Blown Alky Altered pilot Joe Bond had a moment when the car went left after the launch. "I felt something was wrong in the drive train because I lifted and the engine zinged when I went back on it." A large section of the third member was left lying on the track. Joe added "It has been used for about twenty years on my dad's car and now this so it is probably time it needed changing."

Pro Stock bike racer Dave Beck ran a 7.199 new ACU ET record. He said "That was a great run but I have gone 7.168 at the 2005 Allstar Nationals. It's not the quickest in Europe as Tom Tindahn ran a 7.165 at the 2007 Gardermoen Drag Challenge." The backup 7.26 included some wheelspin so Dave will soften the clutch for the final.

Top Fuel Bike rider Steve Carey has had a fraught weekend with a new slick and a higher nitro load making the bike want to go to the right on every pass. "We'll see what it's like in two weeks time", said Steve.

Andy Carter, pictured with son Albert, is here spectating. "The Top Fuel championship is going to be very tight at the Euro Finals. To prepare we are taking the car to Mosten to make two or three demo passes and thanks to Per and Karsten Andersen and the crew for their support and hard work. It's my first time there and I hear the traction is up to FIA standards." Fabled US tuner Jim Brissette will be with the team as consultant at the Euro Finals. Andy said a huge thank you to Lucas Oil and his associate sponsors. And in the off-season Andy is hoping to introduce Albert to motor sports with a junior kart series in Florida.

Dave Cherrett has done better in Pro ET than Super Street this weekend. "Next Saturday is my birthday and Mike Bentley's. In fact in 2004 it was my birthday at the event and I won it. I will be in both classes at the Euro Finals but the smaller number of classes running on Thursday mean I may need to miss some sessions.

We didn't get the chance to talk to VW Pro racer James Hodson but this VW Golf is a real sleeper. Totally stock appearance until you inspect the slicks on the front wheels and the dial-in of 10.8.

Pro ET no.1 qualifiers Liz and Iain Malcolm were happy with the weekend in spite of a first round loss to John Atkinson. Liz said "We went into first place in the second session and stayed there. This is our first weekend running a two-step and it has helped our consistency. It holds the car at a fixed rpm for the launch and has meant that we are able to run 10.9s all day long. We couldn't have wished to lose against a nicer competitor than John Atkinson and we are looking forward to the Euro Finals." Iain's business Apsley Transmissions has sponsored VW Pro and VW Sportsman this event.

Pro ET rookie Mick Cutts is living the dream, having been a spectator since the 70s and now competing in his first full meeting. "I did my observed runs at the Summer Nationals and am looking forward to competing in the National Championship. The car is the former Sanity Assassin of Ray Eldred which I bought as a rolling chassis and fitted a 383cu in SBC and Powerglide." Mick's previous racing experience is in karts and stock cars and he is helped at the track by son Steven.

Pro Stock bike rider Jerry Collier is happy after new personal bests and a holeshot win over Richard Gipp in the first round. "This is massive for me", said the Z1000 pilot. "The bike runs arrow straight. The wheel spun in first, second and third so I will soften the clutch and this will hopefully help get our 60ft time back from 1.2 to 1.1. It would be great to run a 7.7." Jerry will be crewing for Martin Bishop in the European Finals. "A massive thank you to Baz who is my supercrewman and Scott (pictured, left) who is my startline crew.

Top Fuel Bike racer Ian Turburville took out all the reflectors and had to suffer a number of football-related texts from fellow competitors. "It was a blessing in disguise", he said. "The engine was running beautifully and the tune-up was just right. When I launched it became clear that the slick was bad and it steered the bike towards the centre line. I went sideways and lifted but no matter what I did I couldn't miss the blocks. They were like magnets. When I got off the bike I saw the cylinder head had lifted. If I had stayed on it the engine could well have blown."

Supertwin Fuel racer Wendy Clutterbuck has parked her previous bike and is now running a new machine based on one formerly campaigned by father Steve Clutterbuck. Wendy said "We are here mainly to test; the bike has taken four weeks to rebuild. The engine is 114cu in (1850cc) with fuel injection and a slipper clutch. The bike feels good and there is a lot more power now." Wendy says the team is looking for a new home for the old STF bike, 'the family pet' which is for sale.

