Smax Smith announced that he had purchased Alan Jacksons Oldsmobile Achieva Nitro Funny Car and would be making his fuel car debut at Santa Pods Easter Thunderball Meeting. His old car, the Mainline Meanace Altered was sold to a Sussex racer who would continue to run it with the Supercharged Outlaws.

UK Pro Mod Driver Al Cook announced that he would be retiring from driving. He had run his best ever race at the previous years European Finals at Santa Pod with a 6.70/204 in his  Tim McAmis-built '63 Corvette.

UK Nitro  Funny Car teams Showtime Racing UK, Shockwave and the Carbon By Design Top Fuel Dragster team announced that they would be running 90% nitromethane this season, at least a year in advance of any possibility of NHRA's 90% rule being introduced in Europe.

Avon Park Raceway had a change of identity and was re-named Shakespeare County Raceway

Rain was a major disruption on the first two days which meant that on the Monday many finals were not run due to the lack of time. In Top Methanol Dragster Malta's Manty Bugeja took the honours in the ex-Peter Beck car with sponsorship from Mr Whippy. He had a solo run in the final having run Maltas first five at the press day on Thursday and Maltas first side by side five with John Ellul in Saturdays qualifying. In Pro Stock the European record took a hammering. On Monday Michael Malmgren ran a new record with a 7.036 backed up by an earlier 7.086 in qualifying. Minutes later Jari Konola ran 7.015 backed up by an earlier 7.069. Malmgren then reclaimed the record with a 7.003 and bettered it in the final round with a 6.990/196.45, the first European six second Pro Stock run. Top Fuel rookie Peter Beck made number one qualifier with a 5.49 but the final was won by Alan Jackson with a 5.27/248.96 to Anita Makelas engine breaking 5.53/205.23. John Spuffard had only one run in the Showtime Pontiac with new sponsorship from Snap On Tools and recorded a storming 5.39/221.45, shutting off early to run the quickest ever European time for a Nitro Funny Car. In FIM Supertwin Top Fuel Ton Pels took the final honours with a new personal best of 6.89/189. For all class results click here.

Santa Pod Raceway. Run What You Brung. A number of racers took the opportunity of using this as a pre-season test day.  Among them were Gordon Smith and Dave Bryant, with a new body on their Shockwave Fuel Funny Car, and Oyvor Jacobsen who was making a return to Top Fuel racing with the Rune Fjeld Team. Her single visit to the start line, in very cold conditions, saw a lack of traction on the launch which resulted in a blackened crank. John Everitt ran a new PB in his Pro ET Toyota of 9.48/144.83. Junior Dragster racer Johnny Walker appeared with a rare sight, a twin engined stock JD described as "an experiment" by his Dad. He ran 12.89/46.54, and 13.04/47.14.

Santa Pod Raceway. Easter Thunderball & Pro Fuel Shootout. This years shootout saw the debut of Smax Smith in a Top Fuel car. He ran his licencing passes in the first rounds, recording 5.57/175.99, 5.47/185.77 and an early shut off 6.31/144 after tyre shake. These times were enough to put him into the final round against Gordon Smith in the Shockwave Funny Car, who ran 8.89/102.09, 5,78/190.94 and 10.05/85.72. Andy Carter ran 6.35/175.99, 6.19/230.04 and 5.47/197.97. Micke Kagered recorded a best of 12.32/79.70, the car failing to stick to the track on the launches. Oyvor Jacobsen ran her licensing passes also, recording a best of 7.30/110 after tyre shake. Bill Sherratt was in the seat of the Showtime Funny Car, his first pass quickly produced a blower belt throwing boom, which forced him to sit out the second round. In round three a similar situation occured with the burst panel blowing off the front of the body. In the final the Shockwave car went up in smoke on the hit, while Smax took the win with a terminal speed of 283.36 with no E.T. being recorded after an erroneous 4.55s came up on the finish line display. Dave Wilson qualified at number one in Top Methanol with a 5.665/253.63, followed by Rob Turner at 5.688/247.32. Third was Steph Milam at 6.673/213.45 and Doug Ripley finally at 11.113/115.58. Wilson and Turner made the final, both running 5.63 in the semis. Wilson hit tyre shake but drove through it, but Turner took the win with a 5.65/238.22 to a 5.70/245/31. In Super Pro ET qualifying Pat Talbot ran new PBs in the first two rounds, culminating in a 7.13/185.84, but it was Mark Flavell who made the number one spot with a 7.918/173.78, 0.008s followed by Ian Bishop with a 7.941/169. Bishop made it to the final where he faced Danny  Cockerill, taking the win with a 7.940/155.07 to a 7.971/168.56. In Custom Car Street Eliminator John Sleath hit the wall twice at half track in his Audi. He was declared ok after check ups. Steve Pateman took his Chevy powered Calibra to number one qualifier spot with an 8.600/171.86, a new class speed record. Jon Webster made number two with an 8.734/166.73. Pateman made it to the final where he defeated Sue Jackson with an 8.653/168.81 to an 8.723/155.06. In the bike ranks Bob Brooks recorded a new PB of 7.83 in Comp Bike and Dave Beck had a very good weekend in Pro Stock. He qualified at number one with a 7.295/183.08, a new ACU ET record, and a new speed record. He went on to win the final round against Richard Gipp with a 7.434/174.07 to an 8.189/160.41. Eric Teboul put in two passes on his rocket bike. The first was a 6.39/181.85, the second a 6.17/181.05, which produced a 3.889/203 at the eighth, the quickest and fastest ever recorded for a bike.

For all class results click here. For Eurodragster live updates click here.

