ACU Super Twin Top Gas racer Scott Collier at an earlier event ran a 9.3s pass on his TL1000 engined machine, formerly raced by dad Jerry. However problems were experienced with the bike bogging on the launch and the clutch has been loosened to get it off the line more smoothly. The engine runs no power adders.

Funny Bike racer Lorcan Parnell is pictured with bike owners Mick Hand (left) and Barry Eastman (right) who raced in the '70s and own the bike. Lorcan said 'Mick and Barry brought the bike out a couple of years ago and we have tested at rwybs and last years Extreme Bike Weekend. The bike has a Puma Top Fuel bottom end to the engine and runs methanol with two in-line turbos with a large one feeding a smaller one , which gives the engine a lot more boost'. The bike ran a 7.105 in qualifying with a 197mph speed, however there are problems getting the bike off the line and consequently spinning the tyre. The team intends to run in FIM competition eventually.

Funny Bike racer Luc Raeymaekers from Belgium suffered with nitrous problems and had to change a valve in the system before the second session. 'The bike went well but there was a strong wind which caught me and caused the bike to go close to the wall so I had to come off the throttle' he said. Although Luc has owned the bike for seven years this is his first appearance at SPR and he plans also to contest the National Finals. The bike is a Kawasaki engine with MTC head with large valves and a Wiseman four speed transmission with slider clutch. Despite qualifying ninth of thirteen organisers have set a 16 bike ladder meaning he will appear in round one.

Funny Bike racer Marc Vanden Boer from Belgium is also at his first meeting at SPR. He has raced in Germany, Sweden and Denmark and has had his current machine for two years. The methanol-fuelled engine is a Competition Cycle item designed for fuel with an Opcon Autorotor supercharger. His qualifying time was 8.15/157 for no.5 position.

Funny Bike racer Dale Leeks (pictured with father and crew Andy) had engine problems before the event. 'On Monday we did some maintenance and found a crack in the crankcase which meant we needed to rebuild the engine. We finished on Saturday morning at 3am at the track and decided to up the power and it worked and I ran a PB of 7.287/167. Thanks to team mate Stuart Crane and his team who worked all week to rebuild the bottom end'. This is Dale's second year in the class with a nitrous bike formerly run by Stuart Crane but lengthened. Sponsorship comes from MPM Oil and Draper Tools.

Tony Morris of BLP is pictured with dad Roy, who raced in the UK in the 1970s. During that decade he moved to Germany setting a trend followed by Tony who subsequently moved to Florida, racing in both countries before starting work for Bo Laws Performance Products (BLP). Tony said 'The company was taken over by its founders' son three years ago and its main business is manufacturing carburettors for its customers. The customer base is from a wide range of US motorsports and drag racing in Australia and the UK. In the UK Jeff Bull represents BLP products and the carb for Belinda's Comp Eliminator car was developed in conjunction with them and Sonny Leonard'. The carburettor used by Belinda has a billet body to replace a stock body and to cope with 5.3" bore spacing for a big cubic inch body. It is designed for Top Sportsman and Top Dragster and flows 2250 cfm and is much easier to tune and more consistent than a pair of four barrel carbs, allowing lower fuel pressure. Tony thanks Jeff and Belinda for their hospitality; in return the BLP carb helped Belinda to run a personal best of 7.10/194.

Pro Mod racer Rick Garrett and crew Ryan, Daniel, Rick and Nick were chasing down a problem. In qualifying Rick ran a 6.731/208 to go fourth.

Pro Mod racer Wayne Nicholson suffered an oil leak in his pass yesterday and apologised for bringing racing to a conclusion while it was being cleaned up. He said 'We are happier now as we have resolved the problem we had starting the engine and getting it to idle properly. The issue was to do with the fuel and ignition combination. We ran quick before and plan to tune the car to those numbers soon. It's been the highest of highs and lowest of lows'.

Pro Mod racer Kev Slyfield has a new T-Bird car from Andy Robinson Race Cars which he tested at Easter and on his first full pass ran a 6.78/209. He said 'We picked the car up in the second week in January and spent two months stripping running gear from the Willys and putting them in the T-Bird and then sent the car to ARRC for the final bits to be done. The new car feels better and I am more confident in it. It is much more stable at the top end which is down to aerodynamics'. The body is imported from the US and after the engine blew at Easter Kev installed a new 521cu in Brad Anderson engine.

Pro Mod racer Roger Moore ran a 6.80/200 but was expecting better. 'We had a high speed misfire so although the launch with a soft tune was pleasing and the car was more stable with the new gear ratios. Our main problem is a lack of power'.

Pro Mod racer Chris Isaacs ran his first six, 6.92/209. Co-owner Spencer Tramm said 'We made a slight change on Friday to how the engine builds boost on the two step in pre-stage. We shortened the time that it takes to go to maximum boost, however we couldn't test on Friday due to rain. Yesterday in pre-stage the transbrake was not engaged and so the boost was only 3 1/2psi rather than the 10psi it should be. So the launch was slow but the car still picked up to 201mph. Today with full boost it launched much better and started to rattle the tyres at the top of first so Chris short shifted from second to third. We're taking baby steps but we're happy'. Pictured from left are Vince Pinhorn, Ray Guy, Spencer, Andrea Guy and Chris. The team say hello to team members Jed Guy and Scott Crookson who are crewing on other cars and to Rosie who can't be here today.

Pro Mod racer David Vegter was no.1 qualifier in the MPM Camaro but the car shook the tyres violently this morning. He said 'The track is good although the groove is quite narrow. The tyre shake was bad enough to break the clutch and we are repairing that. There is no mechanical problem apart from that. We can run well but everything has to be right'.

Pro Mod racer racer Bert Englefield had the heads off and co-owner Andy Wright under the rear end as the engine had a slightly burnt piston. The rear end problem was more serious as tyre shake was bad enough to break the rear chassis support member which required welding to take place. Andy said ruefully 'Things were good to that point' after a 6.63/221mph which was good for third place in qualifying.

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson was second with a 6.47/229 as the team worked to find optimal clutch settings. He said 'The car is a bit tricky to set up and we are still not getting down the track as well as we want or reaching its potential. The window of adjustment is narrow and we are still looking for the right combination'.

Nostalgia Funny Car racers Tim Garlick (pictured right) with Perry Antoniou (pictured left) and car builder Rob Loaring of I.C.E. Automotive are preparing the car for its initial full pass after a year of testing with no breakage. Perry said 'We will run a full pass here or at Dragstalgia and are delighted with the car'. The title Apache is according to Perry a reference to the facial profile of the owners and the stunning paint job was designed with that as the brief for the assignment.