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Race day at the Main Event.
31st May: It's race day at the Main Event - but first we have to complete qualifying. Click here to see the latest.

Eurodragster interviews Randy Anderson.
30th May: Eurodragster caught up with US Alcohol and Fuel Funny Car racer Randy Anderson at the Main Event, where he is acting as a consultant to Leif Andreasson's Top Methanol Funny Car team. Click here to read the interview.

Main Event preview.
28th May: The Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway this weekend is the first round of the FIA and FIM European Championships, an ACU round in Super Street Bike, and round three of the UK National Championships for Sportsman classes.

FIA Top Fuel sees the first race appearance of 1998 FIA Champion Barry Sheavills' new Top Fueller. The new car is lighter and has all of the latest parts. 4.9s and 4.8s should be achieved with ease this season, and in a TV interview Barry predicted that the car should reach 310 mph before the year is out. Gordie Bonin makes his European debut in Barry's 1998 Championship- winning car, which is now carrying the colours of Prolong Super Lubricants. Gordie got straight back into the saddle with a storming half-pass at the Press Day on Wednesday. Funny Car pilot Alan Jackson returns to the seat of Knut Soderquist's Top Fueller. This car also has all the very latest parts, and expert tuning assistance is rumoured to have been engaged from the USA. Alan tested the car out at Avon Park last year and so should have no problem getting straight back into the swing of things.

Bill Sherratt and Gordon Smith resume their Fuel Funny Car duel. Both cars have a lot of new parts on board. Smith is looking to step up in a big way this season, and Sherratt will be resuming his quest to become Europe's answer to John Force with his huge burnouts (although Lex Joon is also a candidate after his eighth-mile burnouts at Avon Park recently).

Defending FIA Top Methanol Dragster champion Peter Beck may find his crown harder to retain this year, since a number of his Main Event competitors have stepped up in performance, including Rob Turner who has already been into the 5.7s at over 240 mph this season, and Dave Wilson in the Redstone and Gleadow "Nemesis Racing" TMD which has already been into the fives and shows huge promise. Jarmo Roivas will want to take up where he left off last year, when he was running 5.7s to order and his Crew Chief was accurately predicting his performance on each run. Doug Bond is due some good luck after problems at both Santa Pod and Avon Park this season. New to UK spectators is Finland's Eero Kilpelainen who wowed the crowds at Alastaro a few weeks ago with a high-speed debut.

1998 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car champion Leif Andreasson aims to celebrate the launch of his official web site with a victory to place on his news page. Micke Kagered may have stolen a march on the competition having tested at Santa Pod in the last week, the car looking and sounding very strong at the Press Day on Wednesday. Lex Joon's confidence will still be on a high from his British Top Alcohol Championship victory at Avon Park, and he has new sponsors to impress. Long-time SPR favourite Leif Helander returns in his Starkotter FC, and Urs Erbacher and Deszoe Krivan make the journey from Switzerland in two of the best-looking FCs you will see anywhere. Denmark's Dan Larsen is entered but we understand that he may not be able to make the trip.

FIA Pro Stock has an eight-car field after Leena Nystrom unfortunately had to cancel. This race will see the first appearance of the new Michael Malmgren/Jacob Ferrer two-car team. Both Malmgren and Ferrer have been testing at Santa Pod in the last week and both have run into the 7.1s. Malmgren ran as fast as 196 mph at the Press Day on Wednesday and so could go home with a new European speed record this weekend. Jari Konola has also been testing at Santa Pod this week, and we understand that Tomi Laine will be crewing with Jari and Suzie this weekend. 1998 FIA champion Niclas Andersson returns after winning the championship in his rookie year, and on the back of successful testing a few weeks ago. The McDonald's team love Santa Pod and will want to take up where they left off on their last visit. Regular visitors Kjetil Hauge and Paul Brander return, and there are first visits to Santa Pod for Crister Andersson and Richard Sundblom.

