There will be pre-1949 vintage cars and pre-1969 bikes taking part in an event whose aim is to reproduce the days of early Drag and Sprint racing like they held in California back in the days after the Second World War. There will be prizes for the fastest car and bike as well as grudge races between competitors.

Deenethorpe Airfield, also known as RAF Deenethorpe, was used by the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force in WW2, used by the 401st Bombardment Group. The racing will take place at the southern end of the original south westerly runway, with a racers pit area on the apron, an additional showground for cars that are not racing, along with various vendors and music, making for a great family day.

FRIDAY 28th June

• 10.00-18.00      Signing on open.
• 14,30-19.00      Scrutineering open for cars at the Scrutineering building
• 10.00-17.00      Scrutineering open for bikes at the Scrutineering building                                           

SATURDAY 29th June

• 07.00                Signing on open. 
• 08.00                Scrutineering for cars and bikes
• 09.30                Track open for qualifying

SUNDAY 30th June

• 09.00                Scrutineering & Signing on open for cars and bikes.
• 09.30                Track open for qualifying/eliminations

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 Hayley Hadfield Perfect ET Award supported by Andy Hadfield  has been reset to £50 after it was won by 7.60 Heads-up racer Belinda Bull at the Sportsman Nationals. The money will be paid to the first racer at the event to run +0.000 on index or dial-in. The Hayley Hadfield Perfect ET Award is available in Peter Nee Super Pro ET, Modurstang Pro ET, Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET, W.A. Watts Automotive Super Comp, Tony Morris Carburetors Super Gas, Pro Race Engineering VW Pro, Quantum Leap Racing VW Sportsman, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster, JKE Race Works 8.50 Bike, Atlantic Fluid Tech 9.50 Bike, Warpspeed Racing 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 in memory of his late wife Hayley.

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.

The 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 finish of a green light and non-breakout race of eliminations at this weekend's event. At the FIA/FIM Main Event the Award was won by Peter Nee Super Pro ET racers Callum Swinchatt and Mark Coulsell with a finish line margin was  0.0013 seconds or 3.52 inches.

Main Job Role Duties:

• Steel fabrication: Mig and Tig welding (alloy not required but would be good)
• Bespoke panel work and fabrication
• Bespoke exhaust fabrication
• Race car and american car maintenance work
• Opportunity to come to race meetings and give track support and race preparation

MK1Kieran released on his YouTube page this video from Street Weekend 2024: Kieran says:

Street Weekend #2 is over! and I have officially completed the full 3 days covering 400 miles, 4 checkpoints and 2 drag strips in my 1979 Ford Fiesta!

We had some small hiccups on Day 1, but from Day 2 onwards the car performed faultlessly!

Don't forget you can see all the pictures from Street Weekend by visiting Eurodragster.com event page by clicking here or by clicking events at the top of the page.

Thanks for all the hundreds of messages we have received in the last two days, we appreciate them. they have helped us survive these days.

What really happened in the accident and what damage and injuries did the accident cause.

The situation is not good in any way except that no one died.

The accident happened in a road work zone where the speed limit is 55mph, the road was in really bad condition and huge pumps, Hanski was driving the truck and noticed that there were sparks everywhere behind the truck, the trailer was thrown from side to side on the safety chains and was close to falling on its side, he managed to stop safely on the side of the road, Ari immediately said that this is a very dangerous place to stop and he and Elmeri moved the plastic traffic control cones closing the lane until the previous junction before they went to see how they could quickly hook the trailer back up and continue to the truck stop half a mile away to check more closely what happened.

He first shouted to Elmeri, who answered from thirty yards away from the bottom of the ditch, after which he shouted to Ari, whose answer was not heard, Elmeri climbed up from the ditch, they found what looked like a clothespin, which was revealed to be Ari, who was seriously injured, his right leg was missing from the ankle, and Ari did not react to anything.

Before the ambulance arrived, Elmeri and Hanski put a compression bandage on Ari's thigh with an extension cord so that he wouldn't bleed to dryness and gave first aid, which possibly saved Ari's life.

Elmeri has received thorough trauma and first aid training while serving in the Finnish Army, he did not panic or go into shock even though the situation was really chaotic.

What can only be described as an epic adventure. Finding out that my dad had passed away in the early hours of Friday morning wasn’t how I envisaged it starting but I knew he would have wanted me to go for it. Didn’t get a run-on Friday so off to Skeggy with Bruce Kopasz in the Dirty Martini Porsche and support team and Billy Jones & Stacey Chandler with the Grumpy Griz Willys. Billy had a wiring issue a couple of miles in and said they’d catch up. Got to checkpoint one at 6.30pm, Humber Bridge about 9.45pm (what a place) Melbourne 12.30am. Knackered so slept in the car, bit cramped. One & done then hit the road with Bruce Kopasz. Brilliant but busy checkpoint three, steady run to Checkpoint 4, then a detour home for a few hours finally getting to Pod 9.45pm. Leisurely start the day today, first run the gears wouldn’t change. Thought it was driver error so went again, no gear shift. Spoke to a few other racers, should be a simple adjustment as car was spot on coming home.

Monday 1st July Test Day at Santa Pod Raceway.

• £110 racer entry and 4 crew.
• £10pp Camping.
• £10 Spectators.

In 2019, Lorenzen established the non-profit foundation and museum—which today encompasses nearly 100,000 square feet—to celebrate and preserve Southern California's unique car culture and motorsports history. Dave Riswick who grew up in Ricks back yard in West LA made the following announcement:

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of our beloved founder, Rick Lorenzen. 

Rick passed away peacefully on Sunday evening surrounded by family. Rick's vision was the guiding light in the creation of the Lions Automobilia Foundation [through] his leadership and steadfast commitment to preserving and sharing with others what he referred to as a "simpler time." Rick enjoyed telling stories about watching the races at Lions Drag Strip as a young man with his friends, and later meeting so many legends as they visited his treasured museum.  "As we navigate this challenging period, please know that I am committed to continuing Rick's vision and values.

