Micke Kågered sent the catch tank almost into orbit prior staging in the first qualifing today. “At first I was became really upset, since I only saw a shadow flying over me and something that looked like an arm (one of the large hoses to the tank) fell down on the track” says Micke. “We haven’t actually heard of exploding catch tanks before, but our American friends in the pit says that it happens now and then when a spark from somewhere ignites nitro fumes in the tank” he continued. The team was already repairing the tank a couple of minutes later and the team will be back out for the next round. Rob Inglis and Crew Chief Göran “Emil” Edman are pictured.

Roger Johansson in Pro Mod laid down a solid 6.25 in the second qualifying session today and are quite satisfied with that. “We got down the track and we have computer readings”, said Roger. “We all know how tricky the track is with the new asphalt in the starting area. Our first pass today just resulted in the car jumping right up, the second in this 6.25, so you must now follow what is going on with the traction and be prepared to adjust to the new conditions. It is the same for everyone” Roger continued. The team have nothing more than normal maintance to do tonight. Pictured is Apel from the team. .

Team RT with driver Thomas Lindström, in Pro Stock is not qualified at the end of the first day of FIA qualification. "In the first round we ran a 6.77 but it was disqualified for a staging violation. In the other round of qualification we overestimated the progress of the traction on the new asphalt. We are for the moment outside of the ladder. I think I will have to fire the whole crew tonight to solve the situation," Thomas laughs. In the picture Thomas and reinstated clutch expert Marcus Svensson read data from one of the rounds. .

SuperTwin racer Svein Olaf Rolfstad's crew chief Ingar Netturn said "We have set the bike up the same as at the Finals last year. We have to try to run a 6.6 or 6.7 as anything slower risks being on the bump spot these days. Jan Sturla Hegre on the second team bike is third in the championship and whilst Svein Olaf can be a spoiler by beating other racers, his bike is quicker than Jan Sturla's." Crew member Sturla Forsath mentioned this is the team's second weekend in a row racing and they won best time of day at Mosten Bike Weekend with a 4.33/298kph.

Top Fuel Bike racer Kev Charman suffered a pop and bang with bits coming off on his first run. He said "The primary belt came off, not a big problem. We have a new rear sprocket which will give a longer gear ratio as the revs are peaking before the finish."

Three of Top Fuel Bike racer Steve Woollatt's crew members Mark Powell, Phil Reynolds and Dave Powell are pictured. Mark said after the run against Peter Svensson "That should have been the final at Hockenheim which should have been run but for the curfew. Peter's bike snapped his change so Steve would have won." The team were pleased with a 6.34 in the first session but less so with an up in smoke effort in the second.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Arvid Grødem had suffered burst panel issues in earlier events and said the team had found the cause, a combination of mechanical and electrical issues. "We sent our 5.70 heads to the US for repair and will swap them this evening now we have them back."

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Ulf Leanders said the car's performance was not far off Hockenheim where he ran low 5.6s. "But we have had to back it down to get it off the line which loses a couple of tenths." The second sesson netted a 5.85 which was good for no.2 at the end of the day.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Jarmo Kuutniemi has missed racing at SPR for the last couple of years and suffered startline traction issues on both runs, smoke and shake despite backing off for the second session. He is seventh in the eight car field.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Rob Turner was delighted at being the first British TMFC team into the fives with a 5.986. At Hockenheim they discovered the clutch settings needed to be changed to be more aggressive than those used in the dragster. Crew chief Steve Turner said "The previous owner Jeff Carroll is following the event from his shop in the US and will be thrilled." In the second session, Rob improved further to 5.872.

Fuel Funny Car racer Leif Helander has been seen at many races since his last race here in September 2008. He ran some races in the US in 2009 on the NHRA tour and in 2010 built his new car with chassis supplied by ME Racecars (owned by Mats Eriksson). The car first appeared at the Hall & Kapell Festival meeting in August this year when he put an eighth mile pass on it. "We have the same motor and rear end as the last car but a totally new fuel system. We will test the car to half track on our first pass as we can't afford to burn up parts. Next year we hope to do more European dates." The car is like all his previous cars named Starkotter and with Saab badging.

Top Fuel racer Risto Poutiainen idled down the track in the first session as he felt the track could not take the power - yet. He said "If it comes around we will have a race, but there is currently too much uncertainty running the car so we just got a time on the board. We could mathematically win the championship but realistically we just want to win the race."

Top Fuel racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs Erbacher said "We will step up a little to see what the right lane will hold. We will try to keep in the top four for the points but really want to be no.1. It will be good if we don't go up in smoke." Urs proved he has the most consistent car here with another 4.92. What of next year? "We don't know. Maybe we will do some races in the US at the start of the season and if we win the championship we will have an opportunity to race in Abu Dhabi."

Top Fuel racer Anita Måkelå said "On the first pass the car got loose and I got really close to the guardrail. It was a bit slower than I expected. We normally tune the car for maximum power at this track and I am sure it will come round." Anita improved from a 5.04 to a 4.91 for no.1 qualifier at the end of the day.

