2003 European Finals
Sunday (eliminations)
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21:15
Today's pictures have been posted, you can access them via the Event Index page.
That's the end of our coverage of the FIA European Finals, thanks very much for tuning in in such numbers, we hope you enjoyed it.
Your reporters during European Finals week have been Tog and Sharkman of Eurodragster.com and Christer Abrahamson of Svensk Dragracing, pictures by Sharkman of Eurodragster.com
For all of their help in the last week we would like to thank Race Director Darren Prentice; Chief Marshal Steve Horn; Lisa Billinton, John Hackney, Martin Wallis and Andy Marrs of Santa Pod's timing crew; Chief Starter Ian Marshall and the start line crew; Chief Fire Marshal Bob Day and the safety crew; track announcers John Price and Graham Beckwith; Bjorn Sundquist; Roger Gorringe; Dave Alexander; Paula Marshall; David Anniwell; Kjell Pettersson; David Lloyd-Jones; Keith Bartlett; and Caroline Day. Thanks also to Pat and Stephen Talbot; Bruno and Franzi Bader; Henri Joosten; Chris Hannam; Magnus Cato; Michael Malmgren; and the Coffee Wagon.
Eurodragster's next Event Coverage will be from the Doorslammer Internationals at Shakespeare County Raceway on 20th-21st September, our next coverage from Santa Pod will be from the UK National Finals on 27th-28th September.
Eurodragster's Event Coverage is brought to you in association with American Car Imports.
19:00
Final results in all classes:
FIA Top Fuel Dragster: Smax Smith 5.055/292.64 def. Micke Kågered 5.642/194.04
FIA Top Methanol Dragster: Dave Wilson 5.559/252.83 def. Peter Schöfer 5.598/247.25
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car: Dan Larsen 5.793/239.10 def. Ulf Leanders 6.002/179.34
FIA Pro Stock: Jimmy Ålund 6.981/196.42 def. Magnus Hansson 7.067/194.69 red light
Fuel Funny Car: John Spuffard no time recorded def. Gordon Smith no time recorded
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified: Roger Johansson 6.435/213.41 def. Freddy Fagerström 6.557/206.67
Competition Eliminator: Bruno Bader (8.13) 7.562/176.97 def. Richard Sundblom (8.13) 7.469/183.54
Super Pro ET: Tim Garlick (8.35) 8.370/160.63 def. Steve Johnson (7.60) 7.685/160.45 red light
Pro ET: Malcolm Motler (11.00) 11.007/117.98 def. Marius Blackburn (9.55) 5.932/139.35 red light
Sportsman ET: Kev Slyfield (12.18) 12.207/112.04 def. Neil L'Alouette (13.73) 13.591/95.54 breakout
Super Comp: Brian Pateman 8.973/150.59 def. Zane Llewellyn 8.937/150.22
Super Gas: Frank Mason 9.959/135.22 def. John Everitt 10.172/89.82
Super Street: Conrad Stanley 10.923/126.21 def. Mike Bentley 10.930/130.74
Junior Dragster: Robin Kadi (15.80) 16.133/35.99 def. Collin Morrice (9.30) 9.399/63.89 red light
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike: Sverre Dahl 12.742/61.11, Roel Koedam no show
FIM/UEM Supertwin: Stefan Junerud 6.715/182.72 def. Per Bengtsson 7.011/187.66
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike: Roger Pettersson 7.397/179.12 def. Vesa Rautio 7.873/160.90 red light
9.90 Bike: Shaun Jones 9.978/124.74 def. Steve Coombs 10.047/134.42
10.90 Bike: Phil Pratt 11.068/117.87 def. Grant Perrin 11.449/125.06
We are now working on today's pictures, stay tuned.
18:00
FIA Top Fuel Dragster final
Smax Smith 5.055/292.64 def. Micke Kågered 5.642/194.04
Just as the TMD final, this one was simple, winner is Champion. Micke left first 0.557 to 0.604, Smax
was ahead by half track, then smoke started to appear from Micke's engine and there was a huge fireball.
Smax disappeared into the distance to take the FIA Championship title in his rookie year in Top Fuel.