Shakespeare County Raceway. Excitement Nationals. In the Wild Bunch Dick Sharp, driving the Dorset Horn Altered, ran a 9.60 which was almost a new personal best. The crankshaft in the car was reported to be the same one that the team had been using when they began racing in 1973. In Custom Car Street Eliminator qualifying Sue Jackson's Corvette crossed lanes and had a head on with the guardrail. Sue was OK.  Rain brought an early end to the proceedings on Saturday. Smax Smith and Darryl Bradford were present with their Top Fuel cars for a series of match races. In the first round on Sunday Bradford (using a HANS neck & head support, the first in UK Drag racing to do so) took too long to come into pre-stage and was disqualified. Smith shut off before the eigth mile to a 6.874/127.84. The nitro Funny Cars of Gordon Smith (Shockwave) and John Spuffard (Showtime) ran together for their first qualifier. Spuffards engine popped and blew the pressure relief plate on the hit while Smith hit tyre shake quickly and tagged the guardrail, coasting to an 8.889/100.45. The first round of Top Methanol saw Dave Wilson get out of shape after tyre shake and use the whole width of his lane before straightening up and clocking a 7.645/119.05. In the other lane Doug Bond took evasive action and shut off early to a 10.344/73.77. Rob Turner also suffered tyre shake that was so severe it broke the rear axle brackets. The second session saw Wilson hit tyre shake again, but he drove through it and went to number one qualifier with a 5.762/245.90. Doug Bond got a full run in and took the number two spot with a 6.719/207.37. Steph Milam soled after Doug Ripley lost fire after the burnout. She hit tyre shake and shut off early to an 11.248/107.40. Ripley re-started and also hit tyre shake, recording a 14.341/39.59. Pro Mod qualifying saw John Ellis put in a strong pass with no time recorded. Gordon Appleton was debuting his new Camaro which had apparently only been finished by Robinson Race Cars on the Friday night. His first run got out of shape and he hit the timing reflectors. Personal bests in qualifying went to Funny Bike riders Dave Holland, with a 7.131/182.19, which put him in numer one spot, and Stu Chamberlain with a 7.400/177.17, which put him in number two. Paul Watson ran his first seven with a 7.982/166.67 in Pro Stock Bike. Lucy Thorn in the other lane clocked an 8.891/154 before parting company with her bike in the shut down area. Lucy was unhurt. TJ O'Brien qualified at number one and ran a new record in Supertwin Modified with a 9.959/141.9. Nick Stephenson went to number one qualifier in Super pro ET after running 8.700/160 on an 8.70 dial-in. On Sunday the wind was strong enough that the motorcycle classes ran their first rounds by racing to the eigth mile. After that the wind died down and they resumed running to the quarter. John Spuffard and Gordon Smith ran their final qualifier. Both cars launched well but at half track the Showtime car lost it's relief panel and blower belt with a bang and burst of flame. Smith was drifting towards Spuffard's lane and got off the throttle. In their final round Spuffard took the win with a 5.633/263.16 as Smith shut off at half track to record at 6.343/183.67. In the first round of Top Methanol Dave Wilson got a bye and then drove through tyre shake to record a 5.696/252.81. Doug Bond defeated Rob Turner 6.322/171.10 to 6.992/141.51. Both cars hit tyre shake and shut off early. Doug Ripley defeated Steph Milam with both cars getting out of shape and pedalling due to tyre shake. In the semis it was Bond who took the bye, running 8.059/117.19. Ripley put in his best pass of the weekend with an 8.034/179, but lost out to a strong 5.710/235.60 from Wilson. In the final it was Wilson who took the honours with a 5.716/235.60 to a 5.940 from Bond. His speed was not recorded as Wilson's chute had disturbed the finish line reflector and tripped the clocks. Gordon Appleton ran a 6.740/206.42, getting to grips with the new car. In Super Modified Danny Cockerill took the final round win with a 7.794/180.72 as opponent Andy Hone got out of shape, clipped the guardrail and then had a battle on his hands to get the car straight, before turning hard left and hitting the rail again. T J O'Brien was looking to back up his 9.959 from the previous day, but ran too quick with a 9.844. He took the final with a 9.926/139.32 win over a 9.893/135.95 from Dave Bartz. In Pro Stock bike Paul Watson upped his personal best again with a 7.629/173.08 bye in the semis. He went on to beat Richard Gipp in the final with a 7.660/175.78. Jamie Sneddon and Max Nixon both ran new personal bests in Super Street Bike with 8.56 and 8.41 respectively. Jennifer Hurcomb became the winner of the UK's first ever Junior Drag Bike elimination with a 10.354/70.98 win when opponent Dan Baldwin failed to make the call.

For all class results click here. For Eurodragster live updates click here.

Santa Pod Raceway. Speedfreaks Ball. After a couple of hold ups for rain on Saturday Martin Hill took the Fireforce 2 Jet Funny Car to a solo 6.41/251.07 before lining up alongside Tony Baker in Fireforce One. He improved on his earlier performance by winning with a 6.04/271.79 to a 7.21/189.95. Jerry Lackey put in a couple of test half-passes in the Patriot Jet Dragster, a 9.21/84.14 and an 8.84/95.09. Eric Teboul put in a 5.968s pass on his rocket bike, his first five second pass, but had less luck with his Top Fuel Bike entry which shattered a sprocket. Roel Koedam led the way in Top Fuel Bike with a 6.60/180.63 half pass, followed by a 7.23/194.61. Steve Woolatt ran a 6.87/198.39 followed by an early shut off 7.06/169.50. Ian King slowed to a 14.01/51.62 after his blower belt broke. Ton Pels was the quickest of the Super Twins with a 7.39/197.07 and a 7.23/194.61. In Funny Bike Neil Midgley led the way with a brace of 7.19s passes at 185.55 and 186.85mph. In Super Street Bike Matt Nixon qualified at number one with an 8.494/160.19, followed by Graham Dance (8.642), Karl Larcombe (8.664) and Pete Bellenie (8.733). In Eliminations on the Sunday Dance and Nixon made their way to the final where Dance ran his quickest time of the weekend to win with an 8.48/169.17 to an 8.84/162.22. In the Top Fuel/Super Twin Shootout Roel Koedam took the final win with a strong 6.43/222.05 against Ton Pels whose engine died on the launch. Ian King and Jamie Millership raced for third and fourth place, King taking it with a 7.61/180.80 over a 9.12/124.70. Eric Teboul put in a 6.123/190.83 on the rocket bike and Martin Hill and Tony Baker held two more Fireforce match races. Hill won both with a 6.34/260.20 and a 6.73/252.29.

Eurodragster Live Updates

Santa Pod Raceway. Main Event. After a promising star weather-wise the first day of qualifying was interrupted a couple of times for rain showers. Fuel Funny Car saw two new drivers licencing. Lex Joon, with the ex-Showtime Avenger, and Leif Helander with his Starkotter Saab entry. The second day of qualifying saw Andy Carter lead the way in Top Fuel with a 4.884/288.64 in the final session. Anita Makela followed with a 4.892/261.37, then Kim Reymond with a 5.005/261.16. John Spuffard in Showtime led Fuel Funny Car with an early shut off 5.555/190.4 followed by Gordon Smith's Shockwave at 5.650/183.87. In Top Methanol Funny Car Urs Erbacher became the first in Europe to the 5.6s with a 5.694/246.51 that put him at number one qualifier and set the European record at 5.771. Pro Modified saw Roger Johansson become the first in Europe in to the 6.3s with a 6.397/207.07 for number one qualifier. Very close behind was Hakan Nilsson, also in the 6.3s with a 6.398/216.26. The UK's Gordon Appleton ran a new personal best of 6.615/209.80. Top Fuel Bike saw Steve Woolatt set a new personal best of 6.541/211.25 on The Dealer. Number one qualifier was Roel Koedam with a 6.263/221.20. In Pro Stock Bike Roger Pettersson made the number one spot with a 7.396/178.94, one thousandth of a second quicker than the European record. He backed this up on his next pass with a 7.456/174.91 for a new European record. Martin Hill put in a 5.793/275.71 in the Fireforce 2 Jet Funny Car. On race day in Top Fuel number one qualifier Andy Carter ran a 5.008/233.22 with smoke coming from his engine as number eight qualifier Smax Smith powered his way to a 4.899/303 win. Oyver Jacobsen beat Tommy Moller with new personal bests of 5.131/286.19 to 8.688/87.89 as Moller's engine expired. Gary Page advanced to the next round with a defeat of Anita Makela whose engine went up in flames, and Kim Reymond ran a 4.932/286.54 to defeat Micke Kagered's 5.490/171.61. Smith advanced to the final in the next round with a 5.056/294.62 over a 5.182/236.30 from Jacobsen, and Page took a 5.175/256.02 win over Reymond whose tyres went up in smoke on the line. In the final it was Smith who took the win with a 4.959/280.53 to a 5.382/211.65. In Fuel Funny Car John Spuffard ran a solo 5.288/266.57 in the first round, the quickest FC pass outside the USA. He went on to win the final against Gordon Smith with a 5.410/265.59 to a 7.053/124.36. This backed up his earlier 266.57mph for a new European record. The Top Methanol Dragster final produced the quickest side-by-side race outside the USA as Dave Wilson took the win with a 5.461/244.44 over a 5.488/247.57 from Peter Schofer. Top Methanol Funny Car saw Urs Erbacher reset the record again with a 5.755/245.86 in his semi final defeat of Dan Larsen who ran 5.857/239.66. Erbacher took the final win with a 5.715/248.36 that backed up his earlier 5.694 for another European record. His final opponent was Leif Andreasson who ran 5.901/241.70. Pro Modified saw Gordon Appleton reset his personal best again in the semis with a 6.580/208.99, but he lost to a 6.453/215.52 from Roger Johnasson. Johansson went on to win the final against Henri Joosten with a 6.462/215.58 to a 6.880/196.43. In Top Fuel Bike Roel Koedam ran a new personal best of 6.237/223.44 to defeat Tim Blakemore's 7.305/163.93. The Pro Stock Bike semi finals saw Roger Petterson's bike lose fire as he approached the start line. He restarted and took the win with a 7.514/175.57 over an 8.261/157.67 from Chris Hope. The restart was judged to be against the rules and Hope was brought back in to face Oivind von Essen in the final. Von Essen pulled a red light and Hope took the win with an 8.482/149.92.

For all class results click here. For Eurodragster live updates click here.

Shakespeare County Raceway. Power Nationals. Darryl Bradford and Susanne Callin held a best of three Top Fuel match race. The first round went to Bradford with an early shut off 5.986/180.72 whilst Callin experienced tyre shake, which appeared to be on one side only, and coasted through to a 7.237/111.66. In the second round it was Callin that took the win with another early shut off after shake and an 8.041/97.61 as Bradford rolled through the staging lights and collected a red. In the deciding third round both cars got it together before shutting off before the finish and it was Bradford that took the win with a 5.543/240.64 to a 5.457/220.59. Mickey Moore and Jim Seward were on hand with their Fuel Altereds, also for a best of three. Moore took the first round with a 7.937/183.67 to an anyway but straight 7.815/128.94. Seward took the second round, 7.301/171.76 to 8.632/181.45. In the decider Moore had mechanical problems and Seward soloed to a 6.928/177.17. Gordon Appleton ran a best of 6.715/211.27 in a series of three races with John Ellis. Appleton's speed was a new track record for the class. Martin Hill took the Fireforce 2 Jet Funny Car to the tracks first five second jet car pass on his first outing, a 5.920/271.08. He bettered this on his next outing with a 5.885/272.73. Roger Goring also ran his Firestorm Jet FC with a best of 6.627/238.10. In Super Modified Steve Rawlings ran a new personal best of 8.241/165.44 in the first round, having qualified at number two with an 8.660/160.14. Danny Cockerill qualified at number one with an 8.266/169.81. The final was won by Graham Ellis with a solo 7.744/181.45 aftter Rawlings broke. Custom Car Street Eliminator qualifying saw Sue Jackson turn her Corvette on it's side before hitting the guardrail. She was OK and the car not too badly damaged. Steve Pateman led qualifying all the way through in his Calibra, finishing with an 8.763/167.91 ahead of John Hales at 8.842/166.05. Both drivers made it to the final, Pateman taking the win with a 9.741/145.16 to a 9.575/166.67. In The Wild Bunch Dick Sharpe took his Dorset Horn Altered to a new personal best of 9.541s. In Pro Stock Bike qualifying Richard Gipp set a new personal best of 7.605/173.08 to take the lead. Dave Beck then immediately followed with a 7.538/171.76 to knock him down to number two. Gipp improved again in eliminations with a 7.569/177.17 but failed to make the final. Beck faced Chris Hope in the last round and took the win with a 7.641/171.10 to an 8.543/167.29. In a hotly contested Funny Bike field Neil Midgley made number one qualifier with a 7.183/177.17 followed by Dave Holland at 7.261/171.10. In eliminations Holland won his first round pairing with Paul Knapp with a 7.256s at a new track record MPH of 186.72. Two competitors ran new personal bests in the first round, a 7.196/183.67 from Mike Chislett, and a 7.180/192.31 from Steve French, setting a second new MPH track record. In the semis Neil Midgley ran the tracks first six second Funny Bike pass with a 6.988/182.93. He went on to win the final against Holland with a 7.058/189.08 to a 7.273/178.57.

For all class results click here. For Eurodragster live updates click here.

Santa Pod Raceway. Summer Nationals. In Top Methanol Rob Turner ran a new MSA Championship record of 5.586/238.84 in his first round bye run. This was backed up by a 5.613/229.25 qualifier. Only two cars made the eliminations as Steph Millam damaged two valves in her She Devil FC on a personal best qualifying run of 6.614/213.00. Dave Wilson's first round bye produced a 5.636/245.45 and he went on to win the final with a 5.684/248.90 to Turner's 5.6878/244.75. In Super Modified Steve Rawlings ran a new personal best of 8.138 in qualifying. On his next outing he lowered it again with an 8.108/162.71. In the final round of qualifying on the Sunday morning he improved yet again and ran his first seven second pass, a 7.960/169.51. In the first round of eliminations he ran 8.012/168.58 to defeat a 10.281/142.31 from Paul Brooks. Danny Cockerill had qualified at number one with a 7.704/179.60 and took a bye at 7.701/180.37 in the first round. Graham Ellis advanced to the semis with the quickest and fastest Super Mod run ever of 7.553/183.50 against a 7.996/166.11 from Andy Hone. Ellis ran quicker and faster again in the next round with a 7.510/184.26, but a holeshot 7.610/183.71 from Cockerill took the win. In the final it was Cockerill again who took the honours with a 7.552/184.62 to an 8.075/167.78 from Rawlings. Neil Midgley took his Funny Bike to a 6.877/188.35 to lead qualifying. He backed this up in the second round of eliminations with a 6.877/189.96 for a new ACU record. In the final against Mike Chislett he went quicker still, re-set the record, and took the win with 6.831/189.83 to a 7.430/182.73. Ivan Birch ran a new personal best of 8.671/160.35 in the first round of qualifying for Super Street Bike, as did Matt Nixon with an 8.442/167.42. Nixon improved on this on his next outing with an 8.351/168.34 which gave the top qualifying spot. Neither rider made it to the final which was won by Tony Clark with an 8.819/171.15 over a 9.844/162.94 from Steve Venables. There was also a personal best for Al Golding in Super Pro ET of 8.861/150.66.

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Mantorp Park. Veidec Nitro Festival. In Top Fuel Smax Smith just missed out on running the first four second pass at the track in the first round of qualifying. His 4.954/466.38 (289.79mph) came shortly after Kim Reymond's 4.952/483.14 (300.20mph), putting the pair at the top of the seven car field, which is where they stayed as neither driver improved on this in the second round. Andy Carter put in an early shut-off 5.584/309.10 (192.06mph) in the first session, and improved to a 5.248/399.89 (248.48mph) in the second round, qualifying at number six. In eliminations Smith went out in the first round when he pulled a red light against Tommy Moller, who took the win with a 4.965/470.45 (292.32mph). Carter defeated Anita Makela in close race, 5.115/461.72 (286.89) to Makela's 5.134/337.05 (209.43mph) with an early shut off when smoke began to come from the engine. In the semis Carter pulled a holeshot on Moller before beginning to lose traction. He pedalled and took the win with a 5.374/452.46 (281.14mph) to a 5.396/432.46 (268.71mph). The final between Carter and Kim Reymond never happened as rain swept in and brought an early end to the meeting. Top Methanol Dragster saw Brits Rob Turner and Dave Wilson in the five car field. Wilson took an early lead in the first round of qualifying with a 5.571/413.64 (257.02mph) and Turner made number three with a 5.641/402.92 (250.36mph). Peter Schofer sat between the pair at 5.604/400.24 (248.69mph). In the second qualifier Schofer ran a new track record of 5.545/405.15 to push Wilson down to second. Turner improved to a 5.636/396.95 (246.65mph) but remained at third until the third session, where he produced a 5.562/405.54 (251.99mph) to move up to number two qualifier. In eliminations Turner lost a blower belt in his first round match with Krister Johansson, who took the win with a 6.204/355.39 (220.82mph). Wilson ran a 5.503/419.79 (260.84mph) for another new track record, and the first half of a new European speed record (the first European 260mph Top Methanol pass), in his defeat of a 6.441/262.45 (163.07mph) from Jari Halinen. In the semis Wilson secured the speed record with a 5.492/420.02 (261.04mph), but this was not enough to catch a holeshot 5.510/403.40 (250.66mph) from Schofer. In Top Fuel Bike Ian King qualified at number five but was unable to compete in eliminations. He suffered some burns to his legs when his bike errupted in a ball of flame during the second round of qualifying. In Pro Stock Bike the UK's Chris Hope and Richard Gipp qualified at numbers 3 and 7. Hope with a 7.634/280.41 (174.23mph) and Gipp with a 7.727/262.49 (163.10mph). In the first round Gipp lost out to Vesa Rautio, 7.464/287.76 (178.80mph) to 7.725/273.25 (169.78mph). Hope defeated Anders Abrahamsson, whose bike broke before half track, with an 8.812/269.16 (167.24mph). He then also got beaten by Rautio in the next round, 7.481/280.63 (174.37mph) to 7.591/279.60 (173.73mph). In Super Street Dave Cherrett and Bob Lees made it to rounds 4 (semi finals) and 2 respectively.

Shakespeare County Raceway. All Star Nationals. In Fuel Funny Car John Spuffard was debuting a new ex-John force Mustang body on the Showtime car. In the first round of qualifying he put in a strong 5.383/271.08 which placed him at the top of qualifying for the weekend. In the second round he set a new UK speed record with a 272.73mph blast in 5.409s. In the other lane Lex Joon suffered a huge fireball near the top end which burnt the chutes off. He managed to get the car stopped safely and was ok with minor burns to his hands. In the first round of eliminations Spuffard ran an early shut off 5.862/218.45 as opponent Gary Page suffered an engine failure which left oil along the second half of the track. Gordon smith soloed to a 12.943/81.82 after striking the tyres on the launch. In the final Smith had the same problem, idling to a 16.364/64.94 as Spuffard took the win with a 5.641/190.69. Doug Bond qualified at number one in a three car Top Methanol field with a 6.564/173.08. In the final his burst panel blew, leaving Steph Milam to take the win with new personal bests of 6.308/219.57. Mickey Moore and Jim Seward were on hand with their Fuel Altereds for a series of match races. Seward took the first round, 7.200/148.03 to a 9.563/160.71, and the second with a 7.023/164.73 to a 9.755/153.06. In the third Moore made the better start, but Seward soon caught and passed him, shuttting off early to a 10.466/72.82. In the final round it was Seward again with a 6.935/173.75 to a 9.616/166.67. Dick Sharp rolled the Dorset Horn Altered at the top end in the first round of qualifying for The Wild Bunch. Dick was taken to hospital and found to have broken his wrist.. In Custom Car Street Eliminator Sue Jackson was back with her Corvette, having crashed at the Power Nationals in June. Steve Pateman set a new class record of 8.441s in the third round of eliminations, despite losing to an 8.495 from Steve Nash. Super Modified saw a new personal best of 7.925s for Steve Rawlings in qualifying. In the third round of Super Pro ET qualifying Steve Johnson lost control of his Motor Mouse dragster and managed to keep the car on the track and upright through two 360 degree spins, still crossing the finish line at 116mph. Frank Mason qualified at number one in Super Gas with a perfect 9.00/141.96. In Top Fuel Bike Steve Woolatt led qualifying with a 6.773/204.55 on his return to the track after wrecking his engine at the Main Event. In qualifying on the Saturday he set new personal bests of 6.478/215.31. In eliminations he took a first round bye with a 6.587/207.37, which secured him the 2003 ACU Top Fuel Bike Championship. Both the other competitors in the class, Chris Hannam and Steve Carey were shut down before gettiung to the start line, leaving Woolatt to solo for the final round with an early shut off 7.105/177.17. In Supertwin Fuel qualifying Jerry Collier took his RD400 to a new world record for an RD of 9.141/139.75 to take an early lead in qualifying. He further improved on this with an 8.938/137.20, and then, in Round Two of eliminations, an 8.890/138.89. In the final he met Chris Stebbings and broke, leaving Stebbings to take the win with a 10.960/83.49. Roger Goring put in some demo passes in the Firestorm Jet Funny Car, running a best of 6.451/241.94 on the final run of the weekend.

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Santa Pod Raceway. European Finals. In Top Fuel qualifying Kim Reymond became the first in Europe to put in a 4.6s pass, and the first to top 310mph. His 4.645/317.56 put him at the top of the pack. Championship leader Smax Smith managed a best of 5.045/290.83 which put him in the number four spot. Susanne Callin was just behind him with a personal best of 5.097/284.45. Peter Beck and Tommy Moller were both in the fours, Beck at number two with 4.936/287.66, and Moller at three with a 4.988/299.48, a personal best speed. In eliminations Smith took a first round win with a leisurely 9.849/104.49 after going up in smoke of the line. Opponent Callin suffered an engine explosion. Micke Kagered ran a new personal best of 4.927/287.23 in his defeat of Peter Beck's 4.915/264.05. Smith advanced to the final with a launch and idle run after opponent Darryl Bradford shut off after his burnout. Kagered took the other semi win with a 5.192/268.34 to a 5.490/182.09 from Moller. With just eleven points between Smith and Kagered the final would decide the championship. It was Smith that took the win with a 5.055/292.64 as Kagered slowed following an engine explosion to 5.642/194.04.Top Methanol Dragster was also down to the final round for the championship title. Dave Wilson emerged victorious with a 5.559/252.83 win over a 5.598/247.25 from Peter Schofer. In Fuel Funny Car a first round bye for John Spuffard secured him the 2003 Championship title. In the final against Gordon Smith an engine explosion launched the cars body off while Smith crossed the centre line ahead of him and finished in the wrong lane, giving Spuffard the win. Christer Jacobs qualified at number one in Pro Modified with a 6.379/216.54, lost to Norbert Kuno in the first round after shutting off due to tyre shake. Kuno went out in the next round to Gordon Appleton whose engine went up in smoke at the finish, allowing Roger Johansson to take an easy route to the final and accumulate enough points to secure the championship title. In the last round he met Freddy Fagerstrom and took the win with a 6.435/213.41 to a 6.557/206.67. In Super Pro ET Barry Giles took an early lead in qualifying with a 7.630/169.30 on a 7.63 dial in, but failed to make it past the first round of eliminations. Roger Moore was second with his first ever seven second pass, a 7.965 on a 7.95 dial in, making the Moore Brothers Herald the quickest 400ci Pontiac Doorslammer on the planet. He went out in round two. In Super Gas Frank Mason qualified at number one with a 9.900 for the second meeting in a row. Top Fuel Bike saw Roel Koedam set new European records of 6.113/229.99 in qualifying. He then bettered this with a 6.046/235.89 in the next round. His good form ran out though in the semi final against Ian King when his engine destroyed itself. King had left before the lights ran so Koedam had a place in the final, but stood no chance of making it. Sverre Dahl took the final win. In qualifying for 9.90 bike on Saturday Steve Coombs matched up with Fred Furlong and beat him with a holeshot 10.110 to a 9.990. A later examination of the timing data showed that the margain of victory of 0.000134 seconds, or about 0.3 inches. Martin Hill lost the body off the Fireforce 2 Jet Funny Car in the shutdown area on a 5.897/273.17 pass.

