Thanks to FIA Technical Consultant for Drag Racing Frans Steilberg for informing Eurodragster.com that FIA have published the 2025 FIA Technical Regulations.
2025 Technical Regulations for FIA Drag Racing are published online under FIA.com and can be found by clicking here.
Thanks to Eurodragster.com’s intrepid reporter Tog for his words on this year's show:
Autosport International, the annual halfway-there beacon of the off-season, took place at Birmingham’s NEC this past weekend. Although drag racing involvement was minimal this time around, Eurodragster.com kept up our record of attending Autosport International since the year 2000. Flying the flag for drag racing on the Co-Ordsport stand was Front-Wheel Drive racer Matt Davison, aka Mr Boost, whose nine-second 1991 Honda Civic runs in Comp Eliminator. “The motor is 1.6 litre single cam sixteen valve”, said Matt. “It makes 915 horsepower, and we will be trying for a thousand this year. The turbo is a Garrett G45 and a Fueltech ECU controls everything. Boost and fuel control are Turbosmart”.
The Civic runs on methanol because it makes more power and runs cooler. “We run a solid block with no coolant because we use methanol”, said Matt. On its 9.1-second pass, the car recorded a terminal speed of 159 mph but has run almost 162 mph on its fastest pass. As is not uncommon with high-revving motors, the team struggle with valve spring issues, but Matt said that the car is nevertheless more consistent than in the past. “The ECU is very good at controlling everything”, he said. “The sensors help with traction”. The Civic is also equipped with a Gizfab exhaust manifold, manual H-pattern four-speed PPG dog box, and twin-plate Competition Clutch. Fabrication was by Matt himself, with tuning by Chris at EFI Parts.
Future developments include a new bottom end, a motor with alloy rods and work on the head. Although the team still have some work to do before the new season, including a meeting with the powers-that-be about their Comp Eliminator index, Matt said that he couldn’t turn down the chance to appear at Autosport. “Paul asked “Is it in one piece?”, it wasn’t but we put it together!”, said Matt. “Our first round is at Easter if we’re done. We’re looking for 8.5s at 170 mph – the speed against the ET is what draws people in.”
Matt is grateful to wife Rach – they were married on the start line at Santa Pod last season – for, quote, “Putting up with it. She’s awesome!”. Chris Murty formerly of York Raceway is credited with getting Matt into it in the first place many years ago. “I got the bug and that was it!”, said Matt. “It’s our life now, every holiday we book we check whether there is a drag strip nearby.”
Elsewhere in the Show on Friday was Kevin Nicks’ motorised garden shed, which is the world’s fastest such vehicle and which is of course familiar to spectators at Melbourne Raceway, Santa Pod Raceway and elsewhere. Owen Forrest had a double entry with his Datsun 280Z and Toyota Supra on two separate stands; the ever-busy Owen proved elusive on Friday with multiple instances of “You just missed him, he was here a moment ago”, so apologies for no words from him. F1 in Schools were as ever in attendance with their drag strip on which ran CO2-powered F1 cars designed, built, operated and financed by STEM and motorsport students. Your Reporter was invited to have a go and gave the student with whom he was paired a 0.136 start line ass-whipping on what was effectively an instant green.
Once the Public Show opened on Saturday the Collier and Willcox families were present with their 2024 Championship-winning ET Bike, Junior Drag Bikes and Junior Dragster respectively, the Willcox family in support of the Firefighters’ Charity whilst the Colliers were accompanied by a loitering-with-intent Thomas Cook-Abbott.
We will shortly post a small Autosport gallery courtesy of Bob Roberts, Ashley Booth-Dale and Tog; in the meantime thanks to Ashley Booth-Dale for his photograph included in this report.
Happy Birthday for yesterday to former Sportsman ET racer Stephen Cherrett and Street Eliminator crewman Andrew Shakeshaft. We hope you both had a great day.
Happy Birthday for today to Malta Drag Racing Association secretary Konrad D'Anastasi and former Street Eliminator racer Ian Hook, we hope you had a great day guys!
Thanks to The British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Director and member Jeremy Cookson for sending in the update about him returning to the mic again. Jeremy writes:
Finally, I can now reveal that after a year away from the mic I will be announcing at seven of this year’s drag and sprint meetings at Melbourne Raceway starting in April (12th/13th) at the tracks season opener.