Top Fuel racer Patrik Pers went up in smoke at the hit in the first session in the right lane which had been a problem for all the Top Fuel cars. Crew member Mark 'Animal' Bodimeade said "Patrik came off it after 0.3s but it revved to 9200 and the crank was slightly damaged. We don't have time for a rebuild so we will run it in the next session." More tyre smoke and a flash of fire from the engine was the result and we hope it is not too bad. Patrik was hoping to do more races this year but breaking a leg during an exercise session resulted in a much shortened season. Patrik said "I will run the series next year." Patrik's crew also includes Alan Jackson, Terry and Cliff Gould.

Top Fuel racer Andy Carter is running in memory of Martin Hines, the king of karting and boss of Zip Karts and Grand Prix Racewear, who passed away two weeks ago. Andy said "As well as running Zip Karts, Martin was an inspiration and helped David Coulthard and Lewis Hamilton come through in motorsport and was doing the same for my son Albert. I have the greatest respect for him and he will be sorely missed."

Top Fuel racer Stig Neergaard ran a 4.91 in the first session but with a huge cloud of smoke at the top end. Team member Julle Bengtsson said "A piston pin went on the run which was bad - the crank, block head and pistons were damaged. We will be putting a new engine in the car. So we are not running the second session as we are happy with the time from the first." The car parked in the pits missing its engine tells the story itself.

Top Fuel racer Timo Lehtimaki, second in points, pending the official announcement of any points penalty to be suffered by Tommy Johnson Jr, suffered a cracked chassis after the first qualifying session's 5.26. Crew chief Ulf Hultholm said "We always check after each run and was able to weld it together. The team's confidence is building since Hockenheim. We talk together about the tuning decisions and everyone gets to say what they think. There was a worry with a new slick throwing chunks off. Fortunately it didn't explode - we have a used set for the next run and a spare set of new tyres."

Pro Mod racer Johan Lindberg said "We blew the tyres on both runs but on the second I pedaled and a 6.50 came up. So we will be using safe settings. We will run the same car next year but want to take it to the US to run the first or last few races of the season if we can get funding from our sponsors. Mike Janis has offered to help but we want to use our own equipment."

Super Pro racer Nick George, pictured right with crew members Jonathan Bates, Stuart Jones, Ben and Sammy Jones, moved up to this class at the start of 2011. "It started with a £20 bet on whether Nick could get his Audi into the 13s", said Jonathan, "and ended up spending many thousands of pounds later." The team has run the Castrol Street Challenge in a Corvette and has progressed to the current blown Camaro which ran its first seven in competition yesterday after running one in testing for Dragstalgia. The engine is 8:1 compression which means the team have to run boost pressure of 39psi. In turn this has led to the engine acquiring a taste for head gaskets and the heads have had to come off more than once.

SuperTwin racer Roel Koedam is in a championship winning position in his last race before retirement. He said "It woulld be good to go out on a high and I am pleased the bike is running so strong this year." Team owner Ton Pels said he has had a great time with Roel on the team. "We will try our hardest to win the Championship for Roel. We will be back next year and are talking to people.

Pro Stock Bike racer and Eurodragster.com blogger Kalle Lyren said "I feel confident about the race. I ran my best ever 60ft and 330ft times in testing on Wednesday and ran a 7.3 despite being on the throttle for six seconds. We hope we have solved a problem we have had with the gearbox and will be using qualifying to break in our larger engine". A 7.26 put Kalle in fourth after the first session.

SuperTwin racer Per Bengtsson is points leader but could be caught by Roel Koedam, Jan Sturla Hegre or Hans Olav Olstad. He said "There has been too much rain this year. We are pleased with the points but we have only managed to complete three out of six races and have had too little running but a lot of travel and expense. The competition is better than ever with a 6.7 being necessary to qualify at Tierp." Crewman L-O Jonsson said "We have been hurting pistons since Finland and found by looking at the data in detail that fuel pressure became critically low just below 6000rpm which is shortly after the launch. We have adjusted the three stage Bentec clutch to make the rpm at least 6000rpm more quickly after launch."

Top Fuel Bike racer Otto Knebl is riding the Imperial Wizard owned and raced by Brian Johnson and more recently owned by Ian King. He picked the bike up from Ian's workshop last Friday so Otto faces a challenge in getting up to speed, helped by running in a field of eight bikes and under no performance pressure in qualifying. As well as his wife Yvona and regular crew Pavel and Mikael, Otto will be helped by Gerard Willemse of Puma Engineering. He ran an easy pass on the first attempt, getting used to his new machine.

Pro Mod racer Nick Davies had tested on Wednesday and ran a checkout mid-seven. Crew chief Rob Loaring said "We are in far better shape than at the Main Event. We are comfortable with launching the turbo car and the boost management system. We are now down to fine tuning for track conditions and getting a full pass to hopefully get in the field."

Pro Mod racer Jean Dulamon said his engine issues at the Main Event were traced to an oil problem. "We had the block repaired in the US and this is our first event with the repaired engine. We will run a checkout pass first and then go for a quick pass on the next run.

