2004 FIA European Finals
Saturday (qualifying and eliminations)
The latest updates are at the top of the page. Click on your Browser's Refresh key to be sure of seeing the latest news.
Click here to go back to the event index
20:30
Martin Hill rounded off the day with a 6.337/177.80 in the Fireforce 2 Jet FC.
Dickman of Marc Meihuizen's Pro Mod team asked us to say a big Hello and Thank You to all the Dutch racers and fans who have been tuned in to our coverage today. Marc is out for the weekend after burning a piston and damaging a sleeve. "The damage is not as bad as it was in Norway", he said. "But we have improved the Dutch record again with our 6.608!".
We're now working on today's pictures, stay tuned.
20:15
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified final qualifying session (left lane first): Arne Lindkvist 7.291/189.00, John Ellis broke, Lars Inge Johansson 12.337/67.65, Mats Eriksson 7.942/129.36, Peter Wacker 7.224/193.87, Henri Joosten 13.130/50.97, Norbert Kuno 6.647/213.26, Bert Englefield 9.838/89.26, Håkan Fallström 7.945/135.96, Andy Robinson 6.712/204.68, Micke Lindahl 6.778/204.74, Micke Gullquist 7.279/150.56, Christer Jacobs 15.478/49.13, Håkan Nilsson 6.394/216.39 bye, Patrick Wikström 9.721/88.25 bye
Arne went a bit close to the guardrail in the second half of the track but stayed with it, although he DNQs. John Ellis' Calibra didn't move on the green. Lars Inge's station wagon made a very languid launch but then the blower belt broke and he idled through. Both Mats and Peter hit shake, Mats' Crown Victoria going out of shape and he was off the throttle early. Henri hit shake and got off the throttle early whilst Norbert stuck to the track and moved up a couple of places, there is more to come as that run was not straight! Both Bert and Håkan went out of shape, Håkan's car moved about very violently, how he kept it in his lane none of us know! A nice match-up between Andy and Micke L, Andy's exhausts spitting flame all the way down, great runs for these conditions. Micke G and Christer both hit shake, Christer almost immediately whilst Micke made it to about half-track before getting off the throttle. Oil was found in Christer's lane after his run, so we went left lane only for the last couple. And what a tremendous run the first of those two was! Håkan N went straight and true into the darkness - what was that we were saying earlier about edging closer? Patrick tried hard to better that spectacle but shook and got off the hard pedal at 300 feet.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
Tomorrow's first round Patrick v Lars Inge, Håkan N v Robert, Christer v Mats, Patrik v Peter, Micke G v Henri, Micke L v Håkan F, Marc (probably John Ellis) v Bert, Andy v Norbert.
19:50
FIA Top Methanol Dragster final qualifying session (left lane first): Rob Turner 8.134/79.35 bye, Dave Wilson 5.551/248.49 bye
Rob left the line as if shot from a gun, 0.951 to sixty feet, but the engine made a groaning noise at half-track and he got off the gas. The engine was running all the way down the shutdown area and sounds as if it shut off normally. Grumpy put in a very strong pass into the darkness.
The final qualifying standings are as follow:
Tomorrow morning Grumpy gets a bye and it's Peter v Rob.
19:45
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car final qualifying session (left lane first): Dan Larsen 6.005/227.49, Leif Andréasson 9.751/92.44, Ulf Leanders 5.969/239.29 bye
Dan skated around his lane but stayed on the throttle, whilst Leif left caterpillar tracks almost immediately off the line and was off the throttle by 300 or so feet. Ulf put in a very strong pass in the gathering gloom, right on the finish line there was a bang and the body's relief panel flew high into the air.
The final qualifying standings are as follow:
It's Urs v Leif, Ulf v Arvid and Dan v Niclas tomorrow.
19:40
FIA Pro Stock final qualifying session (left lane first): Kenneth Soderström 9.611/94.95 bye, Tommy Leindahl 7.128/192.29, Magnus Hansson 7.124/193.22, Jackie Hansen 7.237/193.13, Ulf Jonsson 7.268/190.89, Jimmy Ålund 7.088/193.97, Michael Malmgren 7.074/195.84
Kenneth left the line very strongly, 1.041 to sixty feet, but then the car skated left a little and turned hard right as Kenneth corrected it and he got off the throttle. A nice match-up between Tommy and Magnus, Tommy's car moving about a bit but he stayed with it, meanwhile Magnus moved up the standings. Jackie and Ulf both wandered around their lanes, Jackie getting very close to the centreline but staying with it. A nice match-up between Jimmy and Michael, both straight down their lanes, they stay #1 and #2.
The final qualifying standings are as follow:
Tomorrow morning Jimmy gets a bye, it's Michael v Ulf, Jackie v Kenneth, and Tommy v Magnus.
19:20
Further word on Anders Karling after is medical centre look-over is that he has a suspected fractured ankle, he is on his way to hospital to have it checked out. This of course will have a big implication for the FIM/UEM Championship which is very close between Ton and Anders.