It certainly worked for Michael Castle an initial 6.40sec run then saw Michael, with previous experience at MELBOURNE, post a new personal best run, 5.85sec 122mph second run to claim the number one spot and the only run in the 5s in his MK5 Cortina.

Rob Carter was another. Of his 3 runs in the VW Passat his 6.26sec at 122mph got him the number 2 spot.

Wayne Gill, XHYPE VW Golf R was only 0.11sec behind Rob grabbing 3rd with 6.37sec at 114mph.

Fourth position went to Simon Paul pedalling the Nissan GTR to a best 6.41sec with the highest speed of 124mph.

Overall Winners for Melbourne:

• NO MERCY SHOOTOUT: Terry Mountford (6.46/117mph) def. Ashley Hodgson (6.41/120mph)
• JUNIORS: Maisie Thornton (13.09/46mph) def. Jack Taylor (11.67/60mph)
• SCOOTER SHOOTOUT: Eric Cope (8.12/89mph) def. Paul Gurney (8.49/79mph)
• 6.00SEC CLASS: Chris Hodgson (6.14/125mph) def. Peter Slater (7.53/64mph)
• JUNIOR SPRINT CAR: Dexter Wilson (9.79/61mph) def. (15.80/48mph)
• PRO ET: Bob Molden (6.38/113mph) def. Andy Rounthwaite (7.48/100mph)
• Oldschool USB Stock: Rob Kneeshaw (8.19/93mph) def. Amy Wolstenholme (9.69/84mph)
• Oldschool USB Modified: Mark Taylor (6.48/115mph) Solo Run
• Sportsman ET: Pete Eborall
• Pro Extreme: Nik Wilson

There was a fourth session on Sunday morning, but only Rod Spry making it to the line. He was incredibly pleased that he did though, managing to put his gorgeous red Paul Gast replica H2 into the eights for the very first time, with a sweet sounding [email protected] pass! This kept him in the number three spot, but now we had three riders in the eights!

First round draw pitted no.1 qualifier Claire, in a David and Goliath battle against No. 6 Pete on his tiny 500cc H1 triple. Claire showed no mercy though, and dispatched poor Pete to the trailer, running 9.37 to his loosing 11.87, with neither rider having their best runs. The good news is however, that Pete has plans to step things up a gear for 2025 fitting the larger Kawasaki H2 triple motor to his chassis, with work hopefully starting shortly. Next up was No. 3 Rod Spry on his now eight second H2, versus No. 4 Sean ‘BidBod’ Biddlecombe on the white/red GS1000S.

Unfortunately, Sean’s GS blew a carb off when attempting to start the motor in the burn out box, and so had to pull off to the side lines, watching Rod take the solo pass, with a very respectable 9.01. Last pairing was No. 2 Richard Peachey on the black GS1000, against no. 5 Chris Spry on the brown H2. It is worth mentioning that Chris had been chasing a misfire all weekend, and so was almost half a second off his usual performance. In a rare occurrence, both riders managed to red light, but with Richard having the lesser infringement in this instance, he took the win with an 8.92.

FIA wrap-up from SpeedEvents Internationals.

Thanks to Remco Scheelings for suppling the Latest FIA championship points after the weekend's SpeedEvents Internationals at Tierp Arena, which you can see in full (pdf format) by clicking here or go via our points standings page at this link or by clicking on the link under News in the main menu.

With three more rounds to go, championship leaders are   (Top Fuel),   (Pro Modified), (Top Methanol) and (Pro Stock).

Thanks to Andy Marrs for confirming that no records were set at the Tierp Internationals for FIA.

FIM-E wrap-up from SpeedEvents Internationals.

Thanks to Job Heezen for supplying the 2024 Points on FIM-E championship points after the weekend's SpeedEvents Internationals at Tierp Arena, which you can see via our points standings page at this link or by clicking on the link under News in the main menu.

With three more rounds to go, championship leaders are Rikard Gustafsson (Top Fuel Bike), Marcus Christiansen (Super Twin Bike), Jörg Lymant (Pro Stock Bike), Mathias Bohlin (Super Street Bike) and Richard Willcox (Junior Drag Bike).

Thanks to Andy Marrs for confirming that Daniel Donat Lencses set a new SSB speed record at the weekend at 230.46 mph, 370.9 kph.

Thanks to Lee Child, promoter for the Spitfire Raceway at Parrenporth, Cornwall who has announced the next Drag and Drift event that takes place Saturday 29th June 11am to 3pm.

Lee writes: You don’t have to go home after the drag and drift, keep enjoying yourself at the on site airfield control tower cafe . Live music ,Bar open til late , great food , stunning views , children’s play area , plus camping on site, £10 a tent pitch per night.

Trophies will be up for grabs for quickest top ten on the drag strip, best appearing drift car, best of show and best club stand. Trophies will be presented just after 3pm at race control.

It is fair to say within the Gasser Circus driver group on Watts App, there was a bit of confusion when news of the cancellation of Retro was announced by Santa Pod. No fear the team at the Pod slotted us into the Springnationals and our first MSA event.

Saturday began bright and breezy, and partway through the morning rain made an unwelcome visit and although it hammered down for a while, as the sun replaced it the track crew worked their magic and dried the track. Just before 2pm, Gasser Circus qualifying got underway with 15 Gassers on the plot, many of these had ributes written on their car, as the Gasser Circus family had lost one of our own recently, Steve Dixon succumbing to Cancer. Steve used to pilot the High Roller Ford Falcon and him and his family regular racers until he fell ill. Missed by never forgotten.

First pair up were Sean ‘Chili’ Milsom in his ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ Morris van and alongside was yours truly in my ‘The Traitor’ Anglia. As we activated the tree, I left early leaving a red behind, meanwhile in the other lane Sean left the line but as they say that is all she wrote. A transmission issue halting the run and Sean’s participation in the weekends racing.

Next pair was a collection of bad, with Niamh Smith in her ‘Nogbad the Bad’ Austin Devon, and Andy Cobb in his Model A coupe ‘Bad to the Bone’ dialling 11.00, Niamh on a 11.90. Niamh initially had a problem lighting up her slicks but soon had the Austin with plumes of rubber smoke billowing at the rear. Andy had no such issues, but as the tree activated, he rolled the lights but stayed on it running a breakout with a 10.94, in the other lane Niamh was just two hundredths of her dial in with an 11.92.

