Top Fuel Bike was won by Rikard Gustafsson who had a clear performance advantage over the rest of the small field of bikes with consistency. In qualifying Rikard ran 6.14, 6.11 and 6.04 and the other nitro bike, Rene van den Berg (above right) was running consistently in the high sixes. The two Funny Bikes eligible for TFB were Eric Richard on a best of 6.885 and Thomas Pettersson running a best of 7.034 in the final session after missing the first two sessions. In eliminations it was nitro bikes v funny bikes in round 1, with Eric shutting down before the burnout and the nitro bikes continuing to run to form. The final was a great pairing with Rikard running a 6.089/396.75 (top speed, 246.52mph) to Rene's game 6.586/320.91.
Super Twin Bike had a field of eight bikes qualifying with Marcus Christiansen (below left) having a large performance advantage over the rest of the field. Several machines had been rebuilt, Marcus's after a big explosion at Santa Pod in May had performed well in Tierp, Marc Vanden Boer was recommissioning his bike aiming to get back to the low 7s set back in 2019 and Roman Sixta (below right) had rebuilt his bike following a crash in Finland last August running a best qualifier of 7.25 before losing to Marcus in the semi final.
Roman wrote: "Today (Friday 26th August) is exactly one year since I had a crash on the V60 at the Finnish races. At that time I thought that I might not have enough money and energy to repair the V60. But with the support of my wife Ivana Sixtová and the mechanik Jakub Konecny and the support of my friends in drag racing, I managed to repair the V60 and today I am standing here in Hockhenheim on the racing track and I will try to add full throttle again...and this weekend I don't care what my time and speed will be and whether I will be the first or the last...I already feel like a champion, because after a year's break I am back among the friends of drag racing and I can be here and now.
After the race he wrote "It was great to return to drag racing exactly one day after a year and enjoy the racing stress, technical problems, driving and night party with friends.. Testing the V60 was good, and the bike runs straight.. And I discovered that I still have the courage to turn at full throttle. So I'm back, and that was the only plan for this year. I won't do another race this year, but we will soon start preparing for next season.I thank all my friends for their support."
Also in the low 7s was Chris van Nimmen (above left), who posted "Hockenheim was a successful race weekend. Qualified 5th and again learned a lot about the motorcycle and driving experience gained. In the eliminations we had a hard time with mechanical bad luck! A rocker arm broke off and a pushrod came out of the intake valve. As a result, nitro flowed out of the intake. We are at home now to rebuild everything and leave for Denmark on Wednesday Mosten Rock N ́ Race . Thanks to my team, supporters and sponsors for this weekend.
An article in Motorsport Flanders on Chris can be seen at this link (in Dutch).
Marcus qualified #1 with a great 6.295/354.71, and he proceeded to defeat Roman in the semi final and then came up against Samu Keppainen (above right) on the other V60 engined bike in the final. Samu had qualified with a 6.871/290.26 but couldn't match Marcus's performance in the final.
Pro Stock Bike had a sizeable field including three racers from Greece and there was also a touch of controversy in eliminations. There were three different leaders in qualifying with Jerome Rougement from France a new entrant to the class and able to get to grips with the hot and greasy Friday track surface.
Eventual #1 qualifier Bertrand Maurice (below left) with Light Speed Drag Racing had a problem stalling, one which reflects the harsh transmission load on launching. He posted after second qualifier, rerun on Saturday after rain interrupted Friday that he was going to try something different for his third qualifier after two stalled starts. He said "After two days of struggle for Team Light Speed in Q3, Bertrand finally pulled himself off the starting line and hit a 7.234 seconds at 290km/h that put him in pole position. We then tried a few tweaks to improve and get the feel back in Q4, but the bike stalled again.
Light at the end of the tunnel, yet we have taken a few steps back. We know where to work though.
In eliminations however Bertrand suffered another stall in round 1. He admitted "It's a disaster for the team, out of our 6 attempts, only one run was successful during qualifying. We made a lot of mechanical changes, one by one, we went back to simple settings that worked repeatedly in previous years… yet only luck gave us a chance in Q3. Keeping the same in Q4 then in E1, we stalled like all the other times. We will remember that there is no costly breakage, that the engine has monstrous potential that we are unable to exploit, and that the steering is good when everything is working. Thanks to the Greek team from Bousinis for the loan of a mechanical part. Thanks to Roger Lyren - Lyrén Motorsport Pro Stock Motorcycle Team for all his precise advice once again, and the help provided during the weekend."
The controversy in eliminations was a consequence of side-by-side breakage Martin Newbury, riding a loaned bike from Richard Gipp, who with Charalambis Bousinis broke on track. The racers valiantly pushed their bikes along the track to the delight of the crowd, however the rule book states that pushing is not allowed so both were disqualified. That gave #7 qualifier Karl Heinz Weikum who had suffered earlier transmission woes, a bye into the final. The other finalist was Pavlos Sidiropoulos (above right) from the Greek Moto Harris Workshop team who had been running mid sevens, like other team member Dimitris Petridis who had suffered a round one isqualification when his bike hit the final timing block against Karl-Heinz Weikum. Karl-Heinz's bike hit the 7.3s in his gifted bye run and was able to outrun Pavlos' 7.68 in the final round for his second FIM title.
Super Street Bike had three British riders, Steve Wood (below left) in his final NitrOlympX looking to run his first seven, Steve Mead and Jake Mechaell who was on paper the quickest of the three. Qualifying threw a curved ball to the riders with the heat causing wheelspin, in session 1 only Mathias Bohlin managed to go quicker than 7.50. The second session later on Friday saw another two riders, Jake Mechaell (below right) and Mogens Lund into the low 7s, but others including European record holder Daniel Lencses, struggled to find grip. In the final session, Jake and Mathias managed a six second run.
Round 1 of eliminations saw Daniel finally reach his performance potential with a fantastic 6.796/353.09 defeat of Mogens, although in round 2 he spun the tyre against Mathias allowing him through. Jake had two fairly straightforward wins against Ricardo Grauer and Clemens Walleit, so could he get the winner's trophy for Britain? Sadly not as Jake's tyre spun in the final against Mathias.
Jake wrote: "Hockenheim Nitrolympx 2022, such an amazing experience! Firstly thank you to everyone for the messages and support throughout the meeting.
Sorry I couldn’t quite bring home the win but taking #1 qualifier and the runner up trophy will do nicely for my first experience of the Rico Anthes 1/4 mile. A track like no other which really tests tuning and riding abilities. During Saturday qualifying and Sunday eliminations we ran after Pro Modified but unfortunately the final round of eliminations caught me out as we were moved to the front of the running order last minute which I’d not tuned for. Lesson learned and I’ll be prepared for the unexpected next time.
"Hockenheim will 100% be on my race schedule for next year to try again and if any other racers are contemplating racing there you should definitely go. The travelling, atmosphere and racing has been absolutely spot on so don’t hesitate, European drag racing needs us all.
"As always thank you to my sponsors and supporters for everything they’ve done for me. JKE Race Works, EPSmotorsport, Racinglines, Antigravity Batteries, Robinsons Foundry, MTC Engineering, Schnitz Racing, Putoline Racing Oil, Kent Cams, Furlong Tyres, VP racing fuel, Owen Developments, WCS Ltd, APM Components, HEL Performance, Ramair Filters."
Britain's only winners trophy at the event was Hollie King's in Junior Drag Bike. Six bikes qualified and Meg Talbot Hollie was #2 at the end of qualifying with Hollie at #5, running +0.062 and +0.134 respectively on their dial-ins. In eliminations both Brits met in round 1 when Meg broke out but Hollie managed to stay the right side of her dial and break out by the least against Wichard Veldmann in round 2. The final was Hollie against Geeuwke Siersema who broke out with a worse reaction time, giving Hollie her second win in FIM competition and the Brits something to cheer.
For another perspective on the FIM classes, read Ivan Samson and Rose Hughes' reportson www.dragbike.com at this link and we hope Ivan and Rose will be able to attend the Euro Finals after recovery from illness.
Marrs' two ton stats. 31st August:
Thanks to honorary Eurodragster.com member and keeper of the tables of European and UK Bests for letting us know a couple of statitical nuggets revolving around the double ton:
Jimmy Ålund is 2 rounds away from 200 round wins
Tony Bryntesson is the 200th FIA driver to win a round (R1 at Tierp)
Swift snippets. 31st August:
Happy Birthday for today to Comp Bike racer John McLean Snr, Pro ET racer Dave Rudd and Funny Car crew member Shaun Ward. We hope you all have a fantastic day.
Our good friend Remco Scheelings has published two reports on NitrOlympX on the Dutch website autosport.nl website covering FIA car classes and behind the scenes pictures.
Stock eliminator racer Dan Williams with brother Nic and Lorne Denny crewing, qualified #59 out of 116, -0.753 on his 10.95 index in his A/S Nova 427ci at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, North Central Division, Battle at the Beech at Bowling Green, Kentucky last Saturday. In round 1, Matt Antrobius strapped a 0.007 RT on Dan's 0.049, Matt winning on a +0.15 over dial. We wait to hear the full story and in the meantime wish Dan, Elaine and the team every success and stay safe at the U.S. Nationals over the next six days.
Bill Schultz. 30th August:
We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of legendary nitro tuner Bill Schultz from California.
Bill was in the Navy as a youngster, where he learned his engineering skills. He had a '39 Chevy which he drag raced at local tracks in Southern California including Irwindale or San Gabriel. He built the original dyno for Howards Cams with Donnie Johansen based on WW2 aero engines adapted to suit auto based engines. Bill got into serious racing by meeting people like Donnie and Jerry Estep, with the latter he ran the Schultz & Jones Top Gas car which won Top Gas at Indy in 1968 and 1970.
Bill moved in the late 1960s from working on gas engines to nitro and his first major nitro success in 1971 was at the 1971 World Finals with Jerry Glenn who was the last driver to win a championship in a front engine dragster in NHRA competition, the car having the engine placed much further forward in the chassis to bring extra stability, a design created by Bill in the final couple of years of slingshots competing in the class.
At the end of 1971, Bill quit racing and established an automotive machine shop which supplied many racers over a period of years. A meeting with Chris Dunn the key to getting back into racing as Bill joined Sonny Diaz, Gary Read and Jim Polopolus to build and run the Over The Hill Gang Top Fuel car which in 1979 it won four National events, including the Silver Anniversary U.S. Nationals, with Kelly Brown at the wheel, and winning the NHRA TF Championship.
The Over The Hill Gang went on to compete in Funny Car locally in the western US with Dale Pulde and Mark Oswald as drivers with In-N-Out Burgers as sponsors. Bill also tuned for many leading competitors in the NHRA including Al Segrini, with whom he won Funny Car at the 1981 Winternationals and came to Europe to race in the 1990s, Richard Tharp, and Rick Ramsey.
In the 1980s, Bill met Knut Soderqvist and supported Knut's and Funny Car and Top Fuel operation in the next two decades, with Harlan Thompson in the Funny Car, also including a busy period tuning the cars of Alan Jackson, Danielle DePorter and Micke Kågered from 1999-2001. Bill's last work in Europe was in 2005 when he tuned Joran Persaker during his one season in FIA TF competition. He was crew chief for Geoff Stilwell with his record run at Bonneville with the rebuilt blown fuel 7707 roadster in 2018. Bill was also a great supporter of the reunions including Nitro Revival and was due to be a 2022 recipient of its Greater San Gabriel Valley Racers Recognition Awards at Irwindale Dragstrip in November.
Bill's engineering expertise was involved in the development of fuel engines, including the Arias hemi and a new DOHC Chevy based engine. He also worked on fuel engine engineering issues for many years.
We send our deepest condolences to close friend Cynthia Silverman, daughter Jessica and son-in-law Jim, also to the many racers and fans who befriended him over the years also to relatives and friends of Bill's life partner Judy who passed last year.
If you have memories of Bill from his time in Europe, please send them to editor@eurodragster.com and we will be delighted to publish them.
NitrOlympX points and racer comments - FIA car classes. 30th August:
We have updated the FIA and FIM-E championship points which you can see via our points standings page, thanks to Remco Scheelings and Job Heezen for forwarding them to us.
Below are racer comments and media links gathered for the FIA car classes:
Congratulations to Susanne Callin who won her first Top Fuel FIA championship event from her first final after she commenced in the class 20 years ago. Almost all the Top Fuel teams had things to cheer about from the event. Antti Horto took over the points lead in the championship and will need to win one round of racing to secure the championship over Ida Zetterström. Dennis Nilsson had a new PB of 4.112/452.81kph in a losing first round effort to Antti. Jndia Erbacher made her first appearance of 2022 and with the tuning assistance of Aaron Brooks and Ron Douglas ran low ET of 3.892 and top speed of 482.05 in qualifying before a 3.941/489.98 bye run in round one. Susanne had her first victory over Ida and won the ever-worsening (due to parts shortage) attrition battle as Antti was unable to make the final.
Top Methanol was won by Jonny Lagg whose team had a consistent setup able to run 5.5s and dip into the 5.4s. The competition was tough though with the repaired funny car of Sandro Bellio qualifying #1 with 5.577/401.81, a great credit to the team after they had rebuilt the car which had a bad top end fire at Tierp 10 days earlier. The increasingly consistent funny car of Linn Fløysvik and dragsters of returnee Silvio Strauch and Tony Bryntesson made up the field. Silvio's team had breakage in qualifying then after he had defeated Linn in round one, a glitch on the tree caused his semi final race to be re-run with Sandro Bellio coming out the victor. In the meantime Tony had shown improved performance running 5.767/405.64 but red lit against a quicker Jonny. The final was a close race between Jonny 5.468/425.33 and Sandro 5.693/412.41.
In Pro Modified, Michel Tooren took his first race win in the class. Qualifying was tight with the top seven quicker than 6.10 and a couple of the quicker cars, Andres Arnover and Jean Dulamon suffering inconsistency. Andres, after tuning the car to the track successfully, had the closest race in round 1 with a 0.0247 win margin over Andy Robinson as #3 qualifier Mats Eriksson wasted low ET of the event 5.879/390.40 in a red light against Marcus Hilt.
Round 2 saw one of the closest races in history when Michel defeated Bruno Bader by a margin of three inches (0.0008 margin of victory). In another pairing, Jan Ericsson and the newly (and temporarily, we believe) liveried Marck Hartefeld had identical low ETs of the round 5.963, Marck losing with a red on the tree. The semi final contained two potentially crucial races for the championship, firstly Michel v David Vegter which Michel came out victor and David discovered that his four link had suffered a crack that could have been disastrous on another full bore run. The other semi final was an anti climax as Jan Ericsson fell victim to a lack of spare parts with a broken supercharger, and Andres was gifted a bye run.
The final, Andres' first, was another close one with Michel off the line first, 0.074 to 0.104 and then running 6.020/387.75 to Andres' 6.023/392.87, a tremendous race and tribute to the racers who had tuned their cars to the track conditions that improved as temperatures fell and more rubber was laid down after the three year hiatus.
Pro Stock felt like a demonstration race, with only three competitors as a result of skyrocketing expenses and lack of spare parts. It was the better funded teams of multi champion Jimmy Ålund, Stefan Ernryd and Michael Malmgren who made the trip. They put on a fantastic display; the tuning skill necessary to run 6.6s with unleaded gas and no power adders is phenomenal. Jimmy had the best performance in qualifying of 6.659/334.04 but at the cost of a damaged engine when a rod broke in the second session. The final was between Jimmy and Stefan, with Stefan giving him a run for his money with times of 6.651/333.68 for Jimmy to Stefan's 6.692/333.01.
Media from the event can be seen at the following links:
JT 'devastated'. 30th August:
Many thanks to site sponsor and John Tebenham for providing an explanation of why the tyres on his Burnout King Pop failed to light up in the Night Show at the NitrOlympX. Video evidence from the live feed appears to have mysteriously disappeared, however we did get a shot of John before the burnout attempt in a mandatory Andy Willsheer photoshoot:
"I pride myself on being one of the world's drag racing showmen. We chose the right lane at the Night Show which was just too hot after the jet and rocket cars. I was on 8,000 rpm trying to burn out in 1st and 2nd gear, come on, you can’t say I don’t know how to do a burnout. Both my legs are bruised where I have been kicking myself.
"Luke says move on and, to be honest, the Pro Mods had a tough time with the track, so we didn’t lose too much with the Lightning McQueen which I can assure is set on kill.
"I am going absolutely all out at the Euro Finals, with the track being incredibly well prepared by the Santa pod track crew. We are even going to try and run a 5.8 at the test day, well I am, Luke is not so sure.
"Come along and support as age 5-6 and 7-8 kids' t-shirts are free. Bring a kid.
"A massive thanks to Jerry and Christian. Come and see us at the Finals. I’m just going to kick myself a load more."
Many thanks to readers for guesses at the background music to JT's appearance in front of 45,000 fans, honourable mentions were Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple, (Burn baby burn) Disco Inferno by The Trammps, The One and Only by Chesney Hawkes, Simply the Best by Tina Turner and ...er... Simple Man by Shinedown. The actual song used, which no-one guessed, was I’m a Hero by Bonnie Tyler, so the prizes of 2 t-shirts, 4 posters and getting to sit in both of JT's cars will be held over until the next opportunity.
Swift snippets. 30th August:
A big day for birthdays today, Happy Birthday to FIA Top Methanol Funny Car racer Linn Fløysvik, FIA Top Methanol Dragster racer Krister Johansson, Outlaw Anglia racer Ian Norman, drag racing artist Paul Whitehouse, FIA Pro Stock racer Christian Sagelv, Pro Modified racer Tero Laukkanen, nitro slingshot racer and race car constructor Johnny Hall, former NSRA official Hannah Thomas and former Super Gas racer Mike Bentley. We hope you all have had a great day.
