FIA Main Event
Monday (eliminations)

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20:20

You've got the results, you've got the pictures, you've got the timing data so we think we're just about done here at Santa Pod. What a weekend! Andy Marrs furnished us with today's run details, we started at 9:28 this morning and finished at 6:44 this evening. That's a total time of 9 hours 16 minutes, of which 6 hours 25 was racing time and 2 hours 51 was downtime. 385 vehicles went down the track in all, and there were 59 byes and 163 races.

And that, folks, is definitely the end of our FIA Main Event coverage. Thanks very much for tuning in. Your reporters and photographers were Tog and Sharkman of Eurodragster.com.

Thanks for their help in the last week to Race Director Darren Prentice; Chief Marshal Steve Horn; Andy Marrs, Lisa Smart, John Hackney and Martin Wallis of Santa Pod's timing crew; Chief Starter Ian Marshall and his crew; Chief Fire Marshal Bob Day and his crew; track announcers John Price and Jerry Cookson; Bjorn Sundquist; Erik Zettervall; Lee Child; SPR track manager Kjell Petterson; Jon Cross; Dave Alexander; Jim Broome; Ivan Sansom; Spencer Tramm; Sue Morris in the SPR Media Centre; Roger Gorringe; Bill Sly; Stefan Boman; Ian Turburville; Keith Bartlett; Caroline Day; Paula Marshall; the Peter Schofer Racing TMD team; the LA Racer TMD team; the American Car Imports TMD team; Dezsoe Krivan and his TMFC team; Team Pants; Svein Gottenberg and Ronny Aasen; Chris Tombleson; the Napper family; and of course to all of the racers for giving us quotes and action to write about and photograph.

Eurodragster's next event coverage will be from the Super Series Midsummer Nationals on 15th-16th June; our next coverage from Santa Pod Raceway will be the Summernationals on 29th-30th June.

This weekend's coverage was brought to you in association with American Car Imports.

20:00

Today's pictures are now available. You can get to them from the Event Update index.

Courtesy of Andy Marrs of Santa Pod's timing crew, the timing data from this event is now available. You can view it by clicking here.

18:45

Pro Modified final

Andy Robinson 6.71/204.50 def. Henri Joosten broke

Great burnouts as you'd expect from the Pro Mods, then Henri Joosten's wheelie bars were found to be either loose or broken as he prepared to stage. Andy took the single and the win on his first competitive outing in the Stude.

Jet ET

A special mention for Martin Hill in the Fireforce 2 Jet Funny Car whose every pass this weekend has been in the 6.0s. On his last pass here this afternoon he came to the line with "Jet ET 6.00" on the back of the car. The timing crew put up a 6.00 dial-in on the scoreboards and guess what...Martin ran a 6.009! Pity about Super Pro stopping at 6.30...

Final results in all classes

FIA Top Fuel Dragster: Kim Reymond 4.99/283.96 def. Andy Carter 5.16/224.55
FIA Top Methanol Dragster: Peter Schofer 5.60/230.31 def. Rob Turner 5.84/237.74
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car: Micke Kagered 5.89/243.68 def. Leif Andreasson 6.01/213.90
FIA Pro Stock: Jacob Ferrer 7.10/193.25 def. Jan Muren 7.59/147.79
Fuel Funny Car: John Spuffard 5.38/286.05 def. Gordon Smith 10.92/82.89
Pro Modified: Andy Robinson 6.71/204.50 def. Henri Joosten broke
Super Pro ET: Ian Bishop (7.88) 7.963/156.04 def. Mick Kemp (8.50) 8.596/151.91
Pro ET: Jon Evans (10.13) 10.192/130.48 def. Rick McCann (10.81) 10.805/125.79 red light
Sportsman ET: Rick Denny (14.02) 14.047/87.20 def. Richard Hiller (14.02) 14.192/92.40
Super Comp: Zane Llewellyn broke, Brian Pateman broke
Super Gas: Pete Creswell 10.301/115.73 def. Luke Ramage 10.544/107.07
Super Street: Leigh Morris 11.135/114.01 def. Bob Doignie 11.244/119.48
Junior Dragster: Nick Mugridge (13.20) 13.151/47.67 def. Adam Gleadow (9.30) 9.343/69.12 red light
Custom Car Street Eliminator: Steve Pateman 8.832/167.81 def. John Sleath 9.051/149.95

UEM Comp Bike: Nils Ole Lund 7.00/195.40 def. Neil Midgley 7.20/180.08
UEM Supertwin Top Fuel Bike: Anders Karling 6.83/163.72 def. Per Bengtsson 7.78/121.54
UEM Pro Stock Bike: Chris Hope 7.57/172.67 def. Martin Bishop 7.85/168.84
9.90 Bike: Paul Morris 10.097/134.04 def. Steve Ingham 9.861/125.90 breakout
10.90 Bike: Steve Dyer 11.030/132.16 def. Glenn Randles 10.890/109.12 breakout

17:40

Fuel Funny Car final

John Spuffard 5.38/286.05 def. Gordon Smith 10.92/82.89

Spuff clocks the highest-ever Fuel FC speed outside the USA, again. Gordon hit shake off the start line, pedalled and gave it another go but eventually got off it.

