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20:00

Jim Usher said about his second observed run in The Mob, "The car sat down on the launch. It ran the quickest 60 foot time it has for five years, bearing in mind we have a new combination in this year. I shifted into second and when the wall came into vie I corrected it and the car behaved well. On the next run we will be going for a half pass."

Ben Allum of Andy Carter's team said "The car left well and did a storming 60 foot time, then shook like hell. The motor setup was too much for the track - it shook even before any of the clutch stages had engaged. On the next run we will go for a more conservative tuneup. There is no damage to anything."

Hakan Fallstrom said after his 5.08 licensing time, "It's the quickest licensing ET in Europe ever. We ran a 250mph terminal speed as we lifted at 1000 feet as planned. Without lifting it would have run a 4.85 - 4.90. It was a textbook run - it launched perfectly, went straight and gave me a real kick in the back to half track. I'm delighted."

Kenneth Lorentzon was candid about the problem preventing Tommy Moller appearing in the first round of the Pro Fuel Shootout. "We forgot to bleed the fuel pump and it got too warm on the warmup. We then had to change a section with a new part. This was ok but we unfortunately we weren't ready in time for the call. We'll be running tomorrow. We put a soft wetup into Hakan's car and are very happy that he now has his license. Running both cars was stressful before the event and even more stressful at the event. But I'm sure we will grow into it, as we are in learning mode at the moment and showing the new members of the team how to do things.

Leif Helander said, "We are struggling and it hasn't been going well - we only made two runs in the whole of last year and are rusty. We also had to wait until last week until parts arrived from the States. When we were ready the car shook on the run and only ran an eight. The good news is that we didn't hurt anything."

Andy Robinson said after his 6.34, accompanied by a cloud of smoke at the finish line, "The motor leaned out and hurt one piston and rod, with the block needing some repair work. The run itself was ok, it shook the tyres and moved to the right, but we knew where we were and the shake went away. I then saw some sparks and flames at the top end." Jerry Clayton added, "We are partly here to prepare for the Main Event and also to support Santa Pod's birthday celebrations. We have only done 20 passes on this motor and repairing is not a problem, but we only want to run when it is completely repaired as it is our only block."

Robert Joosten said after his observed run in the ex-Jim Oddy Pro Mod Corvette, "The car feels great, and did just what we wanted to do. We missed the first run as we found a problem, which we had to work to 3am to solve. After we bought the car, we completely stripped it and painted both the chassis and body before re-assembling it. We have all new components on it and a Racepak computer. We also installed a new Jim Oddy motor. We spent three days at Jim Oddy's workshop learning the car." Looking at the car there are some nice touchessuch as chromed headers and bug catcher. "The car ran a 6.07 in the US but the motor we have got is slightly milder for the moment. This year will be a learning experience and we will run at the Main Event and Euro Finals as well as Drachten and some shows for our sponsors.

"We have been racing for the last ten years", Robert continued "and we go a new artic trailer last year to do a pro class. We do want to work at Pro Mod step by step so we have a three year budget, this year for learning, 2007 to get into the top ten, hopefully with some visits from Jim Oddy to help, and in 2008 to go for the top position. Our sponsors include many firms I know from my day job, which is being a captain on an inland barge tanker. We took a lot of time to build a platform to bring them together to meet, come to see drag racing, which they loved, and encourage them to support us in return. Most of them have been with me for over five years - particularly DJPS (shipping pipes), A. Pullens, Muhlhan, Den Brej and Pon CAT. I am also thankful to Total."

18:00

Gary Kaye told us that he has acquired Dennis Priddle's old axle in order to include it with the Fuel Slingshot he is currently constructing. "It's based on the 1971 Priddle-Riswick-Gane-Stanford car, and we are talking to Dave Tuttle in the US about the chassis design. We will be using a JP-1 block and look forward to running our first passes in 2007. I will then be after Dennis's 6.04", said Gary.

Thomas Nataas has arrived at the track minus car. "The car arrived at Dover on Thursday morning and, with Good Friday meaning port workers being on holiday on Friday, it was still there this morning and there was not enough time to get it to the track for the start of the Pro Fuel Challenge. We will send the car back to Norway to prepare it for the main event", said Thomas. "We had a great time at Bahrain doing half track passes at the F1 meet and hope we can do more there," he added.

Phil James and Ricky Packham of Dave Wilson's crew said "the car's 5.54 pass was over two tenths faster than the previous best for Nemesis of 5.78. We transferred parts from the other car and made some modifications. There was a lot of work, but we have a car that runs the numbers - and it's for sale. On that run, we didn't have a working rev counter and the brakes weren't holding the car as well as on the other one, and we'll fix these problems for next time."

Bert Englefield (Pro Mod) said "We have brand new Stage 5 BAE heads and cam and a two-step rev limiter. We did a planned launch only on the last run to ensure the rev limiter worked correctly. The result was our best-ever 60ft of 1.04. Our next run will hopefully be a full pass. Our thanks go to sponsors Lucas."

Bob Glassup (NFAA) said "We have a new combo this year with an extended chassis, more weight on the font and moving the motor forward. The aim was not to do as high wheelstands as before and improve the handling generally. However, on our first run, the rev counter and shift light were interfering with the magneto and had to back out of the throttle. We plan to disconnect them before the next run and run better. We didn't overheat despite being on the start line for quite a long time."

Rob Loaring said after Nick Davies's run in Havoc, "On the last run, we broke the gearbox. The car shook hard on the launch, went up on the wheelie bars. This shock caused some parts to break in the reverser. We have taken it out, fixed it and are now reinstalling it for the next session."

Jim Usher was pleased with his first licensing pass in The Mob fuel altered. "The car is a lot more powerful than the Super Comp car I ran at the Frank Hawley school", said Jim, "but I am getting used to it and the burnout and staging routine went well."

Crew Chief Ollie Burns said that he is hoping to run Chaos later today. "We only finished the car on Thursday", said Ollie. "We just built it and painted it as we went. The body is a stretched Topolino, unused but in storage for a few years. It's the only one in Europe and is the same shape as the one used on The Mob car in the US. The frame is by Phil Cornish with work from Frank Griffin."

Richard Gipp is running in Funny Bike this year and taking a year out of Pro Stock Bike to run Sarah Jane Head's Pro Mod bike on her and Dave's behalf. Richard said "It's a shame Sarah can't be here for this meeting but she hopes to be at the Main Event." Richard ran into the sevens with a soft tune-up on the 1425cc Nitrous Suzuki but is hoping for a six later this year. Comparing the two bikes, Richard said "Every gear change, the bike had the wheel in the air and the smaller screen is noticeable when riding it."

Chris Hall said today's 6.90 PB is his second six, the first having come at the Power Nationals. He said "We have changed the gearbox to five speeds with bigger carbs and some porting work. We would like to run 6.8s, but it may take faster runs still to retain the championship. Consistent 6.8s would be a start." Chris, who rides unsponsored, thanks Becky Mitchell, Steve French and Gordon Smith for help on the team.

Neil Midgley said "On our first run we only had two gears but then we ran a 6.88 and a 6.74. The mph record of 195.66 is provisional only at this stage as ACU records can only be set once at a meeting. The main changes we made to the motor are to the boost controller. The track conditions are great - it needs some big cars on it to bring it round." Neil is working on both his own bike and that of Chris Hannam this weekend with T.J. "Paddy Power" O'Brien as crew chief.

14:00

Steve Turner said "We are pleased we ran a 5.69, although Rob's shift light didn't work and the shift was at loo low revs. Also there was a slight problem with the staging procedure and the car left at too low RPM. The track is great and we are looking forward to racing after the winter break. It was a shame the parts needed for the Top Fuel car didn't arrive in time, but are looking at Rob making licensing passes later in the season."

Mats Eriksson said that he has made several changes to the Green Goblin Pro Mod car over the winter, including the latest front suspension setup for Pro Mod from Lamb in the US, new tyres and new Paint. "The first run was made without adjusting the suspension and we need to get a feel for the adustment before we can run the numbers." Mats also has new sponsors Migatronic Welding Machines, which he has used for several years and Valvoline.

13:00

Hakan Fallstrom said of his Top Fuel licensing passes, "They felt really good. There is so much more power than the Pro Mod car. The first run was 400 feet and went perfectly. On the second pass, the motor tune up was for a four second pass and the car ran a 0.88 sixty foot time. The wheels went up very slightly and I couldn't see the track, so I shut off. The power is instant on the launch and the car takes some getting used to. But I'm really happy with the results so far. The burnout and staging process have gone well, and the officials asked if I have driven a fueler before - but this is really my first time." Hakan plans to run 1000' and get his license and then talk about the game plan after that. "The Pro Mod car is still owned as a rolling chassis by some of the team members", he said. "Our Pro Mod Team have merged with the Moller and Lorentzon team, and the team chief for my car is Jon Nilsson, with Kenneth Lorentzon as overall Crew Chief."

Urs Erbacher also shut off after 60 feet. He said "We wanted to make a half pass, but an engine clamp broke which set off a chain reaction that damaged the reverser, the trans and the crank. We have had to install a spare motor and transmission and plan to come out this afternoon for our second licensing pass. We were very happy with the launch - it's my third launch in the car and I am getting used to it. We want to run a half pass today to set up the fuel system for a full pass tomorrow.

Dave Bryant of the Shockwave Nitro FC team said, "We had a drama in the pit yesterday with a broken oil control ring. We had to change a piston ring and took the motor apart to do that. We are looking good for today, but would like a little more track temperature."

Steve White of Shockwave's main sponsor Salon Interactive said that he raced at SPR about 20 years ago in a blown small block dragster but "ran out of money fairly quickly as I was only about twenty years old then." Steve now runs Salon Interactive, a Broadband-based TV network that supplies equipment and programming content to hairdressing salons and barbers. "We include travel and horoscopes for the salons and sports content, including drag racing for barbers. Currently we have 70 outlets and plan to raise this to 3,000 which equates to 1.5m viewers."

Alec Coe suffered engine damage on his second pass and has had to take the heads off the Shy Talker slingshot to assess the repairs required. "A valve started to drop", he said. "I hope we can get the spare parts together. We were really pleased with the personal best of 8.14 on the first pass. However, we used the transbrake on the second one and this caused the car to want to turn left and put too much pressure on the motor. Next time, we will launch without it and I hope we can run our first seven."

Jack and Jacqui Brewster were philosophical after yesterday's top end crash in the Super Comp Firebird. "I felt the car going into a slide before the finish line and lifted, trying to get it straight. Then suddenly it became like being on a waltzer with no control and hit hit and went round again. I think there were about three impacts in all and the car slid down the wall before finally hitting it with the rear end. We found that a rod had gone through the side of the block, which has cracked. The main damage is at the front and the damage at the rear is cosmetic." We were shown an album of pictures of the build of the car, which is almost entirely self built. "I first built a Camaro which I brought out seven years ago and sold to Team Lawbreakers. I built the "Just Mustard" Firebird two years ago and the roll cage was incredibly strong - I was totally unhurt. We will repair the car and replace the broken bits and hope to be out again by this time next year", said Jack. The team is sponsored by family firm Brewsters (Poole) Ltd, who provide UPVC Windows, doors, conservatories, fascias and guttering.

John Sleath's Audi GT broke a propshaft on this morning's qualifier. The team say it is repairable, but will need to obtain a replacement part to continue.

John Atkinson (Pro ET) had gearbox problems from the start. "I tried to do a burnout for the first qualifier yesterday but the TH400 gearbox failed," said John. "It's the same box as last year, but it developed a mysterious fault. I've taken the box out and stripped it down. Jeff Bull kindly supplied a rebuild kit and the instruction manual is on its way from Real Steel in Uxbridge right now. We will rebuild it, put it back in the car, carry out a pressure test and hopefully be out later today in qualifying." He jokingly added, "We've given everyone else a chance to qualify, and hopefully we'll show them how to do it later!" John wanted to thank everyone who supplied advice.

Ian Tubb (Super Pro ET) has now obtained and installed a new trans thanks to Mick The Fish. "We had to swap some components with the old gearbox, but will be out next round," said Ian.

John Tebenham said "We had a small problem on our last pass and had to take the oil out and replace it. We ran 7.79 at the Euro Finals and I'm now chasing the 7.68 run in Malta with the Cosworth motor. Our motor now produces 900 horsepower." JT's sponsor is Sign Seen - the new paint scheme includes a Union Jack roof and John said "We are planning on going to Sweden and Hockenheim this summer - I'd like to run a seven at Hockenheim." Thanks go to crew Darrell, Tanya and Dave.