No Swift Snippets yesterday as we were travelling back from Hockenheim but belated greetings to Wild Bunch racer Bob Morgan, Gasser Circus racer Ray Irish, Box of Frogs crew member Dave Moore, Pro Mod crew member Vince Pinhorn and Swedish drag n' drive star Mikael Borggren.
Dual Fuel Racing update. 30th August:
Thanks to Dual Fuel Racing member and Hulk MX5 Sportsman ET racer Steve Mellors for sending in an account of a partically successful, at least, Green Light Nationals:
"We went to the Greenlights once again with the aim to run PB's in Hulk MX5. In session 3 of qualifying we ran a 15.71, PB number one, followed by a 15.62, PB number two, in qualifying session 4.
"After scratching heads, we decided to dial 15.60 for eliminations round 1 against Andy Dibley, instead the car did what we didn't think possible and took the European stock 1.8 MX5 record with a 15.41 run, causing us to massively break out but there were most certainly still smiles all around when the car returned to the Dual Fuel Racing pits.
"We have parts being shipped from the USA to try and get the car into the 14 second club at the National Finals, but that is not all. Hulk MX5 will be joined in the Finals with the Iron Man A6 which will also be driven by Hulk MX5 driver Steve Mellors who is hoping both cars will be making 14 second runs.
"A massive thank you to the continued support of Able Assist, Printz4u, Justsendit designs, MX5 parts warehouse, Dynamic Roofing Solutions and Restoration 1275 and our new photographer Aaron - without the video data, we would have never got the suspension where it needs to be."
You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored NitrOlympX
reports, results and galleries by clicking
here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link at the top of any Eurodragster.com page.
Please join Simon in thanking Kirstie, who was sole photographer in the absence of Julian, for her hard work over the race weekend.
We look forward to publishing racer comments from social media, and media links from the event tomorrow (Tuesday), racers can also send comments to news@eurodragster.com.
Spy picture response. 26th August:
Many thanks to Ian King of 12 Time FIM European Champions King Racing, who has written in following our Spy Picture posted yesterday:
"It seems the recent spy picture on Eurodragster has generated some interest amongst your readership as I received a number of messages and calls enquiring as to what project I am working on now.
"I was somewhat bemused at the root of these `rumours’ until I saw the spy picture and saw that it was reminiscent of the original King Racing logo I used in the late 90’s - mystery solved :-).
"Although I can confirm that alongside my duties as co-Team Principal on the Top Fuel Bike team for which Neil Midgley is riding I do indeed have some other drag racing related projects I am working on.
"However, the spy picture does not relate to my projects – another `King’ project to be revealed soon I am sure!"
Editors' note: we will now reveal the actual origin of yesterday's spy picture in Tuesday's update.
NitrOlympX coverage. 25th August:
We are travelling to Hockenheim to cover the 35th NitrOlympx from 26th-28th August with our usual live report from Editor Simon with trackside galleries from Kirstie.
Julian, who is still unwell, will be unable to travel to Hockenheim and we wish him a speedy recovery.
A live stream will again be provided; the tried and tested team from afm Armin Freitag Medientechnik will produce a live show, which will also be broadcast on the gigantic large screens next to the track. The broadcast on the internet will include all the on-track action, results and including the "Saturday Night Show". And best of all, the live stream is free of charge and without any registration.
You can receive the full “digital nitro drone” here at www.nitrolympx.de. The planned transmissions will take place on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. until the end of the event.
NSRA Hot Rod Drags Entries Open. 25th August:
Many thanks to Santa Pod Raceway Events Coordinator Dan Melrose for reminding us about entry for the NSRA Hot Rod Drags to be held at SPR from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th September.
"Entries are open for the 34th annual NSRA Hot Rod Drags, the final Nostalgia event on the Santa Pod calendar for this year. Outlaw Anglia, Gasser Circus, Supercharged Outlaws and Wild Bunch will all be running as invitational classes, alongside pre-1973 Run What Ya Brung.
"Race entries close at 5pm Friday, September 8th. We expect this event to be a busy one however, so make sure to get your entries in early. These can be booked through the racers’ portal at racers.santapodtickets.com."
Spy picture. 25th August:
We received this spy pictures with the curious caption "Same as you...".
If you know more, or have a spy picture of your own to send, please contact us at editor@eurodragster.com.
9.50 Bike recruiting. 25th August:
Thanks to Debbie Sawatzki, wife of multiple champion Richard and supporter of 9.50 Bike for telling us more about the class:
This is the twentieth year I’ve been supporting the other half Richard Sawatzki in 9.90/9.50 Bike, we just took one year out when Richard converted the van, but otherwise I’ve stood and froze on the start line or melted in the sun, with fingers crossed and more butterflies than Richard I’ve cheered him on, it’s been amazing and intense, I’ve watched different racers come and go and also move up to do greater things and felt like a proud mum of 9.50 when others have done well.
So many 9.50 racers have used this class as a starting point and with all the heads-up classes using the same pro tree, it does make it the perfect choice. Ex 9.50 Bike racers now in 8.50 include Jay Roe, Stacey Reed, Martin Hallett, Craig Wright, Andy Haley and Brad Head.
And others have gone further into Super Street, Jake Mechaell, Mark and Alex Hope, Alan Morrison Jnr and Mark Dainty, I know there’s plenty more names I could have mentioned.
A few new racers joined 9.50 Bike this year, all are coming into their own and every race is a tough one.
So if you're thinking of drag racing a bike, this is the perfect starting point with a modern road bike; it doesn’t have to have too much modification and too much expense to add to the numbers of this very watchable index class, any of the 9.50 riders would always be happy to pass on their knowledge, they are a proper lovely bunch.
Class picture: Gus Winterman.
Swift snippets. 25th August:
Happy Birthday for today (Thursday) to Monique Koedam, wife of former Top Fuel Bike racer Roel, Wild Bunch racer 'Crazy' Chris Hartnell and Willys Wars racer Mick Payne. We hope you all have a wonderful day.
Good luck and stay safe to Dan Williams of Williams Bros Racing who is competing at the NHRA Division 3 race at Beech Bend Raceway, Bowling Green, Kentucky in Stock Eliminator this weekend starting Thursday. Then Dan and team will be racing at the US Nationals the following weekend, again competing in Stock Eliminator with his stick shift A/S Chevy Nova. You can see results posted at www.dragracecentral.com.
The the Channel 5 programme Million Pound Motorhomes last Sunday featured drag racing footage from sponsor Andy Robinson, the Slick Tricks team, Top Fuel pilot Susanne Callin and Jr Dragster pilots Lara and Jacqueline Bartlett, as well as Santa Pod Raceway owner Keith Bartlett. Also featured was fellow Pro Mod racer and friend of the team John Tebenham from JT Racing. If you’ve not seen it have a look on catch up (from 18 mins in)!
"Q1 on Sunday saw another PB to 60' of 1.061, then wheelspin, hit the rev limiter which killed the ignition, then it came back with such force it threw me back opening the throttle. Luckily I got it shut and avoided the right wall. We're calming it down a bit for the next qualifier to get one in the bank. Q2 was aborted as our CO2 bottle ran out. Another 1.06 to 60' though and we have qualified for today."
In the semi final he turned the tables on Roger Moore who left on Lorcan and ran a new PB of 7.559/175.76 but Lorcan was coming on strong to a 7.0251/191.35. In the final Lorcan and team turned up the wick further with an outstanding 6.5449/213.94 to defeat
Louis Davies' 7.0008/177.14.
Sadly Tony Clark and Dave Peters were unable to return on Sunday, we wish them the best for the final ACU round at the National Finals.
Taylors Trophy Super Street Bike had Steve Venables win both days despite spirited competition from other racers. On Saturday there was a three tenths spread between the top six qualifiers with Ven in fifth, Jake Mechaell topping the list with 7.1425/203.27. Although no-one ran a six on Saturday due to a head wind and track conditions, Steve kept in consistent and it was enough to stay ahead of Dave Smith, with a bye as Jake Mechaell was a no-show in the semi final, and then defeated Alan Morrison Jnr in the final by a margin of 0.1972.
`
On Sunday Jake upped the power and qualified in first place with 6.8923 slightly ahead of Steve's 6.8991 from the first session. In eliminations Steve was hooked on 6.9s; Jake, after being awarded a re-run, found he had a broken windscreen in winning the semi final against Garry Bowe. In the final, Jake left second, had better incrementals all the way to half track and then Ven powered to a 6.9365/208.04 win. Jake said "Well done to Steve on getting the win….always a good race.
"Engine swap tomorrow then off to Hockenheim on Tuesday morning for the next FIM European Superstreet Bike round."
In Suzukiperformancespares.co.uk Comp Bike, Paul Hambidge, with the help of Big CC Racing, ran consistent 7.3s and was a winner on both days. On Saturday Paul qualified #1 with his best of the weekend, 7.3308/190.48; his closest competition was Graham Dance but G suffered breakage after the first round of eliminations; Chris Neary and in the final John McLean Jnr were more than half a second off Paul's pace. It was a similar story on Sunday, with Len Paget suffering problems on his Pro Stock bike, Chris Neary running his best of the weekend in the final, 7.747/185.00, but the margin of victory was still over half a second.
JKE Race Works 8.50 Bike saw a large field of bikes qualify on both days, 23 on Saturday and one less on Sunday, Keith Wright having suffered engine failure in qualifying, a valve snapping "which wrote off barrels, piston and cylinder head" wrote Keith. It was returnee after six years Danny Cockerill, with over 25 years of racing experience in cars and bikes, who dominated eliminations by defeating Joe Elliott, #1 qualifier Michael Piggott, Martin Hallett, the brand new bike of Brad Head and a breaking Jonny Hines in the final. On Sunday with his confidence no doubt sky high Danny qualified #1 and went on to defeat Craig Wright in the first round before running a perfect 8.5002 bye in round 2. Jay Roe brought the Cockerill juggernaut to a halt in round 3 with quicker short numbers giving Jay an unassailable lead. Jay got into the final after Andrew Christophi broke out in round 4, but it was Brad Head's new bike that got the win in a double breakout against Jay.
Brad Head wrote on his new bike debut: "The first test pass was definitely a eye opener. we feared we may be a little far away from where we needed to be but Jake got his head stuck into his laptop and by the third pass we had run an 8.51, absolutely over the moon! Only the bike's third ever pass. From then on the bike never went slower than an 8.65 and we went all the way to the semis on Saturday, losing to Danny Cockerill with an amazing race! Well done Danny for winning the Saturday! I was chuffed to bits with that and would have happily packed the bike away and called it a day there.
"On Sunday, once again the bike was on song qualifying 10th with an 8.55 in an extremely tough 8.50 bike field. What happened next really threw a spanner in the works, as my best mate Billy Everitt had a hard hit at the top end which hit me for six, knowing your bro is in pain and there’s nothing you can do about it is awful, wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I pledged that I was gonna go out there and win it for him!
"So that’s what we did we went out there and won it! I cannot believe it! my first weekend out with a brand new bike it went beyond mine and Jake’s expectations for its first outing. Thank you to Jake Mechaell for building, tuning, supporting, you name it, he’s done it, cannot thank him enough for what he has built me! Thanks to Thomas Cook-Abbott for all his hard work over the weekend, he had to learn so much in short space of time but I think you're pretty good at this bike stuff.
"Thanks to my parents Sam Head and Andy Head for all the support through the whole build it’s been stressful at times but you guys always kept me going to thank you! Just a final note, this one was for you Hayley Hadfield and you Bill, both keep your spirits high! Now all packed up and ready to compete out in Hockenheim where I’d love to bring the UK a trophy home bring it on!"
Atlantic Fluid Tech 9.50 Bike was won by Richard Sawatzki on both days, wife Debbie wrote "Oh my how proud am I right now of the man, two wins in one weekend, but whatever he does, always my champion and on his birthday too." Rick qualified sixth on Saturday but it was a tight field with only two tenths covering all eighth qualifiers. Phil Harrison, Carl Thomas and Brett Cordelle were Rick's victims on Saturday whereas on Sunday Rick qualified #1 and defeated Andy Head, Phil Harrison, and again Brett Cordelle in the final.
Blood Cancer UK ET Bike was won by Scott Collier on Saturday and Michael Gooding on Sunday. In qualifying it was three ex Junior Drag Bike racers at the top of the list, Blade King, Scott and Liam Holgate. Alfie Udall who had raced Junior Drag Bike back in 2015 and was making his return after a break of over four years, also joined the fray with his Harley 1450cc. Scott defeated James Ritchie, Patrick De Lange from the Netherlands, Gary Hester (win margin 0.0035s or 8.2 inches) and after a bye in the semis, came up against Liam Holgate for another close race. On Sunday Michael Gooding qualified #16 and then saw off Patrick De Lange, Justin Malton, Dave Grundy and, after a bye in the semi final, Phil Pratt who had been getting back to form. Phil pulled a 0.0073 red light and the win was Michael's.
Eurodragster.com Junior Drag Bike was summed up by the class Facebook page: "What a weekend, Greenlight Nationals double header weekend.
Saturday saw quite a strong headwind and all juniors rode amazing with it.
"We had Meg as no.1 qualifier and Hollie no.2.
We welcomed Richard back to the juniors after some time away and he came back with a bang getting into his first final against Hollie. A very close race with Hollie taking the win.
"Sunday, the wind died down and we saw some fab racing with a few breakouts. Hollie took the no.1 qualifier spot and Meg the no.2. We had a all girl final with Leah against Meg with Meg taking the win. Every single junior this weekend raced amazingly and should be really proud of themselves. Well done to everyone. Thank you as always to the sponsors (you're welcome - editor)."
Travelling back in time to the NitrOlympX. 24th August:
Thanks to Wild Bunch sponsor and six second nitro slingshot racer Bob Hawkins who has let us know he will be at the NitrOlympx at Hockenheim this coming weekend:
“Our nitro burning slingshot ‘Time Traveller II’ is heading out to Germany and this weekend’s NitrOlympx.
We will once again be performing a flame burnout in Saturday’s famous ‘Night Show’, just like the Nitro FEDS and Fuel Altereds of old back in the day, before flame burnouts were completely banned across the USA.
"Please come, watch and cheer us on!
If you're passing our pit do please pop in and say hi, we’d love to see you”.
Billy recovering from accident. 23rd August:
The whole of the UK drag racing community's thoughts will be with Billy Everitt who suffered a bad top end accident at the Greenlight Nationals on Sunday in his dragster (pictured) which was racing Will Clark's Junior Comp machine in the Big Bracket. After a 7.87/147 win, Billy's car rolled at the finish line, narrowly avoiding Will who was slowing in the left lane, and contacted the left hand wall hard. Billy got out of the car and the medical staff at Santa Pod decided to transfer him by ambulance to the local hospital for further tests.
Billy told us "Got out of hospital late Sunday night, I had dislocated my shoulder and fractured my elbow, but it was mainly just bruising everywhere else. Had some CT scans and X-rays as a precaution.
"I'm just glad Will is all ok and that I've walked away from the accident."
Our best wishes to Billy for a speedy recovery from his injuries and a thumbs up to the general safety standards that helped prevent a much worse outcome.
STP Greenlight Nationals racer comments - car classes. 23rd August:
We present below racer comments from social media together with snippets from the pits following the weekend's STP Greenlight Nationals:
The Big Bracket was won by former four time back to back Super Comp and Super Gas champion Stuart Doignie who is fast becoming a force in his Chevy Nova. Stu strapped a 0.0141 package on Marc Huxley in round 1, a 0.0301 on Marc's brother and multiple Pro ET champion Lee Huxley in round 2, and a 0.1025 on multiple champion Scott Hauser in the semi final. John Bean's engine refused to start in the final but Stu's performance in the earlier rounds marks him to be something of a champion of champions.
It was a gathering of the Huxley clan with Brian, Lee, Marc and Darren all competing in the race. In the car classes, we can't remember four members of the same family racing at the same event, can anyone suggest any other large family participation at the same event in car classes? (Photo: Diana).
Commiserations to Phil Toppin who suffered a broken camshaft, and hope he can source a replacement in time for the Euro Finals.
The winner of the inaugural running of 7.60 Heads Up, organised by Eurodragster.com sponsors Jeff Bull Racing Engines, was David Smith in his Jaguar XKR, winning £'1,000 courtesy of sponsors BLP Racing Products, Doug Herbert Performance Parts and Transmission Specialties Inc. It was his first event win against a field from Competition Eliminator, Street Eliminator and Super Pro ET. David qualified #1 of 11 with a 7.6917 and got the win with three consecutive 7.6s passes over Paul Marston's PT Bruiser (which had lain dormant for seven years and improved on its PB by a tenth thanks to Paul and his team), Mark Turner's Toyota Supra and Ian Brown's Camaro, the latter two being former Pro Modified cars from the 1990s.
Kev Jenkins and the Fraudster team incorporating Mk1 Kieran had high hopes but a number of unexpected handling issues prevented them getting further than round 2. They posted "The first qualifying run of the weekend, moved around the lane and just went towards the centre line at 1000ft so lifted to an 8.47 at 126 mph. Still skating about in Q2 but stayed with it, a few pedals and went through with a 7.82 at 161 mph, good enough to put us in 3rd in the qualifying ladder being 0.22 off the 7.60 class index. Q3 and still on the hunt for traction, 1.13 60ft with a fair bit of shake, drove through it but then very loose around the 1000ft mark, rolled through to an 8.60 at 113 mph. We made another pass for Q4 but the car went towards the wall so backed out of it.
"In eliminations through to Round 2 with an 8.72 at 138mph. Still suffering with the car moving all over the track, a fair few pedals on that run! The other Kev (Perkins) had huge tyre shake and almost crossed lanes but thankfully kept it all together. E2 was the end of our weekend, big bog on the launch car stepped out again around 1000ft suspected oil on the track but is what it is, thankfully it didn’t end up in the wall. Well done to the M&M Racing Supra for taking the win. Back in a few weeks time for Euro Finals and back to Comp Eliminator where it looks to be a really good weekend and we can turn it back up.
In Sportsman ET, class sponsor Andy Dibley in his 50 Shades of Green Camaro showed why he won previous championships and went through five rounds of eliminations to get the trophy. In round one he took out Steve Mellors whose Hulk MX5 had shown an unexpected desire to break out, he then defeated Brian Huxley with a 0.0094 RT, then the Creswells as Jamie broke out against Andy in round 3 and Chris also broke out in the semi final. In the final Andy had his closest race of the day against Stef Pateman, another second generation racer who had won the Perfect ET money in qualifying.
Andy posted: "Put Kirstie in the car on Friday for testing, ended the day with her fully up to speed with the car, cutting .00 lights and running 11.91!
Qualifying for me, let’s not talk about it! Race day I got into the swing of things and managed to bag the event win. An absolutely awesome final against Stef who let’s be honest was on it this weekend! Absolutely loving this Green car! Thanks as always to Nici Fulton and Hellfire Racing (Tom Atkinson) and of course the marshals at Santa Pod Raceway, See you all at the Euros back in the Super Gas car.
In Nostalgia Super Stock, Ash Rawson got his first win in the class over Stuart 'Kiwi' Thompson in the final. Out of 12 qualifiers, Ash was eleventh however as usual the field was tight. In eliminations Ash defeated a breaking out Mick Sharpe, #2 qualifier Gary Carr, Simon Rickwood and in the final the win margin for Ash was 0.0782s.
By only appearing in one qualifying session of Outlaw Anglia and 7.60 qualifying, Jedd Guy had a relatively low profile on Saturday. By the end of Sunday he had returned to six second form. A relatively conservative 7.4091 saw Jedd qualify at the head of Outlaw Anglia, then a first round bye after Doug McClure had suffered a broken rose joint and no replacement at hand and a competition bye in the semi final saw Jedd with his first OA race of the day against Rob Stone. Jedd pulled out all the stops and ran a great 6.9737/193.77 to show everyone his performance potential.
The dial in contest in Wild Bunch saw the first win for a talented racer with a new car for Wild Bunch, Allan Schofield of Scud Drag Racing. Still dialling in the Rough Diamond 23T altered, Allan qualified in sixth of seven, then in eliminations saw off Steven Field, Phil James and Pete Brown with a best of 8.3898/155.24 in a double breakout final round. Former car owner Dave Gibbons posted "Well, Allan Schofield driving my old car only just went and won the Wild Bunch final at the Greenlight Nationals! With an 8.38 at 155 to boot!
Well done fella!"
Low ET for the Wild Bunch was Bob Hawkins' 6.6853/190.60 in his nitro slingshot in round 1 of eliminations, however Bob broke out from his 6.70 dial so that was the end of his day.
In VW Pro James Hodson lying third in the points, but 1140 points adrift of leader Graham Fairhead (who ran his first ten at the event), made a little headway by winning, but remained 990 points behind champion-elect Graham after the event. James suffered from a lack of power but was able to use quick RTs and moving his dial around to defeat Rob Carter, Phil Blogg, Sam Young and Chris Waterhouse.
Sam Young's performance in the BC4 New Beetle continued to improve with a PB for the Webster Race Engineering built electric car of 8.7551/146.66 on his breakout loss to James in the semi final.
VW Sportsman had the tightest race by distance of the whole event in the final when Rhys Finney (Lupo) and Philip Jones (Audi) had a finish line difference of 0.0053s or 7.08 inches. Phil's runner up solidified his second position in the points championship, with Paul Robinson remaining in the lead.
Outlaw Flat Four had a good entry of seven with the cars of James Wotton 9.561/143.46, Danny Pike 9.7285/137.28 and Nigel Hull 9.7521/134.03 (new PB) leading the pack. In eliminations, Lucas Daglish was unable to make the round 1 call, then Nigel Hull and Bug Jam winner Adam Lowe were missing in the semi final. The match up of James Wotton and Danny Pike in the final went James's way as Danny lost drive off the start line and James ran a great 9.5727/142.12 as his victory lap.
Tomorrow we will present comments from Bike classes. You can send comments to news@eurodragster.com.
Swift snippets. 23rd August:
Kerryanne Frazier wishes a Happy 17th Birthday to Meg Talbot of Rise Racing for today which we echo. Kerryanne says "This last weekend was her penultimate meeting in junior drag bike at Santa Pod after nearly 9 years racing." We wish Meg the happiest of birthdays and hope her future racing career will continue to be illustrious.
Happy Birthday for today to Gasser Circus racer Jason Hollamby, VW Pro racer Carl Goldsmith, former Top Fuel Bike racer Stephen Carey, and Pro Stock Bike racer Elvira Karlsson. Have a wonderful day to all of you.
You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored STP Greenlight Nationals
reports, results and galleries by clicking
here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link at the top of any Eurodragster.com page.
Please join Simon in thanking Diana and Andy Willsheer, who stepped in at short notice for an ailing Julian, for their hard work over the race weekend. We wish Julian a speedy recovery in advance of our travel to Hockenheim on Thursday.
We look forward to publishing racer comments from social media, and media links from the event tomorrow, racers can also send comments to news@eurodragster.com.
Guess who's going to Hockenheim? 22nd August:
Many thanks to Super Pro ET and Pro Modified racer John Tebenham who will be making an appearance at the legendary NitrOlympX night show this coming Saturday with his renamed Pop:
NitrOlympX, we are ready to go and show the rest of the world how to do a mad burnout. The new Burnout King pop is ready. Jerry from Hockenheim called me and asked if my little white Pop is still doing those massive burnouts. Look at Ford Pop Burnout in the rain on Youtube and recently about 18 minutes into the Main Event Saturday morning (click on picture). I even asked the man himself CEO Keith Bartlett if he fancies a go in it, he very respectfully said "It’s your one man show". Please come along, if you have never been to the NitrOlympX, it will blow your mind. Come and cheer all the Brits on.
So me being a shy guy, I have asked if they could play a song for when I do our night show burnout at the NitrOlympX burnout competition. I am the only one who knows what I think the song is, I try to be this kind of man...
So guess the song and singer, and I will give you two shirts, four posters, and you get to sit in both cars at the Euro Finals or can send them to the winner (not the cars). Answers to editor@eurodragster.com.
Swift snippets. 22nd August:
Happy Birthday for today to 8.50 Bike racer Dan De'ath, Willys Wars organiser and racer Pike Murray, former Pro Stock Bike racer Ray Debben who reaches the tender age of 75, Danish Top Fuel racer Stig Neergaard and from Finland, Top Doorslammer racer Laura Saksa. We hope you all have a great day.
Andy has kindly agreed to step in for Julian who is unwell and whom we wish a speedy recovery.
Tech Talk with Conny Metzner on NOX '22. 20th August:
Many thanks to DMV Sports Department Drag Racing co-ordinator Andrea Kloss for publishing Tech Talk with Conny Metzner which relates to the NitrOlympX to be held on 26th-28th August:
German Chief Scrutineer for Drag Racing Conny Metzner (pictured right) is currently preparing for her assignment as Technical Scrutineer at the NitrOlympX in Hockenheim. We asked Conny what’s new this year and what should drivers pay particular attention to:
After numerous races this year, we would like to draw the drivers attention to a few things for their own safety, that we noticed during other events: For example, according to the rule book, the safety pins of the chutes must be removed and the system activated before entering the burnout area. The same applies to the fire extinguishing system.
After a two-year break, it should be mentioned that we now have completely new FIA rules for the sportsman classes, which Germany has adopted and which also include some changes with regard to technical equipment of the vehicle as well as the drivers personal safety and protective equipment. An of course, we hope that all participants have familiarized themselves with the rules and meet all the requirements and provisions.
In order to improve the efficiency of scrutineering we introduced a provision at the NitrOlympX in 2019, that only the driver and one crew member are allowed to remain in the inspection area during scrutineering, which also further reduces waiting time. This year we will keep this rule in place, as this way contacts can also be minimized.
Brand new this year is that drivers in the sportsman classes have to wear their personal protective gear (race suit, helmet, HANS/Hybrid, etc.) during scrutineering.
Why? So that on the one hand the fit of e.g. race suit, helmet, HANS/Hybrid can be checked, but even more importantly to check how a driver fits into his/her vehicle in their full gear, i.e. whether there is enough space between helmet and roll cage and whether the safety harness is mounted in such a way that it offers the driver the greatest possible restraint. The fireproof underwear from the FIA suits as well as shoes must only be presented and do not have to be worn during scrutineering.
In the past, the scrutineers realized that they had to pay even more attention to the drivers personal safety in order to guarantee their safety and, above all, their physical integrity. This is the reason for this check and ofcoarse it will all happen much faster when drivers show up for scrutineering in their full gear, which once again will also shorten everyones waiting time. This check will not necessarily take place every year, but will most likely take place at longer intervals or either for new drivers or due to vehicle changes.
Conny Metzner is happy to answer any questions and wishes all drivers a safe journey to Hockenheim and all the best for the NitrOlympX 2022.
DMV/HARA's Perfect Awards for NitrOlympX. 20th August:
Thanks again to Andrea Kloss who has announced the following Perfect Awards for the NitrOlympX next week:
The Deutscher Motorsport Verband is posting the DMV Perfect ET Award at 100 EUR. The money will be paid to the first racer at the event to run +0.000 on index or dial-in. The Perfect ET Award is available in Pro ET, Super Gas, Super Comp, Super Pro ET, Junior Dragster, ET Bike, Super Comp Bike and Junior Drag Bike, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the weekend.
The Hanau Auto Racing Association HANAU is posting the HARA Perfect Light Award which is set at 100 EUR. The money will be paid to the first racer at the event to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Perfect Light Award is available in all classes except for Junior Dragster and Junior Drag Bike, during both qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event.
The Hanau Auto Racing Association HANAU is posting the HARA Junior Perfect Light Award which is set at 50 EUR. The money will be paid to the first Junior racer at the event to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds. The Junior Perfect Light Award is available in Junior Dragster and Junior Drag Bike, during both qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event.
Decals are not mandatory for the above mentioned Awards.
Some observers, including his late friend Dennis Priddle, were concerned about the scale of the insults between the two of us. In truth, Jeff lived for the exchanges between himself and his many friends. His lungs had been failing him for years, as COPD took hold. Eventually confined to bed, it was this sort of banter which kept him going - along with the non-stop attention from his wife of more than 50 years, Ro’. As he told me on more than one occasion, he did not want anyone feeling sorry for him - and the pictures and comments regularly turning up on his timeline kept him busy dreaming up witty ripostes!
It was a pleasure for Annie and myself to help him get his story out in book form. He may think I have a way with words, but his contribution to the Mister Six book was excellent, and his own life story, ‘You Only Get One Go on the Roundabout’ was an indication of the amusing, and full life he enjoyed.
To Ro’, and all of Jeff’s family and friends, who will all have good memories to look back on; please try and raise a glass to the old goat, and have a chuckle between the tears. We will miss you.
Pictured right: Mr Revell, described by Jeff as "one of my best" in Mr Six - the Story of a Drag Racing Legend by Keith Lee.
EDRS Pro Champions. 19th August:
Congratulations to the winners of the EDRS Pro Championships organised by Speedgroup:
Top Methanol: Daniel Jedborn Pro Modified: Jan Ericsson Pro Stock: Jimmy Ålund Competition Eliminator: Gideon Liljegren Pro Street: Seppo Raussi Stock Super Stock: Rick McCann
Top Fuel Bike: Jan Sturla Hegre Super Twin Motorcycle: Ismo Mäenpää Pro Stock Motorcycle: Frederik Kirkhoff Schack Super Street Bike: Anders Blanck
Points were scored at Tierp (June), Kauhava (July - Pro Street only) Sundsvall (July - cars only), Gardermoen (August) and Tierp (August). You can see the detailed points at www.dragracingeurope.eu.
FHRA round 4 preview. 19th August:
This weekend will be the fourth round of the FHRA Championship which is being held at Motopark Raceway, Pieksämäki. The race will be the penultimate round of the FHRA championship (the final round to be held on 10th-11th September). It will also be a points scoring round in the Summit Racing Equipment EDRS Championship for sportsman car and bike classes (excepting Street, Super Comp, Super Gas and Super Street).
A look at the 111 strong entry list reveals the welcome return of Top Methanol competition with birthday boy Johnny Oksa and Ari Pietilä in their funny cars, with Petteri Liimatainen's TMD competing as well. There will be a field of eight Top Doorslammer entries, all Finnish as the race will only count for the FHRA Championship.
Other well represented classes include Stock/Super Stock (Timo Eronen the runner up at Tierp in his Drag Pak Challenger), Super Pro ET, Super Comp Bike and junior classes. You will be able to follow Round 4 of the FHRA Championship on live stream at livestream.com which includes today's test and tune.
Picture: Johnny Oksa at 2019 Summit Racing Equipment Internationals at Tierp Arena.
European racers' US podcast appearances. 19th August:
In the current week, there have been, or will be, three appearances by or on behalf of European racers on different US video podcasts relating to drag racing:
Next Monday on the Draglist live show, presented by Bill Pratt with John Bockelman, Hayley Hadfield will be presented as JB’s Pick as Racer of the Week. John says "Hayley is the heart and soul of Andy Fadster’s “Twister” racing operation in the Supercharged Outlaws UK group, as well as daughter Purdie Hadfield’s “Twister’s Sister” Junior Dragster, and I’m looking forward to featuring her and this wonderful family on next Monday night's show!" You can hear Hayley’s feature, scheduled to air live in “JB’s Take” around 01:45 UK time early on Tuesday morning on the Drag Racing List Facebook Page.
The latest FIA Top Fuel winner Ida Zetterström was featured in video on Monday Morning Racer's Between The Slicks show, interviewed by Lee Craft, which you can see on Facebook at Monday Morning Racer page (start time: 33:16). In the interview Ida describes her race at Tierp last weekend, and how close European performance is to current NHRA Top Fuel marks.
Expat NHRA Top Fuel racer Lex Joon was featured on the Championship Racing Network last weekend which you can hear on the CRN Live Youtube channel. The sound level is very low, so is best heard through headphones. Lex describes his motivations in his racing career and his life in racing, in the lead up to his appearance at the forthcoming US Nationals from 31st August-5th September.
As always you can contribute to these podcasts by 'liking' or commenting on the relevant Facebook page.
Swift snippets. 19th August:
Happy Birthday for today to Fuel Altered racer Adam Gleadow, Super Twin Bike legend Hans Olav Olstad, Top Methanol Funny Car racer Johnny Oksa and longtime Competition Eliminator racer PerErik Lindgren. Have a great day guys.
Thanks to Kjell Pettersson for letting us know that entry to the next round of the EDRS, the Mid Sweden Nats Finals 2022 to be held at Sundsvall Raceway on 26th-28th August, is still open until today, and class racers are encouraged to get their entries in as soon as possible via this link.
#4 qualifier was Sverre Dahl, the 38 year veteran of the sport being in his third race of the year. After problems on Friday, Sunshine Express had to fix a broken cam sprocket, getting parts overnight parts from Norway to help the team rebuild the bike. Although he ran a 6.2311/367.35 in qualifying Sverre was not satisfied with the performance and improved to 5.9261/381.90 in a round 1 defeat of Jaska Salakari, who had run a best of 6.4204/342.42 in qualifying and whose team were concentrating more on reliability than outright performance, using a new 'hybrid' fuel system, as described by team member Hannes Köntti.
The final was between Sverre and Jan Sturla, after Sverre had one of his closest ever races against Rikard Gustafsson in the semi finals, 6.0217 to 6.0363. Jan Sturla ran a 6.3569 after Rene van den Berg shut off after the burnout, his spare engine coming into use in Saturday's qualifying after his new engine suffered head damage. The final was set and although Jan Sturla and his Uggerud Bros. team tried everything they could, Sverre pulled away, 6.220 to 6.366.
In Super Twin Bike Marcus Christiansen had qualified #1 with 6.3858/350.42 in the final session, not record breaking but a reflection of the track and weather conditions. Per Bengtsson was #2 having run all five qualifiers with a best of 6.5306 in the final session. Ismo Mäenpää was third with a time of 6.5896 (he had set a new PB in Gardermoen of 6.575), however in his round 1 victory over Marko Lantto he had torched pistons and valves and was unable to repair for his semi final matchup with Julia Wagner.
Julia, a third generation drag racer, chipped away at the performance, her debut in the class was in 2019 and she has run in the 7.4-7.5s range in the last two years. This event, she defeated Per Bengtsson in round 1 with a 0.14s holeshot, keeping the engine alive longer to stay ahead of Per who had an exhaust pipe fall off almost unseating him. In the final she was outpowered by Marcus, however the runner up trophy and 2nd place in the Pro Nordic Super Twin Bike championship is a major boost to her career at the age of only 20.
Pro Stock Bike had a field of five, with riders trying to avoid mechanical attrition, ultimately failing. In qualifying Kalle Lyren was on top of the field with a 7.0506/306.30 in the final session, responding to Martin Newbury's 7.1686/301.17. Kalle and Martin maintained the pace in round one of eliminations as others were unable to match their performance (Aswin Le Noble being forced to run a spare engine of 1200cc, and Bertrand Maurice's Light Speed Raxcing bike stalling off the line). In the semis, smoke from Martin's bike and a fall off in performance from Kalle indicated problems and sure enough it was announced that both bikes had broken cranks, meaning that no final could be run.
Super Street Bike was a story of great performance improvements for Mathias Bohlin and consistency for eventual victor Mogens Lund. Daniel Lencses ran a new FIM-E record of 6.6497/360.72 (his 6.596 at Santa Pod in July is an British ACU record) to qualify #1 however went out to tyre spin on the line in E1. Other racers in the class commented the launch was the trickiest part of the run to get traction. One rider however was suited to the conditions, Mathias Bohlin came into the event with a best of 6.908 and took over a tenth off that to go 6.7858 with improvements each day.
