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FIA Clerk of the Course and for many the face of the NitrOlympX and German Drag Racing Jerry Lackey is retiring following this event after over 50 years of service to the sport. Starting as a racer, he became a promoter, organiser and race director, and was on the committee that started the NitrOlympX back in 1986. He oversees a large team to attain his vision of the largest drag race in Europe, and has successfully solved the problems of track prep and racer and crowd loyalty that impact any promoter and organiser, whilst at the same time inspiring admiration for his modest yet forthright manner. We wish him a long and happy retirement and look forward to seeing him at events across Europe in the future.	Top Fuel Dragster racer Stig Neergaard, pictured with son Kenni (right of picture) and Mike Domagala of Premium Motorsports Products, is delighted to have Kenni back on the team here. He said 'It's great to be here, but the season hasn't gone well. We changed parts and started last year with a new car but we haven't got the setup to get it down the track and the six disc clutch setup has been tricky in particular. We also had small breakages like a broken rocker arm and a blower belt failing after three runs'. Stig plans to run Tierp, Mosten's Race Day and the Euro Finals, with the repaired slingshot in Mosten. He commented 'The slingshot is the money maker'. Next year Stig will run the FIA tour again with Kenni added as a second car at some races. Today he went out in round one against Liam Jones, after qualifying 6th with a 4.667/274.52.
Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkeläa suffered a broken blower belt in her final qualifying pass, which slowed the car to a 4.057. She said 'The tyres spun at the top end causing the failure. But with two 3.8s in qualifying earlier I have strong faith in my car and the team. It is like a chicken hunt with Liam and Maja - they are competitive and all capable of going less than four seconds'. In round one Anita had a bye, and after a tree glitch left the team with no option but to shut off and restart in a matter of minutes, she calmly pulled off a 3.932/474kph to gain lane choice against Jndia in the semi final. Anita ran a 3.928 to win the semi final against Jndia and 3.999 against Maja Udtian in the final to become Top Fuel Dragster champion at the NitrOlympX for the second time.	Top Fuel Dragster racer Micke Kågered said his car is 'OK but not more than that. It hasn't gone down the track properly so far but we are hoping that will improve in round one. The team and parts are the same and we know we have all won before. But we struggle in qualifying. The first run on Friday should have been good but I decided to lift, it's usually better to lift in qualifying if you have some doubts'. Micke ran a 4.743/284 in round one but lost to Jndia Erbacher.
Top Fuel Dragster racer Maja Udtian ran a 3.882 in Q2 and 3.927 in Q3. She said 'We struggled in Finland and smoked the tyres every time there and in Q1. So it was good to get two full passes. It's a good track here and hopefully we can do well'. In round one she defeated Urs Erbacher and is up against fellow RFM Motorsport competitor Liam Jones in the semi final. But the semi final win was at the cost of engine damage and both her and Liam's team worked hard to replace the bullet in the time allowed. The replacement engine worked fine but a 4.02 was not quite enough in an exciting race against Anita. Maja also let us know that she has already signed up her sponsors and team for next year.	Top Fuel Dragster racer Liam Jones, who has already made plans for 2020, is confident after 3.923, 3.943 and 3.904 in qualifying. He said 'There was no damage on the first run and only a piston on the second and slight cylinder head burn on the third, but nothing major. The car seems to work well at this track'. He defeated Stig in round one with a 3.921.
Top Methanol Dragster racer Jonny Lagg's crew chief Krister Johansson looked pensive before Jonny's round one race against Jürgen Nagel, which Jonny lost on a holeshot. The time for Jonny was 5.493/410, a couple of tenths off his best to a surprising 5.932/340 for Jürgen.	Top Methanol Dragster racer Silvio Strauch had more engine problems after a 5.519 in Q3, the team needing to change heads on the car. But in round one against Sandro Bellio, Silvio's car crept forward as he went up on the revs and he lit the red bulb.
Top Fuel Dragster racer Jndia Erbacher said 'We were happy with the result on Friday of 4.060 in session one and 4.089 in session two. The time is hurting a little from having an old blower which led to a dropped cylinder, on the 4.08 I shut off early too. I am grateful to Monster Energy who have given me great publicity, we are also having TV exposure through Indja - The Fast Life and an interview in Playboy magazine. Indja thanks her crew chief Aaron Brooks who works with Tony Shortall on Urs's car.	Top Fuel Dragster racer Urs Erbacher said 'We suffered in qualifying by losing two cylinders at the hit in Q1 and Q3, after missing Q2 assessing the problem. We put on a refreshed supercharger but it didn't help. My best ET was 5.605'. Then in round one, Urs crept through the beams and then hit the gas to record no time. He said the plan for 2020 is to sell or hire the car.
Top Methanol Funny Car racer Sandro Bellio of Eurodragster.com sponsor Dyno Unlimited said the car is running well and consistently, with a 5.55 in session one and 5.50 in session three. In session two the car rolled the beams but the data indicated a mid 5.4s pass. Sandro leaves the line with slightly lower revs than in the US; he remarked 'I could leave with higher revs but it wouldn't really give me an advantage and we adjust the car for a good launch with lower revs. None of the three qualifying runs had tyre shake which is the first time that happened in two years'. In eliminations Sandro defeated Silvio Strauch with a 5.602 in round one before losing to Timo Habermann a 5.663 (less 0.22s) to Timo's 5.449.	Top Methanol Funny Car racer Jürgen Nagel won on a holeshot against Jonny Lagg and then had a bye into the final against Timo Habermann. Earlier, crew chief Frank Schwimmer (pictured) said 'In qualifying we had some gremlins in session one, checked the car and couldn't find anything. So we have prepared the car for round one as usual'. The car ran 5.932/340 in round one. The team have a new Camaro body and will continue to use the existing chassis which Jürgen fabricated and MBR engine next year.
Pro Mod racer Jean Dulamon lost on a big holeshot to Michel Tooren but was nevertheless delighted to run a new PB of 6.030/383. He said 'We are lucky to have Brandon Switzer from Switzer Dynamic here, he has designed and built our EFI and nitrous system including the inlet manifold and ECU'.	Pro Mod racer Marck Hartefeld said 'We are really testing here as we are not running for the FIA championship. The track is very good and the car has run well with no engine damage. We have changed the rear end in preparation for Santa Pod and will figure out a setup here'. He qualified 6th with 6.007 and went on to defeat Kim Christiansen in round one with a 6.126 and then lost to David Vegter with another 6.126 in round two.
Pro Mod racer Michel Tooren said 'We have a lot of our sponsors here today and it was good to get past round one, but I feel sorry for Jean. The left hand lane is a bit greasy and we have had to pedal in that, but the combination with the new engine is working well and the chassis setup is giving us wheels up launches which we are trying to calm down. In Q2 we had a fuel system issue which hurt one piston when a cylinder went lean'. In round one Michel ran a winning 6.189 but the car got loose against Jan Ericsson in round two and Michel lifted.	Pro Mod racer Micke Gullqvist suffered a medical problem as he was about to leave for the event. He said 'A kidney stone caused a blockage and my kidney function stopped. They put in a bypass and I will need to go back for an operation within six months. The medics said I was to go home but I am feeling a new person and not needing pain killers'. Although he missed Q1, Micke ran 6.074 in session two and 5.927 in session three, both in the left lane. 'So I chose the right lane for E1 which I had not run in up to then'. A 5.976 defeated Dmitry Samurokov, and in round two a 6.04 defeated Andreas Arthursson who red lit. In the semi final Micke himself red lit to a 6.041.
Pro Mod racer Jan Ericsson who is leading the points had a performance advantage in qualifying with a 5.876 placing him in no.1. He said 'I have been here before last year and also when I ran Pro Stock. My run in the first round against Marcus Hilt wasn't the best as he left early, but it improved in round two to a 5.927'. He then defeated a red-lighting Micke Gullqvist with a 5.982 in the semi final, before red-lighting in the final to Jimmy Ålund. 'I'm not thinking about the FIA Championship, I am also leading the Nordic championship and so every race is important'.	Pro Mod racer Mats Eriksson lost in round one to a Peter Kunc holeshot, the RTs being 0.005 for Peter and 0.146 for Mats. Mats reflected 'Although I qualified 7th with a 6.046 we had had a lot of problems with the transbrake going back to Finland. We thought they had been fixed but it recurred here. I had a good run on Friday, but lost a good time on Saturday to driver error and bad luck. Peter took a chance with his 0.005 RT, it is a bit of a fluke and something that works occasionally. The track is better than we expected and the main thing we gained is data which should help us at Tierp and Santa Pod in September.
