2010 Sunoco Drag Challenge
Sunday
|
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 18:20 Pro Stock Bike winner Fredrik Fredlund (below right) said that the team have had problems all season with the bike bogging and it happened again in the final, where the bike just died off the start line. Fredrik said that they think it is connected to an electrical failure,�possibly a cable shaking loose. He said that he was at first angry but that he soon realised he had won the final anyhow as Ulf had pulled a red light. Fredrik�started the timing system and left the start line by his own power and so won. It was a very long time since Fredrik's last event win and he is�very happy. The team has worked very hard all weekend he said that and a win to end it is just great! Supertwin winner Lorenz Stäuble (below centre) is very happy and commented that it was a difficult event for him,�and not an easy win (he qualified #2 after Per Bengtsson). Lorenz said that he really needed the points and thinks that he might be in the lead by a few points. He made no changes from the semi-final to the final - he ran 6.81 in the semi and 7.00 in the final. Top Fuel�Bike winner Peter Svensson (below left) was outstanding all weekend and�although he never came close to repeating the�European records from last year he ran a great deal quicker than his opponents. Peter said "I think we deserved the win" and also�commented that in the final he had some luck too. The bike smoked the tyre at 80 metres, he got on and off the throttle and managed it! Peter said "I found the exact�balance with the throttle without overpowering for the last part of the track". It was also�his fastest run so far�at Gardermoen�at 373 kmh.The team had�increased the power mid-track for the final and in the end, with Peter's stunning riding job, they pulled it off. 
Patrik has sent his final update to today's gallery which you can view by clicking here. 17:45 UEM classes final results: Pro Stock Bike Fredrik Fredlund no time def. Ulf �gge 7.381/288 red light (-0.0375) What a final!�While Ulf redlit, the bike bogged right off the line for Fredrik leaving him standing soon after. Fredrik the winner at Gardermoen although in a very unexpected way. Supertwin Lorenz Stäuble 7.001/280.16 def.�Hans-Olav Olstad 16.41/28.12 Lo worked the bike down the track while Hans Olav did not enjoy the fast run we would have wished to see. I gather the points standings are going to be close between Job Heezen, Hans Olav Olstad and Lorenz Stäuble Top Fuel Bike Peter Svensson� 6.644/373.06 def.�Rene van den Berg 6.761/339.03 Wow, what a final run for Peter - he smoked the tyre big time early and managed to go on and off the throttle and get back on top of it. Great riding job! At the finish line the time difference was 0.086. Great weekend for Rene as well, consistent beyond belief and it gave him a well deserved runner-up position at Gardermoen this time. Top Doorslammer Niclas Andersson 6.58/346 def David Olsson 9.77/143 Shaky ride for both. David almost in the guardrail in the left lane while Niclas shook the tyres big time. Final ladders courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen: Top Fuel Bike ladder Supertwin ladder Pro Stock Bike ladder Top Doorslammer ladder Comp Eliminator ladder 
16:45 Arvid Grødem and the Sunoco Westside Racing FIA Top Methanol Funny
Car team are at Gardermoen to�make exhibition passest and it gives the team a chance to test some before the next Championship round at Hockenheim next week.�
Arvid ran 6.31 with some tyres shake, but yesterday ran 6.03. He said this morning that they are still getting accustomed to the new�car and have needed to cure�some minor problems so far.
They are in the�process�of��stepping up the performance. Arvid also says�that while running he still just sits and waits for something to happen (like it normally did with his old car). "I just need
to reprogram and drop thoughts like that and I think I can do that soon", he said.
16:25 Patrik has sent another update to today's gallery which you can view by clicking here. 16:00 Åsa writes: Peter Svensson (below left), who is in the Top Fuel Bike final against Rene van den Berg, says that it's sweet when�everything�holds together and works out according to plan. The team has softened the set-up and Peter says it was better than the last run yesterday. No plans for changes to the final; on paper Peter should not have a problem with Rene van den Berg, but will that be for real? Fredrik Fredlund (below right), who outran Pro Stock Bike o#1 qualifier Jesper Thiel in the semi-final, says he plans for some changes for the final against Ulf Ögge. In the last run he had tyre shake and clutch problems, he comments that the track conditions seems to change quickly and that he hopes it will go his way. "I will�beat Ögge on the start line", he laughs. 
15:35 UEM semi-finals: Pro Stock Bike Fredrik Fredlund 7.404/289.16 def. Jesper Thiel 7.399/291.50. Holeshot for Fredrik, 0.039 difference at the finish line Ulf Ögge 7.315/292.68 def. Anders Abrahamsson 9.512/136.36. Straight pass for Ulf, problems for Anders Supertwin Hans-Olav Olstad 7.828/255.32 def. Per Bengtsson 8.081/182.74. Per lost power�half track Lorenz Stäuble 6.813/333.33 def. �Job Heezen 6.884/330.28. Such a tight race! 0.015 difference at the finish line Top Fuel Bike Peter Svensson�6.189/341.23 bye Rene van den Berg 6.963/328.77 def. Petri Paljakka 18.99/268.53. Petri lost a drive belt off the line. Rene very consistent and a nice pass again. Ladders courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen: Top Fuel Bike ladder Supertwin ladder Pro Stock Bike ladder Funny Bike Cup ladder Top Doorslammer ladder Comp Eliminator ladder Congratulations to Niclas Andersson on his new PB in Top Doorslammer. 13:55 Patrik has sent another update to today's gallery which you can view by clicking here. 13:30 Top Fuel Bike eliminations round 1: Peter Svensson 6.103/344.50 def.��Kai Selkämaa 10.132/130.43. Kai had problems at half track Petri Paljakka 6.568/328.77 def. Sverre Dahl 8.53/200.56, slow start for Dahl. Petri ran a Personal Best ET Rene van den Berg 6.932/324.32 bye, Jaska Salakari broke before start. Rene consistent all weekend, nice straight pass Next run Svensson (below left) has a bye run, Paljakka (below right) vs Van den Berg. Top Fuel Bike ladder courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen Funny Bike Cup ladder courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen Rikard Gustafsson's Funny Bike was shut off for a leak before running. 
Emelie and Aila have been out in the pits talking to racers. Petri Paljakka set a personal record of 6.568 on his Top Fuel Bike and is very happy indeed. He said "The bike is just going and going and it is feeling great". He also says he is still learning and getting accustomed to the bike and that it is just wonderful for the time being. Rene van den Berg (below left), who has been looking good and running consistent all weekend,�says the track is beautiful. The team changed the gearbox after Finland and did some testing in England and it is turning out well. The bike has a quickest ET of�6.48 
Supertwin racer Jan Sturla Hegre (above right), who didn't make eliminations, says that the crank broke during last qualifying run and that the new engine did not fit. He is a bit tired and exhausted after the hard work. Other than that the engine has been running perfectly�in the 6.80s. Jan Sturla says�that it is great to have qualified every event even though this is his first season and he is a relative junior. 12:10 Patrik has sent another update to today's gallery which you can view by clicking here. 11:40 Supertwin eliminations round 1: Per Bengtsson 6.725/322.87 def. Trond Jostein Høiberget 7.052/317.18 Hans-Olav Olstad 6.756/321.43 def.�Ismo Mäenpää� 7.101/313.04 (alternate for Jan Sturla Hegre) Lorenz Stäuble 6.727/354.68�def. Samu Kemppainen 7.866/259.93, Lo worked the bike�got a nice pass Job Heezen 6.967/322.86 def. Jaska Salakari 7.660/139.92�Jaska left a�line of oil from 100�metres all down the track and we are in for a track cleanup of about 30 minutes. Next round Per Bengtsson v Hans Olav Olstad and Lo Stäuble v Job Heezen Supertwin ladder courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen 11:00 Top Doorslammer ladder after round 1 of eliminations, courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen. Patrik has also sent a set of pictures of this morning's Top Doorslammer action which you can view by clicking here. 
10:45 Gabriella Nikolovska, who took a holeshot win over Dave Back in round one
of Pro Stock Bike eliminations, said that the run did not feel good and that�the bike�has more to give. She was not staged straight and it had an impact, but the acceleration in latter part of
the race was OK. For next run she will give it all she has got. Ulf Ögge's transmission broke into several parts and the team are working to get it
together in time for next round. Despite that Ulf is in a good mood and is thinking positively about continuing in competition. He ended the interview by
saying "Looks like we we need more sponsors...please help!".
9:55 Patrik has sent his first set of pictures for today, which you can check out by clicking here. 9:30 Eliminations are taking place under sunny skies at Gardermoen Raceway. First up was Pro Stock Bike, with an extra round to run, and Åsa tells us that it went as follows: Jesper Thiel 7.234/293.88 bye, nice pass Kalle Lyrén 7.372/284 58 def. Kenneth Vik 7.372/291.50 Kalle took the win on the start line Fredrik Fredlund 7.342/291.50 def. Martin Bishop 7.71/275.86 Karl-Heinz Weikum 7.76/276.92 def. Stavros Svrachnos 7.795/216.22 Ulf Ögge 7.431/282.35 def. Zoltán Tóth�7.765/280.16, slow RT from Ulf Anders Abrahamsson 7.281/296.50 def. Bousinis Haralambos 7.956/263.74 Gabriella Nikolovska 7.54/282.35 def. Dave Beck 7.43/291.50, holeshot win for Gabbi, 0.001 or 8 cm at the line Next round will be Thiel v Lyrén, Fredlund v Weikum, Ögge bye, Abrahamsson v Nikolovska Pro Stock Bike ladder courtesy of Norsk Dragracing Gardermoen Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |