Pro Mod racer Erik Andersson has a turbo Ford Mustang, one of four turbo cars entered for the race. He said "I started in a Street class ten years ago with a modified Ford Consul which I kept until three years ago and set a best of 7.63. This car was built by Rick Jones as a Pro Stock car which I have extended to PM wheelbase. The engine is from Al Moody. I have only driven the car at Piteå and ran a 6.80 on partial throttle. This morning the tyres shook in first and second gear and I pedalled it to 310kph on a 7.02." Erik does his own turbo mapping, as he has worked with turbos for six years.

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis was, like many of the class, disappointed to have overpowered the track. He said "We gave it a stab and that was how it came out." The team shown include Sean Brown from Acceleration Enterprises in Canada who do work for most blown alcohol or nostalgia fuel cars and aided Graham to his 6.07 run at the Main Event. Regular members of the team are Lee Kirk, Fred Hone, Kev Perkins, Rob Millward and Dave Read.

Pro Mod racer Robert Joosten said after an 8.58 shake filled and chute popping run, "This was the first time down the track with full power, so we are pleased. At SPR and Finland we had electrical problems which meant we were down on power. It was a $10 part which was not working as it should. Now we have solved that we finally have a race car. It shook on the run but it was still good news." Pictured are team members Jaap, Dennis, Anton and Michel. Robert said "Best wishes to Leon and John - we are sorry you cannot be here, our pits are full of nice Swedish women."

Pro Mod racer David Olsson co-owns with Stefan Bergdahl this '66 Chevy Station Wagon which was owned by Lars-Inge Johansson. "We bought the car from Lars-Inge and four of his team have joined us. I always felt the car had great potential; we have just lowered it a little and installed a bigger rear wing. I have done 12-15 runs including license passes and at the Sundsvall Top Doorslammer meeting ran a 6.85 on a marginal track with 25% blower overdrive." Here with 20% overdrive the car ran 6.99 and the team have a Kobelco K-8 blower which will help as the blower pressure was down on the run. The crew chief is Ingemar Turauren and crew are Kenneth Ståhl, Henrik Karlsson, Annica Alkman, Andreas Sköld and Micke Westberg.

Pro Mod racer Pierre Rydberg from nearby Linköping runs in the Top Doorslammer series and today it seemed that these cars, of roughly Pro Mod spec and running on marginal local Swedish and Norwegian tracks, were performing better on the fresh Mantorp track surface, which is less bumpy in the right hand lane but definitely on the green side.

Pro Mod racer Niclas Andersson's Old 51 team have modified the Chevy Business Coupe's body. The experience of the team in the Top Doorslammer series on non-FIA tracks also paid off here with a superb 6.19 which was over a tenth and a half ahead of the rest of the pack.

The Top Fuel cars of Timo Lehtimaki, Micke Kågered and Andy Carter approach the pairing lanes at Mantorp.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Jarmo Kuutniemi was disappointed after a 7.83 on and off the throttle. "There was too much power for the slippery track and the engine broke a valve. If it had been a could run the broken valve could have resulted in a destroyed engine, but in the event there was no other damage. We changed both heads to make sure the problem does not come back. I hope the track is better tomorrow and we will reduce the power and loosen the clutch as well." thanks to team member Paul Sirén for help in interpreting.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Jörgen Nagel was quite pleased with a 6.50 in qualifying. "Qualifying second is good for my championship chances. The engine is in good condition which is important to us." Jörgen and other methanol racers send their best wishes to Dave Alexander who was hospitalised in Finland just before the Alastaro meeting with back problems and is now recovering.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Arvind Grødem suffered a broken pushrod during his run which caused the blower to lift and the burst panel to blow in a way which caused the cross member on the hood between the two to split. "I am happy with the new Mustang which still drives like a Lincoln." As well as repairs to the burst panel, the team were making a fireproof cover for wiring.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Dan Larsen has had a problem with pushrods coming off the valve train causing engine problems. "I was getting scared of losing an engine so now have a spare block which we didn't have at the Main Event when we had problems. Here the track is not so good so we shook and went close to the guardrail." Dan's 6.85 was good for fourth at the end of Friday.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Rob Turner is getting happy and comfortable driving his new car, brother and crew chief Steve told us: "We tested and Rob is getting used to the car. He was worried about shake coming off the line and this morning, he short shifted into second and lifted at 1000ft to a 6.77 which we were pleased with - his best run in the new car to date. We will go for a full pass on the same settings tomorrow." The Turners are again joined by the car's former owner Jeff Carroll of Titan Speed Engineering, whose clutch and oil pumps will be distributed across Europe by Turner Motorsport.

Junior Dragster racer Hampus Staflund is supported by his father Jonas, who owns a Top Methanol Funny car and is working on the track crew this weekend. Jonas said "It has been an eventful year - Hampus had a crash, rolling the car and I had to rebuild the roll cage. Then the engine let go and I had to get a lot of replacement parts from Jim McGee in the US.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Dave Wilson reversed so fast after his burnout in the first session, his team were waving to slow him down. "The engine almost died after the burnout and I blipped it twice to keep it going. I spent so long sitting there that I needed to get back quick and the only way I coulddo that was not to use the brake in reverse. We needed to get from A to B with the weather we are having. We changed every jet on the engine before coming here so every run's a new adventure. We may not get to the bottom of the barrel but we are having a damn good look!"

Top Methanol Dragster racer Krister Johansson was left wondering why cylinders went out on the launch and down track slowing him to a 5.89 in his A Fueler. "We want to change the fuel system to cure it but will only make a small change - no big steps." Team member Tim Read is tuned in from the US where he is working and keeping in touch as much as possible.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Derek Flynn, pictured with US racer Jim Rizzoli suffered loss of traction into the run. Jim said "From the startline the car did exactly what we wanted it to do. But a second and a half it spun the tyres without any warning shake first. If we had a hole out, it would have worked. The Top Fuel and Pro Mod cars should put some rubber down on the track and help the times. We can't detune the car any further and fortunately nothing was hurt on that run."

Top Methanol Dragster racer Peter Schöfer's team are also carrying out routine maintenance after a good pass against Dave Wilson. Team member Heike Schafer said "There were no complaints after that run so we are wanting to step up for the next one. We ran a conservative setup because the track is quite green." A 5.58 was good enough for third place after the first session.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Paul Ingar Udtian from the Islanders team ran a 5.65 which he was pleased with. "We have got new parts on and are working on the combination. It shook a bit on the startline but then went straight and felt good. We want to step up and will be happy with a low 5.40." Best wishes go to team member Konrad Ree who is recovering from a fall a month ago while painting, leaving him wheelchair-bound with two broken bones in his feet.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Fred Hanssen's crew chief Will Hanna was careful to close the Racepak screen on the team's PC before we took our picture. "I don't want anyone zooming in on that," he said. "With the points as tight as they are and a worst case one-shot qualifying this weekend, we want to go as quick as we can in the first session. It's a tough class and the other cars are all good. I'm happy we are no.1 with a 5.53; we backed it down at the last minute and will try to make small adjustments and go for an improvement tomorrow."

Top Methanol Dragster racer Eskvo Raisvuo suffered flame and smoke on his run and as soon as the heads came off, the damage became apparaent. "When the tyre shake causes the main fuel line to close it results in the engine going lean and burning parts,"

Eskvo Raisvuo's engine damage includes burnt and scuffed pistons and damage to the block (bottom left hand corner) on the left bank. Eskvo said "We have a spare and plan to be out on track again tomorrow. It looks like being a late night."

Top Methanol Dragster racers Timo (pictured left) and Dennis Habermann raced each other in the first qualifying session, Timo coming out on top with a 0.067 RT and 5.57 to Dennis's 5.88. But neither car was being pushed to its limits. Timo said "My shift points were 8300 rpm and they are usually 10000." Dennis said "We have a new clutch in and I wasn't using full throttle."

Pro Stock bike racer Gert-Jan Laseur from Almere in the Netherlands has a Eurol sponsored Buell and said "Anders Abrahamsson took revenge at Alastaro. I had never raced there and couldn't get traction and wasn't quick enough. We have changed a lot on the bike - a new fuel map, and shorter gears with a smaller sprocket." After this event Gert-Jan plans to go to the Gardermoen UEM race and race at the non-UEM round at Hockenheim.

