Pro Stock Bike racer Dave Beck is in the field at no.6 with a 7.405 but he was unhappy with performance. "We had an electrical problem in the first two passes and didn't know what the cause was. We set the bike to qualify if the problem cleared which it had. But the ET indicates probably the electrical problem resulted in damage to the engine. We are already on our spare engine so we hope it is nothing big."

Top Fuel Bike racer Peter Andersson Ström is having directional problems but managed to qualify no.5. "We have got to get the bike to work properly", he said. "It is going to the left on each run; all I can do is aim for the right of the lane. Fortunately the engine is not hurt. The times are close and I will be racing Rene van den Berg who was only four hundredths quicker."

Super Twin racer Joachim 'Acker' Riemer said "We have had a three year layoff and come back with the same bike, but with a new ignition system and Bentec transmission. There has been a problem on the first two runs with the clutch not locking up. The engine is making enough power but we didn't qualify." His best run was 4.879, good for only 13th place. "We will test at Gardermoen and Mosten and hope to do more events next year."

Super Twin racer Roel Koedam's crew Ton and Vincent Pels were faced with an engine change after damage in the morning session. "We torched a head in the second qualifier. We found out the cause and the reason for a power loss and are having to put in the spare motor. But we are in the field, have time and are comfortable." Roel is fifth with a 4.553.

Super Twin racer Martijn de Haas had to rebuild the engine at the start of the event following damage at Finland. "I have been struggling with the bike's setup this year and had to have the head repaired and new bearings and pistons. The pistons didn't arrive in time so I borrowed some from Ismo Mäenpää; if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be racing here. The bike was going great but on the last two runs it was not straight. But I am happy and confident that I can qualify in Gardermoen after being 16th here with a 5.23. I started with lots of fuel and am starting to run it leaner." The bike has a PRP engine from Tony Ruggieri and a spragless Owens trans.

Super Twin racer Job Heezen is up against team-mate Roel Koedam in the first round tomorrow. "We have not had damage so far but there is only four hundredths difference in our times. Racing each other so early in eliminations is not really good for the points but we are both qualified."

Super Twin racer Ronny Aasen has sold his bike to Atle Jörgensen (who will be the rider) and Jan Röynrs. He said "I will teach Atle and Jan how to run the bike. Atle will start licensing at Gardermoen next week and I will be advising him on riding. The team will do the UEM series next year and I will be involved while I build a brand new bike. Then in 2012 hopefully we will be a two bike team."

Super Twin racer Ismo Mäenpää said "This season has been fine but we have had problems here. On the last run the bike wouldn't start due to no electricity to the coils. Yesterday the handlebar broke off at 100mtrs and I had to shut off. We welded them back last night. This morning, the 60ft time was fine but the bike went up in smoke after that."

Super Twin racer Trond Høiberget said "On the run yesterday I went up in smoke after 100 metres. The clutch plates had stuck and the same happened this morning except the bike went sideways so I shut off. We put in a new clutch and ran much better, a 4.52 to qualify fourth. The engine is very good, a PRP from 2004. I bought the frame two years ago from Thor Holm - it was originally made by Gunnar Olsen and he said it was the best he made. Thanks to team member Bjorn Nordrum who spent over 600 hours on the bike." Trond is looking forward to attending Mosten and the Finals.

Jaska Salakari is racing in both Super Twin and Top Fuel bike with different but similarly spec'd KTM-based bikes. He said "I think my Top Fuel Bike time of 4.17 is the quickest for a high gear only bike over the eighth. The Super Twin bike left well and I had a 1.07 60ft time but lost traction after that. We took power out but the real problem is the shorter ratio on the Super Twin bike and the clutch setup problems from that. If we don't break, we will do Gardermoen and the Finals. I would like to do the whole of the Top Fuel series next year. What I want to prove is it doesn't matter how many cylinders you have in Top Fuel Bike."

Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg is with UK team members Craig Boulton and Tony Harbour. "I discovered on the last pass that the points for the magneto had bent. The bike would not start and we had checked everything. The bike had lots of power earlier and we changed the points for the final run but it was not a good move." Rene is qualified fourth with 4.458.