Super Pro ET racer Dave Ward is happy with the weekend. Mechanic Adrian said "There was a problem holding it on the line with the brake and line-lock yesterday; the car does not have a transbrake. We have Alien in the next round so we will need a good light." The team includes Adrian (mechanic), Geoff, Felicity (daughter), Ian (crew chief), Danny and Graham (start line).

Pro ET racer Bob Molden brought his White Noise Peugeot 205 which has had work done on the chassis, engine and radiator but looks remarkably similar to before. "We were unable to run it because of ignition problems but I am pleased the car is now tagged to 8.5s. It will need more time to get right so we may push the boat out and run it at the end of the year." Leeds-based Bob is only 40 mins from York Raceway and along with Mark Flavell, the Wild Bunch and Supercharged Outlaws races at all three UK tracks.

Fuel Altered pilot John Wright's chassis looks at first sight remarkably undamaged from his accident earlier. John is perfectly ok and even thinking about what it would take to get him back on track. "The car smoked the tyres, went sideways, I corrected but it was too far out and it just rolled. I switched the fuel off even before it went over but nitro engines take a time to stop. The engine is fine, the headers were going to be replaced anyway and we'll get the chassis back on the jig."

Super Street Bike rider Sean Mills suffered a dry sump suction pipe collapse that caused low oil pressure and major engine damage with metal pieces over the track. Sean runs Big CC which supplies turbochargers to six Super Street Bike runners and also carries out chassis mods and components. Sean said "This bike is really a test bench for Big CC products and I like to run things that others don't and prove they can work, for instance I have a stroker crank. But the changes we make are tough for getting consistency." The new engine with untried turbo settings ran a surprising 8.0 in a losing effort in the first round of eliminations.

Street Eliminator racer Ian Hook said "I have again been going home to work on the new engine for the car during evenings. It will be a 600cu in Ford aluminium block from C & C Motorsports. We will transfer the old tunnel ram from the old engine and the old crank but will put in a new dry sump which we have not used before. It's been hard getting parts from the US and the manufacturer of our head studs went bust."

Blown alky altered pilot Nick Davies said "It's our first time here since 2000. On the last the car shook the tyres in first so I short shifted and it went up on the wheelie bars hard so I had to get out of the throttle. We are back on the old tyres, the new ones we tried made the car go left. We will run the car at the Euro and National Finals and retire it after the fireworks meeting and concentrate on getting the Nostalgia Funny Car built."

Fellow NFAA runner Dave Grabham improved from a 7.42 PB to a 7.19 this event. He said "There are no new parts, we have just tweaked the engine and the clutch a bit. We ran a good side-by-side 7.3s run against Joe (Bond) with our speed 187 to 183. We could see him and it was definitely exciting for me - I only just crossed the centre line and it was always under control." Not such good news for other NFAA runner Frank Bennett who suffered chassis damage following unplanned aerial activities.

Outlaw Flat Four racer Richie Webb has owned his Beetle Convertible since 1992 and been racing it for seven years. He said "The cage was constructed by Jim Smith at Cotsweld and the gearbox by Pete Englezos at Cogbox. I did the power plant myself with the help of Bob Harman who did the machining." The engine develops around 500hp which was good for a new best of 9.671/139.85 in round one of eliminations. Richie said "The class is about new PBs and there is competition between the normally aspirated runners and turbo guys." Richie's crew is Matthew Sanchez who is also chairman and webmaster of the Outlaw Flat Four association. Richie is taking the car to the US to compete in the NHRA Sports Compact series.

The Heaven & Hell Pro ET team of Carla Pittau and Rick McCann are enjoying running two cars this year. Carla said "It is huge fun that Rick and I can race each other once again, many years ago we used to race on the street before we started doing our racing at the track and it's rejuvenated us." The H&H As Well '84 Camaro has had a few consistency problems which the team are addressing by looking at the four-link but Carla admitted it is a little hit-and-miss. "The old car has leaf springs so we are new to four-links." The Heaven & Hell car is meanwhile being unpredictable in the tyre department with wheelspin issues making dial-in setting a less certain task than usual.