“I’m really looking forward to being at the track and working alongside resident commentator Paul Cumpstone”, commented Jerry. “The last time I was at the raceway was in 2010, so I’m particularly looking forward to seeing first hand all the good things that have taken place and made possible by the Straightliners crew and their base of loyal fans.“I would like to thank Trevor Duckworth and the Straightliners crew for this opportunity and for me to reunite with some old racer friends I haven’t seen in years and to reacquaint myself with some of the established drag racing series contested at the track as well as the new Portatree Timing equipment recently purchased and soon to be installed at the track."
"I’m particularly looking forward to getting amongst the racers and fans with the radio mic and calling races for the American Super Stock Challenge, Supercharged Outlaws, Street Weekend and the exhibition Jet Cars and Rocket Bike to name just a few. Who knows we might be able to introduce the Bracket Gamblers, and the Pro Street Drag Series that were made successful at Shakespeare County for 10 years. Now let’s bring it on”.
The first meet takes place on the 12th-13th April followed by 10th-11th May, 14th-15th June, 12-13th July, 2nd-3rd August, 30th-31st August and finaly 4th-5th October. Further exciting plans for Melbourne Raceway will be revealed soon.
First up, Sportsman ET, and many other classes later, driver Kirstie Tramm shares her thoughts:
2024 - Saved money on not needing a new race number sticker (Apologies PWRD), but bought the car instead, bargain! As ever, I've had so many adventures with Green the Camaro and this year was no exception. After a few grovelling emails to work about time off in term time, thankfully it all paid off. I have had a few people asking how many more classes can I technically enter, referencing the ever-growing list of race numbers on the back of the car. Street Weekend, Big Bracket, Street Eliminator, Sportsman ET and Pro ET, whatever could be next?
Started the year as #2 in Sportsman ET, and by the skin of my teeth finished up #2 in a closely fought contest going right up to the last event with the weather deciding final championship order. The highlights of this year has to be taking part in Street Weekend with one goal which was to finish in the top fifty, and amazingly I just scraped in at number 49. I could have been placed higher but a school girl error, handed in a slower ticket at Melbourne. How many times have I watched a drag and drive event on YouTube?! It was a fabulous weekend, even if we did experience nearly every type of weather in 24 hours.
Having only put marginal road miles on the car the previous weekend I was well out of my comfort zone but having the best friends along for the journey made it.
Next year I'm still undecided upon, Sportsman, Pro ET or Street Eliminator as I have enjoyed each class immensely when competing. In the end, I just like racing, so I'll probably race in everything I can do anyway. Heavily leaning towards Sportsman, though, as I still need to teach my arch nemesis a lesson. By the way, thanks for the amazing tree ornament, Gary! See you in 2025!
Big thanks to Hutchinson and Dibley the Sportsman ET class sponsors, Tig and Cath for the extra sponsorship, the whole Tramm and Atkinson family for behind the scenes support and Andy Dibley for selling me the best car my money could buy. Lastly, to the fantastic family of drag racing in Pro ET and Street Eliminator that have taken me under their wings when Sportsman wasn't an option.
Live that dream, people.
Next up are the trio of international drivers all the way from France, the Custom Gang:
Custom Gang Racing’s 2024 Season Recap:
The 2024 season for our team was a challenging one, with highs and lows., but we kept working hard to be able to travel across Europe. Like most European teams, we struggled over the winter break to get parts delivered, but we managed to get all four cars ready in time! We made a few modifications on Patrick’s Pontiac GXP with a new-to-us rear end that we bought off our good friend Jean Dulamon.
We kicked off our 2024 season in France, with the first round of the French championship at our home track, Clastres Dragway. Furthermore, we had a really sunny and warm weekend planned, but the fun was short-lived as Elodie’s engine dropped a couple of pistons and totalled the block during the second round of qualifications. At this point, we thought that it was the end of Elodie’s season. On a better note, Clément managed to secure his first win in Super Comp against our friend Didier Billault. After a last-minute entry switch between Fabien and Elodie in Super Pro (thanks to Ian Marshall for allowing us to do so), we took off for a very wet Santa Pod for the FIA Main Event. Setting up was a struggle under the pouring rain, yet we were able to make a few great qualification rounds, Fabien even ran his first-ever 6 seconds pass.
