Otterton-based drag racing star Mark ‘Wolfie’ Smith returned to action at Dakota Raceway, Smeatharpe, last weekend, and, despite his bike problems-related recent absence from the sport, showed he had lost none of guile and power as he strengthened his hold on what would be a fourth Straightliners South West Championship.

Round three of the Straightliners SW Championship was what was being contested last weekend and Smith powered to a class success.

He says: “It was certainly a close run thing! Peter Ford of Black Dragon Motorcycles in Yeovil ran a 9.38! We then ran together, even though he’s in the competition bike classes and I’m only in modified street bike classes.

“I did 9.35 with a top speed of 153mph with a 1.510 sixty foot.”

He continued: “The big boys, Mark Patman – otherwise known as ‘Skinny’, who is also my engineer and a great personal friend who builds my bike – and John Jefferson on his 430 turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa, had a hard battle in the class above me. It was a titanic battle which was ultimately won by John.”

With a cash prize up for grabs for the first time in terms of Dakota raceway meetings, ‘Wolfie’ duly took the honours in his class.

He says: “My first run was just a shakedown for the bike after the DAA racing rebuild and after that it was straight back into the pits as we had a slight ‘whining’ coming from the engine! Fortunately ‘Skinny’ was straight on it and it turned out to be the cam chain adjuster which hadn’t reset itself. Having sorted it, Skinny advised one more run without gas (nitrous oxide) before really pushing the bike again.

“I did as instructed and – ‘boom’ – a pay day too!

“Running against bikes with turbos, superchargers with nitrous as well and I still beat them all on my home track.”

Wolfie rounded off saying: “It was certainly a cracking weekend with a massive turnout of proper drag cars and bikes. Myself and ‘Skinny’ spent a lot of time scrutineering, but in the last hour or so we did have a shoot out, and yours truly won that too to round off a wonderful weekend.”