Top Methanol Dragster racers Timo and Dennis Habermann have one piece carbon fibre bodies with identical sponsor logos and gold and silver livery respectively. They said "Tierp and Alastaro were bad for our championships. At Tierp we met in the first round and then in Finland we lost lane choice and were in the right lane which was worse than the left. Our chance of doing well here has improved by getting through round 1 and the cars are ready to run again. We had to change three pistons in Timo's car on Friday but are back able to run high 5.3s."

Top Mthanol Dragster racer Paul Ingar Udtian, to whose late brother Stig our reports this weekend are dedicated, said "The engine was damaged on Friday with a broken bearing and rod and we changed to another type of bearing which is better for lubrication. We are planning to run low 5.4s at the Finals and will have new parts on the car by then, with our main engine repaired in Norway. It helps to have three blocks. There will be more new stuff next year."

Top Methanol Dragster racer Peter Scöfer is running a limited schedule this year attending just the Tierp and Hockenheim rounds in expectation of a full year in 2012. Team member Kirsten Krause (pictured right with crew chief Wolfgang Scöfer) said "The first round run was nice, the quickest pass of the round and our quickest of the weekend. We really need to use dice to decide the correct setup. Our main problem was a broken valve yesterday but it stuck in the head and there was no other damage." Earlier in the year the team had suffered a lot of damage at Tierp and delivery costs to the US have escalated.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Eskvo Rautio suffered a damaged camshaft and the fitting coming off the end of the nitro hose (see race report). Esko said there will be a new camshaft in place for the Finals and he said "I promised Santa Pod I will bring a spare engine so I am being careful here. The tuning of these cars is difficult particularly with nitro at 97% rather than 100%. If the percentage reduces any further I will take another break from the sport as it will be too expensive to buy new heads. With our Arias motor it is difficult to get tuning advice. We have replaced the ignition with a more modern digital setup but the clutch is a problem as the discs are flat and we are having to use up to 100g weight to get them to grip."

Top Methanol Dragster racer Dave Wilson ran much better in the semi final, 5.38/426kph after being up in smoke in round one. Crew chief and son David said "It was the same tuneup as Friday for round one but the track couldn't hold it this time. We put Derek in the right lane and he got caught out by the mandatory shutdown system which does not work as well for A/Fuel cars as it works on manifold boost and can deploy in error. Dave got back on it and it dropped cylinders so was down on power. We had routine maintenance but it has turned out to be a long wait with the rain." Birthday greetings go to team member Jim Chandler.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Krister Johansson suffered major engine damage in the third qualifier with three broken rods and crank and a damaged block. "It is not fun and we will have to get replacements from the US," he said. Krister is pictured with team members Glenn Read and Lars Lindqvist (left and right respectively)

Top Methanol Dragster racer Fred Hansen said "I changed a bolt in the clutch, we adjusted it but it was bent and on the starting line it affected the pressure. I couldn't hold the car on the line and need a stronger bolt. It looks as if a rogue part may have cost us the championship. But we don't want the rain to help decide the title. We will hope for better luck at the Finals." The Black and White livery new for this year represents the Norwegian football team Fred supports, Rosenberg who have been in the Champions' League several times.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Timo Lehtimäki, pictured with his team, was pleased to have advanced past round one. He said "We destroyed a short block yesterday and will repair it at home in Finland. We are in the right lane against Thomas and it's pretty much a one lane race track now, so we'll see." The prediction was accurate as Thomas ran another 4.85 for the win.

Top Fuel Dragster Risto Poutiainen said after his round one loss to Timo Lehtimäki "It was the first time I red-lit for 19 years. I thought I had done a really good reaction then I realised it might have been a red and looked up and saw it on the tree. It did help take some of the pain away to see other points contenders go out early."

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson said "We had a frenetic day yesterday with the blower off the engine three times. The engine was fine after the second round this morning although there was a problem getting off the startline." In the semi final Andy red lit and then hit tyre shake big-time for the loss against points leader Micke Gullqvist.

Top Gas racer and regular Eurodragster.com contributor Herman Jolink runs a Ducati engined machine and has done so right through his 35 years in the sport. His engine is a 996RS with a belt drive. Herman qualified sixth with a 9.396/244kph and improved to a 8.485/251 in round one but came up short against Stefan Andre's 8.04/262. More details on Herman and the Top Gas series are at Herman's blog page.

Top Gas racer Anna-Lena Asplund qualified no.1 with an 8.09 on a bike that has dipped into the sevens, with a S&S 160cu in engine, Bandit race transmission and frame made by crew Åstedt . In today's better air she went into the sevens in round one with a 7.961/265 pass.

Top Gas racer Kristin Hegre (pictured right) is the mother of Super Twin racer Jan-Sturla Hegre. It has been a somewhat disappointing weekend for the family with Kristin first alternate and Jan-Sturla's bike breaking a crank on his first pass which has been a blow to his championship standing.

Top Gas racer Milan Kolacny races his Honda-engined machine in the Arachnids Racing Team. He qualified sixth and beat Bernd Niessen's broken Buell-engined bike in round one with a 8.676/256.

Super Twin racer Svein Olav Rolfstad has run as quick as 6.55/347kph this season but here has suffered parts breakage including a crank, pushrod and valves. He was up against fellow Norwegian Hans Olav Olstad in round one and beat him with a 7.33 after Hans Olav's engine failed.

Super Twin racer Roel Koedam has announced his retirement. After 25 years in the sport, what is his best memory? "Surviving and the excellent meals! Really, it is the wins and the championships that have made it special. The sport has been good to me." Roel says he will still be at races. "I was thinking of retiring since I had to have a new hip last year and my doctor advised me against continuing. I will still be around but I am not a good spectator."

Pro Stock Bike racer Martin Bishop has had a torrid weekend with five changes of engine and no less than four rebuilds. "Since Wednesday we have had only 13 hours of sleep. We have run a 7.46 in qualifying which is a way off our best of 7.32 and we need to get into the 7.2s to be competitive. We ran well in session three but broke valves." Martin's riding has helped reduce the performance difference and a 0.004 reaction in his round one defeat of Charalambos Bousinis showed that the lack of sleep hasn't blunted his reactions. Nevertheless, Jesper Thiel took the win in the quarter final, 7.15 to 7.40.

Pro Stock Bike racer Rasmus Olesen staged in his round one bye which was due to breakage rather than a decision not to put in a pass. "The bike shifter broke in the burnout. We have fixed it and are ready to go. We are aiming for a seven-zero but will let the bike do the talking." Rasmus and Team Sovereign are supported by US PSB legend and NHRA Drag School Tutor George Bryce and his company G2/Star Racing. Six-time NHRA PSB Champion George said "There is a lot a passion in European racing rather than worrying about corporate business. It reminds me of the reason I started drag racing - I have been racing since the wheels on Pro Stock Bikes were made of wood! My cmpany services Suzuki and Harley PSB engines including ADRL Pro Mod and employ 14 people to do it to customers around the world." More information on George is at the Star Racing web site.

Pro Stock Bike racer Fredrik Fredlund with his Suzuki has been running very close to the times of the Buell engined bikes. In qualifying he finished second with a 7.13 and repeated that time in round two on a bye. He said "We had a problem with our two step device on the line in round one, when the engine hesitated and bogged down a little after I dropped the clutch. At Alastaro we had a problem with a fuse popping out. I have put a lot of money in the bike but it is now catching the Buell boys."

Pro Stock Bike racer Jesper Thiel said "The bike is the same as we raced last year and we have been working to develop it using the same equipment. I am more comfortable and familiar with it and Sovereign have been a great support as has George Bryce's advice. The main team is crew chief Tom Tinndahn and Jakob Møek. We plan to make further engine improvements over the winter and may race in the US but only if we have enough power to qualify. Our main objective next year is the UEM Championship."

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Arvid Grødem suffered mechanical problems on his run necessitating replacement heads, pistons and liners. He said "I wasn't able to do a single full pass in qualifying and hope it will hold together in eliminations." Crew chief Paul Sørensen added "We could run the engine leaner but don't want to break more parts and are just getting to grips with tuning the clutch."

Super Pro ET racer Mark Flavell has enjoyed the weekend despite a lack of track time. He qualified no.16 with a 7.701 on a 7.60 dial-in and got through the first round with a 7.75 on a 7.69 dial-in against Carlo Heym's Chrysler-engined dragster.

Pro Mod racer Adam Flamholc before round one of eliminations said "The track is hard to understand. I can do 6.2 easily but trying to go quicker I have gone up in smoke off the line. I am up against Mats so need to step up. If Pro Stock cars can run quick here, so should Pro Mod. The problem is getting to high gear without shake or smoke. The engine is fine - I had a crank break in two in Tierp and changed to the spare engine but have now repaired my main engine." In the race against Mats Eriksson, Adam crossed the lanes behind him, and was disqualified, neither car going through as Mats also crossed the centre line and the FIA rules state crossing the boundary is automatic disqualification. Adam is hoping to race in the US over the winter and is supported by Amalie Oil, Hurst Boilers and Autoshop.

Pro Mod racer Marc Meihuizen was running in the six-teens and defeated Robert Joosten in round one with a 6.12. He said earlier "We have had broken gearbox shafts which are now mended. We have tried to step up but have done too much, then too little. The first run was fine but the second brough tyre shake. It is never easy but the engine is running good." Marc expected Robert to step up but as we passed Robert's team it was apparent there was a major thrash in progress - Robert red-lit whilst Marc ran a straight and shake-free 6.12.

Pro Mod racer Marcus Hilt is once again helped by Camp Stanley from the US. Two runs in qualifying were both up in smoke from the start and Marcus did not make the final qualifying session as he had a broken main bearing.

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson had a great 0.008 reaction and 6.22 in round one to defeat Jan Gunnarson's quicker 6.18 . The team were working hard tearing the engine down before the round as a burst panel had gone on the burnout in the final qualifying session and wanted to make sure there was no damage in the valve train and replace the piston rings. Luke Robinson said "We just want to get from A to B." Andy's driving did the rest.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Rob Turner (crew chief Steve Turner pictured) missed the last session. Steve said "A pushrod adjuster was broken and rather than rush the repair we decided to take the head off and check thoroughly before eliminations." The car's times have been a couple of tenths off the pace and Steve said the team found the issue that was causing it. "Our sixty foot times were 1.1 which is slow and this was the issue. With the computer, we discovered it was caused by the clutch setting which we had the same as the dragster, but in the funny car the weight transfer is different and is causing it to slide for longer than it should have. We knew the car is running fine at the top end as we are running 241mph." The team have Arvid Grødem in round one.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Danny Bellio ran a 5.86 to go no.2. He said "We are happier and the car is starting to react better now and we have got a better handle on the clutch. But there is still some shake and the chutes deployed early on one run. We changed the rods earlier in the season and dodged a bullet with the engine. But stuff happens - yesterday in the second session the throttle cable bracket broke unexpectedly and that was new this year.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Jürgen Nagel, pictured with crew member Frank Schlemmer, changed parts over the winter in an effort to go quicker. However as he said "It was not the right direction for our performance." The Arias engine has a higher blower overdrive this year and a higher volume fuel system, but the team are struggling getting the extra power out and to the track. "At the Main Event we had a fuel problem which we have fixed and here we are overpowering the track and smoked the tyres twice." There was also a startline incident in qualifying where Jürgen did not get a green light. "I waited for two seconds on full revs and then left." The final qualifier was therefore a safe 6.27 to check the clutch and tyres out and qualify seventh. He is against Danny Bellio in round one.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Jarmo Kuutniemi is third with 5.88. The car's livery is identical but is an all-new Dodge Charger for 2011. Marko Huttunen (clutch and trans crewman) said "It took the first two races to get the tuneup right and since then we have run a best of 5.82. The car handles well and we were happy at Alastaro to run three good runs in a row in the 5.8s area. Here we have had a small problem with the Lenco but have solved that." He is against Des Krivan in round one and wants to run a 5.7.

Top Methanol Dragster racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor and blogger Derek Flynn said "We started ok running a 5.82 but since then have struggled with the combination on the track. We need to tune the car to the track and at the start took as much power out of it as we could. The blower cars can change gear but if an A/Fuel car runs into traction trouble, it's tough. You pedal but getting on it again often locks the clutch up and you smoke the tyres. It's been an ok year but going out in the first round at Tierp with a dropped cylinder was rough as I had run a 5.32." Derek is checking tuning decisions with Jim Rizzoli in the US. Derek's opponent in round one is no.1 qualifier Dave Wilson.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Oliver Azzopardi has been in drag racing for two years and is enthused about FIA competition. "The people and atmosphere are great. I bought the car from the US in 2008 from Jason Cannon, who Will Hanna had crewed with. It had run a best of 5.37 in 2004. I have been in motorsport for 20 years as has my brother and crew chief Edmund and have raced Formula 3 but drag racing is safer. I have the best of BAE parts." Oliver is helped this weekend by noted alcolhol racer Randy Anderson (pictured left). Randy said "The team asked me to make them a fuel system and they visited me in the US and suggested I came over to oversee the operation and make suggestions using my experience and discuss them. I am impressed by the sport in Europe, it is much bigger than I expected and the turnout is amazing. I am getting the team up to speed and it won't take long." In the US Randy runs his own company Advanced Power Systems which mainly makes fuel systems and also has a full time job with Cassie Simonton's TAFC car owned by Spiro Kantas in Canada.