In round 1 of eliminations, Mogens defeated Anders Blanck who stage fouled, having run slower than Mogens in qualifying, then in the semi final Kenneth Laget, who had been the beneficiary of Daniel's round 1 problem, was Mogen's next victim. That took Mogens into the final against Mathias who had a bye in round 1 with a no show from Clemens Walleit and defeated Vesa Ruhanen in the semi final. A close race saw Mogens take the hole shot win, 6.956/346.80 (0.0123 RT) to Mathias's 6.881/350.00. Happily we look to see both Mogens and Mathias in action at the European Finals in what will be an exciting season finale in the FIM-E SSB Championship.
You can see Remco Scheeling's Behind the scenes of Tierp Arena piece for Autosport.nl by clicking on this link (in Dutch).
STP Greenlight Nationals preview. 18th August:
The STP Greenlight Nationals being run this weekend at Santa Pod Raceway offers plenty of qualifying and elimination action on both days with a high entry of 233 vehicles ensuring a busy track.
The car classes will be headed by the new 7.60 Heads Up class, similar to Pro Street which thrilled us at Tierp Arena and includes a mixture of doorslammers from Competition Eliminator, Street Eliminator, Super Pro ET and Outlaw Anglia. It will be the first appearance of a couple of cars that have been missing for some time as well, Paul Marston's PT Bruiser, Elaine Hancock's Zany Zephyr and Mark Todd's Freight Train GTO. This will be hard fought with organisers Jeff and Belinda Bull putting up cash prizes of £1000 for the winner and £500 for the runner up.
The Big Bracket including many Pro ET cars and a couple of Super Pro ET dragsters has attracted 19 competitors. The car classes include championship classes, Sportsman ET where a large 29 car field has entered, also SPRC Championship classes Outlaw Anglia (6 cars entered), VW Pro (19 cars), VW Sportsman (25 cars) Outlaw Flat Four (9), Wild Bunch (7) and Nostalgia Super Stock (17). Car classes will have four qualifying rounds on Saturday and eliminations on Sunday.
The ACU and National SPRC Championship Bike classes will be running a double header with two qualifying sessions and eliminations on each of Saturday and Sunday. With points counted separately for each day, the action is bound to be intense. Five Funny Bikes, eight Comp Bikes, ten Super Street Bikes (including two from the Netherlands), 24 8.50 Bikes, nine 9.50 Bikes, 23 ET Bikes and nine Junior Drag Bikes make up the full field of entries. They will be joined by Neil Midgley on the Lucas Oils Cannon Racing Puma machine and Allan Davies on his Top Fuel Bike making test/demo/exhibition passes, whichever term takes your fancy.
All this over two days, and you can see it by buying tickets at this link, adults £26 per day and kids £5. Other attractions included are the Fireforce 5 jet dragster driven by Martin Hill, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and 2Seater Thrill Ride.
Two things to remember: on Sunday, the spectator side banking and catering can only be used by those with tickets to the UK Monster Truck Nationals, meaning that Greenlight Nationals ticket holders will be allowed access only to the pitside grandstands and catering. Also, there will be road closures in place on the main road to Podington via Wymington so visitors will need to come via alternative routes.
Eurodragster.com will be on hand with Editor Simon writing the race report with guest photographer Andy Willsheer and Diana taking pictures.
As always you can read Steve Moxley's preview of the ACU and National senior bike classes on the ACU website
STP Greenlight Nationals Perfect Awards. 18th August:£225 is up for grabs at this weekend's STP Greenlight Nationals courtesy of Eurodragster.com and our sponsors.
This weekend's Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award has been increased to £75 after it went unclaimed at the Mopar Euro Nationals. The money will be paid to the first racer at the event to record a Reaction Time of 0.000 seconds.
The Perfect Light Award is available in all classes during both qualifying and eliminations, but will only be awarded for the first Perfect Light of the event.
The Perfect Light Award is presented in association with Cath and Tig Napier of Modurstang Pro ET team Bad Habit Racing.
Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect Light Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried. Eurodragster.com decals are available
in Signing On or from Eurodragster.com staff.
The Eurodragster.com Perfect ET Award supported by Andy Hadfield and the Twister Race Team has been reset to £50 after it was won by NEM Plant Nostalgia Superstock racer Gary Carr at the Mopar Euronationals. The money will be paid to the first racer at the event to run +0.000 on index or dial-in. The Perfect
ET Award is available in 7.60 Heads Up, the Big Bracket, Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET, VW Pro, VW Sportsman, Wild Bunch, NEM Plant Nostalgia Superstock, JKE Race Works 8.50 Bike, Atlantic Fluid Tech 9.50 Bike, Blood Cancer UK ET Bike and Eurodragster.com Junior Drag Bike.
but will only be awarded for the first Perfect ET of the weekend. The Perfect ET Award is presented in association with Andy 'Fadster' Hadfield of the Twister Race Team.
Decals are not mandatory for the Perfect ET Award but we would appreciate it if Eurodragster.com decals are carried. Eurodragster.com decals are
available in Signing On or from Eurodragster.com staff.
Bob's Photo Finish Award, which is presented in association with Eurodragster.com sponsor Bob Roberts, will award
£50 each to the racers involved in the closest race of eliminations at this weekend's event. At the STP Summer Nationals the Award was won by B Fast R Super Comp racers Leah Kellett and Paul Hudson.
The closest race will be decided upon distance rather than time since, for example, 0.001 seconds at 230 mph is further than 0.002
seconds at 110 mph. For this reason the official timing data will need to be consulted so the winners will be announced here on Eurodragster.com
as soon as possible after the event and the winners will then be contacted for their preferred method of payment. The award will be paid on green light drag races only, and not on bracket races where there is a breakout.
Bob's Photo Finish Award is open to all classes during eliminations only and although Eurodragster.com decals are not mandatory we would
appreciate if it they are carried. Eurodragster.com decals are available in Signing On.
Dakota Raceway Heads Up Cash Day/RWYB/NSA. 18th August:
Thanks to Kieran for supplying us with a gallery of cars and bikes from Dakota Raceway, to Carol Jenkinson for NSA photos and to Jerry Cookson for his NSA race report from last Sunday, all of which you can view via our event coverage page.
Congratulations to the winners of the no prep car competition Kevin Headon (Rear Wheel Drive winner - Pontiac GTO), Paul Leworthy (Rear Wheel Drive runner-up - Pontiac Le Mans), Nick Martin (All Wheel Drive Winner - Mercedes E63 S), Kestas Bendikas (All Wheel Drive runner-up - Audi GT) Dave Coombes (burnout competition winner - Lexus LS).
With no less than 9 bikes making strong horsepower and 11 track records being broken, last Sunday’s George Brown Memorial Sprint held at Smeatharpe’s Dakota Raceway turned out to be a real scorcher, writes NSA commentator Jerry Cookson.
In sweltering conditions a steady entry of National Sprint Association riders braved the 30 degree plus heat to surprisingly outperform most of their previous times established this season at the Devonshire quarter mile. The first to out gun his previous best was Blackdragon Motorcycles Pete Ford (pictured) with the high revving blown 750cc Suzuki combo. Having celebrated a youthful(!) birthday the previous weekend racing a similar bike up Wiscombe Hill Climb, Pete topped the timing charts very early on in the day with a 9.116/148.55 to establish yet another new 750cc Racing class track record reset just 6 weeks previous at Dakota.
Despite a few 60ft split second stutters Andy Boswell’s Cornish based 1200cc B&H Harley drag bike was in full command of the Unlimited Racing class with two 9.3s outings that resulted in a best of 9.314s at 149.70 mph, and yet another track record. In close contention but still competing on an unfamiliar bike was Mark Taylor who this time was taking laps on a 1300cc Busa which was good for a 9.368 at 166.09 mph ticket.
Barry Varndell’s turbo’d Z1170 Kawasaki turned out to be the only contender for Superstreet honours, and wound up third fastest with three consecutive mid nine second passes; the best being a class track busting 9.511s. Fourth quickest from the 1000cc Racing class was Blackjack Racing’s Simon Havercroft, a previous Dakota winner. From his two early session runs Simon’s GSXR1000 ran a 9.618s which eventually stayed in contention for most of the day despite the lightening attempts made by Paul Hayman’s similar big ‘S’ machine. His best was a 9.725s that was good enough for fifth fastest. Sixth fastest from the 1000cc Road Legal category was Steve Everett’s mighty Busa at 9.668s.
Also running the numbers was Andrew Langdon’s screamin’ 750cc Honda VFR resulting in the bike running it’s first ever nine second quarter. Talk about the flying duck theory, this one was dam near in ballistic mode as it flew across the distance in 9.838s.
Also breaking records was the incredible 472 RD Yamaha of Neill Curtis to wipe out Kerry Phillips’ record of 11.465 with a lower than low 11.086. Stuart Buchanan equalled his personal best figures for his 250cc Honda drag bike with a 14.157s while in the Junior category Chloe Hayman over took Jack Taylor’s 19.539s record with a class winning 19.228s.
It all came good later in the day for Scooter wizard Adie Horrocks as his highly tuned and much modified Vespa rewrote its own class record to pull a 12.836s out of the hat over his previous best of 12.901. Vintage class racer John Young lowered his own 500cc Pre ’46 record to 12.973s on one of his two Tri/JAP 500s; 12.999 while in the Classic Non-Japanese 2021 class NSA Champion Jasper Joy ran an effortless 12.404s on his Triumph Trident. In the 400cc Road Legal class Karl Jefferies pushed his multi-coloured Yamaha to a 12.992s to please dad Glenn who is still on the mend after his ‘off’ at the last meet at Dakota. Well done gang and to everyone else who supported or officiated during the day.
The next NSA Sprint is back with a two day August Bank Holiday scorcher (Saturday 27th/Sunday 28th) at Somerset’s Westonzoyland Sprint Strip that’s bound to produce another bumper entry.
Photo courtesy of Carol Jenkinson
You can see video of the event on Kieran's Mk1Kieran Youtube channel by clicking here. The next Drag n' Drift at Dakota will take place on 1st October.
Charity auction at National Finals. 18th August:Andy Thetford of Insanity Racing is holding a charity auction at the National Finals on 24th September, to raise funds on behalf of Hayley Hadfield from Team Twister who has sadly been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer; her chosen charities are the Christie Hospital in Manchester and Pancreatic Cancer UK. We hope to see Hayley and the family there on the evening to see how generous our racing family is, but this may not be possible.
Your auctioneer for the evening will be our very own Colin Theobald, so there will be no escaping with cheap bids!
So far we have had pledges of auction items from companies such as Santa Pod Raceway, Robinson Race Cars, Webster Race Engineering, Serck, Peter Walters Race Design, Williams Bros Racing to name just a few.
The auction will take place at 8pm sharp down by the Fuellers Bar, so, see you there and bring plenty of money.
Runner up was Antti Horto who made his best run of the weekend in the final qualifying session, 3.8829/433.73, having missed qualifying on Friday. During eliminations, Antti had an easy win when Susanne Callin was shut off after the burnout due to an engine issue in round 1, then the final against Ida was a bit of a tyre shake fest. However the race results leaves Antti as second in the points.
Despite going out to Ida in the TF semi final, Tommi Haapanen was on a roll, running three consecutive three second passes. Wife and four time TF champion Anita said "We have had a great weekend working on the car, racing and catching up with friends who we haven’t seen in a long time! We really enjoyed our time racing again!"
Top Methanol was affected by the damage suffered to Eurodragster.com sponsor Sandro Bellio's funny car in the third qualifying session in which he ran a 5.618/402.99 to go #3. Although the team were initially doubtful they would be able to return this season, after further examination the team reported "It looks like most of the safety stuff looked worse than it actually is. The fire bottles need to be refilled and tagged obviously but that is being worked on now. With a little bit of luck and a lot of hours we might be out for Hockenheim. A lot of things will need to fall into place just right to make it happen, but who knows...And, we still have a lot of T-shirts available.
With Sandro out for eliminations, the race narrowed to the three A/Fuel dragsters from Sweden, and Linn Engan Fløysvik and Magnus Larsson's funny cars.
The star in qualifying was Daniel Jedborn who had improved his setup to run a 5.28 on Friday and a 5.320/431.31 in a round 1 of fellow A/Fuel racer Tony Bryntesson. Tony posted: "It was a huge achievement by the whole BMS team to keep the mood up when it was 28-30C Now everything will be checked before we go to Hockenheim for round 3 of the FIA European Championship." Linn also did well in qualifying with a 5.594/413.79 timeslip.
Daniel had a bye in the semi final round but the other race between Jonny and Linn was close and had a touch of controversy as it appeared the 0.22s handicap, although in the timing system, had not been activated in the tree. The result, a win for Jonny by 0.0063 after taking the handicap into account would have been the same even if the handicap had been correctly activated in the tree.
THe final between Daniel and Jonny was a 5.4626/417.63 victory for Daniel as Jonny's team were suffering a rash of dropped cylinders and associated perfomance deficits on several of their runs. Nevertheless a great result for Team A/fuel Sweden and the funny car contingent needing to catch up in the championship.
Pro Modified had several cars struggle for grip although a few did find a setup early, Mats Eriksson, Marck Harteveld and Jere Ranatiemi getting into the fives in the first session. Mats ended as #1 qualifier with a 5.85 however race day was not as kind to him as described in his website blog on www.meracing.com. "Mats saw sparks from the converter bellhousing...and removed the hatch on the bellhousing to see that the ring gear had broken and got loose." The result, a broken flex plate, saw the team go round the pits to try to source a replacement that fitted the starter motor, but no joy even after an external starter motor had been set up as the team couldn't make the call.
The winner, Michael Gullqvist, posted "Things finally got in place for eliminations. On Friday we broke the ring and pinion and later a transmission failure making the car not move from the starting line. After sorting the bad stuff out, we got in with a 5.90 and ended up in 3rd place in the 20 car field. First round a 5.87 and then 5.89 followed by a 5.91 against Ake "Baker" Perssons 6.07. Its really hot here today with 85 F/30 c. Track is holding up pretty well, despite the heat. After a tough weekend we managed to pull it off for the win against Marck Harteveld." Micke has however decided not to compete for the championship this year although his couple of Tierp outings were good publicity for his sponsors.
In Pro StockRobin Norén had a new Jerry Haas built Pontiac GXP in which he was able to get solidly into the 6.6s. Qualifying #4 after five sessions, Robin saw off Christian Sagelv in round 1, then came up against Robin's team Norenracing told us "The new car's a Pontiac GXP with a 2010 body.
The engine builder is Titan Racing Engines, based in North Carolina, where there is alot of great people working, its specially two guys we always talking with. Mike Smith & Steve Johns. We are so thankfull to have them and the whole Titan Team behind us.
"We are very happy with what happened this weekend. We travelled to Tierp with the hopes of get the car down the track, learn what it wants, and qualify for Sundays elimination. If we could win some round it would just be cool. My team worked there butts of all weekend long, and we took the car down the track every round and learned new stuff every time.
"What happened in the eliminations is just a dream that we couldn't have dreamt about. We took the car down the track all day long and I had pretty good reaction times, and that maked us the winner. Sometimes you don't have to have the fastest car, you just take it down the track. Also it was a special win for us, the first FIA Pro Stock Event since 2019, and 2019 We also won the race in August at Tierp Arena."
We have posted the updated FIA points at this link or via News, then Points Standing page in the main menu.
In addition to links to reports yesterday, you can see Remco Scheeling's autosport.nl report highlighting racers from the Netherlands at this link. You can also see photo galleries from the event at the following links:
Outlaw Anglia Green Light Nationals preview. 17th August:
Many thanks to Colin Millar, Outlaw Anglia co-ordinator and Eurodragster.com sponsor for an update albeit sad to say we won't be seeing the Flyin' Fyfer at the Green Light Nationals.
With the penultimate round for outlaw Anglia this weekend at the Green Light Nationals we hope all the guys and girls racing this weekend have a fantastic time and run fast and safe.
Special mention goes out to Wayne Power, Barry Woodford, Rob Stone, Ben Kennedy, Jedd Guy and Douglas McLure who will be battling it out over the weekend event with the championship wide open and I’m absolutely gutted not to be there trying to compete and win the event. Within the last 12 years I have raced in Outlaw Anglia we have missed only two Dragstalgia events in 2016 and 2021 both as a result of a close family wedding and in 2015 when we shipped the car over to the States in 2015 after returning from Hockenheim.
Nitrolympx is a fantastic event and after a 3 year absence it was our aim and everything was in place to go and have a fantastic time as well as contributing to the Saturday Night Show but it wasn’t to be, easy to say but still hard to accept as I’m sure both Aaron Springford and Lynn Purvis will agree, as with a lot of us this year we are waiting patiently on parts.
But with some good luck and hard work we hope to see you all at the last event Hot Rod Drags, fingers crossed but still gutted! See you at the track real soon (really hope so).
Andy Willsheer's Old Warden observations. 17th August:
Thanks to photojournalist Andy Willsheer for sending his account of drag racers he came across at the National Street Rod Association's 50th anniversary Hot Rod Supernationals last weekend, with photos of the occasion:
The vast, parched acreage surrounding The Mansion House in Bedfordshire’s Old Warden Park served as the dusty backdrop to the National Street Rod Association’s 50th anniversary affair for devotees of customs, rods et al at the 31st Hot Rod Supernationals. Members began rolling up as early as the Wednesday in preparation for the prime event in the UK’s show calendar, kicking-off with a drinks’ reception in the main marquee and wrapping up on the Sunday afternoon with a host of awards being presented to owners of an eclectic selection of vehicles judged to be worthy of particular recognition.
