Top Methanol Funny Car racer Leif Andreasson said after a first round victory over Arvid Grødem. "We are back on track at last. We have had ignition problems which shut us down three times; the data showed we went from 2G to -1G then back to 2G on the 5.8 run. We have had to change everything. On our last run yesterday the engine went to 11,200 off the line and broke some valves. We have changed heads and rods and this morning the car felt good down the track. our US trip has helped my driving and I have my old crew back, Frank, Håkan, Christian and Anders and Kenny (our new genius). I want to run 5.6 in the next round."

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Dan Larsen said after his defeat of Per Håkon Froya who crossed the centre line, "That was lucky as we are still trying to get the car to run as it should. We changed the setup last night, are getting closer and our data tells us that we ran a 5.89 in the first round."

Top Fuel Dragster racer Linda Thun Tønseth said "I had tyre shake, went up in smoke and drifted towards the centre line, but Andy was already in front. I have enjoyed the weekend; Mantorp is my next race, depending on sponsorship. But first I have to take the remaing four exams to finish my first year studying economics at university."

Second generation racer Shelley Pearson, daughter of UK nitro racer and tuner Tony, has been hired to drive a two seater dragster at FIA events at Alastaro, Mantorp, Hockenheim and possibly Santa Pod. She said "I have been coming to Santa Pod since I was a baby and dad was working on Showtime. Last year I achieved my Super Comp license at the Frank Hawley School and before that I did oval track racing." Shelley has her eye ultimately on racing a Top Fuel dragster and is mindful of the challenges this involves.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Risto Poutiainen after defeating Anita Mäkelä "That was a good race but my engine had a hard time. The team are having to replace rods, pistons and manifold. But I think I did well. I am up against Stig Neergard and you never know because he is a capable guy. We are going for the points rather than the records."

Pro Modified racer Marco Maurischat said following a first round defeat to Andy Robinson, "I left early as I don't remember seeing the second light come on. But I had a very good pass with our car which our data tells me was 6.7. I shifted on time and the blower had boost of 40psi. The run was fast and straight. It has been a bad weekend for us overall as we have had transmission trouble. It is important for my crew that we do well, but we will have to wait for Finland. The car is now running good and I feel good in it."

The burnt pistons in this picture of TMD racer Dave Wilson's engine show the scorching they received after a first round defeat of Paul Ingar Udtian with a 5.3048/265.29 new European record ET (backed up by yesterday's best time). Grumpy said "We are delighted with the pass but we burnt a lot of bits." In the semi-final he fell victim to a holeshot from TMD rookie Fred Hanssen.

TMD racer Krister Johansson ran a great 5.44 in round one to defeat a wheelying Dennis Habermann. The crew undertook routine maintenance between rounds. The team includes British Drag Racing Hall of Fame members Glen and Tim Read. Glen said "The leakdown was ok and there are no major problems." Tim Read is pictured and this will be his last race for two years as his wife's job takes her to New York. They will be living in Brooklyn and we wish them best of luck in their move.

TMD racers Timo and Dennis Habermann thank their sponsors and crew, in particular new member Shaun Ward here from active duty in Afghanistan. Timo said after round one "I was off the throttle once when it shook and on again. I was happy with the 263mph terminal speed." Timo defeated Peter Schofer in round one with a 5.3983/263.39 and beat Krister Johansson in the semi final with a remarkably consistent 5.3939/258.85.

Andy Carter beat Linda Thun Tønseth with a 5.0162/248.15 in round one and Lex Joon with a 4.8026/307.07 in the semi final. "This race matters to me. I have never won this event and lost twice in the final. We are running the same setup for the semi final but it is always a tough race against Lex."

Top Fuel Bike racer Eric Teboul said after a 7.24/166 defeat to Ian King in round one, "My story is simple. We left Cannes with two working magnetos but arrived here with only one working. The bike couldn't burn the fuel so we finished even before we started. We called MSD but in spite of having all the right settings it did not work and will need to be sent back for repair. The bike would have been very quick with two magnetos. My only other race this year will be Hockenheim; I am using this year to develop a new stronger engine for the Fuel Bike that should run 6.0 or 5.9. I have been 25 years in the sport and now running records is more important to me than championships. I ran 5.6 with the rocket bike recently in France and will go for a 5.4s pass."

Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg said "We were pleased with qualifying as we ran 6.6 for the first time. We have changed the sprocket which broke in the first round. We also had a small leak but I was able to cure that. We are wanting to run a faster setup in the semi final with 88% nitro." In the event Peter Svensson was narrowly unable to make the call and Rene soloed to a 7.0242/198.99. He is against Ian King in the final.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Arvid Grødem said "We have had all sorts of gremlins this weekend. The fuel fittings broke and we were shut down after the burnout, we suffered a clogged nozzle which resulted in burnt pistons and valves, then in the final session I got all four wheels off the ground. We were going sky high but it broke our wheelie bar and the bracket supporting our bell housing. I have Leif in the first round and hope our luck changes." Arvind is sponsored by Eurodragster.com sponsor Sunoco. Later Arvid told us that he is looking for a new car and retiring the current one.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Steph Milam is pleased that the performance is improving after a major change to the setup. Husband Dave said "We have a brand new supercharger and are only just beginning to catch up with the setup. We also made changes to the chassis where the engine is mounted and put in a new Davenport fuel system." Steph said "I am getting used to a more aggressive setup but missed the second shift on the 6.28 and the engine went up on the limiter."

Top Fuel racer Andy Carter said "We have been struggling by our standards and only in the last qualifying session did the car go from A to B. The old car was very soft and flexible and the new one (which has had new front and back sections) is very stiff after only four runs. There is also a new mandatory seat (pictured) which gives better protection but less feedback from run. I compared my feedback with the data to check that it was ok. It is a totally new setup but I am never in any doubt that my crew will get to the bottom of it, they are doing a fantastic job."

The Lucas Oil Top Fuel team were entertaining 45 people during the weekend. They are pictured with Andy and have been working hard on promoting the AC to the USA. Businesses can put their logo on both sides of the car and Andy's web site for as little as �1000 for a size of 232x88mm, more details from [email protected].

Top Fuel racer Anita Mäkelä said "We have had setup problems this weekend but fortunately have not hurt parts even though the car has spun the tyres and there has been a lot of smoke. I am up against Risto in the first round which will be an all Finnish race." Risto came out the victor when Anita smoked the tyres a long way down the track in a side-by-side race.

Top Fuel racer Micke Kågered said "We found a really good setup after Mantorp and have kept with that over the weekend and made as few changes as possible to get it down the track successfully; the car has had a good number in it from the start and we could have gone quicker from the start. The car even with the changes to the back half feels as before." In round one, the tyre shake, smoke and fire returned and he came up short against Stig Neergard.

Pro Mod racer Andy Robinson's crew chief Mark Balzaretti is pictured preparing the car for its first round when ANdy ran another 6.11. Team member Jerry Clayton said "The car burnt one piston and we changed two liners. We also put fresh heads on as the other set have four hard passes on them. The track didn't come back in the last session and we were trying a few things - the 6.1 barrier is teasingly close."

Pro Stock racer Tommy Leindahl said "We have had new PB ETs and speed this weekend. I am racing Richard Sundblom in the first round. Our car has had very consistent ET and RTs and I beat him twice in qualifying. I have lane choice and think the left lane is better."

Pro Stock racer Jonas Dantanus said "We have had problems getting down the track. The car couldn't put the power down and we have had to turn the power down which hopefully will work. We have had problems in the burnout, off the start line, and shake in first and second gears. On the final round yesterday we had a very good pass on and the car started moving around in third. We have now changed the gearbox setup and the track is cooler and hopefully we can get more traction.

Pro Stock racer Magnus Hansson said "The car has gone well and has produced good consistent times. We had a little bit of bad luck in qualifying as we made good runs but in adverse conditions. We wanted to be second or third but either the track or the weather seemed to be against us. I made a good run in the left hand lane but it was a couple of hundredths slower than the right one." In the first round Jan Palmqvist put Magnus into the left lane but the conditions are cooler today and Magnus was able to come out the victor.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Fred Hanssen said "Racing this car is all a fresh experience for me. I hadn't try to stage with as much rpm as I did in the final session and that is why I deep staged. The launch rpm of 6600 is like a tiger on a rope. I am up against Rob Turner but I am still getting used to the speed. I am really proud to get the new speed record of 265.67, it's more than I could expect at my first competitive meeting in the class and thanks to the crowd for their support." US tuner Will Hanna who also runs the Inside Top Alcohol web site in the US said "This is a nice track, as good as any and this should be a great race. It's a lot of fun working with the Islanders team."

Top Fuel racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Jon Webster has had a frustrating weekend. "We have got to 60ft and 330ft fine but it got up on the the tyres at 400ft. We discovered that the ignition retard system was not working properly. We changed the cables this morning and tested it and it worked fine. Jon is up against Eurodragster.com blogger Lex Joon in the first round. "Lex owes us one as we fixed the damage from his wheelie in 2005 and then beat us." The burst panel went in the blow-out which was the end of Jon's event.

Pro Mod racer Patrik Wikström had a broken rear end on Friday. After enquiries Roger Johansson arranged to get one supplied from Sweden yesterday and it arrived in the evening. The team worked through the night to get it fitted and the car ready and completed their work at 7:30am. In the first round Patrick ran a great 6.1396/235.92 in the repaired car.

Yesterday evening the Top Fuel Bike team of Peter Svensson put in a thrash to ensure the no.1 qualifying bike is ready for eliminations.