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike final qualifying session (left lane first): Viep Blomen broke, Martyn de Haas 8.704/112.40, Enrico Mongardi 9.647/133.46, Sandra Chaplain 8.947/151.56, Joey Bon 10.234/95.53 bye, Steve Carey 8.634/170.54 bye, Shaun Branch 12.825/56.97 bye, TJ O'Brien broke, Antonio Ferretti no time, Neil Midgley 7.308/160.18, Ian King 6.627/189.18
Viep's bike broke off the line, whilst in the other lane Martyn was on a good one but the engine popped at about three-quarter track, Viep and Martyn are DNQs. Joey Bon's bike looks and sounds better each time but on this run he was off the throttle at about three hundred feet. Steve Carey was on a good pass until the bike started to drift left and he feathered the throttle. Shaun Branch threw a belt at about 200 feet on his pass. TJ's engine stopped after the burnout, TJ's body language showed complete mystification, in the other lane Antonio went about a yard and a belt broke. A nice straight pass from Ian King took #2 spot from Steve Woollatt, he will be very happy after all the grief this season.
The final qualifying standings are as follow:
First round tomorrow is Roel v TJ, Ian v Steve C, Steve W v Shaun, and Neil v Antonio
18:50
FIM/UEM Supertwin final qualifying session (left lane first): Hans Christian Nilsen 7.773/139.79 bye, Ronny Aasen 8.606/110.00 bye, Svein Gottenberg 7.119/177.12, Svein Olav Rolfstad 18.115/35.10, Joachim Riemer 13.690/54.01, Hans Olav Olstad 7.713/184.41, Ton Pels 6.942/169.05, Anders Karling 6.547/201.72
Hans Christian improved but stayed in #8 spot. Ronny headed for the centreline and stayed with it as long as he dared, getting off the throttle at about a thousand feet. There was a small bang and a puff of vapour from Svein Olav's bike, he then headed for the centre line. Ton and Anders had a great match-up but there were a lot of sparks from Anders' bike at the top end and he sideswiped the guardrail. Anders kept the bike upright and got it stopped, the safety crews were there in an instant and Anders was sat to receive them. Word quickly came back from the top end that Anders' knee got banged up a little but he is A-OK and is being taken to the on-site medical centre to be checked out. I'd say that the concrete guardrail repaid its investment right there.
The final qualifying standings are as follow:
It's Anders v Hans Christian, Ton v Svein Olav, Joachim v Hans Olav and Svein v Ronny tomorrow.
18:35
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike final qualifying session (left lane first): Richard Gipp 7.925/166.20, Michal Ponca 9.206/139.28, Herman van Driel broke (bye), Anders Larsson 15.778/44.46, Martin Newbury shut off, Paul Watson 7.858/165.27, Remo Nasci 8.074/152.10, Anders Abrahamsson 7.553/175.05, Martin Bishop 7.719/171.04, Roger Pettersson 7.429/179.09, Chris Hope broke
Michal improved but both he and Richard miss out on tomorrow's eliminations. Herman's bike broke off the line. Anders' engine didn't sound right and he shut it off at the end of second gear, he was already safely in the field though. Martin shut off on the line. A big improvement on ET for Anders put him on an equal ET with Chris Hope, Anders gets second for higher speed. Chris Hope broke on the line.
The final qualifying standings are as follow:
First round tomorrow is Roger v Remo, Anders A v Herman, Chris v Anders L, Paul v Martin.
18:20
Super Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners: John Tebenham (7.95) 8.466/157.98 bye, John Everitt (8.99) 9.136/143.63, Barry Giles (7.88) 7.902/162.54, Steve Saunders (8.95) 11.764/67.47 bye, Paul Marston (8.58) 8.766/134.73, Gary Malin (7.64) 7.806/163.03, Martyn Jones (7.81) 7.963/155.72, Paul Harvey (8.70) 8.767/147.07
9.90 Bike eliminations round 2 winners: Julian Harris 10.111/116.31, Andy Burfitt 10.094/133.08 after re-run, Fred Furlong 9.797/139.30, Dave Baker 10.308/125.39, Richard Sawatazki 9.976/115.99, Steve Knapp 10.277/128.18
Pro ET eliminations round 2 winners: Terri Lee (10.53) 10.751/120.31, Rick McCann (10.45) 10.384/120.04, Phil Toppin (11.00) 12.703/93.33, Darren Hulkes (11.99) 12.052/108.69, Paul Baynton (11.20) 11.303/112.73, Aidan Kenny (11.63) 11.649/114.84, Chris Isaacs (9.96) 10.061/121.66, Gary Springford (10.35) 10.353/117.19
17:50
Just as Top Fuel finished we had a brief rain shower, it has now passed and the track crew are on the case. In the meantime, Simon has returned from the pits with more pit notes:
Michael Malmgren (Pro Stock) said his weekend is getting "Better and better. We were shut down for an oil leak on our first run, then lost a spark plug on the second qualifier. The power was down and the car was hard to tune without good data. On the third run, we spun our tyres badly to about 330 foot and so we are having to change gear and setup. We should then get back into the sixes. Michael's plans for 2005 involve "Running faster and getting back the number one!"
Eric Teboul (Top Fuel Bike) is unfortunately out of competition with a damaged valve seat and no spares. Eric said "We have new Vortex heads this year and the distance from the plug to the valve seat is too small leading to a number of burnt valve seats. We will be making some changes over the winter to prevent this happening in future." Eric is pleased with the power the Puma motor is developing and pointed out his early shut-off 6.4 at the Main Event.
Steve Woollatt is busy rebuilding his motor following a broken exhaust valve. A replacement is available, and overall Steve is very pleased with his times of 6.7 and 6.6s so far.
Steve Moxley, who reports for a number of publications, kindly informed us of two retirements in Top Fuel Bike. Cannon has had broken front and rear sprockets, and unfortunately has no spare for the rear. Tim Blakemore is also out with some damage to the motor and to the bearing around the clutch.
There are two personal bests to report in the bike classes: T.J. O'Brien's run of 7.605 was a personal best and Joachim Riemer's 7.06 was also a PB.
We also understand that Dave Holland is on his way back from the Brighton Speed Trials to compete in the final qualifying session of Top Fuel Bike.
Stay tuned.
17:35
FIA Top Fuel Dragster final qualifying session (left lane first): Jon Webster shut off, Andy Carter 4.983/295.74 bye, Jöran Persåker 5.767/173.00, Smax Smith 12.965/69.78, Tommy Möller 5.629/175.91, Micke Kågered 5.203/201.01, Thomas Nataas did not start, Lex Joon 5.030/294.15
Problems starting up again for Jon, lost of gesturing from the cockpit and crew crowding around, Andy was already backing up from his burnout before Jon came forward. Jon puled a very short burnout but then couldn't get reverse, Sharkman at trackside reported that Jon became very animated in the cockpit, which is quite something for the unflappable Jon, he had no option but to shut off and sit tight. Andy put in a stormer and took #1 spot at that point. Jöran had cylinders out all the way down and was off the throttle at half track, Smax's tyres went up in smoke off the line, he pedalled once and then got off the throttle. Micke got off to a great start, 0.864 to sixty feet, then his engine started to mix cylinders after half track (243.20 mph) then there was a ball of flame. In the other lane Tommy was on also on a good one but at half track (241 mph) the blower belt flew high, and we mean high, into the air and the car disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The track was checked and was found to be clean and dry so we went into the final pair. Thomas had trouble starting his car, after two attempts the marshall sent him back to the pits. Lex put in a tremendous pass, which included a pedal.
The final standings in Top Fuel Dragster are:
Tomorrow's first round is Andy v Smax, Thomas v Jon, Tommy v Micke, and Lex v Jöran. If Micke beats Tommy then that would just about wrap up his Championship, if Tommy wins then we are into all sorts of permutations!
17:05
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified qualifying session 3 (left lane first): John Ellis 16.811/40.76, Arne Lindkvist 7.253/181.50, Håken Fallström 12.833/61.53 bye, Robert Koper 7.016/194.16, Mats Eriksson 27.494/20.56, Peter Wacker 8.739/108.46, Henri Joosten 7.414/150.13, Norbert Kuno 6.805/211.25, Bert Englefield 6.651/211.19, Christer Jacobs 6.474/213.29, Andy Robinson 6.641/209.44, Patrik Pers 13.044/61.30 bye, Micke Lindahl 6.715/197.40, Micke Gullquist 6.562/215.11, Patrick Wikström 6.327/222.64, Håkan Nilsson 6.430/214.33
Problems for John Ellis, he was off the throttle very quickly, initially it was thought that fluid had been dropped but the track checked out. Håkan F's car didn't sound right and a cylinder was out on the right side. Robert Koper improved but had a frightening moment in the shutdown area when the car skated right across from the left to the right lane, almost hitting the guardrail. Luckily Mats Eriksson wasn't alongside him as the car broke off the start line. Henri pulled a great 0.005 light but had his chutes out before the finish line, meanwhile Peter's car made a move to the right and he looked to have his hands full keeping it in his lane. Norbert and Bert has a great match-up, both improving, Bert moved up a couple of places but Norbert for the second time in two sessions running a quicker ET but staying where he was. Christer stepped up still further and moved into third at that point whilst Andy took back the placing he lost to Bert. Patrik's car turned hard right off the line and for the second time in two sessions left a small amount of fuel on the track. Great burnouts by the two Mickes before their match-up, a very photogenic pairing and a great chance to compare the styles of body. Both Mickes hit shake and Micke L was off the throttle just before the finish. Patrick consolidated his lead, two thousandths off his European record whilst Håkan edged a little closer.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
Our good buddy Benni Voss tells us that a lot of our German friends are logged in and watching the webcam, hello guys! Hope you are enjoying the coverage.
16:35
FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Rob Turner 6.450/124.34 bye, Peter Schöfer 5.536/254.58, Dave Wilson 5.472/254.30
Rob was going great guns, 0.906 to sixty feet, then there was a bang and the burst panel and blower belt came off the car right at half track. Shark down at trackside reported that the belt had shredded. Before this session started Dave was up in race control to be interviewed on the PA, and on the way out he commented to your reporter that the ACI team might be trying to turn the world on its axis on this run. It was certainly a classic match-up with Peter, with identical 0.133 reaction times, Peter leaving wheels-up and Dave getting there first by 0.063. Dave consolidated #1 and Peter took #2.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
16:25
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Leif Andréasson 8.495/97.42, Niclas Andersson 5.945/238.00, Arvid Grødem 6.357/221.65, Dan Larsen 5.892/244.66, Urs Erbacher 5.765/247.43 bye
Leif started on a strong pass, the car blackstriped some and made a move at about 300 feet, the engine made a grunting noise and Leif got off the throttle. Meanwhile Niclas was on a stormer, straight and strong, moving up the standings. Leif's car left a narrow trail of oil from about 400 feet down to the first turnoff from the shutdown area. Next up were Arvid and Dan, Arvid's car was moving about the lane but he stayed with it until about a thousand feet, meanwhile Dan drove through shake with a straight, hard run, improving his ET but staying third. A consistent run from Urs, straight as you like, consolidating his #1 spot.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
15:45
FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Kenneth Soderström 7.241/190.67 bye, Ulf Jonsson 7.154/193.13, Tommy Leindahl 7.337/189.86, Magnus Hansson 8.273/101.59, Jackie Hansen 7.093/192.32, Michael Malmgren 7.047/196.75, Jimmy Ålund 7.061/195.56
Kenneth's Firebird was moving left and right most of the way down the track on his pass, but he stayed with it. In the next pairing, the same happened to Tommy Leindahl, the car really moving, the track crew gave the surface a good look but nothing was found. Ulf improved his ET but it didn't change his position. In the next pair, Magnus Hansson got way out of shape in the left-hand lane, so much so that he put his chute out at half track. We then had a brief stop for rain with Jimmy Ålund and Michael Malmgren waiting to run, when we re-started Michael moved up into #2 spot.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
15:00
Simon popped into the pits again after the last Pro session and this is what he came back with.
Top Fuel's sole four-second runner so far this weekend, Thomas Nataas, said he can run faster still. "The car shook the tyres and got very loose in the last half of the track", said Thomas. No engine damage was reported.
Ulf Leanders still has a chance to win the Methanol Funny Car championship, and ran a 5.85 this morning to put him in number 2 position. Ulf said "Our plan is to go as fast as possible! On the last run, we went very close to the centre line and then drifted out of the groove, which lost us time. We can still win the championship even if we meet Urs in the final but will also need ET points if this happens."
Jackie Hansen is keen to go better than his 7.06 Pro Stock qualifier. Crew chief Erik Nielsen said "We had too much clutch which caused tyre shake. We need to take out some power from the Ron Krishner engine as well, which is contributing to the tyre shake." Jackie is looking for a 200mph speed. He said "It actually helps driving into the headwind as that causes the aerodynamics to work better."
Lars Inge Johansson is making his return to Pro Mod at Santa Pod a year after his severe accident. Lars Inge said "I am fully recovered, except for a dropped foot which will be operated on in a couple of months." The car has been rebuilt but most of the chassis is the original and the engine is the same, with a new carbon fibre blower hat. This morning's run of 7.10 was a planned early shutoff using just first and second gears. He hopes to get closer to his personal best of 6.73 in the next session.
Patrick Pers is new not only to Santa Pod, but also Pro Modifed competition and impressed greatly when he ran a 6.48 this morning. He said "We have raced the car in Top Doorslammer competition in Sweden and run a best of 6.42.." The beautiful green '63 'Vette which was built four years ago has a Ken Veney-built Keith Black engine and up-to-the minute running gear. Plans for next year are to run more rounds of the NDRS series as finances allow.
Another driver from Sweden to join the Pro Modified wars this year is Arne Lindqvist, whose blue Chevrolet Chevelle has an Oldsmobile engine with Kobelco blower. His best is 7.10 at 204mph at Tullinge earlier this year.
Also in Pro Modified, Andy Robinson is pleased with his pair of 6.6s runs, but hopes for more. Andy said "We were hoping for a quicker second eighth mile but the car didn't hook up enough. We will adjust the clutch which should make an improvement."
14:50
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Martyn de Haas 12.968/57.40 bye, Sandra Chaplain 8.979/149.42 bye, Joey Bon 20.660/29.62 bye, Antonio Ferretti 9.533/84.92, TJ O'Brien 8.059/127.07, Shaun Branch 7.475/175.05, Roel Koedam 6.616/197.34, Steve Carey 7.834/127.08 bye, Ian King 7.034/195.46 bye, Steve Woollatt shut off, Neil Midgley 10.012/75.87 bye
Joey Bon again looked to be set for a good pass but the bike pitched two belts not far from the start line. Roel Koedam's run looked quicker than it was, the bike reportedly loaded up but some slippage in the clutch I'd guess. Ian King moved up the standings, looked and sounded as if there's some more left in the bike yet. Steve Woollatt was obviously not happy with his bike after starting, shaking his head and shutting it off. Neil Midgley's bike puffed smoke at 300 feet and he shut off.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
