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19:45

Today's pictures have now been posted, as well as more of Simon's pit notes. You can check out both via the Event Index page. There are 100 pictures in total so if you don't see all the thumbnails when you load the gallery page then click on your Browser's Refresh button.

17:10

Roger Goring closed the 2009 NitrOlympX with a 6.383/402.70 in the Firestorm Jet Funny Car.

That's the end of the racing, so now we are going to work on today's pictures and Simon is working on more pit notes. Stay tuned.

17:10

Nitro Funny Car session 4:

Gary Page 5.827/330.58 def. John Spuffard 11.973/126.79

Spuff away first 0.137 to 0.176 and the better sixty foot time 0.961 to 0.980 but from then on it was all Gary as Spuff's tyres blazed and he shut off. 3.790/346.28 at half track but a cylinder out at that point and shut off at about 1000 feet.

17:00

FIA Top Fuel Dragster final

Andy Carter 8.277/151.59 bye, Risto Poutiainen shut off

Going into this race Andy would be Champion if he won the event and set Low ET; if he won the event but didn't set Low ET then he would just have to put in one qualifying pass at the FIA European Finals. All this subject to official ratification of course. Word had it before the race that Risto had problems and would only be staging for points, certainly the team had a thrash to make it and were putting on their crew shirts in the starting area. Short burnout for Risto, no reverse and had to be pushed back by his team. Risto then shut off when he got back to the line. 0.887 to sixty for Andy and off the throttle at about 200 feet. No Low ET so the title goes to the next race.

16:50

FIA Top Methanol Dragster final

Peter Schöfer 5.474/423.51 def. Timo Habermann 5.589/409.30

Timo got away first 0.051 to 0.063 and then it was all Peter: 0.947 to 0.961 at sixty feet, 3.615/341.01 at half track to Timo's 3.673/329.73 and first to the stripe by 0.1032. Two clean passes with no sign of shake for either.

16:45

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car final

Dan Larsen 5.873/387.34 def. Dany Bellio 6.091/389.42 DQ

-0.035 red light for Danny giving this one to Dan who at the last race was talking about chucking it all in and taking up golf. Bet he doesn't feel that way now. 1.000 to sixty feet for Dan, 3.857/311.12 at the eighth. Danny sounded to pedal briefly past the Tree but he was already the runner-up by then.

16:40

FIA Pro Modified final

Micke Lindahl 6.209/374.33 def. Andy Robinson 6.275/341.01

Gus' motor sounded to be misfiring in stage. A tremendous 0.001 RT for Micke to 0.089 for Gus. 1.060 to sixty feet for Micke and 1.068 for Gus, both going straight and no shake marks in either lane. 4.088/293.71 at half track for Micke to Gus' 4.106/293.75 and Micke first to the stripe by 0.1549.

16:35

FIA Pro Stock final

Jimmy Ålund 6.812/328.28 def. Richard Sundblom 6.934/327.49 DQ

Subject to official ratification Jimmy is 2009 FIA European Pro Stock Champion regardless of the result of this race. -0.105 red for Richard and that was his race over. 0.016 RT for Jimmy, 1.032 to sixty feet, 4.396/260.25 at half track and Jimmy's sixth Championship in a row. Well done Jimmy!

16:30

Sportsman/Exhibition final results

Comp Eliminator: Martin Lundkvist (8.10) 10.061/275.88 def. Robin Sattler (9.65) 9.120/229.56 red light
Super Comp: Rene Ehrismann 8.944/225.04 def. Andre Müller 8.939/247.02 red light
Super Gas: Guido Uhlir 10.027/229.71 def. Mike Poser 10.019/223.98 deep stage foul
Junior Dragster: Thomas Weikum (9.00) 9.026/112.07 def. Lena Romahn (8.45) 8.476/125.02
Public Race: Markus Stegbauer 11.695/198.73 def. Marcus Himmler 13.839/123.72 red light

