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Top Methanol Dragster racer Matthew Carabott from Malta, who is 30 years old, ran a great 5.39/261 licensing pass in the Mr Whippy car, which will be raced by usual driver Monty Bugeja in the FIA race. Matthew said 'I have been around drag racing since I was very young as my Dad Joe is owner of the team. In 2015 I had the chance to drive a dragster with a Big Block Chevy, blower and nitrous which I was in for six races; the engine had been owned by Tony Betts and used in a Vauxhall Firenza around 1990. Then in 2017 and 2018 I drove the old Mr Whippy dragster which had been raced by Peter Beck in around 2000 and we did five events in it, with a best of 5.84/239 recorded two weeks ago. In the licensing run in the current Mr Whippy car from 2010, the controls are what I was used to, however the extra power with the PSI supercharger was a big thrill. I did three licensing passes, the second was a half pass as instructed by Ian Marshall. I want to get more practise in the car and hopefully will be ready to do championship races in it one day, The team will do both Santa Pod races and Hockenheim this year. I want to thank the team and Monty for their support, sponsors Torco oil, Visit Malta.com and my Dad'.	Top Methanol Funny Car racer Sandro Bellio is one of a small field of Top Methanol after the late withdrawal by Werner Habermann Racing. Sandro said 'We have committed to the championship this year, although the small field for the first three races makes it more costly overall. We spent the winter repairing the body from the damage in Tierp and installed a larger injection head and bug catcher by Jeff Burnett. As a result the engine makes more power with a safer tuneup. We have more work in our American Cars business so there is less time to work on the car. Our performance objective is to run 270mph and we have already reached 264mph in 5.5s. We tested because the chassis setup has changed due to the car losing weight and the new balance between the engine, clutch and track seems to work. Our tuning decisions are made as a family and my Dad and I can compare notes on driving. One useful thing we learned is to avoid glare from the car's paint so that I can see shift points. I changed the visor and it helped a lot. So we are taking small steps but I am sure we are competitive'.
Secret Worx Competition Eliminator racer Dirk Peiler ran a new PB of 7.340/171 in his supercharged 470cu Dodge Dart 'Mopar Rebellion', however on that run the burst plate went. Dirk and partner Jens Tiedtke have created the current tube frame full-on race car after many years of tuning street-and-strip Mopar muscle cars. The car was only completed a few weeks before the race with new paint and many parts from Post & Dros and advice from Luke Robinson.	Secret Worx Competition Eliminator racer Mark Todd is at only his second event with the 6 Appeal Aston Martin Vantage, and he decided to change classes, with Mark's race suit being limited to 7.5s and its alternator being too small for the demands of Street Eliminator. In the event he ran 7.537/188, and he had offers on social media of loan of a race suit which is good for quicker times.
Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Stuart Doignie had planned to take the season off after an intensive few years in the Super classes. But the attraction of Santa Pod proved too much and trying a new class without limitations added to the incentive. An 8.492 pass on 8.48 dial put the Vauxhall into 13th place after four sessions, and in Jon Morton Super Gas he was eighth with 9.962.	Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET and Jon Morton Super Gas racer Dave Fulton explained his double classing came about because of the opportunity to join the Super Pro ET association as well as experiencing Super Gas camaraderie. In Super Pro 9.073 on a 8.98 dial put him in 27th whereas in Super Gas a 9.8918 break out placed him in tenth after four sessions.
Jon Morton Super Gas racer Brian Huxley was Big Bracket runner up at last weekend's Doorslammers, winning a substantial cheque as Saturday's prize money was rolled over into Sunday. Here, Lee placed the car 14th in Pro ET with 9.577 on a 9.5 dial, whilst Dad Brian was fifth in Super Gas with 9.926.	Modurstang Pro ET racer Andre Nahler from Germany had repaired engine damage to a valve from last year. The white Beetle, a real sleeper, ran 10.071 on a 9.90 dial to go 27th. after four sessions.
Modurstang Pro ET racer Gino Bernadine was dialling in a new turbo at the Doorslammers and there was lots of mapping going on. The Mark 1 Escort in testing yesterday showed this work had paid off by running a 9.288/144. Today the pace slowed to 9.564 on a 9.25 dial and he was only 31st after four sessions.	Modurstang Pro ET racer Chris Newsome in the MG ZX is in his first competitive race in 2019 and scored a 9.275 on a 9.00 dial to go 30th after four sessions. He said 'I've made changes to the front end to cure a bump steering problem and the car feels better now'.
Modurstang Pro ET racer Dave Crowhurst had an unfortunate spill at the top end when air got into the parachute, sending the car into the wall. Dave climbed out unhurt but the Subaru-powered Black Wanger Beetle suffered major damage. Earlier the team had talked of Dave using nitrous for the first time this season.	Modurstang Pro ET racer Ethan Lisle is racing a Mercury Comet previously owned and campaigned by Eurodragster.com sponsor Jon Webster. Team member Grace Roaf said 'The car hasn't been out on track for a couple of years now and we put a new torque converter in it'. Ethan went 9.888 on a 9.87 dial to go up to 12th after five sessions.
Santa Pod Raceway two seater dragster drivers Paul Brown and Steve Warner are with the car, Paul having taken over the driving at this event. He said 'It's much quicker than what I have raced before and won the Pro ET Championship with, and feels good to drive'. Steve said that he had made over 1400 passes with the car; he also scored an incredible string of perfect lights in it at one event.	Modurstang Pro ET racer Thomas Watkins went into the no.1 spot in the first session, a +0.0081 on a 9.50 dial a great start to the event. By session number five that mark had been bettered by four other racers, including sister Amy, in her third event in as many weeks, scoring a +0.0044 on a 9.54 dial in for her to go top after five sessions. Tom is pictured with girlfriend and crew Sammy.
Modurstang Pro ET racer Neil Hunter has made a return to competition with his 7 Year Itch Capri, having sold the Firebird to Dave Smith, and Neil went 14th with a 9.941 on a 9.92 dial after five sessions.	Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Steve Saunders missed all of the 2018 season having crewed for Jack Brewster in 2017. He said 'I have a new 632ci Big Block Ford engine with the same injection system as before. It went 8.83 in testing yesterday and it's great to be back'. Today a 9.083 on a 8.73 dial in placed him only 36th after four sessions, the cut-off for the 32 car field being a +0.2128, the final two qualifying sessions being held tomorrow.
Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Pel Norman suffered a puff of smoke on his fifth run of the day and reported earlier that the team is planning on going Comp Elimiminator with the turbo Nova after getting a chrome moly chassis and getting the tag below 7.50.	Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Elodie Dubois went 7.773 on a 7.70 to go 26th. Elodie is sponsored by local car repair company Barrial Pneus and brother Fabien and Dad Patrick have secured a deal with Milwaukee Beer Co.
Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Callum Swinchatt has gone quicker and straighter this year after the addition of longer wheelie bars, and he was in 19th with a 9.015 on a 8.99 dial after four sessions.	Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Phil Toppin bought his Corvette roadster as a rolling shell and Phil added a supercharged 468ci BBC engine but had trouble with over-fuelling. 'I need to find the sweet spot', he remarked. It's quite a few years since Phil has run a blower, which goes back to when he was running a Ford Pop.
Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Peter Lane, pictured with crew Jack Brewster, Stuart and Martin, is back after missing a year out. Peter said 'It ran a 8.849 on a 8.50 off the trailer and improved to a 8.779 on a 8.74 to go 23rd after five sessions'. The car is still for sale, turnkey, with Peter's trailer and motorhome included. Meanwhile, Jack is rebuilding and hoping to be back on track at the end of 2019 or start of 2020.	Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Glenn Pallant tested yesterday and had problems missing gears. Plans for 2019 involve three SPR events and competing in the European Super Pro challenge run under the auspices of Dragraceunion. A 8.976 on a 8.75 dial in was good only for 34th.
Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Marc Henney was in 11th at the end of Friday with a 7.5091 on a 7.50 dial in.	Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Jon Gerritsen's car looks great in its new paint, scheme and went 6.63, without pulling chutes early. Jon's engine is built by Danny Bellio. Sadly he broke out, and is placed 44th and last.
Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Ian Brown won the £50 Eurodragster.com/Bad Habit Racing Perfect Light award in the fifth session with a 0.0000 light and congratulations to him on the achievement. The car went well down the track going 7.676 on a 7.64 dial-in to go 22nd at the end of the day.	Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET racer Ashley Bell was back out early in the season with a new SBC engine and nitrous. He said 'We did work on the chassis setup but found the problem was too much nitrous going into the engine which was unsettling the car on the launch, with the wheels going up on the hit'. He is now running a Progressive 2 controller which meters the nitrous going down the track and the amount of nitrous boost has been reduced from a whopping 400hp to 150hp-200hp in the interests of stability. He finished the day 30th with a 9.042 on a 8.91 dial in.
Good Vibrations Motorsports/Przym Paintworks Super Pro ET and Jon Morton Super Gas racer Collin Morrice (pictured with team member and brother Stuart) suffered failure of a rod bolt at the Springspeed Nationals which caused extensive internal damage. 'We needed a new crank and eight rods and pistons', Stuart said. 'Thanks to Jeff Bull we turned the engine round in a week. We called him at 10am on Monday, and he had ordered the parts by 1pm and the engine was ready by the following weekend'.	Phoenix Personnel Super Comp racer Mark Coulsell was 16th with a 8.265 on a 8.25 dial-in, the slingshot now running regularly in the low 8s range. Meanwhile son Harley was no.1 in Junior Dragster at the end of Friday with a 0.0014 RT.