NitrOlympX
Rico Anthes Quarter Mile, Hockenheim, 17th-19th August 2018

Friday



Click on any picture for a large image. Click here to return to the Event Index.



Top Methanol dragster racer Jonny Lagg, who ran within 0.04s of his personal best ET, said that he wanted to qualify in a position which results in championship leaders Timo and Dennis Habermann being on the same side of the ladder and allow a potentially easier route to the final for Jonny. He said 'We ran a good time with our new engine but the adjusted altitude of 1400ft is difficult for A/Fuel cars as there's less we can do to compensate. Later in the day the track will get hotter and more slippery, but it's a big thumbs up to Ian and Dave for their track prep'.

Funny Bike racer Mike Olie from Holland is out of the race after a rod went through the crankcase. He said 'It was my first run of the weekend and the bike drove through the clutch and over-revved. The run in itself was good and the engine pulled strongly. We will be back with a repaired engine, it's racing and it has its ups and downs'. Many thanks to Mike Kraaij for providing additional pit notes.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Linn Engan Karlsen ran 6.050/309kph to go sixth after session one and improved with a 6.023/372.02 in session two to end the day in seventh. Her previous race was the Gardermoen Drag Challenge on 26-29 July and, like most other FIA teams she will be competing next weekend at Tierp, so it's a busy time for the FIA racers.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Jürgen Nagel ran a shake-filled 7.481/202.36 to go seventh in the first session, and improved with a 5.909/389 in the second session to move up to fifth. Crew chief Frank Schwimmer said a new carbon fibre body will be on the car from next year. 'We wanted to use it at this event, but there is a lot involved in putting the brackets and tinwork on the bare body and we didn't have enough time. The new body is a 2018 Camaro the same as a lot of US racers are using and it should help the car's numbers'. Jürgen's next race will be the Euro Finals.


Top Methanol Dragster racer Jonny Lagg ran a great 5.398/426, only four hundredths off his PB of 5.351 in session one. This was good for second place after the first day of qualifying.

Top Methanol Funny Car racer Mikael Larsson has benefitted from tuning advice from Jonny Lindberg and he is now running consistently in the fives. His 5.96/389kph placed him in fourth place of seven cars. He improved in the second session to a 5.938/388.


Top Methanol Funny Car racer Sandro Bellio ran a 6.001 at 352.18 was good for fifth place behind the dragsters, but improved to a 5.663/400 in session two which placed him in third, ahead of Dennis Habermann.

Top Methanol Dragster racer Timo Habermann ran against brother Dennis in session one and came up with a 5.383/425 against Dennis's 5.470/423, the cars performing well in the scorching conditions. Timo was missing from the second session after suffering some damage on the 5.38 pass.


Pro Modified racer Michel Tooren was in the first pair of cars in that class to go down the track and ran an early shutoff 6.499/278. Quite a few racers' times were affected by the high temperatures but in session two the temperatures were slightly lower and he improved to a 6.086/376 to go fourth..

Pro Mod racer Peter Wacker has a new 735cu in engine and opted to run without nitrous in the first session, recording a 7.94/268. The nitrous will be switched on for later sessions, although the time did not improve in the second session when he shut off at half track. Pictured are members of Peter's expanded crew.


Pro Modified racer Marcus Hilt was once again helped by Camp Stanley, who explained that Marcus had a new Crower clutch. On his pass the car edged out of stage, usually an issue caused by the clutch coming in sooner than expected. In session two he ran a 7.606/240 to go 11th at the end of the day.

Pro Modified racer abd Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson who has had a fantastic qualifying record at his home track, suffered tyre shake on his first run and shut off after a couple of pedals. In the second session, he also had shake but drove through it to go 6.301/382 for fifth position by the end of the session.


Pro Mod racer Jean Dulamon ran a 6.698, a time that he can seemingly run without severe tyre shake. He drove through early shake and it made a nice move down the track. But in the second session he experienced greater shake and the car took out the eighth mile and 1000ft reflectors.

Pro Mod racers Andy Robinson and Roger Johansson talked about the weather and track conditions before the first qualifying session.


Pro Mod racer Roger Johansson unfortunately hit the blocks at the top end, nullifying what looked like a decent run, with a wheels up launch. In the second session he ran 6.444/278 after shutting off at 1000ft.

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco Maurischat has announced his retirement and also his intention to run a five at this event. His first run was a 6.365/367 which placed him third after the first session, and he improved to a 6.310/368 in session two which left him in sixth at the end of the day.


Pro Mod racer Jan Ericsson was runner up in a strong 8-car field at Gardermoen, and he continued the good form, albeit a few tenths slower, here at 6.454 with an early shut off 210kph after big shake at the start. In session two, he improved to a 6.075/382 which was good for no.3 position at the end of Friday's qualifying.

Pro Mod racer Jimmy Ålund suffered rear axle damage on his first qualifying run, with sparks coming from under the car. His time of 7.558 placed him eighth. In the second session he suffered shake and had to lift after a pedal with no improvement leaving him in tenth position. In the championship he has a lead over Michael Gullqvist of 33 points, with 20 points for a round win.


Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren is in a field of four cars any of which can win the championship. His first qualifying pass was a 6.678/332 which placed him second, no improvement happening in the second session.

Pro Stock racer Bengt Ljungdahl was on the top spot once again with a shake-free 6.648/327 run in the first session.


Pro Stock racer Stefan Ernryd, who at the half way point is leading the championship by 26 points was third but only four hundredths behind Michael Malmgren who is second place.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Jndia Erbacher is now sponsored by Monster Energy drinks whose logos are prominent on her car. She ran a great 4.083/440kph in session one alongside Dad and seven time European champion Urs and went across the finish line first to Urs's 4.13. This was the first ever side by side father vs daughter Top Fuel race in Europe. In session two she improved to a new PB 4.039/479 and was in fourth place at the end of Friday.


Top Fuel Dragster racer Urs Erbacher has a huge area for hospitality attached to his pit area. There are as ever examples of Erbacher Custom Bikes on display too. And on track, the car ran a 4.131/429 with a slightly early shutoff.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Stig Neergaard has three cars here this weekend, and son Kenni will be racing in Top Fuel starting from session two. In the first session, Stig ran a 4.30/332, to go seventh, all cars going under 5s. Stig's third car is a nostalgia slingshot dragster which we will see in the night show with other nostalgia fuel vehicles. Kenni's initial run was a new PB 4.195/355 which placed him in eighth and a new European record TF bump spot.


Top Fuel Dragster racer Duncan Micallef ran the quickest time in session one, an outstanding 3.946/492kph (equivalent to 306.19mph) alongside Liam Jones. That both runs were without shake is a tribute to both the team's preparation for their first run in over a month, and the track prep crew of Ian Marshall and Dave Warren who have been working on providing a racing surface in the last three weeks since the GP.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Liam Jones ran a 3.978/498.97 (equivalent to 309.98mph), outstanding for a first run on a freshly prepped track and a mere 5kph below his PB speed of 502kph. He improved in the second session, which was not contested by Duncan Micallef, to 3.943/500 to take the lead.


Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkelä (husband (and Top Fuel racer) Tommi Haapanen and daughter Hanna pictured) is in the points lead at a race she has often been successful at. Her qualifying pass was 4.062/469, with a slightly early shutoff after the car started to move around in her lane. In the second session, the car hit the 1000ft and quarter mile reflectors so no improvement.

Junior Dragster racer Max Timmers from the Netherlands was in third position after session one, with a 0.048 reaction time. There is a twin car on the team too.


Junior Dragster racer Cheyenne Visser is 11th out of 22 qualifiers with a 0.148 RT.

Competition Eliminator racer Robin Sattler ran a 8.899/233.06 with his Cosworth powered dragster on a F/D index of 9.64 placing him first in the order. His PB is 8.883/230.38 and well done to him for running a new PB speed.


Jet Funny Car racer Roger Goring will be running at the night show and possibly an exhibition run on Sunday, time permitting. Martin Hill also has Fireforce at this event, which is known for jet car show and go as well as close class racing.

Super Twin racer Christian Jäger has a new bike this year but is ironing the problems out of it. His first session ET placed him eighth in the class.


Super Pro ET racer Marc Henney suffered oil breathing problems at the last Santa Pod round, and since then he has installed a vacuum oil pump which has cured the problem. At the same time, he reported the car moving around his lane on his first qualifying pass but running a 7.633 on a 7.63 dial in to go 17th out of 26 cars qualified, the top 16 going through to eliminations.

Competition Eliminator racer Michael Winter, who is also Crew Chief for the Winter family Heartbeat Racing, drives this Willys Coupe but hasn't been able to make it to the start line to qualify.


This vehicle called Chainstorm2 is actually a demonstration of the industrial conveying systems of Schrage, more about which can be seen on the company's web site www.schrage.de

Junior Dragster racers Jacqueline Bartlett and Lara Bartlett shared their pit garage with Joe Holland Villa's Junior Dragster and Billy Everitt's Super Pro ET Alien Altered.


Super Pro ET racer Olli Petzold ran a 8.44 on a 8.36 dial in to go 11th in the class after two sessions.

Extreme Outlaw racer Karlheinz Kleider has a new convertor on his methanol burning funny car and is now racing in a new class called Extreme Outlaw, being run on a demonstration basis at this event. He said 'The class requires cars to run a blower, turbo or procharger but nitrous is not permitted. Cars can be dragsters, altereds or doorslammers'. For a more pithy explanation, see our race report.


Super Gas racer Andrea Villi from Italy is at his sixth NitrOlympX, having raced in street classes and Super Gas since 2012, when he took the class elimination, the onnly Italian racer to do so in NitrOlympX history. He runs at both organised drag races run in Italy as well and said the entry for these races now exceeds 100 vehicles. His Camaro is powered by a 540cu in Dart engine and the transmission is a Powerglide.

Pro ET racer Dominik Schliepper has a VW Karmann Ghia with a 2.6litre Scat engine. He bought the car to this year's Bug Jam and ran a best of 9.5 with it. Since then he has had the engine apart, changing bearings, pistons and injectors. In qualifying he was having a problem with his launch control, the car having a four speed manual box to handle the 500hp.

Pro ET racer Manfred Grässer's 1953 Beetle has a 2900cc engine and its name 'Flying Lemon' is somehow appropriate.

Pro ET racer Björn Szczendzina's 376cu in 2012 Camaro with 550hp under the hood and TH400 gearbox usually runs 10.5s but shut off early on his first pass after a great burnout.


Pro ET racer and 2017 class runner up Karl Geiger has a 2016 COPO Camaro with 350cu in engine. In the late 1990s he ran a blown doorslammer in Comp Eliminator, and returned after a break of more than 15 years.

Pro ET racer Jan Lukes, one half of Two Brothers Racing, has this neat Escort Mk1 with 390cu in engine.


Pro ET racer Jürgen Frank has a 427cu in engine producing 900hp with Powerglide and has run a best of 9.72/233kph. After session one he was qualified 2nd behind the UK's Will Clark.

Pro ET racer Daud Philippe has a 1994 GMC Sonoma with a 541cu in engine. Usual times are in the 10.2s.


Pro ET racer Laurant Levi runs regularly at nostalgia races in the UK and his '64 Mercury Comet with 557cu in engine broke out with a 10.425 on 10.6 dial.

Pro ET racer Robert Willinger has a '66 Chevy Nova with a supercharged 572cu in engine producing 1000hp and Powerglide gearbox. His best is 9.47/231kph and in session one he ran a 10.368 on a 9.37 to go 25th of 32 qualifiers.


Pro ET racer Ullrich Kegelmann has a '41 Ford Pickup with a 416cu in engine. He ran a 9.917 on a 9.00 dial in to go eighth in session one.

Pro ET racer Uwe Kindich has a Type 3 VW with 1800cc engine which puts out 400hp and he went 12.01 on a 11.10 dial in to go 23rd in session one.


Pro ET racer Keith Herbert from the UK is competing with four other British racers in the class, but didn't record a time in the first session.

Pro ET racer Bailo Matteo from Italy runs this slingshot and went 9.92 on a 9.10 dial in to go 22nd after session one. The dragster has a 350cu in SBC engine.


Pro ET racer Bob Molden went 12th with a 9.896 on a 9.60 dial-in.

Pro ET racer Josef Schmidig has a '72 Nova with a 565cu in engine and went 11.69 on a 9.40 dial to be no.29.


Pro ET racer Philipp Thurner has a '70 Chevy Nova with 555cu in engine producing 800hp and Powerglide, and ran a 9.909 on a 9.55 dial to go 15th. There are four qualifing sessions and the top 16 cars go through to eliminations.

Pro ET racer Andrea Del Rio from Italy has a turbocharged 1993 Lancia Delta which ran 12.066 on a 10.50 dial in to go 28th in the first session.

Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com