Up next current Gasser Circus Champion Chris Layram in the’ Outa Gas’ Pop. Lining up next to him should have been Tony Pearson, and he finally did when he reversed back from another one of his epic rolling burnouts, the man did used to be a Funny Car driver! Ironically, Tony would be qualifying next to the Pop he built for Chris.

Chris left ahead of Tony and would stop the clocks with a breakout 10.23 on a 10.25 with Tony recoding an 11.30 121 mph on a 10.40. The Dale Snoke brothers lined up next with their cars the result of the skilful work of Dale in California. Simon Prest incredibly lucky to make the first round of qualifying having discovered that awful sinking feeling and realisation as he prepared to unload his Mercury Comet that he had left the keys for the Comet at home. A round trip of around 3 hours, the rain saving him as he arrived back just as the class was called.

The other Snoke built car being Brian Gibson in his ‘Identity Crisis’ Dodge Dart Simon dialling 11.00 and Brian 11.45. This may have only been qualifying but when these two-run side by side bragging rights are available and so it was as they stayed door handle to door handle with Simon getting their first with 11.02 and Brian a breakout 11.40.

Top five after round one was.

1. Nick Hewison
2. Niamh Smith
3. Simon Prest
4. Nick Brooke-Langham
5. Steve Matthews

The cars left together with Sean’s launch bereft of any wheels up action, but he was holding his own against Tony who had also crafted various parts of Sean’s Morris, which crossed the line first recording a 10.62 @ 129mph with no burnout and Tony running an 11.13.

Chris Layram up next dialling 10.10 with Andy Cobb showing 10.90 as the lights dropped both drivers left hard with both having photographer pleasing mirrored wheelies with Chris up and to the left and Andy a wheelie with the body torqueing to the right before both coming down and running side by side at the top Chris had a 10.35 and Andy a 10.93 which moved him up to 3rd.

3^rd Qualifying

AS 6:30 ticked by the end of the fire up road was littered with Gassers, first up Simon Prest in ‘The Rocket’ with me alongside in ‘The Traitor’, we left together but at mid track the Anglia decided it wanted to take a short cut to the pits and I got out of it. Simon running the 11.00 he had previously been chasing but as it came with a two, he would end up sixth.

Adam Kruczynski on 11.25 and Chris Layram 10.20 Adam pulled a red but and also ran a breakout by one thousandth of a second with an 11.24, in the opposite lane Chris decided to use his transbrake for the first time it worked as he took the number qualifier position with a 10.20 with a 7, another 1 thousandth taking it.

With the sun casting a fantastic golden glow as it sank lower in the sky Steve Matthews had 9.61 on his ‘Honky Tonkin’ 57 and Brian Gibson 11.39 on his ‘Identity Crisis’ Dodge Dart. Both cars left hard and at the end of the action Brian had hit 11.41 which moved him up to number 5 and Steve with a 9.68 up to number 7.

Ray Turner chose 10.80 and when he left it was arrow straight whilst Sam Glenn in the right lane had to contend with the Austin pickup leaping towards the wall on the right, despite this momentary blip he still ran 10.57 and Ray had posted a 10.84 good enough 9^th Sam into 12^th.

Next up Tony Pearson in the Guzzler 10.40, with Billy Jones on a 10.62. As the bulbs lit the cars left, one with its front wheels up and one with them planted firmly against the track. Billy the one keeping all for tyres in contact with the track, but the car pulled to the right, then as he corrected it the Willys became loose, and Billy did the sensible thing a backed out of it with Tony charging down to stop the timers with an 11.13.

Sunday normally commences with Eliminations but first up we had our final qualifying a brief summary as the top 8 remained unchanged and the few movers were from 8 down with Adam in his 55 Chevy up 2 to 9^th, Billy down 2 to 12^th, Sam in the Austin pickup down 2 to 14th and Tony up 1 to 13^th.

Casualties from qualifying were Niamh and her Austin suffering valve train damage on third qualifying and in the same session Andy Cobb in his Model A suffering a damaged clutch. Tony Pearson could not make the call for Eliminations, so there would be a few bye runs.

Eliminations

First pairing had ray Turner ‘Green Onions’ 55 Chevy going for a 10.85 against Nick Hewison in his 9.92 dialled Fordson ‘Short Fuse’.

By courtesy of his dial in Ray left first closely followed by Nick this turned into a great race with Ray ahead until about ¾ track with Nick powering past and not breaking out with a 9.98 and Ray a 10.94.

The first bye run next, and the number 1 qualifier Chris Layram had this. He ran a wheels up launch with an excellent 10.30 @ 127mph.

Honky Tonkin 57 with Steve Mathews at the wheel prepared to take on Sam Glenn. Sam leaving first with an arrow straight launch, but Steve had his old nemesis return with ‘Honky Tonkin’ pulling hard to the left, Steve stayed in it as the car came good and he was off after Sam who was thundering down the strip but a tad too hard with a breakout by Sam with a 10.65 on a 10.68 Steve taking the win and running a 9.67.

Billy Jones Willys edged to the line after copious amounts of door fanning from his crew chief Stacey to extract the burnout smoke. In the opposite lane Brian Gibson edged to the beams. With the cars at the line and tree active Brian loaded up the brakes and built the revs, as he let his foot off the brakes, he lit the red bulb with a -0602 still running a 11.42, but he was now on the trailer, Billy advancing.

The final was now set, Chris in his Pop would be burning out next to Steve Matthews in his ‘Honky Tonkin’ 57.

The burnout area was populated with Gasser Circus drivers and crew as the protagonist’s burnt out under the guidance of their respective crews.

Side by side stonking burnouts set the tone for the final but would it live up to the superb racing seen in the quarter and semi-finals?

