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22:00

Håkan Nilsson said after two up-in-smoke passes "The fuelers need the track to be stickier than it is for doorslammers, and it has been tricky for us today." He admitted that the team may have been a little greedy on the tuneup with a 0.83 sixty ft time and reported no damage. "We will back the car down slightly to get down the track. We used the same settings as we did at Mosten at which we ran a 0.84 60' time and ran a 3.24 at the eighth after coming off the throttle at 2.5 sec."

Tommi Haapanen had a frustrating day "Our fuel setup was not working and a number of cylinders went out which led to tyre shake and smoke."

Tommy Möller said "We were pleased with a 5.08 against Smax but had a problem with a valve in the injection system on the second run which caused a problem with the fuel system. No parts were broken and we will be back tomorrow morning."

Håkan Fallström said "We were on a good one going down the track with a 0.86 60' time, the best we've ever done. We then shook and while there is no computer to measure the rpm down the track, the engine either over-revved or an intake valve broke, causing a hydraulic. I felt the explosion in the back and there was a fire which burned the chutes and a few plastic parts. No fire came in the cockpit and the safety crew did a great job. The car I drive is up for sale. Next year, I will be looking to rent a car and am getting some sponsorship lined up to fund it."

Richard Sundblom, who is not on the entry list, is trying his best to get car and new engine to the meeting to compete. "Our trailer broke down in Holland and is being repaired and we hope it will be here overnight. Our replacement motor has been flown from the U.S. and, thanks to Air Sea Logistics, is currently at Heathrow. We analysed our engine explosion at the Veidec Nitro Festival and it seems to have been down to the wrong pistons. A big thanks to Santa Pod for helping us."

Stig Neergard (Top Fuel) said "We had clutch problems but have had no problem with the motor." The bellhousing is in many pieces, but Stig is hopeful to find a replacement.

Arvid Grødem was delighted with two five second runs, a 5.89 and 5.96, leaving him no.3 in the field. "The only problem is that we cut one of the slicks on some debris. The car drifted a little on the last run but the handling was generally fine. We are running this weekend in memory of our friend Svein Gottenberg."

Hans Olav Olstad is pitted alongside fellow Norwegian Arvid, and is pleased that he set a new mark for high gear only at 6.83. However he looks to be out for the remainder of the meeting with a damaged PRP cylinder head and no spares being available. "It's an emotional time for us. Gotten's influence on Supertwin racing was 100%. He encouraged Svein Olaf Rolfstad into the sport and was in the same bike club as I. He was so enthusiastic for the sport and so easy to talk to. Racing is like a big family and I feel as if I have lost a family member - you can't describe it any other way".

Sverre Dahl had a disappointing day. He said "On our first run I was shot off for an oil leak, on our second we checked the oil pressure and it wasn't as high as we wanted so we shut off to be safe. The good news is that we have two more runs tomorrow.

Urs Erbacher was one of only three fuelers to have made it down the track with a 4.965/288. He said "We are using the new Goodyear tyre that has been mandated in the U.S. and are happy because NHRA teams were having difficulty adapting to it. We didn't come out in the second session as we want to prepare for tomorrow. On our run we dropped one cylinder on the start line and another two at mid-track so the last half of the run was on five cylinders. Glenn Mikres has been a great help to us this season."

Lo Stauble (Supertwin) is no. 1 qualifier with a 6.648/196. "On the first run we had bad tyre shake to start with but after that the bike went straight and I kept it off the centre line to run our best time today - our personal best is a 6.59 we ran at Hockenheim. On the second run it started smoothly and then I ran into a handling problem, got close to the wall and clicked off, but still ran a six. We are looking forward to running a full pass in the 6.5s range tomorrow."

16:00

Bob Jarrett said of the "Showtime" entry's 5.9 sec up-in-smoke at 1000' pass, "The car hopped up as the air is better today than when we ran the other day. It was 2,000ft corrected altitude then and now 500ft, which means the engine makes more power and this was too much for the track. We want to put as many runs in as possible this meeting with these conditions. We are certain that there are sufficient cars for a European nitro funny car championship next year."

Legendary U.S. racer Tom Hoover is a guest of the team this weekend having last been in the UK a couple of years ago. "Bill Sherratt is a personal friend of mine and we meet up at Gainesville each year", he said. "In the U.S., I attend about six races a year and link up with Bob Boden's team who run a limited schedule. The competition level in the NHRA is such that if you don't have major corporate sponsorship, you can't realistically compete. The gap between the largest teams and the smaller ones has become so big that the NHRA has had to introduce a rule about the maximum number of cars that can run by a team. The top fuel scene in Europe and Australia is definitely developing. I had an opportunity to attend the Boxing Day race in Australia with the Santos team and SCott Kalitta and the scene is great there too."

Roger Goring was delighted with a NPB of 6.21 in the Firestorm Jet Funny Car. He said "We are pleased with the time but a bit disappointed at the same time because before the meeting, we had to remove the new parts that we were developing as they were producing so much power, the car was becoming difficult to stage. We were expecting to run our first 260 with the new parts but I'm sure that won't happen with the old stuff.

Gittli Koller was pleased after an initial 5.512 run by Peter Schofer in the Bavarian Thunder TMDR. "This is a good basic run and we are happy with running consistent 5.4 and 5.5s times.

Rickard Persson rolled out of stage in his TMD. "It was driver error," he admitted. "It's our first time at Sanata Pod and it's a great track."

Stuart McDonald was happy with Smax Smith's initial 4.978/296 pass. "We set it up to run a number and it did just that," he said. "We put less blower in it today - it's so difficult to judge the amount of overdrive as each blower is different. W we wanted to go even quicker but the engine pushed a gasket out at 1000' and that resulted in some cylinder head damage. It just nosed over at 1000'. We'll see what we can do because the computer malfunctioned and we have no data to work with. We will miss the next session and put another run in tomorrow. We are on the hunt fpr sponsors - Double 2 sponsors our shirts at present and have shown more interest for next year. We are looking for multi-race sponsorship deals. The track is so fast but it is possible that some of the teams are being over-aggressive with the tuneup."

Gary Page, assisting on Micke Kågered's team, said "The car shook and Micke shut off; it is likely that we will back the car off for the next run."

Mats Eriksson said after a NPB 6.248/227 in his Pro Mod 1956 Ford Crown Victoria, "The car was moving all around the lane and I didn't know on the run whether to continue or back off. There was no tyre shake so I kept on it and I just lifted a little when it headed towards the centre line. We were running the motor rich and it was a little cooler than before."

Andy Robinson ran only two thousandths slower than Mats Eriksson but at a much lower speed of 209 mph. He said "The car fell out of gear after a problem with the air shifter. We were pleased with our eighth mile time of 4.05 as it is quicker than on our best of 6.24 by five hundredths. We have swapped cylinder heads and checked the Lenco out and are good to run next round."

Jan Arve Nygård said after running a new PB of 6.468/220, "The car wandered around the track a lot and I had to get off the throttle once, in second gear. We are pleased to be the quickest nitrous runner today."

Markko Lantto made contact with the wall at around the 330ft mark. He said "We changed the springs at the rear but the wheelie bars were too high and the car lifted the front end on the launch. On landing, the car went left and I got off the gas and changed into second at the same time. However the rear wheels were still turning hard and the right dug in. We glanced off the wall and there is remarkably little damage, just a bit of fibreglass repair and one front tyre. We will run later if the time allows." Team member Janne said "We have managed to qualify for all races this year and are pleased because it is our first season and we were really in testing mode at the start of the season." Markko is sponsored by his firm Pipe Machine Engineering on www.pme.fi.

13.30

Our thanks to PiPPi for some notes on the bikes after the first session of Pro Qualifying.

In Pro Stock Bike Eurodragster.com home and news sponsor Paul Watson is suffering from a pulled back muscle and correcting the bike at the eighth mile was a painful experience, and he slowed to a 10-second pass.

Martin Newbery had huge tyre shake problems from clutch problems and had to consequently shut off early but ran a 8.014 to be seventh.

Orjan Gustavsson was delighted with a new personal best by more than a 10th to 7.474/177 to qualify no.2. He's particularly happy as he has put a spare motor in his new chassis after problems on the press day when the newer motor was damaged on his exhibition pass.

Tom Tindall ran a 1.09 sixty foot time, the quickest all season in running his 7.361/182 for pole position. PiPPi predicts that Tom will be in the 7.20s soon.

Anders Abrahamsson is now unofficially Pro Stock champion, by virtue of him signing on. congratulations Anders! With this under his belt we understand he will be trying some changes in ignition and carburetion settings this weekend. these netted a 7.481/176 to be no.3.

Anders Jakobsson had carburetion problems and slowed just off the startline.

In Supertwin, Per Bengtsson ran a planned eighth mile pass and was happy with the potent bike's launch.

Hans Olav Olstad in running a 6.83/208, has we believe the quickest and fastest single-gear bike in Europe. He is qualified second after the first session.

Damage for Gunther Söhn whose motor suffered a holed bottom end at the end of his run and a lengthy repair job necessary.

There were problems for Anders 'Charley' Karling too after a 7.04 when the motor seized the crankshaft.

Ronny Aasen suffered a twisted main shaft and needs a new spline on his Bentec transmission, slowing to an 8.937.

The star of the show was Lorenz Stauble who ran a NPB 6.648/196 on a pass with tyre shake and correction being necessary.

In Top Fuel BikeNeil Midgley ran a 7.06 for qualifying position no.3 with a new turbo that was being run only on low boost pressure.

Rickard Gustavsson ran a 7.30 with tyre smoke in the shut-down area to be no. 6.

Richard Gipp ran a PB of 7.229/180 on his Funny Bike and Chris 'Cannon' Hannam is helping Richard this weekend.

Chris Hall had a scare when his drive chain broke off the line and he swerved into the left lane, fortunately keeping the bike upright and intact.

PiPPi understands from a number of racers that Luigi Ferretti suffered a breakdown of his trailer in France and his attendance is now doubtful.

Ian King suffered ignition problems and the bike failed to start.

Sverre Dahl had an oil leak and failed to run in the first session, and Roel Koedam suffered an engine misfire and broken belt. Kai Selkamaa from Finland suffered tyre shake slowing him to a 7.977 placing him on bump spot.

Joran Persåker suffered a damaged crankcase and ballooned oil pan due to excessive pressure, and also suffered a damaged head gasket. As we passed the team had the heads off and were pondering repair options. Joran said "I was really happy with my new Top Fuel car's debut at Mantorp Park and plan to run the FIA tour next year".

Jimmy Alund suffered a broken diff on his run, which caused the rear wheel bearings to fail. The team are installing a new rear end and bearings on the driveshaft. Crewman Lars Rodeblad said "We are happy the propshaft and gearbox were not damaged and plan to be running in the next round of qualifying."

Tommy Leindahl was delighted with his first six, a 6.947. He said "We have done a lot of work on the chassis and clutch before this race and we hope we can post even better times later. We have also had a lot of help from our engine builders Reher-Morrison who have supplied the total package."

10.30

Nev Mottershead ran a new personal best of 8.42 in the Valvoline Toyota Supra, using a small-block Chevy with Buick heads acquired at the start of the season from Torben Stenström. "We had a great time on our tour of Europe", said Nev, who has returned from six weeks running races in Sweden, Norway and Germany including a longer stay at Meca raceway in Malmö where problems with a fuel pump were solved. "Apart from a broken cam that we had a spare for, we had no breakage and lots of fun!" Nev is currently qualified 16th in Super Pro having run in Comp Eliminator on the continent.

Roel van den Hout from Holland had a scare when he lost his hood at the 60' mark, but went on to run within a couple of hundreth of his dial-in in Pro ET.

Carla Pittau suffered motor troubles in her Pro ET Camaro at the press day and did not make a run on Thursday, having to spend the day installing a replacement. "I put it down to carrying a member of Gino Bernadine's crew along for the ride!", she joked. "A lifter got stuck in the bore and a rocker stud snapped off. We put in our old faithful engineand are really pleased to be in the field with a time of 0.015 over our dial." In what is probably the tightest Pro ET field ever, this placed Carla 18th.

Carla was full of praise for Eurodragster News Editor Tog on his drive of the Heaven & Hell Camaro at the Peak Performance Day last Saturday. "He drove like a real pro. Rick or I could not have done better. He is so consistent too. When we saw the run we were jumping up and down like he won the event!"

John Atkinson (Pro ET) had several new trans parts at Shakespeare County a fortnight ago. "We installed a new gearbox and convertor and a transbrake, which has taken some getting used to," he said. "I'm now getting comfortable and I expect we will be on our dial-in next time."

Matthew Seamarks (Junior Dragster) says a big thanks to Vic Amato for the passenger ride he had at the Press Day on Wednesday. Matthew who has raced to Junior Modified Advanced rules since the start of this year, said "We ran 7.8s yesterday and had to add some lead to get it on the right side of the index".

Mike Lacey was very consistent when he wasn't spinning the tyres off the start line in his Pro ET Camaro. "Our best three times were only two thousandths off one another, 9.867, 9.869 and 9.867. We are having some trouble with a noisy prop shaft and the rear gearbox mount, which can make do, but we may borrow a replacement from Nicky Frost who has broken his gearbox". Mike was incredulous that running seven thousandths off his dial in would only make him fifteenth."

Conrad Stanley's Super Gas Firebird was sporting a couple of Panthers on his hood in the pits. He said "Trevor Graves and I have teamed up and named ourselves Panther Racing. We want to race in races in the NDRS series in 2007." In only his second meeting with the car, Conrad is on the numbers, running in the 9.95 to 9.88 range. "It drives beautifully and is a real joy, being a longer wheelbase than my previous cars". The terminal speeds are in the 156mph range giving some idea of the car's mid-8 potential.

Shaun Lathan had a difficult meeting at the Open Sports Nationals, breaking first gear and having to install a new set in the 10 day break between events. Shaun, who built the uniquely graffiti-painted Calibra himself in 1999, uses a Jeff Bull Big Block Chevy motor and Powerglide, is helped by partner Sharon who, as she said, "has to push the car around."

Stuart Doignie is racing in Super Comp and Super Gas, his first meeting in the 8.90 division. "The car feels the same in Super Comp mode and the only real difference is the reduced time on the throttle stop. Even the terminal speed in Super Comp mode is only three miles per hour faster than in Super Gas mode." The BMW 3-series from the 1990s was built by Andy Robinson in 2002 and has an imported Wheeler BBC motor and Powerglide trans. Stuart, who is assisted by crewmen Tim Lane and dad Bob, has got down to the Super Comp index right away, running a 8.898 yesterday. "We did have a couple of problems - a seal split in the gearbox and we leaked trans fluid and also a throttle link broke on the warmup."

Giles & Hartley (Super Pro) had an explosion inside their battery box yesterday. Team man Phil Hartley was just about to open the box after the engine refused to start when the explosion occured. "It was caused by gases accumulating in the box - we are running without the box now but next time we will build some ventilation into it", said Mick Hartley. "It aged Phil about five years!" Despite being a contender in the Super Pro championship, the team has not raced all rounds this year. "We like to give the others a shock at the end of the season."

Mark Flavell is delighted with the continued growth of Super Pro ET competition and the enthusiasm shown by Dutch fans during the class's display at Drachten. "The Dutch have adopted the class and we are looking to run there next year. We also hear that the class is being organised in Germany and would be interested in arranging a tour there in 2007."

Now that we are into the first round of Pro Qualifying we will get some notes from the bikes.

9.00

Good morning and welcome to Friday's pit notes from Sanata Pod Raceway at the Euro Finals. The pairing lanes are starting to fill up with Pro ET cars and the first 60' of the track is being sprayed with glue as I type. There was a lengthy scraping session to remove excess rubber yesterday evening and first thing this morning powdered glue was applied to the first 60'. We will take a walk round the pits to see what we can find.