2009 NitrOlympX
Friday
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22:00 Today's pictures have now been posted; you can view them via the Event Index page. There are 115 pictures in all so if you don't see all the thumbnails when you load the page then click on your Browser's Refresh button. Simon had also posted more pit notes which you can also check out via the Event Index. We'll be back in the morning. Qualifying commences at 9:00 so we will see you then. 18:35 Nitro Funny Car open practice (left lane first): Gary Page 9.066/149.27 bye Planned test launch, 0.952 to sixty feet, 2.573 to 330 feet and off the throttle. Lots of clutch dust! That's the on-track action done for today, stay tuned as we will now go to work on today's pictures and Simon is working on more pit notes. The webcam will stay on-line as long as we are in Race Control but will be switched off when we leave. 18:30 Nitro Bike Thunder qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Nitro Bike Thunder is to be run in Cannonball format. Roel Koedam 7.433/290.49, Hans Olav Olstad 6.843/320.06; Rene van den Berg 7.458/263.79; Kai Selkamäa 8.086/275.57; Stefan Iwanowitsch 13.890/90.95, Martijn de Haas 11.186/121.20; Ismo Mänpäa 13.022/188.30, Job Heezen 6.861/299.67; Eric Teboul shut off, Ian King 6.296/363.61; Lorenz Stäuble 7.353/226.81 bye; Michael Heisler no time bye (left before lights ran) A new track record for Ian King, well done Ian! 18:15 Pro Bike qualifying after session 2:
18:05 Comp Eliminator qualifying top five after session 2:
Martin Lundkvist into #1 spot in the second pair of the session. Patricia Kästner improved but stayed in place. 17:50 Super Comp qualifying top five after session 2:
Rene Ehrismann improved in the first pairing and took over #1, Fast Fil in the other lane ran 7.178/311.30! Bert Gorselitz closest yet to the Eurodragster.com/Speedflow Perfect Light Award with a 0.001 reaction. Next pair and Christophe Dubois went into the top five at #4. One pair more and Marina Andersson took the Eurodragster.com/Gold RV Perfect ET Award and took #1 with an 8.900, well done Marina! Two pairs after that Jürgen Schubert ran a perfect ET, nice one Jürgen! Jürgen's higher speed put him into #1 spot under the local rules. The top twelve qualifiers are in the 8.9s. 17:20 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Fred Hanssen 5.732/320.49, Dennis Habermann 5.527/416.20; Esko Raisvuo 6.006/404.65 bye; Paul Ingar Udtian 5.525/410.93, Peter Schöfer 5.449/422.85; Timo Habermann 5.690/300.25, Dave Wilson 6.566/234.14 Fred up on the revs a long time before Dennis moved in to stage, one couldn't possibly connect that with what happened earlier. Dennis got the jump on Fred but Fred looked to be coming back at him but then it sounded from here as if Fred's burst panel blew. Esko's motor sounded lumpy all the way, obviously struggling and it sounded from here as if Esko was on the throttle way past the finish line. Superb run for Peter, again no sign of shake and I think the quickest ET since the car was back-ended, good for #2 spot and a big speed. Nice run for Paul Ingar too, up into #6 at that point. Grumpy's tyres started to smoke about 400 feet out, cylinders went out and he shut off by half track. Nice-looking run for Timo until it sounded from here as if his burst panel blew towards the finish line. Qualifying after this session:
17:10 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Danny Bellio 7.036/366.99, Per Håkon Trøa 6.044/383.04; Ulf Leanders 5.900/397.76 bye; Dan Larsen 5.853/393.51, Jarmo Kuutniemi 5.899/389.14 Per Håkon rolled the beams a little at the hit so that will have slowed down his ET but a solid pass into #2 spot at that point. Danny's tyres went up in smoke off the line, a long pedal and then back on the throttle, improved ET but no movement in the ladder. Nice launch for Ulf, you could hear from the engine note that the tyres were shaking, a brief pedal about 300 feet out but then stayed with it and into #1 spot at that point. Tremendous pairing between Dan and Jarmo, both ran on rails with no sign of shake and into #1 and #2 spot respectively. We think a PB for Jarmo or close to it, well done Jarmo! Qualifying after this session:
