Saturday
|
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 20:15 We have posted today's pictures, which you can check out via the Event Index page. There are 170 pictures in all; if you do not see all 170 updated thumbnails when you load the gallery page then click on your Browser's Refresh button. We must thank Mathias Schneider who stepped in as photographer at very short notice and who has contributed the second half of today's gallery, Kirstie providing the first half and the Night Show pictures. The reason for the sudden photographer change is that our former Photo Editor Roger Gorringe has left the Eurodragster.com team. An event like this really needs two photographers so thanks again to Mathias for his help. We must also again thank Markus Münch who offered the use of his camera after Kirstie's regular camera, with impeccable timing, locked up and refused to work just before today's first Pro session. This is not the first time that Markus has helped us out in time of need so a big Thank You to him. 18:20 Simon has posted a set of pit notes which you can check out via the Event Index. UEM Super Street Bike Cup top five after qualifying session 3
Click here for a PDF of the full qualifying list. That's qualifying and racing done for today. We will be posting a gallery of today's shots in the next hour or two and will then post a Night Show gallery in the morning. We will also make a note of runs made at the Night Show. 18:05 UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 3 (left lane first) Peter Svensson 10.329/131.55, Rikard Gustafsson 7.877/298.68; Otto Knebl 13.347/104.36, Rene van den Berg 7.494/319.87 Peter's tyre hazed briefly on launch, hooked up, and then smoked about 250 feet out and he shut it off. Rikard left for dead at the Tree but an improved pass moved him up the ladder. Otto shut off before the Tree as his bike headed for the centre line. Good straight pass for Rene in the other lane. Final qualifying:
18:00 UEM Supertwin qualifying session 3 (left lane first) Torbjörn Svensson 10.622/246.21 bye; Matti Vahasaari 7.522/292.25, Hans Olav Olstad 7.513/300.91; Joachim Riemer 8.373/201.03, Martijn de Haas 8.786/190.79; Samu Kemppainen 7.345/333.37 bye; Trond Høiberget 7.982/290.80, Nate Gagnon 7.352/324.90; Ismo Mänpaa 7.470/312.06, Roman Sixta 8.511/243.07; Christian Jäger 7.472/331.19 bye; Torbjörn's tyre up in smoke, motor went 'phut' and stopped towards half track but an improved ET. Hans Olav and Matti side-by-side into the ladder with a great pair or clean runs although Hans Olav was really having to lean the bike to keep it in his lane towards the stripe. Very gutsy ride. Joachim and Martijn side-by-side up the ladder and pretty much side-by-side all the way down track, Joachim with a cylinder out. Fantastic run from Samu to catapault himself from the lower reaches of the standings up to #1 spot. Nate followed him up the ladder next pair with a great run, really moving hard in the second eighth. Trond improved, his ET good for one spot on the ladder. Consistent pass for Ismo, tiny improvement but stayed in place. Roman looked to be on a good run but his motor just looked and sounded to run out of grunt in the second eighth. Nice run for Christian, a feather of the throttle a couple of hundred feet out as the front wheel came down, quite consistent with his previous best. Final qualifying:
17:45 UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 3 (left lane first) Timo Savolainen 8.919/242.45, Elvira Karlsson 9.472/164.15; Dimitris Petridis 8.044/282.15, Fredrik Fredlund 7.269/301.24; Kalle Lyrén 7.592/281.17, Len Paget 8.423/271.74; Martin Newbury 7.727/275.67, Gert-Jan Laseur no time; Martin Bishop 7.665/294.27 bye Tim's motor hesitated off the line but his pass still good enough for a move up the ladder. Elvira shut off at the eighth and will be spectating tomorrow. Fantastic pass for Fredrik! Up to #1 spot, straight pass, no dramas. Big improvement for Dimitris also good for a move up the ladder. Instant red for Gert-Jan so no time, consistent pass for Martin N and stayed in place. Another Martin and another consistent pass, stayed in place. Final qualifying:
17:35 This evening's first round of FIA Pro Modified eliminations has been postponed to tomorrow morning. FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 3 (left lane first) Chris Andrews 8.159/255.75 bye; Janne Ahonen 6.836/284.82, Stig Neergaard 5.743/296.56; Jari Halinen 6.055/312.51 Anita Mäkelä 6.146/242.96; Risto Poutiainen 6.467/286.54 bye; Patrik Pers 6.128/304.33, Urs Erbacher 5.957/303.98 A lot less smoke from Chris' motor on start-up this time. Clutch really loose in the burnout, tyres didn't light up. On the green the car moved relatively slowly with the motor sounding to be misfiring but it picked up a few hundred feet down track until cylinders started to go out on both sides. However that run put Chris into the ladder as things stood then. Next up was Stig whom Chris had just bumped out. Got his own back with a great pass for these conditions to take #1 spot. Relatively conservative launch but tyres didn't smoke, cylinders out in the second half. Janne's tyres went up in smoke at the hit, drove through it to start with then pedalled, cylinders out around the eighth. Anita and Jari up to #3 and #2 repectively, Jari's tyres up in smoke at the hit and he pedalled as the car made a move to the right, then back on it. Anita's tyres smoked but she pedalled and the tyres picked up for a few hundred feet, then started to smoke again at the eighth but she stayed with it until about 800 feet. At this point Jari and Risto, #2 and #1 in the Championship, were meeting in round 1 of eliminations. That changed after Risto's run, though; gentle launch then picked up as the car went down the track, cylinders out at around the eighth but stayed with it. Risto up into #5 and meeting Eurodragster.com Urs in round 1 as things stood after his run. Urs was next up alongside Patrik. Both on gentle launches, very clean passes until half track when both looked to lose cylinders. Urs up to #7 and Patrik up to #4. Final qualifying:
16:55 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 3 (left lane first) Manty Bugeja 6.439/379.29 bye; Krister Johansson 10.897/138.81, Timo Habermann 7.013/371.25; Dave Wilson 8.261/280.55, Dennis Habermann 6.135/396.17; Chris Polidano 7.526/365.14 Peter Schöfer 6.855/367.24 Fantastic run by Manty to take #1 spot by quite some margin. A pedal almost immediately on launching and the tyres hooked and Manty was off and running. Straight down the middle of the lane and drove it out the back door. Instant smoke for Krister, stayed on it to half track and off the gas. Great pass for Timo, after blipping the throttle in a puddle of VHT laid by Werner just like the old days! Drove through tyre haze and stayed with it all the way. Improved ET but stayed in #4. Dennis also blipped the throttle through a puddle of VHT and that did the trick - or maybe that was a magic towel job? Either way, fantastic run to blast into #1 spot. Well done guys! Grumpy's tyres up in smoke and cylinders out on the right side, off the throttle at half track. Another cannonade from Chris, tyres smoking all the way to the eighth, a pedal then back on it. Meanwhile Peter, whom we couldn't see through Chris' tyre smoke, drove through haze and improved his ET slightly but remained in #3. Final qualifying:
16:55 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 3 (left lane first) Leif Andréasson 6.835/385.48 bye; Jürgen Nagel 7.382/344.25 bye; Great run for Leif to take #1 spot by quite some way. Slight haze of the tyres at the launch but gave it a lot more wellie about 200 feet out; the track took it, the car picked up and shot down the track, really accelerating in the second half. Jürgen next up trying to get his #1 spot back. Tyres smoked off the line and the car headed for the centre line, Jürgen pedalled and was feathering it for the rest of the journey. Improvement in ET but stayed in second. Final qualifying:
16:50 FIA Pro Modified qualifying session 3 (left lane first) Bertan Olofsson 9.839/175.86 bye; Jean Dulamon 10.487/278.79 bye; Robert Koper 10.685/236.23, Norbert Kuno 8.525/280.48; Bruno Bader 10.784/212.08 bye; David Vegter 7.625/324.41 bye; Peter Ritscher 8.731/313.78, Freddy Fagerström 8.905/271.54; Marco Maurischat 10.741/150.13, Mats Eriksson 7.871/314.14; Micke Gullqvist 9.764/178.33, Marcus Hilt 8.107/322.92 First outing for Bertan this weekend and his last chance to get into the ladder. Tyres up in smoke, a couple of pedals, feathering it to about the eighth and shut off. Jean just released the brake off the line, changed gear and the motor almost stopped as if it was protesting at not being hammered. Drove gently down the track. Nice paired burnout by Robert and Norbert appreciated by the crowd. Conservative launches for Robert and Norbert then both got on the gas further down track before shutting off just past the eighth. Screaming high-speed burnout by Bruno drew cheers from the crowd. Another burnout at the hit, stayed on the throttle as the car started to fishtail and then it moved so hard that one side of the headers grounded and Bruno backed off. Gave it another squirt in the second half. Nice pass for David to take #1 spot, footbrake launch and a couple of pedals, backed out of it a bit early. Tyre smoke for Freddy at every gear change, even he had to get off it at about half track when the truck made a hard left turn. Peter on and off the throttle all the way down. Freddy's run good for one spot up the ladder. Tyre smoke for Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco which from here it sounded as if he tried to drive through but was off the throttle around half track. Looked like a second gear launch for Mats, straight run with no dramas and up into #3. Gentle launch and then more wellie for Marcus, improved ET and stayed in #4. Micke's tyres went up in smoke but he stayed with it as the Camaro moved left and right, a violent move at half track and he finally got off the gas. Final qualifying:
16:20 FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 3 (left lane first) Thomas Lindström 9.968/275.43 bye; Ulf Wagnhester 9.605/167.54 bye No burnout for Thomas. Idled off the line then hammered it about 100 feet out, the car made a move to the right but Thomas pedalled then got back on it for a short while. Thomas' ET good for #3. Ulf pedalled and short-shifted as his tyres spun, then off the gas and chutes out at half track. Final qualifying:
16:15 Junior Dragster eliminations round 2 winners Jacob Kopasz (7.99) 8.119/128.85, Jason Engelage (8.15) 8.325/125.91 Lucas Dubourget (9.50) 9.539/112.31, Joe Kellett (8.08) 8.112/125.94 Super Gas eliminations round 2 winners Ronald van Let 10.034/203.73 bye, Werner Zudrell 10.030/203.63, Andrea Villi 10.000/212.70, Mike Poser 10.211/216.02 bye Super Comp eliminations round 1 winners Rene Kloss 9.416/256.35, Gerd Habermann 9.208/220.34, Erich Mathis 9.494/252.57, Markus Ochsner 9.211/232.78 15:45 UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first) Kai Selkämaa 7.645/252.10, Nils Lagerlöf 7.485/305.37; Rikard Gustafsson 9.522/230.07, Otto Knebl 7.846/207.03; Ian King 8.555/204.23, Peter Svensson 8.041/246.60; Rene van den Berg 9.225/194.95, Steve Woollatt 7.256/323.69 Kai's bike made a step to the right on launch, a brief feather of the throttle and he was back on the gas then shut it off in the second half. Nils rode out a similar move to the right from his turbo bike about 400 feet out but stayed with it and went up into #2 spot. Rikard's rear tyre went up in smoke, motor zinged and he got off the throttle. Nice launch for Otto, clean all the way to the eighth when the rear slick started to haze and he shut it off, new PB though, well done Otto! Great launch for Peter, clean run and going great guns until the bike started to fishtail then move for the centre line and Peter really had to lean it over to get it away. Ian's slick went up in smoke at the hit, a couple of feathers of the throttle with the tyre still smoking and then off the throttle in the second half. Rene had to feather off the line for smoke, in the other lane Steve laid down a stormer to move up to #2 spot. Very straight pass until half track and then rode out a fishtail staying on the throttle. Qualifying after this session:
15:35 UEM Supertwin qualifying session 2 (left lane first) Roman Sixta 7.596/268.68 bye; Hans Olav Olstad 11.469/237.26, Matti Vahasaari 9.109/277.33; Torbjörn Svensson 17.412/103.52, Joachim Riemer 8.990/180.49; Ismo Mänpaa 7.486/303.90 bye; Trond Høiberget 8.159/239.24 bye; Nate Gagnon 8.407/286.71, Samu Kemppainen 9.355/276.37; Job Heezen 7.981/289.48, Christian Jäger 7.427/316.10; Martijn de Haas 8.982/203.86 bye Very nice run for Roman to open the session. Just the tiniest puff of smoke from his rear slick at the hit and off and running, very straight pass and into #2. Neither Hans Olav's nor Matti's slicks smoked in the burnout. Nice run for Matti, bike wanted to visit the centre line but Matti had a hold of it. Hans Olav had a cylinder out and the motor was coughing and stuttering all the way. Acka almost had his bike on its side in his burnout. Torbjörn's rear tyre puffed smoke at the hit then the bike headed for the centre line and he shut it off - not much in it. Languid launch for Acka, on the bump at that point. Ismo in at #2 with his first run of the day, fantastic straight pass with no sign of smoke from the tyre. Next up Trond who was on the bump but moved up a couple of places with a clean straight pass. Nate and Samu paired up next, Nate's tyre didn't light in the burnout. Ironically it was Samu's tyre which went up in smoke losing him time. Nate's bike looked to be heading for the centre line in the second half but he got it away. Quarter mile smoker from Job, straight down the middle of the lane and must have felt comfortable with it. Great run for Christian, no smoke from the tyre, up to #2 spot. Martijn closed the session, would have thought he was running out of turn but his time stood, as indeed i tshould have for riding out the bucking bronco ride in the first sixty feet or so. Qualifying after this session:
15:15 UEM Super Street Bike Cup top five after qualifying session 2
Click here for a PDF of the full SSB qualifying standings. 15:00 UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first) Fredrik Fredlund 9.566/244.03, Martin Bishop 7.658/284.48; Ulf Ögge 7.474/289.68, Martin Newbury 7.737/276.48; Len Paget 7.986/277.96, Dimitris Petridis 9.072/266.51; Gert-Jan Laseur 8.650/281.60 bye Great run for Martin to take #1 spot, tyre didn't look to turn at all. Fredrik's motor hesitated as the tyre spun losing him time, stayed with it all the way after that. Looks like we found what the track can hold so far, fantastic run by Ulf and nice pass for Martin putting Ulf in #1 at that point and Martin at #3. Dimitris missed gears about 300 feet out but managed to get it going, up one place. In the other lane Len improved and moved up to #3. Gert-Jan closed the session with a bye, motor sounded to be hesitating in the first eighth losing him time. Qualifying after this session:
14:55 FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 2 (left lane first) Stig Neergaard 10.628/119.83 bye; Anita Mäkelä 6.936/277.68, Patrik Pers 6.640/244.58; Chris Andrews shut off, Janne Ahonen 8.520/151.70 bye; Urs Erbacher 6.450/312.87, Micke Kågered 6.697/243.26; Risto Poutianen 6.729/274.94, Jari Halinen 7.008/263.69 Stig's tyres blazed at the hit and he was off the gas by sixty feet. Throttle stop runs for Anita and Patrik. Anita had a cylinder out on the left side and it stayed that way for so long that for a moment I feared the motor might bang but it cleared. Clean run for Patrik also sounded to have the throttle stop on. Again huge clouds of smoke from the right bank of Chris' motor and it sounded to misfire as he tried to pull a burnout - the tyres hardly tured, I am guessing everything turned down which could be turned down. As Chris pulled forward to stage deputy Crew Chief Ben Allum signalled him to shut it off. Janne took the bye, throttle stop run with ots of clutch dust although he pedalled it twice about 100 feet out and then shut off before the eighth. Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs' tyres didn't light on the burnout. Cannonade followed, Urs left as the lights ran and his tyres immediately went up in smoke but he stayed with it as the motor joined in the blazing fun - I am guessing gasket or similar as the motor kept on running. We saw Micke launch and then he disappeared behind Urs' tyre smoke, when we next saw him his own tyres were smoking and he was merrily pedalling. With all the smoke it was difficult to tell from here who it was, but one of the pair of them went to the quarter mile under power. Urs into #1. Quick track check and we were ready to go with the final pair. Smoking tyres for Risto, throttle stop launch for Risto. The cars were pretty much side-by-side all the way and cylinders looked to go out on both motors at the same time, just on the eighth. Qualifying after this session:
14:30 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 2 (left lane first) Manty Bugeja 7.354/300.58 bye; Peter Schöfer 6.895/371.51 bye; Timo Habermann 7.349/372.53, Dave Wilson 7.950/324.41; Dennis Habermann 7.423/383.85, Chris Polidano 7.476/351.72 Another tyre-smoking Banzai run for Manty, tyres smoked pretty much to half track but the car was under perfect control and I am guessing that Manty saw no reason to get off the gas. Big burnout for Peter, got off the throttle as the car started to wiggle its butt. To the run and again it was Lions in the sixties as Peter stayed on the throttle all the way with tyres smoking and the motor screaming for mercy but the car looked under control although it made a move towards the left guardrail just after the stripe. Very brave run and good for #1 spot at that point. Two more Lions smokers next pair, Timo's tyres smoking to half track as Grumpy sat a while in stage, then the same happened to him. Both drivers stayed on the throttle with tyres smoking and were on the throttle pretty much all the way. Improvement for Grumpy but stayed in place at that point. Looked like problems starting Dennis' motor, the two rear left pipes were positively peeing fuel but it cleared with a blip of the throttle. To pile on the agony Dennis' tyres didn't light in the burnout. Both cars' tyres up in smoke at the hit, with an injected-nitro car in the house it sounded like World War 3 had broken out as Chris kept pedalling, looked to stay on it all the way. Dennis' tyre smoke cleared by about 300 feet and he stayed on the gas, big terminal speed. Qualifying after this session:
14:10 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 2 (left lane first) Ulf Leanders 9.834/155.60 bye; Jürgen Nagel broke, Danny Bellio 8.852/165.21 bye; Looked like Crew Chief Jörgen Leanders signalled Ulf to launch in second. Tyres up in smoke nonetheless, two quick pedals and back on the throttle only for the tyres to smoke again at the eighth. Ulf got off the throttle at that point. No reverse for Jürgen so he drove to the end of the track. Danny took the bye, eventful run too. Tyres hooked up for a few feet then smoked. Danny pedalled and feathered the throttle, back on it then at half track the car took a hard right towards the guardrail. Danny got off the throttle and pulled it straight. Qualifying after this session:
14:00 FIA Pro Modified qualifying session 2 (left lane first) Bruno Bader 10.089/250.93, Marco Maurischat 8.657/289.21; Freddy Fagerström 9.407/247.30, Micke Gullqvist 7.635/342.35; Jean Dulamon 9.996/265.43, Peter Ritscher 8.671/304.97; Marcus Hilt 8.707/315.05 bye Paired burnouts at the hit; Bruno stayed with it to 300 feet with tyres blazing, then got off it as the 'Vette fishtalied violently in the second half. Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco feathered the throttle all the way, improvement and good for #2 spot at that point. Micke well on his way back from his burnout before Freddy appeared around the corner. 300-foot burnout for Freddy and didn't seem to back up quite as quickly as usual. Micke waited patiently. Freddy's tyres up in smoke at the hit, a few pedals but eventually got off the throttle as the truck moved left and right. Very clean launch for Micke, slightest haze from the slicks 100 feet out but otherwise looked trouble-free especially in the second half, Freddy had a grandstand view of him disappearing into the distance and into #1 spot. Jean's tyres blazed at the hit and he stayed with it to about 200 feet then had to back off as the Camaro started to move around its lane, back on it after feathering the throttle. Very languid launch for Peter, you could hear the throttle going on and off all the way down the track. Tiny burnout by Marcus, tuner Camp Stanley saw him back to the bleach box for another go at it and this time the tyres didn't light. Tyres smoked at the hit, a brief pedal then squeezed the throttle all the way. Sounded to me like he drove it way out the back door. Qualifying after this session:
13:45 Apologies for not explaining this earlier in the rush, but there is nothing sinister about the lack of incrementals. The way that the timing system works here, the incrementals automatically disappear after a few seconds to show the qualifying standings. No-one's fault, it's just the way the Compulink works in qualifying. FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 2 (left lane first) Thomas Lindström shut off (bye); Ulf Wagnhester 9.525/155.38 (bye) Thomas' stop in Q1 was put down to an incorrect launch RPM setting. Motor stopped on the way back from the burnout, restarted briefly, pushed back. Very brief burnout for Ulf. Tyre spun on the launch, pedalled, went through a couple of gears and the motor hesitated. Off the throttle and chute out after 1000 feet. Qualifying after this session:
13:30 Super Gas eliminations round 1 winners Werner Zudrell 10.316/194.53, Andrea Villi 10.077/199.03, Mike Poser 10.259/200.25, Jan Hardekopf 10.094/215.66, Ronald van Let 9.990/208.36, Patrick Geng 9.813/212.45 bye Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners Phillip Mäser (10.28) 10.359/204.67, Lukas Seppi (11.99) 12.306/179.03, Jans Dahms (11.99) 12.177/168.98, Martin Weikum (10.60) 10.835/194.43, Roger Vögeli (9.35) 9.277/233.58, Alain Duerr (9.85) 9.952/220.45, Reinhard Garbers (10.85) 10.934/209.02, Kevin Feist (11.49) 11.636/179.46 Super Pro ET eliminations round 1 winners Martin Schlegel (8.90) 9.035/238.01, Pascal Kohler (8.25) 8.655/267.36, Jan Scheppers (8.75) 8.998/251.80, Bert Gorselitz (8.93) 8.968/240.12, Andre Müller (8.58) 9.499/252.39, Rene Ehrismann (8.70) 8.756/260.34, Mike Bruckmüller 9.400/257.72 bye (Frank Wambach broke), Carlo Heym (8.70) 8.766/236.64 13:00 Junior Dragster eliminations round 1 winners Fabien Dubois (7.90) 8.104/125.70, Jason Engelage (8.10) 8.180/124.85 Killian Maugan (9.65) 9.374/110.75, Lisa Selles (7.95) 8.190/128.70, Lucas Dubourget (9.50) 9.565/111.78, Jacob Kopasz (7.99) 8.058/127.80, Joe Kellett (8.08) 8.101/126.60, Stacey Reed (8.06) 8.061/129.14 12:30 UEM Super Street Bike Cup qualifying after session 1 Slight problem with the SSB standings as the ETs and speeds were disappearing off the screen immediately the bikes went through the finish line. Typing them up was impossible so click here for a PDF scan of the standings. 12:10 UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 1 (left lane first) Dimitris Pedtridis 9.318/265.14, Gert-Jan Laseur 7.862/280.62; Martin Newbury 9.886/146.01, Len Paget 9.392/158.10; Timo Savolainen 9.092/194.53, Elvira Karlsson 27.289/44.69; Martin Bishop 11.041/221.60 bye; Kalle Lyrén 9.001/244.22, Ulf Ögge no time Dimitris' tyre smoked all the way down the track, the bike was heading for the centre line buyt stayed with it. Clean run for Gert-Jan and a great baseline. Pretty much carbon copy runs for Martin and Len, both audibly spinning the tyre and both shut off just past the eighth. Elvira's tyre spun and her motor singed at the hit, off the throttle and rolled to a halt after the stripe. Smoke from Timo's tyre but feathered the throttle and stayed under power all the way. Martin's tyre spun at the hit and the motor started to zing but he saved it with a feather. Back on the gas but then sounded like problems engaging gear so shut it off. Instant red in Ulf's lane so a good run wasted by the look of it. Eurodragster.com Blogger Kalle took it conservatively. Qualifying after this session:
12:05 UEM Supertwin qualifying session 1 (left lane first) Lorenz Stäuble 8.148/295.59 bye; Joachim Riemer did not start, Hans Olav Olstad no time bye; Trond Høiberget 8.724/248.61 bye; Martijn de Haas 11.190/231.17 bye; Christian Jäger shut off, Job Heezen shut off; Samu Kemppainen 8.670/302.80, Nate Gagnon 7.690/323.54; Christian Jäger 8.642/246.63, Job Heezen 7.392/329.48 What a run from Lo! It was like Pro Fuellers at Lions; smoking the tyre all the way to the finish line, straight as you like and a huge cheer from the crowd. Acka couldn't get the motor to fire and eventually had to push back. Good run to start with for Hans Olav, again I don't know if you can do second gear launches on these bikes but it was that kind of launch. The bike started to drift left and ran over the 594 foot reflector which jammed under the bike and went along for the ride as the bike took out the eighth and both thousand foot reflectors. Burnout of the day for Trond, very slow but intense affair which drew huge cheers from the crowd and temporarily eclipsed the sun. Languid launch but stayed on the throttle all the way with no dramas. Clean launch for Martijn but a cylinder went out at about half track, off the throttle then gave it a brief squirt in the second half. Christian and job signalled to shut off before commencing their burnouts, no discernible reason and we've not had word why. Samu's front wheel went up at the hit, the rear tyre went up in smoke and the front end thumped down pretty hard. A feather of the throttle and then smoked the rear tyre all the way. Very clean run for Nate, got it off the start line and looked to be accelerating very hard in the second half. Great run from Job to take #1 spot, not a hint of smoke, clean all the way although looked to be leabing it over to keep it straight at half track. Christian's tyre hazed, stayed with it but got ff it before the stripe. Qualifying after this session:
11:40 UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 1 (left lane first) Otto Knebl 13.931/126.50, Rene van den Berg 7.210/351.95; Steve Woollatt 8.249/274.42 bye; Peter Svensson 9.492/203.50, Rikard Gustafsson 9.019/272.90; Nils Lagerlöf 17.159/68.46, Ian King 7.568/291.90 First competitive outing for Rene's new bike. Fantastic run! Hooked up pretty much as soon as the bike launched and you could hear Rene feathering the throttle very slightly all the way down. Tyre up in smoke at the hit for Otto, a feather of the throttle then headed for the centre line and shut it off. Steve's tyre didn't light in the burnout but made up for it for the first 150 feet as the slick blazed at the hit. Steve feathered the throttle and stayed on it to about 1000 feet. Instant smoke for Peter and Rikard, both feathering the throttle. Peter was on and off the throttle and was really leaning to keep it straight. Rikard's tyre hooked up but then smoked again at about half track, looked a lively ride from here. Clean launch from Ian, I don't know if you can do second gear launches on a TFB but that's how the launch looked. Straight down the lane, a brief feather of the throttle at half track but back on it. Very gutsy run. Nils' tyre went up in smoke just off the line and he shut off as the bike went for the centre line. Qualifying after this session:
