Pro Stock Bike racer Len Paget (pictured with wife Jill) ran a 7.39 to be no.1 qualifier. "We had a new clutch last year and I redesigned the airbox over the winter. On the first run the bike spun the tyre and was on and off the wheelie bars but at least I didn't break anaything." All PSB bikes had problems in the first session and only Len was able to run to form in the second session..

In his victory over Timo Habermann, Top Methanol racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek Flynn suffered bad tyre shake after 2.2s. "As soon as I had tyreshoke he was passing me then when the shake cleared I got ahead then I started to lose cylinders and was thinking whether I could hang on. The race was close and we are looking to step up against Rob Turner in the final. He has lane choice but both lanes feel equal." Derek went on to win the event with a 5.72/247.

The Turner Motorsport team had a bit more of a thrash on than the Gold RV Racing team. Carmel Turner said "A rod bearing went so we are having to change one rod. It must have happened at the top end because the computer trace for the run looked good all the way down. It's been a good weekend for the team."

Fuel Funny Car racer John Spuffard said of the weekend of tyre shake filled runs, "I'm all shook up! The track was difficult to cope with after the weather earlier and hasn't come round fully. All the cars have been having identical problems. If you take out too much power the engine will hurt itself yet with the track temperature of 54 degrees you cannot run the usual setup. At least there has been no breakage. I'm looking forwrad to the final against Anita as she is a good driver and an old friend. The result could be anyone's race." The old Showtime body, now a spare is in the pits alongside the new one and was used in the final. Spuff jokingly said "We decided the new colours had to match our crew shirts, as we're a bit tight on cash."

Runner-up in the Pro Fuel Shootout Anita Mäkelä said "I need more runs to get good practice in the car, about twenty to thirty at SPR after this event would be nice. After Easter we will decide who will run in the championship, but I am happy to be the top qualifier for the final." Believing a four was possible, Anita ran low ET of the event at 5.185, albeit disqualified through hitting the reflectors in the centre of the track. The family enjoyed the weekend and pictured are Tommi, Hanna, Heikki and Anita.

Fuel Funny Car racer Thomas Nataas said that even after the weather improved everyone has struggled. "We took power out of it but in the third and fourth place run-off we will slip the clutch more and put the power back in it. There has been no damage and I would like to give my thanks to the team including Paul, Ian, Laurie and Gary Page."

NFAA racer Bob Glassup has had a learning experience with the new BAE combination in the Xtreme Racing altered. "It's entertaining with the extra power. We ran on the test days, However we couldn't get the right gearing in time so we did second gear launches which has slowed us down a bit. Our first run out of the trailer was a 7.4 which was good. The second was in the dark at 8:20 and visibility was a real issue. My visor was steaming up and after leaving the floodlit startline your eyes can't adjust to the gloom in time. Drivers who run in the dark deserve medals and in the pitch black all the guessing led me to lift off and Frank Bennett did the same. Today in eliminations there was no forward gear into the burnout box; we have fixed it but are out of contention. The quickest four cars have a shootout and we are first alternate." Bob's engine is similar to Pro Mod spec with a single mag, roots blower and limited overdrive.

Super Mod racer Belinda Bull said "I have surprised myself how quickly I have got back into driving a race car. Super Mod is different and competition is tough. We were under weight for the first run and only qualified on the final pass and to run a 7.69 was great." The Chevrolet S10 pickup has a new Super Mod-legal engine from husband and Eurodragster.com sponsor Jeff Bull Racing Engines. Chris Isaac did work on the chassis and the wheelie bars which is ongoing. The car has the same transmission but with altered gearing for the different engine. Thanks go to Doug Herbert Parts, Transmission Special and BLP Carbs (Bo Laws).

Super Pro ET racer Pat Talbot said "We have had to withdraw from competition because of a broken strut on our wing which cannot be welded here. We had plenty of smoke from the engine on our last run but have not found any damage. We are pleased at our return as it is the first time we have run on methanol and the setup was quite difficult to achieve on the first attempt. Pictured with Pat and Stephen is Stepehn's brother Matthew. Also on the team is Sharkman who asked us to pass on his thanks to the Talbots for making him so welcome.

Super Pro ET racer John Atkinson experienced some serious problems. "We are way down on power and have done all the checks we can here and are still scratcing our heads. In the last race the car could only run a ten. The problems started when oil started coming out of the breather. We took the head off and looked at it until after midnight last night. The gasket was ok but we couldn't work out what was losing the power. We may test at Shakey next weekend."