17:00 FIA Pro Modified qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Norbert Kuno 6.539/351.61, Ingo Rolla 8.185/255.75; Graham Ellis no time bye; Urban Johansson 6.185/373.10, Johnny Sand Jorgensen 7.420/296.96; Henri Joosten 7.162/236.12, Robert Koper 6.594/349.01; Marco Maurischat 8.422/169.00, Tomi Pöntinen 6.419/364.04; Roger Johansson 6.450/360.71, Rolf Ammann no time; Marc Meihuizen 6.492/304.24, Micke Lindahl 7.073/231.17; Mats Eriksson 6.130/379.03, Bruno Bader 6.626/361.86; Andy Robinson 6.249/370.50, Micke Gullqvist 6.228/372.15 Front wheel up again for a long distance for Norbert, nice pass and up the ladder. Ingo drove through shake but then his Avenger started to move about its lane so he shut off. Another crowd-pleasing burnout for Graham but on the green the 'Bird crossed lanes at about 200 feet. With no-one in the other lane Graham stayed on the throttle whilst he pulled it straight. Big red light for Urban but a clean run, no shake, and into #2 spot. Johnny's car hesitated off the line and that was half a second lost. Great run for Robert, new PB, well done Robert! Henri was doing OK but shut off at half track with his exhausts spitting flame. Marco had a fuel fitting come loose and spray fuel over the windscreen of his Vette so he had to shut off before half track, meanwhile a new PB for Tomi, well done Tomi! Nice run for Roger, no shake but not quite as quick as earlier. Everything happened in the other lane, though: Rolf's Coupe headed left off the line and crossed the centre line, Rolf pulled it back but the Coupe bit him back and shot across the lane hitting the right-hand guardrail side-on. The car bounced off the guardrail and it was evident that Rolf was trying to keep it in his lane, the Coupe up on two wheels and turning left and right before finally stopping at the finish line. Rolf got himself out of the car and is OK. On the restart Micke looked to be on one but then shut off at half track, nothing visibly wrong. Marc also shut off before the stripe, again he was going straight and full-pelt and nothing wrong to look at. Great pass by Mats, straight down the middle of his lane and into #1 spot whilst Bruno went the long way round and the Vette made a hard move at about 1100 feet. Tyre smoke off the line for Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy, that lost him time but he stayed with it. Slightly long way round for Micke G, an improvement but he stayed in place. Qualifying after this session:
16:20 FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Jan Palmqvist 14.480/84.84, Harald Sturhan 7.182/299.71; Kenneth Söderström 7.042/314.96, Magnus Hansson 6.905/324.46; Richard Sundblom 6.790/329.18, Micke Callin 7.094/267.33; Jimmy Ålund 6.767/329.08, Michael Malmgren 6.864/327.10 Jan's motor zinged off the line and he shut off. Big improvement for Harald, the Merc went close to the right guardrail but he stayed with it and moved up the ladder. Magnus back on the form you'd expect, fourth into the sixes. An improvement for Kenneth but he stayed in fifth place at that point. Tremendous pass for Richard, the car running along the centre line for a while but he stayed with it and into #1 spot. Almost a carbon copy of his last run for Micke C, off the throttle and chutes out before the finish line, a slight improvement but stayed in place. Great pairing between Jimmy and Michael, both straight as you like and no shake, Jimmy back into #1 spot and Michael to #3. Qualifying after this session:
16:10 FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Andy Carter 4.866/469.55, Janne Ahonen 5.597/351.49; Urs Erbacher 5.044/451.31, Risto Poutiainen 6.750/203.01; Stig Neergaard 5.892/265.37, Micke Kågered 8.792/122.56; Lex Joon 8.059/162.51, Jari Halinen 5.511/424.42; Timo Lehtimäki 8.249/118.26 bye Great pass from Andy, blackstriping most of his lane, smoke from the car in the second half and looked as if he backed off just a touch early but blasting into #1 spot. Good weekend opener for Janne, off the throttle just past half track but good for #3 spot at that point. Urs almost back from his burnout before Risto pulled forward for his burnout but both back at the same time. Urs drove through shake and then a cylinder went out, stayed with it but flame and smoke at the top end. Risto's tyres smoked in the middle third and he was off the throttle before half track. Micke hit shake and when he pedalled one of his chutes deployed. Nice looking run for Stig to begin with but then he had cylinders mixing up in the second half and he got off the throttle. Blackstriping for Lex off the start line and then tyre smoke at about 200 feet, Lex pedalled and his blower belt came off. Jari's tyres started to haze in the middle third and he was off the throttle before the stripe. The start line safety team went down to the top end after this pairing, no word on what had happened. Anita still in the pits after lifting the blower earlier so Timo took the bye. Great-looking run to begin with for Timo, header flames high in the air even in strong sunlight, but the tyres went up in smoke at about 300 feet. Qualifying after this session:
15:30 Super Gas qualifying top five after session 2:
Stefan Eisenhauer into #2 spot in the third pairing. Next up is the second FIA qualifying session. 15:20 European Top Gas Serie qualifying top five after session 2:
Jesper Thiel improved in the fourth pair of the session but stayed in #2, in the other lane Gert-Jan Laseur shut off. Nice run for Riccardo Giliberto in the penultimate pair of the session put him into #3 spot. Anna-Lena Asplund improved but stayed in #5. 15:05 Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 2:
Graham Balchin into #1 spot in the first pair. Thomas Granica into the top five with the first ever seven-second pass on German soil by a German SSB rider, well done Thomas! Scott Baldwin improved next pair but stayed in place. Garry Bowe pushed Thomas down to #6 towards the end of the session. Two pairs later Rich Stubbins moved up into #2. Phil Wood into the top five at #5. 14:50 Public Race qualifying top five after session 2:
14:40 Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 2:
Thomas Weikum into #3 spot in the second pairing of the session. Rhiannon Bellenie took the #3 spot from him in the very next pair whilst Carlo Heym moved into #5. Birgitte Bremnes into #3 four pairings later. 14:30 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Esko Raisvuo 5.986/409.54, Paul Ingar Udtian 5.574/400.11; Peter Schöfer 5.689/406.62, Rob Turner 5.693/389.70; Dennis Habermann 8.178/168.85, Fred Hanssen no time; Derek Flynn 5.526/402.70, Krister Johansson 5.456/416.60; Dave Wilson 5.483/413.20, Timo Habermann 5.440/418.53 Esko's car left the line gently but visibly picked up from about 300 feet. Paul Ingar launched as if shot from a gun, looking good but shut off a touch early and had the chutes out before the finish line. Rob visibly left on Peter, you don't often see Peter bested like that, the Bavarian Thunder car was catching on Rob towards the top end. Rob's car made a grunting noise at about half track but he stayed with it, maybe shut off just a touch early. Good to see Fred back after his crash at Mantorp, Brad Hadman having done a great job on the chassis. Little chance of Fred going off the end of this track at least. Good to see our good buddy Shaun Ward safely home from service overseas and working with Dennis. Dennis sat in stage a long time with the revs up, Fred's car wasn't moving and the Autostart bulbed him. Off Dennis went, a little wiggle at about 300 feet and the blower panel burst. Werner Habermann on the start line looked a bit upset and had a shout to no-one in particular, probably felt a bit better for it though. Great side-by-side Nitro runs for Derek and Krister, Derek looked to have cylinders out in the second half and was off the throttle a touch early. Grumpy had a cylinder out all the way down so a very good run for him, Timo had a big jump on Grumpy at the line and stayed ahead for #1 spot. Qualifying after this session:
14:15 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Jürgen Nagel 11.477/141.30 bye; Danny Bellio 7.920/198.50 bye; Jarmo Kuutniemi 6.388/323.06, Dan Larsen 5.976/388.52; Leif Andréasson shut off, Ulf Leanders 6.946/217.41 bye Jürgen's tyres shook and smoked at the hit, the FC turned hard left and Jürgen got off the throttle. Similar sort of story for Danny only shake instead of smoke, Danny pedalled and tried again and then feathered the throttle in the middle third. Big holeshot for Dan although it doesn't matter in qualifying, straight run and first into the fives with a good baseline. Jarmo's FC was heading for the centre line and ran very close to it for a while but he stayed with it and then shut off a touch early. Leif pulled through the water but then the FC sat where it was for about ten seconds and Leif shut it off. Leif got out of the car and took a look at the front around the dry sump tank. Ulf took the bye, the back of the FC was squatting down and it was looking good but then the tyres shook about 100 feet out and Uld haf to pedal a couple of times, eventually getting off it before the stripe. Qualifying after this session:
14:05 FIA Pro Modified qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Rolf Vogel shut off bye; Jürgen Schomann no time bye; Johnny Sand Jorgensen 6.908/323.01, Marcus Hilt 10.377/203.10; Ingo Rolla 8.240/250.21, Henri Joosten 7.013/331.34; Robert Koper 6.703/342.19, Marco Maurischat 6.672/311.66; Tomi Pöntinen 6.598/324.56, Marc Meihuizen 6.212/374.00; Rolf Ammann 6.500/352.52, Norbert Kuno 12.885/147.74; Graham Ellis 7.362/312.33, Roger Johansson 6.395/361.37; Micke Lindahl 6.300/364.16, Urban Johansson 7.098/236.48; Bruno Bader 6.262/360.18, Mats Eriksson 6.206/376.99; Micke Gullqvist 6.259/351.32, Andy Robinson 6.175/371.45 Now would be a good time to say a big Hello to the Eurodragsterholics, especially Bostic and Markus Ek who are tuned in from Sweden. Rolf shut off on the way back from the burnout. Weird run for Jürgen, the motor sounded rough off the line then something came off the car - from here it looked like the blower pulley. The track crew were picking bits off the track for quite a distance, word from trackside was that they were picking up pieces of blower belt so maybe I was right about the pulley. On the re-start Marcus' 'Vette appeared to be hesitant to smoke the tyres. Big burnout by Johnny which won him a big cheer from the crowd. Marcus paid for it at the hit as his tyres went up in smoke, a couple of pedals and off it. Nice run for Johnny, heading for the centre line for a moment but had it covered. Good to see Ingo back and he announced his reappearance with a big burnout including pointing at the grandstand, maybe for a wave. Nice run for Henri, the Chevy hooked up and went, Ingo's Avenger looked lazy off the line and he was off the throttle by half track. The UK's Trevor Graves working with Robert K. Eurodragster.com Marco M with a repaired front on his 'Vette in neat camouflage paint. More to come from the 'Vette, too, as it left quite gently and then picked up about 100 feet out. Nice straight run by Robert and his crew looked absolutely delighted. Huge screaming burnout by Tomi raised a cheer from the crowd. Marc carried the front left wheel easily for a hundred feet, no shake, straight as you like and blowing away his Personal Best for #1 qualifier, well done Marc! Hesitation off the line for Tomi then the Camaro's motor started to smoke in the second half but he stayed with it judging by the ET. Big cheer for the home boy as Norbert pulled a big burnout. Front end up and shake for Norbert, a pedal and off the throttle. Languid launch but hard run for Rolf, the Coupe looked to be running on rails until about 1000 feet then a twitch so maybe shut off just a touch early. Big burnout for Roger J but then a huge burnout for Graham, very well-judged and brought the crowd to its feet. Tyres up on smoke off the line, Graham pedalled and the Bird got way out of shape, Graham pedalled again and got it straight then gave it another go, backing off in the second half. Picture-perfect run for Roger, no sign of shake and a good baseline. Great run for Micke L, no sign of shake and straight as you like. New Leanders clutch for Urban, the car was heading left off the line but Urban stayed with it until he took out the eighth-mile reflectors. Superb match-up between Bruno and Mats, the cars side-by-side all the way, Bruno's 'Vette running close to the centre line but he stayed with it. Storming pass for Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy, front left wheel up easily for 250 feet, no shake, into #1. Nice run for Micke but having been holeshot by Gus he was a bit of a spectator in this one. I'll have that 50 SEK note back thank you Christer! Qualifying after this session:
13:10 Simon has posted his first set of pit notes which you can check out via the Event Index. FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Jonas Engdahl 7.631/248.89 bye; Harald Sturhan 11.315/164.79, Kenneth Söderström 7.054/314.82; Micke Callin 7.099/255.90, Jan Palmqvist 7.079/287.49; Michael Malmgren 6.954/326.46, Richard Sundblom 6.838/327.70; Magnus Hansson 8.709/169.69, Jimmy Ålund 6.804/328.93 1.101 sixty for Jonas and off the throttle and chute out before the finish. Harald's Merc sat there with its tyres spinning at the hit, he got off the throttle. In the other lane a nice baseline pass for Kenneth. Big wheelie for Micke C but he stayed with it, off the throttle and chute out early. Richard's car headed for the centre line at the hit but he stayed with it and pulled it straight, Michael looked to drive through a tiny bit of shake. The back of Jimmy's car was squatting down in the first couple of hundred feet and the car just hooked up and went, Magnus shut off early, no visible reason. Qualifying after this session:
13:00 This afternoon's action started with the Eagle Racing two-seat dragster driven by Shelley Pearson and in the passenger seat was none other than UK photo-journalist and honorary Eurodragster.com staff member Andy Willsheer. Shelley drove Fat Wallet to an 8.257/205.70. Next up is the rest of the first FIA qualifying cycle starting with Pro Stock. 12:05 Nitro Bike Thunder open practice (left lane first): Rene van den Berg 7.209/311.48, Lorenz Stäuble 6.680/344.80; Stefan Iwanowitsch 9.366/227.68, Ismo Mänpäa 10.986/176.17; Kai Selkamäa 14.165/97.10, Hans Olav Olstad 6.880/330.23; Michael Heisler 8.754.170.38 bye A great 0.007 reaction for Michael Heisler. We're now on a break until 13:00. During this time we will have a fiddle with the webcam location so it may stop broadcasting for a short period. 11:55 Pro Bike qualifying after session 1:
11:40 FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Timo Lehtimäki 7.582/162.18 bye; Jari Halinen 9.0951/138.40, Urs Erbacher 10.024/128.91; Micke Kågered 9.154/146.09, Lex Joon 8.997/143.36; Anita Mäkelä 5.224/393.49, Stig Neergaard 9.245/134.39; Andy Carter 11.723/108.88 bye In the end we are running over the quarter mile here at Hockenheim. 0.934 to sixty feet for Timo and the tyres were visibly shaking, cylinder out at about 200 feet, a pedal and off the throttle. Paired tyre shake for Jari and Urs, 0.918 to sixty for Jari and 0.915 for Urs, both off the throttle by about 150 feet. Another pair of .9 sixty foot times in next pair, shake for Micke just pass the Tree and he shut off. Lex got to the Tree reasonably cleanly but then his tyres went up in smoke, a pedal and more smoke so Lex got off the throttle. 0.906 to sixty feet for Anita, quickest so far of 0.895 for Stig. Stig hit shake and shut off by about 200 feet, Anita's dragster stuck to the track and she stayed with it, very close to the centre line at 1000' feet then a flash of flame and a bang as the blower relief panel blew and a new altitude record for a blower belt. 0.879 to sixty for Andy, shake and tyres hazing and Andy was off the gas. Qualifying after this session:
11:15 Comp Eliminator qualifying top five after session 1:
11:00 Super Comp qualifying top five after session 1:
We're not sure that Eurodragster.com sponsor Filippos Papafilippou has entirely got the idea of Super Comp, a very good but very naughty 7.184/305.09 on his first pass. 10:30 Super Gas qualifying top five after session 1:
10:20 European Top Gas Serie qualifying top five after session 1:
10:10 Super Street Bike qualifying top five after session 1:
9:50 Public Race qualifying top five after session 1:
9:40 Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 1:
9:00 Good morning and welcome from the Rico Anthes Quartermile for our coverage of the 2009 NitrOlympX brought to you in association with American Car Imports. The Webster Race Engineering/Lex Joon Racing US Tour 2009 webcam is on-line and broadcasting a picture every sixty seconds. It's a nice day here at Hockenheim, sun and cloud and already quite warm. Despite a lot of help from the timing crew we were not able to link our laptop to the timing system so we will be doing Sportsman qualifying by hand, which means that we will be tracking top fives in Sportsman qualifying. Junior Dragster is about to start, stay tuned. Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |