Alastaro Circuit, 3rd-6th July 2014
Friday
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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 23:05 Today's pictures have now been posted and can be viewed via the Event Index page. There are 185 pictures in all; if you do not see all 185 updated thumbnails when you load the gallery page then click on your Browser's Refresh button. Many thanks to Eero Saarela and Patrik Jacobsson for supplying pictures.18:30 Sportsman Qualifying and Eliminations Sportsman ET/Pro ET Eliminations Round 3 Real Street Eliminations Round 3 Top Street Eliminations Round 3 Street Bike Eliminations Round 3 Super Pro ET Qualifying Round 5 Super Pro Street Qualifying Round 5 18:10 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying after session 2 Jonny Lagg 9.019/140.24, Manty Bugeja 5.562/410.43, Chris Polidano 5.518/432.74 Jonny with a smoke-free launch but lots of cylinders out. Nice runs for Manty and Chris, both went straight and appeared to have judged the track conditions well. However Chris's team member was adjudged to have touched the car as it was staging and the run was subsequently disqualified.
That's the end of today's race report. In a break with tradition we are going to post the pictures in two tranches and the first one will be up very shortly. The second batch will be posted later this evening and we will put an update on when that is completed. 18:05 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying after session 2 Ari Pietilä 6.063/377.87, Johnny Oksa 6.241/382.56, Johan Lindberg 5.925/403/11, Ari with a full pass, the car going towards the left wall out of the groove but he stayed with it. Nice straight passes for Johan and Johnny, both looked to be on soft settings. Qualifying after this session:
17:55 FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying after session 2 Antti Horto 10.529/98.91, Noah Stutz 12.648/102.23, Timo Lehtimäki 5.563/218.42, Thomas Nataas 4.443/376.30, Anita Mäkelä 4.971/254.95, Urs Erbacher 4.688/367.70, Stig Neergaard 4.849/318.75, Duncan Micallef 4.577/352.63, Jari Halinen 10.395/11.298, Tommi Haapanen 11.127/95.92, Micke Kågered DNS Antti up in smoke by the tree and then idled down the track. Noah in smoke by the tree and smoke from the engine down the track. Timo launched fine but when the clutch engaging at 300ft it was enough to spin the tyres, however he had some momentum so went into no.1 at that point. Then Thomas and Anita both left the start line well and went down track. Thomas had a fire going by 800ft which went out shortly after the finish and Anita spin the tyres at about the same point. However a big improvement on previous times and hopefully a sign the track is starting to come round. John 'Bodie' Smith watching over Stig, who as well as Urs smoked the tyres further down the track again to score improved times. Urs was driving through the smoke as Stig lifted at 800ft. Duncan had a clean launch and a puff of smoke at 800ft when he shut off, Jari smoked the tyres by the tree and was the first driver to have a slower run this session. Tommi having to be pushed back after the burnout with the engine still running and got back in time, Micke waiting patiently, however he was shut off for a leak and Tommi smoked the tyres by the tree. Qualifying after this session:
17:20 FIA Pro Modified qualifying after session 2 Tero Laukkanen No time (stage foul), Robert Joosten 6.415/370.53, Mats Eriksson 13.111/110.17, Michael Gullqvist 7.055/371.19, Marc Meihuizen DNS, Roger Johansson 15.521/111.58, Bruno Bader 6.340/370.055, Tami Brander 7.353/TBC, Mattias Wulcan 6.256/368.08 Tero with Brad Personnet present, claiming to us earlier that he had brought the Florida weather with him. Due to a launch control issue Tero left before the tree was activated and scored no time, idling down the track. Good run for Robert, Mats spinning his tyres and getting into a slide left to right after the launch and he was off the throttle by 300ft. Marc pushed back after his burnout and Michael again spun the tyres and after a pedal, went on to improve but still at least a second off his usual pace. Roger lit the tyres and almost crossed lanes after 60ft and lifted. Nice straight clean pass for Bruno to go no.1 at that point. Then smoke for Tami and a nice run for Mattias to assume the no.1 position in the last pair. Qualifying after this session:
17:00 FIA Pro Stock qualifying after session 2 Christian Sagelv 36.654/64.64, Thomas Lindström 7.496/329.35, Magnus Pettersson 7.277/326.73, Jan Ericsson 10.415/147.03, Jimmy Ålund 6.853/336.83, Simon Gustavsson 29.607/34.66. Thomas spun the tyres to 1.235 and 5.074/255.67 incrementals but got back on it, and Christian was shut off by 60 ft. Improvement for Magnus, Jan off the throttle by half track to remain in position. Jimmy and Simon ready to run but a pause while the timing system was rebooted. Simon was pushed back and Jimmy did a soft single with no dramas to go no.1. During the issue with the timing system we have lost the screens in the commentary box so will update from track scoreboards without incrementals until the FHRA crew resolve the problem. Simon was then allowed to restart and spun the tyres on the launch and lifted by 200ft. Qualifying after this session:
16:35 Top Fuel Bike qualifying after session 2 Filippos Papafilippou 9.705/257.67, Jan Sturla Hegre 8.106/181.16, Rickard Gustavsson 7.377/313.10, Ian King 6.733/317.63 , Otto Knebl 11.739/111.69 Fil lifted when he got close to the left wall, but scored his first time of the event. Both Jan Sturla and Rickard lifted but had started 1.053 to 1.188 by 60ftand 4.467/202 to 4.765/237.05 at half track. Ian lifted once and got back on it but Otto shut down by the eighth. Qualifying after this session:
16:25 Super Twin Top Fuel qualifying after session 2 Torsti Kettula 14.449/86.41, Martijn de Haas 6.794/340.40,Ismo Mäenpää 9.094/150.87, Keijo Välimäki 16.429/93.77, Vesa Lipponen 7.914/282, Christian Jäger 8.233/183.36, Samu Kemppainen 11.369/116.03, Petri Mattson 13.254/99.88, Ronny Aasen no show, Harri Piensalmi 6.875/276.99. Torsti's machine laboured but Martijn despite a puff of smoke on the way had a great pass, six hundredths off his PB to go no.2. Ismo got close to the wall and lifted, now he has a time. Keijo shut off after a couple of hundred feet. Improvement for Vesa, but Christian got into a wobble down the track and lifted. Both Samu and Petri had traction problems 1.169 and 1.294 to 60 ft and Samu 5.721/142.95 to half track, but Petri after smoke stayed on and it looked like a bucking bronco, quite remarkable how he stayed on the bike. No sign of Ronny, great run for Harri and new PB, well done Harri! Qualifying after this session:
16:10 Pro Stock Bike qualifying after session 2 Timo Savolainen 7.629/237.28,Marko Leppänen DNS, Kenneth Holmberg 7.977, Fredrik Fredlund 7.074/301.50, Gert-Jan Laseur TBC Timo launched to a 1.145 and 4.728 at half track. Marko pushed back for a leak, Kenneth 1.367 to 60ft and 5.326 to half track. Big improvement for Fredrik, no improvement for Gert-Jan. 15:20 Sportsman Qualifying and Eliminations Sportsman ET/Pro ET Eliminations round 2 Real Street Eliminations round 2 Top Street Eliminations round 2 Street Bike Eliminations round 2 Super Pro ET Qualifying Round 4 Super Pro Street Qualifying Round 4 14:40 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying after session 1 Stefan Gunnarson 8.801/171.57, Jonny Lagg 8.510/177.41, Chris Polidano 7.067/329.25, Manty Bugeja 6.134/387.27 Newcomer to the class Stefan in a tidy A/Fuel car, with Peter Lantz as crew chief, and Jonny up first. 1.059 to 1.135 to 60 ft and then smoke for Stefan and he drove through it until there was a flash at half track. Jonny appeared to feather the throttle down track. Then it was the Maltese visitors, with Jerry Darien walking back through the gap in the wall to help remedy matters when Chris's engine didn't fire up. 1.065 to 0.985 60 ft times for Chris and Manty, and Chris up in smoke shortly afterwards but keeping on it and even going sideways in the second half of the track. Manty pedaled and 4.001/280.64 to half track and the best time of the session was the result.
