Super Twin racer Ronny Aasen had a piston problem and ran only a 11.2/74 yesterday. A lot of work overnight by the Zodiac crew was for naught when the engine produced smoke on the launch and then cut off.

Pro Modified racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco Maurischat has the same car and setup we last saw in 2013 at Hockenheim. He said 'It was parked in my workshop for a year and a half as I was busy with my company. I have made some upgrades to comply with the safety rules and overhauled the TFX engine and DMPE blower and it is running well. After a 6.6s pass on soft settings yesterday and overpowering the track on the second pass, we have an ignition problem today when the rev limiter cut in when I shifted into third.

Pro Modified racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson ran a 6.52 and 6.29 yesterday despite inadvertently punching the shift button twice to go from first to third. 'That was a driver issue', he admitted. 'We have made engine updates over the winter mainly around the supercharger'.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Dennis Habermann (pictured with Jürgen Nagel) had a problem with a broken piston yesterday but fortunately no other damage apart from a burst panel. He said 'Timo and Jürgen flew to California two weeks ago to pick up parts that hadn't arrived'. The repairs resulted in a pair of 5.46s today.

Pro Modified racer Jean Dulamon made a huge leap in his PB from 6.60 to 6.30 after a new, larger engine and installation by Dick Koster of a shift light that was visible even in race control. Jean said 'I was able to raise the revs to 8600 rather than 7600 with the shift light. I was excited to run so quick even though the scoop left the hood'. Jean says hello to wife Mary who is watching from home in Southern France and thanks crew Benoit and Thierry.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Steph Milam was delighted to have run her PB and second five second pass of 5.91/232 in the third session. She said 'We have put some new pieces on the valve train and they are working well'. As mentioned Steph will be running the ex Dan Larsen and Gareth Ellis Dodge Stratus to which the team will transplant the running gear from the current Dodge Avenger, which will be for sale as a rolling chassis at the end of the year.

Happy Birthday to Pro Modified racer Kev Slyfield, pictured with crew members Brian and James. Kev ran a new PB of 6.40/221, his quickest in the new car by some way. He said 'In the two runs yesterday we had massive tyre shake. But we had some data and used that to make a setup that gave us a good time this morning. It was the first full power pass we had in the new car. Now we have more data to fine tune further so we are not quite there.

Top Fuel Dragster and Top Methanol Dragster crew chief Peter Lantz will be helping driver Stefan Gunnarson at the next event at Tierp to license in Top Fuel Dragster. Pictured with Peter is Ben Allum who has been crew chief for Andy Carter and Chris Andrews. The focus will continue to be on the A/Fuel car. Peter said 'There is a great challenge with A/Fuel and a lot of things to learn. We have a brand new engine but there are lots of little problems, so we want to do well but without breakages, you have to be patient. We have an ignition problem but the car has run 218mph at the eighth which is consistent with a low 5.2. Stefan and Maria are not here just for fun and he is a great driver'. Why a move to Top Fuel now? 'We have an Top Fuel oil ring kit and a surplus of yellow paint so why not?'

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Jürgen Nagel was pleased to have fitted a new PSI blower in two weeks to replace the previous Whipplecharger (which will not be allowed in FIA after 2015). The car ran two early shut-off 5.9s today. Crew cheif Frank Schlemmer said 'We want to creep up on it and don't want to overstress the engine too early'.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Tethys has moved teams to Erbacher and is driving Urs' no.1 car. He said 'I am racing just for this event and Urs is driving at three other FIA races this year. The car is very similar to the one I drove last year as the rules make them very close in design. On the first run it went up in smoke, on the second run there was shake and the engine lost the blower belt. The third run was good, sluggish off the line and then the tyres lost traction and it started fishtailing so I shut off. The team are fantastic, unfortunately some had medical problems and can't be here. They have worked around each problem as we found it and many thanks to Urs, Robin, Monika and Ferrett'.

Funny Car crew chief Bob Jarrett was pleased with the Showtime car driven by John Spuffard running a 4.40/282. He said 'We had been working on a tune-up for Europe for over two years but in the end it felt out of control and we couldn't make it work. At Easter the fuel injector blew off. So we have got a new John Force blower and clutch management system, the right kit and started adapting settings for the US which suit the limited adjustability of the parts. The 4.4 looked easy, but the best runs always do. It should help us move forwards quickly but not at the expense of too many parts. I feel better about the car than I have done for the last four years'. The team will be running at Bug Jam and the Euro Finals.