17:50
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car final
Dan Larsen 5.793/239.10 def. Ulf Leanders 6.002/179.34
Ulf got away first and was well ahead at half track when there was smoke from the headers and the car slowed
down. Dan overtook Ulf and took the event title.
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike final
Roger Pettersson 7.397/179.12 def. Vesa Rautio 7.873/160.90 red light
Vesa had some sort of problem starting his bike, then redlit his chances away.
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike final
Sverre Dahl 12.742/61.11, Roel Koedam no show
Roel was not able to repair the damage from his last pass, so Sverre didn't bother with a burnout, launched and
then idled up the track.
FIA Top Methanol Dragster final
Dave Wilson 5.559/252.83 def. Peter Schöfer 5.598/247.25
One hundred foot burnouts from both racers before the Championship decider. 0.004 difference in Reaction Time
and the Championship is decided by 0.034 seconds at the stripe. Great race, congratulations to both Dave
and Peter on giving us such great entertainment this season.
FIA Pro Stock final
Jimmy Ålund 6.981/196.42 def. Magnus Hansson 7.067/194.69 red light
Jimmy rounded off a tremendous rookie season with a six-second pass, Magnus redlit away his chance of an event win.
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified final
Roger Johansson 6.435/213.41 def. Freddy Fagerström 6.557/206.67
Freddy rolled almost to the finish line after his burnout, the call came over the track radio
"Can someone send that pick-up back to the start line?". Freddy left first by 0.011 but Roger got past to
put the icing on the cake of a Championship weekend
FIM/UEM Supertwin final
Stefan Junerud 6.715/182.72 def. Per Bengtsson 7.011/187.66
Stefan left first and never looked back, there was a flash of flame and a puff of smoke from Per's
engine at the finish line.
Fuel Funny Car final
John Spuffard no time recorded def. Gordon Smith no time recorded
What a dramatic final! Spuff left the line very strongly, then had another bang, the burst panel came
off and then the entire body lifted off the car and slid upside down across the track. Meanwhile
Gordon was on a stormer, 0.886 to sixty feet, 222 mph at half track, and then the car drifted
further and further left and then into Spuff's lane, disqualifying Gordon. 5.331/214.48 came
up in Spuff's lane as Gordon went through his timers, Spuff rolled through the top end and
actually won the race! Spuff is just fine.
Thanks to British Nitro FC Championship Co-ordinator Jim Broome for giving us the provisional final standings in the 2003 Championship
17:25
Comp Eliminator eliminations semi final winners: Bruno Bader (8.13) 7.545/175.83, Richard Sundblom (7.92) 8.901/106.93
Super Street eliminations semi final winners: Conrad Stanley 10.961/125.25, Mike Bentley 10.934/130.00
17:00
Junior Dragster eliminations semi final winners: Colin Morrice (9.30) 9.320/69.97, Robin Kadi (15.80) 15.820/36.88
Super Comp eliminations semi final winners: Zane Llewellyn 8.913/150.34, Brian Pateman 8.943/153.33
9.90 Bike eliminations semi final winners: Steve Coombs 10.049/133.98, Shaun Jones 9.966/126.33
10.90 Bike eliminations semi final winners: Phil Pratt 10.945/118.84, Grant Perrin 101.179/119.15
16:30
Super Comp eliminations quarter final winners: Malcolm Francis 12.402/66.00, Zane Llewellyn 9.055/127.60, Brian Pateman 9.006/145.73
9.90 Bike eliminations quarter final winners: Steve Coombs 10.006/132.01, Sean Mills 9.923/124.50, Shaun Jones 9.912/136.67, Dave Hall 10.123/141.44
10.90 Bike eliminations quarter final winners: Phil Pratt 10.970/123.29, Dave Warren 12.592/88.59, Grant Perrin 10.967/113.57
Junior Dragster eliminations quarter final winners: Robin Kadi (15.80) 15.961/36.42, Collin Morrice (9.20) 9.418/69.43, Nick Mugridge (8.90) 8.966/71.22, Joe Bond (9.45) 9.432/67.54
Pro ET eliminations semi final winners: Malcolm Motler (11.00) 11.035/117.56, Marius Blackburn (9.54) 9.601/138.67
Super Pro ET eliminations semi final winners: Tim Garlick (8.29) 8.497/159.47, Steve Johnson (7.60) 7.634/174.18
Super Gas eliminations semi final winners: John Everitt 9.893/100.45, Frank Mason 9.936/136.61
Sportsman ET eliminations semi final winners: Neil L'Alouette (13.75) 13.734/95.01, Kev Slyfield (12.18) 12.299/108.36
16:10
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike semi finals
Roel Koedam 12.368/60.66 def. Ian King no time recorded
Ian left before the light ran, Roel waited for the green and left on a good one, he got to about 200 feet
when there was a huge bang, a flash of flame, a huge splat of oil on the track, and lots of metal pieces.
