2010 NitrOlympX
Saturday


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01:35

Yep, that's 01:35 Sunday, that's how much we love you all.

We have now posted Saturday's pictures, which you can view via the Event Index page. There are 185 pictures in all; if you do not see all 185 thumbnails when you load the gallery page then click on your Browser's Refresh button.

Tune back in the morning and we'll have all the news from eliminations. Racing is scheduled to start at 9:30.

21:45

Night Show Top Methanol Dragster demonstration

Timo Habermann 7.347/193.18, Dennis Habermann 7.301/197.47 (Dennis' blower plate blew at the eighth)

Gerd Habermann (Jet Funny Car) 7.167/365.32

That's the last on-track action here this evening so we have now shut off the webcam.

There's going to be a long wait for today's pictures but we will bring them to you as soon as we can.

21:40

Simon has posted another set of pit notes which you can check out via the Event Index page.

Night Show Top Fuel Dragster demonstrations

Andy Carter 10.340/129.03 (0.886 sixty foot); Urs Erbacher 6.874/195.69 (0.882 sixty foot); Stig Neergaard 8.911/138.34 (0.880 sixty foot) Tommi Haapanen 5.876/337.57 (0.883 sixty foot, tyres up in smoke but stayed with it, looked like an engine explosion in the second half)

Apologies to Bob Glassup, Wendy Baker and Tony Betts whose full run details were lost when the laptop locked up just at the wrong moment (which is also what caused the webcam to play up for a while a little while back). We have to rely on our memory; Bob ran 7.307 in his blown-alcohol altered and Wendy ran 6.968 in the Nostalgia Fuel FC.

20:35

Nitro Bike Thunder qualifying session 3 (left lane first):

Hans Olav Olstad 7.056/325.63 bye, Lorenz Stäuble broke; Antonio Ferretti 8.079/238.30, Rene van den Berg 6.870/347.28; Kai Salkämaa 8.804/160.39, Petri Paljakka 7.027/311.03; Lorenz Stäuble 6.905/325.92 bye, Ian King broke

20:15

Fuel Funny Car match race:

John Spuffard 5.127/473.02 def. Gordon Smith 5.547/325.48

Spuff away first 0.129 to 0.200 and had the better sixty foot time 0.932 to 0.957, Gordon had the better eighth 3.507 to 3.560. Gordon was off the throttle at about 900 feet and then there was a puff of smoke and a flash of flame from the Showtime FC and there was flame underneath the car as it went down the shutdown area.

Junior Dragster eliminations round 1 winners:

Simon Andersson (8.90) 8.990/107.48, Joe Kellett (8.71) 8.777/113.88, Jessica Gantenbein (8.09) 8.056/127.26, Nico Hansalahti (8.24) 8.434/122.69, Lisa Selles (8.15) 8.193/129.03 bye, Josh Saunders (8.08) 8.124/128.96, Jerry Bachinger (9.00) 9.430/109.49, Jill Kemp (10.96) 11.126/91.76

0.008 RT for Jill Kemp in her victory over Amy Kieselhorst.

19:45

Henri Joosten and Rolf Ammann were due to have a match race after the first round of Pro Mod but the Tree didn't run and Rolf left after being up on the revs for a long while. Henri backed out of stage and came back a few minutes later to clock a fine 6.562/343.87.

We are now on a break until 20:00 when the Night Show commences. We will leave the webcam running during the Night Show and we will make a note of the relevant demo passes and also the results of round 1 of Junior Dragster which takes place during the Night Show.

19:35

FIA Pro Modified eliminations round 1

Roger Johansson 6.216/364.16 def. Jan Gunnarsson 6.291/370.05

Jan away first 0.084 to 0.100 and both had the front wheels up. Roger's incrementals were better from then on though; 1.047 to sixty feet to Jan's 1.088, 4.064/293.16 at the eighth to Jan's 4.147/291.31 taking the long way round his lane, and Roger there first by 0.0596. Jan was just plain outrun.

Urban Johansson 6.100/373.30 def. Freddy Fagerström 6.991/228.72

Urban got the jump 0.014 to 0.035 and had the better sixty foot 1.037 to 1.066. Freddy's truck was weaving left and right and got very close to the centre line. 4.005/301.50 at the eighth for Urban, a pedal for Freddy then a bang and a huge ball of flame from the pick-up just before the eighth 4.192/275.18 and he put the chutes out. Kirstie at the top end called in "That was bad". The pick-up was still smoking all the way down the shutdown area and the safety crew were there to deal with the methanol fire when it stopped. Freddy is A-OK.

Micke Lindahl 6.135/377.91 def. Bruno Bader 6.194/369.30

A great pair of runs. Micke got the jump 0.045 to 0.074 but Bruno had the better sixty foot time 1.017 to 1.032, no sign fo shake for either. Micke was making up the deficit by half track 4.061 to 4.041, the cars looked side-by-side but there was 0.086 seconds in it at the finish line.

