Competition Eliminator racer Ingo Ekert is racing the '70 Dodge Challenger formerly run by Per Svedberg in Pro Mod. The car was built by Mats Eriksson in 2001 and runs a 526cu in TFX engine. Ingo ran 7.088 to go fifth in the second session. More details of the team are at www.ekertdragracing.de. The team are joined by Kirsten and Christl, both from Peter Schöfer's TMD team who are taking a year off.

Funny Bike racer Szabolcs Borsay is racing an ex-Pro Stock bike and went 8.904/228kph in session one. He said "I went a best of 8.2 but have rebuilt the engine since." There are several Hungarian competitors that are also racing at the Kunmadaras race next weekend which is a round of the European Super Street Bike cup. More details and pictures of the Suzuki powered machine are at www.szabb.hu.

Funny Bike racer Luc Raeymaekers from Merksplas in Belgium has raced at Hockenheim for many years and has also attended the Bulldog Bash. He runs a '77 Kawasaki Z900-based machine and said "My previous best is a 8.2 but I have replaced the gearbox and hope to get into the sevens." His best run this morning was 8.28/249.38kph for fifth.

Funny Bike racer Mike Olie has been racing in the UK and ran 9.02 this morning. He said "We ran a 7.6 at Drachten on a less than ideal surface so should be able to go quicker here." Mike's next race is at Mosten.

Funny Bike racer and 2012 ACU Champion Maarten Zijlstra ran 8.19/240kph to go third. He said "I missed the Easter ACU race but won the Springspeed Nationals. Stuart Crane is leading the championship but I won't let him take it from me easily." His plans are to attend the remaining ACU rounds but there are up to 13 bikes competing at Hockenheim."

Funny Bike racer Petr Ceska of Czech Republic is running a self-built Hayabusa based machine. He said "This is my third race and my best so far is 9.3 without nitrous." He ran a 9.61 to go ninth after two sessions.

Junior Dragster racer Anton Schneider is in his final year in the class before he moves up. Dad and Pro Mod racer Norbert said "We may have Anton driving my Skyline, with a smaller engine, in Pro ET. In the second session, Anton was qualified seventh. The car bears the team sponsor's Lucas signeage.

Happy Birthday to Rocket FC and Jet Dragster racer David Pertué. The driver of the Hydrogen Rocket Funny Car and Go Fast Fire Jet dragster is running the ex-Sammy Miller Funny Car at the night show on Saturday and will be in the dragster at the Kunmadaras meeting next weekend. He said "The cars feel so different, the jet car is gradual off the start line but the rocket funny car is sudden acceleration. I have tested the dragster with new parts and the video can be seen here.

Readers of a certain age may recognise this as a replica of Don Prudhomme's 1982 Funny Car which ran a nitrous system to a then unheard-of 5.63. It is marked 'For Sale'. Any takers?

Super Pro ET racer Frank Wambach runs the VW Corrado previously campaigned by Spencer Tramm and then Norbert Schneider. He said "I bought the car in 2011 and ran it last year qualifying sixth. I was ill earlier this year and have just ran it at one other race at Bitburg." Frank qualified 17th with 8.72 on an 8.60 dial in.

Super Pro ET racer Mark Flavell is towed by crewman Steve to the startline. In the first two sessions the team had problems with excessive crankcase pressure. Mark said "The engine was breathing badly but there was no trace of oil blowing past the rings so we think it may be an intake manifold gasket rather than a burnt piston. There was no smoke out of the headers. The team (who are this meeting aided by multi-champion winning Super Comp and Super Gas racer Frank Mason) said they have plenty of spares for the top end of the engine so will miss the next session to get back on track tomorrow.

Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg is still working the bugs out of his new bike which looks superb. He said "We ran the Main Event, Drachten and will also race at the Euro Finals, but we had a lot of problems at Drachten with compression and magneto. So we were losing head gaskets and the ignition was an issue." Rene was missing from the first session as the team worked on the bike.

Competition Eliminator racer Michael Vogt's Procharged '55 Chevy is for sale. Following ignition problems in the pits he ran a 7.991 on 8.10 index to go fourth.

Competition Eliminator racer Zoltan Kohari who is also Hungarian representative on the FIA Drag Racing Commission, is in his second season with this blown Camaro. He said "I bought the car in Hungary where it had been imported but never run. We then imported an ex-Pro Mod Pat Musi engine. So far I have only run the car in Hungary and at East European tracks and this is my first time racing at Hockenheim. My best time so far is 7.60 but not on full throttle. If the car works well I will get more power and run in the FIA championship, perhaps in 2015." Thanks to Robert Groll for interpretation.

Pro ET racer Horst Koch from Alfed, Germany, runs a '69 AMX which is all original apart from the hood and rear bumper. He said "I imported it in 2012 and made about six passes and then had the engine rebuilt and fortunately he was able to get all the American Motors Corp parts for it (the company having disappeared when Chrysler absorbed it in 1987). A friend found the car in the US for me. After 30 years of slalom and off road events I wanted to do drag racing and the car is unusual." Last weekend Horst ran a best of 10.30 without the onboard nitrous system and he is qualified 17th here.

Super Comp racer Fred Hanssen is back to his roots with the Islanders dragster in which he first competed. He said "I'm here just for fun and the team wanted to go. The social life at European races is great." Fred ran his Top Alcohol car in testing at Las Vegas ("it was so cold, snowing at the top end and they were blaming me!") and then in competition at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona where he went one round and ran 5.34. "It's still my dream to race in the US and we are looking for a new crew chief and may ultimately go Top Fuel. I am planning on running at Las Vegas and Pomona at the end of the year and maybe the whole Yello Mello season in 2014. Howard Maine, the car's previous owner has been a great help to me." Fred has returned to Europe to oversee his fishing business which he is still operating. He concluded by saying "I'd love to run Top Methanol dragster in Europe but where have all the other cars gone?"

Super Gas racer Jon Giles says "This is my second time at the race as I was here in 2010. I have a new 598cu in Jeff Bull engine which is running well after two years of problems with my previous engine". Jon thanks Stuart and Collin Morrice for help in setting the throttle stop. He said "They are magic, I ran a 9.91 straight off the trailer thanks to their work." Jon's family is joining him for the night show.

Super Pro ET racer Bob Hawkins ran 8.25 on 8.19 dial in to go tenth after two sessions. He said "The first two passes were with a 350hp nitrous charge and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Tomorrow is busy, there will be four passes, a fire burnout and a match race. The fire burnout is like a bad habit but fun. I have had the car for three and a half years. Previously it was owned by Colin Aldred and the Wratten Brothers but it was originally built in the 1960s by Reg Sommers with a straight six Zephyr engine (here is a photo courtesy UKDRN). Virtually all has been replaced including the original frame, but the front axle still remains." The car's 383cu in Chevy engine goes back to the Wratten Brothers ownership and produces 530hp on pump fuel, which with the help of a progressive nitrous controller, propels it into the sevens and handles particularly well for its short wheelbase.

Junior Dragster racer Sam Holland-Villa is with Dad Dave Holland and in his Half Scale dragster went seventh in the first qualifying session. Dave will be racing his Super Street Bike in the first Pro qualifying session at 14:00 CET.

Junior Dragster racers Erika (in car 51) and Fredrik Leanders are in 22nd and 17th positions after the first session.

Junior Dragster racer Joe Holland-Villa runs a Half Scale car and went into fifth place after the first session.

Junior Dragster racer Marcel Winter from Switzerland runs a MC Maniac car and was in twentieth after the first session.

Junior Dragster racer Karin Winter runs a Hadman car and is in eighth place.

Junior Dragster racer Jacob Kopasz was 19th after the first session. There are 25 cars qualified but race rules at the NitrOlympX limit the field to 16 cars, so qualifying position is crucial.

Pro ET racer Alexandre Jacquot from Malissard in France is racing this Ford Probe and qualified 12th with a 10.27 on 10.00 dial in. The car has been raced in France for a few years and has a 468cu in engine.

Pro ET racer Alex Mahl from Austria runs this rare '72 AMC Gremlin which he imported from Ohio as a rolling chassis. He said "It was quite an adventure because having been run as a race car it had been in a barn for 10 years and then used on the street. I wanted the Gremlin as it is a classic body and my friend Dominic Mucha located it for me. It was a problem to get it to Jacksonville harbour 500 miles away. With AMC parts so expensive and difficult to get hold of, the engine is a rebuilt 408 cu in Chevy and new TH350 gearbox by TCI." Alex ran a 10.19 on his 10.15 dial in and is in 10th. He is planning on racing the car at the National Finals.

Pro ET racer Eduard Hildebrand from Switzerland is in sixth place in this Nova. The engine is a supercharged Chevy and the car ran 9.22 on a 9.15 dial-in.

Pro ET racer Klaus Michael from Hennef in Germany was no.1 after the first session. He ran a 10.811 on 10.80 dial in his '89 Mustang. His team are called Cobracorner.

Pro ET racer Dominic Mucha from Bregenz in Austria runs a '78 AMC Pacer Wagon. He ran a 12.001 on 11.80 dial in for 10th place.

Pro ET racer Robert Rauch from Krenglbach in Austria has a '67 Mercury Cougar which ran 9.748 on a 9.70 dial-in for fourth place in the first session. The car runs a methanol-fuelled Chevy engine and Robert came into the sport in 2012.