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Shakespeare County Raceway. Doorslammer Internationals. This event was run as a RWYB event with entries divided into eight classes. Steve Pateman set about lowering the Custom Car Street Eliminator record with a series of low eight second passes. he began with an 8.383 and then beat it with an 8.317 on the Saturday. On Sunday he went even quicker, advancing to the final round and leaving the record at 8.223. In the final he beat Ian Jackson 8.240/171.76 to 9.260/167.29. Roger Goring put in some mid-six second demonstration passes in the Firestorm Jet Funny Car with a best of 6.390/247.26.

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Santa Pod Raceway. UK National Finals. In Top Methanol Dave Wilson began qualifying with a 5.791/201.94 with an early shut off as smoke came from the engine. In the other lane Steph Milam clocked a 7.455/130.02. She improved on this in the next session, running 6.405/212.73, Wilson shutting off to a 6.094/173.25 after hitting tyre shake. In the third session Wilson improved to a 5.617/250.58. Wilson secured the 2003 MSA Championship title with a 5.722/239.05 win over a 10.444/82.87 from Milam in the final. In Custom Car Street Eliminator the Calibra of Steve Pateman ran a new personal best and new ET record of 8.153/170.71 in the first round of qualifying. The session also saw a personal best of 8.699/162.04 for Andy Frost, and a potential new speed record of 175.07mph from Jon Webster in John Hale's Chevy. He ran 177.51mph in the third session, which was too fast for the new record, but backed up the 175.07. In the second round of eliminations he took a win with a 8.288/176.54 which backed up the 177.51 for another new record. He went on to win the final against Jeff Meads with an 8.174/177.50 to an 8.581/161.13. Funny Bike saw Neil Midgley in line for new ET and speed records with a 6.732/197.24 in the final round of qualifying. However, in the first round of eliminations against Shaun Branch he crossed the centre line and failed to make the records official. Dave Holland took the final win with a 7.046/185.12 to a 7.110/183.82 from Mike Chislett. Super Street Bike saw Graham Dance set a new ACU speed record of 178.86mph with an 8.179/178.63 win in the second round of eliminations. He made it to the final and ran 8.475/174.07, but lost to a slight holeshot from Ivan Birch who won with an 8.476/164.46.

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Shakespeare County Raceway. Big Shootout.

Shakespeare County Raceway. Halloween Showdown.

Santa Pod Raceway. Flame & Thunder. Barry Sheavills returned to Top Fuel in the seat of Knut Soderquist's "red car" for a match race with 2003 FIA Champion Smax Smith. First to the eigth mile was the order of the day. The cold conditions proved to be an issue as both cars hit tyre shake with Sheavills reaching the eigth first in 5.327/110.90 to Smith's 5.747/75.71. At the quarter Sheavills was still ahead, crossing the line in 10.000/77.82 to 12.283/62.94. The Fireforce 1 and 2 Jet Funny Cars, with drivers Tony Baker and Martin Hill, made a handful of passes, with a best of 7.121/224.93 (top speed of the meeting) for Baker, and 6.214/213.05 for Hill. Eric Teboul took his Rocket Bike to times of 6.147/176.20 and 6.587/156.10.

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Las Vegas. NHRA Divisional race. The 2003 FIA Top Methanol Champion Dave Wilson qualified ninth with a best of 5.518/259.16, just missing out on a place in the eight car field.

Pomona. NHRA Finals. Dave Wilson qualified at number 16 with a best time of 5.479/262.13. In the first round he faced number one qualifier Alan Bradshaw. Bradshaw took the win with a holeshot 5.24, but a 5.386/262.74 from Wilson made him the first European Top Methanol driver into the 5.3s, and put him in the top twenty TM drivers in the world.

2003 FIA Champions

2003 UK National & Santa Pod Racers Club Champions

Las Vegas. Dave Wilson ran a best of 5.78s in testing.

Firebird Raceway. Pheonix. National Time Trials Testing. Dave Wilson ran a new personal best terminal speed with a 5.55/262.90 run.

Pomona. NHRA Winternationals. Dave Wilson qualified 13th with a best of 5.543/256.94. The meeting was curtailed by rain and Wilson was unable to attend the rescheduled event as he had to return to the UK.

Firebird Raceway. Pheonix. NHRA Divisional event. Dave Wilson qualified third with a 5.528/256.16. He went out in the first round against Larry Miersch after hitting tyre shake and recording a 5.622 to a winning 5.537

Gainsville. NHRA Gatornationals. Dave Wilson qualified 12th in a 16 car field. In the first round he went out to Mike Gunderson when his blower belt broke at half track.

Tucson. NHRA Divisional event. Dave Wilson became the first European to take a win in the Top Alcohol class in an NHRA event. After an unfortunate first qualifier when a throttle fitting broke Wilson then qualified at number one with a 5.582/247.43. He held the number one spot until the final pass of the final session when he was bumped down to number two. He made his way to the final with the help of a couple of bye runs where he met the number one qualifier, Chris Demke. He took the win with a 5.655/246.84 to a 5.689/250.74. Wilson now stood at second place in the NHRA Top Alcohol Championship.

Las Vegas. NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals. Dave Wilson qualified at number 16 with a 5.761/245.90. In the first round opponent and number one qualifier Joey Severence red lit, handing the win to Wilson who unfortunately suffered a broken lifter and damaged camshaft. After changing the engine with a depleted crew he made it to the second round where he managed a perfect 0.000 reaction time, but overpowered the track.