14:25
FIM/UEM Supertwin qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Hans Christian Nilsen broke, Svein Olav Rolfstad 7.429/183.69, Joachim Riemer 7.063/190.67, Svein Gottenberg 7.268/181.33 Hans Olav Olstad 7.472/195.69, Ronny Aasen 7.655/196.71, Anders Karling 10.640/72.59, Ton Pels 6.753/198.94
Hans' engine stopped during his burnout. Svein Olav started to fishtail at half track, Sharkman at trackside spotted his foot slipping off the peg, in the other lane a new PB for Joachim moved him up the standings. Anders Karling's bike looked to make an attempt to pitch him off at about 300 feet, judging by the violence of the move we think a chain or belt broke although nothing was left on the track.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
14:15
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 3 (left lane first): Michal Ponca 9.902/128.98, Richard Gipp 7.921/161.97, Anders Abrahamsson 7.640/173.60, Chris Hope 7.640/170.18, Paul Watson 7.657/171.04, Remo Nasci 7.919/158.49, Anders Larsson broke, Martin Bishop 7.767/167.44, Roger Pettersson 7.396/178.56, Martin Newbury 8.850/114.76, Herman van Driel 7.841/165.99
Anders Larsson's engine died off the line then suddenly burst back to life, the bike moved forward a couple of feet, then the engine stopped again. The only change we saw in this session was Herman van Driel's pass which put him into the qualifying field, bumping out Richard Gipp.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
14:00
Sportsman ET eliminations round 1 winners: Martin Lewis (15.65) 15.796/81.94, Richard Hillier (12.95) 13.081/101.99, Nick South (14.07) 14.261/84.60, Mark Anderson (12.98) 13.187/93.95, Linda Platt (12.82) 12.893/106.96, Chris Emms (17.80) 18.302/70.21 bye, Keith Crampton (13.40) 13.703/92.79 bye
Junior Dragster eliminations round 1 winners: Holly Mitchell (9.63) 9.711/66.17, Andrew Herron (18.20) 18.312/31.40, Nick Mugridge (8.35) 8.353/69.72, Jay Hauser (10.59) 10.776/53.43, Ross Norris (8.60) 8.804/72.45, Tom Watts (11.25) 11.379/50.73, Aidan Heatley-Smith (9.80) 10.030/62.67
13:45
FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 2 re-run: Jöran Persåker 5.088/257.32 bye
Jöran was given another chance at a qualifier after the Tree failed earlier on. Understandably a very short burnout, then a very solid run, 0.882 to sixty feet and off the throttle at about a thousand feet and into third spot.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
Super Comp eliminations round 1 winners: Phil Bennett 9.051/147.46, Shaun Lathan 8.975/151.03, Dave Day 8.879/148.05 bye, Chris Johnson 9.524/145.61, Leif Andersson 9.833/133.46, Brian Pateman 9.148/138.02, Malcolm Francis 8.956/164.89 bye
13:25
Martin Hill followed up the Pro session with a 6.164/209.16 in the Fireforce 2 Jet FC.
13:25
Fuel Funny Car qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Leif Helander broke, John Spuffard 6.931/123.28 bye, Gordon Smith 6.144/143.80 bye
Leif pulled straight over to the side of his lane after his burnout, Spuff took a bye and had to pedal a couple of times, blackstriping until he got off the throttle at half track. Gordon frantically signalled Crew Chief Dave Bryant back to the car after his burnout, not obvious what the problem was as the crew rushed to lift the body. The crew lifted the body up again after the burnout and a team member leaned in to make some sort of adjustment. A very strong launch, 0.869 to sixty feet and blackstriping to the eighth where Gordon got off it - considering how long the engine had been running I'd guess that Gordon figured the fuel would soon run out.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
13:20
NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Arne Lindkvist 7.234/185.26 bye, Bert Englefield 6.707/210.28, Peter Wacker 6.948/193.22, Robert Koper 7.132/192.35 bye, Lars Inge Johansson 7.105/143.43, Christer Jacobs 6.595/212.21, Mats Eriksson 6.994/216.16, John Ellis shut off, Marc Meihuizen 6.608/191.65, Patrik Pers 6.484/218.34, Henri Joosten 6.717/201.90, Norbert Kuno 6.901/211.45, Håkan Nilsson 6.465/214.30, Håkan Fallström 9.655/90.19, Micke Gullquist 6.493/217.46, Micke Lindahl 6.549/207.47, Andy Robinson 6.673/202.80, Patrick Wikström 6.372/220.52
Arne set a new personal best with his pass, drifted left off the start line but pulled it straight and stayed with it. A nice run between Bert and Peter, Bert moved right up the field. Robert Koper improved with a strong pass, the chutes out right on the finish line. Improvements from both Lars Inge and Christer, Lars Inge's car lost a window at half track and he put the chutes out before the finish line, whilst Christer moved up to second at that point. John shut off after his burnout, Mats hit bad shake and the car turned right, was off the throttle for at least a second straightening it out, but still ran into the sixes! Drama in the next pairing as Marc appeared to have a fuel hose come loose and spray fuel into the air and doubtless over his windscreen, the Coupe then disappeared into a cloud of smoke at the top end. Meanwhile in the other lane Patrik put in a tremendous straight pass to move into second place at that point. A nice match-up between Henri and Norbert, Norbert driving through shake into the sixes and Henri into the 6.7s, Henri improving his placing, both cars had their chutes out on the line. Håkan Nilsson shot up the track and up the standings with a hard, straight pass whilst Håkan F hit shake and shut off before half-track. Micke Gullquist then did exactly the same as Håkan N, a very straight and solid pass catapulting him up the standings, whilst Micke L hit shake and went the long way round but stayed with it. Some consternation from Patrick's crew before he moved forward to stage, but evidently nothing was wrong with the quickest Pro Mod run ever seen in the UK and one of the quickest ever in Europe to maintain his #1 spot. Andy improved but stayed where he was in the standings.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
12:50
FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Andy Carter 10.943/59.78 bye, Smax Smith 10.744/81.49, Thomas Nataas 4.992/288.79, Micke Kågered shut off, Jöran Persåker shut off, Lex Joon shut off, Tommy Möller 5.054/225.08
Jon's engine stopped shortly after firing up so Andy took a bye whilst the Canto team hand-cranked the engine and the collection area marshal told them to wait. Andy hit shake not far off the line, then pedalled, hit shake again then got off the throttle and looked to be braking hard towards the finish line. The Canto car was then sent back to the pits for missing session. A tremendous pass from Thomas took the lead at that point, the car made a move to the left just before half track (3.348/242.17) but Thomas stayed with it and got it straight, finishing the run on the left side of his lane. Meanwhile the front end of Smax's car came up and the chassis visibly twisted, the rear tyres went up in smoke and Smax had to get off it. In the next pairing we had real drama as Chief Starter Ian Marshall spotted something on Micke's car and told him to shut off, Ian signalled to Jöran that he had a single, Jöran went up on the high side and into stage then the Tree didn't run. Ian frantically signalled to the timing crew that his Tree handset had failed, at the same time trying to signal to Jöran what was going on whilst staying out of the way in case the movement made Jöran hit the throttle. Jöran realised what was going on and shut off the engine just as his crew edged into his vision. More drama in the next pair as Lex's engine didn't start until Tommy was backing up from his burnout, Lex pulled a very short burnout and sped back, both cars arriving back in the start area at the same time. Lex then shut off the engine, it wasn't obvious from up here what was wrong. Tommy took the bye, 0.890 to sixty feet and really on one until the car made a move to the left past half-track, it looked very violent but Tommy had it covered, the tyres looked to be turning and then smoke appeared from the engine on the finish line.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
12:25
FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Dave Wilson 5.479/254.55 bye, Rob Turner 5.553/238.18, Peter Schöfer 5.581/251.35
A storming pass from Dave Wilson showed just how you become Champion, no hint of shake, straight as you like, and into the #1 spot. A great match-up between Rob and Peter, Peter looked to have a cylinder out briefly a couple of times. The qualifying field has been turned upside down in one session!
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
12:20
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Niclas Andersson 7.275/132.73, Ulf Leanders 5.851/239.61, Dan Larsen 5.943/243.05, Leif Andréasson 10.317/75.25, Urs Erbacher 5.727/244.73, Arvid Grødem 5.997/231.68
Niclas got into the qualifying field with his pass hitting shake and eventually backing out, meanwhile in the other lane Ulf Leanders went a very long way round, almost crossing the centre line, but staying on the throttle and doing a great driving job to take the #1 spot at that point by a huge margin. Dan put in his promised 5.9-second 'bedding in' pass with his new clutch but was getting closer and closer to the guardrail and eventually tagged it in the shutdown area. No word yet on the car. Leif hit very violent shake and was off the throttle before 300 feet. The race of the weekend so far was between Urs and Arvid, Urs' FC hooked up and went and took back #1 qualifier whilst Arvid drove through shake and a drift and went into the fives to the delight of his crew.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
12:05
FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Jackie Hansen 7.063/195.67 bye Kenneth Soderström 7.135/191.44, Michael Malmgren 7.118/194.74, Tommy Leindahl 7.122/191.45, Magnus Hansson 7.233/190.64, Jimmy Ålund 7.028/196.75, Ulf Jonsson 7.247/189.02
Jackie moved into top spot at that point with a fine, straight pass, the team will be much happier with that run. Kenneth improved to move up the field whilst Michael went into second at that point with what should have been yesterday's baseline pass. Tommy moved up the field whilst Magnus' tyres shook and the car headed left, Magnus had to pedal for a moment but still improved his time although not his placing. Jimmy then took #1 spot back.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
12:00
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Tim Blakemore 8.411/126.72 bye, Joey Bon 8.500/98.50 bye, Viep Bloemen broke, Martyn de Haas 9.774/88.20, Enrico Mongardi 9.888/132.04, Sandra Chaplain 8.788/152.09, Steve Carey 7.522/142.31 bye, Shaun Branch 7.624/172.03 bye, TJ O'Brien no time recorded, Ian King 7.202/189.21, Neil Midgley 7.936/117.82, Antonio Ferretti 7.678/132.26, Steve Woollatt 6.666/205.46 bye
Tim's first run of the weekend looked good until the bike started to drift towards the top end, sounded as if there was a misfire too and Tim was off the throttle early. Joey went for his first full-power run with his beautiful new bike and was going great guns until what looked like a belt departed the bike right at half track. Viep was pushed back before staging, Martyn's bike hesitated off the line and then he was off the throttle well before the finish. Sandra Chaplain improved but didn't change her placing. Steve Carey carried the front wheel to 300 feet and was looking good until the bike started to drift right towards the top end, but he moved into the qualifying field. We then had some drama as TJ got a huge jump on Ian , TJ's bike started to drift to the right and he hit the eighth-mile reflectors and crossed into Ian's lane just as Ian was passing him. It looked very close from here. Ian improved but remained where he was in the standings. Neil and Antonio both backed off early, Neil had a wriggle on and his engine also spat out smoke a couple of times, no obvious problem for Antonio. Steve Woollatt improved with a tremendous pass but stayed in second spot.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
11:35
FIM/UEM Supertwin qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Hans Christian Nilsen 8.015/167.29 bye, Ronny Aasen 7.124/198.07, Svein Olav Rolfstad 14.895/58.65, Joachim Riemer 7.899/152.49 bye, Svein Gottenberg 7.153/186.03, Hans Olav Olstad 7.349/195.79, Ton Pels 6.745/185.25, Anders Karling 6.745/213.31
A nice straight pass from Hans Christian, no improvement though. Ronny Aasen had a straight, clean-looking run whilst Svein Olav headed left off the line, really fighting the bike, he almost went over twice with sparks coming up off the track as the exhaust scraped, then he hit the 330 foot reflector. Svein Olav's time won't count as he crossed lanes. Joacim Riemer's engine started to go away towards the end of his run. Hans Olav Olstad's rear tyre went up in smoke, he got off and on the throttle, and improved his time although not his qualifying standing. Improvements from both Ton and Anders, nitro flames clearly visible even in broad daylight from Charley's bike, but they stay in their previous positions.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
11:20
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Richard Gipp 7.973/162.55, Remo Nasci 7.897/163.65, Herman van Driel broke, Michal Ponca 9.344/138.55, Anders Larsson 7.686/164.20, Len Paget 8.644/141.56, Paul Watson 7.704/167.90, Martin Newbury 9.866/118.47, Anders Abrahamsson 7.769/166.18, Martin Bishop 7.825/163.03, Roger Pettersson 7.498/177.66, Chris Hope 7.919/169.72
As you can tell from the terminal speeds the headwind is affecting the bikes. Remo got into the qualifying field making it down the track this time in a nice side-by-side with Richard who moved up the field. Herman broke off the line whilst Michal redlit, not that it matters in qualifying. Anders also got into the ladder this morning, after yesterday's woes whilst Len improved. Martin Newbury headed for the guardrail off the start line, pulled it straight then got back on the throttle. Chris Hope's bike hesitated briefly off the start line, bounced down off the wheelie bars, then off it went.
After this session, qualifying stands as follows:
11:15
Simon just got back from his latest pit walk and here's what he found out.
Tommy Moller, who is on provisional pole position for Top Fuel Dragster, said "The track is very good and we want to step up for today." I asked him if there was any damage (see yesterday's pit report for Micke Kagered) and Tommy simply said "no damage". Unsurprisingly, with the championship at stake, Tommy wants to go for the race win rather than setting new records. He said, "We need Micke to lose in the first round".
Also in Top Fuel Jon Webster had tyre shake but was upbeat about it. "We were hoping the clutch would work better as there had been a problem with the controller unit resulting in the clutch not coming in as quickly as we needed". The previous clutch problem had resulted in engine damage, but there were no problems after this run. Jon said "We have moved in the right direction." Jon is looking to find more funds for 2005 and said "the team around me a very good".
Jöran Persåker also suffered tyre shake and the Top Fuel Dragster made a move out of the groove. No engine damage was suffered. Jöran was quite relaxed when talking about the championship. "We need to qualify well, win the event and set low ET, as well as others dropping out early", said Joran, with a shrug of his shoulders and a smile! He is also very keen to run his first four.
Niclas Andersson confirmed that there was a staging problem in the qualifying session yesterday, and that the car is ok.
Gittli Koller of Peter Schöfer Racing said "The track is fine but we are slightly worried about the wind", there being a 15-20mph headwind. Despite the championship being finished with, Peter is looking for an event win rather than use it as a test session. Gittli said "Timo Habermann would have been here but he broke his motor last weekend". For 2005 Gittli is optimistic about an increase in car count in Top Methanol dragster. "There should be 5 or 6 at least, with Simo, Hari and Arto from Finland, and the Malta guys not having to pay guarantee money now that Malta is a member of the EU".
Arvid Grødem was pleased with his 6.129 in the Methanol Funny Car but believes he can step up. He said "We had tyre shake in all three gears and have changed the tyres to bead locks (no liner), after we blistered them yesterday". There are no problems with Arvid's motor.
Dan Larsen had a wild ride in the Methanol Funny Car yesterday. He said "We had too much clutch - on the next it will be set up softer!" Dan believes the car can win the event and looks forward to doing three runs today.
Pro Modified driver Christer Jacobs said of his 7.4s shut-off run "The track is very good. The car had too little clutch and I shifted too early. We should be able to run 6.4s. There have been some problems with the (Liberty 5 speed) gearbox and the clutch settings and we may have to change back to the 4 speed unit".
Following Ian King's 7.45 run on his Top Fuel Bike the team discovered a damaged Opcon supercharger. Ian said "The unit is not giving enough boost and it's resulting in dropped cylinders off the line and down the track. Joran Persaker brought some new parts over from Sweden to rebuild it."
The first round of Top Fuel bike qualifying saw a welcome return to the track of Steve Carey, whose hand is recovering fast from the spill he suffered at the recent Allstar Nationals. Steve said "The run (of 8.6) was a half pass which got my confidence back. I would like to run at least a 7.0, which was my best time at the Allstars."
Neil Midgley was very pleased with his 7.07 pass on the Funny Bike that is running in Top Fuel Bike this weekend. "We now intend to step up to run a six and then rely on luck and consistency against the nitro burners."
11:10
Super Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners: Paul Davis (8.75) 8.936/141.04, Steve Saunders (8.85) 8.935/150.49 bye, John Everitt (8.89) 9.035/145.64 bye, Paul Marston (8.55) 8.895/120.66, George Chiarella (8.70) 9.333/149.61, Martyn Jones (7.76) 8.138/129.97, Ian Tubb (7.79) 8.041/145.14, Paul Harvey (8.69) 8.740/147.58, Mick Payne (8.30) 10.119/82.13, Steve Johnson (7.60) 7.667/174.28, Derek Flynn (8.46) 8.611/149.58, Al Golding (8.83) 9.442/148.07, Gary Malin (7.63) 7.756/171.14 bye, Barry Giles (7.80) 7.904/163.13, John Tebenham (7.95) 8.410/159.61
Stephen Talbot asked us to say a`big Thanks to Steve Johnson for the loan of a battery.
10:00
Super Gas eliminations round 1 winners: Frank Mason 9.933/135.53, Tim Adam 9.972/123.98, Brendan Clancy 10.053/123.55, Conrad Stanley 10.043/131.60, Al O'Connor 10.068/127.79 bye, Luke Ramage 10.016/128.64, Dave Day 9.980/141.14 bye, Malcolm Francis 9.950/139.34
9:50
9.90 Bike eliminations round 1 winners: Paul Hambidge 10.288/137.23 bye, Paul Wing 10.274/123.98 bye, Fred Furlong 9.953/122.26, Paul Coombs 10.344/129.62, Steve Coombs 10.142/119.32, Richard Beck 10.270/131.93 bye, Steve Knapp 10.357/127.04 bye, Andy Burfitt 10.402/107.42, Julian Harris 10.024/129.00 bye, Dave Baker 18.387/103.22, Richard Sawatzki 10.094/123.28 bye, Richard Hann 10.280/130.38 bye
9:35
Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners: Moose Hollingworth (10.13) 10.156/131.61, Steve Large (11.37) 11.378/118.11, John Morris (11.20) 11.246/117.82, Rick McCann (10.50) 10.523/110.83, Phil Topping (10.99) 11.011/124.35, Nick Griffin (11.90) 11.973/109.80, Aidan Kenny (11.67) 11.604/115.07, Steve Richards (11.60) 11.496/119.09, Bob Doyle (10.10) 10.185/133.79, Gary Springford (10.21) 10.356/126.09, Paul Baynton (11.22) 11.237/114.55, Terri Lee (10.53) 10.951/100.08, Brian Huxley (10.63) 10.708/122.02, Bob Molden (10.16) 10.422/129.96 bye, Chris Isaacs (9.90) 9.959/132.35 bye, Darren Hulkes (11.99) 12.111/111.06 bye
9:10
After the sixth and final session of Comp Eliminator, the qualifying standings are as follow:
After the seventh and final session of Sportsman ET the top five didn't change:
The final top five in Junior Dragster is:
We're now into Sportsman eliminations, stay tuned.
8:00
Good morning again and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway. It's day three of the FIA European Finals and we're here to bring you all the news in association with American Car Imports.
The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and broadcasting a picture every two moments.
It's a nice morning, most importantly dry, there is a bit of a headwind but doubtless that will die down as the sun comes up a little. We still can't bring you any more weather detail than the air pressure, which is 29.83 inches, as the light-fingered person who lifted our weather station sensor seems to have forgotten to bring it back.
We had a brief stroll in the pits last night and found a few people to talk to, here's what we found out.
Magnus Cato of AC Delco/Malmgren Racing Pro Stock team asked us to say a big Hello and Get Well Soon to Michaela Malmgren, Michael Malmgren's daughter, who is in hospital with a broken pelvis after a horseriding accident. We hope that you recover very soon, Michaela. Magnus also mentioned that this is the team's last event with AC Delco, Michael is working on finding a replacement sponsor.
Top Fuel Bike racer Chris Hannam is out for the weekend after damaging a rear sprocket with no spares available. "Len Paget offered to loan me his spare but it has nine teeth too few", said Cannon. "It's a real pity because Frank Brachtvogel said that the burnout was good and that it was making power, I was on a good one. It had the six-second tune-up from the USA, and I wanted to run a six for everyone who came to see me."
Anders Magnusson of Leif Andréasson's Top Methanol FC team said that the thrown blower belt yesterday damaged the throttle cable and removed one of the butterflies from the bug catcher, it was the butterfly which flew high into the air and landed on the track. "It got up on the rev limiter more than once", said Anders. Leif has a personal appearance lined up in London on Monday for sponsor ESAB.
Super Pro ET racer Ian Bishop was very happy with his PB of 7.1 in yesterday's qualifying session. "It nosed over at a thousand feet", he said. "Nitrous really screws you up, before I had the gas the car ran like it was on rails". Ian will be going into Pro Modified next season in his Avenger, with fellow Super Pro racer Al Golding taking a year out from racing to crew for him.
A delighted Top Fuel Bike racer Antonio Ferretti told us that his six-second form recently was down to new gear ratios. "We think we will run in the 6.7s", he said.
Lex Joon asked us to say Hello to his son Martijn. "I'll be going for the four-second pass today", said Lex. We would like to add a Hello, to Steve Wilson who is tuned in from Switzerland.
Simon will of course be out in the pits during today to bring us more news as it happens.
We are due to start at 9:00 with qualifying in Comp Eliminator, Sportsman ET, and Junior Dragster and then eliminations commence in Pro ET, 9.90 Bike, Super Gas and Super Pro ET. The Pro qualifying sessions are due 10:30, 1:00 and 3:30. Stay tuned and we'll bring you all the on-track news as soon as things get going.