9.50 Bike racer Phil Steele is chairman of the National Sprint Association and also supports nostalgia events with his rebuild of Keith Parnell's Rouge et Noir. His 9.50 Bike is out for the first time since an engine rebuild, the first run being a normally aspirated 10.5. He said "The engine rebuild was by Pete at Black Dragon Motorcycles.co.uk. I also put a Hays clutch in supplied by Steve Mead" Phil was joined by wife Julie and Jasper Joy who owns the 1980s bike Mickey Taker which he intends to run at Nostalgia events.

Super Pro ET racer Joe Stevens has changed from a supercharged setup to twin 76mm Precision turbos in a neat installation including boost control and electronics. He said "We were a bit overadventurous in the boost setting and it blew the tyres off. On the second run we took a lot of power out and run 9.50/147 compared with 8.92/161 at the last meeting." The handling can be interesting with a 90" wheelbase. "You can't drive through it if it gets out of shape but usually it's quite well behaved." The car and engine installation were completed by Joe himself in a 10ft x 20ft lockup garage. "It's still taxed and insured for the road and I it took on the Kings Lynn cruise but it hammers the fuel."

Junior Drag Bike Pro racer Scott Collier made this lock-up clutch plate as part of his work experience at George Laycock's GLS Engineering where he stayed for two weeks. "The clutch works the opposite way for junior bikes so although the design is based on a standard one it is different in practice." Scott ran the bike for the first time in this configuration today and it produced a 1.88 60ft time which compares to his best of 1.81. Unfortunately an unconnected short circuit in the wiring caused a small electrical fire and a rewiring job needed, the team hoping the CDI ignition wasn't damaged. Junior Drag Bike Pro is an innovation this year and riders 14 or over with a year's Junior Modified Bikes may run 200cc engines and index times of 7.90/85mph in the eighth.

Comp Bike racer Lizz McCarthy entered the class but sadly can't race as she was involved in a head on collision two days ago in which she broke both wrists and her car was written off. "It happened only half an hour after the bike was finished", she said. "I will be getting fibreglass casts but don't know when I will be able to race again. I hope they will be healed by the Summernationals. Many thanks to Ken Cooper and Kev Charman for their support and to MPM for their sponsorship."

9.50 Bike racer Bryony Wadkin-Snaith is licensing on Richard Gipp's Suuki GSX1170 usually raced by Brendan Young. She said "I have been in rwybs on a Honda Blackbird and have run a best of 10.7/136. I did the burn-out and launch and hope to get licensed tomorrow. I am looking forward to racing and would love to run more events. Many thanks to Richard and Kev Charman and to Lizz for having a whip-round last weekend so that I could run this event as a birthday present."

Pro ET racer Gordon Northway said that he has had to miss his first run as the car has had some brake issues which the team needed to sort out before coming to the track. The first run produced a strong-looking 9.51.

Comp Bike racer Phil Crossley is unfortunately out of competition as, following a promising 8.06, he suffered engine damage on the burnout for his second pass. "It didn't sound right on the burnout, drifted to the left and started making clunking noises. A piston has broken up and the crankcases are cracked. I have the next few weeks before the Summernationals to rebuild the engine.

Funny Bike racer Mike Olie from Holland is running every ACU round this year, following two Dutch championships in 2010 and 2011. He said "We are still working on the performance of the bike. I ran 8.2 here and my PB is 7.90 on the quarter and 4.93 on the eighth at Mosten. We have changed the clutch from a single stage lockup to multi stage and are fine tuning it. We run the turbo Suzuki engine on methanol and have a Snitz box ignition."

Pro ET racer Steve Hudson has had to fit a borrowed torque convertor from Nick Griffin. Steve said "The old one was wrong for the engine and couldn't handle the torque. I have a new 383cu in small block engine which I assembled myself using imported parts. The 60ft time was promising but it went on the rev limiter after that and the power couldn't get to the track. At Easter I had tyre problems and have new tyres now, so I hope with a better convertor the car will perform better tomorrow."

Junior Dragster racer Thaliah Gibb's car is sporting MPM Oil sponsorship as well as a smart paint job.

Wild Bunch racer Andrew Murphy drives "B" Sting which has been treated to a new Topolino body which has been chopped and extended by 9" by the team. Crew chief Paul Croston said "The chassis is tagged to 7.5 and the body was in storage and my wife wanted to grow potatoes in it." There is a new fuel tank and fuel system which the team hopes will help them win events in 2012 after taking a year out following winning the Wild Bunch championship in 2010. The car is powered by a 362cu in small block Chevy with a 900cfm Holley carb and two speed 'Glide with Strange rear end. The car's best is in the 10.2 range and here they are aiming for 10.5.