European Top Gas Serie: Gert-Jan Laseur 7.657/276.58 def. Jesper Thiel 7.754/270.69
Nitro Bike Thunder: Ian King 7.657/193.29 bye, Lorenz Stäuble broke
Pro Bike Eliminator: Len Paget 7.518/282.45 def. Haralambos Bousinis 7.762/278.36
Super Street Bike: Richard Stubbins 7.494/307.91 def. Phil Wood 7.767/301.62

15:50

Super Gas eliminations round 3 winners:

Mike Poser 9.881/211.07, Guido Uhlir 9.977/227.02

15:45

Public Race eliminations round 4 winners:

Markus Stegbauer 11.806/170.77, Marcus Himmler 13.341/125.94 bye

Super Street Bike eliminations round 4 winners:

Richard Stubbins 7.464/308.25, Phil Wood 7.723/308.65

European Top Gas Serie eliminations round 3 winners:

Gert-Jan Laseur 7.530/289.95, Jesper Thiel 7.552/277.93

15:35

Comp Eliminator eliminations round 3 winners:

Martin Lundkvist (8.10) 7.746/243.92, Robin Sattler (9.65) 9.111/216.67

15:25

Junior Dragster eliminations round 3 winners:

Lena Romahn (8.40) 8.551/124.12, Thomas Weikum (9.00) 9.090/110.78

Public Race eliminations round 3 winners:

Markus Stegbauer 12.511/153.99, Manuel Kreiter 12.109/122.76, Marcus Himmler 11.969/170.22

Super Gas eliminations round 3 winners:

Werner Zudrell 9.923/212.48, Guido Uhlir 10.255/224.05, Mike Poser 9.933/206.07, Annett Müller 9.921/207.15

Super Comp eliminations round 3 winners:

Rene Ehrismann 8.992/208.76, Andre Müller 8.943/241.53

15:15

FIA Top Fuel Dragster eliminations round 2:

Risto Poutiainen 5.215/363.43 def. Janne Ahonen 5.274/367.86

Risto on his way back from his burnout before Janne's motor fired. Short burnout for Janne and got back quite quickly so Risto not having to wait. Risto away first 0.082 to 0.104, cylinder out off the line, Janne had the better sixty foot 0.924 to 0.931 and the better eighth 3.413 although his tyres had started to smoke by then, 3.415/390.19 to the eighth for Risto. Janne tried to drive through the tyre spin but it wasn't working and he shut off, Risto also looked to shut off early but he had overhauled Janne by that point.

Andy Carter 4.985/450.74 def. Micke Kågered 6.741/209.26

No reverse for Micke so his crew pushed him back from the burnout, can't have been easy in this heat. Micke just away first 0.103 to 0.104, Andy had the much better sixty foot time 0.884 to 0.910, 3.306 to the eighth for Andy with tyres hazing but he stayed with it, Micke's blower belt broke before the eighth and Andy took the win by 1.7556.

15:00

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car eliminations round 2:

Danny Bellio 6.059/380.22 def. Jarmo Kuutniemi 6.284/290.14 DQ

Jarmo in stage and on the revs a good while before Danny moved in. -0.139 red for Jarmo then handed the race to Danny. Danny's FC sounded to hesitate briefly, 1.020 to sixty feet and 3.984/303.09 at the eighth and into the final. Jarmo's blower burst panel blew again at about 1000 feet and the body relief panel blew off to the right this time.

Dan Larsen 5.865/393.87 def. Ulf Leanders 9.490/143.36

1.005 to sixty feet for Dan, 1.112 for Ulf, Ulf hit shake past the Tree and tried pedalling but the Charger started to make some big moves left and right and Ulf shut off. 3.867/314.27 at half track for Dan and into the final with lane choice.

14:55

FIA Top Methanol Dragster eliminations round 2:

Peter Schöfer 5.501/420.47 def. Dave Wilson 5.751/398.93

Peter out of the hole first 0.080 to 0.113 and had a better sixty foot time 0.947 to Grumpy's 0.990. Grumpy's tyres started to haze at about 400 feet, a brief pedal from Grumpy but Peter was on one and Grumpy wasn't catching him. Looked like Grumpy shut off a touch early.

Timo Habermann 5.528/411.86 def. Krister Johansson 7.898/192.96

0.061 RT for Timo and 0.064 for Krister, Krister's tyres up in smoke just off the line, he tried pedalling but it wasn't working and the run turned into a second burnout. 0.936 to sixty feet for Timo and 3.626/334.71 at the eighth, 2.3731 in it at the stripe.

14:50

FIA Pro Stock eliminations round 2:

Jimmy Ålund 6.801/328.73 def. Magnus Hansson 7.079/322.10

0.029 RT for Jimmy, 0.040 for Magnus, Magnus' car headed briefly for the centre line but he stayed with it, 1.025 to sixty for Jimmy and 1.117 for Magnus. Magnus just plain out-accelerated. 4.387 to the eighth for Jimmy and Magnus shut off just before the stripe.

Richard Sundblom 6.844/327.54 def. Michael Malmgren 6.916/326.12

Michael got a big advantage off the line 0.044 to 0.114 but Richard's incrementals were better, 1.045 to sixty to Michael's 1.073, 4.425 at the eighth to Michael's 4.478 and Richard first to the stripe by 0.0021 or 19.02 centimetres!

14:45

FIA Pro Modified eliminations round 3:

Micke Lindahl 6.270/372.15 bye, Mats Eriksson shut off

Mats shut off and pulled over to the side of the track after his burnout. Lena Perés tells us that Mats had no oil pressure. The track fire crew sped to Mats' aid and they, the fire crew's 4x4 and Mats' car were all on the track as Micke took his bye, not really sure that was the best thing which could have happened, surely Micke would not have minded shutting off and waiting. Anyway he took the bye, 1.082 to sixty feet and 4.133/292.64 at the eighth.

Andy Robinson 6.215/370.37 def. Urban Johansson 11.276/125.35

Big jump for Andy off the line 0.041 to 0.199, Urban had the better sixty foot time 1.061 to 1.082, Andy looked to have a cylinder out for a moment but it cleared, meanwhile Urban hit shake and tried pedalling but to no avail. 4.088/295.91 to the eighth for Andy and into the final with lane choice.

14:35

Nitro Funny Car session 3:

Gary Page 6.022/298.47 def. John Spuffard 7.935/168.65

Spuff away first 0.149 to 0.162, storming sixty foot time for Spuff of 0.936 to 1.007. Spuff's tyres up in smoke at about 200 feet, Gary had a cylinder go out which pushed him towards the guardrail but he stayed on it until just after half track.

14:30

Nitro Bike Thunder qualifying session 4 (left lane first):

Rene van den Berg 7.587/284.15, Martijn de Haas 12.252/146.52; Job Heezen 6.932/308.82, Kai Selkamäaa 7.495/286.09; Eric Teboul 12.659/184.66, Ian King 6.451/353.67; Ismo Mäenpäa 10.287/283.85 bye; Hans Olav Olstad 12.445/no speed, Lorenz Stäuble 7.088/276.09; Michael Heisler 10.669/131.75 bye

14:15

European Top Gas Serie eliminations round 2 winners:

Gert-Jan Laseur 7.545/288.18, Anna-Lena Asplund 7.956/259.13, Jesper Thiel 7.650/273.97, Cord Albers 8.406/257.41

Pro Bike Eliminator eliminations round 2 winners:

Len Paget 7.460/280.88, Haralambos Bousinis 7.943/269.82

14:05

Junior Dragster eliminations round 2 winners:

Fabien Dubois (7.90) 7.898/97.68, Thomas Weikum (9.00) 9.044/103.31, Lena Romahn (8.40) 8.495/125.29, Noah Stutz (9.30) 9.366/113.23