Chris had his ‘fan’ club helping to swing the Pops doors to assist the burnout smoke to exit. This complete and under the direction of Ian Marshall the Gassers edged into the beams, Steve lit the top bulb and waited on Chris, he then lit the top bulb and instantly lit the second bulb, Steve followed and we were set, the tree dropped and Chris moved first with a wheels up launch giving full employment to the wheelie bars, within an instant Steve launched but his wheelie had a much lower angle of attack. The Gassers at 60 foot were side by side and so it continued as they closed in on the finish line there was nothing in it, we all waited as this superb final came to its close, the win lights going on in Steve s lane.

For those interested in the numbers Chris dialled 10.20 and ran 10.24 with a reaction time of 0.206 and the victorious Steve a 9.59 running a 9.65 taking it his reaction time of 0.105.

5 years after winning his last round of racing, Steve and his dedicated crew were left to celebrate a fine and exhilarating win and getting their hands on the fantastic Neil Melliard winner’s pin. An epic win for a racer who has been through adversity as his fifty-seven went through several engines.

A superb weekend of Gasser racing was made possible by Santa Pod and their superb crew on and off the strip and our sponsors whom we are most grateful for their continued support, Neil Melliard’s Modern Lettering, Rocket Racing Team, Serck Services and Tom Margesson.

The Gasser Circus can next be seen racing at Dragstalgia the first weekend in July.

Santa Pod Raceway's Event Coordinator Max Frost announced on his Facebook page about the Street Weekend 2024, Max writes:

What a weekend it had everything, and the stories are going to be insane. For us, following Owen Forrest down country roads, lighting his way into Melbourne, to him getting lost down a dead end, watching him reverse his little trailer and then watching it bounce its way through Derby – Quite impressive and hilarious.

The storm at Great Northern Classics was biblical and hearing the stories from the likes of Tom Atkinson afterwards with the struggles on the road makes you appreciate that this is not easy!

Great to see Colin Theobald out on the road in his Camaro, continuing to raise money for the BDRHoF Benevolent fund in these circumstances, amazing. Colin, we have all been with you my friend, every single mile of the journey.

FIA Speedevents Internationals finals

Antti Horto, Tony Bryntesson, Andreas Arthursson and Jimmy Ålund winners at SpeedEvents Internationals

Antti Horto raced to victory by defeating Duncan Micallef in the Top Fuel final for the SpeedEvents Internationals at Tierp Arena, round two of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship. In Top Methanol Tony Bryntesson won a quick and close final over Jonny Lagg, while Andreas Arthursson and Jimmy Ålund claimed the win in Pro Modified and Pro Stock. With three winners from Sweden, the race was very successful for the organizing Scandinavian country.

You can read the full article by visiting this link.

FIM-E Speedevents Internationals finals

Gustafsson, Christiansen and Maurice take their second, Bohlin secures his first season win

Sunday saw a superb conclusion to the second round of the FIM-E Drag Bike championship season with barely a hitch through the day and some excellent performances providing some of the highlights.

You can read the full article by visiting this link.

Gustafsson, Christiansen and Lencses but Maurice makes a move on Day Two

FIM-E Dragbike Championship, Round Two, SpeedEvents Internationals, Tierp Arena, Sweden

Qualifying quickened up for many on the second day for the pro classes at the Speedevents Internationals at Tierp Arena. Three sessions for the bikes shuffled the packs in the four classes, but a leading trio from yesterday held onto their top spots.

You can read the full article by visiting this link.

Happy 40th Birthday to Wild Bunch and Junior Dragster crew chief Steve Cassisi from all at Limited Funz Racing would like to wish Steve, Marra Chief aka 'Sideways Steve' a Marratastic 40th birthday.

Hope you have a fabulous day celebrating in 'sunny' Wales with the whole Marra gang.

Swedish drivers on top after day one of qualifying for the SpeedEvents Internationals at Tierp Arena

Susanne Callin is in the provisional number one qualifying position in Top Fuel at the first day of qualifying for the SpeedEvents Internationals, round two of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship at Tierp Arena in Sweden. In Top Methanol Tony Bryntesson is the provisional leader, while in Pro Modified and Pro Stock Andreas Arthursson and Jimmy Ålund claimed the provisional number one qualifying position after two runs. With four drivers from Sweden leading their respective categories, the home crowd has plenty to cheer for on day two.

You can read the full article by visiting this link.

Eurodragster.com sponsor John Tebenham says "A belated Happy Birthday to my right hand man Mr Greed (aka Gary Reed). The rest of his teeth are in the lorry...Joking aside, I couldn't do it without him...or his teeth...Hockenheim next".

This weekend's FIA/FIM-E race at Tierp Arena will be streamed Saturday and Sunday, follow our coverage page by clicking here. supported by John Woolfe Racing.

Round two in the FIA European Drag Racing Championship at Tierp Arena will be broadcast live from the Swedish Automobile Sport Federation web page which you can reach by clicking here for only SEK 149 /month (roughly €13.22/£11.15).

The broadcast from FIA/FIM-E SpeedEvents Internationals start Saturday and Sunday 08:00 local time.

The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame is pleased to announce its fourth annual Dragstalgia Grand Auction taking place inside the event’s Historic Marquee, situated pitside near the grandstand. The auction features a wealth of artefacts and artworks generously donated to help in the raising of essential funds for the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame and its Benevolent Fund.

An array of items from the USA has been collected by Tony Thacker. Major donations from the home front include a Paul Whitehouse Art painting of Commuter and, from Jon Benn, a 125cm x 47cm poster of Commuter which has never been displayed. From the USA, there’s a copy of Carl Olson’s book Racing Through Life, autographed by the man himself. Donations from Mooneyes include a special MOON "Far-Out" table lamp and T-shirt. There are multiple donations from the estate of the late BDRHoF Member, Roger Gorringe.

These are just some of the highlighted items but there are many others, including a host of books, posters, T-shirts, limited-edition and signed prints – too many items to list individually. And there will be plenty more on general sale too.

In summary, we’re looking at around 400 miles on the road across 3 days whilst also recording a time on track on each one of the days. We all know that Street Eliminator cars are probably the quickest street legal cars on track in the UK right now, but can they really handle that many road miles? This is the competition to find out!