Roel is fine but the engine has probably fallen off its perch.
Sverre Dahl 12.838/61.62, Joey Bon no show
Joey's bike broke on startup so Sverre took the bye into the final. The tyre spun and the bike went
way out of shape, Sverre had his hands full keeping it in his lane.
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified semi finals
Roger Johansson 6.860/158.41, Gordon Appleton no show
No sign of Gordon Appleton after he disappeared into smoke in the quarter finals, Roger was on the throttle
just past half track.
Freddy Fagerström 6.447/217.35 def. Håkan Nilsson 7.542/167.65
Freddy rolled past half-track after his burnout but set some sort of speed record backing up.
Håkan hit bad shake, tried to drive through it but Freddy got there first. Subject to ratification
Roger Johansson is NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified champion.
15:30
FIM/UEM Pro Stock bike semi finals
Roger Pettersson 7.356/176.67 def. Anders Larsson 7.569/163.49
The old rivalry resurrected again, Roger got away first and gradually pulled away, finishing 0.294
ahead of Anders.
Vesa Rautio 7.499/178.91 def. Chris Hope 7.580/169.80
Vesa pulled a remarkable 0.435 light and never looked back.
FIM/UEM Supertwin semi finals
Stefan Junerud 6.876/178.54 def. Ton Pels 6.900/202.40
This could be the Championship decider, Ton in a shock defeat in the semis.
Per Bengtsson 7.627/145.54 def. Willem Been 10.931 77.24
And indeed it was the Championship decider, Per pulled a 0.3 holeshot on Willem and although he
drifted very close to the centre line and had to get off the throttle he takes the FIM/UEM title
for 2003. Congratulations Per.
14:50
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car semi finals
Ulf Leanders 5.725/246.43 def. Urs Erbacher 5.812/248.55
Urs got away first but Ulf overhauled him at the top end, it was a very close thing though. Ulf missed
the 5.666 back-up by 0.002.
Dan Larsen 5.856/237.50 def. Niclas Andersson 6.113/191.14
Niclas Andersson ends his rookie season with what looked like a personal best run until there was a puff of
smoke, the Sandflex FC turned hard right but Niclas held onto it. The car left a trail of oil down the
track. Dan was a touch ahead even before Niclas had his problem.
14:45
FIA Pro Stock semi finals
Magnus Hansson 7.112/194.86 def. Jan Murén 19.116/38.96
A big shock as Jan's Olds broke just off the line, Jan pulled it off the racing line and cruised through.
Magnus with his straightest pass of the weekend goes into the final.
Jimmy Ålund 7.013/196.51 def. Michael Malmgren 7.226/168.09
Jimmy pulled a stunning 0.402 light and shot down the track, Michael hit shake and tried to drive through
it but eventually got off the throttle and put the chutes out before the traps.
FIA Top Fuel Dragster semi-finals
Smax Smith 9.111/92.07 def. Darryl Bradford broke
Darryl shut off on the way back from his burnout, no news on what the problem was, and Smax took a 100
foot pass, 0.901 to sixty feet.
Micke Kågered 5.192/268.34 def. Tommy Möller 5.490/182.09
Tommy got away first by 0.04 seconds and was in front but then the car started to drift towards the guardrail,
Tommy eventually had to get off it and Micke stormed past. Smax 378, Micke 367, the Championship will be
decided in the final round!
14:20
Super Street eliminations quarter final winners: Dave Cherrett 10.951/110.25, Mike Bentley 10.896/130.53, Bob Lees 11.048/123.21, Conrad Stanley 10.770/133.50
Sportsman ET eliminations quarter final winners: Kev Slyfield (12.18) 12.244/96.98, Rick Denny (13.60) 13.688/97.44, Neil L'Alouette 13.645/95.32
14:00
Comp Eliminator eliminations round 1 winners: Kenneth Feldthusen (7.57) 7.441/116.27, Bruno Bader (8.13) 7.686/153.83, Richard Sundblom (8.13) 7.423/182.28
Pro ET eliminations quarter final winners: Malcolm Motler (10.98) 11.018/118.92, Marius Blackburn (9.56) 9.608/135.59, Al Didwell (10.41) 10.410/125.42, Dave Ward (10.49) 10.534/117.69
Super Gas eliminations quarter final winners: Tim Adam 9.901/123.47, Frank Mason 9.895/141.57, John Everitt 10.167/85.90
Super Pro ET eliminations quarter final winners: Steve Johnson (7.60) 7.596/174.81, Tim Garlick (8.28) 8.448/159.15, Ian Bishop (7.92) 8.011/154.41
13:15
Martin Hill followed the Pro session with a 5.897/273.17 in the Fireforce 2 Jet FC, the usual smoke from the jet pipe at the top end and then the FC's body suddenly appeared out of the smoke and flew a long way up into the air. Not able to see anything for smoke we feared the worst, but it turned out to be the body exiting the car, and landing in the field on the right. Martin is A-OK if windswept, the chassis and jet engine are likewise fine.
We're now having a break for track prep and then we will be into Sportsman eliminations.
13:05
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified eliminations round 2
Gordon Appleton 6.729/193.60 def. Norbert Kuno 7.009/201.07
Roger Johansson 6.458/215.18 def. Matts Eriksson 6.480/215.02
Håkan Nilsson 6.875/217.27 def. Micke Kindahl 6.469/213.90
Freddy Fagerström 6.447/217.69 def. Thomas Nataas 6.534/201.00
There was a lot of smoke from Gordon Appleton's engine right on the finish line and down the shutdown area, no fluid or other problem reported though. Roger Johansson strapped a massive holeshot on Mats Eriksson, has that result won him the Championship...maybe not quite, it was a near thing as Micke Lindahl ran a personal best but wasted his tremendous pass with a red light - Håkan Nilsson hit shake and had to pedal but took the win so the Championship is still alive for him. The race between Freddy Fagerström and Thomas Nataas was a real corker, 0.04 between them off the start line and Freddy won by 0.047.
12:45
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike eliminations round 1
Roel Koedam 6.202/221.97 def. Neil Midgley 6.846/184.46
Neil got the jump on Roel but it didn't take Roel very long to get past. Roel's bike left a
spray of oil on the track.
Ian King 6.617/194.78 def. Jon Leret 6.617/205.80
Ian King celebrated his new leathers by getting the jump on Jon, 0.615 to 0.753,
and staying ahead. Identical ETs!
Sverre Dahl 7.397/213.99 def. Nils Ole Lund crossed centre line
A hairy one, this. Sverre's rear tyre went up in smoke at the hit, he got off the
throttle and hit it again, meanwhile Nils hit shake and crossed lanes.
Joey Bon 6.796/192.11 def. Steve Woollatt 12.036/69.46
Steve's rear tyre went up in smoke on the hit, he tried a couple of times but had to get off it
whilst Joey disappeared into the distance.
FIA Top Methanol Dragster eliminations round 1
Peter Schöfer 5.551/251.65 def. Rob Turner 5.542/253.51
After yesterday's events Peter could be forgiven for taking it easy but no chance! 0.532 to 0.608
off the start line and maintained the advantage over Rob's quicker pass.
Dave Wilson 6.327/202.68 def. Krister Johansson 6.512/202.56
A very dramatic race, Dave's rear tyres went up in smoke off the line, with
a Championship at stake Dave tried everything he knew from his years of experience,
pedalling, shifting, going all over his lane, pulling ahead as just about every one of Krister's
cylinders appeared to go out at the top end.
