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