Micke Gullqvist 6.113/377.45 def. Norbert Kuno 6.378/363.98

Big lead off the line for Norbert 0.019 to 0.116 but that was the last advantage he had. Micke's sixty foot was way better 1.035 to 1.092, Norbert's Avenger started to blackstripe and move for the centre line. From here it looked as if Norbert stayed with it but he lost time and Micke was out in front at the eighth 4.019 to 4.208, 0.1789 in it at the stripe.

Mats Eriksson 6.105/379.29 def. Marc Meihuizen 6.484/346.84 DQ

Marc deep-staged and then pulled a -0.117 red light handing it to Mats. 1.036 to sixty feet for Mats, nice clean tyre marks on the track with no hint of shake, 4.024/2965.67 at the eighth.

Johan Lindberg 8.683/153.98 def. Adam Flamholc 7.108/240.99 DQ

Adam away first 0.037 to Johan's 0.051, Johan's sixty foot was just better 1.077 to 1.079, both hit shake and tried to drive through it, both cars headed to the right. Johan's 'Bird made a violent move and he had to pedal to correct it, meanwhile Adam's Camaro crossed the centre line and pulverised both eighth-mile reflectors. From here it looked quite close but luckily Johan, having pedalled and already having enough to deal with, was behind Adam when he crossed the line.

Andy Robinson 6.168/371.83 def. Marco Maurischat 6.268/361.19

Two Eurodragster.com sponsors facing off in this one. A screaming burnout from Andy, the revs sounded very high but he knows his stuff. Andy got away first 0.038 to 0.059 but Marco had the better sixty foot time 1.020 to 1.036. Front left wheel up for Andy, straight launch for Marco. Andy had the better eighth 4.042/294.81 to 4.092/288.06, Marco's 'Vette made a move but he stayed with it, however Andy was ahead and took the stripe by 0.1214.

Melanie Troxel 6.045/388.10 def. Robert Joosten 8.607/126.02

Robert in as alternate for Patrick Wikström. Robert was away first 0.032 to 0.045, Melanie had the much better sixty foot 1.005 to 1.054. The Camaro hit shake but Robert tried to drive through it and crossed the centre line in between 330 feet and the eighth. Robert yanked it back into his lane and pulled the chutes. 3.991/302.88 to the eighth for Melanie and 2.5492 iun it at the stripe.

18:40

Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners:

Eduard Hildebrand (9.53) 9.854/218.72, Bob Lees (10.10) 10.111/211.69, Udo Becker (10.75) 12.105/156.69, Frank Walmbach (9.80) 10.021/201.14, Thomas Brandes (10.25) 10.413/203.48, Christian Frei (11.00) 11.093/194.88, Carla Pittau (9.74) 9.809/217.69, Michael Maderer (11.06) 11.409/166.61, Hans Niesner (10.55) 11.353/158.10, Martin Weikum (10.80) 11.095/179.67, Jens Dahms (11.99) 12.129/178.19, Walter Rohner (10.00) 10.053/211.50, Jens Könnecke (9.72) 9.833/216.80, Nicole Rechsteiner (9.20) 9.229/214.72, Dirk Sommer (10.93) 27.945/198.43, Daniel Vetterl (11.00) 11.164/190.96 bye

18:25

Super Street Bike eliminations round 1 winners:

Garry Bowe 7.754/297.49, Steve Mead 7.820/280.62, Mick Templeman 8.515/287.70, Niclas Sverin 8.325/278.18, Scott Baldwin 7.911/305.09, Rick Stubbins 7.579/312.42, Mogens Lund 8.358/267.46, Simon Giordmaina 7.945/295.55, Alexander Rose 8.183/294.75, Steve Venables 7.743/287.00, Mark Watkins 7.936/294.27, Graham Balchin 7.524/317.91, Horst Hochheusel 9.218/243.73, Wayne Saunders 7.684/317.03, Thomas Granica 7.941/287.57, Michael Merse 9.013/282.63

18:10

FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 4 (left lane first):

Janne Ahonen 5.012/480.24 bye; Stig Neergaard 5.039/375.94, Micke Kågered 5.815/238.43; Risto Poutiainen 5.027/376.92, Timo Lehtimaki 5.545/309.00; Anita Mäkelä 4.800/482.69 bye; Andy Carter 4.802/474.68, Urs Erbacher 5.735/262.29

0.91 to sixty feet for Janne, good-looking middle third, some smoke from the motor towards the finish but there can't have been that much wrong - one of the best speeds of the weekend. 0.903 to sixty feet for Stig to Micke's 0.904, Stig was pulling away before half track and then Micke had a carbon copy of his fireball run at Mantorp Park - a bang and a huge ball of flame from the motor about 500 feet out. 3.279/402.55 to the eighth for Stig to Micke's slowing 3.359/355.99, Stig got to 1000 feet in 3.993 and then shut it off. Having seen Micke DNQ, Jari Halinen returned to the pits whilst the track crew cleaned up.

