Fuel Funny Car racer John Spuffard has been racing at the NitrOlympX for five years and plans to make two passes on Saturday and two on Sunday. "The tech crew do an unbelievable job to get the track in shape for fuel cars to run once a year here," he said. "We are looking for a four this weekend and are here to do the best. The car is very close to current US spec and now we have had data from two 300+mph runs there are a lot of things we know we can do to get a four."

UK photo journalist Andy Willsheer came out in the two seater dragster driven by Shelley Pearson and exterminated his personal bests to 8.257/205.70kph. He had an even bigger smile after the run. "I didn't see the stage light so it was quite a launch", he said. "The shake was such you just have to wonder what the equivalent is with a Top Fuel car."

Top Methanol racer Danny Bellio returned repaired after an encounter with the guardrail at Mantorp Park and started with tyre shake which limited the car to a 7.920/198.50.

Public racer Thomas Brandes from Hannover is another racer with a streetable hot rod in the class. "I have raced the car for eleven years", he said. His best ET is a 10.3 and power comes from an all-aluminium 427 Chevy engine.

Super Gas racer Marie-Jeanne Dubois in this Nova is one of a six French racers from the Dubois family who race in the ATD trophy series in France. This has been running for the last five years on temporary tracks across the country and other family members here are Clement Elodie and Fabien (Junior Dragsters), Christophe in a Probe (Super Comp) and Patrick in a rail (Super Comp). For further details of drag racing in France click on www.francedrag.com.

Top Fuel Bike racer and Rocket Bike pilot Eric Teboul is France's quickest racer and the world record holder for a rocket bike at 5.304/251.30 at SCR. He is racing both machines here this weekend. "I will be running the rocket bike in the night show and want to see if I can break my record again subject to my night vision being sufficient." As a result of commercial unavailability, Eric manufactures the fuel for the rocket bike himself. For the fuel bike, he is yet to run but confident as a lot of cylinder head work has been carried out in an effort to stop heat damage.

Super Street Bike racer Markus Laur from Weitnau runs an unusual Honda combination with supercharger and nitrous. "My best is a 10.0 so I have some way to go", he said. There are 43 bikes entered for a 32 bike field in the non-championship eliminator. After the second session, Graham Balchin was on top with a 7.498. Graham's team mate Steve Venables is still nursing two broken ribs and a shoulder and hand injuries after a tumble at SPR and, while his bike is on site, he is helping mates Phil and Steve Wood.

Super Street Bike racer Gabor Sz�ke from Paszto, Hungary last raced here in 2006 where he recorded 8.9. His best run on his new Honda CBR RR 2007 is 8.89 with a turbo that has recently been fitted. Gabor is looking forward to a bumper field at next weekend's UEM race at Kumandaras, Hungary. .

Super Street Bike racer Stefan Schnarwiler (pictured with girlfriend and fellow racer Caroline Fischer) bought his Helvetic Express bike from Paul 'Grumpy' Watson and is aiming for the sevens, having run an 8.1 best so far on the turbocharged machine. "We started with an 8.46 this weekend and need to improve our 60ft times." Further details are on www.hellvetic-express.ch.

Super Street Bike racer Mark Watkins has a new self-built engine in his Paul Watson-tuned Hayabusa. On its initial run with the new motor the bike went 8.176 to place him eleventh. After two sessions, Brits occupy eight out of the top nine places but with two more qualifying sessions tomorrow there will be a lot of jostling for the top half of the field.

Super Street Bike racer Chris 'Boisie' Reed is one of the less fortunate Brits. "At the moment all I want to do is get through the gearbox - I just couldn't get out of first. I will have to take the motor out tonight and strip it down. I haven't done a great deal of work between seasons as last year was my first year with it. I have run a seven and the potential is there for 7.6-7.7.

Super Comp racer Gerd Habermann is here with a multi-car team including this dragster and a Super Gas/Street Eliminator BMW E30. "I started racing in 1979 and own 12 race cars including the Patriot jet dragster, jet funny car and jet bike, all sponsored by DHL. Gerd was twice Super Comp winner at Hockenheim and won 15-16 Competition and Super Comp titles in his career. His girlfriend Ulrike Golde who runs in the Harley Davidson Euro Cup, is driving the Patriot Jet at this event. .

Competition Eliminator racer Valdo Westphal is based in St Tropez France and races this 23T altered. "The engine is 623cu in built by Bill Mitchell with Merlin heads and an unusual 'dry' water cooling system and MSD 7AL-3 ignition with Barry Grant BG400 fuel pump. These have powered the car to 8.11/263kph times. Sponsorship comes from Dark Dog Guanara drink and Minerva Oil.

Pro Bike racer Bob Brooks is making his first racing trip overseas with the Yellow Metal racing team. "The grip at the track is good but I need to get more power so we are changing the cam and ignition timing," he said. "It is a great track with nice atmosphere. The team are pictured: Nigel Brooks, Bob Brooks and Tony Bye. After session two, Bob was on the outside looking in with a 8.526/253.27kph.

Super Comp racer Filippos Papafilippou is a multiple race car owner. His car here is a Tim McAmis-built mountain motored nitrous doorslammer which weighed in too light for Comp Eliminator, so as an alternative he has decided to be naughty in Super Comp, running a 7.1 so far. "I want to run a six this meeting but hope to try a throtle stop tomorrow", he said. Another car located in the US is a blown Camaro built to Aussie rules with a Whipplecharger and advanced electronics. Fil runs this at late season meetings in the US including Clash of the Titans and the Orlando Street Nationals where he meets UK competitors. Fil also promotes the sport in Greece and there are plans for a permanent track at Messini in the South. "The government bought a disused military airfield and is in partnership with a private company to develop it fully into a motorsports facility with drag and drift areas. The first race was disappointing as the surface is too bumpy and we have applied for European development funds to resurface it." After this event Fil and the five Greek bike competitors he is supporting will be travelling to Kumundaras for the UEM race there.

Bernard Saz runs this Citroen Traction altered in the ATD Super Comp class with a supercharged 580cu in motor which helps overcome the vertical windscreen, which we imagine makes for a fairly high drag co-efficient.

Competition Eliminator racer Karl-Heinz Kleider from Wurrtburg races in this class and Super Pro ET. Karl-Heinz has owned the car for three years, buying it from a racer in Geiger, and races it mainly at Luckau and Drachten. His index is 7.73. The class is run to standard Competition Eliminator rules with class indices.

Super Street Bike racer Nichlas Sverin runs this Hayabusa out of Ljasdal in Sweden. "I have raced the bike for two years and this is my first year with a turbo which is an MCX", he said. The bike was self-built by team-mate Patrik Borgh who ran it to no.1 qualifier here in 2006 with a 7.55/310kph. The racers have travelled 2000km to be here and Nichlas's best ET so far is an 8.2 at Sundsvall.

Super Gas racer Mike Poser has run this pretty 78 Camaro fro ten years and has been in racing for 15 years. "The engine is a 383cu in SBC with single carb and nitrous", he said. The car has run a best of 9.6 at Luckau.

Competition Eliminator racer and 2008 German Street Eliminator champion Michael Vogt runs a Chevy with a 540cu in Procharged engine on E85 (85% ethanol). The car was built over the last two years with the help of Engalnge Brothers race engine and chassis builders in Bremen. "At the test and tune in Luckau the engine leaned out and some parts were hurt so now we are running it richer." Michael ran in Street Eliminator in the first race at Luckau with an 8.27/274kph. He can use slicks here, but is up against a challenging 7.26 index in AA/A.

Competition Eliminator racer Stefan Winter runs a gull-wing Mercedes which is a self made frame built over three years. "I have now raced the car for four seasons in competition with a best of 8.2", he said. The car is in D/A with a 8.32 index and Stefan is aiming for high sevens here. The two carb normally aspirated 422cu in engine and trans are from Bruno Bader who used to run in Comp. Stefan lives in Zurich; he has organised the now-ceased Turtmann race in Switzerland and is on the lookout for new facilities. Stefan's web site is www.swd-racing.

Eckhard Kamm from Königstein runs this '32 Ford in the Public Race class which is run on an index 12.00. "I have been racing since 1994 with the same car which I built myself." The body is fibreglass from Rod Connor and the 350cu in Chevy engine is paired with a TH350 gearbox. "I mostly drive the car on the street and also race it at Bitburg, Luckau and Dracgten." One unusual detail is metal work behind the radiator in the shape of flames.

Scrutineers Mike Barnett (left) who was born in Virginia, USA and Jorg Schumacher have been involved in the sport for over forty and 27 years respectively. Both have raced and Jorg won the German dragster championship for two years with a Pro Stock truck. The rule book they work to is ratified by the DMSB (Deutsche Motor Sport Bund) and is based on the current NHRA rules. "We scrutineered about 300 cars on Thursday from 10am to 8pm" Jorg said.

Jorg Schumacher runs a US parts distributor based in Basel, Specialty Imports, e-mail address [email protected] and for his 50th birthday built this Alfa Romeo which is driven by Alain Dürr in the Public Race class. "The engine is a Chrysler small block of 400cu in which makes 380hp with a Powerglide two speed and transbrake." The initial pass was a 10.9 and there are plans for a 600hp engine to get into the nines.

Super Twin Top Gas racer Miia-Maria Vepsäläinen was in Pro Stock Bike at the Veidec Festival and has made the trip from Finland with her parents and crew Erja and Markku. "I will be running my Buell bike in Hungary as well. I have made no changes to run the bike in Top Gas and will try to get into the low eights which you need to be competitive." Which appeals more, Top Gas or Pro Stock? "I just want to win", she said.

Super Twin Top Gas racer Rasmus Olesen runs a former NHRA-legal Pro Stock bike raced by John Hammock in the US. "Brian Glaesner bought the bike and rode it in 2007-8 and asked me to ride it this year. My best on it so far is 7.59. We are fifth in the points, which is not bad as we missed two races, the most recent one waiting for a new crank." Earlier this morning problems with the two step led to a stalled bike in the first session.