Santa Pod Raceway. Easter Thunderball. As part of the fourth Pro Fuel Shootout competiton two rookie drivers were making licencing passes in Top Fuel. Norweigan Thomas Nataas was in the seat of one of Rune Fjeld's cars, and Knut Soderquist was supplying another for Dutchman Lex Joon. Andy Carter opened the first round with a 5.400/203.65 after a couple of pedals to try and maintain traction. In the next round he lined up alongside the Showtime Funny Car of John Spuffard and drove through tyre shake to record a 4.943/292.24 as Spuffards tyres went up in smoke at the hit. After the run it was found that the Showtime car had broken a ring & pinion in the rear axle, putting the team out of action for the rest of the meeting. In the final qualifying round Carter and Gordon Smith, in the Shockwave Funny Car were due to run together. Carter's team struggled to get the car started and it finally fired as Smith came back over the start line from his burnout. It was then shut off again to allow Smith a solo run, which resulted in a huge bang at the hit which split the blower in two, lifted the body and sent the pressure relief plate skywards. Thomas Nataas started next, but the crew were unable to detach the starter, the engine evntually being shut down again. Carter then put in his run, a 5.793/172.76 with a pedal due to tyre shake and an early shut off. Lex Joon was next up with a 5.606/182.37 half pass, followed by Nataas with a 5.883/189.13. With both Funny Cars out of action the final it was between the two top qualifying fuellers, Carter and Joon. A holeshot from Carter got him to the finish line first with a 5.049/290.75 to an engine-destroying 5.046/280.95 from Joon who crossed the centre line after the finish. Top Methanol saw Rob Turner qualify at number one with a 5.616/245.05. The only other car in the class was the Funny Car of Doug Ripley, who managed a new personal best of 7.404/175.74. Turner took the final win with a 5.635/242.07, but Ripley beat his personal best again with a 7.021/189.80. Super Modified qualifying began with a new personal best for Tim Garlick of 8.180/169.18 that put him at number one after the first session. In the second he was pushed down to third by an 8.078/169.18 from Steve Rawlings and an 8.151/171.17 from Rob Smallworth. The Oldsmobile of Graham Ellis was being driven by Kev Perkins and took a hard turn into the wall at 1000ft when the radiator cap came loose, putting fluid under one of the slicks. The car was damaged but Kev was OK. Rawlings held on to his first place until the last round, despite a new personal best of 8.086/169.86 from Paul Brooks that put him in the number two spot. In the final session Rob Smallworth leapt over both of them and recorded a 7.997/173.23, the first seven second SM run under the classes new rules. Custom Car Street Eliminator saw Andy Frost take his Red Victor Vauxhall to a new personal best of 8.393/165.36 which put him in the number two spot. Reigning champion Steve Pateman qualified at number four and went out in round two to number one qualifier Wayne Saunders. Round three saw Saunders and Ian Jackson both out of action leaving Andy Frost to take his first win with an 8.574/165.45. Martin Hill put three runs over the three days in the Fireforce II Jet Funny Car with a best of 6.072/212.23. Top Fuel Bike qualifying saw Steve Woolatt make the number one spot with a 6.595/209.16. Antonio Ferretti was number two with a personal best of 7.098/190.85 and another new personal best of 7.394/175.10 from Steve Carey was good enough for third. Ian King made fourth with a 13.322/61.81 that saw a flash of flame and bang from the bike that resulted in a snapped camshaft, split manifold and torched head, along with some bodywork damage. Woolatt improved in the first round with a 6.475/213.11 bye, but he suffered a rear brake failure which prevented him making the finaL. Steve Carey took the honours with an 8.155/156.26, feathering the throttle as the bike drifted to the left. In Funny Bike Neil Midgley got back into the sixes after three rounds of qualifying with a 6.930/189.80 that gave him the number one qualifier spot. Paul Knapp ran a personal best of 7.289/179.29 to take number two. The pair made it to the final where Midgley took the win with a 7.195/182.29 to a 7.267/182.23. In the semi finals Sarah Jane Head took a nasty spill at the top end which resulted in her being airlifted to hospital. Comp Bike saw TJ O'Brien set about repeatedly lowering his personal best, leaving it at 8.015/157.43 which was good enough for number one spot in qualifying. He bettered this again in the final where he took the win with an 8.000/157.15 over a 9.816/106.64 from Vaughan Foster. In Super Street Bike Graham Dance took an early lead in qualifying by being half a second ahead of the rest of the field. He continued to improve on this in each round, ending up at number one with an 8.165/176.25. He made his way to the final and then went quicker again, setting a new ACU Super Street Bike record with an 8.108/166.83 and taking the win over an 8.446/171.89 from Mark Fisher. Eric Teboul put in two runs on his Rocket Bike, a 6.242/182.83 on Sunday and a 5.795/200.96 on Monday, the quickest two-wheeled pass at the track ever.

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Houston. NHRA Spring Nationals. Dave Wilson qualified 15th with a 5.486/257.97. In the first round he red lit by nine thousandths. This was the final meeting of the team's US tour.

Shakespeare Country Raceway. Excitement Nationals. The weather played a big part in the weekends proceedings. Saturday was a complete washout and qualifying on Sunday didn't begin until nearly midday. One round of qualifying was completed for each class. On Monday rain in the morning delayed the start until mid-afternoon and there was only enough time to complete the first round of eliminations. Of the two Fuel Funny Cars present only Gordon Smith managed to put a run in, a 9.915/86.79 after his throttle cable broke. John Spuffard brought the Showtime car out, but a broken high side fuel lever prevented him from making a run. In Top Methanol Rob Turner led qualifying with an early shut off 6.413/174.18 following tyre shake. Doug Bond followed with a 6.528/184.48, his first in nine months, Linsay Deuchar was third with a 6.975/197.26, then Doug Ripley at 7.807/166.36 in the CC Racing Funny Car. Trev Capewell was having his first outing in the Southern Rebel Funny Car. He hit tyre shake at the launch and took out the 330' and first eigth mile reflectors. In eliminations Turner took a 5.864/235.79 win over Ripley, who clocked a 6.811/164.90, which was a new personal best. Deuchar had a bye with a 10.269/66.26 after Bond broke. Mickey Moore (Fuel Altered) and Roy Wilding (Supercharged Outlaw Slingshot) held a couple of match races. Wilding took the first with an 8.250/156.85 as Moore got out of shape, pedalled, and ended up in the wrong lane. In the second race Moore got to the other end first with a 7.706/180.48, but a red light handed the win to Wilding with his 8.702/124.63, but at the expense of a broken rod. Paul Brooks led Super Modified with an 8.076/168.90, followed by Rob Smallworth at 8.120/171.66, Andy Kirk at 8.301/169.49, Andy Hone at 8.391/170.41 and Simon Farmer at 8.770/152.03. Other top qualifiers were; Super Pro ET - Ian Tubb, Pro ET - Aiden Kenny, Sportsman ET - Linda Platt, Super Comp - Shaun Lathan, Super Gas - Conrad Stanley, Super Street - Ian Brown, Custom Car Street Eliminator - Ian Jackson (9.604/163.55), Wild Bunch - Joe Stevens, Outlaw Anglia - Pete Ashworth, and Junior Dragster - Ross Norris. Roger Goring put in a couple of passes in his Jet Funny Car, a 6.357/248.18 and a 6.344/250.08, which was a new personal best speed. Top Fuel Bike produced a 7.090/156.83 from Steve Woolatt, who was running a new clutch set up, and a 7.667/174.81 from Steve Carey. For the final only Woolatt made the call and he took a 9.731/100.46 bye for the win. Richard Gipp led Pro Stock Bike with a 7.940/171.00 followed by Len Paget at 8.036/160.21. Gipp took a first round win with a 7.700/174.24. Neil Midgley led the Funny Bike field with a strong 7.078/169.80 with Paul Knapp at number two following his 7.298/183.02 blast. Super Street Bike saw Graham Dance qualify quickest at 8.547/172.10, followed by Peter Bellenie at 8.676/162.03. The other top qualifiers on two wheels were; Comp Bike - Klaus Brinkmann (7.868/164.31), 9.90 Bike - Richard Sawatszski, 10.90 Bike - Shaun Spiers, Supertwin Fuel - Chris Stebbings, Supertwin Gas - Andy Smith, Supertwin Modified - Simon Hodgson, Supertwin Street - Mark Earrey, and Junior Drag Bike - Harry Stedman. Supertwin Modified and Supertwin Fuel each had only two entrants and so the first rounds were also the finals, and both were reduced to bye runs. Simon Hodgson won Modified with a 10.215/139.41, and Ian Turburville took Fuel with a 10.587/128.45.

Entry List

Eurodragster Live Updates

Santa Pod Raceway. The Speedfreaks Ball. Rain delayed Saturdays start, limiting the track time to six hours, which began at three in the afternoon. In the Top Fuel Bike and Supertwin ranks the first session saw most riders shutting off early. From the Supertwins Ronny Aasen led the pack with a 7.329/186.95, followed by a 7.562/180.20 from Ton Pels and a 9.857/101.37 from Bernie Hepworth. Two Top Fuel Bikes made the session, Roel Koedam ran an 8.699/95.57, shutting off at 300 feet, and Steve Carey with a similar performance clocked a 9.284/95.28. The second session saw Koedam improve to a 6.825/162.57. Aasen lost traction after his front wheel touched down, a 7.753/182.41 was the result. Carey hit tyre shake and backed off to a coasting 113.264/60.32 and Pels smoked the slick on the launch before coasting then nailing it to a 9.409/182.07. On Sunday Steve Woolatt joined the pack and put in a 7.460/136.83, losing traction at the 400ft mark. Pels improved to a 7.391/174.44, Hepworth ran 10.048/94.96 with a sick engine and Carey improved slightly to an 8.215/168.54. Koedam went up in smoke on the launch and coasted through. Aasen however put in a 6.960/198.86 to put him in the final with Koedam. Despite a good start from Aasen it was Koedam that took the win, 6.527/190.82 to 7.650/181.60. Two sessions from the Super Street Bikes on Saturday produced an 8.540/172.40 from Mark Fisher to lead the pack. Steve Venables ran a best of 8.560/178.38 in the second session, his best yet on his new bike. Jamie Sneddon almost joined the pair in the eights with a 9.001/142.80, and Pete Bellenie put in a 9.038/160.19. Best times for the other riders were Dave Smith - 9.057, Richard Stubbins - 9.134/171.70, Rachael Pattison - 9.352/152.11 and Dave Bailey - 9.705/161.85. Sunday saw three more sessions with many of the riders improving their times. The first saw an impressive 8.078/179.27 from Fisher which was quicker than the class record, an 8.715/177.31 from Venables, an 8.737/171.05 from Stubbins, an 8.802/166.14 from Chris Reed and an 8.978/162.40 from Pattison. Improving more in the second round were Stubbins with an 8.432/174.35 and Venables with an 8.503/177.13. Fisher and Venables paired up in the RWYB between rounds and ran 8.360/177.15 and 8.341/186.00 respectively. Venables massive terminal speed eclipsed the class record. Eric Teboul made two passes on his Rocket Bike, a 6.819/151.96 on Saturday and a 6.204/172.34 on Sunday. Tony Baker put in a 7.790/177.85 in the Fireforce 1 Jet FC on Saturday. He later raced Martin Hill who took the win in Fireforce 2 with a 6.134/217.29 to an 8.068/171.61.Germany's Roger Kirchner put in two passes in his Jet FC, a 10.123/155.21 on Saturday and a similar 10.769/161.39 on Sunday.

