Race teams once more had to endure a far from ideal race surface due to the recently run Formula 1 event track preparations which had again scrubbed the entire drag strip of rubber and any traction. Officials and track crews spearheaded by Santa Pod Raceway’s crack team valiantly worked to get the surface back worthy of good competition but it was beyond remedial efforts. The Pro Stock contingent decided after just one qualifier not to run again whilst all Pro teams struggled to tune to the ever changing conditions but hats off to them, they all managed to somehow get down the track, some a lot better than others. It did not deter the race fans who packed the venue to capacity over the sweltering weekend that included the infamous Saturday Night Show. One hour after the eliminations were completed the skies opened deluging the area with thundery rain storms.

Race teams once more had to endure a far from ideal race surface due to the recently run Formula 1 event track preparations which had again scrubbed the entire drag strip of rubber and any traction. Officials and track crews spearheaded by Santa Pod Raceway’s crack team valiantly worked to get the surface back worthy of good competition but it was beyond remedial efforts. The Pro Stock contingent decided after just one qualifier not to run again whilst all Pro teams struggled to tune to the ever changing conditions but hats off to them, they all managed to somehow get down the track, some a lot better than others. It did not deter the race fans who packed the venue to capacity over the sweltering weekend that included the infamous Saturday Night Show. One hour after the eliminations were completed the skies opened deluging the area with thundery rain storms.

FIA Top Fuel not surprisingly saw Norway’s Thomas Nataas lead the pack with a 4.510/268 by the fourth session, improving by .088 seconds from the first try and scoring not only top speed but best ET of the event. Nataas fell in round two by way of a broken throttle linkage to eventual runner-up, Swiss youngster Noah Stutz who made his way to the final shooting down his teammate, an up in smoke Urs Erbacher in round one. Carving his way to the money run was Sweden’s Micke Kågered coming from seventh qualifier to take out Finn, Anita Mäkelä who failed to leave the line, earning a red light. Malta’s Duncan Micallef went into tyre smoke around one hundred feet out handing Kågered his second win of the day. The final ran with Noah Stutz in the Formex Swiss Watches/Midland Oil backed fueller leaving first but he hazed the slicks and the blower belt broke slowing him to a 5.009/152 as Kågered literally scorched past in a fireball winning the event with a 4.801/229 clocking in the Bahco Tools/Bilsport sponsored rail.

FIA Top Methanol Dragster had Germany’s Dennis Habermann managing to secure top spot in the seven car field with a 5.555/263 qualifier ahead of fellow German Peter Schöfer who carded a 5.564/255 returning after a two year break. It was the blown cars that managed to get a grip on the track as the injected nitro machines struggled. It somewhat changed in the eliminations as Malta’s Chris Polidano in a nitro burner trailered the younger Habermann to get a finals place. Coming up the other side was Schöfer whose blown car still knows how to score as he took out Sweden’s Stefan Gunnarsson then Timo Habermann to face Polidano. Peter Schöfer showed he had not lost his touch as he left on a great light but then the tyres hazed around the three hundred foot mark as Chris Polidano in the Kalanc machine stormed past winning with a 5.637/265 against a losing 5.875/250.

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car was led by Sweden’s Johan Lindberg on a 5.943/251 clocking just ahead of fellow Swede Leif Andreasson who made a return to racing for the first time this year with a 5.959/246 and Britain’s Gareth Ellis on a 5.993/245 the only three in the fives. It was no surprise that Lindberg powered his way to a finals place as he had a round one bye, then took out the tyre shaking German, Jürgen Nagel to enter the trophy decider. Andreasson showed he remembered what to do as he secured his finals place by way of a round one win over Belgium’s Danny Bellio then a bye to the final. Johan Lindberg’s Pålplintar ’10 Monte Carlo got the better leave holding on to trip the win light with a 6.565/244 as Leif Andreasson’s Disab Vacuum Technology backed ’07 Monte Carlo spun the tyres at one fifty feet out recording a 6.822/231 lose.

FIA Pro Mod saw Sweden’s Mats Eriksson take control of qualifying with a 6.326/241 in his ’56 Ford Crown Victoria leading the fourteen car field. Eriksson made it all the way to the semi final only to go out to Dutch racer, David Vegter who was making his way to the final by defeating fellow Dutch racer Marc Meihuizen in round one then an instant up in smoke Bruno Bader from Switzerland. Sweden’s Mattias Wulcan took the event win clawing his way through the ranks beating Britain’s Andy Robinson in round one, Swede Roger Johansson in two and a shaking Champion, Micke Gullqvist in the semi. Mattias Wulcan got the better light in the final in his ’08 Firebird and despite bad tyre shake and took the trophy with a lowly 8.577/110 as David Vegter in his MPM Oil backed ’67 Camaro crossed lanes and disqualified himself.

Funny Car saw three machines, all from Britain vie for the European Funny Car Series points and Jason Phelps took the top qualifier with a 7.172/175 then went on to runner up in the final. The TeamRock.com Mustang of Phelps suffered a loose connection and failed to fire on the money run leaving Gordon Smith to solo to a 7.391/144 win in the Shockwave Dodge Stratus.

FIM Top Fuel Bike turned out a small field of four including two quick Funny Bikes but was led by Champion Brit, Ian King with a 6.249/235 well ahead of the pack. King was in imperious mode taking out Sweden’s Rikard Gustafsson in round one with a 6.297/226 and making the final against Greece’s Filippos Papafilippou who got through round one on a bye. Ian King on the Gulf Oil/Grand Prix Originals backed machine made easy work of Papafilippou in the final getting the better leave coupled with a 6.461/232 against the try of 4.460/144.

FIM Super Twin Bike saw German Christian Jäger lead the way getting the only six of the class, a 6.645/197, it all ended there as in round one he was off the power early and giving the win to Czech Roman Sixta. Sixta went through round two with a bye to enter the final. Finland’s Samu Kemppainen came from number two qualifier to take the event win seeing off Holland’s Job Heezen in one then a solo as Norwegian, Ronny Aasen no showed. It was another solo in the final as Sixta failed to make it to the start line; Kemppainen aboard his wild wheelying machine went wheels up straight into tyre smoke but took the win light with a lowly 9.993/157.

FIM Pro Stock Bike had an eight bike field that was led by Champion, Fredrik Fredlund from Finland on a 7.131/189 which turned out to be the quickest and fastest of the weekend. It was unsurprisingly Fredlund that went all the way to the final taking out Brits Alex Hope in one and Martin Bishop in two. Meeting Fredlund would be German, Karl-Heinz Weikum who sat in third qualifying place. Weikum managed to see off Sweden’s Kenneth Holmberg then Frenchman Remi Morel. It would have been a real close race had Fredrik Fredlund aboard the MotoSpeed/paf Suzuki not got a good holeshot, turning in the winning 7.202/186 to a losing 7.285/158.

FIM Super Street Bike had a huge field of twenty-eight bikes led by Malta’s Shaun Buttigieg with a 7.213/198, nearest to him was Britain’s Dave Holland on a 7.396 and the only two hundred in qualifying went to Brit, Garry Bowe on a 7.696/200. The final though would be a battle between Denmark and England as Mogens Lund faced Brad O’Connor. It was O’Connor that got away first and recording the win with a 7.409/201 as Mogens Lund suffered problems slowing to a 21.578.

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