11:30 FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 1 (left lane first) Harald Sturhan 11.821/166.90 bye; Ulf Wagnhester 8.661/248.24, Michael Malmgren 12.008/143.57; Mats Jacobsson 9.730/228.16, Micke Callin 13.904/108.86; Jimmy Ålund 13.284/147.49, Thomas Lindström no time Harald looked to roll the beams, tyres spun at the hit and he got off the throttle. Took it gently up the track. Ulf's tyres spun at the hit, a pedal then back on it feathering the throttle. Michael sat and waited, didn't go up on the revs, just drove it off the line and went through the gears. Carbon copy next pair, Mats' tyres spun up and he pedalled and then feathered the throttle down the track, Micke launched from idle and drove through the gears. Tiniest of burnouts for Jimmy, hardly moved and hardly lit the tyres. In the other lane it briefly looked as if Thomas was going to swap lanes in the burnout but he had a hold of it. Weirdness at the green as both cars sat there for several seconds - maybe the world's first-ever post-green burndown? Thomas eventually shut off without moving; Jimmy drive it off the line then gave it heavier throttle from about 300 feet, shut it off in the second half. Qualifying after this session:
11:15 FIA Pro Modified qualifying session 1 (left lane first) Peter Ritscher 9.185/291.66, Norbert Kuno 10.979/158.19; Robert Koper 14.611/119.40, Jean Dulamon 9.787/274.66; Wayne Nicholson 9.056/255.15, Marcus Hilt 8.349/317.81; Marco Maurischat 10.419/262.29, David Vegter 9.341/285.64; Johan Lindberg 10.328/151.20, Mats Eriksson 8.727/292.45; Marc Meihuizen 9.972/297.98, Freddy Fagerström 9.077/231.37; Robert Joosten broke (bye); Micke Gullqvist 9.310/324.90, Bruno Bader 10.367/242.88 Norbert in a completely new car. Peter crept it off the line and then squeezed the throttle open, the car moved about its lane some and he was off the throttle before the stripe. Norbert's tyres were turning off the line, he was likely deliberately taking it gently in the new car. Looked like cylinders out on the left side in the second half. Paired burnouts at the hit for Robert and Jean. Robert stayed on it to about 300 feet with the tyres blazing then shut it off. Jean's tyres were hazing in the first half and the Camaro was moving around its lane some in the second. The back end of Wayne's car jumped up at the hit but he pedalled and it hooked up better the second time, you could hear him feathering the throttle all the way. Marcus left the line with tyres hazing and was feathering in the first half but then gave it more wellie in the second half, good speed for the ET. Tyres up in smoke at the hit for Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco, a couple of pedals and squeezed it open in the second half. Another burnout for David and a pedal as the car made a move to the right. Back on the throttle feathering it all the way. Eighth-mile burnout from the hit for Johan, went a long way before he decided to give it up. Looked like a second gear launch for Mats, gently away from the line and waited for the motor to catch up with the gear. 300-foot burnout for Freddy, "I can do that too" said Marc, did so and brought the house down. Tyres up in smoke for both Marc and Freddy, quick pedal and sounded like a short shift for Freddy and drove it remarkably conservatively down the track. Marc having done another burnout pedalled and was then on and off the throttle all the way down. Big burnout for Robert with motor screaming, the Camaro started drifting then turned hard right and hit the opposite guardrail head-on. Robert was quickly out of the car and is A-OK, the car does not look too bad. Tyres spinning at the hit for both Micke and Bruno, Bruno all but crossed the line as Micke's car moved to the right. Pedals to get hold of the cars and back on it, Micke's car made a huge move at high speed in the second half. Bruno was off it and chute out before the stripe. Qualifying after this session:
10:45 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 1 (left lane first) Jürgen Nagel 7.480/360.36 bye; Jonnie Lindberg 8.909/245.54, Ulf Leanders 8.120/257.23; Danny Bellio 9.740/266.74, Leif Andréasson 7.776/218.25 Gently away from the line for Jürgen, gave it some more throttle about 100 feet out. Tyres hazed and a pedal as the car went for the centre line. Jürgen pulled it back and stayed on the throttle as the car started to pick up in the second half. Pedalfest for Jonnie and Ulf, tyres hazing off the line, both audibly pedalling all the way down the track with tyres hazing as soon as they got back on the throttle. Jonnie off the throttle and chute out at about 1100 feet. Great to see Danny back after his problems at Tierp, the car looking pristine. Similar run as the previous pair, Danny left for dead off the start line but both cars' tyres hazing at the hit. Leif gave it a long pedal, back on the throttle and feathered it all the way down. Danny's FC headed for the centre line with the right tyre smoking, a couple of pedals and back to the middle of the lane. Likely a checkout pass anyway so would not have been a full-bore pass whatever the conditions. Qualifying after this session:
