Comp Bike racer Ivan Birch is on an ACU mph record after running 184mph in the first qualifying run. "It was quite a fraught start to the meeting as we discovered the input shaft had bent and Dave Beck helped to get us a new one installed. We think we can go faster because the nitrous is coming in quite suddenly off the start line and the bike goes up on the wheelie bar and unloads the rear wheel. Stopping a bike like this with a slider clutch is a little more tricky that a lockup clutch as the clutche disengages and there is no engine braking when you get off the throttle."

Fuel altered pilot Tony Betts is racing his new Venom 2 for the first time this weekend. He said "The car was built by Mike O'Brien in the US and we brought it over and then fitted the body which was supplied by Riggas in Canada. The lads worked every weekend to get the car ready and they were great. The running gear is mainly off the old car but with several important upgrades, a Kenny Gomez Superpower Unlimited 14-71 billet supercharger, Dave Settles fuel pump, new clutch and RPM on-board computer. We started the engine at North Weald to a huge reception. On our first run today the steering idler broke off with the front wheel vibration on the burnout.

While the Venom team were waiting for the car to be delivered from the US, they worked on this spacious trailer, built with the intention of the team running a full season in 2009. Pictured are Tony and son Charlie. Tony said "This year we will attend the Hot Rod Drags and National Finals and do some test passes.

This is the sad state of one of Dennis Wratten's cylinder heads. Crew member and brother Terry Wratten said "The engine had a dropped valve seat which caused the damage. We have spare heads but they are not an exact fit with the manifold so we have had to make up new gaskets. We were the only team to put a full pass in which started well with a 0.98 60 ft time but unfortunately tailed off as the damage had occured in the burnout.

Super Gas racer Conrad Stanley and daughter and Junior Dragster racer Anna are again looking to both be champions after missing out narrowly in 2007. "Anna is second but some way behind Scott Hauser. However the car is running well after we made changes on the front clutch and Anna ran 8.1/81mph today. The Super Gas car is leading the championship - an HT lead came off on our first attempt and we ran 9.87 on the second run. The team is sponsored by Lucas Oil.

Super Pro racer Chris Orthodoxou was pleased to have run consistent 8.03 and 8.003 but is a tenth or two away from where he expects to be. "The engine was refreshed this time last year and has only had nine or ten runs, but perhaps the valve springs have loosened up in those runs. The air is pretty good this weekend."

Ex-pat racer Tony Morris is pictured with John Everitt. The connection between them goes back to 1984 when Tony bought the altered that John had built by Norm Wheeldon, intending to campaign it as 'Hang 'Em High'. The car was never finished and John sold it to Dave Gibbons who completed and campaigned it as 'Rough Diamond'. Allegedly Tony's nickname came about from John Price, who said at a hotel after the 1984 Fireworks meeting that he should have a nickname similar to 'Funky' Gibbons and his suggestion 'Chunky' Morris stuck. Tony won five German championships and in 1990 a European championship before selling it on. Dave has located the car in Austria and is restoring it. Photos can be seen on www.tony-morris-racing.com.

9.50 Bike racer Fred Furlong ran two 9.62s and is working on improving the bike's 60ft times to advance up the qualifying lists tomorrow. Fred, whose company Furlong Tyres is sponsoring 9.50 Bike this weekend, said "I'm crewing for Ray Debben at the Euro Finals."

Jim Usher was delighted after a 6.92/201. "The run felt really good. I left first as I didn't want John (Wright) to beat me, drove through tyre shake and kept away from the centre line. It's my first six since Easter 2006. There was a bit of oil out of the engine and we hope it's not the blackened crank we had at this event last year and 2006."

Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg, pictured with brother Gary, is happy after a series of personal bests. "We have a new clutch and ran 8.3 at Hockenheim. Here we ran a 7.8 and I know we can improve on the 60ft which was 1.2 sec. We are testing at Drachten and then will run the Euro Finals and look to next year. I know we will have a new bike and are looking at buying one or importing a new one from the US." Rene is assisted by crew members John Hunt and Craig Bolton.

Outlaw Anglia racer Cliff Griffin ran a 8.85 this morning which is only two hundredths shy of his personal best of 8.83, run at the Bulldog Bash a couple of weekends ago. "It's my second season with a blower, although I've been running the car for ten years", he said. The car was built by father Frank who you may have seen from the news, had a tumble in his Donovan-engined Anglia at the same meeting. Cliff said that Frank is looking to buy a new body, repair the car and then Cliff will assume driving duties. Help and support for the Griffin racing operation comes from Lyn and Sue.

Pro ET racer Phil Toppin bought this pretty Model T altered on a trip to the World Street Finals in Orlando. "I saw it advertised on the wall of a hot rod shop by a US racer Jim Cofey who had stored it for years. The original owner had sadly passed on and Jim had bought it and is still in touch with me and follows the car's progress on Eurodragster.com." Phil's year has been a bit up and down after the original engine blew at the rwyb before the Easter Thunderball. Phil installed a new Jeff Bull engine and came out again at the Summernationals, since running a best of 9.0. As well as looking for an eight second timeslip, Phil is keen to find sponsors and crew as he is short-handed at this event.

Super Pro ET racer Mark Flavell's crewman Steve explained that a too-early launch was the result of operator error. "We run a Powerglide as we did in the dragster but in the funny car you can't easily feel the transbrake button. The car is easier to prepare for the meeting as we had to put the chassis together from two pieces for the dragster and we only have to put the wheelie bars on with the funny car. The funny car goes down well with fans as well." Mark can be seen at the foot of the car inspecting the bottom end.

Pictured here is the driver's eye view of John Everitt in the Alien Super Pro ET altered. He said "We changed a lot since last year, new engine and gearbox included." With the engine comes an Enderle scoop for the injection which causes a few visibility problems. "We have to look to the side of the track to steer the car. Apart from that issue, the car is fantastic, the crew have been working their heads off and we loved the Drachten raced - they looked after us a little too well!"

Sportsman ET racer Graeme Sanne is running a Corsair that some may remember as a show car a few years back. "I tried it at a rwyb then set it up with a 350cu in Chevy. When it was in the bay waiting to start it was accidentally pushed back so that the jump battery made contact with the fuel tank which exploded. The fire damaged the rear end paintwork and interior. As an interim measure I have put a five litre carburettored Rover engine with nitrous and may try the nitrous to run a twelve although it is too unpredictable. The car is street legal and I love to outdrag Lambos and Ferraris."

Supertwin ET racer and Eurodragster.com honorary staff member John Hackney said after a 10.29 on a 9.85 dial-in "The nitrous microswitch on the throttle is not activating." The problem was traced to a loose nitrous pipe, which may have caused John some laughter on the run but slowed the bike."

Supertwin racer Lee Bradbury is in his first season of racing. "I made my observed runs at Santa Pod and this is my first competitive meeting. The bike's 2000cc engine is a Merch and the bike was originally built for the road from scratch by Hammer & Tongs Performance." The proprietor of Hammer & Tongs performance, Tim Spiers, is here this weekend to support Lee. Tim started the business four years ago on leaving the Army (Lee also being ex-forces) and the bike is his first drag racing product. Tim said "I am about to buy a dyno and go into competition bike fabrication and have a blown Ducati project on the go as well as Lee's bike." Lee plans to run the rest of the season normally aspirated and add nitrous for 2009 which should increase the power from the present 115 horsepower to 185hp.

Pro ET racers Tig and Cath Napier run the Bad Habit Dodge Challenger. The start line was fogged in by the burnout so much that Tog asked for racing to be stopped so that he could see the timing boards. "We fitted new Mickey Thompson ET Drag slicks and the first burnout to clean them we have to fog in the start lines", said Cath. "We won the award for the quickest Mopar at Gary's Picnic but at the cost of a broken valve stem, which resulted in us missing the Summer Nationals." After parts arrived from the US and were machined by Eric at Woody's Racing Engines, Tig installed them in the car's aluminium Keith Black Wedge motor, pictured.