We also met with Reher Morrison’s Brad Morgan and agreed on a deal on a brand new 585 CI BBC, hoping to get Elodie back to racing in 2024! Sadly, the rain came back on Monday afternoon while we were in the pairing lanes. We had to wait over two hours in the lanes before we were told sportsman classes would run the rest of the eliminations on ⅛ mile, that was a first! It was especially challenging for Clément in Super Comp with a fixed index. Both Clément and Fabien were lucky enough to go rounds when the rain made a comeback at almost 9p.m.
Next, we headed back to Clastres Dragway for two more rounds of the French championship in June and July. Sadly, Elodie’s brand-new engine did not arrive in time for the second round at Clastres, being held at the customs for weeks, but we were able to get everything ready for the July event. We had some rain on Saturday both weekends but were able to complete the eliminations, that’s what matters! Clément was able to go all the way to the finals twice, but was defeated by drag racing veteran Gerd Habermann twice! Yet it wasn’t enough for Gerd to beat him at the Super Comp Championship! That makes the 19th French Championship for the team!
Right after the finals at Clastres Dragway, we headed towards Gardermoen Raceway in Norway, one of our favourite racetracks in Europe. We took a ferry from Kiel to Oslo with our friend from the Toxic Drag Racing Team! We were blessed with good weather the three first days, Clément was qualified N°1 off the trailer, Patrick ran regular 6.9’s and Elodie finally was able to use her new engine with a new personal best of 7.08! With the weather looking wet for Sunday, the track team decided to run the eliminations on Saturday. Unfortunately, all three of our drivers went out in the first round, that was not how we would have liked the weekend to end, but it is what it is, we can only get better and learn from our mistakes…
After our Scandinavian trip, we had a little time off before our last race at Santa Pod. We were asked by our partner Milwaukee Tools to be present at LaBoiserie’s Fair, one of France’s biggest car-related social media stars. It was once again a very damp weekend, but we were amazed by the 100,000 fans that came to this event!
Early September, we crossed the channel over to Santa Pod for our last race of the season, with Patrick, Fabien and Elodie Racing. A part of the team was there early to allow Fabien to male some test passes, trying to keep the dragster down.
Huge wheelies make beautiful pictures but are neither good for the car, ETs nor regularity. During qualifications, all three were able to break their personal bests! Elodie with a 7.05, Fabien with a 6.96 and Patrick with a 6.84! It was a relief that all three cars worked perfectly and were very consistent. Sadly, with three cars racing in the same class, we often have to race each other in the eliminations: Fabien was against Patrick in the first round and won, Patrick having some issues with the Lenco.
Both Fabien and Elodie were able to get some Sunday racing! But with the competition being so tough in England, Fabien went out in the second round and Elodie in the quarter-finals. This last event was a great one for us, we got a lot of data to come back stronger next year!
This season has been challenging for the team, especially on the financial side, but we ended the year on a good note, and are hoping for a better 2025 season. We are already getting ready for next year, trying to recoup our finances and only making minor changes on our cars with the help of our amazing sponsors Milwaukee Tools, JF Auto, Transport Jacques Martin, and SpeedFlex. Our 2025 schedule should be more or less the same as the past couple of years (France, UK, Norway).
Last across the line this week, fresh from his European trip, the Flyin Fyfer himself, Colin Millar:
With the 2024 race season firmly behind us, we kid ourselves on that 2025 is months away, but secretly we all have a plan already concocted, I mentioned in September that the Flyin Fyfer Drag Racing Team are going on a big adventure and the plan is slowly coming together. The original plan was to head out to Norway and Sweden in June July and August for the Brexit 90 day limit, we have had a rethink and were extending this to allow us a month in England in May and when we come back (if we come back) a further month in September, excited you may ask your self, absolutely. I've been a busy bee and made contact with all the proposed tracks, and hopefully we have as firm as it can be the proposed dates scribbled on a bit paper, been asking to make sure my MSA licence are compatible and to make sure both the car and the safety equipment are fully compliant with both the Norwegian and Swedish drag racing bodies, it appears to be all good.
It's going to be a very strange year for us, we’ve been racing at Santa Pod for 40 years up to 2024 and to think our next race at the Pod will have to wait until September 2025 is very odd to say the least, sorry folks, but I will for sure keep you all updated on my wee Oooooot and Aboooooot posts. We won't be totally missing everything as we will be there at the Pod in May as spectators drinking beer on the banking with Ginner and all the crew and generally misbehaving.
