1967: Attended first meeting with my father as a spectator

1973: First competition licence. Motorcycle: 500 cc Triumph engine in a Lambretta Li 150 motor scooter frame

1975: First front engine dragster: 1800 cc Volvo engine

1979: Final version of the Volvo dragster before sale to new owners in Germany – this one was the fastest/quickest naturally aspirated, petrol-fueled push-rod 4-cylinder engine

1981: First rear engine Daimler – supercharged and fuel injected running on methanol fuel

1986: The car we called 'the half car' - the old front end, but with a new rear axle transmission and chassis; self-designed and built. This time supercharged, fuel injected and running on nitromethane fuel

1987: An all new car, self-designed and built, utilising the one-year old rear chassis etc., but with an all new front end. The car won at its debut meeting. The previous car chassis reunited and sold

1988: Contested the European Competition Car Championship. This series had 10 championship rounds around Europe. We achieved second place

1989: Contested the Euro Series again We won the series this year setting a new series record for elapsed time and terminal speed: 7.04 seconds at 184 mph, and winning the final event. We went on to the finals meeting at Santa Pod and ran the World’s first six with a British engine: 6.97 seconds at 187 mph

1990: Contested the Euro Series – achieved second place

1991-95: Ran the car on a selected meeting basis winning several events per year at home in the U.K. and in Europe. In 1992 we ran another World first: 6.81 seconds at 189 mph

1996: Contested the British National Super Pro race series and achieve second place

1997-98: No racing activity – concentrate on business

1999: Partnered and drove the Top-Fuel car of Knut Söderqvist as part of a two-car team, mine being the second car. We competed in the FIA European Top Fuel Championship and achieve second place after the team's number one car was destroyed in a crash at Hockenheim. We won the Finals Meeting at Santa Pod, running 5.08 seconds at 299 mph which then seeded me in the World’s top 50

1999: The Daimler dragster invited to a Jaguar/Daimler shootout meeting at Santa Pod where the Le Mans Jaguar attended as did all the iconic Jaguars. We beat all comers and ran the fastest time and speed of the day and a class win. 

2000-02: Partnered and drove the Top Fuel car at selected meetings for Knut Söderqvist

2002-08: No racing activity – I thought I had retired!

2008: The Read family were inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame. My father, Jim, raced until his death in 1989. He was a successful racer in the old Pro-Comp category and was also Chairman of the BDRA and HRA for 10 years

2008-10: No racing activity

2011: Invited by the Hall of Fame to static display the Daimler at the Santa Pod Dragstalgia event

2012: Daimler recommissioned and attended Dragstalgia as a running car - runs 7.08 seconds at 187 mph on only its second pass

2013-17: Daimler has been making demonstration runs at various tracks and events. In 2017 we ran two World first times and speeds – 6.69 seconds at 199.89 mph. To date no other British-engined car has run sub-seven seconds or at over 180mph!

2016: We raced and won a best of three against the Split Second jet-powered dragster, and in 2017 we raced another best of three against the Firestorm jet-powered funny car, and again came first

2016-17: Construction of a new Daimler dragster utilising the latest specification and materials

2017-20: Developing new engine parts using the original dragster as a test vehicle 

2020-23: New dragster debuted; it has run a best so far of 6.37 seconds at 209mph, lowering the world records for both time and speed seven times since its debut.

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The chassis, body and engine components of both dragsters are designed, developed and manufactured by Robin Read Racing   who as a team, have been together for 40 years.

Many thanks to the Triple R Team: Mark Evans, Bertie Hopkinson, Bill Mears, Ella Chapman and Damian Burke

These dragsters are completely unique in that they are the World Record Holders for British-engined vehicles, irrespective of sport discipline or engine capacity.