Pro Mod racer Andy Robinson has lost 33lb over the winter. He said "One of my crew announced he was on a diet and I had to make it into a competition." Pictured is the new flange on the bugcatcher for improved airflow. "It's bigger than Graham's", remarked the Eurodragster.com sponsor. The car did one checkout pass today resulting in tyreshake. After this event the team are heading directly to Hungary for demo runs before the FIA tour starts at the end of May. The car is for sale but a replacement cannot be started until August because of the work at the ARRC shop - new 'Cuda and '57 T-Bird Pro Mods and a rebuild for Jack Brewster.

Pro Mod racer Graham Ellis suffered a broken throttle cable which robbed the newly vinyl wrapped (by Paul Foote) and front ended 'Cuda of power. Crewman Lee Kirk said "We will assess the results before deciding whether to run any European FIA rounds. We have our work cut out with Kev Perkins, Rob Milward and Tom Barnes working on the turbo'd Superbird."

Pro Mod racer Mick Payne ran a good mid-seven as a half pass licensing run. He said "I need to do a full pass to have the license signed off and want to run a low seven or high six. We just need to get the tune-up sorted - the engine is from my Super Pro car and the only change is to install a single MSD 44 magneto as required by the rules. On my run my balaclava slipped and I lost half my vision. It launched well but shook a bit in the middle. There was no damage on the pass and we are servicing the car as usual."

Pro Mod racer Roger Moore said "After the first pass of the year I feel five years younger. It can be a bit anxious running for the first time each year but now we have that under our belt. The car went down the track and we had an early shutoff. Weight loss is the name of the game this year. We have a new aluminium clutch can, a smaller fuel cell and single fuel pump. We also changed the camshaft and the firing order and refreshed the moving parts. A rocker cap broke on the warmup and the exhaust cracked but we have sorted those issues." Roger will be visited tomorrow by sponsors Challenger Solutions, Generator Power Systems.

Pro Mod racer Jean Dulamon has made quite a few changes including a new aerodynamic 'Bad Apples' front end, similar to the R2B2 Camaro of Melanie Troxel.

Jean Dulamon's helmet had a great paint job which took four days to complete. We're not saying who the facial image on the rear reminds us of...

The front of Jean Dulamon's helmet has a more traditional theme with flames and gold top. Jean has employed a personal trainer for an hour every day for the last two months. He said "My improved fitness helps me operate the car well.

Jean's engine is new and up to 780cu in from 738. The new hood scoop is also new and designed to give improved air flow to the carburettors. Jean said "We want to be competitive and the rules have helped us. We also changed fuel from C23 to SV05 unleaded and the plugs came out really clean so we are pleased with the change. The rules are making for greater equality between blown and nitrous cars."

Fuel Altered racer Gary Page was pleased with a 6.69 shut off at 1000ft in Chaos. "It was the furthest down the track for us and felt straight along the track. Car owner Laurie Gatehouse said "That's five runs without any damage which is the best yet. So we are very happy." Shockwave crew chief Dave Bryant is looking after the car between meetings and the team has also been joined by Bill Sherratt to help at events and Jason from FGR.

Funny Bike racer Hans Eriksson said "We suffered a battery short which meant we needed a new one, however the battery container is too small by 1cm and we having to modify it." The bike was built in Sweden by Mikael Karlsson and has 1428cc Kawasaki engine with a turbo and methanol injection. Hans will be travelling to Hungary after this event and will run the UEM Funny Bike cup. Hans's previous best is a 8.47/275kph on a 1685cc Suzuki in Pro Street. Sponsors are his business Godis 500 Sorter candy, and ghostridermovie.net.

Pro Stock Bike racer and Eurodragster.com blogger Dave Beck's bike is back to its previous colour scheme. "I also have a new engine of 1755cc which will make us more competitive with the Buells. The vacuum pump broke on the warmup but a local company copied the old part and saw us right. On my first run there was a problem with the carb and after fixing it a ran a gentle pass and was surprised to run 179mph. The air is 2000ft above sea level so we will go for it later tomorrow when the track is warm and the air cooler. We are really concentrating on testing this bike for the Main Event rather than the ACU championship."

Comp Bike racer Alan Young has borrowed Richard Gipp's bike this weekend. "We are awaiting a new bike with turbo and frame built by Rick Stubbings and Stuart Crane and are grateful to Richard for the loan of his bike. It's different to mine as it is a GSX1640cc with nitrous and no turbo. Alan (pictured left) is joined by crew chief Big Ridge.

Super Twin racer Christian Jager is debuting a bike formerly owned by Gunther Sohn, with new Black Seven Nitro Racing paint. Christian was shut off after his burnout which was all that the was required by the licensing. "I want seat time this event and tomorrow we will go for a launch and half pass - I feel confident", said Christian who is reigning UEM Funny Bike Cup champion. The bike will be run at all UEM rounds and has performance potential of 6.5s. Pictured with Christian is Crew Chief Erik Jennes.

Funny Bike racer Maarten Zijlstra from Amsterdam last raced here at the snow-hit 2008 event with the same bike. "I have had the bike since 2007 and run a best of 9.4. I race it on the quarter mile at Drachten and would like to run under 9 sec this weekend. We used nitrous but have had electrical gremlins with the kill switch, shift counter and ignition."

Junior Dragbike racer Scott Collier is running demo passes at this event with Bradleigh Vardy prior to the class having full rounds at the Big Bang and National Finals. Scott has a new bike built by father Jerry's 'junior bike factory' and it performed excellently running a 1.8 60ft and 79mph at half track even with the throttle stop at 50%; the bike even has an LCD dash and data logger. Jerry said "Santa Pod has been great in giving us all we need to run the class successfully." Children aged 8-11 can race an automatic gearing 50cc bike on an eighth mile index of 12.90, and 12-16 a manually geared 125cc bike on an 8.90 index. Sponsorship for the class comes from IM Photography, GLS Engineering, Projoint Custom Fabrication, Glyn Sainsbury, Mitech Systems, High Signs and Graphics, Coombs Property Services amd Lightning Automotive Evesham (the first three firms mentioned with Ash at Motorshine sponsor Scott).

Super Street Bike racer Danny Cockerill is running the bike that Paul Watson ran in 2010. Paul is helping out for the meeting with other crew members Ray White and Steve 'Smack'. The bike runs a new Hayes Clutch and GT35 turbo kit from Big CC. Danny was pleased with the initial run being an 8.0 as testing last weekend was limited to familiarising himself with his new mount.

Super Street Bike racer Graham Dance said "You will need to surgically remove this smile" after running two consecutive PBs in the 7.5s. "I have a new engine and have concentrated on the horsepower and the clutch control. I am really pleased with the new Len Paget clutch. On the last pass it slowed to a 7.6 with a boost leak but the pass would have been a 7.4. We are well up in the standings but mainly because other bikes seem to be having problems with their shifting. But I am chuffed at being the most consistent of all. We will be running late in the schedule on Saturday and will see whether it can run a 190mph then. It's a dream start to the year."

A tribute stand to Evel Knievel has several of his machines including the legendary SkyCycle that the late legendary stuntman attempted to jump Snake River jump in Twin Falls, Idaho in 1974 in front of a live TV audience of millions. After the launch, the parachute deployed early, and the vehicle floated down on the near side crashing feet from the river's edge, with Knievel suffering minor injuries.

Pro ET racer Dave Bailey was no.1 after the first session with a 9.232 on a 9.22. He said "That was our first run this season. We have not changed anything, apart from putting in an Accusump oil accumulator which allows the oil system to be self-primed whereas before it required to take the distributor off to manually prime before starting."

Pro ET racer Mark Bailey's 'Cuda suffered an oil leak through the rocker cover. He said "We refreshed the engine over the winter and put a new parachute on. I pulled the chute on the first run and it operated brilliantly." Mark was no.11 with a 0.10-over 9.42 after the second session.

Pro ET racer Keith Herbert has had many new parts on his Plymouth Sport Fury over the winter. Crew chief Daniel Devlin said "The engine is now a 500cu in Chrysler stroked from 400cu in with a 1150 Dominator carb, 727 Torqueflite trans. The power is up from 540hp with the old engine to 650-700 and we are looking to run a 9.9 here although a 9.3 should be possible. The car has also been lowered by 4 1/2" all round and a new Andy Robinson axle fitted." Keith is supported by Power Engineering in Uxbridge, Middx which also sponsors the class.

Pro ET racer Paul Baynton rebuilt his engine after damage sustained in August. He said "Dave Milam does all my engine work - he lives locally and I trust him totally." The front suspension and steering were also refreshed. The engine is a 383 cu in SBC with a single carb and TH350 trans. He remarked "I am happy with the performance and we are back in the 10.5s."