We will attend Nostalgia Nationals, Doorslammers and The Main Event before we disappear in early June, see you all there. Unsure as yet for the final travel plans but most probable we will head out Harwich to Hook then up to Kiel in Germany and catch the 22-hour ferry to Oslo. We're hoping to catch Gardermoen Raceway in Norway the first week in June and then onto the four-day event at Tierp then straight onto Tallhed Raceway, three in a row, then a wee rest and some sightseeing then onto The Power Big Meet first week in July and straight onto following Sweden's Drag week which then falls directly onto Sundsvall Raceway, more sightseeing until the last week in July and onto Mantorp Park then back over to Norway to Gardermoen raceway once again and straight back to Tierp, phew !!!
More R&R for a couple of weeks and maybe back to Sundsvall Raceway or rest our bones before heading to Hockenhiem for our last weekend in heaven where we’ve got to watch our dates and high tail it back to England before we deported.
If the car is in once piece (please let the racing gods be good to us) we will be right back into the Euro Finals, straight into The Hot Rod Drags and then straight into The National Finals, another three in a row, few !!!
By this point we will be broke and penniless but do I care, absolutely not, one thing is for sure we ain't taking anything with us on the journey over the hill, lol
In the meantime, look after yourselves and your loved ones, and we wish you all a cracking New Year for racing.
All the best fae The Flyin Fyfers xxx
Happy Birthday for today to European Top Fuel legend Anita Mäkelä and Pro Stock racer Stefan Ernryd. We hope that both of you have a wonderful day.
Perfect Light Award sponsor Cath Napier has asked if we can wish her husband Tig a very Happy Birthday and anniversary for today, we hope you have a great day Tig!
Also celebrating today Mikey Durbidge, we hope you have a great day Mikey.
Thanks to Peter Walters from Santa Pod Racers Club and Peter Walters Race Design for sending the Final set of Perpetual Awards - 2024 SPRC Perpetual Awards – The James Edgar Memorial Trophy.
For the 2024 season, Santa Pod Racers Club are accepting votes for the prestigious Perpetual Awards. This gives viewers and readers the opportunity to contribute to the selection of award winners, who will be honoured at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation on 22nd February 2025.
All votes will be carefully considered by the SPRC Committee in determining the award recipients.
Today’s category is The James Edgar Memorial Trophy. The James Edgar Memorial Trophy is awarded for outstanding performance by a Crew Chief, tuner, racer/tuner, or crew member.
You can view and vote on the SPRC Committee’s shortlist by clicking here.
Shortlists will be announced weekly, with nominations for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy will remain open throughout the voting period.
Each individual is allowed one vote per award, based on their unique email address. Voting will be conducted on an award-by-award basis, so after casting your vote for the Most Promising Newcomer, you may proceed to vote for other categories such as Best-Appearing Car, Best-Appearing Bike, and so on.
Please be aware that attempts to manipulate the voting process – such as encouraging colleagues, forum participants, or social media connections to vote in large numbers – will be easily detected. Any such votes will be disqualified, as in previous years. Efforts to rig the vote will result in the disqualification of the nominee, regardless of their involvement or awareness.
Thanks to Robin Jackson from Santa Pod Raceway for sending this update from the 10th December 2024 on the More than Equal drag racing report:
Drag racing teaches gender equality to Formula 1
More than Equal is an organisation founded by ex-F1 star David Coulthard and Czech billionaire Karel Komarek with the express goal of crowning a female Formula 1 champion. But where to begin? Santa Pod Raceway’s Business Development Manager, Richard Foster-Turner, was able to steer them to the right track – Drag Racing.
Women have been racing, and beating, men on the dragstrip for almost 50 years, but it’s a fact scarcely understood in the wider motorsport world. That might be about to change following publication of a report into drag racing’s diversity aimed at helping More than Equal’s quest.
MtE’s Head of Research, Dr. Fran Longstaff, compiled the report following a Santa Pod visit last year instigated by Foster-Turner, who is credited as a co-author. Cindy Sisson, Executive Director of Women In Motorsports North America, also contributed, and women involved in drag racing on and off the track on both sides of the Atlantic were interviewed.
The official introduction to the report can be seen by clicking here and includes an embedded link to the report itself.
