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15:30

Clayton Round said "On our first round the tyre shake caused the engine to twist slightly which broke a motor mounting and the tailshaft housing as well as the oil filter plate. We're grateful to the Darren Law of the Wicked Lady team for the loan of a oil filter plate, and to Bob Glassup for his help in welding the engine mounts. We got out in the second round and had a little tyre shake on launching and shifting, but the car ran as straight as a die to a 7.08. On the third run, the burnout went well and on the launch the power was there for about half a second before the HT lead was dislodged from the points box. In the fourth round, we had a good launch with a 1.0 sixty ft time. We ran a 6.98/192 but the car was awfully light at the top end and I was about two feet from the barrier in the right hand lane. We need to take some rear wing out or put a front wing on to cure this. But we're really pleased as our previous best here was 7.19. The track was very good."

Phil Hartley of Giles & Hartley Racing was pleased the car ran well with a 7.64s best time. "We would have been up against Ashley Bell. Next year is the twentieth anniversary of us running the same car. Dave Wilkinson had it imported from the States after it had only run a handful of passes. We took it into Andy Robinson's to have a couple of frame rails done and he said the chassis was only an eighth of an inch out of true from front to back, which is pretty amazing. We've won seven or eight national championships with it". Can readers think of any other team that has run the same chassis for the same length of time?

Andy Frost said he is grateful to Pete Williams, Kevin Scott, Wayne Allman and all his crew for getting the repair work done on Red Victor Two.

Nick Gay (Sportsman ET)has taken delivery of a new Quaife Torque Biasing differential for the Metro Pickup. He said, "The new diff has got a gearset that reapportions torque to the driving wheels better than a limited slip diff. In the coming week we will install it and will test at SPR next weekend, time permitting. We've been having trouble with gearboxes over the years and once managed to get a damaged differential from the scrapyard here from which we used the good parts to repair the car. Over the winter we made a new fibreglass bonnet for the car. The motor is a smaller 1600cc unit as we melted all our spare pistons for the 1800cc unit. We have had to reduce the boost from 8 to 5 psi on our Sprintex double speed helix blower." Nick is also DJ on Skyline 102.5 community radio station which broadcasts on-line. He hosts a gig guide on Wednesday evenings and manages to include some drag racing content.

Steve Venables (Super Street Bike) won his first round race against Steve Wood tidily, but his 7.425 was not quite enough to back up the 7.329 for a new ACU record. "We are pleased to reset the ACU mph record to 198.55, but really wanted to run a 200 this weekend. I've stepped the power up from the Thunderball and optimising the chassis setup helps the perfomance a lot." Like most other runners in the class, Steve is running a Mickey Thompson MCR2 tyre at 7-10 psi depending on conditions.

Richard Colby (Outlaw Anglia) said "It's our second full season racing. I built the car myself over a period of twelve and a half years and am now living the dream. I learned new skills such as welding and car wiring. The engine is a 350 cu in small block Chevy with supercharger and nitrous via two Holley 750 double pumper carbs. The trans is a Powerglide from Al's Glides." Richard, who is a lorry driver by trade, had a best of 9.406/142.95 before the event. Qualifying produced a new PB of 9.269/147.33. "I would like to thank my crew, my dad Norman Colby, brother-in-law Paul Thompson and his son Lee Thompson", said Richard.

12:00

Bill McDermid and Colin Lazenby were two Real Steel Street Eliminator racers unable to start the cruise, which commenced at 16:30. We understand Bill has installed a new fuel pump during the weekend and Colin has had gearbox woes, and new transmission parts did not arrive in time. All other runners completed the cruise.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery go to Splinter's crew chief Mick Franklin who cracked a bone in his back last weekend and is being missed by the team. Splinter said "The mile per hour is up there, we just need a better ET and we are trying to adjust the four link to improve traction in the first 60 ft.

Ray Comer and Jeff Meads both reported electrical gremlins during Sunday, but nevertheless finished the cruise.

Jon Webster said that he has been working on mapping and boost control of the turbo engine in the MG SVR and things were "coming together well."

Congratulations to Neil Hunter who ran his first nine in Pro ET round one but in the process broke out and lost to Steve Bolton. He reportedly said "There was no way I was going to lift." Neil is running a transbrake for the first time this weekend.

Derek Flynn reported that the team had leaned out the fuel on his TMD but cylinder temperatures remained below optimum. He had to lift on the subsequent run when the car got out of the groove.

Joe Bond said "We've had a cracking weekend. We had some escapades and a good run. On the run against Jim Usher the burnout was wayward and the car seemed to follow those tyre tracks on the launch with both wheels in the air. When they came down I realised I was in the middle of the race track and lifted and steered back. I went to see Jim and we were able to have a laugh about it. We then worked on the valve train and today's run was a personal best time and speed, 7.37/187. I had my foot down to the end, but the car weaved about third of the way down the track and I had to lift momentarily. The engine in the altered is the same as from the Top Methanol Dragster, but is being run a little softer with a smaller bar."

Fellow NFAA competitor Tony Betts was delighted with a 6.68/182. "It was a strong pass, but the car nosed over at three quarter track and I pulled the 'chutes. The car felt fine, the gear change was smooth and the only problem was the chute wrapped around one of the wheels. I believe this is the quickest Fuel Altered run in the UK with a single magneto, because Clive Mechaell went quicker but with a dual magneto setup." Tony thanks team members Kev Miller (crew chief), Steve Walker, Elaine and Kim. The Venom Team sponsors are Teng Tools and Superchargers Unlimited.

Andy Hone was pleasantly surprised with a 7.55/180.43 in Super Modified. "We tried something and it appears to have worked. We went looking for four hundredths and got nine and a half. We were looking at the option of sitting out the last qualifier, but though we'd chance our arm and go for it. I had a driver error in the burnout. Steve Rawlings was giving me a two-finger signal to remind me to pull both Lenco levers to burn out in second, but I didn't see it this time and burnt out in first poorly." As soon as he got back to his pit, Fred was on the phone with Graham Ellis who reassured him that his 7.547 class record was still safe. "I didn't plan to do all the rounds, but it's running so well I might have a crack at the Championship."

We also spoke to Steve Rawlings on his new car build, more on this anon.

After a successful Easter, Paul Marston Racing have had a fairly torrid Springspeed Festival. Tethys, driving the four-link dragster, said "We had problems with a failed alternator and starter motor, flat batteries, gear selector plate and throttle stop. "When you fix a problem and expect it to work you can become despondent. At least we have now run a 9.0 and are racing."