Super Street and Pro ET racer Dave Cherrett is running lighter this year following a three and a half stone diet over winter. He also is running a new engine in the Dark Revenger with a roller cam. "The throtle response is different on the burnout and launch as it revs more easily." Thanks to Stephen Cherrett for arranging the teams's support of Eurodragster.com on Nitro FM.
Pro ET racer Bob Molden ran a 9.93 on Friday, his best time since a 9.69 at the 2009 National Finals. He said "I have made changes for safety issues with a new trans shield and new tyres. We will be running the championship and have no clashing holidays this year." Bob went out in round one, red-lighting against an off-pace Nigel Green.
8.50 Bike racer Phil Bloomfield, pictured with daughter Kaila, said "I had no power above 9000rpm. Usually I launch at 7000 and change at 10500 and not go below 9000. I think there is a fuel issue. I have a new Hayabusa engine but have not had enough time to get it dynoed so will put it on Rick Stubbins' dyno. He helped rebuild the engine after the turbo seized up and I am hoping to get it running well enough to be in the top three this year.
9.50 Bike racer Aaron Sparks is working to get his times closer to the index. "I started with a high ten and have got down to 9.9 and am facing Phil Pratt in round one who has run quicker. It's my fourth season in 9.50 and I'm enjoying it greatly. I have extended the wheelbase of the bike and stiffened up the suspension. I will do more over time. Fred Furlong got me into the sport - I have been working for him for the last 15 years and he got me hooked."
8.50 Bike racer Andy Head has a Kawasaki ZX14, a rare sight at the drag strip. He said "I use a standard frame which I have changed into a plenum frame over the engine - this takes more work than on a Hayabusa. Many thanks to Sean Mills at Big CC for helping me set up the bike. There are only a few racing in lower classes but I have taken it to Super Street spec by putting in a Garrett GT40 turbo with reworked rods and pistons and Motec ignition and AMS boost controller. I had a few problems with the gearchange and have changed the map. I have run 8.5s with a soft setup but potentially it will run a seven."
Comp Bike racer Phil Crossley ran a best of 8.06, close to his PB of 8.02 He said "This is our first weekend out this year. I have added a Racepak logger and changed the clutch from a lockup to a slider from Stu Crane at Warpspeed Racing." Phil will be racing at each round and this is his fifth full season.
Junior Funny Car racer Ivana van den Berg is pleased to be racing alongside Junior Dragsters following the inclusion of Funny Cars in the class. Dad Rene said "We changed the flywheel as it was broken and affecting the timing. The car has been slowed by a headwind and is running only 8.6 on the 7.9 index. We want to go quicker and will work on the engine to get more power."
Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg suffered a broken chain on his last run but earlier had run a best of 7.01/205. He said "I will be bringing my new bike out at the Main Event and will test it the weekend before. The wheelbase is longer and Jan Smit is working on preparing the Puma engine, fuel system and oil system."
Top Fuel Bike racer Ian King is the supplier of Rene's new bike which will be an identical 102 inch wheelbase to the Gulf-sponsored bike of Ian. He said "I have altered the seating position on my bike with handle bar mods and lower bodywork with shorter fairing to give better vision at the front. It rides a lot more comfortably. We went straight and it is sticking to the track but we have taken a lot of power out of it. The chute is not necessary at the speeds we have done this weekend (176mph) but would be at 230, so I am using it each run to get it as part of the routine.
Top Fuel Dragster licencee Duncan Micallef was delighted with a 5.10/278 licensing run. He said "The team have been a great help in me achieving this after so few runs. I corrected the car at the end of the track after it went left and it responded well. Thanks to Rune Fjeld and his crew, my business partner Joe Ghiller, Raymond, Franco, Kevin and Martin." It was Joe who introduced Duncan to drag racing after working together at Maltese mobile phone retailer Telephone Box and after only a few passes in his career, he is showing great promise.
Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association racer Nick Davies ran a great 6.35/217 in the rebodied Chaos. Crewman Terry Giles said "The new wing helped keep the car straight. There was no damage on the run and all we need to do is replace the four disc clutch. We backed the motor down with ignition settings and softened the clutch from yesterday - perhaps we can give it more next time but we wanted a straight pass. The Holy Grail of a Five is not out of sight."
Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association racer Adam Gleadow ran a 7.79/178 and team boss Bob Gleadow was delighted with the look of the car and the progress made in performance. "The purple paint by Scott from Custom Exotics looks incredible and Joe Curtis from Auto Relections applied the gold leaf and pinstriping. We are grateful to Lucas Oil and Les Downey for continued support and Auto Finesse for supplying polishing material. Adam, Chris and Alex have worked really hard on preparation and Darren Galloway on the mechanical side as Crew Chief. It is our best car ever and best crew. We are having Steve Turner help us on leaning the engine down and installing a high speed leanout fitting."
Super Street and Pro ET racer Dave Cherrett is running lighter this year following a three and a half stone diet over winter. He also is running a new engine in the Dark Revenger with a roller cam. "The throtle response is different on the burnout and launch as it revs more easily." Thanks to Stephen Cherrett for arranging the teams's support of Eurodragster.com on Nitro FM.
Pro ET racer Bob Molden ran a 9.93 on Friday, his best time since a 9.69 at the 2009 National Finals. He said "I have made changes for safety issues with a new trans shield and new tyres. We will be running the championship and have no clashing holidays this year." Bob went out in round one, red-lighting against an off-pace Nigel Green. 
8.50 Bike racer Phil Bloomfield, pictured with daughter Kaila, said "I had no power above 9000rpm. Usually I launch at 7000 and change at 10500 and not go below 9000. I think there is a fuel issue. I have a new Hayabusa engine but have not had enough time to get it dynoed so will put it on Rick Stubbins' dyno. He helped rebuild the engine after the turbo seized up and I am hoping to get it running well enough to be in the top three this year. 
9.50 Bike racer Aaron Sparks is working to get his times closer to the index. "I started with a high ten and have got down to 9.9 and am facing Phil Pratt in round one who has run quicker. It's my fourth season in 9.50 and I'm enjoying it greatly. I have extended the wheelbase of the bike and stiffened up the suspension. I will do more over time. Fred Furlong got me into the sport - I have been working for him for the last 15 years and he got me hooked."
8.50 Bike racer Andy Head has a Kawasaki ZX14, a rare sight at the drag strip. He said "I use a standard frame which I have changed into a plenum frame over the engine - this takes more work than on a Hayabusa. Many thanks to Sean Mills at Big CC for helping me set up the bike. There are only a few racing in lower classes but I have taken it to Super Street spec by putting in a Garrett GT40 turbo with reworked rods and pistons and Motec ignition and AMS boost controller. I had a few problems with the gearchange and have changed the map. I have run 8.5s with a soft setup but potentially it will run a seven."
Comp Bike racer Phil Crossley ran a best of 8.06, close to his PB of 8.02 He said "This is our first weekend out this year. I have added a Racepak logger and changed the clutch from a lockup to a slider from Stu Crane at Warpspeed Racing." Phil will be racing at each round and this is his fifth full season.
Junior Funny Car racer Ivana van den Berg is pleased to be racing alongside Junior Dragsters following the inclusion of Funny Cars in the class. Dad Rene said "We changed the flywheel as it was broken and affecting the timing. The car has been slowed by a headwind and is running only 8.6 on the 7.9 index. We want to go quicker and will work on the engine to get more power."
Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg suffered a broken chain on his last run but earlier had run a best of 7.01/205. He said "I will be bringing my new bike out at the Main Event and will test it the weekend before. The wheelbase is longer and Jan Smit is working on preparing the Puma engine, fuel system and oil system."
Top Fuel Bike racer Ian King is the supplier of Rene's new bike which will be an identical 102 inch wheelbase to the Gulf-sponsored bike of Ian. He said "I have altered the seating position on my bike with handle bar mods and lower bodywork with shorter fairing to give better vision at the front. It rides a lot more comfortably. We went straight and it is sticking to the track but we have taken a lot of power out of it. The chute is not necessary at the speeds we have done this weekend (176mph) but would be at 230, so I am using it each run to get it as part of the routine.
Top Fuel Dragster licencee Duncan Micallef was delighted with a 5.10/278 licensing run. He said "The team have been a great help in me achieving this after so few runs. I corrected the car at the end of the track after it went left and it responded well. Thanks to Rune Fjeld and his crew, my business partner Joe Ghiller, Raymond, Franco, Kevin and Martin." It was Joe who introduced Duncan to drag racing after working together at Maltese mobile phone retailer Telephone Box and after only a few passes in his career, he is showing great promise.
Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association racer Nick Davies ran a great 6.35/217 in the rebodied Chaos. Crewman Terry Giles said "The new wing helped keep the car straight. There was no damage on the run and all we need to do is replace the four disc clutch. We backed the motor down with ignition settings and softened the clutch from yesterday - perhaps we can give it more next time but we wanted a straight pass. The Holy Grail of a Five is not out of sight."
Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association racer Adam Gleadow ran a 7.79/178 and team boss Bob Gleadow was delighted with the look of the car and the progress made in performance. "The purple paint by Scott from Custom Exotics looks incredible and Joe Curtis from Auto Relections applied the gold leaf and pinstriping. We are grateful to Lucas Oil and Les Downey for continued support and Auto Finesse for supplying polishing material. Adam, Chris and Alex have worked really hard on preparation and Darren Galloway on the mechanical side as Crew Chief. It is our best car ever and best crew. We are having Steve Turner help us on leaning the engine down and installing a high speed leanout fitting."