Pro Mod racer Rolf Amman is at his last competitive event in the car following him announcing his retirement from racing. He said "We are going for a 6.3 run and then the car will reside at our house for a time. You may see it running in the UK championship if things work out." This is Rolf's second race of the year.

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis said "We want a run from A to B. We thought we knew where we were, but the track (the resurfacing of the startline) has taken us back to square one. We tried to do a run on the test day but it wasn't a success."

Pro Mod racer Robert Joosten said "We're on the right track. At Hockenheim every run was an improvement and our qualifying passes were 6.5, 6.3 and 6.2. Our only problem was my red light 0.01 in round one of eliminations. So I have been working on my reaction timing. It has been a great help having Billy Leveren from my engine builder at Hockenheim to help with some issues.

Pro Mod racer Andy Robinson was apprehensive about startline traction and said "It doesn't help going early in the session but someone has to. We hope to run the car at its best." Andy is due to bring a new '68 Camaro Pro Mod out at the start of 2012. It it's delayed, daughter and crew member Stefani says Andy will be helping her competition debut in Super Comp in Mark Ramplee's Sierra. She said "Doing the Super Comp course at the NHRA Drag School in Gainesville has really given me confidence as a driver and I was pleased to run the car's best of 8.67."

Pro Mod racer Linda Thun Tonseth suffered a fire at Hockenheim 3s into the run. She said "I pulled the fire extinguisher control but it didn't work. The electrical systems and a couple of chassis tubes needed replacing and there is a new bellhousing and front screen. I am passing the first session and hope to build my confidence to get a good pass in the second one.

Pro Stock racer Colin Stanley suffered engine damage at Hockenheim and has had a tight timeframe for rebuilding it. Crew chief Trevor Graves said "The engine came out on Monday, we finished rebuilding it on Wednesday, and put it back on Wednesday evening. It fired up fine. Thanks go to Tommy Leindahl and Michael Malmgren for giving us parts. There are ten cars so we need to run well to qualify. For next year we need investment to step up. We will see what happens in this session." As with most of the rest of the field apart from Jimmy Alund, Conrad spun the tyres off the line.

Pro Stock racer Jonas Dantanus said "We did some work on our no.1 engine after Hockenheim and it now sounds very good. We have three engines from different builders, our first from Jason Line, the second from Bill Jenkins (bought from Richard Sundblom) and third from Reher Morrison. There is only about a tenth between their performance."

Pro Stock racer Richard 'Nixxon' Sundblom said "If the Pro Mod cars struggle on the start line we are bound to because our first gear is so short. We will keep our foot in it if it launches. Our problem at Hockenheim was a red light but if you don't get one of those in a while you are not trying."

Pro Stock bike racer Len Paget said "I have been chasing an electrical problem for a couple of months and changed everything and dyno tested it. We now need to work on the four link but we need a decent time on the first lap to work from so we can wind it up." He left before the tree ran but should have the necessary data from his logger.

Pro Stock Bike racer and Eurodragster.com blogger Dave Beck has had a mixed year but he is back on home territory with his own bike. He said "Everything is looking good and we will see what we can do." A solid 7.48 was a good start to go into fifth place in session one.

Top Fuel Bike racer Petri Paljakka said "We were running on three cylinders in Germany after the fourth cylinder blew out. We had the cylinder head and the block welded and machined in Sweden by our new sponsor Unikracing.com who have done a super job." Petri is assisted by Chris Powell as Crew Chief.

Super Twin racer Mark Ashelford from Perts, Australia, has been touring Europe and raced at two meetings in Norway as well as Sweden and Finland. He said "It's my first time in Europe and I have had a great time, enjoyed the hospitality and had fun." Mark's bike has a self-built Attitude engine with Owens trans and is naturally aspirated. His objective is to beat his PBs that were recorded over the summer of 6.61/353kph (a track record at Tierp). A 6.71/203 for fourth was a good start for him.

Super Twin racer Job Heezen made it to the final at Hockenheim running a string of 6.6s on the Zodiac Racing machine. "We have not changed too much and hope to run similar times. The speed we ran was 217.5mph which is a new record. The championship is really between Per Bengtsson and my team mate Roel Koedam. If we meet I will still go full throttle - drag racing is not about political games."

Super Twin racer Lo Stauble announced his retirement for the near future. "We will sell the bike after this event and have more holiday next year. We don't know what will happen in the future but we will come to races to keep in touch. Lo has struggled with his setup at all races this year and isn't in a championship position, but his exciting riding style leaning the bike over at some acute angles has been a factor in the excitement that SuperTwins bring.

Pro ET racer Fred Barendse runs this Dodge Charger with immaculate green flame paintwork.

Super Gas racer Ronald Huis has this Chevrolet Handyman Wagon, believed to be the only one of its type in Europe. More details can be found on www.blownbudget.nl

EA, the makers of the shortly-to-be-released game Battlefield 3, have an impressive display in the pit area behind the grandstand.

Super Pro racer Alan Didwell is racing this beautiful new dragster. Problems with the transbrake inhibited performance and the 8.40 recorded was on a footbrake launch.