To those in the know, the penultimate weekend of May means one thing: high-powered saloon car drag racing for a record prize fund bringing racers from across the continent to Santa Pod.
£100,000 ($125,268.50) is the total bounty up for grabs at Doorslammers May 17-19, the annual shoot-out exclusively for cars with doors.
The Doorslammers directive is simple: cars must be full-bodied with slammable doors. That’s about it for the rulebook, particularly in the VP Racing Fuels Pro Doorslammer class. ‘Run what ya brung… and hope ya brung enough’ is the guiding principle. Current Pro Mod stars duel head-to-head with ‘outlaw’ exiles from the former no-holds-barred Nordic Top Doorslammer scene and, indeed, with anyone else figuring their motors pack enough muscle to challenge for the top prize. There is no qualifying ladder. Pairings are drawn randomly before each round, adding spice and unpredictability to the already fevered match-race atmosphere.
Besides the Pro heavy hitters, seven other vehicle classes include front-wheel drive, Wössner Pistons-backed four-cylinder machines, Tom Wrigley Performance six-cylinder machines, Turbosmart Pro Street cars, True Street cars, Jeff Bull Racing Engines 7.60 heads-up racers and Williams Brothers-sponsored daily bracket competitions. The ever-expanding entry list currently boasts 222 entries from 17 countries. Along with various northern Europeans, the huge prize pot always lures a strong contingent from Poland, joined by contestants from countries ranging from the Baltic states to Portugal, Malta and Bulgaria. There is even a South African entry.
Doorslammers details are available at https://santapod.co.uk/doorslammers.php.
Doorslammers takes place from Friday, May 17th, to Sunday, May 19th, at Santa Pod Raceway, near Wellingborough, NN29 7XA. Tickets can be booked online or by telephoning 01234 782828.
This story was originally published on May 10, 2024. 