Pro Mod winner Henri Joosten has been a rarer visitor to SPR in recent years, but today was his day. "We had a new car for us in 2008 which I bought from Charles Carpenter", he said. "Because of the weather we only made four passes in 2008. This meeting was originally just a test weekend but now we have won. The car is going better but we have not quite got the right combination so we have been lucky." The car has a Fulton 738cu in engine with three stage nitrous. Sponsors are MPM and Rijsbergen, Henri's own car garage firm based in Rijsenhout near Amsterdam airport. Henri's next outing is the Main Event. "This will be our 25th anniversary of racing. We spent the first fifteen years chasing the championship but now do it for fun."

Tim Garlick has had a good weekend performance wise in the expanded Super Modified field with nine qualifiers. He qualified second with a 7.64 and ran a 7.62 in round one of eliminations to defeat Rob Smallworth and had a bye into the semi final. Engine development comes from I.C.E. Automotive.

Comp Bike racer Nick Daniels' bike uses a frame formerly owned by two late stars of UK bike racing, Paul Willis and Paul Rose. Nick stripped the chassis and shoehorned a Suzuki GSX 1327 turbo nitrous engine. Nick said "This is my fourth time out with this bike after a break of two years. In the last two meetings I had problems with the gearbox and turbo. I have fixed them and yesterday ran an 8.6/154 on a soft pass, which I was happy with and now can turn up the wick. I am knocking on my PBs and want to run a seven. Help comes from Derren Tingley and girlfriend Lisa and sponsorship from NK racing and DTP exhausts. "I don't have a dyno but I do have a big shed", he concluded.

Comp bike racer Dave Peters (pictured with wife Suzanne) has a new turbo and nitrous setup with carburretor on his Suzuki machine which he brought out in 2008 following a period working in Canada. "This is my first time with the new equipment. I ran a 7.4/178 at the National Finals and the carb and turbo broke. We are looking to run sevens here." Dave ended up no.3 qualifier with an 8.09.

Pro Stock Bike racer Herman van Driel is here for the first time since 2004. The Dutch racer has completely rebuilt his bike himself with the aid of crew chief Frank van Meer, himself a former PSB competitor. The bike is powered by a Suzuki GSX 1570cc engine with Vance & Hines heads and lots of other new parts. Herman's PB is 7.80/172. Support comes from Eurol, Jan Smit, Theo van den Berg and A Balm.

2006-7 Super Street champion Bob Lees has a new paint scheme on his Mustang. "I prepped the car and then turned it over to D&B body repairs in Bristol who welded the doors and completed the filler and then sprayed it, and I'm pleased with the outcome, he said." Support comes from Bristol Transmissions where Bob works.

Super Street racer Graham Balchin admitted "There were some pilot errors yesterday as it was the first run of the year and I was rusty. If we had the sift points right, the run would have been a 7.5 rather than a 7.66. On the second pass the bike struck the tyres and in the left lane the groove is quite narrow. Over the winter we made some small changes to the boost controller and some aerodynamic tweaks." Graham is teamed with Steve Venables who is bedding in a newly developed clutch which will find its way on to Graham's bike later.

Super Street Bike racer Rick Stubbins led qualifying in both sessions. "We have a new AMS1000 boost controller and charge cooler plenum which we eventually are going to run with iced water. We are still learning the difference between the old and new components for tuning." Rick has a GT35 turbo and built the turbo kit himself and is now able to sell it to others. "We have got a dyno and are taking on work as Protek Racing." Rick said that three UK bikes run charge coolers rather than water injection for keeping the turbo cool. "Charge coolers are not permitted in the US as too much of a gap was opening up between the turbo and nitrous bikes." Rick is helped by wife Nicola who tends to the bike's clutch.

With three cars from the Rune Fjeld stable under one canopy it was never going to be practical to warm the engines inside. So the cars were moved so that warm ups were in open air. Here, Jon Webster's engine is being warmed alongside Linda Thun Tønseth's.

Top Fuel Driver Risto Poutiainen (right, with crew chief Tony Pearson) said that track conditions meant that the tyres were spinning off the start line. "On the second pass we eventually fired up but didn't run as it didn't look promising. Conditions are more favourable today. Risto is competing in all rounds of the FIA Championship and other shootouts in Scandinavia. "Races in Norway and Sweden are test sessions for us as we need the track time. We will have mainly the same crew throughout the season." Crew chief Tony Pearson's daughter Shelley Anne, who has a Super Comp license from the Frank Hawley School, will be going to Alastaro on 12th May to test drive Alastaro's two seat Super Comp dragster.

Top Fuel racer Linda Thun Tønseth said "On our first run we had a major fuel leak and shut off. On the second the launch felt good and I wanted to stay on it for a half pass but there was tyre shake at 330ft and I came off it. The weather is much better today and I hope to get further down the track to at least 1000ft. My thanks go to the Islanders crew who helped out at the last minute; I couldn't have raced without their help on the car and they worked until midnight getting the car ready. I really want to race more but I have my degree exams in Economics soon and sponsorship is hard to come by in the present financial crisis."

Pro Mod racer Andy Robinson's crewman Jerry Clayton said "We had two blocks and four heads repaired at Brad Anderson Engineering and we have fitted new liners, pistons and valve train. After what happened to the block at Hockenheim I think most damaged billet blocks and heads can now be repaired which is cheaper in the long run. We are running the same Kobelco K11 blower as we know how it works and produces good performances." In the first session the car was the only one to run a six, however in the last session the car was in the tricky left lane and lost time.

2008 MSA Pro Modified Champion Bert Englefield has a refreshed engine and a new Darren Meyer M4 Supercharger. "The track was too cold yesterday. We wanted to get down it but the tyres shook and I got off the throttle and ran through." On defending the championship, Bert said "We will have to wait and see - we need to do well at the Main Event and European Finals to get points."

Dave Moore, crew chief of the Pro Mod Viper raced by brother Roger Moore, said "Our qualifying passes were down on power, possibly due to the damp on the track. We changed about fifteen things overnight and if one of those things does the trick then we will be ok. Over the winter we put in new clutch parts, a third nitrous stage going in at the base of the manifold rather than through a spray bar which we will not use at this event, and freshened the engine with new bearings." The body is also repaired from the A-board contact made on its first burnout; Dave added "We are still doing sideways burnouts and need to find out how to avoid them."

Pro Mod racer Mats Eriksson said "We tried to get to the finish line on both qualifiers and treated both as testing passes. We didn't necessarily want to qualify well but I needed one more run to see that the changes we made would have worked. If it reacts well to the changes then we could do a good time. We did reduce the engine power down to get off the starting line better but I had to lift; when I went back on it the car was crazy and so it left us with work to do to get the setup right." In the first round of eliminations Mats lifted after shake set in.

The driving position of Pro Mod racer Kev Slyfield gives little clue that the car is a Willys Sedan. Kev said "The car launched straight which is a huge relief after the trouble we had last year. "Unfortunately we damaged a head, the torque convertor and a valve and also had a transbrake problem. We hope we have sorted those out for eliminations and will put more power back into the car."

The front end of Mark Bishop's Super Pro ET altered shows bent rails as a result of coming back to earth following a vertical wheelie yesterday. Mark is fine and said "We will do the front end of the chassis and put on a new wheel and headers. I am feeling less sore today. At least we proved that the traction is there."

Super Pro ET driver Mark Flavell said "This is my 31st year in racing and I'm still having great fun. The funny car needs a different driving style, you have to drive it right down the track and you can't lose concentration. It's more enjoyable for me than the dragster. I am pleased our old car has found a new home with Steve Taylor and the co-operation between Super Pro ET teams is tremendous."

This collection of broken parts belongs to Pro Stock Bike racer Jerry Collier who was on a good run with a 1.14 sixty ft time and 5.1 to the eighth. "After half track I felt a cylinder drop and then a massive bang. By the time I got the bike under control I was headed towards the wall and brought it to a safe stop." Jerry explained the left hand side end web of the crank split and came out of the crankcase which caused the block to disintegrate and damaged a piston, a rod and four valves as well as their bearings. "Thanks to Baz and Sharon for helping me clear up after the explosion and

Super Street Bike racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Jamie Sneddon suffered a crankshaft failure this morning which put him out of competition. "If it had happened last night we could have swapped our spare engine in but that takes about three hours so we are out of time", he said. "It's been one of those weekends because our van had a flat tyre too", he added. Jamie has a new bike brought over from the US which is a twin item to his existing Honda Blackbird. The plan is to bring the new bike out at the Big Bang. Development of the bike has been in association with Webster Race Engineering and Greenhill Racing Jamie's company JBS Roofing Services is busy completing the scrutineering building and the new structure near the entrance gates.