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00:50

FIA Top Fuel Dragster

Susanne Callin 6.67/340.00 def. Thomas Nataas 9.14/156.19

The last runs of the 2005 Drag Racing Festival. Sixty-foot burnouts from both cars. On the green both cars hooked up pretty well but Thomas' tyres started to shake and he pedalled, Susanne's set-up looked very gentle off the line but she stayed hooked to the track and took the win.

That's the end of our live reports from the Bahrain Drag Racing Festival. We will post today's pictures tomorrow morning so stay tuned for those.

00:40

Pro: Ali Aryan 6.69/347.67 bye def. Khaled Bloushi DQ no time

Great paired burnouts. Khaled moved in and out of stage and was bulbed. A superb run from Ali, driving through shake, as I type the entire facility is on its feet chanting Ali's name.

00:25

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car

Trev Capewell 7.62/275.39 bye

Trev's tyres started to spin off the line and the car started to slide to the left, Trev pedalled very briefly and got it straight and stayed on the throttle almost to the finish line.

00:20

Pro Modified

Freddy Fagerström 7.93/252.68 bye

Freddy's crew had to push start him and then he pulled the longest burnout of the event, all the way to six hundred feet and rolling to a stop at about 1000 feet. Freddy had some spin off the line and was audibly feathering the throttle all the way down the track.

Patrik Pers 8.11/297.21 bye

Patrik's 'Vette is carrying the legend "Thanks Bahrain, we love you" which brought a huge cheer from the crowd when it was shown on the giant TV screen. A 300-foot burnout and then on the green hitting spin and pedalling a few times but staying on the throttle all the way.

00:15

FIA Pro Stock

Richard Sundblom 7.04/317.07 bye

Richard fogged out the start line with a huge burnout which went on and on and on and brought the house down. Then a storming pass, the Cavalier screaming past our office at 500 feet and straight and true into the night, a new Personal Best, well done Richard!

00:10

FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike

Paul Watson 8.30/249.84 def. Ray Debben 8.79/254.25

Grumpy left Ray absolutely for dead off the start, nice passes for both racers with just a hint of spin for Grumpy.

00:00

The clean-up from Per Bengtsson's bang gives us time to post the BDRC National Championship class results. Pro will be running very shortly as well as the rest of our Pro demonstrations.

Pro Street: Mustafa Al Atat 8.67/267.72 def. Abdulla Al Shati 15.90/73.83 red light
V8 Super Street: Sulyiman Al Qurashi 9.79/225.84 def. Thamer Salaheddin 10.04/220.92
V8 Street: Jamal Ebrahim 10.93/192.97 def. Mohammed Al Shomely 11.27/195.23
4/6 Cylinder RWD Super Street: Sameer Abdulhadi 11.97/193.62 def. Saad Al Mooran 16.60/140.47
4/6 Cylinder FWD Super Street: Bader Jenahi 11.538/174.71 def. Ahmed Aryan 11.792/206.77
4/6 Cylinder RWD Street: Jameel Hallal 13.56/163.98 def. Amer Al Khan 13.42/171.65
4/6 Cylinder FWD Street: Mohammed Saleh 12.55/177.70 def. Hisham Al Othman 17.94/74.47

Pro Bike: Meashal Al Saber 8.51/210.58 def. Mohammed Al Zankawi 8.96/227.68
Super Street Bike: Adel Karam 8.47/269.52 def. Abdulla Al Harbi 9.55/246.35
Street Bike: Mohammed Al Badah 10.19/225.18 def. Moftah Al Kawari 10.19/230.17

23:57

FIM/UEM Supertwin

Per Bengtsson 6.99/312.02 def. Ronny Aasen 8.34/226.47

Per got a slight jump on Ronny, Ronny feathered the throttle and Per was pulling away all the way down the track with a tremendous cushion of nitro flame under the bike. Per's flames went out at about 1000 feet, Ronny was off the throttle already at that point. There is a clean-up going on in Per's lane after a flash of flame on the finish line. Word came back later that Per's chain had broken and the flash was sparks as it hit the ground.

23:50

FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike

Sverre Dahl 6.84/340.21 bye

Ian King broke a crank on his last pass so Sverre took a bye. And what a bye! The bike still sounded a little languid off the line but it stuck to the track and Sverre went straight and true with a nitro flame pointing straight up into the night air.

23:30

Andy Willsheer has stopped by on his way back from the pits with some notes after the last Pro demonstration session. You can read those on today's Pit Notes page, which you can reach from the Event Index.

