Matthew Seamarks had a better run this morning in the Gingerbread man running a 7.94 over the eighth. At last weekend's meeting the car suffered a fuel leak from the pump whilst in the fairing lanes. Matthew said "Thanks to those who helped including VP who lent us some tools to repair the problem. Thanks also to Dave Elliott for lending us some clamps to secure the fuel line and to Conrad Stanley for strapping me into the car."

In Street Eliminator, Mats Andersson has brought out his Opel which used to run under the Hot Tomato name by the Clifton brothers. Mats bought it as a rolling chassis and himself did extensive work to bring it up to date renewing all parts other than the body and main frame rails. The engine is a 396cu in BBC warmed up slightly with electronic fuel injection and KMS engine management. "I'm really pleased with the KMS system", he said. "We have a Paxton blower but I want to build a turbocharged Toyota Mk 4 engine." The present build took four years in spare time from Mats' job as an engineering company workshop manager. "We ran a best of 10.27 but even if we put the blower in we would not be competitive, so I would like to change direction." Mats, who has been living in the UK for 18 years, previously ran a Model T Ford in RWYBs.

Pro ET racer Carla Pittau raced against partner Rick McCann in what Tog called "The ultimate in marital tiffs". She said "I'm pleased with the new car in spite of the car going sideways on the run. There are a few things that need ironing out, such as the shifter. We have done a lot of work in a little time and are going up the learning curve."

NFAA Dennis Wratten was delighted after taking both ends of the NFAA record at 6.776/205.70. He said "The car feels ok here and there is definitely more in it as it spun the tyres on the launch. When I enquired if the team has an on board computer Dennis pointed in the direction of Charlie Draper...

Wild Bunch racer Keith Crampton bought the ex-Gold Digger and ex-Chicken Shift Car in 2007 and renamed it Soul Town Shaker. "I had Roy Wilding upgrade the chassis and roll cage and have it tagged to 8.5 with new body panels. Gladwins did the paint - it was stripped and powder coated including the seat. Neil Melliard did the lettering. As well as the rare nail-head Buick the car uses a 3 speed Chrvy gearbox, a hyrbid Jaguar clutch and LDV rear axle.

Eurodragster.com news sponsor (through his business DS Racewear) Peter Yates is driving the Wild Bunch Ramraider slingshot this weekend. He said "The car is a fairly new build and finished in 2006. It wasbuilt at home in my garage with the help of Andy Gosling, Ray Ford and Sarah Howells. Peter (aka Ed) runs the MSA Wild Bunch events and the other team members run the RWYB events. Sarah, who has run the car's quickest ET of 8.98, drives the car in Pro ET at the FIA events. That way we run all the events that we can." The engine is a SBC with methanol injection and two speed 'Glide. As well as supporting Eurodragster, DS Racewear sponsors SCR's safety unit.

Darryl Howells is another slingshot racer in the Wild Bunch. At the Thunderball the car's throttle hung open in the staging lanes and the Chemical Reaction car collided with Ratcatcher Resurrection and the SPR garage door. "The throttle was routed through the firewall and got caught on a bracket. When we got back, Ed Yates and Andy Gosling took it to their garage and redesigned the throttle linkage. Zane Llewelyn did the chassis repairs and Ed and Andy helped with the front axle. Thanks to all of them and the Wild Bunch racers who contributed to the rebuild."

Super Mod racer Craig Gibbs has had some niggly problems with the Camaro today and like some others, the four days break between meetings has put maintenance time between events at a premium. "First we lost a core plug and thanks to Ian Marshall for supplying a replacement and Jon Webster for fitting it. Then we've had a problem with the diaphragm in the fuel pump. Thanks go to Tim Garlick and for Barry Grant for the loan of a spare pump."

The Funny Bike of Chris Hall has had new bodywork by Dale who is an associate of Dave Beck. The paint was applied by Dave May and there is also a new exhaust from OJZ Engineering. There is a dedication to Chris's father who passed away on 5 April that reads "Frank is my co-pilot". Chris said "I will start with no nitrous and then apply the bottle later in the event." This event is first time out for the Funny Bikes who elected to save parts by not running at Easter.

2007 9.50 bike champion Chris Jones has been indulging in some naughtiness running a 8.59 in the first session. The reason for the leap in performance is the addition of a Rotex supercharger on the Hayabusa. "I've been looking towards the new 8.50 bike class", he said. "We ran an 8.4 last weekend at the RWYB. But it's been a baptism of fire because the chain came off on my last run on Saturday, which smashed the clutch slave and pushrod. Mark Fisher helped us mend it and we were back at the track by the end of Saturday." Chris mentioned that 9.50 has a number of new racers who have moved up from RWYB and have been on the numbers from the start.

The Supertwin Gas bike of racer Don Irvine has also had a makeover. Don's son Andrew applied the new paint. The bike runs a Honda VTR1000 engine to a best of 10.4/126. The chrome moly frame was built by Notts Custom Cycles. The bike is unblown and Super Twin Gas bikes are not permitted to run nitrous and have to run pump gas.

The Supertwin riders are supporting the Multiple Sclerosis Trust this weekend. Publicity chief and webmaster Lorna Barter (above) said that riders are all wearing MS Trust tee-shirts. "The trust is about information services and research with people such as myself who have suffered from the condition for more than 20 years. One in every 600 people in the UK have the condition and it particularly affects young adults."

In Sportsman ET, Geoff Cowley was no.1 qualifier after the first two sessions. He had a successful Thunderball winning the event but "going from penthouse to outhouse" at the Big Bang when he had a 0.02 light to Brian Huxley's 0.00 light and broke out. New sponsorship comes from Alpha Tank Services of Tewkesbury, which provides oil tanks and oil-fired heating supplies.

The Gecko Drag Team Mustang of Steve Unsworth made its debut at the Summer Nationals last year and has now joined the Sportsman ET fray. The street legal car is sponsored by a particularly impressive array of firms including A1 Graphics, CW Russell Haulage, CP Construction plant, 1st choice Skip Hire, LNC Electrical, RNLI and Mechanical and Steve's employers Scott Bros. The Redcar-based low loader driver said "I just got chatting to my employers and clients and they were happy to get the exposure and support the team's expenses." Steve gets extra viewings of the car by displaying it at the American Auto Club North East division car shows.

Vicky Molden was leading Junior Dragster after the first session. She said "I've been at drag racing meetings since I was very young and started junior dragsters when I was twelve. I had a modified car which ran twelves and at the start of last year started racing Jay Hauser's old car which ran into the sevens, quite an increase in performance. I am now really used to it and ran a perfect light in last week's RWYB." This is Vicky's last year in the class and future plans could involve a Ford Pop if one can be sourced. Father Bob who runs the White Noise Peugeot 205 Pro ET car told us that it has been totally rebuilt with the intention ultimately to run it in the eights. "The chassis is tagged to 8.5 and the whole car will be soon and the engine has been rebuilt by Kenny Coleman of EDC." The plan is to run it first at York Raceway in August.

John Atkinson's Pro ET Cortina Estate has benefitted from a new Steve Schmidt crate motor (above) which has been dynoed to 900hp and has run in the eights with an 8.98 today. John is a candidate for quote of the year by saying the engine installation is Simple, Simon." He added "The car also has a new Cohen convertor which was built referring to the dyno graph from the engine test. The car is currently launched from the footbrake but John has promised us some transbrake launches at the Classic Ford show in a few weeks' time. He said "We need the consistency." Is a move to Super Pro being contemplated? "Not today", came the response. Crew member Richard York's brother Andrew runs new sponsor Phoenix Air Cargo which ships automotive parts.