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21:00

Lorenz Stauble (Top Fuel Bike) said, "our first qualifying run went very well. I didn't expect to run a full pass. It was a good start up to the shifting point, then had a slight problem with my left hand shifting but still ran a 6.82, close to my PB of 6.79. After that run, we started to change the settings on the bike only a little bit but the adjustments didn't work and we have not been able to make any further full passes. Over the winter, we made a lot of changes to the ignition system and clutch and it all seems to work fine.

17:00

Micke Kagered (Top Fuel) said, "We are using this meeting as a test session to sort out problems before the Main Event. We suffered bad tyre shake on both our runs yesterday. If we didn't have tyre shake we would have run a good pass. We've struggled with a couple of things and hope our change to a slider valve will help. This does the job of timers and is easier to set up, but does need a good setup to work properly. To help us, we want to do as many runs as possible, and hope to do three runs tomorrow. As well as the FIA series, we hope to run at Hockenheim and attend two more races in Sweden, including the Stockholm track. We also welcome two new sponsors this year, the Amalie Oil Company and 3M - Bahco Tools is our main sponsor.

Dave Milam (Methanol Funny Car) said, "The crankshaft broke at 1000' on our best-ever pass to that point. The ET, which was a 6.2 would probably have been a five with no breakage. The crank broke all the bolts off the main bearings. The bits of crank broke the trans off, which tore itself up. The Lenco lever was thrashing around and wrapped itself around Steph's leg but, thankfully, she's fine. We're pleased with the run to that point, that Steph is alright and that we didn't crash. The motor damage is quite bad; we will need to replace the short motor, clutch and parts of the transmission. We will need to survey the damage before we decide what to do for the rest of the season."

Mats Eriksson (Pro Mod) said, "We were pleased with the 6.34/227.23 yesterday (which was a big mph for us) but our time was off our best for 60' and at the eigth. Today we went sideways in the left lane after adjusting the rear end suspension. We are working to get the launch and handling right and want to do some test runs tomorrow as well as eliminations."

Jonas Dantanus (Super Street) said, "We are pleased to be here - we came here last Easter and it's a good start to the year. This is my third season driving and before that I was on Michael Malmgren's crew with Christer Gustafsson, who is my father-in-law and my crew chief." Jonas bought his Dodge Challenger from a Swedish racer who had raced it for ten years and won the NDRS Super Street championship in 2002. "We made a few changes, including adding wheelie bars, new disc brakes at the front, ported the heads and added new paint. The car was in pieces two weeks ago. The power after the rebuild is 760ci and that's giving us some problems with traction. We want to put on some ladder bars after this meeting, which should help. We plan to run the NDRS championship" (in which Jonas came third last year). Jonas's crew are all family members and includes girlfriend Jessica and mechanics Simon Gustafsson and John Skoglund, who are cousins. Jonas said "My son Pontus will go for his Junior dragster license and Jennifer Gustafsson already drives a junior dragster." Sponsors are 76 Oil, M-150 Energy Drink and Persaker's Speed Shop.

Nick Davies, driver of the Havoc Altered said of his run this morning, "We drove through the clutch which we took apart and rebuilt and then reinstalled. We're pleased with the run yesterday and hope to come out again this evening."

Frank Bennett has former Joran Persaker crew member Cliff Gould helping with the tuning of the car. "We were pleased with the 7.54 Frank ran yesterday, especially considering the chutes were out at 1000'. We had a problem with the fuel pump drive this morning. It had come loose and we didn't discover it until the warmup, so we couldn't appear for this morning's session. We'll run again next time out."

Chaos, the new Fuel Altered to be driven by John Wright, was fired up in the pits so will hopefully be running next session.