The winner will be determined by the lowest Total ET across the 3 days. For example, a 10 second ET on day 1, 6 second ET on day 2 and 9 second ET on day 3 gives a total time of 25 seconds. Failure to make a pass on any given day will result in a penalty time of 30 seconds at Santa Pod Raceway and 15 seconds at Melbourne Raceway. Failure to complete the route and sign on at the track on any of the 3 days will result in disqualification.

Checkpoints have been appointed along the way which you must visit to complete the allocated route. 

Racers can access the instructions and directions as mentioned on Santa Pod Raceway website by clicking here.

You can check the entry list for the Street Weekend by clicking here.

Checkpoint One:

Street Weekend is heading to Skegness Pier. That’s right – actual Skegness Pier! Skegness Pier is one of the largest Entertainment Centres on the East Coast of Lincolnshire. Skegness Pier is home to a variety of exciting activities such as 10 Pin Bowling, Captain Kid’s soft play, Clip N Climb, entertainment and of course spectacular sea views from the Pier deck.

www.skegnesspier.co.uk

Must Visit Friday

Checkpoint Two:

The Viking Way Cafe Bar - est. 1066 is an exciting new venture with views to die for, 100m from the South Bank of the Humber Bridge. 

maritimexperience.com/vikingwaycafe

Must Visit Friday

Checkpoint Three:

The Motorist is the most exciting automotive venue in the North! Based in Sherburn in Elmet, Leeds, The Motorist is a unique venue where like-minded people gather to appreciate great cars, enjoy good food and take part in regular meets and activities.

With an onsite Garage & Bodyshop, Restaurant and meeting spaces, The Motorist is a destination not to be missed.

www.themotorist.com

Must Visit Saturday

Monday 1st July Test Day at Santa Pod Raceway.

• £110 racer entry and 4 crew.
• £10pp Camping.
• £10 Spectators.

Saturday morning came and we made our way down for the first qualifying session. Bit of a confusion with my dad as we turned the fuel on for the bike, but not the tap for the nitrous, so I said next time we will do it before we go down. I took the body work off and turned the tap on. Well, I thought I did but turned the on fuel tap off, which was the only one on, I pulled up to the line put it on the two step and instant die off the hit but was able to keep it running and coasted down the track.

Q2. We made sure we turned everything on this time before we left the pit the bike left hard off the line shifted to 2 was fine but it wouldn’t shift to third when I wanted it to but it finally shifted but we had a cross wind and about half way up the track the wind hit the front and pushed me left so to the wall I decided to just shut off and coast through the line with a 9.7. As we got back and went over the bike, we found out that we melted number 2 and number 4 spark plug so we had to put some new ones in and try again.

We got back played with things put new plugs in and a fresh bottle and headed to the final.

The final. I faced Gary Hester which he was number one qualifier and he had been on his numbers all weekend, so I knew that the bike and me had to do the best run of the entire weekend. But as we went to tune the nitrous bottle on, we could hear a leak on the fitting but as we were ready to go, we had no time to change it, so we just had to go for it. As I pulled up the line the bike died but misfired but stayed on which concerned me. We both staged I stuck it on the two step and as the light went green, I dropped the clutch for the bike to instantly die off the line which I already knew that was game over. Well, done to Gary as he had been phenomenal all weekend and deserved that win.

Sportsman ET : Gary Lake (13.88) 13.9478/95.61 def. Darren Huxley (12.25) 12.4352/109.07 (RED)
VW Sportsman : Tom Circuit (17.82) 17.8598/75.29 def. Paul Robinson (15.60) 16.0681/78.00
VW Pro : James Hodson (11.10) 11.4150/117.01 def. Chris Waterhouse (9.60) 9.6691/150.08
7.60 Heads Up : John Sleath 7.7176/151.64 def. Rob Smallworth 7.6593/175.76
Big Bracket : Mick Sharpe (9.85) 9.8585/132.82 def. Don Scott (10.02) 9.9258/131.37
Gasser Circus : Steve Matthews (9.59) 9.6579/121.85 def. Chris Layram (10.20) 10.2460/129.40
Nostalgia Super Stock : Adrian Portelli (10.92) 11.0930/108.70 def. Steve Lloyd (11.24) 11.4013/110.95
Outlaw Anglia : Colin Millar 7.9352/164.85 def. Rob Stone 8.6851/150.12
100e Challenge : Matthew Stanley (12.65) 12.6072/103.71 def. Scott Collin (08.08) 8.0604/164.82(RED)

ET Bike : Gary Hester 9.0423/129.76 def. Brett Cordelle (BROKE)
Super Street Bike : Alan Morrison Jnr 6.9139/213.82 def. Chris Reed 7.1349/182.14(New PB)
Comp Bike : Dan De`ath 7.3742/195.46 def. Jasmine Cordelle 7.4466/169.81
8.50 Bike : Ian Crichlow 8.5828/155.75 def. Jay Roe 8.3151/156.87(RED)
9.50 Bike : Dave Hall 9.5681/142.81 def. Rob Stanley 9.6235/139.52
Funny Bike : David Peters 7.3193/176.44 def Roger Moore 7.9155/125.55
Old School Stocker : Claire Rule 8.8551/142.97 def. Richard Peachy (BROKE)
Junior Drag Bike : Hollie King (8.40) 8.4724/78.17 def. Declan Butt (13.99) 14.1507/48.46

Thanks for Remco Scheelings from Drag Racing Europe for sending in these articles on the build up to FIA/FIM-E SpeedEvents Internationals at Tierp Arena on 13-16th June

Norway’s Rolfstad Pro Drag Racing will head into FIM-E Super Twin competition at the SpeedEvents Internationals at Tierp buoyed by off season progress and promising early testing at their local Gardermoen track over the past couple of weeks. Second generation team rider and a sign of the future in European nitro bike ranks, John Rolfstad gave us the overview.

You can read the full article by visiting this link.

This time there are 30 new additions or updates between June 1966 and the most recent entry, 2004’s Main Event at Santa Pod. Amongst the racers at Santa Pod’s opening round of the 2024 FIA Championship recently were many names that were also there 20 years ago, including Andy Robinson with his Studebaker Pro Mod, Peter Wacker, who was running his first six second passes, Peter Kunc and Michael Malmgren. Jon Webster was setting new personal bests in Top Fuel and Jimmy Alund was setting new European records in Pro Stock. There were new records in Top Fuel as well, and many people will remember Freddy Fagerstrom leaving one of his doors lying on the track… 2004 also sees the addition of details of Dave Wilson’s continuing campaign in Top Alcohol in the USA.

Van Nimmen ready for Round Two.

After a challenging opening event at the Main Event, Chris van Nimmen reflects on his runner up spot and the hard work the American Lifestyle team put in at Santa Pod and the preparation work required to contest the next round in FIM-E Super Twin action in Sweden.

You can read the full article by visiting this link.

Bacon and Brakes was started in October 2019 as a friendly local meet up for car and 'bike enthusiasts at the motorsport-themed Rhynd Café near St Andrews in Scotland. Sixteen cars turned up on that first rainy morning, and then COVID hit. We reopened the doors again in the late summer of 2021 and numbers rose quickly... Today, we welcome over 500 cars, motorcycles, trucks, fire engines, tricycles and even tractors on a monthly basis. At the last meeting on 5th May, 2024, we counted nearly 700.

We've now introduced a Best in Show competition alongside studio photography, an Autotest and we will soon welcome the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards with Jackals, HMGs and possibly an Oshkosh Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (known as 'The Wrecker!'). June saw our first Formula 1 car attend (the 1989 Arrows A11) and it was started up for everyone at 11am.

We have an off-road course on site, as well as the café and food stalls. Next door, we run the Scottish Clay Shooting Centre that puts on clay shooting (obviously!), archery and axe throwing. Also have the Rhynd Farmhouse that's available for rent at this link. 

The arrival of two dragsters from America – Mooneyes and Dos Palmas, reflecting the drag race tradition of naming rather than numbering cars – will be an anniversary focus, but they are not the only vehicles crossing the Atlantic.

Fuel Altereds – rather like Can-Am cars in circuit racing – enjoyed a brief 1960s flowering before the mainstream moved on but are nowadays a popular and revered staple of the historic racing scene. A rematch between two latter-day FAs, powered by supercharged, nitromethane-burning V8s, will be a Dragstalgia highlight as Randy Bradford’s Fiat Topolino-bodied machine from America takes on Britain’s Nick Davies and his Austin Bantam, Havoc. Bradford last competed at Santa Pod in 2016. In 2017, Davies shipped Havoc to the USA and beat the Americans at their own game, bringing home the season trophy.

Pre-1980 is Dragstalgia’s order of the day. There’ll be a loud and lairy concoction of Nostalgia Funny Cars, Fuel Altereds and Front-Engined Dragsters, on methanol and nitro, mixing it up in a ‘cannonball’ format, while throwback racing groups such as Outlaw Anglias, the Gasser Circus, Supercharged Outlaws, the Wild Bunch and the Willys Wars enjoy their weekend in the limelight. While entries continue to roll in, the list already boasts 68 Nostalgia Superstockers. Who knew the UK had so much vintage American iron race-ready and raring to go?

On two wheels, expect a healthy turnout as the National Sprint Association corrals its finest and fastest old-school bikers, while the legendary US machine Hogslayer – the twin-Norton mount of TC Christenson famous for scourging the Harley-Davidson ‘hogs’ on dragstrips across America in the 1970s – will emerge from its latter-day retirement home, Solihull’s National Motorcycle Museum, to bark down the strip once more some half a century after its formidable heyday.

Also of rarity value, Martin Hill brings out his seldom-seen FireForce 2 Jet Funny Car to light up the show.

Alongside the track will be an array of distinguished drag race machinery on static display – Commuter, Tudor Rose, Motovation: names calculated to bring a tear to the eye of anyone old enough to have watched them in their prime (and not just from the nitro fumes) – together with some ‘cracklefest’ fire-ups.

Of particular note will be the three known surviving Allard dragsters. The Allard Chrysler, the machine credited as Britain’s first dragster constructed by Sydney Allard in 1961, will be on weekend leave from its home at Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum, flanked by the last remaining pair of Allard Dragons, the machines built by the Allard Motor Company in the mid-1960s and each now privately owned.

The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame’s annual Grand Auction brings a host of rare artefacts and memorabilia from Europe and America into the public eye. There are club displays, and the Autoglym Show & Shine competition burnishes the pinnacle of automotive finery. If more thrills are called for, seek out the classic Ken Fox Wall of Death motorcycle show.

Come for a day and you’ll get an outstanding programme of events on and off the track, with live music in the Vintage Hub featuring bands and DJs. Come for two or even all three days and you’ll experience the full festive atmosphere. Bring your tent, your van or your motorhome and your overnight stays are free with multi-day tickets, with The Ultimate Classic Rock Show and the Dragstalgia Beer & Cider Festival all part of the bargain among the attractions vying for your attention.

Thanks to Remco Scheeling for posting an article about the FIA/FIM-E Main Event on www.dragracingeurope.eu . You can read the full story by clicking here.

To complete a frustrating meeting, rain eventually won much of eliminations day with a series of downpours disrupting and ultimately curtailing the opening round of this year’s FIM-E championship. This also included a shift to eighth mile running after the first set of eliminations due to problems drying the shutdown area, and then a final set of the wet stuff ended proceedings with only three classes completed

Melbourne Raceway's E.T bracket classes this year will be racing, Sportsman ET (up to 7.90), (Pro ET (6.90-7.89) and Pro Extreme (5.90-6.89) with dial-ins used on the Sportsman tree. There's also the NSCC Hot Rod Gazette heads up option for modified street legal cars. And for quicker cars that want to run a heads up pro tree, we have Pro Comp running a Cannonball style format with the two quickest running a shootout in the final.

If racers don't have a Motorsport UK or ACU licence for bike racers, a Nora licence is needed but can be purchased easily and cheaply at this link.

For more details on the car rules, click on this link. The No Mercy Bike series offers bracket racing opportunities to bikers, jnr bikes, scooters, Ultimate Street bikes for modified bikes, stock and 2 strokes, racing legends for the over 70s among others. For more details on the bike rules, click on this link..

Nostalgia Funny Car racer Simon Hayward was at Santa Pod Raceway last weekend to test his recreaation of the legendary 1970s Houndog Funny Car.

The team wrote: "What a weekend at Santa Pod., it's been a long time coming, but we got down the strip! It was exactly 50 years ago Nobby Hills debuted the former Paula Murphy Plymouth Duster and christened it Houndog 7. Back in 1974 it was Owen Hayward behind the wheel. 50 years later, it's his son Simon taking it down the track."

Thanks to Rob Loaring of I.C.E. Automotive who posted his thoughts: "I spent today with Simon and his team and it went pretty well. The clutch was too tight on the first lap and it wouldn't come out of reverse but the second went pretty smoothly. A couple of blower pulleys and some counterweight and they'll be on their way. It's been a long time coming and I suspect they'll all sleep well tonight!"

Our best wishes to Simon and the team who plan to progress further in the near future.

7.60 Heads Up supported by Eurodragster.com sponsors Jeff and Belinda Bull, has a field of seven cars with Belinda Bull in the S10 Truck, Kevin Jenkins with the MK1 Escort, John Sleath with the S10 pickup, Eurodragster.com sponsor Colin Millar with the Anglia, Kevin Perkins with the Oldsmoble Cutlass “Soul Man”, Billy Gane and Mark Turner also in the class.

Sportsman ET sponsored by Hutchinson and Dibley with the largest class of the event with 28 cars, 2023 champion Gary Lake with the Arabian Knight Pontiac Trans AM, Eurodragster.com own Kirstie Tramm with the Camaro, Brian Huxley in the Focus, Santa Pod Racers Club Peter Walters brings his Camaro Z28 after racing the dragster at the Main Event, Georgina Smith with the Supra and many more to continue the 2024 championship.

The VP Lubricants Nostalgia Super Stock brings 6 car field to the event seeing Adrian Portelli in the Dodger Charger, Spencer Tramm in the Camaro, Don Scott with the Plymouth Superbird, Mick Sharpe in the Dodge Dart and Clive Dandridge double entry with Sportsman ET in the GMC C15 Truck.

Quantum Leap Racing VW Sportsman has another large field with 26 cars, Jon Crawford with the Golf, Jack Gooding in the Scirocco, Steve Metcalf and the Baja, Danny Bean in the Lupo and Paul Robinson in the TT V6. Plus, many more.

Pro Race Engineering VW Pro has 20 cars with European FWD Luke Stevenson in his Golf, James Gould with the VR6 Altered, ED Keech in the Porsche 944, James Hodson in the MK2 Golf, Philip Blogg with the Caddy and many more.

Big Bracket has 6 cars with Matthew Dowdy in the Nova after losing the rear window at the Main Event, Allan Schofield the Dragster, Mick Sharpe, and Don Scott both double entered in Super Stock also, Joshua Duncan with the Ford 100E Square and Richard Tunstall with his RCCS Roadster.

Taylor’s Trophy Super Street Bike brings 7 riders with Alan Morrison, Rudolfo Maduro from Spijkenisse a city in the province of South Holland, Netherlands with the Suzuki GSXR 1000, Eurodragster.com sponsor JKE Race Works sees Jake Mechaell and Kostas Giannopoulos with the Hayabusa’s. Chris Reed and Steve Venables both with the Hayabusa bikes.

Leeks Landscapes Funny Bike has 5 bike field from David Peters, Maarten Zijlstra from Amsterdam, Ryan Davidson, Lorcan Parnell and Roger Moore.

Suzuki Performance Spares Comp Bike with 16 bike field with Shernon Martis from the Netherlands, Charly Anasagasti another racer from Netherlands, Anna Sasiak from St. Albans, Mark Dainty with Hayabusa from Lydney and many more riders.

8.50 Bike sponsored by JKE Race Works has 11 bikes from Craig Wright from Pelton, Patrick Merite from Netherlands, Daniel Madeira from Portugal/Essex, and many more great bikes to continue the fight for the title.

Atlantic Fluid Tech 9.50 with 3 bikes from Dave Hall with the GSXR 1100L, Joshua Mclean and Rob Stanley with the Hayabusa.

Summer Nationals which is held at Santa Pod Raceway on 29th-30th June. This is a reminder that the closing day is this Friday 7th June. *A surcharge will occur after this date.

The current entry list for the event is at this link. You can enter by clicking here. Late entry may cost extra, so competitors are urged to sign up today.

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 Hayley Hadfield Perfect ET Award supported by Andy Hadfield has been reset to £50 after it was won by Mordurstang Pro ET racer Tom Watkins at the FIA/FIM-E Main Event. The money will be paid to the first racer at the event to run +0.000 on index or dial-in. The Hayley Hadfield Perfect ET Award is available in Peter Nee Super Pro ET, Modurstang Pro ET, Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET, W.A. Watts Automotive Super Comp, Tony Morris Carburetors Super Gas, Pro Race Engineering VW Pro, Quantum Leap Racing VW Sportsman, Lucas Oil Junior Dragster, JKE Race Works 8.50 Bike, Atlantic Fluid Tech 9.50 Bike, Warpspeed Racing 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 in memory of his late wife Hayley.

Many thanks to Santa Pod Racers Club Secretary Ian Marshall for sending us details of track opening and signing on at the Sportsman Nationals being held this weekend 8th-9th June, including scrutineering times.

The main gates to the track will open at 07.00 on Friday, 7th June.

Friday, 7th June:

• 10.00-18.00 Signing on office opens
• 10.00-18.00  Scrutineering for bikes at the scrutineering building
• 14.30-19.00  Scrutineering for cars at the scrutineering building

Saturday, 8th June:

• 07.00 Signing on office opens
• 08.00 Scrutineering for cars at the scrutineering building
• 08.00 Scrutineering for bikes at the scrutineering building
• 09.30 Track open for qualifying

Sunday, 9th June: 

• 08.00 Signing on open
• 08.00 Scrutineering for bikes
• 08.00 Scrutineering for cars
• 09:30 Track open for qualifying/ eliminations

it's time for the ultimate adrenaline rush at Mantorp Park. The world's fastest cars are making a comeback to the iconic drag strip for a weekend packed with excitement and entertainment.