The days in between saw all manner of diversions for attendees – too many to list – but suffice to say that the very well organised event had something for everybody in the full itinerary printed in the club’s souvenir programme. I went along on the hot ’n’ humid Saturday and Sunday and was impressed with the fine turnout, as indeed must have been members of the Sabbath paying public strolling around the serried ranks of sheet metal arrayed throughout the show ’n’ shine area.
Of particular note to Eurodragster.com readers had to be a handful of Sportsman quarter haulers on hand, along with a selection of special customs that have also graced the Pod’s site on the border of Northants and Beds. Speaking of which, chief starter, Ian Marshall (above left), was on hand with wife Nikki on the Sunday, getting along after prepping the track in the morning for those desirous of testing their mettle at the one-day Das Auto Show held specifically for German marques. He was at Old Warden bidding (unfortunately unsuccessfully) for the neat repro vintage sign, Come Drag Racing… Santa Pod Raceway, the original being, er, borrowed by someone shortly after the track opened in 1966 and was tucked away for over a half-century, or so the tale goes. But whatever, the pleased as punch gentleman whose final bid at the auction - appropriately conducted by long-time SPR commentator, John Price – of £160 was sufficient to ensure it went home with him. And as the proceeds of all the auction items plus sundry raffles went to benefit the East Anglian Air Ambulance, it had to be money well spent.
I happened upon Shelby Webster and boyfriend Chris Perkins polishing the ’59 Ford 100E (above left) that belonged to Simon ‘Orange Pop’ Barlow many years ago. Although in stock order at the time of procurement, it was shortly thereafter that the daughter of Webster Race Engineering proprietor, Jon, was swiftly convinced of the merits of having the car updated to more modern standards.
Suffice to say, the first-rate end result -- as one might expect of anything associated with WRE – included much work being undertaken by Shelby herself, including a lot of the welding, suspension and sheet metal amendments. All in all, the Zetec-engined street sleeper undeniably makes for a novel rolling advertisement for the well-chronicled Podington-based enterprise.
A quick mention for Barry Treacy (above left), a name forever associated with Wolfrace Wheels and the sport of drag racing, who was present on Sunday to collect a plaque commemorating his induction into the NSRA Hall of Fame. Expat limey Tony Thacker was another inductee and a more comprehensive report of the enjoyable event will appear in the October issue of Custom Car, the final edition with editor Dave Biggadyke (above right) at the helm because he and features editor Mike Pye will no longer occupy these lauded positions following the long-established magazine’s recent disposal by Kelsey Publishing.
Swift snippets. 17th August:
Happy Birthday for today to former Top Fuel Bike rider Rod Pallant who reaches 80 today, former Top Methanol Funny Car racer from Norway Arvid Grødem, Van With No Name team member Joe Williams, Ford Anglia 105e racer Bill Murfin, Drakies Americans proprietor and photographer Martin 'Drakie' Drake, and Shiftin' Ghia VW Sportsman racer Russ Weir. We hope you are all having a great day.
The main gates to the track will open from 8.00am on Friday 19th August.
Friday, 19th August:
10.00-18.00 Signing on office opens
10.00-20.00 Scrutineering for cars and bikes
Saturday, 20th August:
07.00-19:00 Signing on office opens
07.00-19:00 Scrutineering for cars and bikes
09:30 Track open for qualifying/eliminations
Sunday, 21st August:
08.00 Signing on office opens
08.00 Scrutineering opens
09.30 Track open for qualifying/eliminations
The detailed running orders and printable entry list can be seen in our event coverage page.
Ian also says "The closing date for the FIA/FIM-E European Finals has been extended to this Friday 19th August, as we now have a much easier passage for Scandinavian Racers; the decision we have taken to extend the closing date includes all classes running at the European Finals." The latest version of the Euro Finals entry list can be seen at this link.
7.60 Heads Up at Greenlight. 16th August:
Eurodragster.com sponsors Jeff and Belinda Bull have written to say "We would like to thank everyone involved in making the 7.60 Heads Up doorslammer class possible at the STP Greenlight Nationals. It’s great to see a high number of entries in the class for the trial run.
"We are very pleased to announce a £1,000.00 prize for the event winner and £500.00 for runner up courtesy of prize fund sponsorship from the following USA parts suppliers:
BLP Racing Products
Doug Herbert Performance Parts and Transmission Specialties Inc.
All drivers must have a valid Motorsports UK licence and cars must be scrutineered. Any qualifying passes quicker than 7.60 will not count for ladder position and running under 7.60 in eliminations will be a disqualification for that car (in the case of a double break out the closer to 7.60 will take the win).
Weight breaks will not be implemented for this event.
The class prefix is 7HU. 7HU window decals and 7.60 Heads Up decals will be available from Jeff and Belinda in the 7.60 pits from Friday morning.
Mustang Owners' Club Track Day at Santa Pod. 16th August:
Many thanks to Paul Evans aka The Mad Welshman who has supplied a photo gallery from from the Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain (MOCGB) Track Day at Santa Pod on Friday.
Paul says "A scorching day saw a strong selection of Classic & Modern Mustangs, alongside a good contingent of non-Mustangs in the shape of modern muscle, MMA members & a few Outlaw Street/NSS runners, with plenty of track time for all."
You can see Paul's gallery at this link or by going via the Event Coverage page supported by John Woolfe Racing.
Pictured: Sara Unsworth in her and husband Steve's stick shift Vortech-supercharged nine second Mustang, winner of quickest time of day at 9.590/142.93.
RAD Design Lines Launch VW themed colouring book. 16th August:
Thanks to Darren West of Power Race Graphics who writes about his latest colouring book in the RAD Design Lines series:
Just in time to break the school holidays boredom blues - our brand new ‘RAD Design Lines’ colouring book is here - 'Bugs, Buses 'n Campers'
This time we visit the amazing VW scene and try to capture some of the culture, lifestyle and super cool vehicles that for decades have made this colourful scene so hugely popular.
The new book features custom bugs, split and bay window buses, panels and late model campers, I sneaked a couple of drag racing Beetles in too of course! Printed on high quality, heavy weight paper, there are 17 pages of Rad rides and backgrounds to colour up!
All of our RAD Design Lines colouring books ship in rigid envelopes with our latest sticker design thrown in! The books ship internationally too.
'Bugs, Buses, 'n Campers' is here, printed, packed and ready to go! Shop now on the website before they are gone - www.raddesignlines.com. Don't forget to follow the RAD Design Lines journey on our social pages on Instagram and Facebook.
The RAD Design Lines mission continues to excite and inspire the car mad young people to get
creative, and enjoy art and design!
Swift snippets. 16th August:
Happy Birthday for today to Netherlands Super Street Bike racer Margot Schmidt who unbelievably reaches 50 today, Firecracker crew girl and friend of the site Leah Hinchcliffe. Have a lovely day Margot and Leah. Also belated birthday wishes for yesterday to Annie Lee, wife and proofreader extraordinaire for drag racing author Keith Lee, Santa Pod Raceway staff member and jet car fan Donna Finnegan, also Robin Read longtime crewman Bill Mears, we hope you all had a great day. A special 80th Birthday wish to the legendary Linda "Miss Hurst" Vaughn who celebrated in style in California yesterday, we hope you had a fantastic birthday Linda.
Congratulations to Swedish six second Volvo drag and drive racer Mikael Borggren who won the Small Tire competition held at Roadkill Nights at Woodward Ave, Detroit Michigan over the weekend, shortly coming to video in the Roadkill series on Motor Trend TV.
Many thanks to FIM-E official Job Heezen for sending us updated points for the FIM-E drag bike championship after the Summit Racing Equipment Internationals, you can see the latest points via out 2022 points standings page.
We will be procuring racer comments on the Summit Racing Equipment Internationals for tomorrow's update, in the meantime, we recommend readers to go to www.dragracingeurope.eu for race reports and photos from our good friends Remco Scheelings (FIA and FIM-E/EDRS Pro MC classes) and Lena Perés (EDRS sportsman classes), also to www.dragbike.com for race reports and photos from Ivan Sansom & Rose Hughes.
You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Summit Racing Equipment Internationals results
reports, results and galleries by clicking
here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link at the top of any Eurodragster.com page.
Entries on the rise for FIA/FIM Euro Finals. 15th August:
European drag racing shrugs off its two-year Covid torpor with two FIA European Championship races this month – at Tierp, Sweden this weekend and at Hockenheim, Germany, two weeks later. Then the international championship chase thunders to a climax at Santa Pod Raceway’s European Finals from 8th to 11th September.
European Finals entry lists are being assembled pending the Swedish and German races. The headline Top Fuel Dragster entries will be unveiled soon, but in total, no fewer than 14 nitro-burning cars – blown and unblown – are expected to rend the atmosphere over the weekend, not to mention a clutch of nitro bikes. Meanwhile, attention focuses on other FIA classes.
Pro Modifieds are drag racing’s quickest, fastest ‘doorslammers’. After two years out of the saddle, defending 2019 European champion Jan Ericsson made the trip from Sweden to Santa Pod for May’s opening FIA round and promptly smashed the European elapsed-time record, clocking 5.724 seconds at 250.45mph en route to a dominating victory. Ericsson is one of 20 Finals contenders expected to battle for a place in Sunday’s 16-car Pro Mod elimination field – four will be sent packing when qualifying reaches its bruising conclusion on Saturday afternoon.
The Finals combines FIA Pro Modified with the penultimate round of the Motorsport UK British Drag Racing Championship, pitching Ericsson potentially head-to-head with Britain’s multiple Pro Mod champion Andy Robinson. In the May double-header, Robinson was still ‘running-in’ his brand-new Camaro. Since then, the Hampshire racer has won two British races to lead the Motorsport UK title chase. Ericsson and Robinson have separate championship crowns in their sights, but in the all-in melee of Finals eliminations, the ambitions of either might readily be derailed.
Another entrant happy to derail other’s ambitions is Fredrik Fagerström. ‘Fast Freddy’ and his artfully distressed-look Chevrolet C-10 pickup truck are a unique act on the worldwide Pro Mod stage and the single most popular outfit in European drag racing. Renowned for smoking, half-track burnouts, the flamboyant Swedish veteran mixes showmanship with implausible, 5.9sec/240mph performances cranked out of a vehicle with the aerodynamic attributes of a brick. ‘Fast Freddy’ and his hurtling truck expect to find themselves cheered on for Pro Mod glory against entrants from Switzerland, the Netherlands and Norway, together with a fleet of British favourites.
If Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars did not exist, their Top Methanol cousins would be the world’s fastest, loudest racing cars. A field of eight Top Methanol cars is expected to compete at the Finals, with international entries from Belgium, Germany, Norway and Sweden. A former Top Fuel veteran, Tony Bryntesson, returns to the driving seat, stepping down to pilot an A/Fuel (unblown nitro) Dragster while fellow Swede Daniel Jedborn steps up from Competition Eliminator to drive a similar machine. Variety in the mixed Top Methanol class will be provided by the blown methanol Funny Cars of Sandro Bellio (Belgium) and Norwegian newcomer Linn Engan Fløysvik.
More FIA/FIM European Finals news will be announced shortly. The event takes place from Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th September at Santa Pod Raceway, near Wellingborough NN29 7XA. Full event information can be found at santapod.co.uk and a variety of ticket options, starting at £35 per day, is available at santapodtickets.com. Children aged 5-15 are £5 per day.
This procedure will also apply to the port of Dover to enable Scandinavian racers to use the Temporary Admission procedure when travelling direct from Hockenheim to Santa Pod.
Goods returning to Sweden from the UK may also be able to apply for Returned Goods Relief (RGR) under EU rules, to relieve import duties that may otherwise apply on re-entry to Sweden. The relief applies to goods which are returned in an unaltered state within three years. The management of EU import and export procedures is the responsibility of the customs authorities of the Member States, so it is important to confirm details of how to claim this relief with Swedish customs authorities before arrival. Your constituents can find information at this link.
Please refer to these documents as an example of how the paperwork should be completed: 1.For reference and 2.
For editing
Reminder for VP Racing Fuels Tierp seminar. 12th August:
Thanks to Tom Davis, UK & European Business Development Manager of sponsor VP Racing Fuels, for reminding us that there will be a Racing Insider Tech Seminar held by VP in the conference room at Tierp Arena's startline tower on Friday 12th August starting at 20:30-21:00.
The idea of the evening is for racers to take a look behind the scenes with VP Racing Fuels.
The main speaker will be VP Technical Manager Fred Turza who has flown to Sweden specially for the Summit Racing Internationals being held at Tierp Arena on 11th-14th August.
Racers are invited to join us for this exclusive tech seminar, where you'll learn how one man turned a small company into a global racing giant. There will be discussion on current NHRA topics and a Q&A opportunity with Fred Turza.
Fred Turza became the Technical Manager of Research & Development Sales at VP Racing Fuels as a premier engine builder with over 35 years of experience in motorsports. His knowledge and experience have been instrumental in launching multiple race fuel programs within racing sanctioning bodies."
You can read more about Fred Turza in our interview with him which is at this link.
Woollatt's winning ways. 11th August:
Many thanks to photojournalist Andy Willsheer who came across by co-incidence the first competitive machine belonging to a legend of British drag bike racing:
Bumping in to Garston, Hertfordshire Top Fuel Bike maestro Steve Woollatt at Watford & District Classic Vehicle Club’s Croxley Classics event on Sunday was a pleasant surprise, more so when I was informed that he’d ridden to Croxley Green on the very bike that first got him actively involved in the straight-line racing scene.
The motorcycle in question is a 1973 Kawasaki Z1, one of just 39 of the DOHC, air-cooled, four-cylinder machines officially imported from Japan in the year following its introduction. He bought it from private vendor in ’76 and duly went along to the home of British drag racing to give the two-wheeler a blast up the strip at a Run What Ya Brung meeting. I should point out that Steve first went along to Santa Pod as a spectator in the Sixties, the experience instilling a desire to have a go himself, something that subsequently led on to him really making his mark in the sport as a multi-time ACU champion, a position that he currently occupies. Anyhow, carding a best ET of 12.1-seconds wasn’t a bad start, though in the following season he uprated the Z1’s mechanicals and was duly rewarded with a timing ticket showing a best of 11.65s/118mph. In 1978 the bike was sold to his younger brother, who over the course of time put the engine back to stock configuration, using it for donkey’s years as a street bike. It was only relatively recently that Steve reacquired the bike following the passing of his sibling, Gary, thus ensuring it stays in the family.
As a point of note, I’m informed the Phil Bainbridge Racing-developed billet engine cylinder head and block that powers The Dealer was actually based on the Z1 design. Neat stuff, eh…
Our coverage, sponsored by John Woolfe Racing, will consist of a live race report with as much detail as we can include, and end of day photo galleries by Julian which will concentrate largely on trackside action. There will be other photographers posting to Facebook from the event; late this afternoon Svensk Bilsport web site announced a subscription live stream of Friday to Sunday's racing which you can access at this link. The cost is SEK99 (£8) per month; you have to subscribe to the channel but can cancel after a month. Thanks to Sam Shaw for passing this information to us.
If you are in driving distance from the Tierp Arena from 11th-14th August we urge you to attend the event as the collection of ticket revenue from spectators is a crucial element in ensuring that FIA/FIM-E events can continue to be operated at Tierp Arena. To get tickets in advance, go to this link and choose the appropriate option. Day tickets for Saturday and Sunday are SEK595 (£49), four day ticket SEK1295 (£105), with camping an additional SEK800 (£66) per car/caravan without power, or SEK2800 (£228).
You can see the Tierp Arena site layout by clicking here.
Jumping for Hayley. 9th August:
Our thoughts are with Hayley Hadfield as she undergoes surgery for cancer, and her family husband Andy 'Fadster' and daughter Purdie of Team Twister. As part of the UK drag racing community's effort to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK and the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Sarah Howells has announced a sponsored sky dive taking place on Saturday 13th August:
On Saturday 13th August, UK drag racers Mark Coulsell and Sarah Howells will take to the air and skydive from 15,000ft above Grange-over-Sands, all in the name of charity. Sarah tells us “We’ve had this date planned since Marks 50th birthday last November but have chosen to get up there and do some good with it by raising funds for charities close to the heart of Hayley Hadfield.
We wanted to join in the fight with Hayley so have chosen the same charities for which Craig Dixon is producing the T Shirts and stickers to raise funds. These are Pancreatic Cancer UK and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. Hopefully we’ll be wearing our Hayley Tshirts on Saturday for the jump so look out for the pics to prove we did it!”
If you are in a position to make any sort of donation the pair would be eternally grateful and their intention is to request MatchFunding from Sarah's employers DHL which will increase the end total further. Keep sending your love and positivity through the air waves. So many people fighting the fight right now. This one’s for you Hayley – we’re fighting with you.
You can donate to Pancreatic Cancer UK and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust by clicking on this link.
Pepper wins USC shootout. 9th August:
Congratulations to Vauxhall Nova FWD racer Ian Pepper for his win against a tough field in the Sports Compact Shootout at Ultimate Street Car held at Santa Pod Raceway on 5th-7th August.
The competition was held with British and international competitors competing for a place in a 16 car ladder. Petros Taxopoulos in his RTMG Seat Ibiza headed the qualifying standings after a great 8.777/160.76 pass in the last of six qualifying sessions. Craig Evans in his Raggy Conversions Vauxhall Corsa was second with 9.678/155.75, then Terry Newton with his Escort Van with 9.707/151.14, Mart Dainty (Vauxhall Nova) with a new PB 9.784/153.63, Matt Davison (Honda Civic) with 9.891/151.56 and Simon Crowley (VW Golf) 9.926/148.16 rounding out the nine second runners in qualifying.