Fuel Funny Car eliminations round 1
Gordon Smith 6.487/180.27 bye
Leif Helander broke a crank and holed a block so Gordon had a bye. The FC jumped right off the line, Gordon pedalled,
pulled it straight and got on it again, drifting further and further left before taking out the top end
timing reflectors.
John Spuffard 6.531/135.84 bye
A 0.883 sixty-foot time, one cylinder appearing to be out. The car started to drift left, Spuff got off it
but this may well have been a planned half-pass anyway. This pass win Spuff the 2003 Championship,
congratulations to the Showtime team.
12:00
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike eliminations round 1
Roger Pettersson 7.535/176.11 def. Martin Bishop 7.965/161.08
Martin pulled a 0.468 to 0.511 holeshot on Roger but the Veidec power told at the end.
Anders Larsson 7.502/173.32 def. Richard Gipp 7.655/170.70
Anders was away first and didn't look back, he must feel good after his problems earlier on
during the weekend.
Vesa Rautio 7.858/170.58 def. Paul Watson broke
Paul's bike broke at the first gear shift, Vesa disappeared into the distance.
Chris Hope 7.498/172.19 def. Helen Curran 7.612/171.90
Helen's bike took two attempts to start, Chris Hope very sportingly waited whilst she did her burnout.
Helen was away first 0.486 to 0.521 but Chris rode round her.
FIM/UEM Supertwin eliminations round 1
Ton Pels 6.683/200.56 bye
Ton rode through shake off the line, we guess going for lane choice.
Stefan Junerud 6.939/172.90 def. Ronny Aasen 7.002/173.16
The bikes were side-by-side all the way down the track but Ronny feathered
the throttle just a little and Stefan got ahead.
Willem Been 9.456/142.38 def. Rob van Geffen broke
Rob's bike stopped after the burnout, Willem took an easy bye getting quite close to the
guardrail.
Per Bengtsson 8.947/108.37, Svein Gottenberg no show
Per looked to be on the chase for lane choice but the burst plate blew at about 300 feet.
11:45
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car eliminations round 1
Ulf Leanders 5.724/246.15 def. Steph Milam broke
Steph didn't come back from her burnout, Ulf resisted the temptation to save parts and went all-out, would
you believe that he missed backing up his 5.666 by one thousandth of a second. He has at least one more
round to back up up yet, though.
Urs Erbacher 5.912/246.88 def. Freddy Fagerström 7.945/110.50
Urs and Freddy had a burnout contest which Urs won by a good few yards. On the green, Urs went hard and
straight, looked like a conservative setting, whilst Freddy had a wild ride worthy of his Pro Mod pick-up,
heading every way but straight and pedalling left right and centre.
Dan Larsen 5.808/239.07 def. Martin Lundquist 14.275/52.08
Burnouts worthy of Pro Mod from both racers. On the green Dan hooked up and went whilst Martin hit shake
and shut off almost immediately.
Niclas Andersson 6.045/236.10 def. Doug Ripley 8.676/123.45
A last-moment drama for Niclas Andersson as his crew ran in front of the car and lifted the body just before
he got to pre-stage. On the green Niclas was off and running whilst Doug drifted left, pedalled, then got off the
throttle.
11:30
FIA Pro Stock eliminations round 1
Magnus Hansson 7.047/194.80 def. Rune Berg 7.143/191.88
Magnus got away first 0.502 to 0.547, his quickest run of the weekend takes him to the next round.
Michael Malmgren 7.023/195.24 def. Kenneth Soderström 7.146/191.22
Michael got away first and ran straight whilst Kenneth drifted left off the line.
Jimmy Ålund no time recorded def. Tommy Leindahl 9.477/87.70 red light
Tommy rolled through stage as he went up on the revs, Jimmy was on a fine pass but got no ET
after the finish line cell failed.
Jan Murén 6.957/198.04 def. Christer Andersson 7.181/192.38
Christer was away first 0.497 to 0.520 but Jan drove round him.