Thanks to Lee Child, promoter for the Spitfire Raceway at Parrenporth, Cornwall who has announced the first Drag and Drift event of 2025 that takes place raceway Saturday 25th January between 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, Bar open til late, great food, stunning views, children’s play area, plus camping on site, £10 a tent pitch per night. You can book your camping stay at this link
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.
All vehicles are welcome at Spitfire Raceway. You can spectate or take part at Spitfire Raceway, spectators are £10 per person on the gate, under 16s go free. You can drag race from £15 after admission; crash helmet and full driving licence are required. There is a Show & Shine competition with no charge after admission.
Gates are open at 8am and track action is from 11am to 3pm. All vehicles have a safety check for drag racing and drifting. There is a drag strip riders and drivers meeting at race control 10.45am. Don’t forget to you can camp on site. Enjoy the events and the local area.
All 2024 drag and drift events online bookings are now open. No more waiting - book away. Click on the links below to make your bookings
Drag strip driver/rider - Click Here. Drift driver - Click Here.
Spitfire Raceway is located at Perranporth Airfield, Cornwall TR5 0XS. Please respect the surrounding areas and speed limits when travelling to and from this event.
Happy Birthday for today to Pro Modified team member Stefani Kate Fisher, Sportsman ET racer Debbie Taylor and former Funny Car racer Gary Willy, we hope you all have a great day.
Happy belated Birthday for today to Melbourne Raceway Community FB admin Kelli Barrett, Junior Dragster dad Matt Fordham, and Swedish Pro Stock racer Lasse Britsmar. We hope you all had a great day.
Happy Birthday for today to Maltese FWD racer Semira Galea, have a great day Semira!
Thanks to Robin Jackson from the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame for sending in this update regarding changes to the Selection Panel:
There is a change afoot in the fuel-burning bike representation on the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame’s Selection Panel, which meets annually to choose the year’s new Members.
Frank Brachtvogel, distinguished dragbike team leader and engineer, has elected to stand down as a Selector and the Hall of Fame’s directors are grateful to him for his service and wish him well for his future endeavours. The Brachtvogel Family was inducted into Membership in 2012.
The directors are pleased to welcome another Hall of Fame Member to serve on the panel. Ian King, inducted in 2020, has won no fewer than 12 FIM European Top Fuel Bike championships – ten as rider, two as team principal – and will take Frank’s place at the table when the panel next meets in the New Year.
Suggestions for future Hall of Fame Members to be considered by the Selection Panel may be forwarded via the Hall of Fame website’s Contact Us facility at this link.
Suggestions for 2025 consideration must be received before Sunday 26th January.
The Hall of Fame’s directors, advisers and selectors and the BDRHOF Benevolent Fund’s trustees all serve in a voluntary capacity, pro bono.
First driver to hit the lanes this year is Estonian Pro Mod Driver Andres Arnover:
We start the 2024 season quite early spring and the car got new upgrades. We tested a new set of shocks and a transmission converter setup. The first weekend at Santa Pod showed that we were moving in the right direction. Got a new personal best 5.82@251mph. Then onto the Doorslammer event, we got the car to run very well, 5.75 @258mph another new PB again but lost finals because of electrical problems. The car shut off at the starting line after burnout. Fixed and onto the Main event, first outing for the FIA. First time we got into the semi-finals this year, but after the rain started they cancelled our race.
Next race, middle of June in Tierp Arena, Sweden. We qualified in 2nd place but at elimination round 1, we changed a little bit of bump setup and the car jumped too far and lit the red light. Back to Sweden for the 3rd event at Tierp Arena, we qualified again second place with [email protected]/h(223.54mph). The car worked great till the second elimination round and then the Hyperactive boost controller broke down. Unfortunately it overboosted the engine and span the tyres. The FIA fourth race in Hockenheim, we qualified 1 place and won that race. For me it was first European championship race win.
After that last race in Santa Pod Raceway we made some small changes and qualified again number one position, 5.78@254mph. The car was tenth quicker than second place. We were having problems with the third member, but Carl Cox took his third member out of his Pro Mod car, and we were ready to go to the elimination rounds, but this time during round eliminations the transmission starts to leak from the an6 line connection and oil goes on to the track. So the start marshal asked me to shut off the engine, and they pushed the car back. This was bad luck, but things happens.