17:20

FIA Top Fuel Dragster final

Kim Reymond 4.99/283.96 def. Andy Carter 5.16/224.55

Kim ran his first four-second pass in taking the win. Andy's engine was visibly going away towards the finish line then exploded in the traps.

FIA Top Methanol Dragster final

Peter Schofer 5.60/230.31 def. Rob Turner 5.84/237.74

Peter Schofer and his team turn the wick even further up with a picture-perfect pass to end a dream weekend with their rebuilt car and new engine.

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car final

Micke Kagered 5.89/243.68 def. Leif Andreasson 6.01/213.90

Micke went straight down the middle of the lane whilst Leif took the long way round, getting near to the guardrail towards the top end.

FIA Pro Stock final

Jacob Ferrer 7.10/193.25 def. Jan Muren 7.59/147.79

A good pass from Jacob while Jan got off the throttle near the finish line.

UEM Comp Bike final

Nils Ole Lund 7.00/195.40 def. Neil Midgley 7.20/180.08

Neil was out in front but Nils caught him up, 0.06 between them at the finish line.

UEM Supertwin Top Fuel Bike final

Anders Karling 6.83/163.72 def. Per Bengtsson 7.78/121.54

Anders was off the throttle at 1100 feet, Per long before that with a puff of smoke from the engine as he got off it.

UEM Pro Stock Bike final

Chris Hope 7.57/172.67 def. Martin Bishop 7.85/168.84

Chris was quickly out in front and maintained the lead, but Martin won't be disappointed with his time.

15:20

UEM Comp Bike round 2

Neil Midgley 7.29/172.13 def. Eric Teboul broke

Neil Midgley goes quicker still. Eric broke after his burnout.

Nils Ole Lund 7.06/194.11 def. Tim Blakemore 7.48/167.88

Tim gave it all he had and looked to be in front as Nils was out of shape and really fighting the bike. But the Fuel bike's power told at the finish line. Nils gets lane choice over Neil in the final.

UEM Supertwin Top Fuel Bike round 2

Anders Karling 6.36/205.55 def. Svein Gottenberg 7.63/161.55

An astounding pass from Anders. The front wheel was off the deck most of the way down the track and the bike just kept on going, straight as you like. Svein was a spectator as Anders does the first half of the job in smashing his own record.

Per Bengtsson 6.82/201.62 def. Ton Pels 6.92/205.64

Side-by-side sixes and two hundreds with Per getting to the stripe first. Per gives up lane choice to Anders in the final.

UEM Pro Stock Bike round 2

Martin Bishop 7.90/167.03 def. Roger Pettersson broke

Just as in the four-wheeled version of Pro Stock we had another shock of the year as the UEM Champion goes out. A long, long burndown before both staged and then Roger's bike broke feet off the line.

Chris Hope 7.58/173.59 def. Oivind van Essen 7.45/178.47

Chris strapped a huge holeshot on Oivind and there was no catching him as he put in his best pass of the weekend (we think it may be a PB). Chris gets lane choice over Martin in the final.

Congratulations to Jon Evans who has won the Eurodragster.com Perfect Light Award with a 0.500 reaction time in Pro ET eliminations. 'Santa Pod Babe' Porscha drew the Eurodragster/Scorpion Racing Award classes out of the hat this morning and it will be the winners of Super Street and 10.90 Bike who take home the TRS harness and Rock Oil respectively.

15:10

FIA Top Fuel Dragster round 2

Andy Carter 18.42/66.77

Andy trickled down the track to save parts and gives up lane choice in the final.

Kim Reymond 5.22/233.43 def. Barry Sheavills broke

Great burnouts from both racers and then consternation around the back of Barry's car in the staging area. One of Barry's chutes had slipped out of its pack and he had no option but to shut off since Kim was in pre stage and waiting. Kim shut off early, but gets lane choice in the final against Andy Carter.

FIA Top Methanol Dragster round 2

Rob Turner 5.79/240.40 def. Dave Wilson 6.28/193.86

This one didn't take long to decide as Dave hit tyre shake not far off the line, and was headed towards the centre line. Rob went straight and true and goes into the final with lane choice.

Peter Schofer 6.49/122.05 bye

A half pass from Peter with the chutes out well before the finish line. Peter gives up lane choice to Rob Turner in the final.

FIA Top Methanol FC round 2

Leif Andreasson 5.92/239.35 def. Leif Helander 5.95/234.83

A great drag race with not much between the two Leifs at the finish line.

Micke Kagered 5.91/239.03 def. Lex Joon 6.95/171.55

Lex's five-second form deserted him at just the wrong moment. Micke strapped a 0.57 to 0.70 holeshot on him and it was all over. Micke gets lane choice over Leif in the final.

FIA Pro Stock round 2

Jan Muren 7.15/192.89 def. Michael Malmgren 7.55/147.55

It's only the first event and we had the shock of the year as Jan Muren put out the #1 qualifier. Michael hit shake off the line and was off it with a bang from the engine at 1000 or so feet. Jan is running very consistently.

Jacob Ferrer 7.09/194.63 def. Rune Berg 7.16/192.15

A nice straight pass from Jacob giving him lane choice over Jan in the final.

Fuel Funny car round 1

Gordon Smith 5.90/176.04 bye

A half-pass from Gordon, losing a blower belt.

John Spuffard 5.37/256.94 bye

A full pass from Spuff, looked to be smoking the tyres towards the top end. Spuff gets lane choice over Gordon in the final.

13:20

UEM Comp Bike round 1

Neil Midgley 7.30/168.39 def. Steve Woollatt 9.74/93.69

A shock as the #1 qualifier went out, Steve's rear tyre went up in smoke off the line. He had a good go at catching Neil but eventually gave up the chase. A very good pass from Neil.

Eric Teboul 7.30/169.90 def. Pasi Alakkunas 8.42/109.65

Eric was off then back on the throttle, but has Pasi well covered. Pasi pulled a great burnout before the race.

Tim Blakemore 10.90 def. Roel Koedam broke

Roel shut off on the way back from his burnout. Tim got to the top of a gear and then the engine hit the limiter so I guess the next gear didn't engage.

Nils Ole Lund 8.24/129.75 def. Ian King 30.07/15.05

Ian threw a belt at about 100 feet. Nils was out of shape and was on and off the throttle a couple of times but kept it in his lane to take the win.

It's Midgley v Teboul and Blakemore v Lund in round 2.

UEM Supertwin Top Fuel Bike round 1

Anders Karling 6.68/167.24 bye

Anders was up on the wheelie bars most of the way down the track, drifting towards the centreline. He got off it towards the top end and stayed in his lane.

Svein Gottenberg 7.31/172.47 def. Ronny Aasen 8.18/141.93

Ton Pels 6.85/203.80 def. Kai Selkamaa 9.68/116.09

Ton stepped right up with a straight and clean pass. Kai on his repaired bike was running on the left edge of his rear tyre for a good hundred yards.

Per Bengtsson 7.11/188.75 def. Bernie Hepworth 8.42/139.71

Per had Bernie well covered and was off the throttle early. Bernie is looking more and more confident on his new bike on each outing.

It's Karling v Gottenberg and Pels v Bengtsson next round.

UEM Pro Stock Bike round 1

Roger Pettersson 7.51/176.84 def. Luigi Chinarello 8.39/155.20 red light

First-alternate Luigi understandably tried to get the jump on Roger but cut it too fine. Another clean and straight pass from Roger.

Martin Bishop 8.00/157.68 def. Anders Larsson broke

Anders' bike didn't start, so Martin took the win with an early-shut-off pass.

Oivind van Essen 7.44/177.99 def. Richard Gipp 7.96/163.54

Richard pulled a massive .51 to .74 holeshot over Oivind, but the Norwegian's power was just too much. There was an ominous cloud of smoke from Richard's bike at the finish line.

Chris Hope 7.75/169.57 def. Chris Tombleson 7.87/167.67

UK v UK, Chris v Chris in this race and Chris Hope took it with a nice-looking pass.

It's Pettersson v Bishop and van Essen v Hope next round.

Next up we should have Fuel Funny Car and then the next rounds of FIA and UEM. Stay tuned!

13:00

FIA Top Fuel Dragster round 1

Andy Carter 4.92/288.26 def. Darryl Bradford 5.30/250.69

Andy backed up his 4.89 from yesterday and took the win, this gets him a bye in the next round. He was off the throttle slightly early. Darryl was off the throttle early too, but the team were very happy with the pass.

Barry Sheavills 4.95/301.65 def. Susanne Callin 12.84/58.52

Barry missed backing up his speed record of yesterday by 0.01 mph! However, the higher speed backed up this pass so the European record is now over 300 mph. The race was over by 100 feet as Susanne's car threw the blower belt.

Kim Reymond 5.22/233.43 def. Micke Kagered 5.85/219.25

Kim was off the throttle before the start line and the car trailed smoke down the shutdown area. Micke Kagered hit shake off the line and was chasing Kim all the way, but eventually got off it.

It's Andy Carter on a bye and Sheavills v Reymond in round 2.

FIA Top Methanol Dragster round 1

Dave Wilson 5.56/252.84 bye

No temptation to take it easy as Dave sets new European ET and speed records, also assuring him of lane choice in the next round.

Rob Turner 5.77/238.01 def. Doug Bond 6.38/176.05

A straight and hard pass from Rob, Doug pulled a good wheelie off the line and weaved about his lane.

Peter Schofer 5.68/236.15 def. Lyndsay Deuchar broke

Peter turned the wick up a little more, a clean straight pass which gained him a bye in round 2. Lyndsay broke off the line, stopping at 100 feet.

It's Wilson v Turner and Schofer on a bye in the next round.

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car round 1

Leif Andreasson 5.87/245.46 def. Ulf Leanders 5.85/239.86

Leif won this with a huge .50 to .64 holeshot off the start line. Ulf chased hard but couldn't get there.

Leif Helander 5.94/233.95 def. Deszoe Krivan 6.07/232.35

Leif back into the fives, the work on the new clutch paying off. Deszoe was out of shape and got quite close to the guardrail at the top end.

Lex Joon 6.14/211.38 def. Steph Milam 6.95/206.08

Lex pulled an absolutely huge holeshot, leaving Steph in his wake. The She Devil team were however happy to get the car back into the sixes.

Micke Kagered 5.92/238.97 def. Urs Erbacher 6.00/241.64

Urs pulled a holeshot and Micke chased him down the track, taking the win by .009 of a second.

It's Andreasson v Helander and Joon v Kagered next round.

FIA Pro Stock

Michael Malmgren 7.14/195.03 def. Christer Andersson 7.26/190.64

What looked like a conservative pass from Michael, he had Christer well covered.

Jan Muren 7.16/191.65 def. Jari Konola 7.13/192.89

Jan took this on a massive holeshot over Jari who is usually razor sharp off the line.

Jacob Ferrer 7.09/193.24 def. Kenneth Soderstrom 7.57/167.32

A good straight pass from Jacob taking low ET of the round. Kenneth moved around a bit and was out of it towards the finish line.

Rune Berg 7.24/191.13 def. Magnus Hansson 7.17/193.35 red light

Magnus threw it away on the start line. A good straight pass from Rune.

It's Malmgren v Muren and Ferrer v Berg next round.

10:00

Good morning everyone and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway for our coverage of race day, brought to you in association with American Car Imports. It's overcast this morning but not cold, racing has already started and we're set for a very busy day.

A couple of hellos before we get going, firstly to Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman in Rye, USA, and to Steve and Jacky Young who are as usual glued to their VDU. Hope you're enjoying the coverage.

It was gone eleven o'clock when we got to the pits last night and it was very quiet, so this morning's pit notes are going to be quite brief. But here's what we got.

Gittli Koller of Peter Schofer's TMD team was of course overjoyed with Peter's 5.6-second pass yesterday. "We ran a 5.7 on the first full pass with this car and then we ran the 5.6!", she said. "We are running the car very easy, too".

Henri Joosten was also overjoyed at getting into the 6.8s and over 200 mph yesterday in his Pro Mod. "We checked the engine and there was no damage", he said.

Pro ET racer Malcom Motler has got a new sponsor in the person of Cross Country Caravans of Wallingford. "We are very grateful to Shaun Matthews" said Malcolm's wife Marcie. "We have a brand new generator, anti-sway tow hitch,, and lots of other bits and pieces".

Dave and Sarah Day have sorted out the stability problems in their Super Comp/Super Gas roadster. "We have a new throttle stop", said Dave. "We worked out that we would have to put 14 seconds' delay in it for Super Gas! Jeff Bull suggested that we take two plug leads out for Super Gas and that did the trick. We also noticed a puff of smoke at the finish line just as we were getting off the throttle. It turns out that the downforce from the wing was making the car squat and the tyres were rubbing on the body. We also found that the steering wheel wasn't quite straight. So now that we have that all worked out we can concentrate on what we are doing and we are really looking forward to the rest of the year. Having a real good crew, Vince and Simon, helps too."

Andy Frost is very pleased with the progress of his new CCSE Vauxhall. "It's really easy to drive", he said. "It goes straight as an arrow, 10.30 with no gas! I might put some gas on the top gear today". Andy told us that he has had a lot of compliments over the car's appearance.

It's almost time for the presentation then the first rounds of FIA and UEM, so tune back soon and we will bring you all the news.