Tony Betts who is running the Fuel Altered 'Venom' said "This is our first time out with this car and it's gone alright. We were ok on the burnout but then had a timing gremlins, so we stripped the parts down and reassembled it. This is my first time out since 2002, when we ran a nitro Funny Car; we ran an altered on methanol in 2000. We ran a 6.8 with this motor, but have a new spare motor built up too. It is a 494ci Keith Black with Dart Heads and 20% blower overdrive. We have a new Edelebrock computer too." Tony is sponsored by Teng Tools and engine builders Superpower Unlimited (owned by Kenny Gomez). The team has the same members as before, John Morley, Kevin Miller and wife Elaine.

Wendy Baker, driver of the Time Warp Fuel Altered excited the crowd with her run this morning, which was on two wheels at one point. "It wasn't intentional", said Wendy. "The motor is making some serious horsepower now but the clutch settings weren't right and when the last stage came in, it didn't like it. When the car goes sideways, you've got to react very quickly and can't be gentle. You have to apply opposite lock and this time, the car dug in and we were up on two wheels. It's different from a dragster, which tends to drift gradually. When a fuel altered lets go handling-wise, it's sudden and you've got to be quick with the steering input. We installed new liners and pistons, increasing the capacity from 496ci to 513ci. We've new rods, valves, rods and fuel pump." Wendy's existing team continues with crew chief Paul Stubbings, with Jamie, Sarah, Bear and a returnee from many years ago - David 'H' Mortimer, who used to crew with Allan Herridge and Ronnie Picardo in the 1970s. Wendy said "Nitro is much better to run on than alky even when we have an alky motor at home that could easily run sixes. This car though is like 2000hp in a phone booth."

Clayton Round with the Rebel T Alky Altered, said "Our first run seemed fine. We have new tyres and wheels. On the launch the car moved to the right. I eased off and pedaled and the car went straight when I got back on it to a 8.57/171. On the second run, the launch was perfect, the car carried its front wheels and pulled well, and at half track, the back end started sliding about. We were able to anticipate the car's movement and it was still under control and we went 7.61/181.29. On the third run, I got a little anxious on the line and didn't nail the throttle; we still had a good 60ft time of 1.038 (our best is a 1.02). The car went straight and then we short-shifted at 5000rpm compared to 6500-7000 normally. The result was a 7.183/186.02, only two tenths off our personal best. Over the winter we installed a new roll cage and our thanks go to Andy Robinson for bending the tube. The big block Rodek Chevy motor has an 8-71 blower and each run we have taken the sump off to inspect the main bearings and we are happy with it."

Derek Flynn, who you will see from yesterday's photo gallery trashed a blower, has managed to obtain a replacement and other parts for the Gold RV Super Pro dragster. "We obtained a blower courtesy of Clive and Andy, two friends of Bob Glassup, who we thank, a new convertor from Jeff Bull and also used our spare heads. Steve, who had gone to South Wales to get a new convertor for Ian Tubb, was sent to East Essex to get our spare from Jeff Bull's shop and we are very grateful to them too. Also I would like to say a big thankyou to the firecrews at the top end. I was on fire as the methanol from the blower had gone on to the torque converter and caught fire. We now use Alky Blue cylinder lubricant in the methanol so that the flames can be seen, which helps in that sort of situation. Fortunately the blower restraint kept it on and we now use a blanket too. To get to this stage the team had to thrash right through the night."

Martin Curbishley said "We have bought the Jeff Bull-built 540ci alky motor from Super Pro racer Gary Malin and have run a 7.74/174 with it this weekend. The motor has twin Dominator carbs and a TSI Powerglide. I am so busy at work I can only do a few rounds of the Championship this year. Recent work has included Ian Turburville's and Chris Hannam's bikes and we are shortly about to receive Belinda Bull's Camaro for work." Martin wanted to thank his two new members of staff at the paint shop, Neil Siddall and Dave Wood, for their work.

11:00

In the first session of Pro ET, John Atkinson ran a 9.492 on a 9.20 dial-in. That was not enough to get the 2005 champion, who has been battling gearbox woes all weekend, into the 32-car field and after the first he was currently at no. 36 with two more timetabled sessions remaining before this afternoon's round one of eliminations. In the second session he finally got in at no.19.

Alan Jackson, tuner for Micke Kagered's Top Fuel team said, "Yesterday We struggled with tyre shake on both runs, bad enough to shake the chute out. However our 60 foot time was a 0.852 which was the car's best. We thought about this until late last night and decided to put a slide valve on the fuel system, which we obtained from another team. We hope this will solve the problem we believe there is with the engine management system. The clutch is working fine. During the winter we made some chassis modifications which we believe will help the car launch better." Alan added that CBD Racing is likely to field two entries at the Main Event.

John Spuffard said that the weather yesterday prevented the Pro Fuel Shootout entries performing to their potential. "The car launched fine but smoked the tyres after half a second", said John. "We then pedalled and recovered and the car started to rattle and broke the tyres loose again at the top end. The car ran straight and there were no handling issues. We tested in late September and the changes from that session worked. We will leave the setup as it is and hope the warmer conditions will help us get down the track."

Danny Cockerill, who ran a 6.60 earlier in the meeting has had to withdraw following a routine check revealing a mains cap nut had worked its way loose. "The mains cap fell in half", said Danny. "We caught it before it did any damage to the crank or bearings. However to repair we will need to strip the motor down and line bore the new mains cap to the block. We hope to have this ready by the Main Event, and also hope to run at the doorslammer shootout and the Euro Finals. My thanks go to Dave, Gareth, Mikey and Steve Mac on the crew." Danny's sponsors are Sunblades.net, Jonell Steel Erectors, Ellis Traction Services and DFDS Seaways.

Brian Burrows, who has raced VWs since 1990 and won the VWDRC Championship in the first UK-constructed VW Pro car, which he still owns, is running a newly acquired 1957 Oval Window this weekend. "I bought it from Joe Maestas in California, who ran it in Der Renn Kafer Cup, a competition with points for both ET and Concours; the car won the 2004 Championship over there," said Brian. "Jon Webster built the roll cage which the car did not have to have in the US. Our first run was a 12.7 - I was out so early this morning I didn't wake up until I got into third. The car does wonderful wheelies off the line though." As well as racing and the VWDRC, Brian is promoter of the Big Bang.

Graham Ellis (Super Mod) who has been qualified no. 1 all weekend, said "We have had a few problems as the engine is getting very old and tired and is showing some weaknesses after each run. We will have to nurse it through the next two meetings and then do a major rebuild, with bigger cubic inches and many new parts, including clutch. We are still making good passes with a comfort zone over our next competitors. Thanks go to my crew Rob Millward and Kev Perkins. I want my son Gareth Ellis, who crews for Danny Cockerill, back over here - Danny, keep your hands off !" Sponsors are Wisbech American Street & Performance and Classic Coachworks, Peterborough.

Matthew Wright (Super Pro ET) said "We've had an excellent weekend with our Chevrolet C10 truck - this is our first time out with the new truck, which was built by B & J Racecars. We did a test launch on Friday and ran a 9.6 three quarters pass yesterday and then a medium full pass at 9.4, with a 9.3 this morning. With our aerodynamics, the car is shaking a little at the top end in the wind and the doors are flying open at speed, which gets my attention. The current motor setup (blown big block with carbs) is putting out 800 horsepower, but we have another blower pulley to give 1000 hp. I hope Tog likes the rolling burnouts; the truck is great to drive and we are still sorting out the suspension settings - we have booked it into Webster Race Engineering to have the car baselined before the Shakespeare Nationals in a couple of weeks' time. The car is a credit to the chassis builder. I would like to thank my girlfriend Sue for her support and my crew member Johnny 'Braces' Gale."

Pat Talbot ran her first 190mph in the Manumit Super Pro Dragster. Husband Stephen said "We're really please with that as it was just on a medium tuneup. We're just checking the motor routinely and are happy with the weekend after an early scare with the convertor on Friday."

John Sleath was delighted to have run the first-ever Street Eliminator seven second pass with a 7.988 from the Audi GT. "We have made no changes during the weekend", said John. "The car went strong and straight on the run, it just makes so much power. We won't touch anything before the next run, but that could be better as the track heats up. I believe with the right conditions a 7.8 could be on the cards. The new Mickey Thompson tyres are making it easier to run the numbers and while they work on the Audi, but not on all cars." John's thanks go to team members Michael Gerghaty, Nigel Parkin, Jon Hollingworth and fiancee Michelle Cox.

Another Street Eliminator competitor having broken a barrier is Ron Haslett who ran a 10.8 yesterday in the Mark 3 Cortina Estate and a 10.7 this morning. Crewman Steve Kenney said "We had the gas on for the last run, but we haven't used the transbrake yet and need to get new jets for the nitrous." Ron said, "The car has recently been featured in Custom Car and there is a feature coming up in American Car World. We will be running at SPR at the Classic Ford Weekend and will be raiding money for McMillan Cancer Relief by auctioning passenger rides. One has already be alloted through the Classic Cortina website for £250." Sponsorship for Ron comes from FG Wilson (generators), Express Gearboxes and Performance Unlimited Engine Parts.

Street Eliminator competitor Ray Comer has had to withdraw following motor damage at the end of a 10.20 run in the Camaro. "It was our best time of the weekend", said Ray. "As soon as we went through the traps and came off the power I heard a big bang and the car shook violently. This turned out to be a rod going through the oil pan. Oil got on the headers causing a big cloud of smoke. The car dumped its oil and water on to the track. I think we might have dropped a cylinder lining or cracked a block, although we haven't stripped it down yet. We can only take the oil pan off if we take the engine out", said Ray. The plan is to take the motor to Knight Racing Services for Pete to carry out repairs. "Overall, we're delighted with the car. I started out in Street Racer Saturday with the car running in stock trim and as I got faster each time, finally decided to have the car back-halved. I can't say enough about Webster Race Engineering; it's turned out exactly the way we wanted it to look. Earlier in the meeting we had a stall convertor problem and thanks go to Andy Frost for helping us out." Ray's sponsors are AMVO.org (American Vehicle Owners Club) which is fairly new but already has hundreds of members and includes many that are interested in drag racing.

09:00

Good Morning and welcome to Easter Sunday's Pit Notes. Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed in with messages of appreciation - it's good to know that we are reaching such a wide audience.

Before we left last night we had a word with some racers who ran yesterday afternoon. Bob Glassup (NFAA) was pushed back after aborting his run when the rev counter, already responsible for interfering with the iginition system, worked its way loose from its mounting in the burnout. Bob said "We were worried about the bracket severing the oil line, which is just below the rev counter. We'll just write today off to experience and be back tomorrow."

Rob Loaring was pleased after the Havoc Fuel Altered completed its licensing with a strong-looking and well-controlled mid-seven. "The car's in good shape", said Rob. "We've dropped the wheelie bars down to get flatter launches so, sorry guys, that's the end of the wheelie photos."

Roel Koedam, who is no. 1 qualifier with the Top Fuel Bike with a 6.49, said he hopes to improve on that time today. "We changed the clutch over the winter and it didn't work quite properly on that run. There is a lot more to come because the track is in excellent shape. All we need is a little more temperature in it."

Dave Milam said "We have a new combination this year, because the FIA rules have dictated that we change our blower overdrive from 225% of crank speed to 192%. The result is we have to get new pistons and rods and spend a lot of money. We made two passes. On the first we didn't have enough traction and veered towards the wall. On the second, the changes we made resulted in too much power for the clutch settings and drove by the clutch, but ran a 213mph. SO for tomorrow we will look at the bearings and make more tuneup changes because we want to get back to last year's speeds of 230mph plus. We've taken on two new crew this year and are looking forward to working together."