Top Fuel Bike racer Ian King suffered a damaged cam chain which resulted in two valves becoming bent. Crew chief Michael Beaumont commented "We were lucky to have only bent two as it happened four seconds into the first run." Ian had no spares and after lots of phone calls to Germany, the UK and America it was decided to straighten the old valves in a lathe in order to possibly run in eliminations. Pictured is crew member Marius.

Norbert Schneider has bought Rick Garrett's Toyota Supra and put a similar 620cu in engine to the one previously used in his Corrado (which has been sold), with mods carried out by Englander. Norbert is entered for the Euro Finals.

Super Twin racer Job Heezen was pleased to be no.2 and delighted with a new class speed record of 350kph. He said "We had a problem with the rocker arm in the third session but have fixed that now."

Super Twin racer Christian Jager said "We found the problem that plagued us in Norway which was a cracked frame. We think it started as a small crack in Finland and got worse in Norway. We welded it on Friday evening. The engine is fine. In the third session we had too much power." In the last session the bike took out the reflectors meaning Christian had a DNQ.

Super Street Bike racer Thomas Granica (pictured with brother Peter) said "In Friday's session we did not stage straight on the startline and the bike went to the right and span the tyre. I pedaled it to am 8.4. Today we again got only one run and had the same issue plus I forgot to switch the boost controller on which meant 200hp less, So we are in eliminations at no.13." UK fans will be seeing Thomas at three events during September and October.

Super Street Bike racer Rick Stubbins qualified no.1 after a ten month break from the sport. He said "I expected to be quicker but I had a problem with the air to the boost controller with not enough air. We thought we had cured it, applied more power and it went slower. I hope we can get back to the 7.5s in the first round of eliminations.

Super Street Bike racer Steve Wood, pictured with partner Sarah Willis, said "This is my fourth trip to Germany. We love the atmosphere and I ran two hundredths off my personal best with an 8.1 in the second session. Super Street bike is so friendly and supportive. Next year I plan to run in Hungary and Sweden.

Super Street Bike racer Michael Kaupat has been racing this bike for three years. Like many German racers he travels to Drachten in Holland and Hoskovice in the Czech Republic to race. With nitrous, Michael has run an 8.9 best and is first alternate. Michael runs in Team NightrideR with two other SSBs.

Pro ET racer Roger Vögeli returned to the sport in 2011 after a break of sixteen years. He built his '68 Barracuda himself in 1992, competed in 1993-5 and then parked it. He said "I came back because drag racing is the greatest motorsport and I missed it." The engine is now a 622cu in Mopar that runs on pump gas and the transmission an airshifted Powerglide. Roger collects Barracudas and to fund his return to the sport he sold five of them out of a fleet of no less than 25. "It broke my heart to sell them," he added. Racing plans for 2011 include a trip to Hoskovice from Roger's Swiss home.

Super Street Bike racer Erich Gruber's team is from 20km outside of Vienna and has run his Kawasaki turbo bike for four years. He and his team attend six races a year including Drachten, Kunmadaras and Hoskovice. The bike's best is 8.44 and Erich is qualified 13th in the 16 bike field.

Super Street Bike racer Luca Carboneri from Pordenone near Venice, bought his turbo Suzuki bike from Paul Watson and added electronics from Brad O'Connor. He is qualified 10th and also races in Kunmadaras and Beychene, Czech Republic. The bike's best is 8.097.

Pro Mod racer Paul "Tami" Brander built his Camaro in 2009 and ran a 6.148 two weeks ago for a new Finnish national record. Here he has run a 6.22 at 374kph which is a PB speed. Tami said the car has the "usual" BAE Stage VI/Kobelco/Lenco for 2011. He said "The new parts are working together well and we are working on the setup for different tracks - this is the first time I have driven here."

Top Fuel racer Shelley Pearson is running Rune Fjeld's third car in the night race against Anita Mäkelä. She said "I will be spending the rest of the year to get the funding to enter some races next season and it's great to be here and to race Anita who I beat when we raced at Easter." Shelley will be helped by members of Risto Poutiainen's crew and Kevin and Nicky from

Top Fuel racer Anita Mäkelä said "I slept much better knowing I had run a four yesterday. The air in the first session was not good but improved and Sami made the calls to help me run a four." The engine broke a blower belt on both runs. Anita is pictured with Barry Sheavills who is doing colour commentary and joined your pit reporter on his morning tour of Top Fuel.

Top Fuel racer Jari Halinen is joined for this event and the European Finals by US crew chief Mike Domagala. Mike said "I have known Rune for over ten years when he bought parts from Bernstein Racing. I am now co-crew chief for Clay Millican who is doing twelve races on the NHRA tour this year and, we hope, more next year. Racing in Europe is less corporate than the US where sponsorship is mainly geared towards TV coverage. I am acting as a consultant to Jari this weekend. I have bought my data from the US but it is not quite comparable with that for the Europe as the tracks are all ashphalt and the racing is over 1320ft. So we made some adjustments after one run and then saw what would happen and will make adjustments again after the next run. We are changing a combination of things but the track is quite bare of rubber after 900ft and we are relying on glue to get down it. The track should hold a low 4.8 but we need to get to 230mph by half track."

Top Fuel racer Timo Lehtimaki improved to a 5.05 in the third session. Ulf Hultholm said before, "On the first run the burst panel went at the top end and on the second it went up in smoke earlier than the spot that the other cars were, so we knew something was wrong. We found a crack in the front of the blower and changed it. Overall we are happy with the tuneup and the car likes the left lane."

Top Fuel racer Micke Kagered said "The car went well to half track and then it felt wrong and we found that a pushrod had broken. Previously we had put new rockers on in Sweden. So we changed engines but were not ready in time for the second session."

Top Fuel racer Andy Carter, pictured with the Lucas Oil team has had trouble with tyre smoke before half track. He said "If there is any positive the car sounds good, felt good and left on eight cylinders. We are hoping the track comes to us and missed the second session, when only a couple got down it. Thanks to Ben Allum for his hard work as Crew Chief and Eddie Corr for tuning advice." Andy improved to a 5.43 this morning but there was flame out of the engine in the second half of the pass.

Top Fuel racer Thomas Nataas is racing for the first time in eighteen months and remarkably ran a 5.08 on his first pass. He said "The first thing I knew was when I had a text from Carsten last Saturday which said 'Houston, we have a problem'! It is good to be back in the car although I wished the circumstances had been different. On the second run we also had a problem with cylinders going out and we found the cause over night and are ready to go quicker." Thomas was true to his word and ran a 4.85 in the third session to go no.1.

Top Fuel racer Risto Poutiainen said "We were testing the clutch setup but had shake and smoke in the first session. I pedalled because I remembered not qualifying in Finland. In the second session I had shake early into the run with the same setup. So we have gone for a softer setup today to try to get down the track." Risto ran a 5.05 to go fifth after the third session.

Top Fuel racer Tommy Johnson Jnr said "I had a great time in Europe this season. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting the people over here and the atmosphere is really friendly. There is more of a grass roots feel to the sport, less pressure to perform and more fun. A lot have people have asked if I would attend the Finals if I still had a chance for the Championship. The answer is I would, but the team needs to find the sponsorship and support. What happened was unfortunate but I can get it behind me. In the big picture it is a "bump and rub" but if anything comes out of it, there will be increased awareness of the rules around medications."

Top Fuel racer Urs Erbacher said he was pleased not to have smoked the tyres but the engine dropped a cylinder one second into the run. He said "The times were very consistent, 5.17 and 5.16 but we need to get the engine not to drop cylinders. We have looked at the tuneup, changed the ignition system and the fuel pump and put our spare heads on. So it will run quicker or go up in smoke." Crew Chief Robin Grice said "It is a tuner's nightmare."

Pro Stock racer Conrad Stanley suffered a broken rod in top gear yesterday. He said "It went pop, but I was not expecting it as I was not over-revving the engine. Tommy Leindahl has lent us a spare engine that should be more powerful than our own engine, but we need to change the clutch and suspension settings round the new engine to get the most out of it. The car has gone 6.87 with the old engine so I am hoping we will improve." Conrad went from 7.01 to 6.99 but remains outside the eight car field.

Top Fuel racer Kenni Neergaard achieved a 5.64/360kph to gain his license yesterday. That was a great achievement for one so young and has been several years in the making. He started working with Stig's team at the age of 13 and ran a Super Comp car aged 16 and a blown alcohol car in 2010. Stig said "The cars were set up with similar controls to a Top Fuel Dragster to get Kenni used to them." Kenni said "I need to do a qualifying time today but am happy with getting licensed. I had to pedal on that run as there was tyre shake. My objective is to beat my Dad this weekend, but really would be pleased just to qualify."

Top Fuel racer Stig Neergaard stepped up to a 4.88 in the third session. "We know the combination works well here and my 4.95 yesterday was without any breakage. We will step it up a little today and hope the track has more rubber on it as I spun the tyres after 1000ft and it was right on the limit. My dream this weekend would to be up against Kenni in the final and I would not give him any favours!"

Jet car racers Bob Feeler and Vincent Perrot are here for the night show with David Pertue and Eric Teboul providing rocket action.

Competition Eliminator racer Silvio Strauch has an immaculate dragster bought from the US in 2010 after Dean Dublin ran it in Top Dragster. He said "The engine came with the car and the trans is out of our old car. The car has run a best of 6.71 with a Brad Anderson engine, 14-71 blower and powerglide trans." Sponsorship comes from www.rennbenzin.de and Red Line Oil.

Top Fuel Bike racer Peter Svensson ran a new track record 6.111/336.21 on his first qualifying pass. His last visit to Hockenheim was in 1995 and seven Top Fuel Bikes are in attendance this weekend, the biggest field so far this season. on Peter's second run he drifted towards the centre line and the bike took out the reflectors so no time was recorded.

Top Fuel Bike racer Steve Woolatt suffered a problem on his first and only run yesterday when one of the magnets for the magneto pickup came off and graunched the pulley. The engine stopped dead and the team then had to strip the engine down to see what machining work was required. Steve said earlier "It's good for the UEM championship to be here at Hockenheim. The last time I came was 1994 and I first started racing here in 1979.

US Super Comp racer Tony Morris who raced regularly at the NitrOlympX in the 1980s and 1990s is paying another visit, this time to help brother-in-law Rene Kloss with his Super Comp dragster. Tony said "The family goes back with this event as Rene's father was President of the German drag racing association. The car he has bought was 6th in the 2006 NHRA Championship and has won the Division 2 championship with its previous owner. It came with a short block and had new heads to run E85 fuel with. Rene got his license at Orlando running near the index." Tony who specialises in carburettor work helped Rene set the car up for this event and the result has been no.1 qualifier with 8.947. "I set it up with a margin of safety not to break out so wanted it to run 8.94-8.96. We tested here last weekend at the public race. This is Rene's fourth race and he has never raced alongside anyone else until today." Sponsorship comes from Cedros software solutions, Maingraphix and Fuchs Oil.

Super Street Bike racer Simon Giordmaina is up for a long distance award despite the presence of a number of US racers and crew. He was on a rough ferry crossing from Malta to Rome followed by a 16 hour drive to the track. In September he will be making an even longer drive to SPR. He said "I am pleased to be no.3 in qualifying with a 7.88/300kph. I ran a 7.72 in Malta but the track here feels really smooth and I had some wheelspin out of the hole so I am sure there is more in the bike." Simon is running the same clutch and turbo as the UK riders and thanks Rick Stubbins for his help with tuning the bike for the race.

Junior Dragster racer Rhiannon Bellenie is having a great season being no.2 in the UK Championship and no.1 in the SPRC standings and the Alamo Challenge. She is no.2 here after the first session. Father Pete said "As I am having a year off racing Super Street Bike, I am able to help Rhiannon more at the track. The juniors do require some set-up, deciding the dial-in, checking the weight and tyre pressures, setting the revs for launch and ensuring the clutch belt is free from grease."