Ahmed Jamshaid (Honda Civic) had a torrid time in qualifying after new slicks slipped on the wheel rim, then after reverting to his previous set, found no boost from his turbos. Ahmed thanked Simon Crowley and Pro-Race Engineering for helping him with leak test equipment. Then after changing the Vtech valve to a fresh one, the engine ran properly and Ahmed was able to defeat Simon Crowley and Terry Newton, losing to Craig Evans in a holeshot semi final match up, Ahmed running the best ET of eliminations at 9.576.
Ian Pepper defeated Luke White's Civic in round one, then had a bye after Petros Taxopoulos had suffered breakage. In the semi finals Matt Davison didn't get down the track allowing Ian to win with a 10.6 pass, then in the final Craig Evans found he had suffered a lifted cylinder head in his semi final and was unable to make the call.
Although there were breakages, the FWD group of racers put on a great show and we look forward to the next Shootout at the JapShow Finale on 9th October.
Photo by Santa Pod Raceway. See the full range of activities at Ultimate Street Car by going to the SPR Facebook album, or by watching the streamed video of the event at the SPR Youtube channel.
Swift snippets. 9th August:
Happy Birthday for today to Funny Car and Top Fuel legend Gary Page who reaches 65, Pro ET racer Lee Huxley, rocket car racer David Pertué who celebrates his half century, and race car constructor Michael Hamilton. Have a wonderful day to you all.
As we will be travelling to Tierp there will be no news update for tomorrow, 10th August. Join us in our live race report on Thursday.
Speed Week curtailed. 8th August:
We were sorry to hear that after overnight heavy rain on Friday to Saturday 5th-6th August, Bonneville Speedweek 2022 has been officially cancelled by its organisers the Southern Californian Timing Association.
The rain left 1/2” water on the track and pits resulting in events on 6th August being postponed including the drivers' meeting. Then later on 6th August, officials determined that, due to the lack of sun and wind, the water had not evaporated enough for racing. More rain fell on Saturday night, following which a further inspection on Sunday resulted in the difficult decision to cancel the event.
Nitro Revival sponsor Geoff Stilwell said "Sadly we did not even get to fire the motor up at Bonneville. Apparently it was a micro burst that did the damage. When we drove out to the car huge chunks of salt like icebergs were lifting off the bed. One old time racer said it was “cataclysmic” for the salt. When the water levels go down it will be evaluated, but a lot of work will be needed on the surface before the World Finals which is scheduled for 27th-30th September. We are heading back to LA and will have to wait and see but we will be back and our next event is El Mirage on 10th-11th September."
Our sympathies go to Geoff, together with members of his team and other Brits who made the journey to support him. We can only hope conditions will be better for the next event at Bonneville, the World Finals .
Top Fuel: Susanne Callin 5.60/189.4 def. Ida Zetterström 6.33/157.0
Top Methanol: Daniel Jedborn (Förch A-Fuel Dragster) vs Linn Engan Fløysvik (Ford Mustang) (final not run)
Pro Modified: Jan Ericsson (Chevrolet Camaro) 5.860/391.7 def. Stian Rusånes (1941 Willys) (pictured) 6.670/350.5
Competition Eliminator: Gideon Liljegren ( Pontiac Grand Prix) 11.913/147.0 (7.68) def. Per Mikkelsen (1968 Camaro) 7.547/287.9 (8.02) DQ red
Super Pro ET: Bjørn Romøren-hultberg (Chevrolet Delivery) (pictured) 8.946/243.8 def. Mikael Nilsson (Dragster) No show
Pro ET: Kristoffer Nordin (AMC Gremlin) 11.599/182.0 def. Per Eilertsen (Chevy El Camino) 10.268/203.3 DQ red
Pro Street: Michael Maderer (BMW 850 CSI) 7.665/260.4 def. Tommy Abrahamsson (Chevrolet Camaro-67) 7.621/284.9
Small Tire Stock Suspension: Andreas Ruud ('79 Chevrolet Malibu) 9.619/191.5 def. Ernst Langaaker (Plymouth Barracuda) DQ stage foul
Super Comp: Mats Arntzen Wanvik (Suncoast Dragster) 9.013/217.7 def. Elin Aarvik (Victory Dragster) 9.032/212.1
Super Gas: Annica Larsson (Ford Falcon Sprint) 9.984/220.7 def. Bent Arild G. Strøm 10.204/187.9
Junior Dragster: Stine Aune Hasselvold 8.098/117.5 def. Adrian Bårdevik (Chevrolet Camaro Z28) 8.047/129.4 DQ red
Top Fuel Bike: Sverre Dahl 6.639/355.2 def. Jan Sturla Hegre 6.779/257.0
Super Twin Top Fuel Bike: Ismo Mäenpää 6.576/341.4 def. Cato Oddmund Waale (pictured) 9.120/193.9
Pro Stock Bike: Kalle Lyrén (Suzuki) 7.259/284.7 def. Frederik Kirkhoff Schack (Buell) broke on track
Super Street Bike: Kenneth S. Laget (Kawasaki) 7.848/268.7 def. Anders Blanck (Suzuki) 9.284/157.8
Pro Comp Bike: Per Olsen (Suzuki GS 1150) 7.945/290.8 def. Wille Skinnars (Kawasaki ZX14) 8.060/270.2
Super Comp Bike: Peter Svensson (Suzuki Hayabusa) 8.688/220.5 def. Kjell Ågnes (Suzuki Hayabusa) 8.687/247.9
Super Gas Bike: Teodor Norling (Suzuki GSXR) 9.583/217.9 def. Peter Lund (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 9.598/225.3
Classic Dragbike: Jørn Jakobsen (Kawasaki 1000) 10.080/181.4 def. Ivar Ole Lybeck (Kawasaki H2 750) 9.044/225.6 DQ red
ET Street Bike: Bjørnar Engeset (Kawasaki ZX10R) 10.065/226.4 def. Cato Bru (Yamaha) 10.571/220.3
Junior Drag Bike (JBA): Ole Kristoffer Steen Aas (Suzuki Katana) 7.43/145.6 def. Theodor Vik (Suzuki GSX) 6.69/110.9 DQ
The two Top Fuel Dragsters of Susanne Callin and Ida Zetterström made three runs, however tyre spin and shake precluded full passes, nevertheless a great show for the fans. In Top Methanol there was a field of five cars headed in qualifying by the A-Fuel dragsters of Daniel Jedborn with a 5.5128/420.07, then Jonny Lagg with 5.5738/422.04. Linn Engan Fløysvik found a great setup with her Mustang Funny car running a best of 5.5776/324.62. Tony Bryntesson reported fuelling and electrical issues, with only three days to resolve the problems before the Summit Racing Scandinavian Nationals.
The two Pro Modifieds of Jan Ericsson and Stian Rusånes ran match races, with Jan running a pair of 5.8s to Stian's best of 6.2617, the drivers treating the event as a warm up for the Tierp Arena race.
In the bike ranks, there were four qualifiers in Top Fuel Bike, led by Sverre Dahl at 6,3769/366,79, with Jan Sturla Hegre at 6,4583/360,00, Aku Lantto at 6,8785/224,02 with the funny bike of Thomas Pettersson at a troubled 12,7796/38,30. Sverre posted some onboard videos on his Sunshine Express Top Fuel Bike FB page, reporting on his Friday pass that the bike "Started drifting towards the wall just after the hit, slowly tried to straighten but the run was already over." On Saturday the time improved but at the cost of some valve damage on one of the sylinders. "Some decent data, but a full engine teardown and service" was needed. In eliminations, Sverre had a bye in round one when Thomas was a no-show but the final against Jan Sturla was a close race.
Super Twin Top Fuel had a good field of eight bikes and an opportunity for some new riders to get much needed track time in their first STTF racing season. Cato Oddmund Waale (pictured right) was the focus of many because his team, Hawgs Racing (Jan Sturla's team as well) had bought Gerd Jan Laseur's championship winning machine and were making test passes. In addition, Cato Oddmund's crew chief, Hans Olav Olstad who suffered injuries following an engine explosion on track last September, expunged memories of that day by marrying his partner Maggis Margrethe Winther Nilsen on the Gardermoen startline, best wishes to the happy couple. Also making test passes was John Rolfstad, son of Svein Olaf Rolfstad.
Ismo Mäenpää qualified #1 in STTF, 6.6309/342.37 followed by Torsti Kettula at 7.2047/247.34, then Trond Høiberget, Julia Wagner, Marko Lantto, Frank Aaslund then the two rookies. In eliminations, Ismo defeated John Rolfstad in round 1 and Marko Lantto in the semi final. Cato Odmund used his first six second pass 6.908/254.3 to defeat Torsti Kettula in round 1, then had a bye in round 2 when Frank was unable to make the call. In the final, Ismo ran class low ET of the meet to defeat Cato Odmund.
Pro Stock Bike was a three bike field in which past champion and Eurodragster blogger Kalle Lyrén qualified #1 with 7.069/299.6 then after a bye at 7.100/301.1 ran another low 7 as Frederik Kirkhoff Schack broke on track. Super Street Bike was another four bike contest in which #1 qualifier Anders Blanck (7.253/318.0) reached the final only to encounter problems allowing Kenneth Laget's Kawasaki to stay ahead for the win.
There was a lot of excitement in the sportsman ranks and the quickest runs in Super Pro ET all came from French competitors. Patrick Dubois ran a best of 6.8897/327.42 after breaking into the sixes for the first time, with other members of Custom Gang Racing Elodie Dubois, Clément Dubois and Christophe Dubois also running well with PBs and #1 qualifiers. Sébastien Lajoux ran a best of 6.3998/343.18 in qualifying.
You can see Facebook photo albums of the 25th Drag Challenge by Cenneth Schiller at his Facebook page and on the Facebook page of Patrik Jacobsson (to be posted shortly). Check out the FB site of Norsk Motorsport Supporter Team, also Mikael Pflugler also posted photos on his Facebook page. Video of nitro car and bike action from the race was posted on Youtube by Glenn W. Olsen and also the live stream can be re-run from the Gardermoen Raceway Youtube chanel.
Swift snippets. 8th August:
Happy Birthday for today to US doorslammer tuning legend Camp Stanley, expat British Top Fuel racer Aidan Heatley-Smith, Maltest Fueltech guru Reuben Micallef, Sportsman ET racer Jane McCready and new Nostalgia Superstock racer Kyle Kenyon. Have a great day all.
Thanks to Adam Gleadow for letting us know that the Dragstalgia video produced by his team is now up on the Motor Psycho Racing YouTube channel and can be seen at this link.
Swift snippets. 7th August:
Happy Birthday for today to Super Street Bike racer Garry Bowe, Supercharged Outlaws racer Lee Gallimore, Outlaw Anglia racer Ben Kennedy and Junior Dragster mum also Sportsman ET wife Tracy Redshaw. We hope you all have a fantastic day.
Wedding Day love and wishes to Maggis Margrethe Winther Nilsen and Super Twin legend Hans Olav Olstad (pictured) who were married yesterday on the startline at Gardermoen Raceway; we wish you both much future happiness. Thanks to Asko Määttä for informing us and supplying a link.
Thanks to photographer Ashley Dale for sending us a link to his photos from the Straightliners 25th Anniversary Big Go at Melbourne Raceway which you can see on Flickr at this link.
JT's bonus pool. 6th August:
Thanks to sponsor John Tebenham for sending us his plan for motivating his team to produce a personal best ET:
As I am an out and out gambler in life, I have told my 2022 crew Greed, Frank, Ricky, Jim, Luke and Graham when and when we run our first 5.8 second, I will pay them the number. So a 5.85 is £585.00 each.
We had a crew meeting the other day and the general consensus was I’m not well. But I can assure you we are going to try to win the Euro Finals. I can’t wait, I am going to try to do the 5.8 at the test day.
Come along get a ticket... If you think you can drive, rent, borrow or steal a pro mod with 3,000 hp on a test day track, I promise you, you're a brave man or woman. These machines start shaking at 200 mph yeah, yeah, yeah.
Gasser Circus Mopars report. 6th August:
Many thanks to Nick Brooke Langham for sending in a report on the Gasser Circus at the 28th Mopar Euronationals at Santa Pod Raceway last weekend:
The run up to the Mopars weekend saw 17 Gassers entered for the event. But by the time qualifying got underway there were with 2 no shows and one no go, leaving 14 Gasser’s in contention. The no shows were Nogbad the Bad and Roarin Rat, the no go was unfortunately Steve Matthews and his Honky Tonkin 57 Chevy, as it had suffered a transmission failure during Friday’s RWYB adventures.
Steve consoled himself with helping Nick Hewison in his ‘Short Fuse’ Fordson, whilst the rest of Steve’s crew, scattered themselves amongst the other racers assisting where and when they could.
Qualifying was action packed with several Gassers keen to show the workmanship that has gone into their build, and there is no better way especially for spectators, than to leave the line with your wheels in the air, showing off the cars underside. Martyn Hallam in his 33 Willys Coupe was this weekend’s king of the wheelie and the undercarriage show, with some epic wheel stands.
At the end of Round 1, Dragstalgia winner Ray Irish was sitting at number one. He was still in the number one slot after round 2 and in what was fast becoming Groundhog Day, he was still there after Round 3 and you know what is coming next, Ray was still holding tightly onto the position as the 4th round of qualifying closed out, and his 10.09 on a 10.06 was unequalled or bettered.
The racing gods chose late on Saturday night to pay a visit to two drivers, firstly Tony Pearson in his 56 Chevy ‘Guzzler’ and served him up problems with firing his Chevy Big Block. This kept him and his crew of H and Runa over form Norway very busy chasing the ignition issues. The highly experienced trio had the problems solved come Sunday.
Billy Jones in his ‘Grumpy Grizz’ Willys Coupe also received a visit late on Saturday, to be precise his Willys Coupe nearside slick as it slowly deflated after picking up a puncture. With no opportunity to try and effect a repair at Kwik Fit (other tyre fitters are available), a different approach was called for. Thankfully, Billy had a fresh pair of slicks with him, and with Paul Dominey carrying a bead breaker and tyre levers the swap shop was on.
Hindsight as they say is a wonderful thing, and with that in mind, the rest of the Gasser Circus should have pulled up a chair to watch the slick based entertainment unfold. With Billy, Stacey, Paul and a few others all lending a hand to try and get the old slicks off their rims. This did involve baby oil and the sight of people wrestling a slick whilst others tried mainly in vain to hold the alloy rim on the grass. With one slick finally off and a new one squeezed back into place, the battle with the second one could begin. The thought that having done it once would make this one easier was soon banished as it too put a struggle worthy of a pay per view fight. Billy decided enough was enough and put in his letter of no confidence in the team he had assembled, and whipped out a grinder, and cut the slick from the rim, job done. Well not quite, as now the air generators within the circus pit were like a 50 a day smoker trying to blow up an air mattress, useless. A tour around the pits followed and despite some valiant efforts by other racers, the slicks were still not seating on the rims. A call to a professional tyre fitter who attended the main gate early on Sunday morning and Billy was finally good to go.
Eliminations began shortly before 11, and within the ranks the drivers knew the next 15 minutes could and would impact on the championship as we get to the business end of the season. Ray Irish did what he had to do and saw off the challenge of Simon ‘Sharp Shooter’ Glen. Martyn Hallam in a very close race beat Paul Dominey behind the wheel of his Austin Dorset. Billy new slicks Jones, lined up against Tom Margesson in the ‘Tinsel Town Hustler’ Pop, Tom dialling 11.02 to Billy’s 10.66, as the cars left Tom went too early and a cherry on his side of the tree advanced Billy. Jason Pickett in ‘Cherry Bomb’ 55 and Graham Barton in his ‘High Anxiety’ Devon served up a close race that saw a double breakout, with Jason taking the win as he broke out by less.
Nick Hewison had fitted new wheelie bars and throughout the weekend he had need of them, and he used them again when he took on the impressive 55 ‘Not so Mellow Yellow’ of Adam Kruczynski. Nick taking the win with a PB 10.20.
Tony Pearson was next up against Simon Prest in ‘The Rocket’ and Simon took the win on the side by side race with an 11.24 on an 11.20 dial in. The final pairing had Championship leader Sean Milsom ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ Morris van lining up against Brian Gibson and his ‘Identity Crisis’ Dodge. This race would be decided by a breakout with a 10.25 on a 10.27, this befalling Sean, with Brian moving to the next round. This opened up the possibility for Ray Irish to gain on the Championship leader.
Round 2 and good friends Simon Prest and Jason Pickett would line up against each other. Both drivers keen for bragging rights, and this could be seen as the Gassers headed down the strip. At the top end Jason triggered the win lights as Simon broke out by an excruciating 0.0004.
Nick Hewison ‘Short Fuse’ Fordson burnt out alongside Billy Jones in his Willys. Another green light race unfolded and at its conclusion Nick stood tall taking the win with a 10.21 128mph.
Martyn Hallam had his green Willys and the Hemi that powers it on song, as did Brian Gibson in ‘Identity Crisis’. Both drivers hammered down the strip and both drivers broke out Brian by 0.076 and Martyn by 0.044 handing him the victory.
Ray Irish was on a bye and for him there was no breaking the beam and taking it easy, instead he launched on a full blown (literally) pass hitting 10.23 on a 10.21 127 mph.
Semi Finals
Jason Pickett was delighted to have made it through to the semi-final, across from him was Nick Hewison in his recently completed Fordson. With burnouts complete the two cars came to the line, a green light race ensued and both drivers stayed on it all the way down the quartermile, and this was shown when they crossed the finish line as they had both broken out. Nick by the least Jason losing with an 0.227 to Nicks 0.163, with Nick also securing a PB as he stunningly dropped his van into the 9s on a 9.93 133mph.
The final contenders in the semi-final had Dragstalgia winner Ray Irish taking on Martyn Hallam this was the race of the Willys Gassers. Both performed strong burnouts and having dialled in 10.06 and 10.19 they left line almost together, by the time they hit the top end, Ray’s charge towards back to back finals was over, as Martyn took the win with a 0.0563 reaction time to Ray’s 0.2202.