Pro Stock bike racer Jesper Thiel is on Tom Tinndahl's former bike with Tom now on the crew. Tom said "Jesper has run a best of 7.19 and has done well. I don't think the track with its new surface and not much rubber down will take a seven-teen run in the first session." Jesper's run of 7.32 was indeed good enough for second at that point.

UK Pro Stock Bike racer Martin Bishop has had engine repairs in the US but is finding the results somewhat unsatisfactory, leaving Martin and Baz to "hope for the best". The bike was no.8 in the first qualifying session with a 7.86/269. The bike's new paint scheme, delivered on Tuesday looks stunning.

Also in from the UK later yesterday was Eurodragser.com blogger Dave Beck with the TVR Power-sponsored bike. Dave said "The trip was fortunately uneventful and we just need to be tech'd to run in the first session." The scrutineer arrived as we were talking to Dave, but although he made the call he shut off in the water box.

Pro Stock Bike racer Timo Savolainen from Huittinen, Finland races a Suzuki TL1000R and is supported by Motospeed.com, Shinku Tyres, Moto Rengas, Pennzoil and Antti Kivinummi's Simuna Speed Shops. .

Bousinis Haralambos from Cvosmos, Greece is on a Suzuki GSX-R. Bousinis's crew member said "We are absolutely ready and he has run four or five kilometres this morning to prepare. We will run at Gardermoen, Hockenheim and then back to Greece for some bouzouki dancing!

Top Fuel Dragster racer Thomas Nataas is not racing at this event but hopes to make a race or two in the US at the end of the season, where he qualified seventh in the Winternationals this year. At this event, Thomas is looking after his children Julie and Kevin who ran almost identical reaction times of 0.30s but were placed outside the 32-car ladder at 37th and 38th.

Junior dragster racers Cassandra Stokkeland from Songdalen, Norway and Bjørn Tore Liabø from Klæbu, Norway are enjoying the event which they have attended since 2006. Cassandra is tenth in a field when after only one session less than 0.1s separates the first fifteen competitors.

No less than 43 Junior Dragsters made it to the sole qualifying session today. This group from the Stockholm area include, left to right, the cars of Axel Jungvar, Emil Jungvar, Sebastian Breid, Lina Braathen, and Marcus Back Andersson. They said "It helps to pit together especially with the weather we had yesterday when we could still have some fun."

Super Twin racer Svein Olav Rolfstad said "We are trying to adjust the ignition to get back to a basic setup. I had a problem at Alastaro when the exhaust connection to the head broke and the head exploded off the bike. I felt the hot exhaust gas but fortunately it didn't burn and I was quick off the throttle. It hurt my weekend but on the last pass the bike ran better." In the photo the smoke off the engine is from the new exhaust bedding in.

Super Twin racer Jan Sturla Hegre, Svein Olav's team mate, was pleased with a 6.92/305kph run at Alastaro. "It was my first time racing there, but I have raced here on an ET bracket bike when I was 15. On the eighth mile track for Super Twins, I have to get a good reaction time. The track surface is challenging because it is newly laid and slippery. I hope the resurfacing helps the bump in the right lane."

Super Twin racer Tommy Möller has his bike for sale and you can get in touch to buy it at moller.04255220@telia.com. "The bike is the same as last year and has run a 4.58 on the eighth mile. With 21 bikes going for an eight bike field I will need to run at least as quick as that to qualify." A 4.86 in session one placed him just outside the field.

Super Twin racer Roman Sixta from Šestajovice, Czech Republic has a trip of over 1250km to get to Mantorp. Roman and crewman Rollinger Mirek is developing the Fastcat engine/Bentec clutch combination this year on a bike largely built by himself with a Norwegian chassis. A 6.8941/209.90 on the eighth put him in seventeenth after the first session

Pro Stock Bike racer Stavros Svrachnos from Thessaloniki, Greece is being helped by Paul "Grumpy" Watson this weekend after a last minute call. Paul said "I had my arm twisted and here I am. Stavros is now running a 1655cc engine and we need to get the power delivery right. At Alastaro the clutch was a problem on the start line and the bike was stalling so I will be having a look at that." The first qualifying session produced a repeat of that problem, leaving the team with three more sessions to find the cause. .