11:15
FIA Top Fuel Dragster eliminations round 1
Smax Smith 9.894/104.49 def. Susanne Callin no time recorded
The revs shot up on Smax's engine in the burnout, Smax was off the throttle immediately. On the green Smax's rear
tyres went up in smoke, he pedalled and then took it gently up the track. In the other lane there was a bang,
a ball of flame, and a flying blower belt from Susanne's car. Susanne didn't look too amused when
she got out of the car.
Micke Kågered 4.927/287.23 def. Peter Beck 4.915/264.05
A great race, personal best for Micke Kågered who pulled a 0.571 to 0.840 holeshot over
Peter Beck. Peter was chasing very hard towards the top end but the car got a bit crooked at the
top end and he got off the throttle. There was a huge cloud of smoke from Micke's dragster at
the finish line but the top end crews found nothing on the track.
Tommy Möller 10.792/75.45 def. Jon Webster broke
Jon Webster was shut off on the line after dropping fluid on the way back from the burnout and
then on the start line. Tommy was there for the taking as the blower belt snapped at sixty feet.
Darryl Bradford 5.318/262.39 def. Kim Reymond 5.402/180.84
Darryl was away first by a tenth, Kim tried everything to chase him down, pedalling, the car weaved
all over its lane but Kim backed out just at the top and Darryl took the win with a personal best speed.
10:50
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified eliminations round 1
Norbert Kuno 7.026/108.98 def. Christer Jacobs 18.703/39.06
Gordon Appleton 6.682/206.52 def. Andy Robinson 7.063/204.71
Roger Johansson 6.576/205.94 def. Micke Gullquist broke
Matts Eriksson 6.487/217.12 def. John Ellis 7.118/196.56
Håkan Nilsson 6.914/209.74 def. Henri Joosten 15.308/48.82
Micke Lindahl 6.544/212.10 def. Peter Kunc 9.818/106.61
Freddy Fagerström 6.612/206.83 def. Urban Johansson 6.901/200.65
Thomas Nataas 6.564/211.50 def. Robert Koper 7.717/174.89
A shock in the first pairing as number one qualifier Christer Jacobs hit shake off the line and immediately got off the throttle. Andy Robinson also shook immediately off the line but pedalled and chased Gordon down the track, couldn't quite catch him though. Roger Johansson swapped lanes before starting, Micke Gullquist shut off after his burnout. John Ellis was in as an alternate for Håkan Fällström. The pairing between Håkan Nilsson and Henri Joosten was a shake-fest, but Håkan pedalled and got back on it whilst Henri shut off. Peter Kunc hit bad shake off the line and the car turned hard left for the centre line, Peter pulled it straight and tried to chase Micke Lindahl down but Micke was on his best pass of the weekend. The usual great burnout from Freddy Fagerström, meanwhile the crew member backing up Urban Johansson walked out of both of his shoes. He saw Urban back behind the start line and then ran back for his footwear. Freddy put in a straight pass as Urban Johansson pedalled briefly. Robert Koper was in as an alternate for Lars-Inge Johansson, Thomas Nataas' engine started to smoke at the top end.
10:00
Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners: Malcolm Motler (11.02) 11.006/117.68, Al Didwell (10.41) 10.444/122.62, Dave Ward (10.49) 10.607/115.91, Terry Wareham (11.64) 11.688/116.77, Rick McCann (10.39) 10.425/128.99, Aidan Kenny (11.65) 11.704/111.63, Marius Blackburn (9.51) 9.522/139.65
Super Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners: Steve Johnson (7.60) 7.665/173.47, Tim Garlick (8.30) 8.263/162.05, John Tebenham (8.50) 8.604/154.51, Mick Kemp (8.30) 8.474/156.84, Ian Bishop (7.94) 7.961/167.71
8:00
Good morning again from Santa Pod Raceway. It feels as if the season only started last week, but here we are on the last day of the Championships with some titles still to decide - does it get any better? It's a beautiful late summer day and we're here to bring you the raceday action in association with American Car Imports.
The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and broadcasting a picture every two minutes.
A big race day Good Morning to our US correspondents Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman in Rye, NH, not far from Epping where Kim Reymond would be number two qualifier this morning. Good morning also to Steve and Jacky Young, and to Bob Meyer...the answer to your question, Bob, was "male" and thankfully no pictures.
It was a very busy evening yesterday, it was quite wacky touch-typing in the darkness, but we got through and then went for a turn around the pits. We spoke to a few racers, as did our good buddy Christer, and here's what we found out.
Peter Schöfer's guardrail excursion yesterday resulted in a damaged rear wheel, damaged front wing, but Peter himself was just fine which is what matters. "We have spares", said Gittli Koller. "The first person to our pit was Dave Wilson who offered us rear wheels, and the Turners offered us front tyres and help. We are very grateful for all the help". Gittli said that Peter drove through shake but that he said it was as if the wall was acting like a magnet. "Peter's years of experience prevented it being a lot worse", said Gittli.
Pro Stock #1 qualifier Jan Murén told us that he is having a very good weekend. "We've had no problems at all", he said. "We started out too optimistic, so we went back to the conservative approach. We might go a little quicker tomorrow. We started the weekend interested in records, we were after two hundred miles an hour, but if the weather changes then it won't happen. We'll try to be conservative tomorrow because you can lose the gap between first and eighth qualifiers on the start line. We'll be taking nothing for granted."
Top Fuel Dragster racer Susanne Callin told us that she was pleased with her personal best yesterday, which puts her up against Smax Smith in round one this morning. Susanne's dad Gordon said that he was very pleased that she drove the car all the way down the track. Team owner Knut Söderquist insisted that there will be no team rules despite Smax leading the Championship. "You can perform well but you need a little bit of luck", he said. "Anything can happen."
Jon Webster said that Peter Knight and the Martin Canto Racing team had a long night after the engine gave out in yesterday's qualifier. "The blower's OK!", said Jon. "We broke two rods, which did the block, crank, pan, both heads and the camshaft. We've got the spares, Peter is putting together a short motor and heads at his workshop and then we will put them together here". Jon drew a lot of compliments for the level-headed way in which he got the car off the racing line and stopped. "The positive thing is that it is another piece in the databank", he said.
Top Methanol FC racer Leif Andréasson is out of competition today after breaking two engines in qualifying. "Ulf Leanders did what we expected to do!", said team member Anders Magnusson. "We're disappointed because it was almost in reach - it's like having an ice cream and dropping it on the ground."
Wildside Inc Top Fuel Dragster Crew Chief John Wright expressed himself "relieved" that Darryl Bradford had qualified. The Wildside team towed down for last night's final qualifier as they expected Anita Mäkelä, who was number nine, to put in a pass in that session. "It was a split decision", said John. "I wanted to run but then we don't have the parts, we want to be rid of shake". John said that the datalogger which Datron are developing is coming together very well. "It records exhaust gas, blower, fuel, rpm, axle speed, throttle, and G-forces in two directions", he said. "It has so much memory that I can switch it on before start-up so we get the burnout as well."
Whilst talking to John Wright we met Norway's Øyvor Jacobsen who drove Rune Fjeld's Top Fueller earlier this season. We asked Øyvor if she was enjoying her weekend. "Yes and no", she said. "But I will be racing next season, I have someone working on sponsorship for me, and it's going well. This time next year I'll be European Champion!".
A few yards further on we spoke to Kim Reymond, inevitably our first question was to ask him where the 4.645 came from. "It was in there all the time", he said, "the track brought it out". Kim explained how he had been motoring hard at a thousand feet when he saw one of the front wings bending and a front wheel come up. "But you stayed on the throttle didn't you?", we asked. "Oh yes, I had to!", said Kim. "I thought it was maybe a 4.70 or a 4.72, but I knew it was fast. When they told me I was jumping!". As seems normal in these cases, the engine was in pristine condition when the US Autodele team checked it out. "There wasn't even a drop of oil on it!", said Kim. As well as repairs to the front wing, the dual-element rear wing which also bent on the 4,6 was strengthened overnight. Kim has a chance of the Championship and if the pairings work out then he has the chance to take out Championship leader Smax Smith. "I'll smack him!", laughed Kim. "You can't do better than your best, and that's what we'll do."
Pro Mod racer Thomas Nataas was very happy with his qualifying passes. "We're going faster every time", he said. "We're finding out about our fuel system. There's only one guy in the USA who has this fuel system and he has had all the problems which we have had! But we are going the right way now. I'm hoping for 6.4s tomorrow". Thomas said that his Top Fuel plans are well-advanced. "Rune Fjeld is going to New York to pick up the chassis", he said. "It's an Amato spare which hasn't been used, the panels haven't even been painted". Thomas confirmed that he plans to licence at next year's Easter Thunderball at Santa Pod, and would then contest the full FIA Tour.
Fellow Pro Mod racer Håkan Nilsson said that he has had a miserable weekend so far. "We've been struggling", he said. "The track conditions are too good, good all the way down and the best track we have ever raced on in Europe, and we can't get the car to run how it should. The guys with less power are doing better than we are. We have made major changes to the rear end, to see if we can get it off the line. We can't afford to shake, because if we want to win the Championship we have to go one round further than Roger Johansson". Håkan said that US tuner Britt Micetich is enjoying his weekend in Europe but is frustrated. "It's a hard job for him", said Håkan, "as he only has four qualifiers to set up the car."
Kenneth Lorentzon said that the engine of the Möller and Lorentzon Top Fueller was just fine after the four-second pass in yesterday's final session. "Qualifying ended well and eliminations will be better. It was our best terminal speed, we just need to find some more ET now."
Christer took a turn around the bike pits last night, and this is what he brought back to base.
Vesa Rautio's engine is in good condition and he told us that at after qualifying he and Chris Hope are on equal points, so it is going to be an interesting day today!
Fellow PSB racer Anders Larsson blew his engine during Press Day and had a cylinder head flown in from Sweden, and together with parts from racing friends they managed to build an engine. “This one seems to be working well and I found a couple of other things which were wrong with the bike, so I might be the joker in the pack today!”, he said.
PSB number one qualifier Roger Pettersson tells us that his bike is OK, but that all of the Veidec team had really put effort into getting Helen Curran's bike together. “Helen has been all over the neighbourhood trying to find a lathe and milling machine to manufacture parts for the engine", said Roger Pettersson. Crew Chief Roger Lyrén has the same story. “Helen is a racer at heart and has fantastic enthusiasm so it is just great to help her out!", he said.
PSB racer Martin Bishop says that he has it all figured out including beating Roger Pettersson in the first round. “There has been a lot of discussion about the last qualifying round which was suspended, and Helen later qualified in what we think were better weather conditions", he added. "We have to take a look at the rules later on, but we are here and have to accept it."
Ton Pels is enjoying the situation in Supertwin. “It is so close in the points at the moment that all three of us (Ton, Per Bengtsson and Ronny Aasen) can win the Championship", he says. "I have a slight edge since the others have to go one round further than me, but nothing is settled until today's final. That is the way it should be at the last race of the season."
Supertwin racer Svein Gottenberg has a broken wrist pin and will not be out today, leaving Per Bengtsson with a bye run in the first round. “I had had an ignition problem during the early part of the season and that could possibly have stressed the pin", said Svein.
In Per Bengtsson's pit area we found Krister Johansson and Per in discussions about nitro injection. “I think we have made the same mistake which everyone else made during qualifying - trying too hard!”, said Per. "The bye run in the first round of eliminations really gives us a chance to find a reliable combination.”
Ronny Aaasen tells us that his day was not so good yesterday. “Two broken chains and one gearbox is not what we desired", he said. "Either way, we have already reached our goals for the season. We wanted to be in the top five and being able to run consistent 6.8s and 6.9s. Whatever happens today will just be a bonus!”
Roel Koedam was celebrating his 47th birthday last night (congratulations!). A big firework kind of sent the message over the pit. “I was a bit disappointed when I lost traction yesterday, I wanted to back up the 6.04 for a record”, said Roel. He still wouldn’t talk about the possibility of a five-second run. “I will do it eventually, that’s all I have to say” he said with a smile.
Right now it's 11.7 C, 80% humidity and 29.94 inches of air pressure. We have Sportsman eliminations at 9:00 and then the presentation at 9:30, then the first round of NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified at 9:45. Stay at your screen all day and as soon as it happens we will let you know.