23:15

Michael Malmgren's third Pro Stock passenger ride of the day was a 8.39/259.72 with a quick pedal off the start line and backed off at about 1100 feet. Michael's passenger was Bahrain Drag Racing Club President Isa Al Kooheji.

23:05

Pro semi-final winners: Khaled Bloushi 7.45/301.54, Ali Aryan 6.87/347.84

Ali Aryan takes Low ET of the event, well done Ali!

22:40

Pro Street semi-final winners: Mustafa Al Atat 8.83/258.55, Abdulla Al Shati 10.70/186.47

22:30

Super Street Bike semi-final winners: Abdulla Al Harbi 9.09/250.61, Adel Karam 18.51/107.28 bye (Meshal Al Dekhan broke)

Street Bike semi-final winners: Mohammed Al Badah 10.40/222.96, Moftah Al Kawari 10.109/229.80 bye (Mahmood Khalaf broke)

22:25

V8 Super Street semi-final winners: Sulyiman Al Quraishi 9.69/233.21, Thamer Salaheddin 10.04/209.08

4/6 Cylinder RWD Super Street semi-final winners: Saleem Abdulhadi 18.10/116.60 bye, Saad Al Mooran 13.31/164.38

4/6 Cylinder RWD Street semi-final winners: Hussain Habeeb 13.44/165.91, Amer Al Khan 14.08/171.38 bye

22:15

V8 Street semi-final winners: Jamal Ebrahiem 11.02/190.41, Mohammed Al Shomely 11.39/194.48

22:05

Pro round 1 winners: Badr Ahly 10.52/180.81 bye (Juma Al Kabi broke), Ali Aryan 7.39/340.53, Tariq Hadi 8.85/255.18, Khaled Bloushi 7.42/272.94

High speed of the event so far for Ali Aryan and he faces Badr Ahly next round.

21:35

Pro Street round 1 winners: Mustafa Al Atat 9.09/234.82, Hussain Mahdi Aljary 9.76/187.48, Abdulla Al Shati 10.10/210.21, R Bin Saeed 11.02/214.53

21:25

FIA Top Fuel Dragster

Thomas Nataas 6.94/212.72 bye

Problem solved, Rune and the team brought the Batmobil back for its first run today. Problem definitely solved, the car stuck to the track with wing-high header flames although judging by the transparency of the flames the car was still set very gentle. Thomas was accelerating really hard as he came past our office, then got off the throttle at the start of the eighth-mile speed trap and got the biggest cheer of the evening. That's the Low ET of the event so far for Thomas.

21:15

Michael Malmgren's absence from the Pro demonstration session is explained as he has just given his second passenger ride of the evening, a 7.52/282.45 full pass. Alas I don't know who was in the car with him. The tyres spun very slightly off the line but the car was really accelerating hard as it came past our office at 500 feet.

21:10

4/6 Cylinder FWD Super Street round 1 winners: Badr Jenahi 11.68/184.04, Ahmed Aryan 11.91/165.30

21:00

Pro Bike round 1 winners updated: Mohammed Al Zankawi staged (bye), Meashal Al Saber 8.65/195.78

20:50

Pro Modified

Freddy Fagerström 9.14/241.18 bye

The customary 400-foot burnout with a wicked twitch as Freddy got off the throttle. The pick-up left the line very gently but then Freddy nailed it at about 150 feet and the truck started to drift towards the guardrail. Did Freddy get off the throttle? No, he pulled it straight and carried on, then shut off at about 800 feet.

20:48

FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike

Paul Watson 8.65/180.50 bye

Paul took the bye, again you could hear the tyre spin but Grumpy had the throttle very finely balanced. At about half track the engine went on to the limiter and Paul got off the throttle.

Ray Debben 19.04/151.31 bye

Ray crossed lanes not far off the start line, got off the throttle and calmly changed back to his own lane.

20:45

FIM/UEM Supertwin

Per Bengtsson 7.36/282.59 def. Ronny Aasen 8.31/210.15

Long burnouts for both racers, on the green they left together but Per quickly pulled ahead as Ronny feathered the throttle a couple of times. Both bikes riding on a cushion of nitro flames to the delight of the crowd, Per took the win.

20:42

FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike

Sverre Dahl 8.66/315.23 def. Ian King 10.24/149.43

Side-by-side burnouts to the cheers of the crowd, on the green both bikes left together and you could hear both engine notes rising as the tyres started to spin, Ian's bike started to drift for the right-hand guardrail and he feathered the throttle, Sverre wasn't giving it full power but enough for the conditions and he took the stripe as Ian backed off.