The eight-car Pro Mod field includes John Ellis' first appearance in the ex- Dave Mingay Vauxhall Calibra. The car has been completely reworked and repainted, and John will be putting in observed runs before taking his place in competition. Al Cook is likely to be the centre of some attention in his '63 Corvette, which drew admiring crowds at Avon Park recently. Al got into the sixes with two 6.99s at the test session last weekend and there is plenty more in reserve. Kendall-sponsored Nick Davies comes to SPR on the back of a very successful weekend at Avon Park in which he went back into the sixes and over two hundred miles per hour on a regular basis. Dave Pollen triumphed over adversity at Avon Park, installing a new flywheel and clutch and returning into competition when many of us would have trailered-up and gone home; he will be back this weekend hoping to tap the good fortune which he is now due. Gordon Appleton's Camaro was looking stronger with every run at the Press Day on Wednesday, and Andy Robinson and Bert Englefield will both be hoping to add to their victories already this season. Peter Wacker makes a welcome return all the way from Germany in his "Roofer's Toy" Chevy.

In the Super and Sportsman classes, Super Gas sees 22 entries including the very welcome return of Alan O'Connor in his Pop "Al's Gasser". Luke Ramage will be hoping to hold onto his UK Championship lead, but Super Gas has some of the closest racing around - expect to see almost all of the entrants qualified in the 9.90s. Pat Talbot leads the 8 Super Pro entries from Nick Stephenson and Wayne Saunders. Jon Webster is already way ahead in the Super Comp championship: the 9 entrants sadly do not include number two man Alex Nicol, who has had to cancel. Tim Adam is only a few points behind Nicol and this weekend may see him make inroads into Webster's lead. Team Top Banana lead the 6-car Super Street field. The 22 cars in Pro ET include joint Championship leaders Steve Wells and the Blue Hamster Racing Mustang, which this weekend is being driven by Sarah Day. 19 cars are entered in Sportsman ET, whose Championship is currently led by Phil Walker from Gareth Mogford.

Six Junior Dragsters will be running this weekend. Paul Lindley-Allen's status as the quickest and fastest JD in Europe could come under threat from the new Modified JD of Phill Cook (son of Pro Mod racer Al), which is reputed to be capable of eight-second passes over the eighth. Katie Giibs makes her first JD visit to Santa Pod after her victory at Avon Park. Jack Hewitt and Ben Jones are joined by a new entrant in a Hauser Race Cars JD, whose name we unfortunately do not have (if you're out there, e-mail us). The Talbot Racing / Manumit Computers trophies for the best JD reactions and runs to index are this time supplemented by trophies from the Santa Pod Racers Club, and vouchers donated by Obsession Motorsports and Santa Pod Raceway.

Rounding out the four wheeled classes this weekend and making a very welcome appearance at one of the European events is Custom Car Street Eliminator. This road legal, performance happy class has ten entries this weekend with everybody looking to stop Steve Pateman and his 9.6 second Vauxhall Calibra. As part of qualifying these cars have to complete a 25 mile road cruise and the sight of these awesome machines leaving the track in convoy for the cruise is one well worth seeing.

On two wheels, this weekend sees the first round of the FIM European Championships for Pro Stock Bike, Competition Bike, and the ground-shaking Top Fuel Super Twins.

The 9-bike Pro Stock field includes 1998 champion Roger Petterson from Sweden, although he faces stiff opposition from the UK's Paul Willis who has dominated the UK season so far, already having run into the 7.6s.

The 14-bike Competition Bike field includes the Top Fuel Bikes of ACU Championship co-ordinator Ian King, Steve Woollatt, and Chris Hampson, all proven or potential six-second runners, Ken Cooper's Pro Mod Bike, and the Comp Bikes proper of Steve French and Chris Hall.

10 Top Fuel Super Twins are entered, and there is a lot at stake in the class this year since the 1999 champion wins an all-expenses-paid trip to Australia to compete in a World Championship against the US and Australian champions. The UK's Ben Beneke is taking on a large European field and is intent on getting that plane ticket.

The Main Event is a round of the ACU Super Street Championship, which is led by Dave Holland. His good friend Karl Larcombe is close behind, and both are among the 17 Super Street bikes entered.

The 21-bike 9.90 Bike field is led by Dave Bailey, who has won both of the National Championship rounds so far.

10.90 Bike sees an entry of 9; the Championship currently has joint leaders in Lee Baxter and Steve Templeman, although it is a mathematical possibility that this siutaion will remain after the race, it's more likely that oen or the other will take over the lead.

Last but not least is Martin Hill in the "Fireforce" Jet Funny Car, who will be rounding off each day with his spectacular flame and smoke show.

Qualifying starts at 9:20 am on Saturday and ends at 8:10 pm; on Sunday qualifying runs from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm; and racing commences at 9:00 on Monday morning with finals expected to commence between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm. For ticket prices click on the Next Event button on Santa Pod's web site.

The usual Eurodragster reports and results service (with pictures) will be available by clicking on the Race Reports button on Santa Pod's web site.

Santa Pod Improvements
28th May: The latest improvement to Santa Pod Raceway has been completed. A new return road, physically shielded from the track, has been constructed and will be used for the first time at the Main Event this weekend.

The previous return road ran directly alongside the left-hand side of the shutdown area, but the decision to move it came after several near-misses, most notably the crashes of Jan Muren and Leena Nystrom's Pro Stock cars and Roger Goring's Jet FC, all of which encroached upon the return road despite the crash barriers. An additional physical barrier already existed in the form of an earth bank which runs alongside the entire length of the old return road, so the new return road has been placed behind this earth bank (see picture). Click on your Browser's Back key to return to this page after viewing..

As from this weekend, tow cars will be sent down the service lane on the left hand side of the track, joining the old return road in the shutdown area. It is hoped that this will have the additional benefit of speeding up racing.

Andreasson Launches.
28th May: 1998 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car Championship winning team Andreasson Motorsports have started their championship defence a day early with the launch of the official Andreasson Motorsports website. The site currently includes details of the racecar, profiles of the team and details of their plans for the 1999 season. Still in development, but coming soon, are News pages, a photo gallery and lots more.

Lex aims for Main Event triumph.
26th May: Inspired by his victory over the dragsters at Avon Park and with a new sponsor on board and a spare engine in the truck, Lex Joon is on his way back to England full of confidence for a good result this weekend. Read all about it on Lex's NEWS page at http://www.eurodragster.com/lexjoonracing/.

Santa Pod web site launches...
26th May: The official web site of Santa Pod Raceway has been launched at http://www.eurodragster.com/santapod. The site currently features press releases, a calendar, Run What You Brung details and a map of SPR's location. A Photo Gallery and other features will follow.

...as Sheavills and Bonin unveil cars.
26th May: Barry Sheavills and Gordie Bonin unveiled their Top Fuel rides for the 1999 season at the Main Event Press Day at Santa Pod Raceway today. A report and pictures of both cars can be found in the Press Releases page at Santa Pod's web site.

Mantorp Park report and pictures.
24th May: A report, results and some truly excellent pictures from the latest round of the Nordic Drag Series at Mantorp Park (Sweden) are now available on the Svensk Dragracing web site at http://www.dragracing.se.

A look at Micke Kågered's new TMFC body.
24th May: Click here for a look at the first outing of the new Camaro body on Micke Kågered's Top Methanol FC, at the test session at Santa Pod on Saturday.

Click on your Browser's Back key to return to this page after viewing.

Report from Sunday's Santa Pod testing.
23rd May: None of the Eurodragster staff were able to make it to Santa Pod for today's Run What You Brung, but we are indebted to Andy Marrs of Santa Pod's timing crew for sending a long and interesting report, from which we are pleased to bring you the following extracts:

"A pretty good turn out with a lot of bikes and a few "new" cars that are obviously being tested with a view to racing in the future.

Jacob Ferrer and Michael Malmgren put in 3 runs each and both ran low 7.1's at around 190. Michael's crew spent a lot of time after each burn out altering the settings on the wheelie bars. Both cars were running high 1.0's at 60 feet.

Micke Kågerad had 2 seemingly nervy runs and aborted a third after the burn out. On the third I was on the start line and Micke seemed unhappy with something on the car, getting his crew to lift the body and check the motor. The way they were looking it appeared that Micke was concerned about the car running on all 8 but I couldn't be sure, I do know he has a lot of new parts on the car including a new blower.

We had three go-karts and 1 of them managed to run a 10.9 at 110! Although considering the ground clearance I estimate them to be staying in stage for around .4 of a second, scary stuff."

Thanks Andy!

Svensk Dragracing reports from Mantorp.
23rd May: The Svensk Dragracing web site is reporting from the latest round of the Nordic Drag Racing Series at Mantorp Park this weekend. Yesterday's qualifying was severely rain-affected, only two classes managing to put in any runs.

Pressrelease från REF Autoshops.
23rd May: Dem var och tävlade uppe i Reynolds Georgia den 19/4 . Banan ligger en bit sydväst om Atlanta uppe i bergen. http://www.dunderklumpenracing.com/autoshop.htm

Report from Saturday's Santa Pod testing.
22nd May: You can find Eurodragster's on-the-spot report from today's closed test at Santa Pod Raceway by clicking here.

TAD and TAFC no more...
22nd May: Fans and participants in the FIA European Championships this year will have to become accustomed to two new classes: Top Methanol Dragster and Top Methanol Funny Car, which are the new names for the two Top Alcohol classes. Cars will be carrying TMD and TMFC numbers. We understand that this has come about because the FIA were uncomfortable with the the word "alcohol" being associated with motor racing.

Eurodragster to report on pre-Main Event test.
21st May: Santa Pod Raceway have kindly invited Eurodragster to report from tomorrow's pre-Main Event test session. This session is closed to the public, but we will do our best to make up for it by bringing you all the action as it happens.

The Run What You Brung on Sunday is, as usual, a public test day at which some racers may also be testing.

Junior Dragster Update.
21st May: A Party at the Park, a Prize Fund for J.D. and New Cars for Phil Cook and Jack Hewitt are the subjects of three news items posted on the Super Series web site today.

Bonin drives Sheavills spare.
19th May: It has been announced today in Motoring News that US driver Gordie Bonin will be driving Barry Sheavill's 1998 championship winning car in the FIA Championship this season. Barry will be debuting an all new car for 1999 at the Main Event at Santa Pod, 29-31 May.

Bonin has gone on record as saying "I have always wanted to drive in Europe and I am grateful for the opportunity". Gordie's challenge for the championship is being supported by American oil company Prolong whose logo can be seen on the Bud King dragster of Kenny Bernstein amougst others on the NHRA circuit.

Turner Racing release 5.78 video.
18th May: Turner Racing have released an amazing video of Rob's 5.78 run at the Thunderball. It can be found in the Gallery on the Turner Racing web site at http://turnerracing.millennium-computer.co.uk.

Shockwave Photo Gallery.
18th May: The Photo Gallery on the Shockwave Fuel FC web site has been updated with pictures from the Thunderball. Check out the site at http://www.millennium-computer.co.uk/shockwave.

Shockwave's web master is very keen for fans to send their own contributions to the Gallery; contact Stuart at skeli@dragracing.freeserve.co.uk.

Press Release from Svensk Dragracing.
18th May: The latest press release from Svensk Dragracing covers the weekend's race at Alastaro, including news of Tomi Laine's whereabouts this season.

World Series Link.
18th May: Vincent Pels sends us a link for ongoing information about the World Series for Top Fuel Harleys. You'll find the info at http://www.americandragbike.com/wsdbr.html. Vincent and the rest of the Zodiac team aim to be there next year, competing against top teams from the U.S.A., Canada and Australia. Competition for the four qualifying places is likely to be fierce and the F.I.M. Supertwin Top Fuel championship looks set to be even more exciting than ever.

Jade Overhauled.
18th May: Jerry and Sharron Collier have given their JADE Racing web site a complete overhaul. For details of the World Record two-stroke and Jade's bike building and tuning services get down to www.jaderacing.freeserve.co.uk/.

Nordic Drag Series results.
17th May: The results of the first round of the Nordic Drag Racing Series, at Alastaro in Finland, are now available on the Svensk Dragracing web site at http://www.dragracing.se. There is also a short report including details of FIA-class testing.

Svensk reports from Alastaro.
15th May: Our good buddies at Svensk Dragracing are reporting from this weekend's first round of the Nordic Drag Racing Series at Alastaro (Finland). The race is also seeing some testing by FIA-class contestants, Niclas Andersson being a standout in Pro Stock with a 7.09 straight off the trailer. Stay in touch with events at Alastaro http://www.dragracing.se.

More pictures from Super Series 1.
15th May: UK photographic site Tog's Drag Racing Page is now showing pictures from the recent Super Series at Avon Park Raceway. Tog has also posted pictures from the Test and Tune session at Avon Park a couple of weeks before the Super Series, and the Run What You Brung at Santa Pod at the end of March. Check out TDRP at http://www.togsdragracing.com.

Autoshop uppdaterad.
13th May: Har du frgor om motorer
Vill veta senaste nyheter inom racetilbehr med priser s klart
Handla direkt frn USA ,vi har ven andra slitdelar. Senaste skvaller frn USA
Vi har svaren p vr sida.
S var inte rdd stll en frga fr att vi frsker svara p mesta inom motor.
Eller kolla in comp bilen med en 355 SB 7,89 278 km/h utan gas
http://www.dunderklumpenracing.com/autoshop/car.htm

SPR Test Day now open to Sportsmen.
13th May: Santa Pod Racers' Club have informed us that the pre-Main Event Test Day at Santa Pod Raceway on Saturday May 22nd is now open to racers in all Sportsmen classes, in addition to the previous invitation to Pro racers. The price for Sportsmen racers is £100.00 which gives you the run of the race-prepped track between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm. This offer is only open to racers who pre-book with Trakbak Racing on 01234 782828.

Fans please note, the Saturday is a closed test session although Eurodragster plans to bring you on-the-spot reports. There is a Run What You Brung on Sunday 23rd which is of course open to all.

Pro Mod points.
13th May: We are indebted to Dave Warne for supplying us with the latest standings in the British Pro Mod Championship, which you can find on our Points Standings page.

Explosion relocates web site.
13th May: You're probably thinking "That was some explosion". Well, we don't mean it literally. The Dutch Explosion Drag Racing Club has changed URLs to http://www.explosion.nl. You can find a multitude of information and pictures on the site, including pictures from the recent season opener at Lelystad.

Duckman's Biker Page.
13th May: We have our own Sharkman here in the UK so there's no reason why our friends in Holland should not have their own menagerie. Fans of drag racing on two wheels should check out Duckman's web page at http://www.dbbp.com, a great-looking site which has just about everything a bike fan could possibly ask for.

Svensk reports on testing - and snow-out!
12th May: The Svensk Dragracing web site has been updated with a report on the recent FHRA Test Session, which featured some new names in Pro Stock and Top Alcohol, and a report on the first race of the season at Gardermoen - which was snowed out! More details at http://www.dragracing.se.

Super Series 1 reports and pictures.
12th May: A number of web sites are now carrying reports and pictures of the first Super Series round at Avon Park. Sharkman's Top End Tales features a full report and pictures, TonyB's web site has a large number of pictures (he tells us that he was unable to file a report due to other commitments) and UK1320 has a report and pictures. The posting of pictures on Tog's Drag Racing Page has been delayed but Tog has promised them for this weekend.

Goodbye to a dear friend.
10th May: It is with great sadness that we bring you this message from Hans Brings, crew chief for Henri Joosten:

"We have to bring you the sad news that Arno van Oudenaren, crew member for Henri Joosten died on Saturday 8th may 1999.
We deeply regret the decision he took.
Henri Joosten and Hans Brings will, in remembrance of Arno, not attend the Main Event.
If you want to respond you can contact us at hbrings@euronet.nl."

The editor adds:
Arno, who was just 26 years of age, checked Eurodragster daily and was a regular contributor. I'll never forget his review of "I saw Elvis at a thousand feet" and his posting to the Pitside Cafe in which he said he wanted to give Rob Loring a big kiss. Both had me rolling on the floor laughing. But at the same time, he was always ready to respond to pleas for help and information. I was really looking forward to meeting Arno in person at the Main Event, I just know he was my kind of guy. It's a privilege to have known him, even if only via email.

European Database can go imperial.
10th May: Tommy Nilsson writes with news of a great new facility on his European Drag Racing Database: visitors can now specify whether they wish to see speeds in miles per hour or kilometres per hour. As Tommy points out, this is of great help to those of us who don't know whether 500 km/h is fast! Check it out at http://www.eurodrag.com.

King Racing get Active 8-ed.
7th May: King Racing have just announced a support agreement with Active 8 Networks Ltd for the 1999 season, with an option for the following year. Ian King, rider and owner of the King Racing Top Fuel bike said "We are very pleased that one of the Britains leading IT Networking equipment companies have signed as a primary sponsor, and look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership in the future." The bike will compete in future as the Active 8 Networks Puma. Details of the agreement and Active 8 Networks can be found at http://www.a8.co.uk

Top Fuel Tour news and interviews.
6th May: The official web site of the Swedish Top Fuel Tour has been updated with more news and interviews in both Swedish and English. Go to http://www.topfueltour.com and click on the News button; to see the English version click on the News button, click on the UK flag, and then click on More information.

Swiss Mopar Screen Saver.
6th May: A free Screen Saver is now available for download on the Swiss Mopar web site at http://www.mopar.ch. The screen saver comes in several different flavours including a version with sound!

Svensk Dragracing changes URL.
5th May: The official web site of the Swedish Drag Racing Association has changed addresses to http://www.dragracing.se. The old URL will respond for a while longer but updates are not guaranteed on that address, so we recommend that you change your bookmarks as soon as you can.

The Svensk Dragracing site is currently carrying news of a Test and Tune session at Alastaro (Finland), and downloadable entry forms for the Nordic Drag Racing Series.

New German web site.
5th May: German Super Street racer Uwe Kessen has launched a web site. This colourful German-language site contains all the latest news and details about Uwe's Super Street Beetle. Check it out at http://dragster.kaefer.notrix.de/.

Victorious Vrind updates web site.
5th May: Dutch Super Street racer Paul Vrind has updated his web site with details of his win at the Explosion Drag Racing Club's Season Opener at Lelystad in Holland. You can find Paul's web site at http://home.introweb.nl/~vrind/. Congratulations, Paul!

Raceday updates success.
4th May: Our coverage of Round 1 of Super Series 99 in association with Avon Park Raceway and Obsession Motorsport was a great success, with nearly 1500 visits to the Super Series Web Site's Raceday Updates page. A huge 'Thank You' to everyone at Avon Park for their help and co-operation, especially to the technical crew for sorting out the telephone line, to John and Maureen of Junior Drag Racing Nuts for the much-needed refreshments, to Jerry Cookson and John Andrews for supplying a wealth of information and of course to Terry and Tina Gibbs for inviting us. I'd like to add a personal thank you to Eurodragster's tireless reporter/photographer Andy Rogers, who did virtually all the hard work to bring you the updates. (TonyB)

Joon win closes up Top Alcohol points.
4th May: Rob Turner now leads the RAC/MSA British Top Alcohol Championship after the second round at this weekend's Super Series at Avon Park. However Lex Joon's win has closed the points chase right up: the top three drivers are separated by a mere three points. You can find the points standings on the European Top Alcohol Racers' Association web site.

Katie wins, Paul goes fastest.
4th May: Katie Gibbs won the UK's first ever Junior Dragster eliminator at the Super Series, beating Paul Lindley-Allen in the final at Avon Park. Katie rounded off a weekend marked by amazing reaction times by holding off Paul's hard charge in a very close race. Paul, however, cannot be too disappointed as he recorded the fastest ever JD speed in Europe at 67.77 mph, backed up with a 67.26 mph run in the final. Congratulations to Katie and Paul, and also to Ben Jones and Jack Hewitt for their participation in this historic first race.

Race day at Super Series 1.
3rd May: You can keep up with developments at Avon Park on the Super Series web site. Click here for the latest. A report will be posted at the start and end of the day.

Super Series 1 on TV.
2nd May: If you can't get down to Avon Park tomorrow, you stand to miss out on some serious drag racing action but at least you'll be able to see the highlights on World Motorsports, Sky Sports 2 at 9:00pm on 10th May and 3:00pm on 11th May. And don't forget to check out our raceday updates and photos on the Super Series web site and the round-by-round coverage of Top Alcohol on the ETARA web site.

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