Pro Stock bike team Veidec finished qualifying with the two bikes of Kalle Lyrén and Stavros Svrachnos qualified, and against each other in round one, but Kenneth Vik not achieving an ET in qualifying. Kenneth's motor cut out on the start line each time and Kenneth was understandably upset. Team principal Roger Lyrén said later that the team hosted 25 guests of Veidec and son and Eurodragster.com blogger Kalle made a presentation about the SVEMO programme for outstanding young racers and how he started in racing. "Kalle is running for an hour and a half three days a week and in the gym for three other days and so he is physically and psychologically strong. Thanks to my wife Matin and sisters Mia, Eva and Annica for helping with the food and to Kalle's sister Sara for taking photos."

Pro Modified racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis ended as 26th on the qualifying list after a huge thrash to change engines. "We had hurt the motor and had to change it between the morning and afternoon sessions. The team did an excellent job but a £5 rubber fuel hose was split and fuel was spilt on the burnout so I was shut off. We were hurt by the tyres and clutch and just need a few days to regroup and rethink our strategy after two DNQs in a row. That is a deal I do not want."

Pro Modified racer Mats Eriksson managed to get into the field with a last minute 6.323. "The blower belt came off this morning and I had to run a good time to qualify. It was a crazy driving job that got me through - I got so close to the wall. I did everything I could and fortunately it was enough."

Pro Modified racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco Maurischat suffered a badly damaged engine with a broken crank and rods and burnt pistons. "Yesterday we were in the first pair after the rain stop and lost oil pressure on the run, doing a 6.8. Then we found the problem. Today we spun the tyres which did not help. We only have a week and a half to get ready for Hockenheim. We will have to call Brad and see what we can get. This is our bad luck year with oil pressure issues at the Mai Event and ignition issues in Finland."

Pro Modified racer Matthias Wulcan had a crash here last year but failed to qualify today with a 7.61. "At least we did a 6.4 last year; I think we did better then in spite of the accident." Matthias's new car is from Bertans Race Cars with the same engine and trans and new rear end. His next event is a Top Doorslammer race at Sundsvall.

Pro Modified racer Johan Samuelsson was a non-qualifier after a wild pass. "The engine was misfiring and I didn't want to hurt parts", he said. "We will see whether we want to enter the next Top Doorslammer event as we may wish to solve problems at our local track. As for sponsors, hard work is my sponsor."

Pro Modified racer Freddie Fagerström was no. 6 qualifier after a 6.29 in the last session. Crew man Stefan Petersen said "We put so many changes in, we nearly turned the car upside down. Now we are getting back to where we were - we broke the rear end and transmission in Finland. The car has always been good to us and now we have something to read about on our computer."

Pro Modified racer Micke Lindahl had a 6.353 in the first session but didn't improve on it today. "The problem is tyre shake and the car moving to the left. We have tried different setups. The problem is worst on full power and have tried changing the four link and gear ratios. There is only a small window of correct settings." The team are planning for a new Tim McAmis chassis and '63 Vette body for 2011.

Pro Modified racer Timo Äikää is at his first race outside Finland with his '61 Impala. "This is our third year with the car which I built myself from a half finished chassis we imported from the US. We use a 706cu in Fulton motor with nitrous and have a best of 6.91/322kph. We didn't improve on that this weekend, but have a taste for more racing in this series."

Pro Modified racer Niclas Andersson was pleased to be no.3 in the ladder. "We did a great run yesterday. Today we tried to step up but it didn't work so we will go back to the old settings which we use at the Top Doorslammer races. This event is fun for us. We are focused on winning the Top Doorslammer series for the third year in a row and next year will change the focus to the FIA championship."

Top Fuel racer Jari Halinen ran 4.4747/436.12 to be fifth in the first session. Team member Gary Page said "It shook and Jari pedaled it; we are hoping for a better run today and we want to go quicker." Pictured, left to right are team members Toby, Jamie, Paul, Gary and Laurie.

Top Fuel racer Urs Erbacher still appears to have the strongest-sounding car out there. He said "A fuel line broke in the last quarter of the track and this caused the engine to lean out but fotunately there was not much damage. We will try to go quicker today and will put more clutch and fuel in it." Urs is planning to run the last two races of the NHRA season and some of next season, sponsorship permitting.