The pits were busy as the Gasser Circus packed up and Gassers were loaded onto trailers and secured, but in Martyn’s pit it remained bereft of him and his 33 Willys, the car having stopped running at the end of his semi-final win. Eventually the 33 was back in the pit as the rush was on to cool the cars, but all was not good.
Finals
The final pair were directed to enter the Fire Up Road at 4:15 and at ten past 4 a disappointed Martyn confirmed it would be a solo affair as he and his crew had discovered two damaged push rods in his Hemi. No driver wants to miss out on a final due to mechanical issues and no driver wants to win due to their opponents problems. But that is racing, with Nick in only his second race weekend as a driver in the Gasser Circus, he was heading down the fire up road to run the final already a winner if he staged and broke the beams.
He pulled round and when directed by Ian Marshall to light up his slicks he did just that and pumping on the throttle performed a rolling burnout, which told us all he was not taking this run easy. As the tree activated he underlined this as he launched hard and stayed on it all the way through to the end giving the crowd , something to finish off their day with posting a 10.06 130mph on a 9.90. The run brought the event to an end and once back in the pits Nick was in a state of disbelief, the long held desire, to build a Gasser and join the Circus had paid off in a way that he was not expecting. It was an astounding end to an outstanding weekend.
All that was left to do was award the winnings and trophy. The £50 wins courtesy of Rocket Racing Team to Best Reaction Time – Sean Milsom, Closest to Dial in, Billy Jones and Number 1 qualifier – Ray Irish. Then it was the big one (literally) the winner’s trophy which will be replaced by the winners pin from Neil Melliard along with £100 from Neil and from the Mopars organisers another £100 that they awarded to the winner Nick Hewison.
Thank you to all the crew at Santa Pod, and our sponsors Melliard’s Modern Pinstriping & Lettering, Rocket Racing Team, the NSRA, Serck Services and Renegade Fuels.
With 5 drivers still in contention for the Championship, and with just one round of racing left, the Hot Rod Drags weekend has all the hallmarks of a nail biter. Going as many Rounds and winning the event is crucial to several driver’s championship hopes, so who will come out as this year’s Gasser Circus Champion? Only one way to find out, come along and enjoy all the action as it happens over the weekend of 16th – 18th September at the Hot Rod Drags.
Swift snippets. 6th August:
Happy Birthday for today to Santa Pod Raceway marshal Caroline 'Oscar' Boncey, Nostalgia Super Stock racer Bob Main, Surrey Muscle mamber Paul Dodd and VW Twin Cab racer extraordinaire Alex Leiserach. Have a great day all.
A live stream on Saturday and Sunday of the Drag Challenge from Gardermoen has been confirmed and can be seen via Gardermoen's Youtube channel. Results can be seen at this link (select Drag Challange 2022).
Dakota Raceway opens on Sunday 14th August to drag and drift competitors and spectators from 09:00 to 16:00. run what you brung or drag race for cash and trophies.
You can pay on the day or you can get a cheeky discount and book online.
Spectators can pay on the day.
On Sunday there will be 1/4 mile run what you brung, 1/8 heads up drag race cash day and drifting.
Entry for 1/4 mile run what you brung 3 runs plus admission is only £40 online, with unlimited 1/4 mile run what you brung runs pre entry, including one admission ticket, for £60, on the day £70. Overnight camping is £5.
The 1/8 mile heads up drag race cash day includes run what you brung driver entry and one admission pre entry £105, on the day £115.
If you get eliminated from the 1/8 mile no time drag race, you then can do timed 1/4 mile test runs at no extra charge; passengers have an additional charge of £40.
All categories will have the 16 car pairings decided from an out-of-the-hat selection until the final two race for the money.
Categories:
Pro AWD: Modified, competition tyres, interior removed. Street AWD: Factory appearance, full interior. Pro Small Tyre Rear Wheel Drive: Modified, competition tyres maximum height 30 inches maximum tread width 11 inches, interior removed. Pro Rear Wheel Drive: Modified, competition tyres, interior removed Street Rear Wheel Drive: Factory appearance, full interior Pro Front Wheel Drive: Modified, competition tyres, interior removed Street Front Wheel Drive: Factory appearance, full interior
You can enter for drifting action via this page on the Straightliners web site.
Dakota Raceway is situated at Smeatharpe Airfield, Devon EX14 9RF. For daily updates check the Dakota Raceway Southwest Facebook page which will include photos and times from the event. Kieran will be attending on Sunday and we will post a gallery of his trackside and pit pictures.
Swift snippets. 5th August:
Happy Birthday for today to Top Fuel Bike crew chief and blogger Phil Baimbridge, Pro Modified racer David Vegter, Mk1 Fiesta racer and Fraudster crew chief Chris Todd and our good friend Libby Mottershead. We hope you all have a wonderful day.
Gardermoen Drag Challenge this weekend. 4th August:Drag Challenge 2022 will be taking place from today to 7th August at Gardermoen Raceway. Organisers Norsk Drag Racing Gardermoen say "NDRG is celebrating 25 years and it will be celebrated with the biggest and best in drag racing". All the usual EDRS classes will be running, and there will be special match races.
Top Fuel racers Ida Zetterström and Susanne Callin will be racing at 12:00 and 17:00 CET (11:00 and 14:00 BST) on Saturday and 12:00 (11:00 BST) on Sunday. Top Methanol dragsters Tony Bryntesson, Daniel Jedborn and Jonny Lagg will be competing, as will TMFCs Linn Engan Fløysvik and Magnus Larsson. The Pro Modifieds of Jan Ericsson and Norwegian Stian Rusånes will be running match races.
The Top Fuel Bike field will comprise Sverre Dahl, Jan Sturla Hegre, Aku Lantto and Thomas Pettersson. In Super Twin Top Fuel a field of nine bikes, five Norwegian, three Finnish and one from Sweden, the hard working Greger Johansson (three consecutive race weekends for Greger). One name not familiar to many is Cato Oddmund Waale who will be racing with the now-retired-from-riding Hans Olav Olstad as crew chief.
Pro Xtreme Top Doorslammer: Anders Edh 3.930/306.9 def. Fredrik Lund 4.041/299.0
Pro Stock: Simon Ekengren 5.362/153.8, unopposed
Pro Comp: Jesper Birberg 5.238/205.1, unopposed
Pro Street: Kristoffer Nordström 7.772/271.8 def. Svend Holst 7.520/295.5, break out
440 Outlaw: Jonas Lahdenranta 4.502/238.7kph def. Johann Pripp no-show
Street 8.6: Jonny Åberg 8.814/245.3 def. Johan Jörbeck 8.641/245.6
Stick Shift: Joel Skoglund 9.350/230.7, unopposed
Modified Street: Leif Näsman 9.867/156.3 def. Alexander Rundqvist 11.353/158.9
Real Street: Torgny Sundelius 10.158/209.1 def. Ulf Axelsson 10.191/197.3
Super Bracket: Tindra Christensen 8.084/260.8 def. Kenneth Strömberg, no-show
Bracket: Anders Lönnermo 10.186/206.7 def. Elin Ragnebro 10.890/192.7
A Gasser: Gabriel Sjögren 9.023/236.1 def. Jim Johansson 9.586/218.1
Vintage Outlaw: Leif Andersson 7.104/294.7 def. Olaf Martens 10.685/203.2
Junior Dragster Pro: Chris Callin 7.903/127.4 def. Jack Andersson 7.992/130.1
Nitro Bike: Per Bengtsson 4.202/293.3 def. Rickard Gustafsson 4.203/293.9
Super Twin Top Gas Bike: Joerg Lymant 7.459/273.9 def. Jan Malmberg 9.755/186.7
In addition to the eliminations above, the two Top Fuel Dragsters of Stig Neergaard and Dennis Nilsson put on match races for the crowd. Stig posted: "Great to be back in the Brittany Force ex championship car after almost 3 years' corona break, and back at Mantorp park after 11 years.
"Mantorp Park moved start line forward 50m and applied new asphalt, as expected it was difficult to get down the track without spinning the tires, however we did the best ET of the weekend 4.324 sec with a 0.8842 sec/60 feet and 3.262/374.80kph to the eigtht. Thanks to Lucas, Olie and Henrik Jensen who have made it possible." Dennis ran a best of 4.4606/326.53 with a 0.9187 60ft and 3.4464/372.29 to the eighth.
Pro Stock had three competitors making test runs before the Summit Racing Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena, but due to the shorter track length were running to the eighth only. Jimmy Ålund ran a best of 4.2978/263.54 in qualifying, Magnus Petersson a best of 4.4229/237.08 in the cars familiar to them. Newcomer to driving in Pro Stock but with over 10 years Samantha Racing team experience Simon Ekengren (pictured above) was driving their Dart GT built in 2019 and now run under the Simon Gustafsson Motorsports/Samantha racing banner, Simon being the previous driver. Test runs in qualifying didn't produce spectacular numbers, however he ran 5.362/153.8 on Sunday and posted two 0.0 RTs, which bode well for his FIA competition debut at Tierp Arena.
Pro Xtreme Top Doorslammer, not on the programme at Tierp Arena, put on a show for the fans with 15 qualified cars. Whilst not a part of the EDRS Championship the cars fought hard, however Anders Edh had the advantage of qualifying #1 in his supercharged '70 Camaro (at a 3.8947/311.69 low ET of the meet) and took that to the race win, with a bye in round 1, defeating Jonas Boberg (supercharged Pontiac GTO) in round 2, Mikael Lindahl (Ford Mustang) in the semi final and Fredrik Lund (supercharged Chevelle) in the final.
In the bike ranks there were just two classes, Nitro Bike and Super Twin Top Gas. Nitro Bike, as we read on Tuesday, was won by Per Bengtsson over Rickard Gustavsson, possibly the first time these racers from Super Twin Top Fuel and Top Fuel Bike had ever met one another. Also racing were the TFB of Peter Andersson-Ström and the Super Twins of Greger Johansson, Anders Hörnström, Juha Hintukainen and Mats Larsson.
You can see Facebook album of photos from Mantorp Park Drag Revival 2022 from Patrik Jacobsson whom we thank for permission to publish the above photos, at this link, three albums from at Karl Linß at his Facebook page and you can see videos of a few runs at the Facebook page of Mikael Pflugler.
Full results from the event are available at www.dragracing.eu (select Drag Revival 2022).
Super Twin Top Gas rounds 3 and 4 report. 4th August:
Many thanks to Super Twin Top Gas Europe president Mike Kraaij for sending his report from rounds of the series held at Clastres Dragway on 23rd July and Mantorp Park's Drag Revival last weekend.
Sadly the event on 23rd July was on an unprepped track which caused problems for racers and the class withdrew from the event after just one qualifying session. It should be emphasised that the event was not held by the usual Clastres promoters ATD or Run Cap Sud.
At Mantorp Park, the first time the class had visited since 2019, five bikes made the call for qualifying with Joerg Lymant qualifying first with 7.4551/270.17kph and winning eliminations against Jan Malmberg in the final.
You can read Mike's report by clicking here. A Facebook album of Mike's photos can be seen at this link.
Pictured: Olivier Bertrand (brother of PSB racer Maurice from France with his immaculate V-Twin 45 degree 160ci Dragbike.
Stig signals break with FIA. 4th August:
Top Fuel racer Stig Neergaard has announced he will no longer be taking part in FIA drag racing competition, appearing to want an alternative sanctioning organisation for the class:
"I have spent thousands of hours during the last 37 years on my beloved hobby, drag racing, the last 28 of which in Top Fuel. I have built a total of 16 topfuel cars and it gives me great pleasure to make these machines run perfectly.
in 1995 we got a fantastic offer, if we joined an association that was under the FIA we could get FREE Nitro, it was fantastic and we were all in on it, but unfortunately it was only for a year, we now see in recent years how the FIA has taken over, with rules and requirements that are close to killing our sport, updates and certifications every year for around 10,000 euros, Nitro prices that have tripled in recent years, transport that has also doubled, but prize money is still the same as it was in 1995.
It is now time for us to seriously consider whether this is the way we should go forward, NOBODY can afford to drive any more, there are around 10-12 top fuel cars that have not driven for a few years, this must not continue.
On several occasions I have suggested to the drivers and organizers that we leave the FIA and that each country make a national event and invite everyone to participate, you will then be able to collect points for a cup. Technical and sporting rules will be able to be made on an equal footing with Australia, and the IHRA (alternative club in the USA) where organizers and drivers jointly make a set of rules.
Editor's comment: Stig's views are strictly his own. His announcement on Facebook received little public comment from other Top Fuel racers, however there have been remarks from others pointing out that a lot of input is needed before any new racing series is launched, that prize and travel money has never met the cost of racing and running a team, and remembering past changes of sanctioning bodies in Europe that failed to mend the fundamental problem of lack of team funding.
Swift snippets. 4th August:
Happy Birthday for today to former Super Comp and Super Gas each four time champion Stuart Doignie and Top Fuel Bike racer Jan Sturla Hegre. We hope you both have a great day.
You can see the official race results and points standings from Melbourne Raceway after the Straightliners 25th Anniversary Race by clicking on the red links. Thanks to Martyn Greathead for posting the information.
Further media from Melbourne Raceway last weekend has landed in the form of two Facebook albums posted by PW Pics (aka Pete and Wendy) at this link.
The team over the past few weeks been very busy on the car making changes to that came to light following our shakedown runs in May at El Mirage. Pauly Rivera and Mickey Larson plus we had a complete motor refresh with Ex Top Fuel and Landspeed Racer Hunter Self (who is driving my good friend Frank Silva’s 360mph Lakester during Speedweek) and Donny Cummins doing the honours.
Yesterday we discovered that one of our spare front tyres had developed a slow leak. So it was an hours drive down to Long Beach to Tyre Specialist “Nate Jones Tire Co” on Redondo Ave. These guys have been involved in Landspeed Racing forever and are “ The” people to go to. That fixed by tire man John it was an hour drive back to the Raceshop. It’s hot here currently and around 98F with 100 F forecast.
Today is checking our inventory which runs to 8 pages long and getting things ready to load. Plates, cups, water.. etc etc Oil, spares, Equipment and the loading up the support truck. Plus all the vehicles are cleaned inside and out before that is down.
The race car will be the last thing loaded on Wednesday and then hopefully we will get time to do the NHRA cruise night in my '34 at the Museum.
You can see Bonneville Speed week live via the stream which can be reached via lsrlive.com where you can also see a list of records by class.
Hayley - we're fighting with you. 3rd August:
If you were at Santa Pod Raceway at the weekend you would have seen Supercharged Outlaws co-ordinator Andy 'Fadster' Hadfield and SPR commentator Colin Theobald wearing the first tee-shirts produced by Craig Dixon's Altered Tees Apparel for fundraising in aid of Pancreatic cancer UK and the Christies Manchester. Craig wrote:
"This has to be one of the hardest adverts I have ever had to do, but it means so much to me and many other people who have been affected by cancer. As most of you are well aware Hayley Hadfield has incurable pancreatic cancer.
"These T-shirts and stickers are to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK and the Christies Hospital Manchester. Please try and order through my website to try and keep things easier for me, but if you can`t, direct mail me. T-shirts £20 plus postage £3.50, Stickers 2 for £5 plus postage £1.50 from Altered Tees Apparel."
Nostalgia Super Stock report from Nïamh. 3rd August:
Thanks to author and NSS racer Nïamh Frances Smith for sending in her account of Nostalgia Super Stock at the 28th Mopar Euronationals:
Another great weekend was had at Santa Pod Raceway this past weekend for the Nostalgia Super Stock Association, with 51 entered cars and 47 making it to the meet itself. We knew we were bound to have another huge turnout after 57 cars entered Dragstalgia earlier in the month. The Mopar Euro Nationals really is a time for this wonderful class to shine, with a host of American Muscle fans eager to see what action NSS can bring to the strip!
After some cars took part in Run What Ya Brung on the Friday, we managed 3 qualifiers on the Saturday (some drizzle stopped play occasionally). As usual, the crowd loved the seemingly never ending stream of NSS cars pulling round from the pairing lanes! The ladder moved about quite a bit from each run, and by the end of the qualifying session an astonishing 10 cars were within hundredths of their dial ins, and a further 28 within a tenth of their dial in according to Eurodragster! This just goes to show the calibre of racing in this class, and within the last few years it really has become a very competitive game as more racers join our ranks.
One notable run from qualifying was Gary Carr’s perfect ET; dialling in a 9.15 and running 9.1503 meant Gary received the Perfect ET Award sponsored by Twister Racing/Andy Hadfield, as well as the Paul Worrow Memorial Trophy (a genuine NHRA ‘Wally’ nonetheless) presented by Pete Wiseman later that evening on behalf of the MMA.
Also awarded that evening in the pits, was the ‘Spirit of Nostalgia SuperStock’ award, being gladly received by Bob Main (if you don’t know Bob, just look for an inflatable giraffe or other fancy dress costume at the Fuellers Bar!). The ‘Most Improved’ award went to Pete Christmas and crew mate Alex, who Don summed up pretty well saying ‘some say he cares more about his classmates car than his own’. There was also the wooden spoon, a trophy which went to the Bottom Qualifier which was… me! Finally, a trophy to add to the mantlepiece!
For the first eliminations held just after 6pm on Saturday, we saw 23 pairs (and a bye run for Gary Carr) competing to race in the second round the next morning. Despite a strong headwind, there were plenty of breakouts and only a few red lights, and by the end of the day the racers knew whether to get straight on the beers or hold back if they made it through to the second round of eliminations.
Sunday was peppered with persistent rain showers, but despite this the sun burnt through to allow us 5 more rounds. Round 2 saw 12 more through, with a frustrating - 0.003 red light for Glynn Boardman against Howard Holmes.
In the third round, Stuart ‘Kiwi’ Thompson knocked out Jim Smith, who was picked at random to have a bounty on his head, meaning Kiwi took both the round win - running just 0.002 off his dial in - and some prize money. James Oliver, Mick Elsworth, Lee Chiles and Nic Williams also took wins.
Into the quarter finals, Kiwi again running just 0.03 off his dial in defeated Nic, assuring him a place in the semis. Gary Cork, with a 0.004 RT, won over Mick Elsworth meaning he got the bye into the final, and James Oliver red lit meaning Cookie was also through (whilst breaking out and running his quickest run all day).
In the semi finals, a double breakout between Cookie and Kiwi made for an exciting race, but Kiwi broke out by less, and he was through to the finals against Gary Cork.
At 4pm the final pair were called up. 2 green flights (phew) and they were off. Another double break out! Then the win lights came on for Kiwi. Kiwi had broken out by 0.0019, pipping Gary to the post with his 0.0388 breakout.
Back in the pits I found Kiwi and Gary both celebrating in great spirits, and they posed for photos with their trophies. Huge congratulations to Kiwi and Team Thompson, who consistently does well every year and usually wins at least one round! Congratulations also go to Gary Cork, who told me he’s only ever made it to the second round in his 2 years racing with the class, so to make it to the finals is a huge feat!
After all of the carousing and revelry of the Mopar Euro Nats, our racers left the ‘Pod’ for home, some likely to get their cars ready for the Greenlight Nationals later this month, and for some the last lifestyle round at Melbourne Raceway in October.
Mopar Euronationals snippets. 3rd August:
Thanks to Wild Bunch co-ordinator Claire Meaddows for posting news from the Wild Bunch Summer Showdown at the Mopar Euronationals on 29th – 31st July. You can see Claire's report by clicking here. Claire mentions snippets about each of the 15 teams running at the weekend and congratulations to Phil James who came first with the closest average to dial-in.
Thanks also to David Anniwell of the Santa Pod Timing Crew for sending us detailed timing data, including test day results, which we have posted to our timing data area which you can see by clicking on Data, then Timing Data at the top of any Eurodragster.com page. Official results can be seen at Santa Pod's Official Results Site.
You can see Day 1 of vlogger Thomas Cook-Abbott driving Mike Couch's Lil Hemi Hustler at the Mopar Euronationals at this Youtube link. Further episodes are promised in the near future.
Swift snippets. 3rd August:
Happy Birthday for today to Outlaw Street and Pro ET racer Sara Unsworth, Williams Bros Racing proprietor and racer Dan Williams, hot rod constructor and Willys Wars race Loz Moules and Comp Eliminator racer René Meierhofer. We hope you all have a fantastic day.
The Beast is back. 2nd August:
Many thanks to Super Twin Bike racer Per Bengtsson's crew member L-O Jonsson for sending his account of the team's triumph at Mantorp Park Drag Revival last weekend:
It`s been six years since Super Twin Bike rider Per Bengtsson raced his famous paralell twin The Beast. After a succesful win during the Man Cup World Finals at Valdosta in November 2019 with Tommy Grimes in the saddle the action took a halt as a result of the pandemedic.
The Beast team has been working on some developments on the bike during the downtime and Per decided to test the bike himself this season.
After a test session at Malmö Raceway, the team went on to Mantorp Park for the Drag Revival event. A Nitro Bike class including both Top Fuel Bikes and Super Twin Bikes was held by the race promoter.
Per qualified as no 2 with a 4.25 second run over the 1/8 mile where Rikard Gustafsson was no 1 with 4.17 seconds.
Both riders went through the eliminations and met in an extremely close final.
Per, with a better reaction time, took the win by 4.202 seconds over Rikard's 4.203!
"It takes some runs before you feel comfortable on the bike and the tune up we use today is a different animal from the last time I rode the bike", says Per. "It's nice to be back on The Beast and really fun to race against Rikard and his team.
"We will now prepare for the Summit Racing Equipment Internationals at Tierp Arena the 11th-14th of August" says a happy Per.
A big thank you to all our partners for their support:
Red Line Oil, Persåkers Speed Shop, Bilservice i Åseda, Autoexperten Växjö, Ulvsgården AB, Autonomteknik AB, Fanhultstvätten AB, Flexoart, Bentec Engineering, PR Factory Store, Pers Kök & Catering, Gates, Christensens Bygg & Foder AB.
Mopar Euronationals racer quotes. 2nd August:
We present below some of the social media posts from the 28th Mopar Euronationals and links to media.
NEM Plant Nostalgia Superstock, after three sessions, had some of the tightest qualifying seen in the class, since Dragstalgia's four sessions anyway. At the end of three sessions, no less than 28 cars had run less than 0.1s above their dial-in (Dragstalgia: 42) and of these, ten were less than 0.01s above their dial-in (Dragstalgia: 10).
There was plenty of tight racing in eliminations and not a few upsets. Last year's lifestyle champion Dave Billadeau went out in round 1 to Paul Singer who had a 0.051 package, also top 10 points earners Adam Nowak and Neil Frances were eliminated by Glynn Boardman and eventual runner up Gary Cork respectively.
Winner Stuart 'Kiwi' Thompson defeated Duncan Watts in round 1, newcomer Phil Hobbs in round 2, Jim Smith in round 3 (in which Kiwi had an outstanding 0.031 package), Dan Williams in round 4, Lee Chiles in the semi final and Gary Cork in the final.
Runner up Gary Cork posted "Thanks NSS for another great weekend at the Mopars.
Still can’t quite get my head round getting to the finals - I said the only way was up after Dragstalgia but runner up - wow!
"A special thanks to everyone especially Team Thompson and Adrian for all the encouragement through the rounds and Kiwi for a great race in the final
Plus a special thanks to Zoe and Niamh for seeing me into position for my burnouts during the day.
Hope to see loads of you at the Hot Rod Drags for more fun and laughs."
Lorraine Brazier posted photos of Stuart and Gary and said "The final pair Congratulations to you both. Kiwi 1st and the Monster Cake eater Gary Cork 2nd" Some of the best racing despite first thing weather. We all had a fantastic weekend. We are all now done and dusted."
Adam Nowak said "Back from a fantastic weekend at the 28th Mopar Euro Nationals at Santa Pod. Nostalgia Superstock put on a great show again, 47 racers, top 10 qualifiers all under a hundreth of a second off their dial ins then some super close racing in eliminations. Well done Stuart 'Kiwi' Thompson on a well deserved win.
"Well chuffed we came away with an award for fastest car in the modified production category. Thanks to the Mopar Euronats committee for all the hard work and effort putting on this event."
Nick Martin said "What an absolutely fantastic weekend at the Mopars, As always one of my favourite weekends on the calendar! Car ran great all weekend without any dramas and one of the best races I've had against Cookie in E1 shame I broke out and was put on the trailer Saturday night but then one hell of a night was had in the bar so every cloud and all that! Great times with great friends as always and wouldn't have it any other way! Congratulations to Stuart Thompson on taking the round win."
You can see the current Nostalgia Superstock points at this link or via News, then Points Standings from the main menu at the top of the page.
Gasser Circus had a great field of 14 cars qualifying for Sunday eliminations. Ray Irish was #1 and the top ten were less than 0.1 over their dial. In eliminations, new boy Nick Hewison in his Fordson was the victor after defeating Adam Kruczynski, Billy Jones, Jason Pickett and a no-show Martyn Hallam (pictured practising for the wheelie competition which was sadly rained off).
Tom Margesson, driver of the Tinseltown Hustler, said "A weekend racing at the Mopar Nationals in the Gasser Circus championship again.
Some laughable qualifiers going under index and a couple over positioned us 11th! Not ideal, but the reaction times were good… race day is another day and things can turn around! Unfortunately not for us this time! Semi finalist last meeting to out in round 1 with a not so nice -.03 red against Billy Jones who’s got what it takes to win an event, just gotta have the right day!
Next a big congratulations to a great friend Nick Hewison who bossed the elimination rounds and took the event win along with a 9.93 in the semi final, confidence coming in the van and putting it at a number we thought could happen. Hot Rod Drags next after some tinkering. Last event in the TinselTown Hustler incoming."
Supercharged Outlaws had a field of eight cars that put on a great show. The class run an ET based competition based on dials, however we have ordered racers based on quickest ET. Roy Wilding in his slingshot dragster made four seven second runs with a best of 7.106/193.86 for a new PB. Roy wrote "First a
massive big thanks to the team this weekend, Mark Luton, Kevin Tearrell, Andy Burgess and Elaine. Saturday I was fighting the track all day up to the last run then we managed to run 191 mph at 7.3, Sunday was just brilliant the track was fantastic, thanks to the track staff at Santa Pod. 1st run 7.17@191.4, 2nd run 7.28@187, 3rd run 7.10@193.8 PB, back home I cannot take the smile off my face. Looking forward to the Hot Rod Drags, I'm thinking the 6 might come before the 200 mph? I'll take it if it does."
Gary Parkes was second quickest with a 7.58/182.17 from his Purple Daze altered, then Aaron Windridge was third putting on some great burnouts, two of which resulted in aborted run, but when he got down the track the Grim Reaper altered pictured above right ran a best of 7.860/169.169.16. Then Ian Merryweather's Banzai Topolino ran a best of 8.6674/161.30.
Ian wrote "At Dragstalgia we came away with suspected trans failure as the car would not hold on the transbrake using the launch rpm set up.
Between meetings, out with the trans and in with the trans from Helzapoppin using our ATI converter (cheers Peter Astell-Burt ).
"At the Mopars Friday am, first pass launched from idle no transbrake, soft 1.35 recorded. Second run with more heat in the track launched from idle, outcome much the same. Back out with the trans to install Helzapoppin converter. Third run same flat launch problem but with lower speed and et, more head scratching. Evening time, trans back out and our converter back in!
"Saturday warm up, found copper head gasket trying to escape from rear of no 8 cylinder. Heads off, gasket gods donation, thankfully no other damage, new gaskets and back together. Maybe we were barking up the wrong tree. Arrival of Mark 'Lootune' Luton with much needed advice and a fatter tune. Towed down for the 2nd Saturday supercharged outlaws qualifier and ran a better launch, et and speed but using the words of crew chief Lee Merryweather 'still sh*te' which is true but going the right way. Motor all good but still lean on rear cylinders.
"We suspected failing fuel pump causing most of the problems along with the new TBS blower (Delta) which with only the hat injectors appears to be leaning out the rear cylinders on launch, bear in mind we are on limited knowledge and trying to keep things period correct and simple.
"Enter Roy Wilding who kindly offered us a brand new pump. In it went along with another Lootune AND a crew decision let's put my trans back in as I've changed the only things found wrong with the trans, namely a damaged seal and slightly worn band. What could possibly go wrong?
Now late Saturday just before 3rd S/O qualifier, time for fire up and test. No drive in any gear. The trans came out again to be swapped back with Helzapoppin trans and our ATI converter in readiness for Sunday's final fling at launching Banzai like we are a customed to ie 1.16 60ft instead of 1.35.
Sunday the rain came, however in the downtime, we found after testing on the stands in the pits that the using the launch system is causing the solenoid shifter to activate when the rpm hits the set rpm chip thus clicking into 2nd and releasing the transbrake thus 2nd gear launch.
The rain cleared which gave us a chance at trying an 1/8 mile pass from idle with the new pump/fuel set up.
Car came out the hole like the old days with a wheels up 60ft of 1.18. Although the mph and et were down on the 1/8 mile run, we will put that down to the driver breaking the throttle pedal caused by too heavy a foot literally. So from what we suspected was transmission related seems to have been a fueling issue (still is to be honest) coupled up electronics issue.
On the bright side we are dab hands at changing transmissions on Banzai.
A very trying weekend for all but heading in the right direction I feel. On a positive note driving the new car/chassis is so much more comfortable and controllable.
"Have to give the crew Selena Merryweather, Lee Merryweather, Steven Jack Russell a much deserved thanks, love you all + Peter Astell Burt, Mark Luton, Roy Wilding for parts and much needed advise and all the Supercharged Outlaws who popped into our pits to offer help if needed.
Fantastic to see Andy and Hayley Fadster who came to the Mopars to support the Outlaws during their difficult times, much needed love and hugs from team Banzai (thinking of you ❤)xx See you at the Hot Rod Drags our next Pod visit in September."
Although Mike Couch was on the entry list for Lil Hemi Hunter, the man in the cockpit of the short slingshot was Thomas Cook Abbott who put in a great performance. He wrote "Thank you so much to Mike Couch for letting me have a lot of fun in his car! I’ve finished the weekend with a couple good burnouts and a couple new friends. My smile hasn’t yet left my face! New PB: 9.10/147mph."
Commiserations to Joel Kerr who had gearbox issues with Stiff Shifter on its first time back on track after replacing a prop shaft, and subsequent vibration problems, also to Keith Freeman whose El Loco’s "ring and pinion have had a disagreement", we hope to see you back at the next outing for Supercharged Outlaws, VW Action.
There was also a great show from the Wild Bunch, Outlaw Street, Taz Racing and the other run what ya brung racers, which we'll cover in the next few days, with which the Mopar Euronationals lived up to its billing as the Ultimate American Muscle Car show with aplomb.
As well as our own galleries you can see photos and video at the following links:
Swift snippets. 2nd August:
Happy Birthday for today to Street Eliminator crew chief and dad Dave Day, VW Sportsman racer Daniel Boucher, event consultant Glenn Ramsden and Pro Dutch crew member Anton Vink. We hope you all have a great day.
Our good friend Remco Scheelings has published a preview for the Summit Racing Equipment Internationals at Tierp on the Speedgroup/EDRS web site which you can see by clicking here.
The post-Bug Jam points for the National SPRC Championship in Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET, Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator and SPRC Club Championship for VW Pro, VW Sportsmand and Outlaw Flat Four are now available on the SPRC website which you can also navigate to for individual classes via our points page.
Thanks to photographer Paul Lister for letting us know that his Dragstalgia gallery has been posted to his Zenfolio website also known as Dragcaranon 2.
You can apply to enter the FIA/FIM-Euro Finals at this link. The current entry list for the FIA/FIM-Euro Finals is at this link.
Mopar Euro Nationals results. 1st August:
Congratulations to the winners at the 28th Mopar Euronationals held at Santa Pod Raceway at the weekend:
NEM Plant Nostalgia Superstock: Stuart 'Kiwi' Thompson 9.8481/138.53 (9.85) def. Gary Cork 11.8112/112.76 (11.85) (pictured) Gasser Circus: Nick Hewison 10.0640/130.84 (9.90) def. Martyn Hallam no-show
The event was held in warm, muggy conditions with some rain showers causing breaks in the action on Sunday, however the Santa Pod track crew worked hard to ensure a dry surface to race on.
Well done to Supercharged Outlaw racer Roy Wilding who ran a personal bests of 7.106/193.86 in his slingshot alky fuelled dragster, and to vlogger Thomas Cook Abbott who completed his licensing in Mike Couch's Lil Hemi Hunter, running a new personal best of 9.106/145.69. As well as numerous Mopar and non Mopar runs in the run what ya brung, we saw Nostalgia Funny Car racer Wendy Baker get back to the track for a burnout and stout launch, and the return of Brendan Clancy in his '53 Corvette which he last raced in Comp Eliminator some nine years ago. We also had 13 Wild Bunch cars racing for the best average to dial in on Sunday.
Congratulations to NEM Plant Nostalgia Superstock racer Gary Carr who won the Eurodragster.com/Twister Racing Perfect ET award of £50 supported by Andy 'Fadster' Hadfield and the Twister Race Team. The Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light Award of £50 supported by Cath and Tig Napier of Bad Habit Racing went unclaimed and rises to £75 for the STP Greenlight Nationals.
You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Mopar Euro Nationals
reports, results and galleries by clicking
here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link at the top of any Eurodragster.com page.
Please join Simon in thanking Julian, Diana and Kirstie for their hard work over the race weekend and to Kirstie for stepping in at short notice on Sunday.
We look forward to publishing racer comments from social media on the event tomorrow, racers can also send comments to news@eurodragster.com.
Straightliners 25th Anniversary results and galleries. 1st August:
Thanks to former editor Tog for supplying galleries from the weekend's Straightliners 25th Anniversary race held at Melbourne Raceway.
Although the race was rain affected the team got the track dry for racing to take place on both Saturday and Sunday. The restored Tudor Rose dragster as raced by Rex Sluggett and Dennis Priddle was on display and the 426ci Hemi engine fired up for the entertainment of racers and spectators.
You can check out our John Woolfe Racing-sponsored Straightliners 25th Anniversary
results and galleries by clicking
here or by clicking on the Event Coverage link at the top of any Eurodragster.com page.
Please join Simon in thanking Tog for his hard work over the race weekend.
Pictured: Richard Willcox, quickest of six junior drag bikes in attendance.
Swift snippets. 1st August:
Happy Birthday for today to Street Eliminator racer Andy Bond, Pro ET racer Paul Jackson and to superfan Andy Cowen. We hope you all have a great day.
Best wishes and commiserations to Aidan Heatley Smith and thanks to John S Brown Photography for sharing photos taken when Aidan's Top Fuel Dragster suffered a massive engine explosion in the Canadian Nationals event at Grand Bend Motorplex, Ontario, Canada on Saturday. Fortunately all of the safety equipment worked as intended and Aidan was okay after the incident.
Thanks to Santa Pod PR Robin Jackson for drawing our attention to a letter published in the Sunday Times from a Richard Hazko of Sheffield: "Nico Rosberg's piece on getting more women involved in motorsport needed saying. I wonder if he, and many others, know that women have been competing at the highest level in drag racing for decades? They drive the same 11,000 horsepower top fuel cars as the men and the current European FIA champion is a woman. A woman won the American championship several times. The current European records are held by women. When the last full European championship was able to take place there were eight teams in the final race. Of these four had female drivers. Drag racing has long led the way in equality in motorsport."
Charity auction at National Finals.
