Sports Listings: This weekend: Drag racing - The Thunderball, Santa Pod

The Thunderball event at Santa Pod this weekend opens the drag racing season. On the menu is the first round of the European Top Alcohol series: 16 drivers take the field. Speeds of 230mph are achieved from a standing start in the six seconds the cars are on the quarter-mile course. The entertainment continues with the first round of the National Dragways Nitro Funny Car Shootout. Funny Cars are spectacular, with their fierce acceleration and notorious handling thanks to their small wheelbases, and speeds of up to 270mph will be attained.

How to get there: Santa Pod Raceway, Bedfordshire, is signposted from junction 14 of M1. Weekend ticket: pounds 30 adults. Day tickets: Tomorrow: pounds 12 adults. Sunday and Monday: pounds 15 adults. Children aged 12 to 16 are half-price, 11 and under free. Practice tomorrow runs from 10am to 6pm, racing on Sunday and Monday 10am-6pm. (Tel: 0234-781676).