0.886 to sixty for Risto on the re-start, 0.942 for Timo. Great looking pass for Risto, 3.290/401.74 at the eighth, smoke from Timo's motor at the eighth 3.489/364.28 and then a bang and a fire which lasted into the shutdown area. Storming 3.984 to 1000 feet for Risto and shut off and chutes out before the stripe. A quick clean-up in Timo's lane.

Fantastic run for Anita and into #1 spot. 0.912 to sixty feet, header flames high in the air, on the throttle all the way to the stripe and the high speed of the weekend to boot. The trick here at the moment seems to be to keep it relatively tame over sixty feet then go for it in the middle of the track. Great run for Andy - tuner Karsten Andersen told me before the run that they were trying something and that if it worked then it would be "mad". 0.870 to sixty for Andy to Urs' 0.945, Andy already well ahead at 330 feet 2.242 to 2.356, lots of smoke from Urs' motor and he was in trouble by the eighth 3.414/362.88 whilst Andy was going great guns at half track 3.224/417.16. Urs was off the throttle whilst Andy clocked an awesome 3.898 at 1000 feet, looked like the tyres were turning again at the top end but an improvement and only 0.002 behind Anita. The clean-up crew are at work in Urs' lane in the shutdown area.

Final qualifying:

  1. Anita Mäkelä 4.800/482.69
  2. Andy Carter 4.802/474.68
  3. Risto Poutiainen 4.883/478.76
  4. Stig Neergaard 4.937/407.92
  5. Janne Ahonen 4.985/432.44
  6. Urs Erbacher 4.986/453.09
  7. Jari Halinen 5.007/458.26
  8. Timo Lehtimäki 5.032/466.32
    --- DNQ ---
  9. Micke Kågered 5.466/334.86

17:00

FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 4 (left lane first):

Derek Flynn 6.230/345.29, Dennis Habermann 5.660/404.13; Paul Ingar Udtian 5.637/402.93, Krister Johansson 5.785/347.34; Timo Habermann shut off, Dave Wilson 5.482/419.58 bye; Fred Hanssen 5.390/428.10, Peter Schöfer 8.290/161.23

The carbon black panels back on Dennis' car for this run - you can read more about the body panel changes in Simon's pit notes. Another double burnout for Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek, clear black stripes visible from about 250 feet. Derek stayed with despite the smoking tyres in an attempt to move up the ladder. Identical ET to his previous best for Paul Ingar, a big advantage over Krister off the line and pulling away all the way down. Krister looked to have cylinders out and the car sounded to be struggling after half track, shut off slightly early. Long burnout for Timo and his blower burst panel popped about 400 feet out and he cleared the track on momentum. Grumpy got the tyres to smoke in the burnout this time and a pretty long burnout it was too. Great bye for Grumpy, 0.9-second sixty foot time and staying with it even though the Silverline Tools car was moving left and right most of the way down the track. An improvement in ET, into the 5.4s but no change in position. 0.9-second sixty foot times for both Fred and Peter, Peter hit shake and pedalled then from here it looked as if the blower lifted. Another great run for Fred, not a hint of shake and pretty much consistent with his other passes.

Final qualifying:

  1. Fred Hanssen 5.381/428.10
  2. Timo Habermann 5.393/416.52
  3. Peter Schöfer 5.465/416.28
  4. Dave Wilson 5.482/419.58
  5. Krister Johansson 5.600/375.62
  6. Dennis Habermann 5.601/408.00
  7. Paul Ingar Udtian 5.637/404.35
  8. Derek Flynn 5.709/317.77

16:40

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 4 (left lane first):

Danny Bellio shut off (bye); Rob Turner 6.065/357.16 bye; Dezsoe Krivan 6.906/219.43, Jarmo Kuutniemi 6.046/354.71; Dan Larsen 5.895/392.80 bye

Danny shut off just before staging, a trail on the track after the burnout. Quite a long trail and quite thin and the track crew did a delicate-looking clean-up job on their hands and knees.

Rob first on the re-start, Will Hanna looking on again. Looked like a gentle launch and a flash from underneath the car about 100 feet out, nothing happened to the engine note so nothing obviously wrong and an increasingly strong run as it went down the track. Another best for Rob in the FC, well done guys! Busy run for Deszoe as the FC started to move around its lane and got into one of those pendulum-effect left and right swings, Dez off the throttle by 1000 feet. Obviously we were all watching Dez but it was a good run for Jarmo. Stout run for Dan, 1.028 to sixty feet which is a bit lazy for a TMFC but made it up in the second half.

Final qualifying:

  1. Dan Larsen 5.858/394.59
  2. Jürgen Nagel 5.889/377.71
  3. Jarmo Kuutniemi 5.931/388.79
  4. Rob Turner 6.065/357.16
  5. Dezsoe Krivan 6.262/295.59
  6. Arvid Grødem 6.302/383.51
  7. Danny Bellio 7.449/256.90

16:05

Simon has posted a large batch of pit notes which you can check out via the Event Index page.

