Santa Pod Raceway marks its 60th season with two headline race weekends, anchored by The Doorslammers and an extended Bank Holiday programme that opens the FIA/FIM European championships.

The Doorslammers sets the tone with full‑bodied, working‑door cars on sprung chassis competing for a £100,000 purse, underlining the event’s standing and the depth of professional preparation involved.

Competition intensity, with tight reaction times and traction demands, frames a weekend designed to reward execution as much as outright power.

The following Thursday and Friday debut the Carl Cox Motorsport Series, a 5.90‑index Pro Mod concept intended to broaden participation and reduce costs for smaller or developing teams.

Conceived by DJ‑turned‑team owner Carl Cox, the series offers prize money and Australian‑style match racing. Cox skips round one; a stand‑in drives, with returns targeted for July and September.

From Friday to Monday, The Main Event assembles more than 300 car and motorcycle teams from 18 nations for round one of the FIA/FIM European Drag Racing Championships.

The entry spans Top Fuel Dragsters and Bikes to Junior categories, pairing established contenders with drivers as young as eight in structured, championship‑point competition.

Top Fuel headlines feature Susanne Callin and Jndia Erbacher, recent FIA European champions. Callin has reached 320.20mph, while Erbacher owns a 3.817‑second best over 1,000 feet.

Local figure Colin Millar, The Flyin’ Fyfer, targets his Top Fuel licence, driving his Outlaw Anglia, where milliseconds and fractional mile‑per‑hour differences routinely decide eliminations.

Pro Modified competition brings 20 saloon‑bodied entries for 16 race‑day places, overlaying the FIA European opener with round two of the FuelTech Motorsport UK British Drag Racing Championship.

Finland’s Jere Rantaniemi and Estonia’s Andres Arnover headline the field, the latter holding Europe’s quickest Pro Mod mark at 5.695 seconds.

Britain’s Jon Webster remains the domestic benchmark, the only UK Pro Mod to exceed 250mph, adding a reference point for the class’s performance ceiling.

Supporting categories include Top Methanol and Pro Stock, plus nitro Funny Cars and a broad UK Sportsman programme, ensuring continuous running and varied set‑ups across the quarter‑mile.

Jet Cars add spectacle and data for surface evolution, while the FIM European bike classes span Top Fuel Bike, SuperTwin, Pro Stock and Super Street.

Sweden’s Rikard Gustafsson returns as title defender, his machine accelerating from zero to 260mph in 5.6 seconds, a benchmark that shapes tuning choices across the field.

Together, The Doorslammers and The Main Event provide an opening double‑header that couples entertainment value with championship consequence to begin Santa Pod’s 60th‑anniversary campaign.

Visual Summary

Miles Carter

Miles Carter covers grassroots and regional drag-strip action, from bracket racing to street-legal shootouts. His event previews and performance-upgrade guides keep local racers up to speed on timing-slip trends, tire tech, and weekend race highlights.