Wild Bunch racer Terry Clifford's car looks as good as when he first brought it out ten years ago. The car, which was originally run by Pat Cuss in Pro Comp in the 1970s, ran a 9.68 on 9.15 to go fourth out of five qualifiers.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Nigel Hale was one of several to auction a ride in the car for the cruise. The funds are being raised in support of for Bloodwise in memory of late SPRC Club Secretary and British Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee Paula Marshall. Sue Morris rode alongside Nigel, who qualified fifth at 10.519/127.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer David Murdoch has his car for sale. The turnkey '33 Willys runs consistent sevens and is a great way of getting into the class.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Matt Smith, who is leading the championship with a wide margin also qualified no.1 with a 7.58/188.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Gary Gooding is qualified no.2 with 7.82/174. He is placed third in the points and challenging for runner up position as no.2 place Stuart Williams is running a back-up car this weekend (see below).

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Martin Smith is running a back-up car, but that is probably a misnomer when you see the beautiful Dodge Charger, in Fast & Furious black. Martin said 'Unfortunately there was valve and piston damage after the Euro Finals but we are pleased we ran a 7.36 in the car in our first year with it'. Martin's passenger for the auctioned passenger ride was Lisa Bridge, the ride bought as a present by fiancee Glenn Pallant.

Super Street Bike racer Steve Venables ran a 7.068 in session one of qualifying and if backed up this would be a new ACU record. 'In the second session I short shifted, knocked it into second gear at low revs, and it went through the clutch, a shame as the 60ft time had been a 1.22. Although I'm leading the championship we still have the Extreme Bike weekend to go.

8.50 Bike racer Jay Roe came into the event leading the points and ran a 8.501 to qualify no.1 and consolidate his lead. Jay runs a Suzuki GSXR1000 with team Fossil Fuelers.

Comp Bike racer Sean Mills is no.1 with a 7.721/189. The bike is a test bed for Big CC products which you can find at www.bigccracing.com and contains a wealth of information.

Comp Bike racer Paul Hambidge is in no.2 place after the second session with a 7.808. He said 'We had lots of problems this year, mainly with boost control. We are getting back to where we wanted to be and building my confidence. The setup of my Kawasaki ZX12 turbo is still soft'. The turbo setup and charge cooler was built by Big CC Racing and tuning services provided by Brad O'Connor of BTC. 'He is a top guy and has made even me smile', he concluded.

Top Fuel Bike racer Steve Woollatt ran a 6.3067/185.84 to go no.1 in qualifying but couldn't start in session two. 'The sure shot used to prime the fuel system didn't have enough pressure, that was the only issue'.

Funny Bike racer Lorcan Parnell suffered a broken chain in the second session, not having put in a run in the first. 'The engine is ok', Barry Eastman said, 'We will try to get ready for the next session. The work has been non-stop since the engine dropped a valve at the Euro Finals. It hasn't been our year'.

Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg was no.2 with a 6.33/188, but suffered damage. 'The bike left on primary jets and broke a piston but have a spare. There is a problem with oil pressure and we are working on that. We will try for the next session'.

Funny Bike racer Kars van den Belt was a late entry but has been a performance revelation, running a PB 7.137/193.06. Other bikes running PBs were Phil Crossley (7.139), Dale Leeks (7.265) and Pete Le Gros (7.93), well done to them all.

Pro Mod racer Bobby Wallace has been in PB territory over the last week. He tested last weekend and ran 6.35, almost two tenths improved on his previous 6.54. In this event he ran 6.42, 6.50 and qualified fifth where he will meet Kev Slyfield in round one of eliminations.

Pro Mod racer Jean Dulamon had a gearchange issue that slowed him to 6.60 from a 6.43. He said 'We will be working on installing a Racepak over the winter and look forward to 2017's MSA championship'.

Pro Mod racer Kev Slyfield ran PBs in session one (6.296) and session three (6.284). His session two time was a 6.340. Team member Brian Cooper said 'We're really pleased, the performance is down to tuning, steadily improving our 60ft time with increased wheel speed. Kev is now driving through shake which is less than it has been.'

Pro Mod racer Roger Moore's daughter and crew member Lucy was cleaning replacement cylinder heads as the team tried to improve on their 6.60 in session one and 6.50 in session two. Roger said 'We need to run a 6.4 and so are taking a gamble with new rings, pistons and whatever else is left in the box and missing session three. We're in the field but all the cars are running. The racers in the class are also keeping these quick cars going which is good for the class.'

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco Maurischat ran a new PB of 6.136/227 in session one. He said 'In our second run we lost some power at the start and didn't have enough wheel speed so it shook quite badly. We are trying to set up and will run a championship next year, but haven't decided whether it will be the FIA series or the MSA championship.

Pro Mod racer Michel Toren had problems all day and his best was 6.863, just short of the bump spot of 6.857 set by Wayne Nicholson. Michel said 'We have all new clutch plates and are struggling to modify the setup for them. We also have bead lock wheels which alters the wheelspeed and it was way too much for the car which gave us more tyre shake'. Michel will be no.1 alternate tomorrow.

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson had handling trouble with tyre shake. Crew chief Mark Balzaretti said 'It fell off the tyre as there was not enough tyre speed, so we are changing the gear ratios to something lower. We ran a 0.98 60ft time but it was not enough. We plan to get from A to B on full throttle'. In the third session he burnt out and the fuel tank cap came off. Andy hadn't taken the green light, so he was allowed a second short burnout and ran a 6.176/230.

9.50 Bike racer Jari Malinen is visiting from Finland with his Kawasaki ZX12R and qualified sixth with a 9.860.

VW Pro Racer Sam Young broke the world record for an electric doorslammer at 8.282/159.09 at VW Action and dialled in that ET for the first session this morning. Ollie said 'We will run as fast as we can at this event'.

VW Pro Racer Andrew Burton is qualified fourth with 11.75 on 11.50 dial in his 2332cc Beetle Betelgeuse.

Super Comp racer Paul Brown has been able to return in his backup car following a scary finish line accident which damaged his shorty dragster. He said 'This car is actually for sale and up until yesterday didn't even have an engine in it. We prepared the car to continue the championship race'. Paul came into this race effectively only 130 points off the lead as he has a 200 point bonus for attending all rounds.

Super Pro ET racer Billy Gane has had a busy season and is in the lead in the championship. His startline crew Shell Suit Paul and Tim Clarke are in 118 outfits which they and twenty others wore to Glenn Pallant's stag do last weekend. The 118 is sadly not down to a sponsorship deal, but comes from Glenn's race number. As to Billy's season, he said 'It's all come down to the last meeting and any of the top five could win. I'm happy with the way the car has run all season'.

Super Pro ET racer Mo Blackburn, pictured with Roger Sinclair, is back in the seat of Roger's S&K Racing Dragster. He said 'I first drove the car at the Summernationals and have raced my altered at the Main Event and Euro Finals. I was chuffed to run an 8.288 on 8.27 dial in on my first run this weekend. The cars are totally different to drive. You wrestle the altered whereas you drive the dragster. The altered seems faster even though it is actually half a second slower. But you notice the track more after 1000ft in a solid suspension car.'

Super Pro ET racer Rick Cooke is at his final Santa Pod championship event. 'I will do the Shakey rounds next year and try to run my first seven there. I love driving it but all the work on it away from the track takes its toll and work has become incredibly busy too. So I will eventually put the car up for sale'. Rick ran 8.27 on an 8.20 dial to go tenth after two sessions.

Super Pro ET racer Brad Jackson is qualified seventh after two sessions. He said 'The year didn't go too well at first but winning the Open Sports Nationals and Euro Finals back-to-back was a real game-changer and now I can get a good position for Lucas Oil. This has been my third year with Nick Good Motorsport and it's been problem-free and I couldn't wish for a better team. Eventually I would like to step up to run a Pro class dragster if there is funding for it, but I am looking forward to next year with Nick'.

Super Pro ET car owners Geof Hauser and Nick Good are in a champion chase with Brad in second and Scott in third. Geof is selling sportsman dragster chassis and one order came from Latvia for an electric powered car that impressed many at the 2016 NitrOlympX. Nick plans to again run three cars in 2017, with his supercharged six second car potentially receiving some attention in the supercharger department.