10:35 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 1 (left lane first) Peter Schöfer 7.443/297.49 bye; Krister Johansson 13.454/95.68, Dennis Habermann 6.988/374.78; Chris Polidano 7.675/294.94, Timo Habermann 7.200/364.04; Dave Wilson 9.959/170.56, Manty Bugeja 8.497/184.43 Big burnout for Peter followed by a quarter mile burnout with motor screaming, Peter on and off the throttle all the way down but stayed with it pretty much to the quarter. Krister's motor stopped pretty much as soon as it fired but quickly remedied. Krister disappeared into smoke and a cannonade, he stayed with it to about 300 feet and got off the gas. Meanwhile Dennis tiptoed it off the line and then squeezed the throttle open, haze from the tyres at about half track but stayed on it all the way to the finish. Baptism of fire for Chris' US tuner Jerry Darien, throttle stop run and left bank cylinders out in the second half. Timo's run similar to Dennis', gently off the line then opened the throttle, haze from the tyres and the car moved around in the second half. Wild rides for both Manty and Grumpy. Grumpy's tyres up in smoke, a couple of pedals and the track competely disappeared from our vantage point. Off the throttle about 400 feet out as the dragster made a hard move to the right. Manty got off the line cleanly but I saw his tyres start to haze about 100 feet out before his car disappeared in Grumpy's tyre smoke. When the car reappeared it was about 900 feet out and weaving left and right, Banzai! Manty off the throttle and chute out before the stripe. Qualifying after this session:
10:15 At this point a big Thank You to Markus Münch who has lent us a camera for the day after Kirstie's camera locked just before Top Fuel Dragster ran. FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 1 (left lane first) Urs Erbacher 9.798/127.63 bye; Micke Kågered 11.108/121.98, Chris Andrews 11.079/154.23; Janne Ahonen 11.303/134.66, Anita Mäkelä no time; Jari Halinen 7.825/205.73, Risto Poutiainen 7.425/248.32 Bye for the first 2012 outing for Eurodragster.com sponsor Urs, who will also be running at Tierp; Robin tuning this weekend and we believe Glenn Mikres in Sweden. Huge burnout to about sixty feet. Same again at the hit, boiling tyres and off the throttle by the Tree. Lots of throttle stop for Micke, tyres hardly lit in the burnout. Huge amount of smoke from the right bank of Chris' motor and no burnout - we figured that he had the stop on and was just getting a time on the board. And we were right about that, throttle stop run. Same for Micke also, throttle stop stayed on and drove up the track. Instant smokefest for Anita and Janne, 1.465 to 1.412 sixty foot times reflect that. Both off the throttle before the Tree. Anita's burst panel popped and she stopped on the track at the eighth. Throttle stop passes for Jari and Risto, Risto into #1 spot. Qualifying after this session:
09:40 Comp Eliminator qualifying top five after session 4 Drama in the first pair as Sascha Pretzsch got way out of shape in the burnout, ending up pointing at right angles to the guardrail. Looked like a close thing from here albeit through a pea-souper. Sascha calmly straightened up up, reversed, and made his run. Thomas Stiefel in the other lane shut off on the way back from the burnout. A fair but of tyre smoke in this round.
Supertwin Top Gas qualifying top five after session 4
Funny Bike qualifying top five after session 4
08:45 Good morning and welcome from the Hockenheimring for our coverage of the 2012 NitrOlympX brought to you in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car. No webcam from us this weekend; the PPV Web TV will be running today and tomorrow and you can find a link to the sign-up on the Event Index. Our usual streaming service provider Doyousee.me are however streaming live from the MPM Oil Fuel FC and Junior Dragster pit. You can find the pitcast at www.doyousee.me/mpm. It's another very nice day here at Hockenheim, sunny and warm. When we left the facility yesterday evening the track crew were working on the surface which as you will have read yesterday was adjudged not to be up to holding Pro cars and bikes; yesterday's Pro qualifying was perforce cancelled and you could see for yourself what happened in the Test and Tune. The organisers plan to run at least two Pro qualifying sessions today. The running order has Sportsman qualifying at 09:00 and then Pro qualifying at 09:30 starting with Top Fuel Dragster. Stay tuned and when the wheels start to turn we'll bring you the news. Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |