Top Fuel Dragster racer Antti Horto ran a 3.963/490.9 to defeat Timo Lehtimäki in round one and 4.093/467.5 to defeat a smoking Stig Neergard in the semi final. He said 'We have had no big problems and I am very pleased with the way the car is running. We will run at Alastaro and Hockenheim and then review how we are doing in the championship. It's looking quite good at the moment'. But after the semi final, engine and clutch damage was found that was too extensive to repair in time, ending his day. 'We are happy with where we are after two races', he said.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Stig Neergaard was placed in the left lane by Antti and that seemed to have less grip at that stage. 'On our first round hole shot win against Anita, the blower belt went at 350ft and if it had stayed on the time would have been a 3.95. The car is in good shape, we are giving it a little bit more but not much, we want to keep going down the track'. Tyre smoke spelled the end of his day.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Timo Habermann was a surprising victim of spinning tyres in the left lane. He said 'We had too much wheelspeed and that resulted in spinning tyres and smoke. I tried pedaling and short shifting but got close to the left wall and gave up at half track as Micke [Larsson] was driving away. We have new ignition and are still working on it'. The team's plan is to run Finland, Hockenheim and Santa Pod. 'There is only four days between the end of Hockenheim and the start of the August Tierp meeting and that isn't enough for us to prepare'.

Pro Stock racer Magnus Petersson was delighted with a win over Jimmy Ålund, who suffered tyre shake. 'I broke my main engine yesterday and have the spare for today, so will hope for a racy race against Stefan [Ernryd] and get a good light'. He was outrun by Stefan who went 6.613 to Magnus's 6.674. Magnus is pictured with son Hugo, and a Happy Fathers' Day to our readers.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Micke Kågered ran a surprising PB of 3.953/463.1 in round one to defeat Liam Jones (who had engine problems resulting in a burnt cylinder head and scratched block). Micke said 'We had a lot of problems in qualifying and were lucky we managed to sort them out. We had a problem shaking the tyres at 200m at Santa Pod but went well here. We also have good data for our new fuel system'. In round two Micke suffered smoke in the left lane against Duncan Micallef.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Duncan Micallef has run 4.059, 6.591 (with shake) and 3.959 in qualifying. He said 'We only had one issue which meant we had to change one cylinder head, otherwise the car has run well'. In round one he went 4.381/308.8 against Stefan Gunnarson and then 3.935/485.6 against Micke Kågered. He ran a single in the final when Antti had too much engine and clutch damage to make the call.

Top Methanol Dragster team owner Werner Habermann made a point about the lights in the combined class. 'The Dragsters can see the Funny Car's lights but not the other way round. Seeing the amber light go out for the Funny Car distracts the Dragster driver, and this has been proved for us as our reaction times are about a tenth slower at 0.17 or 0.18. Perhaps the blade between the lights should be longer'. He also admitted the new ignition system works differently and the advance is three degrees less than before which narrows the tuning window.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Peterri Liimatainen was an interested spectator after qualifying with a best of 5.5261 and then going up against Jonny Lagg in round one. He suffered tyre shake and had to pedal several times to a 6.853/357.14. He said 'It was the worst shake I have had but I am looking forward to the next round at Alastaro where we will have more crew'.

Pro Mod racer Michael Joneskog had a much better than expected debut meeting in the class, running as quick as 6.099 in qualifying and then defeating Bruno Bader in round one. He said 'I started nervously having to license and worrying about the engine and the weather, so we aimed low. We solved injector and ignition problems in qualifying. But in the run against Bruno at the top of the shift between second and third, an intake valve broke, I kept going as much as I could but the car slowed. I have a heart shaped hole in a piston and the block will need new sleeves and heads fixed, but we should be ok for Finland'.

Stock/Super Stock racer Thomas Strand has this beautiful 1972 Pontiac Le Mans and went to round four where he was defeated by Ari K�rkk�. Thomas was running best times of 10.960/193.3.

Pro Mod racer Håkan Persson suffered an oil shower in round one of eliminations and had a big clean up job to do. He returned for round two, recorded a great 6.051 but red lit against Jimmy Ålund

Pro Mod racer Jan Ericsson ran a 6.078 to defeat Andreas Arthursson in round one. He said 'It's our first year in the class and we bought our car from Tami Brander at the start of the year. In qualifying we blew the motor in Q1 and had to rebuild. So it was good to run a personal best this morning after qualifying with a 6.264'.