Super Pro ET racer Chris Parker, crewed by wife Becky, has enjoyed his second season with the Nick Good Motorsport Team. The Windscreen Wizards car's driver said 'We did what we set out to do by setting ourselves small goals and then achieving them. One of them was to still be in contention at this stage and we just hope to go as far as possible at this event'. The couple attend races in the US as spectators in the UK winter months.

Pro ET racer Lee Huxley is close to a second championship in a row with the Team Dark Horse Mustang. He said 'After last season, we wanted to come to the track, not worry about the championship and just had some fun. My dad Brian has raced Pro ET four times and I have three times so far. The new Powerglide transmission has helped our consistency, and our only problem was the brake pedal breaking when I ran Super Pro. We took the nitrous off for this qualifier which reduced the ET from 8.92 to 9.32. But as our PB without nitrous was 9.36 perhaps some nitrous was still in the pipe'.

Pro ET racer Karen Stevens was, in between qualifying sessions, revising for her exam to get VW Service Adviser accreditation. 'We had a new engine during the year following overheating problems from 2015 which recurred. As a result we couldn't bed the cam in properly and damaged three of those. So we changed to a 502 Chevy which runs low tens'. Karen's partner Mike Lacey has put his Camaro up for sale and is lining up a 2014 Mustang Super Cobra which he will acquire 'if all the planets are aligned', she said.

Sportsman ET racer Stephen Cherrett and brother Dave are being crewed by Neil Hunter who has breakage on both his cars. Neil said 'The convertor and trans of the Capri were smashed at Shakey and the oil pump on the Firebird seized and then broke again after repairing it. So I'm happy just tuning Stephen's road Astra's chassis. Stephen said 'It's great to have so many new competitors in Sportsman ET and a field of 32 cars at Bug Jam which is fun and relaxed for us'.

Sportsman ET Jordan Cowley was entered as driving dad Geoff's double championship-winning Camaro, however the clutch pack broke and he is driving his road-legal BMW instead.

Pro ET racer Glenn Pallant, with bride-to-be Lisa, had their respective stag and hen dos last weekend. Now (just about) recovered, Lisa has a bridal head dress to remind us of the upcoming nuptials. Glenn qualified ninth with a 9.42 on 9.38 dial after two sessions.

Super Comp racer Pete Creswell is leading the SPRC Championship and fifty points off the lead in the National Championship. He said 'Our best events were the Main Event and Euro Finals whiich we won and redeemed our performance at the Summernationals. We have been running our spare engine for two seasons and after this event the short block will be going into a road car and we will get a new short block'. Pete assembles his own engines after I.C.E. Automotive supply and machine components.

Pro ET racer Will Clarke is the class's youngest racer at 16 years old - and possibly its tallest at 6ft 5in. Dad Andrew Clarke who was crew for Tim Adam and has followed the sport since 1971 at Blackbushe, has got the imported car running so well it won the Euro Finals against a mega-tough field. 'We imported the dragster from the US on 1 April and then had it rewired and changed from an electrically operated to air-shifted gearchange. The engine is a GSXR1000. He said 'The Euros was the turning point as we were able to use all six gears for the first time. We plan to do a full year in 2017'.

Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator racer Stuart Williams, second in the championship, has suffered more late-season mechanical woes resulting in use of a back-up car. He said 'For a year and a half we were battling cylinder heads lifting which caused other issues. We fixed it for the Open Sports Nationals and won the event and set a new track record and won the event. When we took it apart though, we found damaged bearings which were due to oil pressure surging and aerating the liquid which reduced its effectiveness. We will get a dry sump system for next year with aluminium rods. So to attempt to defend our position I brought my Mitsubishi Evo IV which has four wheel drive and is fast but streetable.' After recording a 12.99 in the first session, the car idled down the track in the second, and we hope that the driveline is intact.

Race Control staff at Santa Pod Raceway were delighted to have received this Pavlova from Chris and Sam Ward.

Super Twin Top Gas racer Markus Mueller was crew for Funny Bike racer Thomas Joswig for many years and now has his own bike which he aqcuired from former Euro Top Gas racer Simon Lewis. A 10.052/129 made him no.3 qualifier.

There were thirty VWs entered for this event and 29 of those made the first two qualifying sessions.