FIA Pro Modified qualifying session 4 (left lane first):

Henri Joosten 8.940/149.38, Jean Dulamon no time; Rolf Ammann 6.542/349.29, Patrick Wikström 6.549/324.65; Robert Joosten 9.704/163.06, Norbert Kuno 6.454/363.73; Urban Johansson 6.181/375.68, Marco Maurischat 6.306/362.40; Bruno Bader 8.798/176.98, Marc Meihuizen 6.955/317.54; Roger Johansson 9.948/131.54, Freddy Fagerström 6.877/348.79; Jan Gunnarsson 6.345/377.12, Adam Flamholc 8.758/162.17; Johan Lindberg 6.211/338.30, Andy Robinson 6.214/370.56; Micke Lindahl 6.329/381.36, Micke Gullqvist 6.107/377.58; Melanie Troxel 6.045/388.79, Mats Eriksson 7.279/225.86

Jean rolled through stage before the lights ran, stopped, but was not permitted to come back. The lights ran and Henri sat and looked at the green for a while, then pulled the front wheels up on the launch, shake as the front end came down, out of shape and off the throttle. Henri and Jean will be spectating later. All eyes on Patrik in the next pair as his motor started to smoke in the second half and the smoke got worse and worse until you couldn't see the car at all. The top end camera showed the car to be in one piece with both chutes out. Word came back from the top end that there was a wide trail of oil down the shutdown area.

Robert in the Last Chance Saloon on the re-start, shake off the line and the car turned right, a pedal and more shake so he got off the throttle. At that point, though, he was first alternate with Patrik appearing who have damaged a motor so he could yet be in with a chance in this evening's first round. Norbert's car appeared to hesitate in the second half but a slight improvement and in the ladder as things stood. Tremendous pass for Urban, as we said earlier getting back to the sort of form he showed at Mantorp Park and making a big move up to #4 at that point. An improvement for Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco too, up to #11 and safely in the ladder. Bruno hit shake and shut off by about 150 feet, Marc drove through shake and then the car started to move about its lane culminating in a violent move. Marc got off the throttle and pulled it straight and then gave the throttle another couple of slaps. Shake for Freddy, the truck made a move to the left, he pedalled and then of course got back on it. Looked from here as if Roger's tyres unloaded as the front end came down, the Mustang moved towards the centre line and he was off the throttle by about 400 feet. Adam off the throttle before half track but nothing visible wrong such as shake, I guess a mechanical problem. Nice run for Jan, a little off this morning's pace but it is very hot out there which isn't helping. Nice run between Jan and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy although not side-by-side courtesy of a big holeshot from Gus. Blower burst panel popped on Johan's 'Bird at about 1200 feet; his ET improved but he stayed in place. Shake and a move for the line for Micke L, a brief pedal and back on it losing very little time. Micke G straight down the middle of the lane with no sign of shake and up into #2 spot. Melanie and Mats side-by-side to begin with but Mats off the throttle by half track, nothing visibly wrong. Mel's car again looked to squat down towards the middle of the track, 4.01 at the eighth, improving the ET bit by bit and you wouldn't bet against a five later.

Final qualifying:

  1. Melanie Troxel 6.045/388.79
  2. Micke Gullqvist 6.107/377.58
  3. Mats Eriksson 6.132/385.14
  4. Urban Johansson 6.181/375.68
  5. Micke Lindahl 6.188/374.97
  6. Andy Robinson 6.198/370.68
  7. Johan Lindberg 6.211/338.30
  8. Jan Gunnarsson 6.221/372.53
  9. Roger Johansson 6.234/364.34
  10. Adam Flamholc 6.304/364.34
  11. Marco Maurischat 6.306/362.40
  12. Bruno Bader 6.312/358.45
  13. Freddy Fagerström 6.314/360.95
  14. Marc Meihuizen 6.357/367.86
  15. Norbert Kuno 6.454/363.73
  16. Patrick Wikström 6.465/355.46
    --- DNQ ---
  17. Robert Joosten 6.516/312.42
  18. Rolf Amman 6.565/347.56
  19. Henri Joosten 6.596/346.17
  20. Jean Dulamon 6.896/332.35
  21. Jöran Persåker 7.310/265.04
  22. Marcus Hilt 7.693/226.03

14:55

FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 4 (left lane first):

Jonas Engdahl no time bye; Jan Palmqvist 6.924/319.97 bye; Tommy Leindahl 6.929/322.29, Micke Callin 6.943/323.40; Michael Malmgren 6.826/326.41, Jimmy Ålund 6.847/327.94

Jonas left before the lights ran so no time, pity as that looked like a good run. Consistent pass for Jan, 0.001 improvement on his previous best but no change in position. Consistency again from Tommy, nice looking pass for Micke but no improvements. A great match-up between Michael and Jimmy, another improvement for Michael but he stayed in second.

Final qualifying:

  1. Jimmy Ålund 6.747/329.13
  2. Michael Malmgren 6.826/326.41
  3. Micke Callin 6.898/322.35
  4. Tommy Leindahl 6.920/322.77
  5. Jan Palmqvist 6.924/319.97
  6. Richard Sundblom 7.011/325.04
  7. Jonas Engdahl 7.019/319.50
  8. Harald Sturhan 7.164/310.55

14:25

Comp Eliminator qualifying top five after session 3:

  1. Per-Erik Lindgren (9.75) -1.133 8.617
  2. Björn Lähndorf (8.40) -1.027 7.373
  3. Rene Maierhofer (9.52) -0.832 8.688
  4. Christian Sagelv (8.74) -0.754 7.986
  5. Robin Sattler (9.65) -0.663 8.987

Next is the final Pro qualifying session but there will be a short break whilst they collect.

14:10

Euro Serie Top Gas qualifying top five after session 3:

  1. Rasmus Olesen 7.655/272.39
  2. Anna Lena Asplund 7.990/252.01
  3. Stefan Andre 8.061/262.64
  4. Harry van Schie 8.461/240.49
  5. Peter Niklas 8.519/246.13

Super Comp qualifying top five after session 3:

  1. Marina Andersson 8.902/263.63
  2. Andre Müller 8.911/252.74
  3. Micke Nilsson 8.917/269.55
  4. Niklas Ohlin 8.922/252.89
  5. Rene Ehrismann 8.940/229.22

13:30

Super Gas qualifying top five after session 3:

  1. Werner Zudrell 9.905/212.25
  2. Robert Jongen 9.921/194.74
  3. Bruno Loisel 9.923/217.50
  4. Annette Müller 9.923/200.92
  5. Dieter Goetz 9.929/167.73

13:20

Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 3:

  1. Richard Stubbins 7.504/309.26
  2. Wayne Saunders 7.665/309.22
  3. Chris Reed 7.699/305.91
  4. Mark Watkins 7.704/306.56
  5. Steve Mead 7.704/300.79

Graham Dance on the thirty two-bike bump at 9.193, and the top eleven bikes are in the sevens.

Wayne Saunders asked us to say a big Thank You to the Lindahl brothers for giving him a new oil line after the incumbent split whilst he was returning to the pits last round.

13:00

Fuel Funny Car match race:

John Spuffard 5.194/445.57 def. Gordon Smith 5.273/406.47

That was the best Fuel FC race I've seen in a long while, nice one guys! 0.963 to sixty for Gordon, 0.970 for Spuff. Gordon had the better eighth 3.547 to 3.540, some smoke from the Showtime FC at about 1100 feet and Spuff was off the throttle but got there first.

12:55

FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 3 (left lane first):

Stig Neergaard 4.937/407.92 bye; Jari Halinen 5.007/458.26, Janne Ahonen 4.985/432.44; Micke Kågered 10.173/133.97, Andy Carter 4.851/447.03; Timo Lehtimäki 5.415/313.78, Risto Poutiainen 4.966/382.90; Urs Erbacher 4.986/453.09, Anita Mäkelä 4.886/472.82;

0.905 to sixty feet for Stig and looking good until just past the eighth when the tyres started to turn, Stig shut it off at about 1000 feet. No chutes as he disappeared from our view but this is the longest track on the tour so plenty of room to stop. Tremendous match-up between Jari and Janne, 0.90 and 0.91 sixty foot times, both cars stuck to the track with header flames visible even in this strong sunshine. Janne shut off a touch early but that pairing set a new bump spot record for European Top Fuel and a new PB for Jari, well done Jari and the team! Micke shut off about 150 feet out, all eyes on Andy as he left Micke for dead off the line, the Lucas Oil car stuck to the track and went, another 3.9-second thousand foot time, shut off just a moment early but into #1 spot by 0.001! Some consternation around Timo's car after the burnout, a few problems getting into reverse but quickly sorted by the crew. 0.096 to 0.4521 RT in Risto's favour, the better sixty foot time 0.876 to 0.895, both cars stuck to the track, 3.258/407.23 to the eighth for Risto to Timo's 3.375/378.50. All eyes on Timo then as the motor started to smoke then there was a bang and a flash of flame. 3.940 to 1000 feet for Risto and shut off before the quarter. Timo's lane checked and found to be OK, hopefully just the blower plate. Another nice match-up to end the session, a consistent pass for Anita and a clean run with no shake, on the gas all the way to the quarter. Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs was right there with Anita in the first half but Anita started to pull away after the eighth and Urs shut off a touch before the stripe.

Qualifying after this session:

  1. Andy Carter 4.851/447.03
  2. Anita Mäkelä 4.852/444.56
  3. Risto Poutiainen 4.883/478.76
  4. Stig Neergaard 4.937/407.92
  5. Janne Ahonen 4.985/432.44
  6. Urs Erbacher 4.986/453.09
  7. Jari Halinen 5.007/458.26
  8. Timo Lehtimäki 5.032/466.32
  9. Micke Kågered 5.466/334.86

12:30

FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 3 (left lane first):

Paul Ingar Udtian 5.637/404.35 bye; Dennis Habermann 5.624/406.62, Derek Flynn 7.945/194.06; Dave Wilson 12.740/114.42, Timo Habermann 5.446/418.05; Peter Schöfer 5.497/415.89, Fred Hanssen 5.406/430.73

Nice run from Paul Ingar to start the session, this one got him into the ladder at that point, the motor sounded to misfire at both gear changes but obviously nothing wrong given the ET. New body panels on Dennis' dragster after the usual carbon black yesterday and I must say that the car looks very pretty in its new colours. We kept a close eye on the starting procedures in this pair and everything went just fine, both cars pulled forward to burn out at more or less the same time. If you don't get the allusion then don't worry about it. No improvement for Dennis but a clean run, Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek got away cleanly but then his tyres went up in smoke just past the Tree; Derek pedalled and gave it another go but his tyres smoked again about 200 feet later so he shut it off. Grumpy's motor really stuttered on the burnout, and I mean a stutter on the order of Ken in A Fish Called Wanda, the tyres didn't turn at all. Grumpy gave it another go but the motor stuttered again and again the tyres hardly turned. The inevitable happened, Grumpy's tyres up in smoke about thirty feet out. 0.912 to sixty feet for Timo, clean run with no shake. Small amount of shake for Peter but he drove though it, no sign of shake for Fred but some blackstriping, just a touch off yesterday's form but still #1. No Krister Johansson again.

Qualifying after this session:

  1. Fred Hanssen 5.381/428.10
  2. Timo Habermann 5.393/416.52
  3. Peter Schöfer 5.465/416.28
  4. Dave Wilson 5.506/426.50
  5. Krister Johansson 5.600/375.62
  6. Dennis Habermann 5.601/408.00
  7. Paul Ingar Udtian 5.637/404.35
  8. Derek Flynn 5.709/317.77

12:15

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 3 (left lane first):

Arvid Grødem 6.882/230.85 bye; Jürgen Nagel 5.889/377.71, Danny Bellio 7.449/256.90; Rob Turner 6.155/354.24, Dezsoe Krivan 6.262/295.59; Jarmo Kuutniemi 5.931/388.79, Dan Larsen 5.858/394.59

Good run to start with for Arvid, but the burst panel popped right on the eighth and he had the chute out at about 900 feet. A tremendous run by Jürgen and the crew must have known something which we didn't because they were waving their arms and jumping up and down long before Jürgen got to the stripe. Congratulations to Jürgen and his team on blowing his Personal Best into next week and on #1 qualifier at that point. Instant shake for Danny, bad enough to feel it up here in Race Control, and then tyre smoke. Danny pedalled then got back on it for a while but then shut off. Will Hanna an interested spectator in Rob's lane. Rob's FC nudged forward very slightly after staging but not enough to start the clock or light the red. When the green lit Ron sat and looked at it for a moment before hitting it. Nice run for Dezsoe, but then shut off in the second half and 'chutes out before the stripe. The track crew attended to the top end reflectors after this pair although I didn't see either hit, maybe Des' chutes dislodged them. Great match-up to finish the session, Jarmo and Dan looked side-by-side most of the way but a very clean run for Dan particularly, taking #1 spot away from Jürgen in the last gasp.

Qualifying after this session:

  1. Dan Larsen 5.858/394.59
  2. Jürgen Nagel 5.889/377.71
  3. Jarmo Kuutniemi 5.931/388.79
  4. Rob Turner 6.155/354.24
  5. Dezsoe Krivan 6.262/295.59
  6. Arvid Grødem 6.302/383.51
  7. Danny Bellio 7.449/256.90

11:55

FIA Pro Modified qualifying session 3 (left lane first):

Norbert Kuno 6.465/360.65 bye, Jöran Persåker no time; Adam Flamholc 6.304/364.34, Robert Joosten 7.389/341.76; Marcus Hilt 8.050/160.82, Bruno Bader 6.312/358.45; Marco Maurischat 6.386/357.69, Johan Lindberg 6.220/368.73; Jean Dulamon 6.896/332.35, Henri Joosten 6.596/346.17; Rolf Ammann 6.915/317.77 bye; Marc Meihuizen 6.357/367.86, Urban Johansson 6.331/368.31; Freddy Fagerström 6.314/360.95, Jan Gunnarsson 6.221/372.53; Andy Robinson 6.237/367.61, Roger Johansson 6.690/292.01; Micke Gullqvist 6.163/374.97, Micke Lindahl 6.354/368.17; Mats Eriksson 6.132/385.14, Melanie Troxel 6.052/388.45

Jöran was pushed back after returning from his burnout. Bye for Norbert then, rolled the beams very slightly before hitting it, 1.141 sixty foot betrays the roll. Big improvement in ET and sounded a little lazy so more to come and Norbret on his way back I'd say. Big shake and a pedal for Robert, then he shut off just past the eighth. Much better run for Adam, on the gas all the way and into the top half of the ladder. The first eighth looked and sounded slightly lazy so some more to come out of the Amalie car I think. Bruno the next we expected to make a move up the ladder, would he do it? Yes he would! Big improvement, left Marcus for dead off the line and a fuill pass with no sign of shake. Marcus' 'Vette seemed to be struggling and looked from here as if a blower panel let go just after half track. Bump spot into the sixes after Bruno's run. Next pair and a couple more racers whom you might reasonably expect to see in the ladder, but both outside as they went to the line...and both inside at the finish line. Nice run for Marcus with a little smoke in the second half, all eyes on Johan as the 'Bird moved around its lane and got very close indeed to the finish line reflectors, then smoke from the motor as the chutes deployed. The bump spot went down by 0.4 seconds after that run! Great run for Henri, a new PB, well done Henri! Some flames from the exhaust in the speed trap but you see that with Nitrous cars and doesn't usually mean anything bad. Improvement for Jean, getting to grips nicely with his new car. Neither in the ladder but both moved up and there is one more session to get in. Rolf drove through shake and the Coupe started to move towards the centre line, if he didn't touch it then he got very close indeed. A pedal at that point, no improvement in ET and outside the ladder as things stand. On his recent form we were expecting to see Urban into the top sixteen and in he went, into #11 at that point and that run included a brief pedal for shake about 100 feet out. Consistent run for Marc and the new motor nicely bedded-in. Half track burnout for Freddy, Jan waited for the cheers to subside then pulled a 300-foot burnout. Great side-by-side pass, some haze from Freddy's motor in the last couple of hundred feet, Jan's Badillac took the long way round and his motor also started smoking at the top end but he still moved up the ladder. Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy hit shake at about sixty feet but drove through it, lost him some time though. Roger's front left wheel was up in the air until about 250 feet, the motor sounded to hesitate momentarily as the front came down, Roger shut off a touch early. Treat bit of pee-taking from track announcer Benni Voss in the next pair as he picked up on my habit of using initials when we have racers with the same Christian names. Very consistent run for Micke G, .01 quicker than his previous best. No improvement for Micke L, didn't seem to lose any time to shake, run looked good from here. Great side-by-side run from Mats and Melanie to close the session, the rear end of Melanie's Camaro visibly squatted about 250 feet out, another 4.0-second eighth mile, that's consistency for you with the ET as well. Great run for Mats, 4.1-second eighth, an improvement but stayed in place.

Qualifying after this session:

  1. Melanie Troxel 6.052/388.45
  2. Mats Eriksson 6.132/385.14
  3. Micke Gullqvist 6.163/374.97
  4. Micke Lindahl 6.188/374.97
  5. Andy Robinson 6.198/370.68
  6. Johan Lindberg 6.220/368.73
  7. Jan Gunnarsson 6.221/372.53
  8. Roger Johansson 6.234/364.34
  9. Adam Flamholc 6.304/364.34
  10. Bruno Bader 6.312/358.45
  11. Freddy Fagerström 6.314/360.95
  12. Urban Johansson 6.331/368.31
  13. Marc Meihuizen 6.357/367.86
  14. Marco Maurischat 6.386/357.69
  15. Norbert Kuno 6.465/360.65
  16. Patrick Wikström 6.465/355.46
  17. Robert Joosten 6.516/312.42
  18. Rolf Amman 6.565/347.56
  19. Henri Joosten 6.596/346.17
  20. Jean Dulamon 6.896/332.35
  21. Jöran Persåker 7.310/265.04
  22. Marcus Hilt 7.693/226.03

11:25

FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 3 (left lane first):

Jonas Engdahl 7.019/319.78, Harald Sturhan 7.164/310.55; Richard Sundblom no time, Tommy Leindahl 7.623/233.11 bye; Micke Callin no time, Jan Palmqvist no time; Jimmy Ålund 6.747/329.13, Michael Malmgren 6.843/327.10

How about that for Jonas, identical ET to his previous best. A good baseline pass for Harald, his first run of the weekend after the car spent most of yesterday with no rear wheels on. A bang from Nixxon's motor as it started, then some problems starting and one of the start line crew attended to a carb fire. Nixxon then got it started and pulled a huge burnout to the delight of the crowd but then shut off and was pushed back. Tommy took the bye, the car moved towards the centre line on launch but he stayed with it, then it sounded as if there was a problem shifting gears and he shut off at about 800 feet. Bizarre goings-on in the next pairing, Micke Callin was bulbed and when his red lit Jan's car rolled out of stage. Wouldn't be surprised if there were a protest arising from that run. A slight improvement from Jimma to consolidate his #1 spot, consistency from Michael and he stays #2.

Qualifying after this session:

  1. Jimmy Ålund 6.747/329.13
  2. Michael Malmgren 6.835/326.51
  3. Micke Callin 6.898/322.35
  4. Tommy Leindahl 6.920/322.77
  5. Jan Palmqvist 6.925/325.87
  6. Richard Sundblom 7.011/325.04
  7. Jonas Engdahl 7.019/319.50
  8. Harald Sturhan 7.164/310.55

11:10

Comp Eliminator qualifying top five after session 2:

  1. Per-Erik Lindgren -1.133 8.617
  2. Björn Lähndorf -1.027 7.373
  3. Rene Maierhofer -0.832 8.688
  4. Robin Sattler -0.663 8.987
  5. Christian Sagelv -0.610 8.130

11:00

Super Comp qualifying top five after session 2:

  1. Marina Andersson 8.902/263.63
  2. Andre Müller 8.911/252.74
  3. Niklas Ohlin 8.939/252.39
  4. Rene Ehrismann 8.940/229.22
  5. Konrad Beyer 8.982/234.85

10:50

Super Gas qualifying top five after session 2:

  1. Werner Zudrell 9.905/212.25
  2. Robert Jongen 9.921/194.74
  3. Bruno Loisel 9.923/217.50
  4. Annette Müller 9.923/200.92
  5. Dieter Goetz 9.929/167.73

0.001 RT for Jon Giles in this session, closest yet to the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award.

10:25

Pro Bike Eliminator session 2:

Sven Fagan 9.188/186.34, Bob Brooks 7.762/217.67; Len Paget 9.834/169.43, Otto Knebl 8.276/264.82; Alexander Rose 8.913/254.40, Thomas Joswig 10.556/143.72; Bousinis Haralambos 8.229/253.45, Filippos Papafilippou 8.679/247.45; Christian Jäger 7.578/244.49, Gert-Jan Laseur 7.450; Luc Raeymaekers 9.826/228.59, Stefan Schmidt 8.761/212.68; Szabolcs Borsay 11.781/111.84, Davide Ricci 20.022/106.59; Rikard Gustafsson 7.757/272.90

Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 3:

  1. Patricia Kästner +0.011 8.361
  2. Norbert Schneider +0.021 8.461
  3. Bert Gorselitz +0.030 8.990
  4. Thomas Haas +0.048 8.598
  5. Jan Scheppers +0.049 7.819

10:40

Nitro Bike Thunder qualifying session 2 (left lane first):

Roman Sixta 8.408/200.75, Lorenz Stäble 6.742/336.57; Hans Olav Olstad 6.849/330.78, Rene van den Berg 6.913/298.27; Kai Selkämaa 8.064/250.09 bye; Petri Paljakka 6.979/305.70, Antonio Ferretti 7.951/241.21

10:10

Euro Serie Top Gas qualifying top five after session 2:

  1. Rasmus Olesen 7.655/272.39
  2. Anna Lena Asplund 7.990/252.01
  3. Harry van Schie 8.461/240.49
  4. Peter Niklas 8.519/246.13
  5. Herman Jolink 8.534/257.81

Pro ET qualifying top five after session 3:

  1. Daniel Vetterl +0.017 11.067
  2. Eduard Hildebrand +0.025 9.555
  3. Carla Pittau +0.026 9.746
  4. Thomas Helmbrecht +0.031 11.631
  5. Christian Frei +0.035 11.025

10:05

Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 2:

  1. Richard Stubbins 7.504/309.26
  2. Wayne Saunders 7.665/309.22
  3. Chris Reed 7.699/305.91
  4. Graham Balchin 7.741/303.98
  5. Garry Bowe 7.820/294.03

Still waiting on Pro ET and Super Pro ET lists, will bring you those as soon as we get them.

09:10

Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 3:

  1. Sally Ekerst 0.011
  2. Josh Saunders 0.018
  3. Rhiannon Bellenie 0.027
  4. Maja Udtian 0.031
  5. Killian Maugan 0.039

08:45

Good morning and welcome from the Rico Anthes Quarter Mile at Hockenheim for our coverage of the NitrOlympX brought to you in association with American Car Imports.

The Webster Race Engineering/Nimbus Motorsport webcam is on-line and is streaming live video but no sound at present. We are trying to sort out a proper microphone after yesterday's soundtrack was a bit disappointing. Stay tuned for that.

It's a beautiful day here at Hockenheim, hardly a cloud in the sky and already very warm.

A big Hello to our good buddy Ivar Kolberg who is tuned in from Norway. Hope you are enjoying the coverage Ivar.

We are due to start at 9:00 with Junior Dragster. Today's first Pro session commences at 10:43 with Pro Stock but the last running order which I saw had it preceded by Fuel FC. Stay tuned and as soon as the action starts then so will we.


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