Pro ET racer Liz Malcolm's husband and crew chief Ian (pictured left) experienced only their second startline pushback ever after a grub screw came loose causing a water leak. He said "We need drying time in order to reseal it so will miss the second session. We have a new Strange aluminium centre section on the rear axle which I fitted and saves 14lb which is quite a bit with the light engine." Kev Cerasale supplied some sealant. A blower is planned for 2012.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Gerry Treit is in his first competitive meeting after getting his license at the test day. He said "I bought Doc Claydon's Willy's as a rolling chassis about seven years ago and built the car myself. I modified the chassis which includes original frame rails, to be tagged to 7.5s. The engine is a crate short block Chrysler of 605cu in with a 727 Torqueflite trans and Moser rear axle; I have nitrous which I will use later in the year. My thanks go to Colin Millar who supplied a trailer and motor home for the weekend, to my wife Dina and crew Steve and Andy."

Super Pro racer Nick Griffin (pictured right) and Super Gas racer Nick Curtis are sharing the driving duties on the Southern Belle Chevelle Malibu out of Bournemouth. Nick Griffin who is the car's owner said "The engine was refreshed over the winter by Jeff Bull with Dart Pro 1 heads and a larger carb. We took it easy at the start to make sure everything was safe."

Super Pro racer Paula Atkin is trying nitrous on her Rare Breed Ford Mustang for the first time. The car also has a new convertor and gearing. She said "We will be in testing mode and will probably tag on the end of the session and give it a try. I will try a few launches and then build up to a full pass. We would like to run a six this year." Paula is pictured with engine builder Clive Bond.

Super Pro racer Nick George is at his first ever championship meeting having completed observed runs last weekend with a 8.17/163. "My last event was running a red Vette winning the Castrol Street Car Challenge in 2009. I bought the Camaro as a rolling chassis with body off. The chassis was worked on by Geof Hauser to get tagged to 7.5s and the body is original apart from a 'glass front end. Geof Hauser also supplied the 540cu in blown engine with a 14-71 blower running 25% overdrive. The trans is a JW 'Glide and converter." An enormous amount of time went into the build including 40 hours on the windscreen alone. Nick's sponsor is his employer One Stop Body Shop based in Northampton which can be contacted on 01480 496611.

Super Pro Reinier van Scheldt owns this '37 Chevrolet pick up 1937 which he built at H & H Racing Engines, Dallas Texas and is licensing here this weekend. It runs a 672 ci Dart block with Brodix cylinder heads, 10-71 Blower 2 quick fuel 1250 carbs, MSD Ignition, With a chassis from Peyton Performance, Texas tagged to 6.0 sec, Powerglide trans, the engine pushes out 1520 hp on C16 gasoline. The car was tested at Kennedale, Texas and the potential is mid-sevens. Reinier used to run BMWs on circuits. Reinier said "We caught the disease and will run in Super Pro with me driving and Super Comp with Jeremy Prince. The plan is three events here, three at Drachten and the NitrolympX." Reinier works internationally specialising in hail damage repair world-wide with his firms Deukie and X-pair, a specialist bodyshop. Temporary crew includes Jaap and Jan Selles, who says 'hi' to all his team-mates tuned in from Pro Dutch Racing.

Super Pro ET racer Dave Nelson has fitted new zoomie headers and treated Doris Dormouse to a striking powder finish paint job. The car was recently on display in Nuneaton with Leigh Morris' Super Street Jag which reached the pages of local paper Nuneaton Tribune. Also fitted is a new catch can in front of the motor which should cure the problem of oil smoke from breathers that was a common issue last year. On the first run the HT lead slipped off causing the car to be stranded on track.

The JDN Racing team of Dave and John Nelson have a new tow vehicle...

Phil Crossley was pleased to run a new PB at the Extreme Performance Bike Weekend and wanted to change nothing over the winter. But as he said "Six months is a long time to leave it alone - so this year we have fitted a Star Racing ex-pro stock cylinder head as well as a complete new MSD ignition system courtesy of sponsors Argent Stores. We also have new brakes, front wheel, wiring harness and lots more changes." This will be the first time the engine has run in anger as it was only finished a couple of days ago. The result was a new PB of 8.10 and the possibility of a seven this weekend. Phil's web site is at gsxbopchop.blogspot.com. Phil is also sponsored by Roger Upperton Racing.

Comp Bike racer John Hunt has his Harley-engined nitro burning machine here and plans to run in Comp Bike and Super Twins. He said "This is my own racing operation and we will be laid back and have fun. I don't do pressure and just want to take it home in one piece." The bike, an ex-Wendy Clutterbuck which John has modified slightly with a new fuel timing system has an engine based on a '79 HD Sportster with stock heads. "This was what was being run by Americans in Top Fuel Bike in the early '80s and we will bring it to Dragstalgia in July." The gorgeous paint scheme is by Morph featuring airbrushed checks.