Now after 3 years we are Number 3, 2022, 2023 and 2024 in FIA Pro Mod class, which shows we are doing something right.
At the end of the season, my good friend in Estonia called me to go and race in Malta. I have never been to Malta raceway before, and it was a big challenge to me. The track was very bumpy, and the chassis wasn't happy, but we are first car to drive in Malta 5.94@247mph. It was an awesome weekend!
I'm very happy how the car now works, and we are just refreshing everything to be back in Santa Pod at the end of April. No need to make big changes, just little bit more luck.
Next out of the blocks is Street Eliminator Champion and Ford Capri owner, Anthony Higgs:
What a year it’s been for us in Street Eliminators! Ups and downs all over the place, but we came out winning two events (Easter Nationals and the Euro Finals) and even took the championship win, we definitely did not see that coming. To top it off we ended the season hitting a PB of 7.04 and eventually hit that elusive 206mph, the wife is finally happy that we’ve justified the twin chutes. Issues along the way included pulling a red light at a really crucial point at the Summer Nationals, very unlike me (known as Mr Snoozy off the line), which took us out of the running.
We encountered our usual breakages along the way, which everyone knows is second nature for me, a bent crank being one of the issues. Thankfully, a good friend, Chris Straub at Straub Technologies, stepped in, providing a new crank and bearings in record timing.
Our first time entering Doorslammers didn’t go as well as we’d hoped, pulling Rob Carter in Percy Passat for the first round. Unfortunately for us, Rob just pipped us to the finish line, a cracking weekend though and definitely something we’d consider for next year, funds permitting.
We were asked to be involved in the filming with the Hoonigan guys in June. That was certainly an interesting day, “no prep” meant no traction off the line, but the old Capri didn’t let us down. So what’s the plan over winter? We have new Afco struts, TBM brakes and we are changing over to a dry sump set up. The engine is out and we’re going through it to check all is OK, refreshing a few things along the way. Obviously, I have to thank my family for their relentless support and our friends that continue to help, Hilsea Tyres for their sponsorship. Also a big thanks to all the other racers and sponsors of the class, the banter is second to none, you all make racing what it is!
To finish off this episode, we have Jasmine Cordelle, Comp Bike mainstay and all out racer:
I would probably describe the 2024 season as unlucky, lots of highs and lows, which pretty much sums up drag racing or any motorsport. We had 6 championship rounds, 2 we lost points due to engine damage, 2 we lost due to weather and the other 2 I came 1st and 2nd. For the championship to be decided by the weather is always a hard pill to swallow.
Comp bike is an amazing class to race in, the championship was so close between the top 5 all came down to the last race of the year, which makes things very exciting. A great bunch of people who are always looking out for each-other, whether it be spare parts or praise! Let’s talk about the highs, we finished the season with a personal best of 7.26 @180mph, 2 final appearances, 1 win and 1 runner-up.
I am looking forward to the 2025 season, not much is changing, just even more hungry for the championship! Hopefully be able to get back to the states and see my extended racing family! Manifesting in the background, I will be able to run pro-stock FIM one day and go get that record/ 6 second pass.
Would like to say a big thank you to my main men, dad, Colt and Allan, would not be possible without you and I will try my best to damage less in 2025, but I cannot promise! Also, a big thank you to the rest of my family for their continued support, my sponsors Mazak, Lou and Dean Cosnett, and finally my bank account.
Additionally, another thank you to the whole Santa Pod team for another amazing facility to race at, all the amazing photographers and reports who capture all our memories for us! If anyone/ company would like to jump on board of trying to achieve that record in FIM give me a message and make my dreams come true.
Wish you all a great 2025 season with personal bests, health and wins.
Happy Birthday for today to Funny Bike racer Mark Smith, Top Fuel crewman Ian Pellant, Norwegian Super Street Bike racer Dag Wagenius and Swedish Pro Stock Bike racer Fredrik Kempe. We hope you all have a fantastic day.
Thanks to Smax Smith for sending an update, Smax writes: Hoping you all had a totally chilled Christmas and looking forward to cool and fast 2025.
Smax would like to Thank all the fans and well-wishers from his face family in blighty time to reflect 2024 as he was able to celebrate his 70th Birthday and his 50th year in driving race cars and setting six incremental personal bests, plus three for the tram culminating in 3.89-thousand-foot pass. Real early running 3.06 / 277mph at the eight. More to come in 2025.
