A question I am often asked is "What do you do in the off-season?", to which I always answer "What off-season?". This probably does little to ameliorate any reputation I may have as a bit of a smart-arse although I have been accused of worse. The fact is, though, that just because the season is finished does not mean that people aren't suddenly uninterested in what is going on and the reader numbers on Eurodragster.com stay high throughout the winter. So we are always grateful to those racers and organisers who find news to send us during those long dark months. We always have room for more, you understand; the address is news@eurodragster.com, thank you.

For the last month and a half I have been working on sponsorship renewals. For reasons lost in the mists of time the Eurodragster.com sponsorship year commences on 1st March, so invoices go out in early February. The scenario which I was expecting to happen last year but didn't - that the prevailing economic conditions would mean that a lot of sponsors were not able to renew - has happened this year and it has been a little difficult although nothing we can't handle.

We have lost a number of sponsors this year, including some long-standing supporters, and others have had to cut back on their involvement. Everyone who had to pull out was very nice about it, though: there were lots of profuse apologies, and we don't bear grudges (well, not against departing sponsors) so it was all conducted in a pleasant manner. Fortunately VP Racing Fuels stepped up to the plate to take over a Main Sponsorship at the top of the Home and News pages and OCS Paint have taken on the Points Standings, whilst Patterson Racing Performance Warehouse have increased their involvement taking over one of the small Home Page banners and Psycleworkz have joined our news page sponsors. To these, and to all of our sponsors, thank you very much for your support. To those sponsors who have not yet answered their initial renewal E-Mails, please do so.

We were scheduled to start our season coverage with a Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcast of the VW March Meet, a test day at Santa Pod Raceway on Friday 15th, but that had to be cancelled as Santa Pod's new track surface would not be ready in time. Everyone was gutted about this: the Volkswagen Drag Racing Club, Santa Pod Raceway, Eurodragster.com, you name them they were gutted. Those same weather gods who benevolently allowed windows in which to lay the new track then turned into complete bastards and have rained and snowed on that same track pretty much ever since it was laid, preventing the intensive preparation which a new surface needs. "Weather gods" - well, now you know why I am atheist.

Tog with US based editor Ed

At time of writing the NHRA Amalie Oil Gatornationals has just finished and Eurodragster.com US Correspondent Ed O'Connell again did us proud sending three days of pit notes and photographs mainly concentrating on Stig Neegaard's and Adam Flamholc's progress although he also managed to snatch a conversation with Rushden's own Andy Bissett who is Team Leader on Courtney Force's Funny Car and whose crewing career started as a result of a crew-needed article on Eurodragster.com. Ed was kindly accredited as media by NHRA, an experience which he enjoyed very much. We were very pleased with and grateful for the job which Ed did at Gainesville, and on a personal note I was very proud that he was first in the queue for lunch in the Media Centre at least once. That guy never lets me down.

We get another go at covering an event at Santa Pod this coming weekend with the pre-Easter test weekend, a brace of Run What You Brungs. We are planning a webcast and, in association with Alamo Rent A Car, end-day galleries both days. Maikel and our friends at Doyousee.me will again be providing streaming services for the webcast. A test weekend will also be taking place at Shakespeare County Raceway and the endlessly helpful Jerry Cookson will as ever keep us apprised of events there. Kirstie and I are on photographic duties for the test weekend and then Julian will be photographing at the Peak Performance Day on Good Friday and the Festival of Power. At time of writing the only uncertainty is whether Kirstie or I will be joining Julian trackside at the Peak Performance Day. Kirstie won the last similar debate, hopefully this one will also not come down to how hard she can hit me.


One of the pleasures of the pre-Easter test weekend is encountering new racers and vehicles, this one of Bobby Wallace great looking Ford Anglia.

The Festival of Power proper will of course receive the full Alamo Rent A Car Event Coverage treatment with real-time reports and stats, frequently-updated pit notes by Simon whom we hope will be back in our time zone after a couple of weeks on business in Hong Kong, end-day galleries, and Webster Race Engineering / Nimbus Motorsport webcast. So if you can't make it to Santa Pod Raceway at Easter then Eurodragster.com will be the place to be. Before you know it we'll be talking about arrangements for the FIA Main Event.