20:40

FIA-next-year Pro Modified

Patrik Pers 7.64/224.09 bye

A great burnout from Patrik, stopping right at the 330 mark with the Swedish flag flying proudly. On the green the car left the line on most of the throttle then when Patrik got to 300 feet he nailed it and the car really hooked up and went, Patrik got off the throttle at about 1000 feet.

20:35

FIA Pro Stock

Richard Sundblom 7.10/315.32 bye

Another big burnout on the front brake for an age and then a roller to 100 feet, coming to a stop right in front of our office whilst the crowed roared their approval. On the green the Cavalier shot off the line, stuck to the track and ran hard and straight, very close to Richard's Personal Best. And the crowd went wild!

20:15

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car

Trev Capewell 10.32/178.46 bye

A nice long burnout from Trev, he came to a stop at 400 feet and then sat there for about a minute with the engine running, blipping the throttle every so often. Just when we thought he couldn't get reverse Trev headed back to the start line. The tyres spun at the hit, Trev pedalled then just as he came past me at 500 feet there was a bang and a brief flash of flame from under the car, I'm guessing a blower burst panel.

20:10

FIA Top Fuel Dragster

Susanne Callin 15.26/115.47 bye

A nice burnout from Susanne then at the hit the whole car seemed to jump in the air, probably an optical illusion but the tyres struck and Susanne got off the throttle and idled through. Thomas Nataas was lined up ready to run against Susanne but did not start, and was eventually taken back to the pits.

19:55

Pro Bike round 1 winners: Mohammed Al Zankawi bye, second pairing TBC

Next up is the FIA and FIM/UEM demonstration session kicking off with Top Fuel Dragster.

19:50

Super Street Bike round 1 winners: Meshal Al Dekhan 9.10/253.83, Mohammed Awad 8.89/249.41, Adel Karam 8.87/253.83, Abdulla Al Harbi 9.59/249.38

19:45

Street Bike round 1 winners: Yahya Mohammed 9.90/231.77, Mohammed Al Badah 10.10/227.40, Moftah Al Kawari 10.40/227.47, Mahmood Khalaf 10.48/233.23

19:40

V8 Super Street round 1 winners: Khalid Al Harbi 10.69/193.82, Thamer Salaheddin 10.05/200.46, Sulyiman Al Qurashi 10.79/157.50

19:35

4/6 Cylinder RWD Super Street round 1 winners: Yousif Abdulla NTR broke off line (Yousif Al Zayani red light), Saleem Abdulhani 12.73/161.71, Saad Al Mooran 13.60/149.09, Abdulla Faisal 11.89/203.29

19:25

4/6 Cylinder RWD Street round 1 winners: Hussain Habib 14.16/168.90 bye, Jameel Hallal 13.76/164.06, Amer Alkhan 12.95/172.25

19:20

4/6 Cylinder FWD Street round 1 winners: Hassan Alothman 12.62/175.97, Mohammed Saleh 12.39/177.02

19:15

V8 Street round 1 winners: Jamal Ebrahiem 10.90/191.72, Cristian Zamfir 11.69/188.21, Mohammed Al Shomely 11.53/165.12, Sheik S Mahdi 11.70/189.21

18:55

4/6 Cylinder RWD Super Street top five qualifiers:

1. Yousif Alzayani 11.337/199.39
2. Abdulrasool Hassan 11.585/199.90
3. Younis Jahani 11.933/204.75
4. Sameer Abdulhadi 12.123/189.74
5. Hussain Salman 12.553/174.68

4/6 Cylinder FWD Super Street top five qualifiers:

1. Ahmed Aryan 10.703/220.86
2. Bader Jenahi 11.887/183.93
3. Mohd Redha 18.315/95.49
4. Zuhair Al Murbati 29.295/87.61

Street Bike top five qualifiers:

1. Yahya Mohammed 10.106/229.37
2. Moftah Al Kawari 10.145/231.74
3. Mahmood Khalaf 10.169/235.13
4. Mohd Al Badah 10.214/227.42
5. Hussain Al Kohiji 10.237/224.69

18:50

Eliminations are due to start at 19:00, in the meantime Andy Willsheer and I have caught up with most of the European racers to find out how they are enjoying themselves and you can read their comments on today's Pit Notes page.

The Pro sessions are due at 20:00 and 23:00.

17:00

Pro Bike top five qualifiers:

1. Mohd Al Zankawi 9.018/238.67
2. Khaden Al Ali 9.892/213.62
3. Meashal Al Saber 10.460/236.25

Ali Aryan made his first run of the event in his Pro Camaro. Under the gaze of Pat Musi Ali hit shake and pedalled, then got back on the throttle to about 1000 feet, 8.90/247.25.

That appears to be it for qualifying, hopefully we will have some more results for you soon. Racing is scheduled to commence at 19:00 so stay tuned.

16:40

Paul Watson and Ray Debben kicked off this afternoon's FIM/UEM demonstration by pairing up for a Pro Stock Bike match race. Grumpy got a huge jump on Ray but you could hear that both bikes were spinning the rear tyre. Grumpy shut off at about 1000 feet and Ray rode past him, taking the stripe 8.26/227.95 to Grumpy's 8.93/170.76.

Next up were Ronny Aasen and Per Bengtsson on their Supertwins. Great burnouts by both racers and then side-by side launches. Ronny feathered the throttle and Per went speeding off into the distance on a cushion of nitro flames, Per then backed off just past half track and Ronny came speeding past to take the win 8.00/325.97 to Per's 8.51/198.33.

Ian King and Sverre Dahl closed out the bike demos on their Top Fuel Bikes. Both racers laid down excellent burnouts, side-by-side launches but Sverre's bike hooked up better than Ian's, Ian feathered the throttle and Sverre was also taking it delicately, Sverre got there first by a long way, 7.36/258.98 to Ian's 8.70/247.36.

15:10

We understand that at least some of the European Pro racers will be making demonstration runs this afternoon. We have been told 15:30 and 16:00 but as ever stay tuned and as soon as they run you will be the first to know.

V8 Super Street top five qualifiers:

1. Sulayiman Al Quraishi 9.502/236.64
2. Thamer Salaheddin 10.246/219.90
3. Mohd Jassim Haji 10.930/200.09
4. Adel Khamiri 10.994/201.87
5. Khalid Alharbi 11.962/199.06

V8 Street top five qualifiers:

1. Jamal Ebrahiem 10.857/193.36
2. Mohamed Al Shomely 10.383/193.60
3. S. Hani/S. Mahdi 11.688/190.63
4. Cristian Zamfir 11.762/187.29
5. Nawaf Dalel 12.198/185.91

4/6 Cylinder RWD Street top five qualifiers:

1. Hussain Habeeb 13.052/171.49
2. Amer Alkhan 13.117/171.50
3. Jameel Hallal 13.759/163.39
4. Loay Abdulrahman 14.953/161.59
5. Jaffar Alqassab 15.343/149.04

4/6 Cylinder FWD Street top five qualifiers:

1. Hisham Hassan Alothman 12.953/174.22
2. Mohammed Saleh 12.958/135.49
3. Nabeel Ahmed Shamsi 14.230/159.49
4. Ali Al Kobaisi 12/242/156.60

Super Street Bike top five qualifiers:

1. Adel Karam 8.515/265.86
2. Abdulla Al Harbi 8.918/251.98
3. Mohd Awad 9.029/247.36
4. Mohd Durweish 9.065/249.06
5. Meshal Al Dekhan 9.095/263.02

14:10

Qualifying is in full swing and as soon as our runner brings the standings we'll bring them to you.

In the meantime we have now posted yesterday's pictures, you can view them via the Event Index page.

12:45

Good afternoon and welcome again from the Bahrain International Circuit. It's day two of the Drag Racing Festival and we're all set to bring you the news in association with American Car Imports.

The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and broadcasting a picture every two minutes.

If you were tuned in yesterday you will have seen that the track surface was again an issue and that there was also a fair bit of downtime. This resulted in yesterday's qualifying being cancelled, we will very shortly (13:00) be starting qualifying and then racing will commence at 19:00. The FIA and FIM/UEM racers are scheduled to make demonstration passes at 20:00 and 23:00.

Contrary to rumour the Bahraini and European track crews have again been working together on the track surface, as they have for the last couple of weeks. As mentioned yesterday the two main problems, although there are others, are that the two traction compounds in use - VHT and VP Lane Choice 6 - have unexpectedly reacted adversely, which is no-one's fault and wasn't foreseen, and that the first 500 feet or so of the track - which until very recently was staging lanes - is to all intents and purposes virgin. You cannot fault the effort which the joint Bahraini and European teams are putting in: as soon as the event closed at one o'clock this morning there were people and equipment out on the track, and when we arrived this morning they were already out there working.

The BDRC officials have promised to give us qualifying results as soon as they can this afternoon so stay tuned and we will bring you updates as we get them. Andy Willsheer has also kindly agreed to bring us notes from the pits as and when he can, as your reporter is snowed under here.