Pro Mod racer David Vegter ran 6.11, 6.12, 5.99, and 5.98 in qualifying and 5.98, 5.95 and 5.96 in eliminations, incredible consistency but eventually going out to Micke Gullqvist who won the event. He also suffered some damage to his carbon fibre door which couldn't be mended on site and he will be obtaining a new door before the next race.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Sandro Bellio was a revelation, qualifying no.1 and defeating Ari Pietilä, Jonny Lagg and Dennis Habermann for his first FIA winner's trophy. The car ran very consistently, with 5.522, 5.585 and 5.543 in eliminations and 5.543 in qualifying and Sandro's reaction time was a great 0.081 in the final. He said 'We made a big change yesterday and are still getting used to driving and judging when to lift and pull the chutes at the top end. On my last qualifying run I pulled the chute a little early and we might have had a 5.4 otherwise. But it all happens so quickly, this is much faster than my previous Super Pro ET car'.

Pro Mod racer Michel Tooren is out of the event after major engine damage in the third session. This aluminium swarf is the consequence and all rods and the block and crank are severely damaged. He said 'We don't know what caused it, but a lifter broke and came off causing the exhaust valve to stick open and problems with the inlet as well. We will see if the block and crank are repairable and the camshaft will need replacing. We won't be able to go to Alastaro now and our next race is likely to be the Mopar Euronats'.

Pro Mod racer Matts Logren had huge tyre shake in the third qualifier which severely bent his wheelie bars, broke the rear wishbones and even resulted in body damage at the rear. 'I couldn't see', he admitted. The problem was a miscalculation which resulted in the clutch being far too heavy. We have some repair work to do before the next event.'

Pro Mod racer Andreas Arthursson ran a 6.040 but wasn't satisfied. He said 'I had tyre shake and it is difficult to get the car to leave well. We have an automatic transmission and are working with the boost, ignition , shocks and four link. The last run was good, it would have been a five if I had been on it all the way'. Andreas is using a Fueltech data system which we noticed has been taken up by several teams. 'Everything we need is in one piece of software including readings from the shocks'. He slowed in the first round as the engine suffered an explosion.

Pro Stock Bike racer Alex Hope is in catch-up mode after having to change back to his old chassis after two races. Dad Chris said 'We are looking at a lot of problems and the power is well down from what we need'. Alex qualified sixth with a 7.331, however his fortunes improved when he had a holeshot win over Kenneth Holmberg in round one, 7.378 to Kenneth's 7.370. In the semi final he had an identical 7.405 ET to Robert Karlsson (who was having gear selection issues) but red lit.

Super Street Bike racer Mark Hope ran a new PB speed of 312kph (193mph). He qualified in eighth and lost to Kim Hilander in round one, both bikes running with handling problems. The team return to SPR next weekend for Alex to run his own Super Street Bike, while the Pro Stock bike and Mark's Super Street Bike are kept in storage in Sweden ready for the Alastaro race.

Pro Stock Bike racer Robert Karlsson is taking this season one race at a time. 'I have a big family and they take up a lot of my time so I race when I can and if I'm in the mood'. In qualifying he had gearshift problems. 'I couldn't shift out of third in the first and last sessions, but we don't want to take it apart'. In round one he had a bye and ran a 7.106/303, just a shade off his qualifying time of 7.049. He is pictured with his son William, one of six children. He ran into the gearshift problems again in the semi final and was unable to make the final, which was won by Thomas Olsen on a single.

Super Twin racer Tommy Grimes said 'I'm never happy. If I was happy I wouldn't be doing this!' He said the team had put a new tyre on Friday but it collapsed at the highest point on the run, so they changed tyres which helped him to get a 6.41 run for no.1 qualifier. 'I am getting used to the bike, but it's pissed-off at me, and we're supposed to be friends'. The 7 time NHRA Champion said 'We will take it one step at a time and not count our chickens. The 6.41 was down to the team, they made me look a hero'. Owner Per Bengtsson, who amazingly had made over 1,000 runs on the bike, is delighted that Tommy already is running close to the European ET and speed records of 6.409/360kph.

Super Twin racer Roman Sixta is in his third season using a Ron Houniet V60 engine and the development work is paying off. Crewman Jakob Konecny said 'We had trouble at first and broke the engine at SPR in 2015. In 2016 though we made more time to work on it and had a very soft setup so we could get relaxed with the new engine. This year we are applying more power, more ignition and more clutch and getting it through to the rear wheel'. He qualified second with a 6.650 and went 6.680 in round one after opponent Vidar Ravnsborg shut off.

Super Twin racer Pettri Mattsson is another bike utilising the Ron Houniet V60 engine and he also did well, qualifying third with a 6.732. He said 'That was a new PB, I've been out of racing for over two years and in that time got the new engine and a Bentec clutch. I'm confident, but the bike is going to the right, which I've altered the wheelie bar to counter, and the engine is running rich and dropped a hole at 1000ft'. He had to feather the throttle in round one and Anders H�rnstr�m drove by him with his best time of 6.776.

Super Twin racer Samu Kemppainen had problems with traction throughout qualifying. 'It's mainly the clutch that's a problem, we tried new stuff on Friday but changed the tyre and put my old combination back in it today, but it still didn't work well. We have to repair the transmission and I think I know what the problem is'. In round one his tyre again went up in smoke, and a pedal only resulted in a bang from the engine as he lost to Tommy Grimes.

Top Fuel Bike racer Sverre Dahl is at his first race this year. He said 'We have been using this bike frame for the last ten years and it was great to run a PB of 6.036/373.7. I have good clutch settings with a new clutch management system. The first two runs were using the same setup but lost traction. Now the clutch is bedded in I will make small changes only'. He did lose traction in round one but recovered to overcome to defeat Peter Andersson (Å).

Super Street Bike racer Mogens Lund qualified no.1 with a 7.067/330 and after a bye in round one, defeated Kim Hilander in round two. 'I was a couple of tenths ahead at the start of qualifying but Robert Nilsson and Anders Blanck are catching up. The class has really moved up here, and my new engine combination is working well. The settings were wrong for session two but I found a good setup after that. The bike runs well at all the tracks'.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Jonny Lagg was delighted to run a 5.489/420 with a pedal at around 250ft, after a quick 60ft of 0.93. He said 'We have qualified at each event since 2009 and to get in and run so well is fantastic. I think we are looking good'.

Pro Mod racer Norbert Kuno said 'It is good to have Adam Lambert's input and new shocks, it has made the car more safe down the track. However we are struggling with other setup problems and need to make more power. The last run was not straight and I didn't want to risk hitting the wall so lifted'. He is qualified tenth with a 6.211 and faces Håkan Persson in round one.

Pro Mod racer Roger Johansson said that he constructed his new car using a chassis and body from Rick Jones in the evenings from March onwards. 'I have used the block, intake and heads from the old car but otherwise it is all new and feels great.' His qualifying run of 6.297 was only the third pass on the new car.

Pro Mod racer Håkan Persson had some shock absorber issues. 'The shocks collapsed yesterday and I got very close to the wall. I bought some new ones from Freddy Fagerström and they have worked fine. Thanks to Adam Flamholc for helping with the tuning. He is busy with three other teams too'.

Pro Mod racer Åke Persson ran an outstanding 5.9604 to qualify third. "It shook just a little but I am very pleased', he said. 'Jonnie Lindberg, who is racing at Bristol with the NHRA this weekend is giving us remote help over the web. There was a lot of shake on the first run but the tyres were new and now they are bedded in.'

Pro Mod racer David Vegter suffered a hole in his new carbon fibre door on his final run. 'We don't know how that happened' he said. 'We will ask Kenneth at Swedecomposite to do a repair job. The car is running straight and the engine producing good power'. He is qualified fourth and will be against Roger Johansson in round one.

Pro Mod racer Micke Gullqvist is leading the class once again with a no.1 qualifying pass of 5.9071/395.89 and winning the Swedish Pro Mod championship final against Åke Persson on a holeshot. 'We are chasing the track', he said. 'It has got better through the event. We know the car so well I feel it talks to me and tells me what it wants'. Micke said he will run the FIA series this year and although he considered racing in the US, time didn't permit that happening.

Pro Mod racer Freddy Fagerström suffered an exhaust header collapse on his first run yesterday. 'It was trailing along the ground but we were able to weld it up again and have a good run in the final session. I was short shifting which caused shake problems but it was better in session four. We will fit new springs and bearings for tommorrow'. He is qualified eleventh and against Kim Kristiansen in round one.