This year, Meguiar's Drag Festival can present a starting field with as many as 6 participating Top Fuel who will compete in a thrilling competition with Cannonball format. Here you get to experience tens of thousands of horsepower making up on Mantorp Park's legendary drag racing strip.

•  Susanne Callin

•  Dennis Nilsson

•  Duncan Micallef,

•  Tommi Haapanen,

•  Stig Neergard

•  Timo Lehtimäki

DRAG RACING

Of course, it will be packed with Drag racing during Meguiar's Drag Festival 2024!

Top Fuel is back at Mantorp Park, more maxed out than ever! This year we have six Top Fuel drivers on site to compete in a thrilling Cannonball Race. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, you'll feel the sound and feel in your chest as thousands of horsepower moves from standstill to extreme speeds in just a few seconds – an experience you won't want to miss!

In addition, we welcome a bunch of exciting drag racing classes such as Top Doorslammer, Pro Xtreme, Super Twin Top Gas Bike, Top Fuel Bike, Vintage Outlaw and Nitro Bike!

MOTORCYCLE AND CAR SHOW

At Meguiar's Drag Festival, we not only offer fantastic world-class drag racing – we also fill Mantorp Park with a car – and a motorcycle show that you can't miss!
The exhibition is as usual located along the strip. Perfect for those who want to look at cars but still experience drag racing up close!

Prizes will be awarded both on Saturday and Sunday, it is "Best In Show, Car" 1 , 2 , 3 and "Best In Show, MC" 1 , 2 , 3.

While he is preparing to start his journey in the Competition Bike category, we took the opportunity to ask some more detailed questions to get a glimpse of his expectations for this season.

With two bikes tailored for a quarter-mile track in his possession, the question arises: which one will Shernon deploy this season? 'The nitrous bike is our safety net,' he explains. 'Our primary focus is to maximize the turbo bike's runs for familiarization, data collection, and to chart our ascent to the Super Street Bike category.'

But what made Shernon choose the Competition Bike category, and what makes racing in this class so captivating? 'My ultimate goal is to reach the Super Street Bike (SSB) category,' he explains. 'However, the current data indicates that I will need to be more competitive to be competitive in Super Street Bike. On the other hand, the data also showed us that it would be too quick for the 8.50 bike index class, leaving me with only one option: Competition Bike. And we know this will be challenging, but we are up for the challenge!

'Have there been any modifications to the bike over the winter?' Shernon shares, 'No, I haven't made any modifications to the bike. I simply rebuilt the engine, and it still has its original internals. However, I took a different approach to the rebuild. Instead of seeking someone to do it for me, I sought someone who could pass on the knowledge of building such an engine. Stefan Schmidt (Schmidt Performance Racing) has enhanced my understanding of engine rebuilding. Steward Crane and Michael Piggot (Wrapspeed Racing) have guided me on the dyno and taught me how to tune my engine. And Jake Mechaell JKE Race Works) has been my on-track mentor, helping me interpret the bike's data and fine-tune my performance.'

'When will your debut at the British championship be, and what are your expectations?' The test runs we did at the beginning of the year look promising, and we are debuting during the Sportsman Nationals, which will be held from 7 to 9 June 2024. I'm eagerly looking forward to this year's season and expect to be competitive. I'm not aiming to end up at the bottom of the list, but we will see how far we can go. As long as the team is satisfied with the results, I am happy.'

'I am deeply grateful to our Lord for his guidance and strength,' Shernon humbly acknowledges. 'I also want to express my heartfelt thanks to my family, who always had my back, supported my dreams, and allowed me to pursue my passion. My team, who believe in me and constantly push me to improve, are the backbone of my journey. And, of course, to all the fans out there—your unwavering support is what makes Motorsport thrive!'

Videographer Simon Letkey has posted a Youtube video of Eurodragster.com sponsor John Tebenham's runs at Doorslammers 2024. Simon says "John entered his Pro Mod into a 15 car field car at the 2024 Doorslammers event at Santa Pod Raceway.

It was his first time driving it since the Doorslammers event last year, which ended with head failure after it dropped valves on several runs. How did he get on this time?" See the video which includes pit footage by clicking on the image.

Max Frost from Santa Pod Raceway announced on Facebook last Thursday 30th May:

As we move closer to the event, 2 WEEKS AWAY, we are closely monitoring entry numbers.

For those that are currently entered - If you are unable to make it and still appear on the photo entry list, please let me know ASAP.

Congratulations to Jens Lönngren (Top Doorslammer) and all sportsman car and bike winners at the first round of the FHRA Championship held at Motopark, Virtasalmi on 25th-26th May.

You can see links to final qualifying, elimination ladders and a list of winners and runners-up by clicking here on the FHRA website. Links to championship points can be seen by clicking here.

In Top Doorslammer, Jens qualified his '35 Plymouth #1 out of five contenders with a 4.079/301.50kph (187.34mph) run over the eighth mile. In eliminations he defeated Kaapo Lehtonen's Willys Coupe in round 1 and took the victory after Henri Halikka's Plymouth Duster was a no show in the final.

Key Requirements:

• Availability for the entire MSUK race season and the Doorslammers event.
• Willingness to assist in setting up and breaking down the rig at events. It's a tough job, but it's all hands on deck in our team.
• Extensive experience with V8 race engines, particularly blown methanol Hemi engines – this will be a significant advantage.
• Commitment to the full season, including smaller events. Reliability and team spirit are non-negotiable.
• A love for motorsport and the enthusiasm to be part of a Pro Mod team.

Whats included:

• Full event tickets for the season.
• Comfortable accommodation in our well-equipped race truck, featuring memory foam mattresses and all bedding.
• A relaxing lounge and dining area with a large screen TV and bar – your space to unwind.
• Main meals and beverages provided during events.
• Team apparel: 4 pit crew T-shirts, 2 hoodies, and a start line race shirt.
• While this position is unpaid, it's an opportunity to be deeply involved in the thrill and camaraderie of Pro Mod racing.