Super Pro ET racer Mick Howling is in the Whoopass Monza of Paul Marston racing for the first time since he first learned in it ten or so years ago. 'I wanted to do my first eight and that happened on my second pass and then I moved up to fourth place behind three perfect ETs. It's my first time in Super Pro and it's a great class. We will be running it at the Euros and may double enter to Super Comp as well'.

Super Comp racer Rene Kloss is qualified no.1 at 8.9001 in his old dragster which is now owned by Paul Marston Racing. Rene has acquired a 1986 Camaro to replace it and will get it to the track in June. He said 'It's great to do well in my second event here in a strong Super Comp field. Tony Morris is helping us with settings remotely from Orlando.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Al Wiliamson ran a new PB of 8.43/167 on his first run of the event. He said 'After then we had a transbrake issue that was bogging the car down on the line'. Al has now two radiators fitted, either side of the Procharger. 'We didn't like the cruise as we were always getting disqualified from it but now we look forward to it'. The cruise is scheduled for 17:25 and will start with a parade of cars up the track. Al and team members June and Ian thank Peter Walters for their new 'Howlin' Haulers' crew shirts.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Matt Smith qualified ninth with a 8.39/169. He said 'Our main change was to get Jon Webster to have the chassis changed and re-tagged to 7.50, there have been no engine changes. It performs well for a steel car and we hope to get down to 8.1 in time'. The engine is a SBC with twin GTX40 turbos, the power output being sufficient to put the car into some small wheelstands.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Martin Smith in the Nissan R35 GTR had a cpomplete engine rebuild over winter with 7% better flow in the cylinder head, a new Garrett GT4508 turbo and compression ratio up from 8.6 to 10.7. He said 'We are using just small boost at the moment and releasing full boost nearer and nearer the start line to try and improve our 60ft times from the current 1.24. To run a 7.5 is our objective'. Martin runs a two speed 'Glide trans.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Gary Gooding's Supra is unfortunately out with water found in cylinders four and five. The team initially thought it was head gasket damage, however on inspection it had hurt two pistons.

Pro ET and Super Gas racer Bob Molden found a damaged head gasket after the race at Shakey. He said 'We put a diaper on the car as it is a requirement at Hockenheim and when we took the exhaust off we noticed the head gasket damage. The repairs worked well as our best ET of 9.71 is very close to our PB of 9.69'.

Pro Modified racer Tero Laukkanen said that his journey from Finland to the UK took almost four days. 'We have changed a lot on the car and the team. We have a new crew chief, Jari Hietenen, and Brad Personnet is still our tuning consultant but over the internet for this race. The chassis and rear end have been changed and the engine balance has improved to give smoother power. We want to go forward and not up!' Thanks to crewman Kettil Rautio for interpretation.

Top Fuel Bike racer Filippos Papafilippou has a great paint job on his repaired Pro Mod bike. He said 'We have made no changes in the mechanical area, and want to go quicker than the 6.6s we have recorded so far. We are trying to figure out the clutch and avoid tyre spin in second and third gear'. The engine is a nitrous aspirated Vance and Hines. Also in the pits is a brand new Funny Bike with a Timblin chassis from the US with a Puma Pro One engine and many innovations. The plan is to test this bike at rwybs in June and July.

Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg suffered engine damage on his first pass. 'The start line was sticky but in second gear the fuel was too lean and the cylinder head was damaged. We can fix it but not here so we are out of the event. My thanks go to King Racing for helping supply rods and other parts'.

Top Fuel Bike racer Nick Milburn ran a PB of 7.18, his previous best being 7.59 at last year's National Finals. He said 'We ran at Easter with a new rear wheel we fitted over winter and had to get the spacing right on that. We had also got new pistons, sleeves and fuel pump. Then we found the primary belt was rubbing into the plate and needed to re-machine the cover'. Nick is supported by girlfriend Tanya Hardy (pictured), Craig Bolton and Vince Bailey.