Wild Bunch racer Mark Coulsell, pictured with crew Steve Cassisi, Rob 'Morra 1' Brown and Peter 'Morra 2' Brown was suffering fuel issues. Over the winter the team have undertaken an engine rebuild with new main beaing and head work and there is a new rear axle supplied by Eurodragster.com sponsors Hauser Race Cars and narrowed by Roy Wilding. Steve Cassisi has reacquired Mark's old car and it is planned to rebuild it over the next couple of years and paint it in team colours. Steve works in the motor vehicle department at North Warwickshire & Hinckley college, which has sponsored the team by supplying materials and design help for the fuel tank and students have also helped on the cylinder heads.

Outlaw Anglia racer Steve Wells is working on trying to get more power to the track. He said "The new blower has increased boost to 27 lbs/ft which proved too high so we put a different sized pulley on to reduce the boost and it remained at 27lbs/ft. When it launched it blows the tyres off. Here it launched fine whereas at SPR the car moved to the right. Our aim is to beat the car's best of 8.76 and we have another 40hp now."

Super Comp racer Shaun Lathan has returned after taking 2011 off with other commitments. He said "I'm doing the full season this year as I will be celebrating turning 50 on 2nd June. The car is as it was before and I'm hoping to get more track time." The engine is a big block Chevy with single Holley running on methanol with nitrous. The trans is a Powerglide supplied by GS Trans Specialities. A notable feature is a linkage between the throttle stop and the nitrous which brings it in when the throttle comes back on.

Sportsman ET racer Stephen Cherrett is making his championship racing debut after driving his Astra at a run what ya brung and a couple of SCR Gamblers races. The CNC machinist said "I enjoy racing and the car will have a dial in of 19 seconds and will work from there. I will get the hang of it and then go for something quicker, but not the Dark Revenger yet - that's pretty scary right now."

Super Comp and Super Gas racer and double 2011 champion Brian Pateman is joined by wife Julie at this meeting. She said "We suffered a leak after the burnout but think it was only the overflow. The car is the same as before and we only had to put in a new master cylinder over the winter as the old one was leaking." Brian has sponsored Super Gas this year with his entry fees saved from winning the championships. "We are giving �250 to the 2012 UK National Super Gas champion providing they carry britexservices.com stickers." Julie sends best wishes to daughter Georgina who is tuned in from Australia.

Super Gas racers Steve Dunn (pictured left) and Jon Evans have returned from a year off. "A front brake caliper was leaking and we had to rebuild it so we missed the first session. We actually did one race last year, the Mopar Euronats, and ran a 9.900 out of the box. The car has run perfect in class too. We are doing the whole season this year to try for a run at the championship."

Wild Bunch racer Adam Price suffered the failure (pictured) of a universal joint on the prop shaft at the point it goes into the yoke of the differential. He said "It snapped when we launched. I am glad we have a good prop shield and it held up otherwise it could have been painful. It took the tooth off a crown wheel pinion." Adam was searching for a replacement prop that has the yoke in size 13/50 fitting. "We have a UJ available and the prop need not be balanced as it is short. Wayne Allman has offered to fit it for us at the track."

Wild Bunch racer Ian Turburville has returned with his slingshot dragster. The car did a strong burnout made a wheelie off the line and then over powered the track. He said "We will go for an easier launch rather than make tuning adjustments. The car needs new slicks as the present ones are four years old. It's good fun to drive the slingshot dragster and not nearly as scary as the SuperTwin Fuel bike." Ian has Lions Drag Strip sew-on patches for his racesuit.

Super Twin Gas racer Terry Green is in his first year as member of the class. "I used to do run what ya brungs on my road bike and bought the race bike last year. It was ex-Brian Udall and previously raced by Ian Turburville. I tested it and it went the best it ever had, a 9.47 and two 9.5s. But it started getting intermittent ignition problems and issues with the air shifter. Over the winter I put a new Dyna 4000 ignition system on it and new slider clutch made by Brian Udall. Testing with the old tyre produced a time of 8/100s off my best and I am hoping for better with a new tyre." Terry suffered an ignition arming wire on the handlebar breaking on the startline which put paid to his first session.

Super Twin Gas racer Chris Mott had an interesting first run with the bike spinning and then gripping. The body and engine are both new this year. "The carbon fibre body is from Mike Nelthorpe at HQ Fibre Products and after three years with a turbo I have gone back to a normally aspirated bigger engine with big bore 1620cc capacity and high compression to hopefully get back into the eights." Chris's best with the turbo was a 9.03 with a stock block 1130cc and low compression engine. "There may be more work with the engine but I think it will be quicker."

8.50 Bike racer Steve Moor suffered a locked up clutch on his first run. Crewman Duncan said "The bike wouldn't rec after the first burnout and the clutch was too hot on the second and locked up." To avoid a repeat Duncan has disconnected the 'snitch' controlling the nitrous. It is hoped the bike will still run eights.