Pro Mod racer Kev Slyfield suffered tyre shake on both his passes in his Thunderbird and ran a best of 7.41/148 to go 15th at the end of the first day of qualifying for the class with two sessions remaining.

Super Street Bike racer Graham Dance ran a 7.5 in testing on Thursday but after a fuel system clean-out the bike started running rich. He said 'We are fighting fires and really still in test mode. We have got different systems and changed the clutch and the bike has thrown us a curved ball. We are trying to move forward'.

Super Street Bike racer Peter Adorjan from Austria is racing at Santa Pod for the first time with crewman Sigi (pictured left). He said 'I began eight years ago with a Honda X11 which made 290hp but then I had a nitrous explosion so decided to go for a turbo. I built the Blackbird six years ago with a small turbo but now have a self-built Garrett GT35 setup with a Dynatek ARC-2 ignition system. The package is good but we are struggling to get a good time and have only run a 9.0 best. We also race at Kunmadaras, Bechyne and Hockenheim'. The team won the Peoples' Choice bike award at the recent Locomotion show out of 70 entries and more about the team can be seen at chili-dragrace.com.

Super Street Bike racer Rick Stubbins is racing for the first time since 2012 under the banner of Protek again. He said 'The bike is brand new and self-built. The engine is 1340cc and has a new turbo system based on a Garrett GT35, and the clutch is MTC Gen2. There is a billet plenum on the charge cooling system and AMS2000 boost control which we are only starting to find and use the features on. On the first run the bike jumped out of gear due to an electronic glitch'. Rick's plan for this year is to attend UK meetings, the Tierp International, Hockenheim and possibly Hungary. His crew member is Nigel Stott who has forty years of experience in sprints and drag.

Top Fuel Bike racer Steve Woollatt had a frustrating day as new parts on the bike get bedded in. Crew chief Phil Baimbridge said "We have new injector by Carlo Gandolfi as the previous one was too small for the blower and need to dial that in. At least there hasn't been the bottom end problems of last year but we need to go further down the track to get some decent data'. The team are considering attending a rwyb to dial the bike in before their next planned race at Hockenheim.

Top Fuel Bike racer Otto Knebl is racing in memory of the late Brian Johnson and have made a tribute on the cowling of the Imperial Wizard bike, Brian's last machine. Otto said '13 April was the day Brian died and my birthday too and we will always remember him.' On Otto's second qualifier a pin came out of the rear brake so he was shut down, but the team with a 7.47/166 in the first session, are looking forward to improving tomorrow.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Liam Jones earned his licence with a storming pass of 4.11/291 that put him into no.2 qualifier. Team members Gary Page, Rob Stanley and Ian Pellant look happy and Gary remarked 'The car was moving about and Liam did a great driving job and showed the steering wheel is not just for hanging your handbag on'.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Birgitte Bremnes had her TF license signed off after a 4.26 which would have been quicker but for a broken blower belt. She said 'The car was just pulling and pulling, I hadn't experienced that on earlier passes. Birgitte licensed in Top Methanol Dragster at Easter 2013 here at SPR. In 2014 she drove the Islanders TMD at a meeting at Gardermoen. She compared driving the two cars: 'The staging process is easier in TF because the clutch is easier and you move forward on idle. With a TMD the rpm level has to be right and going down the track there are the gear changes. But it all happens so quickly in TF there is so much to take in and I struggle to tell the team about the run.' We will hopefully see Birgitte at other meetings but a sponsor is needed.

Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren suffered a broken spark plug part of which went into the valve train. The result was the need to rebuild the top end of the engine which meant that he was unable to make the second session. His 6.69/205 gave him fourth place at the end of the day.

Pro Modified racer Rick Garrett ran a new PB for each incremental going to 6.36 at an early shut off 203. He said 'There is more to come, we haven't changed anything in our settings since Easter when the engine broke a rod. We will be doing all UK rounds of the MSA championship'. Rick's son Ryan who has done some licensing passes in Rick's car, is looking to get his own car later in the season and the team are looking for a good car to buy or will adapt a '56 Chevy they have in storage but is too big.

Pro Stock Bike racer Kenneth Holmberg ran a new PB 7.27/184 to go fourth in the first session. He said 'The bike is lighter as we have put more Swecomposite carbon fibre parts on it. We also have a new exhaust pipe and new carburretor settings on the rebuilt engine'. Engine work is by Pro Service High Performance tuning in Sweden.

Pro Stock Bike racer Allan Davies ran also ran a PB of 7.69/175. Allan races under the Gipp Racing team colours (black) and said 'This is my first time on the PSB since the Euro Finals as I am running a Funny Bike in the ACU championship. We put more compression in the engine and it is now up to 19:1 and the bike runs nice and straight. There is more to come, especially when the wire stays on the data logger switch!'

Pro Stock Bike racer Mark Smith is on the bump spot with a 7.70/172. He said 'We are pleased as we have a new engine and have not had the time to do any testing. We also have a new MSD ignition system with data logger and new clutch. We hope the data obtained can give us a good baseline to work from'. PSB looks now like an eight bike field with twelve entries on site.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Stig Neergaard said after the first qualifier 9.33 'There is too much power and it was not easy to tune. We will now take power out'. Stig's team has four new crew members who are new to Top Fuel, and John Smith is busy this weekend with Kebin Kinsley in the Gas Monkey Garage team in NHRA competition. Stig added 'We are in touch with John over the weekend and he will join us later in the season'.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkelä is joined by US racer and tuner Dom Lagana. She said 'Due to business commitments we had to miss the Euro Finals. But now our new poultry house is finished and the chickens are in. We will be doing a full season and have freshened parts and updates. In the session this morning a leaking air pressure bottle resulted in the clutch system failing to be activated. Dom knew that something was wrong but I didn't have radio contact and wanted to get a time on board. The only damage was a broken blower belt'.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Duncan Micallef suffered shake on a planned eighth mile pass. He said 'We are well prepared for the season and have the same 2009 Hadman chassis as last year with some new clutch parts. Duncan also has two new team members, Leon and Stepan who were with Risto Poutiainen. New sponsors are Manta (electronic goods) and Kamatech (spray paint machinery). And RF Racing has US crew chief Jimmy Walsh as tuning consultant.

Pro Stock racer Thomas Lindström went 6.60/208 in the first session to qualify second. He said 'My objective for the season is to finish higher than last season's fourth place. We haven't made many changes from last season, the performance is largely down to track and air conditions'.

Pro Modified racer Mats Eriksson said his car construction and metalworking business are very busy. 'I am working from 4am to 7pm rather than 7am to 4pm' he said. Mats went to Tierp to do some test launches to get comfortable in the car again after the winter break. The car has a new front with Docol tubing ahead of the firewall. He said 'We are glad to be here and love seeing our fans visiting us. Our team is also Swedish and thanks to L-G, Adam Flamholc, Jan 'Exon' Ericsson and guest Nettan Heleander'. Mats runs, a 6.10 and 5.95 put him in no.1 position after two sessions.

Pro Modified racer David Vegter made a change from clutch to convertor with a B&J three speed transmission. He said 'We tested at Malmö to get a baseline setup and need more tuning'. New team member is Willem van Baalen of sponsor WVB and David also welcomes Sonic Equipment (hand and garage tools) whilst MPM Oil remain as associate sponsors. Best wishes to Robert Joosten whose car arrived in Europe too late for the event and Marc Meihuizen who is sitting the season out while he looks for sponsorship.

Pro Modified racer Roger Johansson put in some test passes on Thursday. He said 'This morning the first run started quite decently but then got loose down track and I clicked it off after four seconds. Running a good time means having to get the gear shifts right down the track as well as the car settings - it's the total package. The track surface is good'.

Pro Modified racer Roger Moore was also talking about shift points after a 6.48 pass. 'I had shake but drove through it but it's difficult to get the shift points right when you get shake and are fighting the car'. A change for this year is new 'bullhorn' headers which are self-fabricated by Roger. 'We had to take a centimeter off the end as the flames out of them were melting the sponsor decals'.

Pro Modified racer Norbert Kuno sat out the first session as he felt the track would not suit the car's setup. 'It looked a bit slippy and I know it will be fine by the second session. The car is in good shape, we had some fuel problems but they are fixed. Our setup should be good for a 6.0'. Norbert was proved right when his initial pass was a great 6.09/231. Norbert's second car is on the programme in Super Pro ET with Karsten Enzian down to drive. Unfortunately Karsten was taken ill and is in hospital following an operation so Norbert is considering other options while Karsten recovers.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Dave Wilson is clear that his car is for sale. The car has run 5.2s and Dave has a mountain of expertise in running an unblown nitro car. His initial pass this morning was 5.6/211 early shut-off.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Stefan Gunnarson has Peter Lantz as crew chief, the car being unblown nitro. Stefan was on Jonny Lagg's team as 'diver' on the bottom end of the engine. After the run, Peter said 'There have been some ignition issues we are working on'. The car is imported from Todd Datweiler in the US.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Jonny Lagg is no.1 qualifier after the first session. Crew chief Krister Johansson said 'We lost a couple of cylinders on the run and hopefully there's no head damage.' There has been much investment in a new engine and other parts to ensure Jonny can get past round one.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Timo Habermann had to go to the US personally when parts were delayed. He came back with a new fuel pump and other parts, ran a 5.5s early shutoff in testing on Thursday he ran a further 5.5s to go no.2 after the first session. Timo said he is looking to run a 5.1s pass and we wouldn't dount that happening this season with their unique Arias/PSI combination. It is good to see team owner Werner Habermann here after a neck operation.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Stef Milam has bought the ex-Dan Larsen TMFC. So this is the last outing for her Daytona bodied machine which is for sale. After Jürgen Nagel suffered a fuel leak on the burnout and Danny Bellio broke an engine when a lifter failed, Stef was the only qualifier after session one.

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco Maurischat ran a 6.66 on his first run after a year out. It's his first appearance at SPR since the 2011 Euro Finals. For more details on the car, see the MSA Drag Racing Championship web site.

Pro Mod racer Wayne Nicholson is fully repaired after his Easter incident however the tyres spun on the launch.

Pro Mod racer Peter Wacker is back after a 10 year layoff. The '57 Chevy, built by Andy Robinson Race Cars with engine work by I.C.E. Automotive. His first pass was 7.73/181 without utilising nitrous so a lot more to come. Readers may remember Peter's near vertical wheelie a number of years ago when a wheelie bar broke.

Pro Mod racer Jean Dulamon has seemingly overcome the nitrous problems he had in 2013 and a largely missed season last year. The engine size has increased to 872cu in with a new unit in place, and his first pass was 7.07/203, going the long way round.

Pro Mod racer Thomas Stiefel had a burst panel go when firing it up. Colour commentator and Eurodragster.com sponsor Dick Koster said that the fuel flow may have been too rich. Thomas is moving up to Pro Mod from Competition Eliminator, in his Andy Robinson-built car.