Super Gas eliminations round 2 winners:

Werner Zudrell 10.274/176.27, Sascha Pretzch 10.100/152.32 after re-run, Annett Müller 9.938/206.75, Gerd Habermann 9.955/213.96, Mike Poser 9.868/223.35, Jan Hardekopf 10.163/198.86, Stefan Eisenhauer 10.227/190.14, Guido Uhlir 9.988/232.38

Super Street Bike eliminations round 3 winners:

Graham Balchin 7.625/311.53 bye (Ondrey Klimciw no show), Scott Baldwin 7.740/302.92, Phil Wood 7.763/308.56, Richard Stubbins 7.529/308.47

12:45

Public Race eliminations round 2 winners:

Marcus Himmler 12.154/147.80, Thomas Helmbrecht 12.774/155.28, Martin Weikum 12.192/179.59, Jens Dahms 12.109/172.32, Manuel Kreiter 12.330/132.92, Markus Stegbauer 11.649/185.42

Alex Zernik ran a perfect 12.000 in his race against Martin Weikum.

Super Comp eliminations round 2 winners:

Rene Ehrismann 8.938/240.70, Jürgen Schubert 8.961/246.21, Peter Ellguth 8.995/248.52, Andre Müller 8.977/241.05

Comp Eliminator eliminations round 2 winners:

Martin Lundkvist (8.10) 7.491/281.82, Patricia Kästner (7.51) 7.252/294.79, Stefan Winter (8.32) 8.301/249.09, Robin Sattler (9.65) 9.175/216.69

We're on lunch break now, racing starts again at 13:45.

12:30

FIA Top Methanol Dragster eliminations round 1 re-run:

Timo Habermann 6.081/237.23 bye, Derek Flynn no show

No word on Derek's non-appearance. Short burnout for Timo then 0.090 RT, 0.932 sixty feet, 3.602/335.27 to the eighth and then off the throttle and chutes out.

12:25

FIA Top Fuel Dragster eliminations round 1:

Keep hitting Refresh!

Risto Poutiainen 4.959/472.71 def. Urs Erbacher 6.145/258.03

Urs away first 0.052 to 0.089, Risto had the better sixty foot 0.900 to 0.946, Urs' dragster started blackstriping about 200 feet out and then the tyres blazed and Urs was off the throttle by half track. 3.314/391.95 to half track for Risto, looked like a cylinder out in the second half, but he took a comfortable win to keep the Championship race alive.

Andy Carter 4.897/476.97 def. Timo Lehtimäki 6.792/198.82

Andy got the jump 0.108 to 0.139 and had the much better sixty foot time 0.875 to Timo's 0.923. Almost a carbon copy of Urs' run for Timo as the tyres went up in smoke about 200 feet out and Timo was off the throttle. 3.382/393.23 at half track for Andy and in to the next round to meet the winner of the next race.

Micke Kågered 5.041/384.66 def. Lex Joon 6.341/231.99

Micke gestured to his Crew Chief to come and take a look at something before staging, not clear what the problem was. Lex away first 0.074 to 0.146, Micke had the better sixty foot time 0.911 to 0.924 and then guess what - same place, Lex's tyres up in smoke. Lex stayed with it as long as he dared but had to get off it as the MPM Oil car made a hard move to the right and from here looked to get very close to the right guardrail. 3.328/402.63 at the eighth for Micke but the Bahco dragster threw its blower belt at the finish. The track crew are just out checking the top end.

Janne Ahonen 5.526/356.10 def. Stig Neergaard 5.525/287.72

What a race this was! Janne away first 0.095 to 0.184, Stig had the better sixty foot time 0.911 to 0.948. Stig going great guns, you know what I'm going to say next - Janne's tyres up in smoke about 200 feet out. Janne got off the throttle then Stig's blower belt broke, Janne must have head Stig's motor die as he got back on the throttle and overhauled Stig by 0.0888.

11:40

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car eliminations round 1:

Danny Bellio 5.855/395.45 def. Leif Andréasson 5.951/381.76 DQ

-0.021 red for Leif handed it to Danny whose incrementals were better anyway. 0.974 to sixty feet, 3.846/311.57 at the eighth, Leif there first by 0.0087 by dint of his jump start but Danny the one into the next round.

Ulf Leanders 6.008/387.55 def. Jürgen Nagel 9.236/153.20

Jürgen's motor started and then shut off, Ulf was back in the staging area before Jürgen's motor fired again. Ulf pulled a long burnout but then waited patiently as Jürgen pulled a tiny burnout and stood on the brakes. Jürgen got back from his burnout in moments, well done to both racers for their considerate behaviour. Big holeshot for Jürgen 0.080 to 0.217 but that was about his last involvement in this one. 0.957 sixty foot time for Ulf then feathering the throttle for shake. Meanwhile Jürgen looked to hit shake then his right bank started to smoke, a pedal and then a lot more smoke from the motor, Jürgen shut off and put the 'chutes out before half track.

Dan Larsen 5.936/390.19 bye, Per Håkon Tröa no show

Per Håkon broke on Friday so Dan on a bye into the next round. Would he go for lane choice? 1.046 to sixty feet, 3.920/310.15 at the eighth, taking a long way round but lane choice in the next round against Ulf Leanders.

Jarmo Kuutniemi 11.874/109.59 bye

#1 qualifier bye for Jarmo and again the question of whether to go for lane choice. The answer was no, 1.005 to sixty feet and off the throttle.

11:25

Simon has posted today's first set of pit notes.

FIA Top Methanol Dragster eliminations round 1:

Dave Wilson 5.419/411.55 def. Fred Hanssen 5.550/408.84

Fred visibly away first 0.053 to 0.168 and the better sixty foot 0.961 to 0.980. Grumpy was creeping up on Fred even though blackstriping and had the better eighth 3.626/361.07 to 3.642/335.64. Grumpy had a cylinder out in the second half but took the win by 0.0167 with new Low ET of the weekend. The rear end of Fred's dragster locked up on the shutdown area so we had a brief hold for retrieval.

Peter Schöfer 7.714/189.13 def. Dennis Habermann 5.594/413.35 DQ

Dennis threw this one away with a -0.035 red light. 0.074 RT for Peter, off the throttle after 330 feet although not clear whether there was a problem or whether Peter realised that he had won. Either way he's in the next round against Dave Wilson. Team member Gittli Koller subsequently got in touch to let us know that the blower belt had broken so a bullet dodged there.

Derek Flynn shut off, Timo Habermann shut off

The briefest of burnouts for Eurodragster.com sponsor Derek. Both racers ordered to shut off after the burnout as the stage light had stuck on in the right lane. The cars were towed back to the pits to cool down and turn round.

Krister Johansson 5.633/404.28 def. Paul Ingar Udtian 5.825/327.10

Krister away first 0.011 to 0.020, Paul Ingar's sixty foot was better 1.027 to 1.028 and he still had the advantage at the eighth 3.741/337.66 to 3.723/333.12, Krister had a cylinder out which pushed him towards the centre line but he stayed with it and overhauled Paul who appeared to shut off a touch early. 0.2011 at the stripe.

10:50

FIA Pro Stock eliminations round 1:

Magnus Hansson 6.903/322.52 def. Jan Palmqvist 6.959/324.80

Magnus got the jump on Jan 0.042 to 0.108 and the slightly quicker sixty foot time 1.044 to 1.048. Both cars straight down the middle of their lanes, Magnus 4.450 at the eighth to 4.504.

Richard Sundblom 6.797/328.08 def. Kenneth Söderström 7.197/311.88

Kenneth got a big jump on the line 0.052 to 0.101 but we'll have to guess all the other incrementals as they cleared from the screen as the next pair started up. Richard had visibly caught Kenneth by 200 feet or so and extended his lead all the way down.

Michael Malmgren 6.842/326.51 def. Micke Callin 7.034/319.54

Big burndown before this race. Visible holeshot for Micke C 0.037 to 0.095 but Michael had the better sixty foot 1.050 to 1.052, much better eighth 4.417 to 4.537 and looked like Micke C shut off a touch early.

Jimmy Ålund 6.772/329.28 def. Harald Sturhan 7.180/311.70

Another long burndown. 0.008 RT for Harald to Jimmy's 0.072, but it was all Jimmy's after that, 1.012 sixty foot to 1.095, 4.363/261.03 at the eighth to Harald's 4.634/246.57 and Jimmy first to ths stripe by 0.3445.

10:30

FIA Pro Modified eliminations round 2:

Mats Eriksson 6.141/379.42 def. Tomi Pöntinen 9.316/158.73

Mats away first 0.062 to 0.158, better sixty foot time 1.056 to 1.069, Tomi was off the throttle by about 250 feet although no visible problem and that was the end of that.

Micke Lindahl 6.269/363.73 def. Micke Gullqvist 6.938/253.78

0.056 to 0.069 in Micke L's favour off the line, 1.037 sixty foot for Micke L to Micke G's 1.116. Micke's G's Chevy made some moves about its lane kicking up dust from a Super Street Bike clean-up, 4.119/288.41 at half track for Micke L, some smoke from both cars on the finish line but Micke L there first by 0.6823.

Andy Robinson 6.188/355.95 def. Bruno Bader 6.310/361.13

Gus away first 0.046 to 0.084, Bruno had the better sixty foot time 1.020 to 1.041. Andy's front left wheel was up for about 200 feet. For a while it looked very close but Andy after Gus got to the eighth 4.044/294.71 to 4.117/287.30 he was clearly in the lead and won by 0.1607.

Urban Johansson 6.209/372.34 def. Norbert Kuno 7.479/221.67 DQ

-0.006 red for Norbert and his race was done. 0.088 RT for Urban, 1.038 sixty foot and 4.083/294.79 at the eighth.

10:15

Super Street Bike Eliminator eliminations round 2 winners:

Graham Balchin 7.661/309.97, Dave Smith 7.734/293.83, Phil Wood 7.904/301.75, Scott Baldwin 7.703/302.29, Ondrey Klymciw 7.981/303.81, Thomas Granica 7.979/299.17, Garry Bowe 7.782/291.19, Rich Stubbins 7.687/305.44

9:40

Junior Dragster eliminations round 1 winners:

Fabien Dubois (7.90) 7.865/115.79, Pirmin Schmid (11.82) 11.895/86.27, Sally Ekerst (9.46) 9.515/109.73, Lena Romahn (8.40) 8.435/124.12, Jessica Gantenbein (7.90) 8.265/124.85, Carlo Heym (7.99) 9.093/83.63, Thomas Weikum (9.00) 9.081/113.03, Noah Stutz (9.30) 9.439/109.39

Pro Bike Eliminator eliminations round 1 winners:

Len Paget 7.582/274.80 bye, Stavros Svrachnos 7.720/282.04, Christian Jäger 7.774/264.56, Haralambos Bousinis 7.671/270.66

9:15

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.

Another beautiful day here at Hockenheim, very warm with high and thin cloud cover.

The usual Raceday Hello to Eurodragster.com US correspondents Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman who are tuned in from the Institute of Advanced Leisure Studies in New Hampshire. Hope you are enjoying the coverage guys and Ed please note that Simon is on €10 to work the name Barbara Ann into the pit notes.

We must say a huge Thank You to Peter Schöfer Racing who have fed and watered us for the last two nights, thanks especially for staying up late to cook for us last night as we couldn't go to their pit until the Night Show had ended. Thanks very much indeed guys.

We kick off at 9:30 with Sportsman eliminations and then the first round of Pro eliminations is due to start at 10:15 with round two of Pro Modified. Stay tuned.