol Dragster round wins whilst Johnny Oska moves up from #12 to #9 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car round wins. Mats Eriksson moves up from #3 to #2 in FIA Pro Modified round wins. There are no changes in FIA Pro Stock. Marrs' tables of FIA European Championship qualifying, results and round wins are available on the Champions' Champions page which you can check out by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Simon writes that scoring for the UK National Championships Champions' Champions is based on an event having to be completed for a win to be registered. Race wins are ranked by number based on the driver or rider. Points however are scored and ranked on a team basis, as are numbers of Championships. For teams with multiple cars or drivers changing teams during or between seasons, the compiler's decision is final. The first two full races in 2016, Festival of Power and APIRA Springspeed Nationals, were rain-offs, but after that all main Championship races were completed apart from the June Public Track Weekend at Shakespeare County Raceway. Thanks must go to the track crews for toiling in sometimes adverse conditions to complete races. As with 2015, five of the meetings involving most car and bike classes were completed. There were seven first-time Championship winners out of a total of eighteen classes competed at National level compared with a record eleven in 2015. In MSA Pro Modified, congratulations to Champion and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson who leads numbers of Championships with five, event wins with sixteen, and also career points. We have now updated the Funny Car standings to include the European Nitro Funny Car series which has been running since 2013, as well as the old UK Funny Car Championship which ran from 2001-2004. In his retirement year, Gordon Smith is going out on a high by leading the overall number of Championships and points scored and best wishes to him for the future. John Spuffard still leads the number of event wins. Kevin Kent scored his second consecutive Championship in 2016 and is now second in aggregate points despite not competing in the earlier UK Championship. In Super Pro ET Chris Parker won his first Championship; Scott Hauser, Martyn Jones, Steve Green and Ian Tubb also have two Super Pro ET Championships each since 1999. Barry Giles leads wins with fifteen in total and, as Giles & Hartley, continues to lead aggregate points ahead of Steve Johnson. Team Dark Horse (Brian and Lee Huxley)'s Pro ET Championship has put them ahead in all three categories. They have now won four Championships in the period under review. Lee Huxley has won twelve races in this period, twice as many as any other racer. The Huxleys continue to lead the points tally ahead of Team Heaven & Hell. In Sportsman ET Andy Dibley won his first Championship this year so congratulations to him. Craig Wright, Geoff Cowley and Team Rainy City Lightning (Al and Linda Platt) each have three Sportsman ET Championships. Craig, with ten wins during his time in the class, leads Geoff Cowley and Rick Denny who both have seven wins. Team Rainy City Lightning still lead the points aggregate and only two current racers feature in the top twenty points scorers, reflecting the entry-level nature of the class. Stuart Doignie won his second consecutive Super Comp Championship and the double with Super Gas. Only Brian Pateman has consecutive double Championships, in 2011-2012. Brian also has the most Super Comp Championships with three in the period under review, most wins with thirteen, and a points margin of 7430 over Tim Adam, a clear lead on all three measures. Stuart Doignie's Super Gas Championship means he is only the third driver to attain a double; as well as Brian Pateman's consecutive double, Tim Adam achieved it in 2001 and 2003. Jon Morton and Tim Adam have both won four Super Gas Championships. Mort and Frank Mason both have twelve race wins in the period, whereas Frank continues to lead points scored. In Super Street, Leigh Morris won the Championship and leads in all three categories with five Championships, twenty wins, leading the points aggregate by 6400 points from Bob Lees. Leigh also achieved the most wins in class of any 2016 car racer with three victories. Matt Smith won his first Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator title so congratulations to him. Steve Pateman still dominates the overall listings with five Championships, seventeen wins and a 4880 points lead over Ian Hook. In Junior Dragster, congratulations to Jordan Payne on his first title. Joe Kellett has the most Championships with three, Nick Mugridge continues to have the most wins with nine and Joe Kellett leads Nick Mugridge by 6320 points. You can check out the UK car class Champions' Champions by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Steve Woollatt scored his eleventh ACU Top Fuel Bike Championship over the period covered, and his twenty five event wins and aggregate points lead of 7965 are unlikely to be challenged any time soon. The 2016 ACU Funny Bike Championship was won by Phil Crossley who was winner at three events, more than any other bike racer. Congratulations to Phil for his first title. Neil Midgley continues to lead all three categories with five Championships, seventeen event wins and a sizeable points total. Alex Hope won his third consecutive ACU Pro Stock Bike title, albeit in a sadly depleted class in the UK. Dave Beck continues to lead all overall categories in ACU Pro Stock Bike and his eight Championships and record thirty five wins to his name in ACU competition are unlikely to be challenged. Congratulations to Eddy Smiley who won the ACU Competition Bike Championship this year, his first National title. Phil Leamon and Ivan Birch each have three Championships, both have ten wins, and Phil also leads the points with a margin of 11650 over Stu Crane. In ACU Super Street Bike Steve Venables won his seventh national Championship. Steve has twenty six victories and he leads the points total by a substantial margin from Graham Dance, who also lies second in Championships with four and wins with nineteen. Jay Roe won his first UK National 8.50 Bike Championship so congratulations to him. Jake Mechaell is leading the wins total with eight and has taken over the lead in the points total with a margin of 70 over Mick Winyard. Mick continues to lead numbers of Championships won with three. In 9.50 Bike, Richard Sawatzki scored his fifth Championship meaning that he now leads Eurodragster.com sponsor Fred Furlong who has four Championships. Richard's eighteen wins head Fred's eleven, and Richard continues with the overall points lead over Fred. Liam Holgate won the Junior Drag Bike Championship for the second consecutive year. Scott Collier leads the total of Championships with four, and wins with ten. Scott also leads the points tally with a margin of 1600 over second-placed Louis Davies. You can check out the UK bike class Champions' Champions by clicking here or by clicking on the Champions' Champions link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. Swift snippets. 24th December: We would like to say a big Happy Birthday and hugs for today (Saturday) to Nitro FM presenter Nikki Skinner and to UK Wild Bunch racer Sarah Howells. Have a lovely day both. No news update yesterday so we were unable to say a big Happy Birthday to Shakespeare County Raceway's Marketing and PR manager, drag racing historian and all-round good guy Jerry Cookson. Hope you had a great day Jerry. Holiday viewing. 
24th December: Many thanks to photo-journalist Mike Collins who has put together a collage celebrating Fifty Years
of Thunder at Santa Pod Raceway especially for Eurodragster.com readers. You can check out the full-sized item (PDF format) by
clicking here or by clicking on the picture at right.
Gulf Oil International is delighted to bring down the curtain on its 2016 activities with the unveiling of World Land Speed Records Don't Come Easily - the documentary short film that chronicles the attempts of Ian King, on the Gulf Oil Drag Racing / GPO Bike, to set a new Motorcycle Land Speed Record for a quarter mile from a standing start. "How difficult can it be?" asks Ian King. "Flat out, fast as possible, very long runway, no worries about stopping distance? Think again.... No drag strip level of traction, uneven surfaces, access to pit area disallowed between runs, no changes to engine and gearing allowed, run both ways within two hours, overcoming complaints about noise and leaving excessive black lines (!), only three runs permitted out of a planned eight... Probably the most difficult thing I've ever had to do on the bike!" Because the FIM, who govern world motorcycle sport, stipulate that to achieve a World Land Speed Record, two runs most be completed over the same course - one in each direction – it meant forsaking the specially prepared surface of the purpose-built drag racing venues for an airfield runway. The venue chosen was Elvington, in Yorkshire, over its Top Speed Record weekend. The path to achieving the record was fraught with difficulties, as Gulf's short film documents - hence its title - but ultimately, through the team's excellent work and its ability to adapt the bike to the conditions, together with Ian King's extreme bravery in carrying out two runs when forced to use the concrete-paved side strip to the main runway - or abandon the attempt - a new record was achieved. The multiple European Drag Racing Champion finished off what was another extremely successful season with a tenth Top Fuel title, European speed records, and… that new world record. Gulf has a long history of Land Speed Record breaking, which dates back into the 1930s, with the likes of Ab Jenkins - who drove his Gulf-lubricated Mormon Meteor to numerous world speed records using Gulf road oil. This latest record mirrored these achievements as Ian King's bike runs on absolutely standard Gulf road lubricants - despite the fact that it has probably the most powerful motorbike engine in the world (rated at something over 1500 bhp). The film can be viewed on YouTube atwww.youtube.com/watch?v=xuQyo_TxhHk. 
If you are a fan of our Webster Race
Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcasts then you might like to
check out our YouTube Channel featuring clips requested by racers, race officials or sponsors sellotape-edited by your News Editor.
Various classes, combinations, achievements and incidents are included and you can take a look by
clicking
here.PMR School and Race Car bookings. 24th December: Paul Marston Racing are now able to take enquiries and bookings for 2017 for both the Drag Race School and the Race Car Rental programme. Paul Marston writes: With Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceways' calendars now published, dates can be booked for the Drag Race School. To maximise track time we do prefer to teach at the Peak Performance Days or the All Torque Test Days, but if those dates do not work then Run What You Brung dates are also good. With Doorslammers or a Super Pro ET dragster available at the School, we can cater for your every need. Full training is given by our National Championship winning instructors and all safety equipment is provided. Nowadays we only offer the full-day training course and it is a full day for sure. Anyone can do this, from a fan who just wants to tick it off of his / her bucket list, a budding new driver who wants to learn the right way, or a former driver returning from a sabbatical, and get a good introduction to the competitive world of National Championship drag racing. Licencing courses are available; we can tailor the course to encompass your needs whatever they may be. The Doorslammer classes are usually one- or two-day courses, the Dragster course is always a two-day course as there is a lot more involved. Is it worth taking a course? Well, ask yourself this: how did you learn to drive your road car? You were taught by a driving instructor. The reason for this was that you get taught the right way; logic tells you that driving something which is many times faster and more powerful needs a teacher too! New for 2017 is our twin 88 mm turbo Cortina, the programme for this is still being put together but this will be on-line at some stage in 2017. The list of pupils is long and more recently has included The Stig (Ben Collins), Idris Elba and 2016 Top Fuel Dragster 2017 Fuel Funny Car driver Steve Ashdown. So if you want to make the right start in drag racing contact Paul Marstons Drag Race School on 07831 650230 or E-Mail pmracing@fsmail.net. The 2017 Race Car Rental programme is available for National Events at Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceways, UK Top Sportsman at the Mopar Euronationals, and the No Prep Nationals at North Weald. At the moment there are seats available in some of the door cars for selected events and the dragster is currently available for all events, although there have obviously been enquiries. So if there are any teams / drivers out there who would be interested in driving with Paul Marston Racing in 2017, now is the time to contact us. We offer arrive-and-drive deals for the drivers, you can book for one event or a whole season, it's up to you. You can be as involved as you wish; full crew is provided. Again for further details call me 07831 650230 or E-Mail pmracing@fsmail.net. Merry Christmas and see you all in 2017. VWDRC honour winners. 24th December: Richard Merriman writes that the UK's Volkswagen Drag Racing Club recently held its annual get-together incorporating its AGM, a karting event and of course a visit to the pub: The weekend kicked off with a bit of endurance karting in Northampton. With a healthy number of drivers we were split into teams for the ninety-minute session. As you can imagine it was a good bit of competition and some tough battles took place out on the track. In the end the results were as follows:
Following on from the karting we all met up, as is traditional, for a few drinks and post-race discussion. A good deal of banter as well as discussing the season gone and plans for next year. It was nice to see so many faces all enjoying the night out in Milton Keynes. 
Sunday dawned and it was time for the AGM and Trophy presentation. In a packed room we awarded the winners and runners-up their well deserved their trophies. Well done to: VW Pro Championship: Winner Paul Herbert, runner-up: Sam Young VW Sportsman Championship: Winner Paul Day, runner-up Dave Lea Sir Brian Burrows Rookie of the Year: Stephen Roberts Wagenmaster - Driver of the Year: Paul Herbert Dennis Cox Memorial Award, Highest Consistent Qualifier: Paul Herbert RNJ Motorsport - Car of the Year: Sam Young Becky Sutton Memorial Award for services to the VWDRC: Luke Stevenson 
In total this season for the Championship we had twenty five racers enter VW Pro and forty two in VW Sportsman: sixty seven racers throughout the season over both classes which is absolutely fantastic. We even manged to create a thorty two-car field bump spot at our biggest event, Bug Jam. This was much to the delight of our Chair Luke Stevenson, unfortunately he became a victim of this success by failing to qualify and knocking himself out! 
So how are we looking to top what has been a fantastic season? Well, with so many new faces, the loyalty of our long term racers and some really tough racing battling it right down to the stripe it is going to be a tough one to top. However next season will be the VWDRC Thirtieth Anniversary! Yes, the Club initially set up in 1987 will be turning the grand old age of thirty (Congratulations - Ed)! We will be looking to entice as many new racers as we can, as well as trying to bring many of the previous racers back out to join in the fun. 
The Club will be offering a special membership pack to celebrate our thirtieth year, details of which will be posted on our web page at www.vwdrc.com and can be bought there. Talking of the VWDRC web site, it has had a major facelift thanks to Darren Walsh and gives a great insight into the club, what you need, and of course how to join. So please head over there and let us know what you think. 
You can as always keep up to date with what we are up to through our Facebook feed and Twitter account. We would as ever like to say a huge thank you to our sponsors for the 2016 season: Bears Transmissions (performance VW gearbox builders and parts suppliers); Brickfield Autos (vehicle paint, restoration, race preparation and custom modifications); Darkside Developments (performance diesel tuning, parts and accessories); Engine Carbon Clean (the ultimate engine detox service); Herbies Autos 07906 601430 (Oxford-based mobile mechanic); Kleen Freaks (awesome car cleaning products and lifestyle apparel); StarsZ Hair and Beauty (hair and beauty salon in Ilkeston, Derbyshire); Trackstuff Racing Fuel and Tyres (supplier of race fuel and slicks); Vanology (t4 / 5 conversions, custom remaps, rolling road, turbos, intercoolers and more); WRP Paint and Restoration (paint and body shop in Wellingborough, also race number decal supplier). If you would like to sponsor the club for 2017 then please get in touch. Eurodragster.com Christmas lists. 24th December: We will now be taking our Christmas break. News updates and postings to our Jeff Bull Race Engines Swap Meet will resume during the day next Wednesday (28th), but votes for the SPRC Perpetual Awards will of course still be accepted. Keep those news items coming to us at news@eurodragster.com and we will post them on Wednesday. In the meantime we have compiled our usual requests to Father Christmas, together with our New Year resolutions for what will be Eurodragster.com's twentieth year: Top of Kirstie's Christmas list: More personal bests in the Camaro thanks to a new engine. Top of Simon's Christmas list: Great weather, huge fields of race cars and bikes, massive crowds, new tracks - I want it all! Top of Julian's Christmas list: A ticket to Bakersfield or, even better, two tickets to Bakersfield and Clare can come too! Top of Grace's Christmas list: A Ducati Monster 821 motorbike (pretty please, Santa). Top of Tog's Christmas list: A continuous supply of news items. Kirstie's New Year resolution: No cherries in 2017. Simon's New Year resolution: To get my laptop to run cooler and quieter than currently. Julian's New Year resolution: To try not to get so upset when, after asking for pictures and finding out that they cost (a very reasonable amount of) money, people ignore me and I never hear from them again, which I find extremely rude. Grace's New Year resolution: To complete my apprenticeship by the summer and to get my 100e back on the road with Dad. Tog's New Year resolution: To improve upon 2016's all-time record of only being threatened once all season. Kirstie, Tog, Simon, Julian and Grace would like to wish all Eurodragster.com readers and their families the very Happiest of Christmases, and to thank everyone who has sent us personal Christmas wishes and cards. See you on Wednesday! An invitation to burn out. 22nd December: James Forster writes that, following a successful pilot in 2016, Santa Pod Raceway are very pleased to announce the return of the European Burnout Championships in 2017. Right now a car is sought to promote the new Championship at Autosport International at Birmingham's NEC in January: Burnout contests have taken the centre stage in Australia and now they're landing in Europe, with the European Burnout Championship shredding the tread at Santa Pod Raceway. The EBC is bringing a fresh new competition format to burnouts. Each driver receives a timed run, in which they will get to impress not only the crowd with their flare and driving style, but also the panel of judges who will be looking at the overall delivery of hoonage. The Raceway is no stranger to the tyre-warming smoke shows, but this new series takes it off the startling and puts the action into the Live Action Arena and the centre of the show. If you'd like to come and take part in the action then get signed up for the action on the following dates: 15th April: Festival of Power 6th August: Ultimate Street Car For entry details, booking, rules and regulations E-Mail becci@fueltopia.co.uk. We are also looking for a suitable vehicle to promote the new series at the popular Autosport International show on Saturday-Sunday 14th-15th January. If you have a suitable vehicle that you'd like to display, please contact Becci at becci@fueltopia.co.uk. Swift snippets. 22nd December: Our very best wishes for the future to drag bike crew Kerryanne Frazier and Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg who are to be married today. Have a lovely day and a happy married life. The last Eurodragster.com News update before Christmas will be posted this Saturday, Christmas Eve, and will include the eighteenth edition of Drag Racing Unplugged and the FIA, FIM and UK National / ACU UK Champions' Champions after the 2016 season. We will then take a break and we will return with the shortlist for SPRC Best Appearing Bike during the day next Wednesday (28th). Happy Birthday Scott! 22nd December: Sharron, Jerry and Sky Collier have been in touch to ask us to wish a big Happy 20th Birthday for today (Thursday) to UK drag bike racer Scott Collier. Sharron writes: Scott has worked so hard for the past few years, gaining qualifications at school and in Mechanical Engineering at college and then being offered a two-year apprenticeship at the British Motorcycle Manufacturing Academy at the Norton Motorcycles base in Donington hall. Scott has now been taken on by Norton Motorcycles to work within their Donington Hall premises as an engine builder, building their legendary machines. After eight years in Junior Drag Bike and winning four Championships Scott moved up to Supertwin Top Gas, winning his first adult Championship in the first season and being runner-up the next two years. In 2017 he will be campaigning the Pro Mod bike belonging to his godfather Steve French, which will be tuned down and made legal for Comp Bike. Thank you so much Steve. I am sure that Scott will take this new challenge and run with it, just as he always does. We are so very very proud of this kind, genuine, hard working young man, and wish him every happiness always. Garlits sponsors Allard Chrysler. 22nd December: Don and Donna Garlits of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida have donated $1000 to help keep Europe's first dragster, the Allard Chrysler, maintained in fire-up and parade condition during 2017. Owned by the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, the dragster is on permanent display there and is available for static display or fire-up shows and parades having been restored during the past nine years by the Allard Chrysler Action Group headed by Brian Taylor. The link between the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, Sydney Allard and the Garlits family goes back to 1964, when Don was part of the American team touring the UK in Sydney Allard's First British International Drag Racing Festival and 1976, when a visit to the museum with Peter Billinton gave Don and his late wife Pat the idea of opening their own museum of drag racing. 
The donation was handed over by Donna during a recent visit to the UK and she was joined by David Marks of the Beach Boys whose link with Sydney Allard also goes back to 1964 when the Beach Boys were touring the UK. During this time they organised a photo shoot with an Allard Dragon dragster in London. Brian Taylor said "Although the restoration project is now complete we will still need funds and expertise to keep the dragster in fire-up and parade condition so this donation from Don and Donna is very welcome. I would like to thank all of our supporters for their help in getting the dragster to this stage and organisations wishing to have the car on display during 2017 can contact me on brian@allardchrysler.org or Museum Manager Doug Hill on 01590 614600." You can help with Tee Rat. 20th December: Rob Loaring and Nick Davies of ICE Automotive are seeking the help of readers with pictures to assist one of their future projects, a recreation of the Tee Rat Fuel Altered. Rob explains: Nick and I are accumulating parts for life after Pro Mod. It might seem a little early, but history has taught us that if period components are required then projects can take a while. Last in the queue will be the second iteration of the Stones family's Tee Rat. We had intended to build a recreation in around 2005 and having located the original body, which was by now scrap, the owner decided it was worth a considerable sum of money. We were denied access and the project lost momentum. We settled on a Bantam and subsequently built Havoc. 
However, the urge never really went away and having spoken with Dave Stone a few months ago we decided to take another look. We collected a new T body and turtle deck this past Saturday and could use some help with reference material. We have quite a large library of images but very few showing the car from the rear. If anyone can help we can be reached at rooster.ice@btinternet.com. As for a set of magnesium twelve-spokes, well, that might take a while... Swift snippets. 20th December: Further to Saturday's Swift Snippet, 2016 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion Anita Mäkelä tells us that she is also up for a Driver of the Year award in a public vote. It's a shoo-in as far as we are concerned but you can take a look at the shortlist and place your vote by clicking here. Cemoni Ohlsson. 19th December: We were sorry to hear of the death of Tierp Arena owner Cemoni Ohlsson after a long illness. Cemoni owned a successful leisure and sport business and was well advanced on the job of turning Tierp Arena round; one abiding memory is of a smiling Cemoni leading from the front, arms full of bathroom supplies preparing the hotel rooms at the Arena the day before FIA events. Our deepest sympathies to Cemoni's family and friends and our gratitude for all of his help. SPRC Perpetual Awards vote 2. 19th December: Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are again teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 11th February 2017. For several of the 2016 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC Committee decides upon their winners. This week's category is Best Appearing Car. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows. You can see larger pictures on the official Perpetual Awards page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the SPRC Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. 
Tyler AshdownSuper Comp Vote for Tyler Ashdown 
Matthew DowdyLucas Oil Junior Dragster Vote for Matthew Dowdy 
Aaron FensomeLucas Oil Junior Dragster Vote for Aaron Fensome 
Shaun HydeVW Pro Vote for Shaun Hyde 
Joe KellettSuper Pro ET Vote for Joe Kellett 
Steve RawlingsPro Modified Vote for Steve Rawlings 
Mark SheridanTopspeed Automotive Street Eliminator Vote for Mark Sheridan 
Jon WebsterNostalgia Slingshot Vote for Jon Webster To place your vote, either use the links above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the SPRC Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to VWDRC Chair Luke Stevenson. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to sprcawards2016@eurodragster.com specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. For each of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. And every year we say this, but every year someone tries it on: please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates, forum members or Facebook friends to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. If in any doubt about what constitutes canvassing then please drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com. Additionally, if anyone should have issues with the content of any of the shortlists then please have the courtesy to contact SPRC direct rather than contacting Eurodragster.com or posting cryptic comments or bullying candidates on Facebook. E-Mails to Eurodragster.com regarding the content of the shortlists will receive neither a reply nor any other acknowledgement and comments on the subject on our Facebook pages will be deleted. The next voting category, due after out Christmas break on Wednesday week (28th December), will be Best Appearing Bike. Swift snippets. 19th December: We have now updated our calendar of European Championship dates with the provisional dates for the 2017 FIM Europe Drag Bike Championships and 2017 FIM Europe Super Street Bike Cup, whose Kunmadaras round has been moved to the end of April. You can check out the 2017 European Championship calendars by clicking here or by clicking on the 2017 FIA / FIM Championships schedule link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.compage. The latest spy picture to arrive at the offices of Eurodragster.com (below left) came with the words "We can make it fit". If you know more, or if you would like to send your own spy picture, then drop us a line at eurodragster.com@btinternet.com. 
Multiple FIM European Top Fuel Bike Champion Ian King is featured in the latest editions of Fast Bikes magazine and the Speed Record Club's Fast Facts. The Fast Bikes feature covers six pages describing the FIA / FIM European Finals at which Chris Moss spent the weekend with the Gulf Oil Drag Racing Team, whilst Fast Facts covers Ian King's record-setting visit to Elvington. Staying with magazine features, and a second mention in today's news update, congratulations to Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Mark Sheridan whose Black '71 Hemi Cuda won Car of the Year as voted by the readers of the USA's RPM magazine. Harry Palmer tells is that Mark himself had no idea that the car had even been entered for the vote. The car was on the front cover of the September issue with a thirteen-page page write-up with photos by the UK's own Matt Woods. Michel Tooren and the Pro Dutch Racing Pro Modified team have published a review of their end-of-season party which you can check out by clicking here (Dutch language PDF). A Gala appreciation. 19th December: The eleventh annual British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Awards Dinner, held on 19th November at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel, Heathrow, was a wonderful occasion at which stars of the sport in the UK were joined by legends from the US. The Gala has taken its place as one of the leading motor sport presentation events in the world and the BDRHoF would like to acknowledge all who made it possible. The evening included the induction of four new members of the BDRHoF, presentation of the Sydney Allard media awards, a re-presentation of the 2016 International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Award to a legendary UK racer, the Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award, the first presentation of the NSRA / BDRHoF Global Impact Award, special presentations for two living legends of hot rodding and drag racing and the creation of a new role for overseas supporters of the BDRHoF - Honorary International Ambassadors. The worthy inductees of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame were SPRC Club Secretary and doorslammer racer Paula Marshall; engine builder, tuner and Crew Chief Rob Loaring; US racer and pioneer of the sport in the UK Bob Keith; and the UK's first permanent drag racing facility celebrating its half century of operation, Santa Pod Raceway. Paula's trophy was accepted by Ian and Holley Marshall, Bob's by Lee Keith and Chris Goodnight, and Santa Pod's by Keith Bartlett and Roy Phelps. Trophies were sponsored by the Santa Pod Racers Club. 
The Sydney Allard media awards, for photo journalism and written journalism, went respectively to photographer Julian Hunt for his photo of Bob Hawkins' blown and injected slingshot dragster Time Traveller's fire burnout, and to Brian Taylor for the magnificent 2015 Hall of Fame programme - only to be topped by the thirty two-page 2016 programme. This year the trophies were fittingly sponsored by Mintex – a company that sponsored the first UK Drag Festivals back in 1964 and 1965 - in association with Octane Magazine and the Guild of Motoring Writers. A very special re-presentation of the 2016 International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Award went to former Top Fuel Dragster and Funny Car racer Dennis Priddle, a member of the BDRHoF and pivotal figure in encouraging many other racers to raise their game by providing them with equipment and advice. The Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award was presented to Steve Gibbs, the former Board Member and Vice President - Competitions of NHRA. It was awarded for the crucial role played by NHRA and its employees in organising, governing and growing the sport of drag racing throughout its sixty five years of existence. 
The Global Impact Award was presented to David Lee Marks of the Beach Boys by Mike Read for their considerable contribution to drag racing and hot rodding culture across the world. Their music inspired more than a generation of car enthusiasts and their concerts over a period of fifty years have continued to drive passion for the sport. Surprise trophy presentations went to Ed Iskenderian for his development of racing camshafts, pioneering corporate sponsorship in motor sport in the 1950s and helping to create the Specialty Equipment Market Association, and Ron Hope, pilot of the Rat Trap Fuel Altered and long time Bonneville Land Speed Record racer, for his racing achievements around the world. They were joined by other legends Bob and Sharon Muravez, Traci Hrudka, Eileen Daniels, Fred Miller, Carl Olson and Donna Garlits who, with Ron, were awarded the status of Honorary International Ambassadors of the BDRHoF. US legends Paula Murphy and Don Schumacher were present and accepted the applause of the 280 people present for their pioneering Funny Car match races held in the UK in 1973. The Gala day also included the second Beech Underwriting Bench Racing Session with the guest American and British racers and personalities telling stories about their past exploits, with questions from the floor. The sessions were introduced by Bob McClurg, leading drag racing photo-journalist for almost fifty years. Bob signed posters and copies of his book. 
On display during the evening, to celebrate their respective owners' awards and their memorable races during the year at Santa Pod, were two Fuel Altereds, Rob Loaring and Nick Davies' Havoc, to be racing in the US in 2017, and Ron Hope's Rat Trap. The event would not have been possible without practical help and support from sponsorship partner Beech Underwriting Agencies, major sponsors US Automotive and Santa Pod Racers Club, and event sponsors Lucas Oil Products UK, DialAFlight, Institute of Professional Drivers, National Street Rod Association, Atlantic Fluid Tech, Rat Trap Racing, Aptitude, Mintex and Prop Portfolio. Thanks also to the Pennine Drag Racing Club; Eurodragster.com; and Avon Park International Racing Association for their support. Make a date for the 2017 event on Saturday 18th November at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel, Heathrow, and don't miss out on a great day of racing nostalgia. 
17th December: The FIA have published the 2017 International Technical Regulations
and Race Procedures for the European Drag Racing Championships.
The biggest rule-related news for 2017 is in Pro Stock, where from this year teams have the opportunity to change to the Electronic Fuel Injection set-up. "We have made it possible for teams to either keep carburettors or move over to Electronic Fuel Injection system" says Lars Petterson, Vice President of the FIA Drag Racing Commission. "We have kept the same body style and weight on the cars except for the hood: if a car has a carburetted engine then it is still allowed to still us a hood scoop, if equipped with an Electronic Fuel Injection system a hood scoop is prohibited. "In Europe we have had meetings and good communication with Pro Stock drivers and teams before we took the decision to follow the changes which NHRA have made in the USA. The plan is to keep the two combinations for some years to study how it works and develops in European Pro Stock." You can find all of the 2017 FIA European Drag Racing Championship rules at www.fia.com/regulation/category/101. Can you i.d. the bike? 17th December: Longtime Eurodragster.com fan Martin Wilson has been in touch with a puzzler for our readers: 
Whilst passing Blade Motorcycles in Swindon, Wiltshire, I spotted a drag bike in their window. Now being an ardent drag racing fan of long (very long!) standing I was immediately intrigued and swooped right in and started asking questions. The very nice people in the shop said that it was a 1970s machine and that it was recently imported from Nebraska, USA. They allowed me to take some photos. 
The information gleaned from looking over it was Kawasaki, Manley valves, Mr Turbo turbocharger, Water injection, Schnitz. Martin would be very interested in any information about the bike. If you know anything then drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com and we'll share it here. Swift snippets. 17th December: Good luck to NHRA Lucas Oil World Top Alcohol FC Champion Jonnie Lindberg who is in the running for Bilsport magazine Racer of the Year, to Top Fuel Dragster racer Stig Neergaard who is up for Bilmagasinet's Danish Motorsport Award, and to Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Gary Gooding whose Supra is on the shortlist for Banzai magazine Car of the Year. You can take a look at the shortlists and place your votes by clicking on the links. The next category in voting for the Santa Pod Racers Club Perpetual Awards will be Best Appearing Car whose shortlist will be posted on Monday's news update here on Eurodragster.com. No news update yesterday (Friday) so we were not able to say a big Happy Birthday to Stuart Morrice from mum and dad Christine and Sandy, brother Collin, Megan and Charlotte. Hope you had a great day Stuart. The last Eurodragster.com News update before Christmas will be posted next Saturday, Christmas Eve, and will include the eighteenth edition of Drag Racing Unplugged and the FIA, FIM and UK National / ACU UK Champions' Champions after the 2016 season. If you will be submitting a news item for the Christmas Eve update then please have it in the mail to us at news@eurodragster.com before 21:00 UK / 22:00 European this Friday (23rd). If it's a long piece then please send it as far in advance as you can; all you need do is to make it clear that it is for the Christmas Eve update. SA 2005 crash helmet expiry II. 15th December: Geoff Martin of the UK's Tech Crew has been in touch to remind racers with SA 2005 crash helmets that an SA 2015 helmet might be a suitable Christmas gift. Snell SA 2005 helmets are not permitted in FIA Championship competition from 1st January 2017. The MSA are permitting these SA 2005 Helmets until 31st December 2018, however MSA Pro Modified and Fuel Funny Car in the UK are governed by FIA regulations. If you have any queries then please contact Geoff at ukchassis2@btinternet.com. Still time to call Santa. 
15th December: Lee Child of Eurodragster.com sponsors LA Racing Parts and
Lee Child International Track Prep
Services has some great deals available for racers or for the racer in your life:
VP Racing Fuels round motorsport containers are available in white, red and blue and come with a free deluxe hose. The containers hold twenty litres and are great for any type of fuel and, with the deluxe hose, easy pouring. £29.99 including postage within the UK. For the methanol users, we have VP Racing Fuels M2 lube, a 16 fl oz bottle of non-scented lube which will treat two hundred litres of pure methanol or reclaimed methanol. This will protect valve guides, aluminum systems and cylinder walls and is rated for superchargers. One bottle is £16.99 including postage in the UK. For delivery before Christmas Eve get your order in by next Monday, 19th. For orders and information call Lee on 01803 391740 or E-Mail lee@laracingparts.com. Zeon TV DVDs review. 
14th December: The year's crop of seven Zeon TV
DVDs of UK drag racing are a great means to while away the hours before the 2017 season gets underway and provide inspiration for those
winter rebuilds yet to be completed. Simon writes:
MSA Pro Modified 2016 covers the whole of the UK Championship, held over six rounds at Santa Pod Raceway, and is essentially a collection of Web TV episodes on disc. Commentary is by Darryl Bradford and interviews by David Coleman reveal a lot of information about running these cars and the drivers' and crews' personalities. Several new cars made their début and the Championship went down to the final round, so there is plenty of excitement. Footage is also varied with use of Segway-based material from Box Lane Productions, a considerable addition to SPR's and Zeon's resource, and Eurodragster.com's own Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcam footage. Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator is commentated on by Paul Venners and Bryn Lucas. All eight rounds are covered, which means that Shakespeare County Raceway footage is included in addition to the Web TV footage from Santa Pod Raceway. There is coverage of the Cruise at both SCR and SPR, showing with on-board footage how challenging the Cruise is for cars which run so quick on the track. The class line-up changes considerably from one year to another and this DVD is a great way of reviewing how the teams cope with the various problems they face and conquer. The Mopar Euronats DVD faithfully captures the lifestyle atmosphere of this muscle car event, with commentary from Graham Beckwith, interviews by Guy Papworth, and more footage from Box Lane Productions. All aspects are covered, including Friday's RWYB and cruise to Billing Aquadrome, Pro Mod racing, Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman and Gasser Circus action, Show and Shine, the burnout competition, and awards. Running time is 1 hour 53 minutes. Gearhead Garage Top Sportsman is featured in depth on a DVD which also includes, for the first time, the exciting UK Nostalgia Superstock class. Top Sportsman is for a range of doorslammers and the closeness of the bracket racing, followed by the heads up one-shot qualifying and Quick 16 on the following day give intensity to the super-quick competition. The three UK Nostalgia Superstock Association rounds featured from 2016 are Big Bang, SPRC Summernationals and Dragstalgia, all of which have huge fields - thirty nine entered at Dragstalgia - and close racing. On the back of this showing, the UKNSA plans to expand its number of events greatly in 2017 and run at MSA permit events. Commentary is from Bryn Lucas for Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman and Colin Theobald for UK Nostalgia Superstock. This DVD is a must for all doorslammer fans. The Wild Bunch have their own DVD following on from last year's debut production, and six rounds of the Championship are featured: Festival of Power, Springspeed Nationals, the Late Spring Madness RWYB at SCR, Dragstalgia (including the Slingshot Shootout), Open Sport Nationals and UK National Finals. Commentary duties are handled by longtime class racers Mark Coulsell and Sarah Howells with Colin Theobald. Much credit for the continuing success of the class which has been running for almost twenty years is due to organiser Claire Meaddows. The DVD is appropriately dedicated to 'Friends lost too soon', Scottie Durrant and Claire Bassett. The Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway is one of the premier lifestyle events and it is absolutely true to its name. The track is packed full of hot rods and many of them travel up the quarter mile. The NSRA's involvement with SCR's promotional staff has always ensured a well-filled event and this year's was no exception. With next year's event possibly its final hurrah at SCR due to the track being under threat, this DVD is almost certainly a future collectors' item. Paul Venners commentates and, as ever, the interviews add a big dimension to the programme. Our pick of the bunch is Dragstalgia. This DVD showcases two hours of footage from an unforgettable event held at SPR under sunny skies. The field is enormous and action is shown from the start of Friday's RWYB and then moves on through the NSA historic bikes, Willys Wars, Nostalgia Cannonball, Supercharged Outlaws, Slingshot Shootout, Cacklefest, and the first pass down SPR's quarter mile of Britain's first dragster, the Allard Chrysler. The match racing between the two US Fuel Altereds, Havoc and Wild'r At Heart is a highlight but the whole DVD is a joy to watch. Commentary is from Colin Theobald, who also carries out many interviews, and Bryn Lucas. The credit for the production of these excellent DVDs is due to Helen Todd and Dave Coleman of Zeon who make maximum use of their resources to complete a quality product. Scripts, commentaries and captions are detailed and accurate, footage is reliable and covers all of the venue, not just the racing surface, with a large variety of camera angles. The covers of all DVDs include photographic contributions from the Eurodragster.com staff and other noted photographers. Zeon have once again pushed the boundaries. You can purchase any or all of these superb Zeon DVDs for £14.95 each (£10 for the Wild Bunch DVD) plus £1.50 postage per order to the UK and £1.75 to anywhere else in the world. All DVDs are in PAL format. Various deals are available for the purchase of multiple titles. You can order on-line at www.quartermilehigh.com. Many thanks to Helen Todd and David Coleman of Zeon TV for again providing review copies of all of their drag racing DVDs. Birgitte takes on the Gladiator. 12th December: Norway's Birgitte Bremnes has announced that she will be teaming up with Jason Phelps and the Gladiator Fuel Funny Car team in 2017. Birgitte gained her Top Fuel Top Fuel dragster licence with Rune Fjeld Motorsport in 2015, and at Tierp Arena in June was runner up to Anita Mäkelä in the first-ever all-female FIA Top Fuel Dragster final. The arrangement involves Birgitte attending all of the races for the 2017 European Funny Car Series, accompanied by Jamie Willis as Crew Chief. Jason will get back into the seat for all other shows and events, allowing Birgitte to concentrate on the Series. 
Jason Phelps says "I've enjoyed my time in the car, but looking back it would have been a good time to call it after my series win in 2013. So I'm not about to miss the opportunity of securing one
of the most exciting young talents we have in our sport. I want to see the car and the name Gladiator carry on in to the future, now it's time for me to be a grown up and let the younger generation
show what they can do. Personally I'm looking forward to seeing how they get on; the team needs it but more importantly so does the sport and the Fuel Funny Car class. I'm not going to interfere
at race meetings, it's their deal, but I'll be in the background to help out if or when they break it! I've worked with Jamie Willis for several years, and I believe he can make the right improvements
to the car that will make it competitive and put them in a position to contend for the Championship… enjoy!"
Birgitte says "I'm very excited about next year, especially knowing that we're attending all the races. In the Top Fuel Dragster I did one race a year, which really doesn't give you the chance to get to know the car and how to handle it well. I know the Funny Car will be very different compared to the dragster, it's a new challenge and the next step in my racing career. It's important to me that we get as many runs as possible before the season begins." "We would like to thank Jason for all his help and the opportunity he is giving us. Now bring on 2017!" Gough returns. 
12th December: Former UK National Super Pro ET Champion Simon Gough is returning in 2017. The
new Package, designed to regain Simon's #1 plate, is supported by Racepak, Post en Dros, Opie Oils, LAS Motorhomes, K&N
Filters, Jeff Bull Race Engines, Cadman Transport and Hire a Camaro. The smart new colour scheme is the work of Eurodragster.com sponsor
Peter Walters Race Design.
"The motor and trans have been refreshed by Jeff Bull and we have sensors from Racepak", Simon told Eurodragster.com. "After Racepak got in touch with me offering a deal for 2017 I couldn't say no. With four new sponsors committed for the next two years things are looking bright for the Package." Swift snippets. 12th December: We have three birthdays today. Ladies first and a very Happy Birthday to UK Junior Dragster racer and former National Champion Charlotte Bradford. Happy Birthday also to blown-alcohol altered racer-in-waiting Paul Watson and to PMR team member Max Marston. Have a great day guys. SPRC Perpetual Awards vote 1. 12th December: Santa Pod Racers Club and Eurodragster.com are again teaming up to give Eurodragster.com readers the chance of input to the SPRC Perpetual Awards, which will be presented at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy presentation on Saturday 11th February 2017. For several of the 2016 season awards, a shortlist has been decided upon for which votes can be submitted by E-Mail. Nominations are now also being accepted for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy. The votes of Eurodragster.com readers will be taken into consideration when the SPRC Committee decides upon their winners. This week's category is Most Promising Newcomer. Nominees for SPRC Most Promising Newcomer have impressed whilst contesting their first full season or making their on-track début in 2016. The SPRC Committee's shortlist, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Will Clark, Pro ET Vote for Will Clark Chris Creswell, Sportsman ET Vote for Chris Creswell Scott Crookston, Outlaw Anglia Vote for Scott Crookston Elaine Hancock, Sportsman ET Vote for Elaine Hancock Gary Hester, ET Bike Vote for Gary Hester Chris Neary, ET Bike Vote for Chris Neary Michel Tooren, Pro Modified Vote for Michel Tooren To place your vote, either use the links above or go to the official Perpetual Awards voting page which you can view by clicking here or by clicking on the SPRC Perpetual Awards vote link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page. ©Eurodragster.com The Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy, for which nominations are also now being taken, was first awarded to Santa Pod Racers Club's late Chief Marshal, Alex Brachtvogel, in 2001 to mark his outstanding contribution to Santa Pod Raceway and the sport as a whole. After Alex's death the trophy was named in his memory and continues to be awarded for contribution to drag racing. There is no shortlist for the Alex Brachtvogel award. Nominations are invited from Eurodragster.com readers for racers, race officials, track and safety crews, club officials, media, or anyone else who has contributed to the sport. Last year the trophy was awarded to VWDRC Chair Luke Stevenson. Again see the official page for more details or E-Mail your nomination to sprcawards2016@eurodragster.com specifying SPRC Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy nomination as the subject and your nomination in the body of the E-Mail. For each of the Awards, one vote per E-Mail address per nominee will be accepted: multiple votes for the same nominee from the same E-Mail address will all be disqualified. And every year we say this, but every year someone tries it on: please note that blatant attempts at organising mass votes - for example asking workmates, forum members or Facebook friends to vote en masse - are easily identified and all such votes will be disallowed as they have been in previous years. Concerted attempts at vote-rigging will result in the nominee being removed from the shortlist whether or not that nominee knows what was going on. We know all the dodges so it's just not worth trying. If in any doubt about what constitutes canvassing then please drop us a line at editor@eurodragster.com. Additionally, if anyone should have issues with the content of any of the shortlists then please have the courtesy to contact SPRC direct rather than contacting Eurodragster.com or posting cryptic comments or bullying candidates on Facebook. E-Mails to Eurodragster.com regarding the content of the shortlists will receive neither a reply nor any other acknowledgement and comments on the subject on our Facebook pages will be deleted. The next voting category, due next Monday (19th December), will be the Best Appearing Car. 2017 Italian Championship. 8th December: Sadurano Motorsport have announced that the 2017 Italian Drag Racing Championship will take place over the quarter mile at Fossili de Carpo on the following dates: Saturday-Sunday 27th-28th May Saturday-Sunday 24th-25th June Saturday-Sunday 30th September-1st October In the event of bad weather rain dates will be announced at the event. The start line will not be prepped. Static or rolling burnouts will be permitted dependent upon class. Run What You Brung will be available. Entry fees and official forms will be available in due course on the Sadurano Motorsport web site at www.saduranomotorsport.com or on Facebook at Sadurano Motor Sport. Funny Cars for sale. 
8th December: Lucio Canu has been in touch from Italy to let us know that he has a former Peter Kruse Funny Car
sitting unused in his garage and that he is open to offers. The car (right) is offered as a rolling chassis. If you are interested
then you can contact Lucio via the Cars For Sale section of our Jeff
Bull Race Engines-sponsored Swap Meet.
Tony Betts tells us that Richard Hartman's Running Wild Nostalgia Funny Car is for sale. "This is the car which I drove at the Hot Rod Reunion in 2015", says Tony. "The car qualified in the last sixteen at this year's Hot Rod Reunion running four five-second passes. The car is a must-see as the workmanship is second to none. Price to be discussed as can come with a full spares package including three engines. The only reason for the sale is a time thing - Richard is Crew Chief for Tim Wilkerson and will be helping me with my new car so it will leave no time to run his own car". Again you can contact Richard via the Cars For Sale section of our Jeff Bull Race Engines-sponsored Swap Meet. The dreams of a four-year-old. 8th December: Since early childhood the UK's Craig Wright dreamt of becoming a Champion and driving a dragster. Having won UK National Sportsman ET Championships more than once, 2016 was the year for the fulfilment of his other dream. Craig takes up the story: 
Ever since I was a four year old at school, I've been completely obsessed with drag racing. It came to it when the teachers had to have a word with my parents when everything I drew or wrote
about in lessons were race cars, even Santa's sleigh had a blower up front and a chute out the back.
My dream of driving a dragster came true when the Kelletts offered me a day in their previous Super Pro ET Dragster at the end of the 2015 season, and on that day I got my Super Pro licence after a 8.23/164. This year, after selling my trailer to James Forster and the Civic to Elaine Hancock, I had a wedge of cash to go racing and after exchanging many E-Mails with Paul Marston a deal was done to drive his dragster in Super Pro ET at the two FIA rounds at Santa Pod. It was at this point we thought we'd hunt for some sponsorship and after various conversations with different companies we signed a few who gave us a good amount to enter a further two events - the dream was coming properly true now! 
A week before Easter my crewman Hardy and I went to PMR HQ in Essex to sticker up the car and have the seat fitting session ready for our début at the Festival of Power. Q1 at the
Festival of Power was a planned eighth mile pass to get comfy, but it felt too good to lift and we ran an 8.54 on an 8.50! We got to round two before the rain came.
Through the FIA Main Event and SPRC Summernationals we suffered a fuelling problem which we eventually sussed out, and after the Summernationals we had a consistent car, I was very comfy with things and also with how the team on the car were all working. We finished our season at the FIA European Finals and to me this was the one. The biggest event of the year, the 50th Anniversary of Santa Pod Raceway, and I was living my dream of being part of it in a dragster in it! This was very nearly over after Q4 when we suffered some terminal engine damage but the team got me back out the following day with help from Mike Lacey, cheers Mike! We just missed out on a top half qualifying spot and went in at nineteenth 0.023 off our dial-in. We were gifted a bye in round one, then in round 2 we met Nigel Turner in the blown Gold RV car. To follow Nigel round into the bleach box was scarey but awesome. Nigel went red against us which pushed us into the quarter finals at the European Finals! This to me was just incredible. We were buzzing. This is where we met Tom Atkinson in the Mk1 Cortina Estate. We did him on the tree but broke out, damn. That was it for our year as we unfortunately didn't have enough funds to make the UK National Finals, although that event was still a proud one for me personally as Sam Innes and I put together yet another class football team and went out, won, and helped raise another staggering four-figure sum for the Bloodwise charity. 
So, 2016 was a massive dream come true for me, and I'd like to think we made a little bit of an impact in the best bracket class in Europe with top fifteen finishes in the Championships.
Obviously there are many people I'd like to thank for making the season possible: Top Fuel pilot Liam Jones of TFJ Motorsport, Matt Hullis of Custom Pipeworks, Matt Harper at Ki
Tran Nationwide Deliveries, Bill and Jamie at Topspeed Automotive, and Richard Deevey of Red Rum London. This lot have helped us financially this year and without them this dream
wouldn't have happened. Then of course there's Paul Marston for trusting me in his car and his team for all clubbing together and fixing it on a couple of occasions. I'd also like to thank
my family, friends and many many others for their support throughout the season by dropping by our pits or sending messages etc etc, and my better half Kat for keeping me on the straight
and narrow at each event. A huge thank you to the Santa Pod staff, crew and officials for keeping us as safe as possible and giving us some awesome events to race at on an awesome track
this year, Eurodragster.com for their outstanding efforts to keep everyone up to date (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed), my on track team Kat Rudd, Mick Howling and Lisa Farmer
who worked real well together each and every run, Pete Walters of PWRD for designing and supplying our crew shirts and making the team look professional on track and also Callum Pudge
for doing a lot of design work for us. Finally, cheers to everyone in Super Pro ET for making us feel welcome this season, it's been absolutely blinding!
So that's it, the end of a dream season which has been unbelievable in many ways and I've loved almost every single part of it! What's next? Dragster? Door car? Funny Car? I really don't know. We have a few things in the pipeline and talks are on going regarding sponsorship etc, but nothing worth talking about yet. For now Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. See you in 2017. Wild Bunch do the honours. 8th December: Many thanks to Lynne Coulsell for forwarding a report on the recent Wild Bunch 21st Anniversary Presentation Evening: All of the various Series winners were presented with their awards, with the 2016 Wild Bunch Series win going to Keith Crampton of the Soul Town Shaker slingshot team for the second year in a row. Many congratulations to Keith and his whole team on this great achievement. The Spirit of Nostalgia Challenge Series trophies were also presented and the winner this year was Alan Loten with Paranoia. Alan also won the Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars Series, so very well done to him and Steve Williams.The Springbridge MSA Challenge Series Cup was won by Phil James in the Rampage Funny Car. The APIRA Series winner was Bob Hawkins in Time Traveller II, this trophy will be awarded at the APIRA trophy night in March. 
Presentations made during the evening to Race Co-Ordinator and Treasurer Claire Meaddows and Secretary Lynne Coulsell. Special presentations were made to Janet Brown for her dedication and services to Shakespeare County Raceway and another to the whole Shakespeare County Raceway team, marshals, officials, track and safety crews. Gifts were given to all the lovely ladies of the Wild Bunch who do so much to support their teams' participation. Flowers were presented to Claire, kindly donated by Mark Coulsell and Hayley Fyfe of Team Limited Funz. The winners of the Wild Bunch Special Merit Awards were as follow: Pioneer Award: Ian Coulsell and Steve Young Big Bang Trophy: Dick Sharp, Dorset Horn Quickest ET by a British-engined dragster: Daddy Cool, 8.844 seconds Best ET: Bob Hawkins, Time Traveller II 6.810 seconds Fastest speed: Bob Hawkins, Time Traveller II 201.47 mph Best Newcomer (Roy Wilding trophy): Ratchet Strap Racing Best Radical/Dragster: Phil James, Rampage Best Slingshot: Bob Hawkins, Time Traveller II Best Altered: Alan Loten and Steve Williams, Paranoia Best Turned Out (Roy Wilding trophy): Team Stoned Perseverance Award: Bob Hawkins, Time Traveller II Best Achievers: Alan Loten and Steve Williams, Paranoia Derek and Brenda Annable Trophy: Jon and Donna Giles Personal Achievement (Daddy Cool Sag Trophy): Gina Durrant, the whole Tiki Munki team and friends C and C Sportsperson: Mark Hartnell The Scottie Durrant Above and Beyond Award: Claire Meaddows Crew of the Year: Steve Williams, Paranoia Crazy Chris Showmanship Award: Bob Hawkins, Time Traveller II, for his smoky burnouts and fire burnouts This evening we had a new award, the Scottie Durrant Above and Beyond Award, which was made and presented by Gina who gave a speech explaining the importance of the award to herself and Scottie and some emotional words about 2016 giving thanks to the Wild Bunch for everyone's support and encouragement during this difficult time. 
The greatest accolade of the evening was, as always, the Don Garlits Spirit of Drag Racing Shield, the most prestigious award in the Wild Bunch, which represents sportsmanship, commitment, presentation and a host of other attributes. This was awarded to Alan Loten and Steve Williams of Paranoia who achieved first places in two series in 2016 amongst many PBs and spot prizes throughout the year. Many congratulations to all our winners. We can't wait until 2017 to be back out at the drags for the twenty second year of the Wild Bunch. Full details will be posted in due course on the Wild Bunch web site at www.the-wild-bunch.co.uk, and check out our Facebook page for all of the fabulous pictures from the night. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy, dry, safe and quick New Year to all racers and teams, marshals and officials, track and safety crews, photographers, media, promoters, managers, and of course the Eurodragster.com staff (Thanks, you're welcome - Ed), all of whom work so hard at Santa Pod, Shakespeare County and York Raceways for this sport of drag racing which we all love so much. Thanks everyone for everything you do – see you all at the drags next season! On behalf of Shakespeare County Raceway Jerry Cookson writes "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Wild Bunch Committee for their presentation to the track and the Club for all the work carried out by the officials, marshals and safety crews. The award was duly accepted on the track's behalf by Janet, Wayne and Chris Schreier, Julie Willcox and Nigel Statham. Thanks guys." HOFtalk III on-line. 8th December: The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame has published the third issue of its on-line magazine HOFtalk which is designed to facilitate communications with members and supporters of the BDRHoF and which is edited by Eurodragster.com's very own Pit Reporter Simon Groves, a member of the BDRHoF Management Board. "Those attending this year's Hall of Fame Gala at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel, Heathrow know what a fabulous occasion it was", says Simon, "and this issue shows some of the highlights of that evening. The BDRHoF has now been incorporated into a limited company and a separate charity, the BDRHoF Benevolent Fund, has also been formed to enable fans, racers and sponsors to contribute to a permanent fund which will support injured racers and the Air Ambulances which attend our tracks. Many thanks to those who contributed a total of £500 at the Gala, and we look forward to seeing as many of our supporters as possible at next year's Gala on 18 November 2017." HOFtalk is available as a PDF by clicking here, by clicking on the Features, Interviews, Tributes link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page, or on-screen at www.drceurope.co.uk/hoftalk/issue3. Swift snippets. 7th December: Swedish Top Doorslammer racer and former FIA European Pro Modified Champion Mattias Wulcan has announced that he will contest the entire PDRA series in the USA in 2017. You can read more on the PDRA web site at www.pdra660.com. This year's vote for the SPRC Perpetual Awards will commence here on Eurodragster.com next Monday (12th). The first category will be Most Promising Newcomer. Editor's note: We had a lengthy news update lined up for today but your News Editor has had a mare of a day and an opportunity has not arisen for editing and coding. We will catch up with the oustanding news later this evening; please keep the news coming to news@eurodragster.com. 2016 Christmas Gift Mart.
5th December: If you are looking for a Christmas gift for the drag racer or drag racing
fan in your life, your loved one (Or even your husband or wife - Ed), or indeed if you fancy treating yourself,
then Eurodragster.com's sponsors and contributors have a number of ideas for you. In the interests of fairness we are presenting
these suggestions in the order in which we received them.
Our good friends at Zeon TV have released their 2016 UK drag racing DVDs. As well as MSA Pro Modified, Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator and Wild Bunch season reviews there are reviews of Dragstalgia, the Mopar EuroNationals, Gearhead Garage UK Top Sportsman and Nostalgia Super Stock, and the NSRA Hot Rod Drags. Each DVD is £14.95 plus postage and various package deals are available. The usual photographic contributions from the Eurodragster.com team are this year joined by some footage from our Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcasts. We will as ever post a review of the DVDs in due course but also as ever you can safely order your DVDs without our say-so, and check out some trailers, at www.quartermilehigh.com. 
Artist Paul Whitehouse has been no stranger to the pages of Eurodragster.com over the years and is well-known for producing high-quality and
always-desirable paintings and prints. As you can see from the picture at left (click for full-sized version) Paul is offering a number of prints
and is always amenable to commissions. To find out what is on offer and for how much you can contact Paul by E-Mail at
pwhitehouse3@aol.com or call 07432 564110.
UK Nostalgia Funny Car racer Bob Glassup wanted something different to offer the fans of his Capri and settled on the idea of a smart striking, A2 graphic print.
"With a firm style in mind we set about getting some artwork together", says Bob. "This looked like a great project on which to collaborate with Darren West of
Power Race Graphics. Darren is a design associate of Matt s at his graphic design firm so we know his style
and felt confident he could nail this for us!". Eurodragster.com sponsor Darren says "With a cool brief to create a sharp contemporary poster depicting the Glassup Family's Bubblegum
Capri Nostalgia Funny Car in action, all good I thought... then the curve ball came in. "Oh, I think we'll do them as a run of hand-pulled screen prints Darren"! So following some unnecessary panic
on my part, some really tight artwork was created to ensure a super sharp finish". Matt Glassup says "A very gifted screen printer was entrusted to pull the squeegees and being a detail freak he a
produced stunning result! The colours are impressive to say the least with each colour produced from a hand mixed paint resulting in a beautiful metallic gold and bright punchy red that just can't be
replicated by modern print production processes. This is a one run only limited edition of only twenty five prints. A2 in size (594x420mm) they come unframed and are shipped flat packed, with
each being numbered and delicately signed by Bob. As you can imagine these cost a pretty penny to produce so we are only looking to cover the cost of production and offer drag racing fans
something a little different to enjoy on the wall. Available by mail order only at £65 including P&P and shipping. Please send orders to me at
matt@glassupandstoski.com or call 07939 543254."
Mick Pusey of Eurodragster.com sponsor Gearhead Garage is offering a limited-edition UK Top Sportsman T-Shirt.
"We had just seventy of these shirts produced", says Mick. "They were given to all 2016 UK Top Sportsman drivers and to the Top Sportsman crew. We have limited numbers of S, M, L, XL and
XXL at £18 inc postage. You can order your shirt under Parts For Sale at www.gearhead-garage.co.uk.
If you're stuck for Christmas present ideas for your favorite drag racer then maybe Eurodragster.com Photographer and Allard Award for Photography winner
Julian Hunt can help. "I have High Quality images of most UK, and many European, racers which
I can send to you by E-Mail", says Julian. "You can
have them printed and framed, put on mugs, put on mouse mats, phone covers, wallets, the possibilities are endless. Prices start at £10 for an original
file which, should you wish, will print big. Extra special images cost a little more. For more details please contact me at
julian@julianhunt.net or via Facebook."
Santa Pod Raceway offer a veritable cornucopia of gifts for race fans including what is without doubt the best Christmas decoration ever invented,
the Christmas Christmas Tree originated by Elaine Southworth of Cool Engineered
Art. Santa Pod are offering a special deal for every day between now and next Monday (12th) and are taking orders for-pre Christmas delivery
until Wednesday 14th. To check out SPR's huge range, including gift vouchers if you really can't decide, visit
www.santapodshop.com.
If you need to replace your race harness for next year then you can save 10% by ordering from Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson Race Cars and paying before Christmas. Your harness will be supplied with a 2017 date so that you get the full lifetime. If you are interested then please call Kate Robinson on 01256 880589 or E-Mail robinson_racecar@yahoo.co.uk. Web site updates. 
5th December: We are pleased to bring you a new exclusive Racer Blog presented in association with
Gearhead Garage. Regular readers will know that the latest race car to
be campaigned by longtime Eurodragster.com contributor Paul Marston Racing is an ex-Street Eliminator Mk 5 Cortina now destined for Super
Pro ET. In the first instalment Paul Marston describes the car'a background, details all the work done so far to convert it from
street-legal to race-only, and reports upon the first outings. You can take a look by
clicking here or by clicking on the Gearhead Garage Blogs
link on the left-hand side of any Eurodragster.com page.Muscle cars not required. 3rd December: UK VW racer Richie Webb has made good progress in his project to run one of his VWs in Hot Rod's Drag Week in 2017 with a fruitful test at the recent Street Car Super Nationals in Las Vegas. Richie takes up the story: A couple of years ago I started making plans to participate in Drag Week with my original version of my Beetle Cabrio which is a stock suspension, factory floor pan, no wheelie bar street car. No one has done this event in a performance air-cooled VW. There isn't really a class they fit in, the event is aimed at typical USA muscle cars which just adds to my determination to compete. So with this in mind I started building a new engine combination of turbo EFI complete with all-new header / intake set-up and dry sump conversion. I had durability in mind more than outright performance, I want to run on pump gas to simplify the driving part of the event, and I wanted the engine lid to be closed for a more stock look which added to the complexity of the build. With only a few weeks each year to work on the car, as it stays in USA at moment, progress was slow but for personal reasons I set a target of 2017 to compete. Last winter I managed to complete the long block and the header was tacked together, the dry sump tank was in place, but there was lots left to do. So after the UK race season finished I packed up what I needed and got on a flight to LA. 
In just four weeks I had built the complete intake, plumbed and wired everything, finished the header and made the exhaust and after a couple of minor setbacks the engine
fired. Straight away I had a problem, low oil pressure. Quick checks and I couldn't find anything wrong. The only solution was a complete strip down, both to find the problem
to check that there had been no damage. I found the problem pretty quickly, and luckily no damage to anything, so put it back together and all good, oil pressure was perfect.
With Street Car Super Nationals only two weeks away I decided that that would be perfect for the first test. I put a few miles on the car and it drove pretty nicely so I booked a dyno session to do some basic mapping. Unfortunately this was cut short due to an over-fuelling problem caused by an intermittent map sensor problem so I would have to go to Vegas with no idea of the tune. I did some basic mapping myself just setting it very safe, low boost, very rich and very little timing. 
I loaded up and with my buddy Steve D along to keep my company on the drive and help out we set off for Vegas. We arrived at the track to be met by part of my weekend
crew / helpers / tea makers Alison and John Hackney who had taken a vacation in Vegas partly to attend this event and who offered to help. We set up and were just
too late for tech - as we pulled up at 5.01 they drove off, so it was an early 7:00 am start next day to get tech done and be ready for the first qualifier. Tech was no problem
next morning and with Joe Elliott (aka Mr Donut), the last member of the group, arriving I did the pre-race checks on the car and waited for our turn. Part of the attraction at
this event is watching the big fields of Pro Mods and we were due to run after them so I got to watch for a while.
On the first pass I was a little nervous with all the new untested things on the car and it showed as I made a basic driver error, the car launched OK and then I shifted from first to fourth. By time I realised what I had done it was too late so I just cruised up and ran a fifteen, worse still I didn't get any data so I was still in dark about tune etc. The only thing I learned was that the clutch was too soft, only 1.60 to sixty feet so made some adjustments ready for the next pass. This time I was real careful about shifting and ran 11.00/118, the sixty was again 1.51 so again I knew the clutch was too soft and a lack of power didn't help. More adjustments to the clutch and fueling and I was ready to go again. On the next pass it ran 10.45/128, the sixty was better at 1.43 and we got some better data. We were now due for the first round of eliminations. 
I was running in Open Comp which is a Pro Tree class with your dial-in is pre-selected based on your best qualifying pass less 0.1 seconds. I was given 10.30 dial in which
I was just going to ignore - I just wanted to run it out and see how it worked. It ran 10.28/131 with 1.41 sixty and even though I lost by breaking out I was happy with the
progress and to have a running, working car at the end of the weekend.
My plans are to try to get over to run the car again in March as I still need some more testing both on road and at track to be sure that it's ready for everything which Drag Week can throw at us! The video at the top of the news item shows the best pass, thanks to John Hackney for keeping the camera on the car and not on the mountains! Accufab did a walk-around video of the car, seems a right hand drive VW gets people's attention. You can check it out by clicking here. APIRA/SCR Presentation reminder. 1st December: If you're looking for the ideal Christmas present for the person in your life then why not treat them to tickets to the Avon Park International Racing Association / Shakespeare County Raceway Trophy Presentation Evening, held in association with the Supercharged Outlaws and the National Association of Supertwins which takes place on Saturday 4th March 2017 at the Hilton Warwick, Stratford Upon Avon, located on Junction 15 of the M40. SCR's Jerry Cookson writes: 
You can find full details about the Trophy Presentation Evening on Eurodragster.com's news item of 28th September. You can also download the Trophy Presentation Evening booking form (PDF format) from the Downloads page of the Shakespeare County Raceway web site at www.shakespearecountyraceway.com. Payment and address details can be found towards the bottom of the form. Please remember that the cut-off point for hotel rooms at the special rate is twenty eight days prior to arrival. Call the Reservations Team on 08008 568000 or visit the web site at www.hilton.com/warwick quoting reference code ASCRA. If you need any further details about the Presentation Evening then please contact Jerry at shakespearecountyraceway@gmail.com. UK Nostalgia FC grows. 
1st December: James Forster writes that the Nostalgia Funny Car class will be back at Santa Pod Raceway in 2017 season and that SPR are looking
forward to welcoming some new cars to the class:
With the cars being built and bought, 2017 could prove to be a very exciting year indeed. The web site has had a small update to include our newest racer waiting in the wings, and confirmation of the 2017 dates for the series. To find out what we've got to look forward to, check out www.nostalgiafunnycar.co.uk. VP's new web site. 1st December: Customers of Eurodragster.com sponsor VP Racing Fuels will enjoy a whole new user experience when they visit its newly-redesigned web site at www.VPRacingFuels.com, according to Chris Wall, Chief Marketing Officer for VP Racing Fuels. 
"Between our seventy-plus blends of race fuel and the new product lines we've launched in the last several years, customers sometimes had
difficulty finding the product information they were looking for", Wall said. "Our new platform is clearly segmented between product lines and
applications so it will be easy for customers to zero in on the most appropriate VP product to meet their needs, whether it's race fuel for their
dirt bike, a small engine fuel for their chain saw or a fuel system cleaner for their street car.
"While the site allows virtually all of VP's products to be purchased on-line, a Dealer Locator feature will help customers find the nearest retail location for each of VP's product categories as well as VP-branded gas stations. The relevant documentation frequently required by racers and engine builders such as fuel specs and SDS forms will be easy to find as well. "As in the past, we'll post breaking news on the site regarding new products, race results and industry news. The site also features numerous videos containing product information, tutorials, company background and action sequences, with many in both English and Spanish. "We encourage our customers to visit our new web site, check out the new features and let us know what they think. The new design is a quantum leap forward, but we'll always be open to improvements." Earlier news |
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