Pro Mod race Roger Moore was pleased with a 6.90 in cold conditions. He said "The engine was cold even after the burnout and dived when it launched. When it picked up again it went well and we did our best terminal speed of 209mph. I am learning to shift the new Lenco CS2 with five speeds and pushing the buttons at the right time is a challenge. Other than that the car has a new Total Seal piston ring package and we have taken out a fair amount of weight by changing to a Lithium Ion battery.

Pro Mod racer Andy Frost, pictured with wife Deb has as his main target to be the quickest and fastest street legal car on the planet once again. Today he achieved half of that by running a terminal speed of 219mph. He would have had the required ET of 6.73 if it wasn't for a launch glitch. "We know we are making over 3000hp but getting it down the track is difficult and we are launching in second gear. The power is up thanks to Shane T in California who is logged into our PC and changing the engine mapping remotely. Also thanks to Abbey Motorsports for their help with an oil fitting.

Andy Frost continued "This is our first time at the track since the Euro Finals and we now have new Precision Turbos from Owen Developments and new Hoosier tyres with narrow section for less shake. But getting to the ET we want is always hard. We have two more opportunities in qualifying. We have had VXR people here today and there will be HD and slo-mo footage on the VXR web site at the end of April. We want to run mid sixes and at the moment each run is a learning experience.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Chris Polidano is supported by Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek Flynn, John and Sarah Foster and James Blackman. John said "The transition from Derek owning and driving the car to Chris driving and a part Maltese, part English crew has gone smoothly. Chris really has a handle on driving his first Top Methanol car and after three years running the car we are happy to pass our knowledge to the new crew. We are really pleased that the car is running mid fives without dropping cylinders or breaking traction. Today was the first time that Chris staged alongside another car which was an important learning stage. The car will stay at Derek's shop after the race and then we will do the whole FIA tour and a race in Malta in October.

Super Street Bike racer Steve Mead is delighted to be in his third year of Lucas Oil sponsorship. "We are really happy for Lucas's Les Downey's continued support in these difficult economic times." US racer Walter Sprout is continuing to provide tuning assistance by viewing data logs and video footage over the internet. "Walter advised me to change my tyre to a Mickey Thompson one and then ran my best to go no.3 in the class. I am wanting to run a 7.3 time but it will require perfect conditions." Steve has also been running a rwyb bike with a stock BMW 1000 engine, ran a 9.2 last weekend and is aiming to run an eight.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Danny Bellio has a new chassis which was built in 2004 and ran by Frank Manzo and then Micky Ferro, who is one of only a few TMFCs to have run in the 5.4s Danny said "We had to make quite a few changes to the body and I am sitting in a different position. It was time to change, I had the old chassis for twelve years so it was time for a change."

Top Fuel Dragster racer Risto Poutiainen is looking forward to running the FIA series and getting some data. "The team have updated some pieces on the car including a new camshaft and changed the firing order and we have a new clutch." We have made the changes to go 1000ft.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Jari Halinen is looking at this weekend as a test session. "We have new systems on the car so it is good to have the opportunity to run the car here. We have changed the firing order too and I have Mike Domagala from Clay Millican's team to advise us again on tuning."

Top Fuel Dragster icensee Duncan Micallef was delighted with his 'Maltese 60ft' yesterday. He said "Actually it was a planned half pass and the next one will be to 1000ft." Duncan, who has run a Top Methanol Dragster to a best of 5.83, had the opportunity to drive the ex-Andy Carter championship winning car after speaking to car owner Rune Fjeld last November. "I felt very comfortable on the run - it was easier to drive than a TMD because there is no gear shifting but obviously it is more powerful. I will be at Hockenheim and if I do well this weekend I will do the Main Event with support." Duncan's sponsors are Malta timeshare company Azure and building firm Portelli.

Funny Car racer Gordon Smith is in the Marshall Amps-sponsored entry with crew chief Dave Bryant and FGR Motorsports' Jason Phelps. Jason said "We took delivery of the ex-Mongoose car only very recently so were unable to prepare and update that as well. But we are really keen to have five cars competing so we can have eliminations." When both cars are running, it is Jason who will be driving the Mustang which Gordon is piloting this weekend.

Super Pro ET racer Martyn Jones ran a PB 6.858/197 in the smartly liveried dragster but there is more to come. "It would have been nice to have full throttle down the track. I set the rpm in stage using the transbrake but then forgot to nail it after releasing the button. We are still debugging and getting the glitches out. The motor is fine and there are no leaks. We don't quite know what the blower boost is due to a faulty computer reading. The setup is basically Top Methanol but we use less rpm which is less strain on the parts and ultimately less damage and expense. The car is probably not suitable for a 45 minute turnaround for Super Pro but we are learning all the time."

Super Pro ET racer Vince Gibbs told us he had a lucky escape thanks to an observant startline marshal. "We were shut down for a small leak from the rear seal on the sump. Back in the pits we took the sump off and replaced the rear crank oil seal, but it was still not leak-free. This morning we took the rocker cover off and spotted two loose lash caos. With our new Jesel rocker setup, they became loose and one pushrod was found next to a rocker and another missing from cylinder no.5. We eventually found it in the valley between banks and rebuilt the engine. Thanks to the marshal spotting the leak we have saved a likely broken engine. With new heads from Racing Head Services We will be running it too rich to save it from leaning out, so we will run slow but still get some useful data." The car has new paint by Nick Bolton of autocolourmatch.co.uk of Banbury, black chutes and lettering in Goth style applied by Vince.

Super Pro ET racer Steve Saunders, pictured with wife Babs, suffered the loss of a rear deck panel that blew off the back of his Hispeed Gas Zephyr on the motorway. He said "Mark Flavell came to the rescue as he was on his way and cut and riveted in a temporary panel." Steve and Babs have a new flatbed truck that accomodates just two. "We are relying on Steve and Mal from Mark's team as crew and the car is running just great." The link with the Flavell team has included Steve having a drive in Mark's Funny Car at the 2010 Flame & Thunder Show. "We loved the opportunity to drive it and hats off to Mark for that." The car name comes from Steve's trade as a Bosch-accredited domestic boiler installer.

Super Pro ET racer Nick Good has been signed up by Lucas as sponsors this year to join Beovax. He said "We first approached Lucas three years ago but developing the team into two cars and being nominated for best appearing team must have helped. It is a real privilege to have Lucas on board." Nick also welcomes Samco Sport, a Wales-based manufacturer of coolant and oil hoses. The car has had a gearbox refresh by Al O'Connor, blower work by Kenny Gomez and a new and neat front nose by crew member Pete Cridge with Hauser Race Cars work on the front end. The small carbon fibre wing is a channel fit. Nick ran 6.95/188 in Saturday afternoon's session.

Super Pro racer Dave Catton of team Beovax-Lucas made this model Funny Car in team colours, so we are assured it is not a 'spy picture' in the making. Dave was delighted to run a PB 7.93/169 in the four-link dragster. Dave said "I still didn't use the transbrake and so there is more in it (the next run was 7.86). The car has a new Reid gearbox casing, transmission refresh by Al O'Connor, carb work by Jeff Bull and engine refresh by team principal Nick Good." Retired airline pilot Dave now spends time showing customers a Boeing 737/757/767 flight simulator.

VW Pro Racer Andy Waite has owned his Mark 1 Golf for five years and evolved it to its current 9.8/149 performance. "A friend built the roll cage and rear end space frame and the engine is a 1850cc VW with GT35 turbo, two stage nitrous and EFI with eight injectors. The engine produces 700hp and this goes through a AUdi TT gearbox with stock internals and to a front and rear differential. Andy said "It is easy to bog the car off the startline so it needs a lot of revs and nitrous on the launch. The maintenance with four wheel drive is complicated and there is a lot of maintenance as we are pushing the engine to the limit." Although the car is new to VWDRC, it won the Euro Sports Compact championship in 2009 and 2010 and was runner-up in 2011. As well as Andy's own company AK-Bodycraft, the car shows the logos of sponsors C&T harnesses and AMG Windscreens.

Super Pro ET racer Dave Ward has ten guests from sponsors Minigears, based in Stockport, attending today. He said "Minigears provide gear blanks to the motor industry for both specialist and mass production applications. We also welcome new sponsors Hawkins Roofing of Banbury. We hope to shortly be joined by Mills CNC, one of the largest CNC machine tool suppliers that service the medical and aerospace industries." On the track the car was squirrelly at the top end but in the second session ran 8.08 alongside Scott Hauser. Dave said "It was close to my PB of 8.02 and it was good to have two Hauser-built dragsters racing one another."

Sportsman ET racer Dick Eacock started at two meetings last year after being a spectator for several years. He said "My brother has a rwyb and I want to beat his time of 12.00. I raced the car in sprinting but find the atmosphere at Santa Pod more relaxed and exciting at the same time. I have moved up the engine range from Pinto through Cosworth and Rover V8 until I now have a small block Chevy with twin carbs and Powerglide by Andy Frost with transbrake. My goal is to run an eleven and my best so far is 12.71."