Santa Pod Raceway. The Main Event. Eight cars were entered in Top Fuel and the first qualifying session saw Andy Carter take an early lead with a 4.987/284.34 in a close pairing with Tommy Moller, who put in a 4.997/266.09. Joran Persaker was the only other driver to put in a run, a 5.295/209.25. Session two saw three more drivers put in a run. They were Micke Kagerad (10.357/52.37, Jon Webster (6.007/156.25) and Lex Joon (7.660/156.25). The third round saw Carter improve further with a 4.877/306.36, new speed and ET records if he could back them up. Webster ran new personal bests of 5.417/258.94. Kagerad improved to a 5.754/168.54 and Thomas Nataas made his first qualifying run with a 6.504/123.98 half pass. Smax Smith was shut off on the line when a fluid leak was spotted, leaving him only one more attempt at qualifying. In the final session he made the field with a 9.436/83.80, shutting off after the launch. None of the other drivers improved on their earlier times. In eliminations Carter defeated Smith. 4.888/245.74 to 4.963/286.56, this backed up his earlier 4.877 for a new European Record and was the quickest side-by-side race in Europe so far. Kagerad then defeated Webster, 5.297/211.63 to a 7.731/95.53, and Moller beat Joon with a 5.064/272.65 to a 5.294/221.53. Nataas cruised to a bye win after Persaker was shut down for a missing restraint on the engine. The semi finals saw Carter reset his ET record with a 4.832/306.33, which also backed up his previous 306.36 for the speed record. Kagerad in the other lane went up in smoke as tyre shake deployed his chute. Moller won the other semi with a 9.104/80.79 as Nataas red lit his way to an 8.002/102.24. In the final Carter red lit as Moller put in a 5.500/185.26 which saw the blower belt give up at half track. Fuel Funny Car saw John Spuffard qualify at number one with a 5.916/163.54. Leif Helander was second with a 7.133/124.25 followed by Gordon Smith with a 9.732/92.96. In eliminations Helander took his first competative Fuel FC round win over Smith with a 9.806/75.03 to a 10.103/93.75, both cars hitting tyre shake and shutting off early. Spuffard on his bye run got close to the wall and shut off to record a 10.046/84.63. In the final Spuffard took the win with a 6.087/156.81 early shut off to a clutch destroying 14.196/43.78 from Helander. Top Methanol Dragster had three entries and Dave Wilson took the number one qualifing spot with a 5.508/251.41, followed by Rob Turner with a 5.515/246.08 and Peter Schofer with a 5.544/254.82. Turners second qualifier resulted in a cracked rear axle mounting. With the car repaired overnight Schofer then defeated Turner in the first round of eliminations with a 5.742/230.73 as Turners engine went up in flames and he slowed to a 7.078/114.21, which required treatment in hospital for burns to his neck. Wilson put in a 5.458/255.57 bye for his place in the final, which he won with a 5.477/247.45 to Schofer's 5.868/251.67. Top Methanol Funny Car saw Leif Andreasson debut his new Dodge Stratus. He took the lead in qualifying in round two with a 5.906/208.47. Second was Arvid Grodem with a new personal best of 5.959/236.89 having sideswiped the wall on his first run. By the end of the third session Andreasson was relegated to number four as Dan Larsen and Urs Erbacher ran together and clocked 5.852/236.88 and 5.861/243.67 respectively. Niclas Andersson made number three with a 5.903/239.78. These times stood at the end of the final round. Ulf Leanders ran a 6.801/140.22 in the final session which resulted in a fire at the top end when his engine block split in half from front ot back. He got the car stopped safely and was unhurt. Freddy Fagerstrom donated a complete engine to the team in order to get them back on track, which they did. In eliminations Larsen took a 5.954/236.84 bye, Grodem defeated Andreassson with another PB of 5.922/240.75 to a 6.113/222.79. Erbacher beat Jurgen Nagel, 5.751/244.69 to 7.186/196.47 and Ulf Leanders defeated Andersson 6.352/161.95 to a red lighting 5.877/240.38. The semi finals saw Larsen continue with a 5.877/239.01 win over a 6.098/235.64 from Grodem, and Urbacher defeated Leanders with a 5.763/246.08 to a 6.265/171.06. In the final both cars quickly hit tyre shake, Larsen going up in smoke and out of shape as Erbacher pedalled his way to a 6.377/235.43 win over a 6.874/219.34. Pro Modified produced a whopping 18 entries, with only three being UK racers. Patrick Wikstrom took the lead in qualifying in his Camaro during the second session with a 6.382/215.63, and kept hold of it through the remaing two sessions. Hakan Nilsson secured the number two spot in his Camaro in the final session with a 6.428/215.34. Third was Freddy Fagerstrom with a 6.527/213.00 from session two. Session three saw him put in a 7.032/191.51 after driving through tyre shake that dislodged the drivers door leaving it lying on the track. Highest placing for the Brits was Bert Englefield at number five with a new personal best of 6.620/215.35. John Ellis and Andy Robinson were numbers 15 and 16 with 7.274/189.74 and 7.353/169.84. In eliminations Robinson improved dramatically with a 6.834/182.77 but with a red light. Wikstrom took the win with a 6.389/216.26, backing up his 215.63mph for a new European record. Englefield defeated Hakan Fallstrom with a new personal best speed of 216.66 in 6.632s. John Ellis suffered a nitrous burp as he began his burnout and, having restarted, had a repeat of the same problem, leaving Nilsson to take a solo win at 6.441/209.40. Fagerstrom advanced to the next round with a 6.565/216.20 win over a 7.567/155.05 from Robert Kopner. Other first round winners were Peter Wacker, who was into the sixes for the first time, Henri Joosten, Peter Kunc and Roger Johansson. Round two saw Fallstrom brought back in after Englefield was judged to have made a technical infringement involving using a second battery connected with jump leads. He took the win against Johansson with a 6.855/199.86 to a 7.726/126.74 after Johansson's car turned hard right after tyre shake. Wikstrom soloed to a shaking pedalling and smoking 13.076/68.90 after Kunc failed to show, having suffered piston damage in the previous round. After a long burndown Wacker took a win over Fagerstrom, 6.814/193.13 to 6.917/162.45 as Fagerstrom aborted the run early and pulled the chutes. Oil was found in Fagerstrom's lane in the shutdown area subsequently and proceedings were brought to a halt as Nilsson and Joosten were both burning out. In the re-run Nilsson soloed to a 6.473/209.15, but Joosten appealed the outcome due to the disruption and was rewarded with another re-run. This was won by Nilsson with a 6.435/214.38 to a 6.723/203.01. The semi finals saw Wikstrom defeat Fallstrom, 6.466/218.26 to 6.853/203.60. With burnouts completed Wacker and Nilsson were shut down after oil was spotted in the lane Fallstrom had taken. After re-starting Nilsson pulled a red light on a 6.424/214.45 leaving Wacker to head to the final with a 6.849/214.45. He then took the win with a 6.900/197.15 after Wikstrom had problems and shut off early to a 7.561/128.61. Pro Stock saw Jimmy Alund set new European records of 6.938s and 199.19mph in the first two rounds of qualifying. This kept him at the number one qualifing spot until Michael Malmgren ran 6.910/198.03 in the final session. A 6.986/197.39 in a first round defeat against Tommy Leindahl's 7.104/193.11 wasn't close enough for Malmgren to take Alund's record, but it gave him a bye to the final in the next round. Alund advanced to the semis with a 7.192/196.71 win over a 7.214/190.63 from Kenneth Soderstrom, and Magnus Hansson ran 6.995/196.68 to defeat Jackie Hansen who had gear selection issues having run a new personal best of 7.07s in qualifying. In the semis Alund took a 6.946/199.11 to 7.034/195.87 win over Hansson and Malmgren soloed to a 7.002/197.55. In the final Alund got the quicker start but Malmgren took the win with a 6.938/198.27 to a 6.989/199.17. Top Fuel Bike saw Roel Koedam run 6.293/218.53 in the second session of qualifying which kept him at the number one spot for the duration. Eric Teboul ran a new personal best of 6.400/189.85 in the third session for number two spot. Steve Woolatt, having led qualifying in the first session with a 6.529/204.74, failed to improve and finished at number three. Koedam got caught out by a holeshot from Gary Jones in round one of eliminations, and then had his slick go up in smoke. He was off and back on with the throttle and managed to catch and pass Jones, taking the win with a 7.147/214.33 to a 7.758/160.63. Woolatt had similar problems smoking the slick at the start, then regaining traction and attempting to catch Antonio Ferretti, a 7.397/202.89 from Woolatt wasn't enough to catch a 7.165/181.29 from Ferretti. Eric Teboul was another Top Fuel rider to smoke the tyre on the launch, he failed to regain traction and coasted to a 14.812/44.73 as Shaun Branch took an 8.925/96.34 win, but was later disqualified, allowing Teboul to progress. Neil Midgley also advanced to the semi finals with a 6.933/184.94 after opponent Nils Ole Lund was shut down after his burnout. In the semis Ferretti failed to make the call and Teboul took an easy 21.963/65.25 route to the final. Koedam defeated Midgley in a close match up after a great start for Midgley, 6.492/211.24 to 6.827/186.01. The final was an anti climax as Teboul was shut off after his burnout and Koedam soloed to a 7.929/112.71. Supertwin saw the return of Anders Karling after a year off. He led qualifying through all four rounds with a best of 6.604/182.11. Ton Pels was number two with a 6.691/202.56 and Ronny Aasen ran a new personal best of 6.752/200.78 for third. Karling, Aasen and Hans Van Olstad, who ran a new personal best of 7.264/188.20 in qualifying, all took first round wins. In the match up between Pels and Stefan Junerud a short burndown was followed by Junerad launching as Pels moved into stage. Pels then launched before the lights ran, and so both riders were disqualified. This gave Aasen a bye in the semi finals, which resulted in a loud bang from the engine as he left the line. Van Olstad then took a win as Karling shut off early, 7.412/185.77 to 11.617/64.07. In the final Aasen's bike appeared to be suffering and he shut off early to a 14.545/63.29, leaving Van Olstad to take his first ever event win with a 7.292/190.67. Pro Stock Bike saw 2003 European Champion Roger Pettersson dominate qualifying, finishing at number one with a 7.470/179.09. Chris Hope was number two with a 7.735/165.35 and Paul Watson was at number three with 7.758/166.83. Hope, Watson and Martin Bishop all took first round wins, along with Pettersson, who ran the low ET of the round with a 7.490/175.71 defeat over an 8.081/155.73 from Helen Curran. He improved further in the semis with a 7.351/178.58 defeat of Bishop's 7.841/165.46. Watson then ran 7.694/164.66 to take the win over a 7.996/168.57 from Hope. In the final it was Pettersson who took the honours with a 7.372/167.30 to a 7.688/167.30 from Watson. Martin Hill made some demonstration runs in the Fireforce 2 Jet Funny Car, with a best ET of 6.024s at 260.00MPH, and a fastest speed of 264.79MPH in 6.063s.

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