Top Fuel racer Micke Kågered smoked the tyres at the hit and the resulting revs caused a blackened crank; a bearing needed replacing but there was no piston damage. He said "The left lane was not so good for us so we hope it will hook up on the next pass." Micke will be hosting 250 guests from sponsors Bahco, Amalie and MPM oil. Also on the car are long-time sponsors Mitutoyo who make precision measuring equipment.

Top Fuel racer Anita Mäkelä was delighted at a new track record 4.0599. "I slept well last night knowing I was no.1 qualifier," she said. "I pushed the throttle and it happened; I actually shut off a little before the end of the track because I didn't want to hurt anything. My eighth mile time was much quicker than the others. The car was not so smooth so I was not sure whether or not it was going to break anything, but it was fine. My friend Monique Koedam texted me to say 'Don't touch anything on the car,' but you have to try something new. We just want to be humble and work for the results."

Nostalgia Funny Car racer Erik Wallinder is racing the Rimfrost Vette, which comprises a chassis formerly raced by Jonne Anderssen and the Bifrost 'Vette body once raced by Martin Hopp. The body was found after a search in North Sweden after a rumour that it had been upside down in a forest for 12 years. We found a friend had beaten us to it and he kindly gave it to us on the condition that we restored it. It needed a new roof and sides and there was a lot of mould on it." Erik will be racing Leif Helander in the Tre Kronor car here and will be driving Tre Kronor himself at the California Hot Rod Reunion in November.

The chassis of Rimfrost was the first 125 inch car in Europe and has been updated by Mats Eriksson with a modern cage. Erik said "The old cage was really low. Jonne Anderssen ran it on a Monza in 1978 and sold it to Anders Lian whi raced it as the Apocalypse Pro Comp car. It crashed at Mantorp in 1983 when the throttle stuck. The engine is a single magneto, mandated under US nostalgia rules, with a modern TFX block and Brad Anderson heads but old-style 6/71 blower and Waterman fuel system with a Lenco two speed."

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Danny Bellio managed to get a brand new Brad Anderson block at very short notice after problems earlier in the year. "At Easter a rod broke and we had to get the block repaired. Then at the Main Event another rod went in the shutdown area causing more damage so we thought a new block would be better than repairing an old one that had given us problems. The other parts came last Friday and we put the engine together and started it just in time for the event. Yesterday I was only on the throttle for a few seconds and I have never been so happy with an eight second pass."

Pro Mod racer Patrik Wikström suffered traction woes like many others. "I pedaled it three times as we needed to do a run to get qualified. The car is strong with monster output from the engine and good data from the computer on the power. I want to continue testing the Boss supercharger and set some records before manufacturing it to sell to other teams."

Pro Mod racer Tomi Pöntinen from Mikkeli, Finland runs this '68 Camaro. Team member Miha Raiha told us "On the first run we backed the car up too far and we smoked the tyres. We are struggling as we only run a few races to sort things out. But the car which we bought from US racer Eddie Ware, is a proven combination and was built by Cajun Pro Cars, a firm that built record-holding Pro Street cars."

Pro Mod racer Jan Gunnarsson said "The problem with racing is having to get all the small parts working together at the same time. At the Main Event we aborted the first run and pedalled in the second yet still got on the ladder, only to have problems starting the engine which upset us and I had a bad reaction time. We qualified well in Finland , but then the clutch adjustment tool was loose which gave us too much clutch and we had bad tyre shake. We won't have that problem here and know the car will go real fast as long as everything works." Jan's next, and possibly final FIA race this year is Hockenheim. .

Top Fuel racer Andy Carter suffered tyre smoke on the hit in yesterday's session. "Nothing less than a win will do this weekend", he said. "We have backed the car down and taken out clutch. It is a struggle, the car has the best equipment available and is difficult to back down. But there can be no excuses - I have every confidence the Lucas Oil team will get the job done." Andy is pictured with Kenneth Lundsten of Veidec who are sponsoring the team here, with Andy's Agrati-Garrelli bike, like one he rode as a teenager in North London.

Top Fuel racer Janne Ahonen said "Yesterday was difficult with the rain and the track conditions. I am hoping for better today but otherwise the car was running well. We had a problem with the clutch in Finland and have got a new AFT one here." Tony Pearson from Janne's crew added that the new clutch didn't lock up quite as it should in yesterday's run but it wasn't a real issue given the conditions. Janne's time was 4.3849/373.37, good for no.4.

Top Fuel racer Håken Fallström is running a new car built by ME Racing services for owner Bjorn Martensen. Håken said "I am helping Bjorn build a new team. I will drive the car here and at the next Sundsvall meeting Monica Öberg will drive it and Bjorn will make his initial launch. There have been time problems getting the car together and my old team are helping Bjorn's team to learn how to run it. The team's intention is to run the FIA championship next year and I am happy being involved." New car woes included a battery pack failure on the first run and a throttle stop coming off leading to a lifted blower failure on the burnout for the second.

Top Fuel racer Timo Lehtimaki, winner at Alastaro, suffered an oil pump drive shaft problem on firing up, which meant taking the pump and the MSD magnetos attached to it out from the engine and replacing the unit. Crewman Ulf Hultholm said "It is a common problem and we have enough spares. We are confident that if the track is good then we can have another great race and keep our points position." The team will race at Hockenheim and, if a top three points place looks likely, at the Finals. More information on the team is at til-racing.com. Timo was 6th after the first session with a 4.513 but quickest 60ft time of 0.9033.

Top Fuel racer Stig Neergaard is running the team with Joran Persåker but with Joran's own red car after Stig's crash in Finland. US tuner John Smith is here to oversee both cars with Tommy Rostgaard and Rolf Iversen doing the heads on Joran's car and Ian Pellant and Tom Juhl on Stig's car. Stig said "We put the complete setup from my car into Joran's but softened it slightly. That was a good thing for Joran who ran 4.362 to qualify third while I lost traction from the start. Today we will run my car softer."

Canadian Top Fuel team owner Barry Paton is Stig's guest this weekend. He lives near Grand Bend ontario and, as such, has known Smax Smith for about 35 years. "Smax doesn't change but he now has three young boys that are little Smaxs." Barry's history includes driving the Nitro Fish Funny Car in the late 90s and early 2000s and now his son Todd drives the family's fueler, with Stig having stepped into it on occasion. At the recent IHRA Grand Bend race Todd won Top Fuel in spite of an all night thrash to repair an errant one-piece body which came off at speed and caught him on his helmet.

Top Fuel racer Monica Öberg is delighted with her new car, built by Lars-Goran Eriksson. "We have only done three passes on the car and are pleased to be back in the centre after a long time out. But after 30 years in racing, 28 of which have been in Top Fuel, I will only run when I like to. I think I have the same chance of winning as everyone else. We had a cylinder out on the run yesterday but will hopefully improve." The second pass this afternoon was an early-lift 4.374/341kph.

Top Fuel Bike racer Peter Svensson's crew chief and brother Soren suffered a broken belt at 120m yesterday which caused a pushrod and four exhaust valves to fail. Soren said "The bike is running straighter after our changes to the frame and we have tested new tyres at Veidec Raceway, the bike running straight on both, but we still have to test at high speed." The broken belt was suspected to be caused by the clutch locking up. The second run put Peter into pole with a great 4.0748/302.15.

Top Fuel Bike racer Finn Asserbo has been in the class for 12 years and used to run a six cylinder Honda until he bought his current Puma Yamaha five years ago. The bike has a Bentec transmission, has run a best of 6.5/336kph and more details are at www.dragbiker.com. He is currently in seventh with 4.940.

Top Fuel Bike racer Sverre Dahl has a new frame and uses the same running gear as his previous bike. He said "I had to build it in a small garage but I will be moving to a new workshop soon." He was preparing during Friday and came out this morning on the Sunoco-sponsored machine with a 4.428 putting him straight into no.2 position.

Top Fuel Bike racer Petri Paljakka bought Ian King's Puma Yamaha machine last winter and decided to keep the paint the same, adding highlight stripes. "The paint was so beautiful I didn't want to take it away", he said. He ran a 6.6/347kph at Alastaro and is sixth with a 4.647 here. The team include Pasi Söderlund, Pasi Hirvasoja, Minna Paljakka and Virve Vuopio.

Pro Stock racer Jimmy Ålund had a frustrating run in the damp and cold conditions yesterday, finishing the day only eighth after a wheels-up launch followed by shake. Today however he was back to his best with a 6.7793/329.22 putting him into no.1 spot with a new track speed record.