The weekend got underway on Wednesday with the inaugural Carl Cox Motorsport 5.90 Series, a championship open to anyone capable of breaking the six-second barrier at Northamptonshires famous Santa Pod Raceway ......
Wednesday saw the class qualify and head into the first races, and by Thursday Carl Cox was on the pace, consistently putting his ‘Coxy Cuda’ Pro Mod into the 5.9-second bracket. Bruno Bader followed in second with his ‘Gotham City’ Corvette Pro Mod, while Kevin Slyfield occupied third in his Pro Modified machine. Entrants Nathan Bartolo and Konstantin Dinev also gathered a lot of attention with their unique drag cars; a low 6 second rotary powered RX7, and an equally fast turbo 5 cylinder Audi S2.
Standout cars and stars from the Carl Cox Motorsport 5.90 series - Ben Feetham
Following the action-packed racing from the CCM-backed championship came the first day of qualifying for the FIA championships, and once again Santa Pod delivered a day packed with close, door-to-door racing and plenty of drama.
In the Pro classes, Top Methanol driver Sandro Bellio set the early pace, while Pro Stock racer Jimmy Ålund claimed provisional number one qualifying spot in his class with an impressive 6.56-second pass.
Having spent two days fine-tuning their setups in Carl Cox’s 5.90 Series, the MSUK FuelTech Pro Modified field once again proved to be one of the most entertaining classes of the weekend, coming close to record-breaking territory in the process.
Michel Tooren thundered to a 5.74-second pass in his sleek Chevrolet Camaro-bodied machine, taking the top spot ahead of current championship leader Andres Arnover and Jere Rantaniemi, who entered the weekend second in the standings.
But it just wasn't Michel Tooren setting blistering high speed passes; JHB Performance set a new world record over the course of the weekend, earning themselves the title of the fastest 4 cylinder golf MK2 in the world, after a 6.6 second pass at 203mph, after a series of winter upgrades.
In Top Fuel, Colin Millar produced the standout performance of the opening day, recording his first ever sub-four-second run. His 3.84-second pass at 298mph not only earned him provisional number one qualifying spot, but also set the quickest ET seen so far during the 2026 season.
Defending champion and current championship leader Susanne Callin ended the day second with a 4.88-second pass, while Jndia Erbacher, who suffered traction problems during her run, completed the provisional top three.
The attention then turned to Santa Pod’s Sportsman classes, covering everything from Pro ET and the Carl Cox Motorsport-sponsored Junior Drag Bike and Junior Dragster classes, through to Competition Eliminator and the ever-quicker Street Eliminator category. The latter continues to showcase some seriously capable street-legal machinery, with cars capable of six-second passes.
Joe Baxter produced his best ever pass, recording an ET of just over 6.9 seconds and setting the tone for what promised to be an entertaining weekend, battling head to head with equally fast Andy Bond in his 'Ugly Sister' Chevy Sedan.
In Competition Eliminator, however, the atmosphere changed dramatically when Matt Davison and Ahmed Jamshaid were involved in a serious collision during the afternoon proceedings.
Ahmed’s car appeared to lose control and move across the track and into Matt’s path. The resulting impact sent Ahmed’s car over the barrier wall and into the catch fencing before it came to rest on its wheels alongside a group of track officials.
Thankfully, and testament to both modern safety equipment and the professionalism of the Santa Pod track crew, everyone involved was reported to be okay. The tension, however, remained in the air. It was a stark reminder that despite the spectacle and excitement of drag racing, the dangers involved are very real.
As the day’s racing continued into the night session, the second batch of FIA qualifying runs got underway. Pro Modified, Pro Stock and Top Methanol continued to produce their usual combination of consistency and speed, with the fading light providing the perfect backdrop for the header flames lighting up the track.
Top Fuel, pro modified and super twin bike - just some of the pro classes running late into the night - Ben Feetham
Top Fuel Bike also ran well despite the changing and cooling conditions. By the second qualifying session, the top three riders were separated by less than half a second.
Stuart Crane took the top spot with the class’s quickest ET of 6.39 seconds, followed by Glenn Borg with a 6.58 and Luke Farrugia in third with a 6.63.
Top Fuel followed a similar story, although the field was reduced with both Jndia Erbacher and Albert Carter missing from the session.
Susanne Callin lined up against newcomer Colin Millar, with the reigning champion taking the win at the finish line. Neither run was particularly spectacular, but Callin came away on top with a 4.88 at 144mph, while Millar followed with a 5.16 at 132mph.
Pro Modified once again provided plenty of entertainment, this time with the darkness highlighting the flame-spitting capabilities of the turbocharged machines.
Andy Robinson produced a new personal best of 5.8198 at 244.08mph. Despite improving his own record, the run was only enough to place him fourth in the provisional standings, highlighting just how competitive the field had become.
Bruno Bader and Michel Tooren then lined up together, with Bader returning to the five-second zone. His run, however, was only good enough for seventh, while Tooren rocketed straight to the top of the standings with a 5.7435 at 245.16mph.
The turbocharged cars proved dominant once again, with Andres Arnover moving into second after a 5.7831 at 250.98mph. Jere Rantaniemi completed the top three with a 5.7903 at 249.21mph.
From there, however, the weather began to play an increasingly significant role in the weekend.
Saturday was affected by the seasonal rain showers, with the weather eventually bringing proceedings to an earlier finish than anyone had hoped for. Sunday brought more of the same, with wet conditions keeping the track out of action until late afternoon.
Just as racing finally looked set to resume, another late-night shower brought proceedings to a halt once again.
It was a frustrating end to what had promised to be a huge weekend of racing. The Sportsman classes were left without their Sunday action, while even the Pro classes were denied the chance to contest their all-important finals.
After the speed, close racing and spectacular qualifying performances of the opening days, the weather ultimately had the final say at Santa Pod.