Pro Mod racer David Vegter qualified third with a 5.920 but was unsure about the conditions. 'The track is good but the air is poor and it is too hot, so we are trying to be consistent but can't go as quick as we want. There have been no problems mechanically and it has been a clean weekend so far. We are chasing for points, the fastest cars are through to round two and we need to step up'. A 6.054 helped him defeat Marck Harteveld in round two, but then metal filings were discovered in the warm up for the semi final and the team decided to withdraw rather than miss a mechanical disaster with two races coming up in the next three weeks.	Pro Mod racer Andreas Arthursson is here for the first time and only team member Ulf Stadig has raced here before, in 2003. Andreas qualified fifth with a 5.942 as the car acclimatised to the track. He said 'On Saturday we tried to go too fast and today we don't think the track will take a 5.8 as it's too hot. Mechanically we are moving some weight around. A good run will be a 5.9'. A 6.043 was sufficient to defeat Roger Johansson in round one, then in round two a red light spelt defeat against Micke Gullqvist.
Pro Mod racer Peter Kunc hoped to repeat the quick RT that gave him a holeshot win against Mats Eriksson. He said 'The car feels good, we are struggling with our 60ft time. But if the car is not quick, you need to be quick on the tree - and I saw the yellow! Our EFI and nitrous setup is new this year and whilst the engine was not a problem, we misjudged the track and could have used more nitrous'. He tried for a quick RT in round two against Jimmy Ålund but left a 0.337 red on the tree.	Pro Mod racer and race winner Jimmy Ålund's car owner and crew chief Magnus Petersson was working on modifying the rear wing to give more clearance after borrowing tyres from Dmitry Samurokov when the previous pair were suspected to be out of balance and causing tyre shake. Magnus said 'the championship is really close, and apart from the tyres, the car is behaving well, it's just me behaving badly!' The car qualified second with a 5.879 and then ran 5.962 in round one against Ingo Ekert, 5.914 against Peter Kunc and then a 5.945 in the semi on a bye against a no-show David Vegter. A 5.957 in the final defeated Jan Ericsson's 5.887 at the cost of a red light for Jan. Previously Jimmy had won Pro Stock against Robin Norén
Pro Mod and Super Pro ET racer John Tebenham was here to run in two classes and won the prize money for the burnout at the Night Show. He said 'There was so much smoke in the car I couldn't breathe. I qualified no.3 in Super Pro and am still in competition. In Pro Mod we had little problems, the oil cap came off and then we had a methanol leak which led to the car going left on one run and right on another, and a battery problem. We were 17th and ready as an alternate but it didn't happen. I have 15 people in my team including Marco who has been great helping me but now Luke Robinson is doing the tuning and put a Racepak on it.'	Super Comp racer Marc Schön bought this dragster from Sweden, previously raced in A/Fuel competition and now intended for Super Comp. However with the large rear wing it may be necessary to put a supercharger on the engine to get the times down to 8.90. As a development car though, we can't fault it.
Super Pro ET racer Marc Henney said that his team won't be able to attend the Euro Finals due to lack of budget and holiday time, but will be back next year. At this race Marc got through round one but not without problems. 'We had a problem with the oil pick-up and took it to Liam Jones who got Paul Ingar Udtian to weld it together and thanks to them. We also had a break in the fuel tank and thanks to Marc van der Boer from the Super Twins who welded that together'.	Jack, crew member for Liam Jones was checking the tyres in the pairing lanes, the pressures being critical and subject to change according to the weather conditions.
Top Fuel Bike racer Rickard Gustafsson ran a great pair in the second qualifying session alongside Filippos Papafilippou, 6.149/366.56 to Fil's 6.152/378.24. This and an appearance at the night show capped Rickard's come-back.	Junior Drag Bike racer Megan Talbot qualified fourth with a 10.025 on a 9.80 index. The field here is eight qualified bikes, with the class also running in the UK this weekend, indicating an increase in support across Europe.
Junior Drag Bike racer Geeuwke Siersema from the Netherlands is qualified third with a 13.215 on a 13.00 dial in. Geeuwke is eight years old and has been on motorbikes since he was six.	Super Street Bike racer Knut Moller ran a 8.089 in session one and struggled to a 16.395 in session two for 22nd place, outside the sixteen bike field.
Super Street Bike racer Margot Schmidt from the Netherlands ran a best of 8.091 to go 23rd and will be spectating in today's eliminations	Super Street Bike racer Garry Bowe ran a 7.045 in session one and 9.948 in session two. He is in fourth place.
Super Street Bike racer Rick Stubbins ran a best of 7.527 to go 16th in the ladder, meaning a race against six second runner Vesa Ruhanen in round one.	Super Street Bike racer Yannick Richard from France ran a best of 7.622, which in this record field (after only two sessions!) placed him 19th.
Super Street Bike racer Steve Wood, a regular visitor to Hockenheim, ran a best of 8.265 in the two sessions.	Super Street Bike racer Vesa Ruhanen from Finland uncorked a 6.953/348.90 to set up the first half of a new speed record at 216.80. His historic run was also Hockenheim's first ever Super Street Bike six second pass. He went 7.70 in the second session. His bike is a Kawasaki ZZR1400, one of few in competition around the world and the quickest, and has a monocoque frame.
Super Street Bike racer Clemens Walleit, riding a Kawasaki ZX12R, went 7.664 and 7.614 in the two sessions to end qualifying in 18th place, consistent but below the 7.527 bump spot.	Super Street Bike racer Krisztián Jász from Hungary ended up 15th with a 7.502 recorded in session two (he didn't start in session one).
Super Street Bike racer Erich Gruber from Austria ran 8.141 in session one and 7.700 in session two to go 20th, so he will be spectating today. The bikes queued up in the pairing lanes for session three but the session was annulled after the rains came, few bikes improving on their previous position.	Super Street Bike racer Graham Dance said he had new parts and setup which greatly improved the second half of the pass to go 202mph. 'The bike has a new plenum which is getting more fuel into the engine. We just need to improve the 60ft time and then will have a competitive machine'. His best of 7.545 made him first alternate.
Super Street Bike racer Mark Hope is 14th with a 7.502 and brother Alex is 8th with a 7.228, both bikes being serviced by dad Chris Hope as usual.	Super Street Bike racer Xristos Agapidis from Greece is 13th with a 7.501, a great performance from a rider who doesn't run often on fully prepped tracks. He thanks the Drag Racing Club of Greece for their support.
Super Street Bike racer Rudi Zorzi from Italy ran a best of 7.360 to go 12th in qualifying.	Super Street Bike racer Ida Zetterström from Finland has had much improved performance over the last year. She said 'I was pleased to win the EDRS race at Gardermoen as I was the first female rider to win in the EDRS Pro Nordic SSB series and recorded a new PB of 7.101 as well'.
Super Street Bike racer Alex Hope is qualified 8th with 7.228 and said the team are refining the setup to make the bike competitive against the top runners in the category.	Super Street Bike racer Daniel Donat Lencses from Hungary ran a best of 7.150/324kph to go sixth.
Super Street Bike racer Graham Balchin, one of four Kawasaki riders in the ladder, went 7.206/322 to go seventh.	Super Street Bike racer Steve Venables had to change an engine on Friday after problems in session one, was helped by Steve Wood and went on to run a 7.02/325kph in session two which placed him third in the overall order.
Pro Stock Bike racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Martin Newbury, with parts supplied by Vance & Hines, ran a great 7.256 in session one and ended in second position in the qualifying order. Wife Cindy said 'It's a lot of work and travel but we love coming to Hockenheim'.	Pro Stock Bike racer Martin Bishop and his team prepared diligently, building two new engines for the event and a spare head as well. In Q1 Martin went 7.570 and in Q2 7.611 to go fourth, after which the team noticed leakdown and worked Friday until late lapping in new valves.
Pro Stock Bike racers Karl-Heinz Weikum and Kenneth Hölmberg were discussing the conditions of the track before the planned third qualifying session, which was cancelled due to the rain leaving them in 11th and 12th respectively but still with an opportunity to race in the 13 bike ladder.	Pro Stock bike racer Fredrick Fredlund is no.1 qualifier with a 7.067/302 and is pleased with the number of bikes in attendance for this round of the FIM championship. 'It's good to see bikes from so many countries around Europe, the times are slower than the NHRA, in which Harleys dominate, but our riders get very little track time and have less budget. I enjoy helping the new riders in the class and hope the FIM championship can continue to expand in the future'.