Smax says: "I have got to match race my boy Aidan which was on my bucket list and would like to get him this year in NHRA".
Pictures below are of an oil fire on the 3.89 pass and Smax ready to race Aidan with the 2 Anthill Mob Top Fuellers.
Be fast but stay safe and full revs for 2025.
Thanks to Job Heezen from FIM-E DragRace Commission for sending in this news item:
Happy Birthday wishes for today to Nostalgia Funny Car racer Tim Garlick, Team Walters crewman Mick Slocombe, and Swedish Funny Car and Top Fuel Dragster racer Patrik Pers. Have a great day all from us at Eurodragster.com.
Thanks to Peter Walters from Santa Pod Racers Club and Peter Walters Race Design for sending the third set of Perpetual Awards - 2024 SPRC Perpetual Awards – Most Professional Appearing Team.
For the 2024 season, Santa Pod Racers Club are accepting votes for the prestigious Perpetual Awards. This gives viewers and readers the opportunity to contribute to the selection of award winners, who will be honoured at the SPRC Dinner Dance and Trophy Presentation on 22nd February 2025.
All votes will be carefully considered by the SPRC Committee in determining the award recipients.
Today’s category is Most Professional Appearing Car. Nominees for SPRC Most Promising Newcomer have impressed whilst contesting their first full season in a class or making their on-track debut in 2024.
You can view and vote on the SPRC Committee’s shortlist by clicking here.
Shortlists will be announced weekly, with nominations for the Alex Brachtvogel Memorial Trophy will remain open throughout the voting period.
Each individual is allowed one vote per award, based on their unique email address. Voting will be conducted on an award-by-award basis, so after casting your vote for the Most Promising Newcomer, you may proceed to vote for other categories such as Best-Appearing Car, Best-Appearing Bike, and so on.
Please be aware that attempts to manipulate the voting process – such as encouraging colleagues, forum participants, or social media connections to vote in large numbers – will be easily detected. Any such votes will be disqualified, as in previous years. Efforts to rig the vote will result in the disqualification of the nominee, regardless of their involvement or awareness.
The next voting category will be James Edgar Memorial Trophy which will open on 10/01/25.
Paul Martin sent in this update on the Drag Seen 5, Paul writes: Thanks to everyone who has bought a copy of Drag Seen 5 to date. As a result we have so far raised £488.80 for the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Benevolent Fund. There are still some copies available which can be bought via this link:
Drag Seen #5 is a glovebox sized magazine featuring 76 pages of glorious techni-colour photos of smoking' burnouts, wild wheel stands, wilder racers and trackside drag racing action 'seen' through the lenses of trackside photographers Julian Hunt (Santa Pod), Callum Pudge (Hal-Far Raceway, Clastres Dragway, Rivanazzano Dragway) Kenzie Taylor (Street Weekend 2024) and Paul Martin (MPH Drags 2).
A 60th Anniversary Mooneyes feature and interview with main Moon man himself Shige Suganuma by Niamh Smith plus a chat with the guys behind MPH Drags 2.
Jo Clifford’s diary from Sick Week 2024 where she and Richie Webb battled the odds to come out top in Class K.
Drag Seen #5 - 76 pages printed on A5 high quality paper and perfect bound with a 300 gsm cover and the perfect way to fill the gap till the 2025 season begins and of course all profits from the sale of the magazine will be donated to the BRDHoF Benevolent Fund.
Drag Seen 5 - the reviews are in. “Brilliant magazine” “just received the mag, very impressed, excellent photography” “Awesome, love it!!” “Great coverage of some of the events I missed this year-thank you”
“5 star, brilliant as always” “Another fine collection” “very cool item” “Great book!” “What a perfect magazine”
Happy Birthday for today to Harry, aka Brian Palmer (member of Mark Sheridan's SE crew). Harry, we hope you are having a wonderful day.
Thanks to former Nitro FM presenter Nigel Fitzmaurice for sending in this latest Podcasts on the interviews with Tony Betts from Venom Nostalgia Fuel Funny car and Dale Leeks from Hawk Racing.
Happy Birthday to erstwhile Top Fuel racer Tethys, Comp Eliminator racer David James, and German Super Pro ET racer Robert Gassner. We hope you have a great day.
