2008 NitrolympX
Friday (qualifying)
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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 00:35 We have now posted both on-track and off-track galleries, which you can view via the Event Index page. We're on a 9:00 start this morning so tune back then and we'll bring you all the news from day two of qualifying. 19:25 Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 1:
That's it for today, stay tuned and we will bring you today's pictures in a short while. 19:15 FIA Top Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Risto Poutiainen 6.293/225.74 bye, Janne Ahonen 5.588/264.08, Tommi Haapanen 11.401/117.32, Stig Neergaard 5.340/277.54, Jari Halinen 5.321/364.71, Micke Kågered 5.414/314.00, Lex Joon 4.988/405.03, Urs Erbacher 5.049/453.19, Andy Carter 4.867/506.79 A very lazy launch for Risto's car, now in red, at least one cylinder out and sounding to be misfiring. Risto was off the throttle at half track. Tommi hit shake off the line and was off the throttle before 100 feet, Janne was on a stormer but then smoke from the engine, a bang and a ball of flame at half track and Janne put out the chute. The car stopped on the shutdown area leaning over to the right, maybe the right slick deflated but Janne is A-OK and the safety crew were there immediately. On the restart a nice match-up between Stig and Jari, at half track there were flames coming from Jari's engine but he looked to be still under power at least to begin with but then the engine started to smoke and Jari was off the throttle by about 1000 feet. Stig was likewise off the throttle at about 1000 feet and looked to have the chute out before the stripe. Lex first into the fours this weekend, a very clean-looking pass and a solid baseline, Micke was right there to begin with but the Bahco dragster's tyres started to smoke briefly at about 400 feet and Micke pedalled, then in the other lane off came Lex's blower belt. Another great match between Urs and Andy, both cars straight and true, from here it sounded as if the motor on Urs' dragster hesitated in the second half. Andy on for his sixth straight #1 qualifier with a big speed, the first half of a new European speed record, well done guys! Qualifying standings after this session:
18:45 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Jürgen Nagel 6.257/366.56 bye, Danny Bellio 5.865/394.59, Dan Larsen 6.125/385.07, Leif Andréasson 12.317/144.00, Jarmo Kuutniemi 7.401/312.42, Arvid Grødem 8.448/189.79, Ulf Leanders 6.083/383.71 A good baseline for Jürgen, looked a little lazy off the line but on the other hand no sign of shake. Eurodragster.com sponsor Dan's FC sporting the words "For sale", where is Simon when we need him to go and find out what that's about. A storming pass for Danny, a new personal best and into #1 spot at that point, well done Danny! Dan drove through shake which was making his escape hatch flap open and shut but he stayed with it. A close thing for Leif in the next pairing as Jarmo was almost back to the start line from his burnout before Leif's engine fired. Leif went without a burnout so as not to keep Jarmo waiting, a sporting gesture. Alas the gentlemanly gesture wasn't rewarded as Leif's FC gave us a demonstration of why we have burnouts, at the hit the car didn't move, just sat there as the rear tyres smoked. Jarmo hit shake and pedalled at about sixty feet, quite a long time off the throttle. Freddy Fagerström's post-burnout reversing speed record is definitely under threat from Ulf, he went further than Arvid but got back first. Arvid's tyres went up in smoke at the hit, he tried again but the Mustang wasn't having any of it and he was off the throttle early. Ulf hit shake and pedalled, the FC starting to make moves in the middle third of the track and Ulf pedalled a couple of times and then got off it before the stripe. Qualifying standings after this session:
18:35 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Dave Wilson 5.946/289.91 bye, Paul Ingar Udtian 6.928/209.36, Timo Habermann 5.815/392.87, Rob Turner 5.651/371.45, Peter Schöfer 5.777/405.18 A nice burnout from Grumpy, the dragster a little languid on launch and visibly bouncing as it came off the hit. A tiny pedal at about half track and then off the throttle and the chutes out at about 900 feet. A nice side-by-side run for Paul Ingar and Timo, another 0.0 reaction for Paul whilst Timo redlit, Timo's dragster was moving about its lane a little but he stayed with it and the pairing ended when Paul Ingar's blower belt broke at about 800 feet. Another nice pairing between Rob and Peter, Peter driving through very visible shake and hanging on to the Bavarian Thunder dragster as it made a violent move to the left. A nice straight pass for Rob in the XTC-sponsored dragster, shutting off slightly early judging by the terminal speed. Qualifying standings after this session:
18:25 FIA Pro Modified qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Marco Maurischat did not start, Robert Koper 9.508/153.29, Torsten Kath 6.689/335.69, Juergen Schomann 7.447/213.92, Rolf Ammann 6.953/336.47, Marcus Hilt 7.474/275.92, Henri Joosten 6.896/283.48 Ingo Rolla 8.610/269.15, Peter Ritscher 7.626/327.94, Norbert Kuno no time, Terje Håkonsen 18.706/62.41, Freddy Fagerström 6.790/342.08, Kristian Nyström 6.750/348.28, Micke Nord 6.378/352.18, Micke Gullqvist 6.394/348.79, Marko Lantto 6.663/319.54 bye , Bruno Bader did not start, Roger Johansson 6.738/341.65, Andy Robinson 7.070/232.63, Urban Johansson 6.528/348.95, Mats Eriksson 10.854/109.35, Patrick Wikström 6.623/352.81, Marc Meihuizen 6.319/360.59, Micke Lindahl 6.954/296.23, Robert Joosten 7.374/361.13 Our first look at Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco's '53 'Vette and it is a beautiful piece of kit. Similarly Robert's Firebird which was worth the wait to see it. Nice wheelie from Robert and shut off early, not the straightest pass from Torsten so more to come there. Also good to see Rolf back in competition, a nice straight pass whilst Juergen's Willys was going more and more out of shape, a violent move to the right and he calmly pedalled and got back on it. The briefest of burnouts from Marcus and a very lazy-looking launch, a nice pass from Henri with a puff of black smoke at about half track but no problem and back into the sixes. A very hesitant launch from Ingo's Avenger, Peter launched a lot harder and his Avenger headed for the centre line so he pedalled then got back on the throttle. Instant red for Norbert, not obvious what happened there, on his green the front of Terje's car came up and the tyres shook, the engine zinged and something came off the car. Norbert sat on the line, probably in disbelief, then hit the throttle with more or less the same result, instant shake and he was quickly off the gas. Half-track burnout for Freddy to huge cheers from the crowd, then driving through shake. Kristian's car made a violent move left towards the centre line, Kristian pedalled and the left side headers grounded with a shower of sparks. A tremendous match between Roger and Micke G, Micke G's big Chevy making moves left and right whilst Micke's Mustang drifted to the right and at one point they were quite close to one another, side-by-side at the stripe and into #1 and #2 at that point with a Nitrous car atop the standings. Short burnout from Marko, expecting a checkout pass but Marko gave it everything which was quite a feat given what happened last time he ran. The Vette was moving left and right and at one point the left slick smoked briefly but Marko had a good hold if it for #3 at that point. Bruno's Vette never started and he was pushed back. All eyes on Andy in the next pairing, a vert strong launch but then one side of the engine started to smoke, Andy got off the throttle just past half track and it looked like the car more or less stopped dead (relatively) with smoke from both sides of the engine. Nothing found on the track so hopefully nothing sedrious. Mats' big Crown Victoria launched as if shot from a catapult, front left wheel up and driving through shake but then the engine made a grunting noise and Mats was off the throttle. A straight hard run from Urban, a hint of shake but driving through it. Whatever was bugging Marc in the second half of the track has been sorted, a straight pass with little sign of shake and into #1 spot. Patrick's Camaro looked a tiny bit lazy away from the line. Robert J's tyres up in smoke at the hit and the Vette made a violent turn, Robert pedalled and pulled it straight but was off the throttle early. Bad shake for Micke L, the Camaro veering about its lane and dropping something on the track, maybe a small piece of bodywork or a rubber ball, difficult to tell from here. Qualifying standings after this session:
17:45 Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
The top eight riders are from the UK. 17:30 Comp Eliminator qualifying top five after session 1:
17:15 Super Comp qualifying top five after session 1:
Lothar Feidt got very close to the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award with a 0.002 reaction. 17:10 Pro Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
17:00 Supertwin Top Gas qualifying top five after session 1:
16:50 Super Gas qualifying top five after session 1:
16:30 Here we go then! Public Race qualifying top five after session 1:
Trackside temperature is 22 C, humidity 62% and air pressure 30.81 inches. 15:45 Public Race and Super Gas have been called to the pairing lanes for 16:00. 15:15 The rain has stopped again and the track crew are out and hard at work. From where I am sitting the track looks to be drying quickly. We're up against a 5:00 curfew but let's see how we go. Stay tuned. 13:45 I suppose I'll get the blame for that...it has started to rain again. 13:30 The rain has stopped, and the track crew are out there strutting their stuff. Stay tuned and we'll bring you more as it happens. 12:20 We've still got rain here at Hockenheim. As ever forecasts vary but our favourite is the forecast in which the rain stops some time in the next hour. Stay tuned. 10:00 Good morning and welcome from the Hockenheimring for day one of our coverage of the NitrolympX brought to you in association with American Car Imports. The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and is posting a picture every sixty seconds. Right now the webcam is in a temporary position whilst we get organised, it will be moved very shortly. We must say a big Thank You to UK Top Fuel Dragster racer Andy Carter who has lent us his wireless broadband receiver/transmitter for this weekend. Without Andy's help we would have had a few problems getting on-line and let's not forget that this is costing him. Thanks Andy! Right now the weather is not ideal. Rain came in overnight and there is a little in the air even now, but those who know these things tell us that it will be gone quite soon and that the forecast after that is good. The track crew are already out working very hard and to be honest the track doesn't look too damp - one suspects that when the rain stops the surface will dry quite quickly. Stay tuned and as soon as things change we'll bring you an update. Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |