On Friday evening the crew of Janne Ahonen's Top Fuel Dragster were faced with an engine replacement. Crewman Tony Pearson said "The engine spun the main bearing and we had to replace the whole motor. The bits of bearing found their way around the engine which caused it to slow with bent parts as a consequence. Engine work is tough as the billet parts are so much heavier now. We were finished by 11pm. Janne's runs today were 4.98 and 5.01, good for fifth in the ladder.

Pro Mod racer Urban Johansson said "We have struggled this weekend with first gear shake on each run. We have tried different gears for first and turned the settings down. The fourth pass was a 6.18 which shows we are getting to where we need to be. We are third in the championship but 92 points behind the leader Johan Lindberg. The most important objective is to win the event."

Pro Mod racer Mats Eriksson qualified third and was second up to the last session. He said "The last run was not good. I drove through the clutch as soon as I let it out. We were testing things in the last two runs as we have not had a chance to test before. I did lift off so nothing was burnt. We will return to our original settings. The track was better in the second session as well and although we didn't like it when Micke [Gullqvist] took second from us, we are proud to be so close to Melanie."

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson, pictured left, with Mark Balzaretti was pleased with the handling of the rebuilt car which has a new rear anti-roll bar on the suspension. "The car is leaving the line flat and is more controlled in the run. We changed every nut and bolt and resolved some issues we had before and it now handles like a new car," said Luke Robinson. "The problem is we are putting settings in to run a 6.0 and it will only run a 6.2. We will step it up a little bit." In a great first round matchup, Andy ran a 6.16 to beat fellow sponsor Marco Maurischat's 6.26.

Pro Mod racer Robert Joosten said "We have had electrical problems which we solved and are now looking for our setup. We have a racecar and as first alternate we should be in the first round as Patrik Wikström is out of competition. We will race Melanie Troxel and try to find something. It's a long shot but I hope things will fall together soon." In the race Robert hit shake and crossed the centre, giving the win to the US visitor.

Pro Mod racer Marcus Hilt was joined for this event by US Doorslammer legend Camp Stanley (pictured right). Camp said "The engine broke two conrods two seconds into the run which broke the timing belt, crankshaft, camshaft, lifters, valves and pistons." Marcus said "We will regroup and I will order a newer Kobelco blower reworked by Mike Janis to bring the times down to where we should be."

Pro Mod racer Jean Dulamont said "I was only able to run a 6.89 here compared to our best of 6.63 at Santa Pod. We have a problem with the nitrous injectors which have caused a loss of power. The car feels good although I have to fight it a bit down the track and here it was moving around." This is Jean's first year in Pro Mod, the sole French racer in FIA car classes. He has been racing in competition since 1985 and ran a best of 6.9 last year in his dragster.

Pro Mod racer Rolf Amman () was disappointed not to have made the field in spite of running a 6.54. "We are saving up for a new blower and will be working hard over the winter to get one. It will be a top spec Kobelco with high pressure. We live for racing and if my crew wasn't as great as they are, I would have quit." After his incident here last year Rolf carried out all the repairs himself.

Top Fuel racer Anita Mäkelä said the morning after running a 4.80 to be no.1 qualifier, "We ran on the good side of the track but you learn never to take favours for granted. We wanted to see what the track would take and it was good. A burst panel blew out before the finish line. It was loose at the top end and we want to get more traction in the second half now and will calm it down. The setup at the start was good though and a 3.94 1000ft time gives me confidence." Husband Tommy Haapanen will be driving the car in the Night Show, one of six planned for this anniversary event.

Top Fuel racer Timo Lehtimaki had engine damage which resulted in an engine change yesterday evening. Crewman Ulf Hultholm said "The engine broke 3.7s into the run, around half track. A lifter broke and this caused an intake rocker to fail and then it was damage to the bearings and cylinder head. We changed the whole engine and finished about midnight. We want to qualify well for the points and want to catch up this weekend. We will run the night show if we don't break. "

Top Fuel racer Andy Carter (pictured with son Albert) said "We have got the car working and the clutch issue earlier in the year is gone. The shark machine tells us the track is coming around. This weekend we have to qualify no.1 and win to have any chance of gaining a fifth championship, which is my sole goal right now. Thanks to my crew, Lucas Oil and all my associate sponsors for your continued support. I also thank Jerry Lackey and all the people here at Hockenheim for putting on such a great event and also to Åsa and all the people at Speedgroup who are pushing the sport forward."

Top Fuel racer Stig Neergaard (pictured right) has John Smith from the US as his tuner. John said "The track was questionable in the first round of qualifying so afterwards we backed the engine down. However the throttle cable had broken resulting in the clutch not fully engaging, and we have been struggling since the incident with Risto at Alastaro." The chassis originally built by Stig was repaired. This same car involved in the accident is now back in play, with the spare chassis in the trailer here; it should be in action at the Euro Finals after engine rebuilds have taken place.

The result of Stig running only one car this weekend is Joran Persåker is concentrating on his turbo Pro Mod Firebird. He said "The track was slippery on the first run and I only recorded 7.31. On the second the distributor belt was slipping and in the wrong position so I couldn't start. We have the boost to go 6.2 if we are lucky but the car is getting loose in fifth gear.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Dennis Habermann is running his heavier body than the usual black carbon-fibre one. "We had areodynamic problems and have had to alter the weight distribution", he said. "The body will keep the front down. We will work on this car today to get it running as quickly as it should." Dennis is pictured with sponsor Danieca Schlimbach of www.my-baby-shop.com, maker of personalized baby products, stickers and textiles.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Timo Habermann is leading the championship by only 14 points from brother Dennis, with Fred Hanssen a further 67 points further back. After a 5.39 yesterday he said "The run felt quicker than 5.39 and we suffered wheelspin in second gear. So we are expecting with a better track today to use the same setup but higher launch rpm and slightly higher shift points to overcome the issue. I want the top qualifying position back!"

In Top Methanol Dragster racer Fred Hanssen's pit, tuner Will Hanna said "There are a lot of good cars out there. When we had the rainout at Sweden we quit thinking about the championship. We are now just trying to run good at the track but stuff has been biting back." Will has been joined for the three continental Europe FIA races by Chris Foster, TAFC racer based in Iowa (pictured left) whose car is tuned by Will. Chris and Will have six further events in the US this year, four in Division 4 (Texas area) and two National Events.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Peter Schöfer's team members Heike Schäfer and Kirsten Krause are pictured. Kirsten said after two 5.46 passes yesterday "The performance is not quite what we wanted but we are going the right way and need to get to the right setup. The track is different to what we were expecting and we need to have the right setup for the lane we are running in and know how to achieve an improvement." Consistency rather than improvement was the result however with a 5.49 this morning.

Top Methanol Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek Flynn said "On the first run we wanted to get from A to B and I lifted early. On the second the car was too aggressive off the line and it smoked the tyres. We will have to turn down the settings for fuel, ignition and clutch. Fortunately with only eight cars we can play a little. However there are a couple of spots on the track that unsettle the car and while the blower cars can change their ratios and shift points to compensate, we have a direct drive multi-stage clutch which we can't change enough for conditions." Derek is with business partner and co-owner of Gold RV racing Steve Wright (pictured right) who has been involved with the sport since its start in the UK and also helps run the Xtreme Wheels Topolino from Steve's premises in Somerset.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Dave Wilson said he is trying a new combination in the Silverline Tools/Plystation 3 sponsored dragster. "We are praying for two runs today, the first time we will have made four runs in two days all year. We are trying to improve our 60ft times and need to get the car behaving better. The 200ft bump is a problem for all the A/Fuel cars and we were right on the edge of losing traction."

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Jügen Nagel ran a personal best of 5.88 after two problematic tries yesterday. "On the first run I was confused by not seeing the starter and Arvid was already in stage. I got nervous and deep staged then rolled the beams. On the second Dezsoe drifted right into my lane. I lifted immediately and he said afterwards that something happened and apologised." The rocker covers have the initials MBR, Miner Brothers Racing, supplier of the Arias motor also used by Steve Gasparelli in the US.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Danny Bellio was suffering major clutch problems which prevented getting the power down to the track from his new BAE motor. "The setup of the clutch is way off", he said. "We have tried so many different setups but none of them work. It is a Molinari clutch not used by many teams over here. It has worked well for us in the past but since we changed the heads it has been a problem."

Pro Mod racer Johan Lindberg said "We suffered tyre shake in the first session and in the second, we found on starting the engine the burst panel had cracked so had to withdraw. We can go to the top of the qualifying lists later." Johan's sponsor is well displayed on the team's vehicles and attire. "The company is based in Las Vegas and the Swedish subsidiary that we are grateful to for their support is interested in expanding the drag race connection."

Pro Mod racer Johan Lindberg is pictured with brother and crew chief Jonny and father Lars-Erik. Lars-Erik said "We are getting more publicity for the sport by being included in a reality TV show being shown on Swedish sports channel TV4 with a Super Stock team and a Top Doorslammer team. We are also about to start building the new track at Tierp in Sweden and are going through drawings with the architect. It's a very exciting project to be involved with and we are planning it to be the best track in Europe.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Rob Turner said "On the first run the car drifted to the right and hit the blocks which had water in them and were not soft at all. The second run was just to get qualified. It drifted again but I pulled it back this time and short shifted to keep it safe. The clutch is finicky on these cars and setup is difficult, and I am also unlearning all the driving instincts I built up in those years of TMD racing."

There will be plenty of jet action at the night show as the two car team of Vincent Perrot and Bob Feeler from France will be joining Gerd Habermann. Their Intertechnique jet dragster is powered by a General Electric J-85 engine that produces the equivalent of 6000hp and will go from zero to 485kph in 6 seconds.

Pro Modified racer Melanie Troxel is pictured with R2B2 team members (left to right) Marketing and Sponsor Manager Travis Rice, co-crew chief/tuner Al Billes and Johnny Maguda. Not pictured is engine guy Mark Savage. Melanie said "Last year I came as a spectator and discovered the facility, so I knew what to expect. On track I leave the tuning for the track surface to my crew and they have sorted the car out very well. We wan't try to run as quick as possible off the bat, we will sneak up on it." After 6.19 and 6.08 yesterday, it was a new track record of 6.052/388kph in the third session proving what she said.

R2B2 member and clutch person Johnny 'Drama' Maguda wanted us to say hi to his girlfriend who is tuned into our coverage.

The R2B2 Camaro in the pits at Hockenheim before its next pass. Tuner Al Billes has plenty of Pro Mod experience and has got to grips with European tracks very quickly. He said "I just took a European pill."

Pro Modified racer Michael Gullqvist is coming in second to Melanie's consistent performance. He said "I left crying yesterday; I had aspirations of bettering her by the end of qualifying." A 6.16 this morning put him in third place but still a tenth shy of the US star's times. Micke said "The World Pro Mod Challenge is in the development process. We are discussing it and will define the exact format for next year by November. We need to get the tracks to make a bid to host races and based on what they can put up, we can see how many cars we can afford to put into the Challenge."

Pro Mod racer Patrik Wikström was suffering electrical problems. "We had two much ignition on the start line. The system is designed to retard the ignition to reduce the power on launch but that didn't happen and we blew the tyres away yesterday on the first pass." Patrik missed the third section and then an engine problem in the traps resulted in oil on the race track.

Super Gas racer Christer Uhlin in his Fairlane and Olav Skjervo have driven 1500km to Hockenheim from their home town in Norway and after this event will take a holiday and drive a similar distance to Alastaro for the FHRA finals. The Fairlane's windscreen is adorned by an array of event stickers.

We couldn't resist including a photo of this cool Chevy El Camino.

Pro Stock racer Len Paget has had to withdraw following engine damage. "A stone came in through the air intake", he said. "The damage is quite limited but I want to do a proper repair otherwise it may have a major failure; it will be a rush to prepare for the Open Sports Nationals." Len, not being noted for standing still much of the time, has brought motocross bikes for him and his son to use at a local track.

See going through the pits is this V8 Custom Bike from Boss Hoss Cycles. You can see more information and videos of these awesome machines at www.bosshosscycles.de

The lineup for Top Methanol Funny Car going towards the main grandstand which will be packed for the night show.

By the first session of Pro Mod today the lower grandstand was already packed. Andy Robinson waits to run and after a checkout pass a 6.19 and 6.23 this morning showed the complete rebuild has brought the car back to its previous performance almost immediately.