14:30 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying after session 1 Ari Pietilä 9.452/170.14, Johnny Oksa 6.411/382.06 , Johan Lindberg 6.925/379.26 Ari, in a car he started in last year and ran to a best of 5.982 at Tierp last August, up in smoke to a 1.371 60 ft time and back on it to a feathered 5.476/198.16 at half track. Johnny with a huge burnout to half track and change, and Johan next, Johan's car rebuilt over the winter. Whiff of smoke for Johnny then 1.249 to 60ft and back on it for the whole track. Johan drifted to the right a little but stayed with it. Qualifying after this session:
14:15 FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying after session 1 Tommi Haapanen 6.598/161.83, Timo Lehtimäki DNS, Antti Horto DNS, Jari Halinen 7.238/128.61, Noah Stutz 13.782/91.70, Mikael Kågered 6.366/167.93, Duncan Micallef 10.205/128.45, Stig Neergaard 7.402/210.46, Urs Erbacher 11.009/114.65, Anita Mäkelä 11.054/103.64, Thomas Nataas 13.070/79.60 Great to see Tommi back on track after six years in the pits! Tommi's engine devoid of much cackle on idle. 0.950 60 ft, up in smoke just past the tree and back on it once, 4.465/196.12 to 660ft then lifted. Five Finns in the TF field this weekend and next up were Timo and Antti. Antti was pushed back and Timo's engine spluttered and then died on the line. Jari in Chris Andrews' car again this weekend and Noah next. 0.927 to 1.263 at 60 ft as Noah seemed to double step off the start line, then Jari 4.595/162 to 660ft and off it by then. Micke and Duncan were next, Micke in only his second meeting with his new car. Micke to 60 ft in 0.912 without smoke and then lifted, a slowing 4.222/187.10 to 660ft. Duncan up in smoke by 60 ft which was 1.058. Short delay for track clean-up in Duncan's lane. Side by side up in smoke from Stig and Urs, Stig back on it for a while. Finally it was Anita, her daughter providing back-up assistance and Thomas. 1.006 to 1.101 60 ft times - and both up in smoke by then. So a smoke filled start, but plenty of rubber laid on the track which should help later. Qualifying after this session:
13:35 FIA Pro Modified qualifying after session 1 Mats Ericsson 9.468/170.46, Tami Brander 6.366/361.46, Mattias Wulcan 6.623/352.23, Roger Johansson 6.715/356.39, Bruno Bader 7.112/351.12, Robert Joosten 12.353/137.90, Michael Gullqvist 8.890/189.68, Marc Meihuizen 7.203/365.85 1.076 to 60ft for Tami and a great 6.366/361.46 for him, 4.179/287.95 to half track, great pass. Instant tyre smoke for Mats and lifted after a 1.42 60 ft. Mattias 1.091 to 60 ft and 4.453 to half track and Roger 1.121 to 60 ft, both side by side but driving through tyre shake. Bruno up in smoke after 1.174 60 ft but kept in it although getting close to the left wall. Robert off the throttle by 330ft. Qualifying after this session:
13:05 FIA Pro Stock qualifying after session 1 Richard Sundblom no-show, Bengt Ljungdalh 22.484/53.97, Sampsa Palos 8.358/294.81, Simon Gustavsson 6.958/319.87, Christian Sagelv 27.844/89.74, Jan Ericsson 13.941/98.13, Jan Palmqvist No Time, Michael Malmgren 7.453/294.63, Magnus Pettersson 7.498/327.39, Thomas Lindström No time, Jimmy Ålund 7.171/333.96 Bengt in Michael Malmgren's former Pontiac GTO and Sampsa with his familar Cobalt. 1.576 to 1.409 at 60ft then directional problems for Bengt and a lot of smoke for Sampsa. Short break for track check, then Simon Gustavsson in the Samantha Racing Avenger (still marked 4 Sale) and Christian Sagelv in his reliveried Ford Escort. Incrementals of 1.081 and 4.490/254.41 and a nice straight run for Simon and Christian's car cutting out after the launch. Jan Ericsson with the ex-Kenneth Soderberg Grand Am and Jan Palmqvist next. Tyre spin for Jan P. and a move sideways for Jan E., both lifting before 330ft but Jan P failing to keep momentum to the finish line. Michael with 1.399 and 4.949 incrementals lifting before the finish, and Magnus encountering tyre spin but getting back on it. Finally Thomas and Jimmy, a long wait in pre-stage, then 1.166 to 60ft and 4.782/260.36 to half track for Jimmy and a sharp move to the right; he got back on it again. Thomas suffered tyre spin and a 2.048 60ft before the car shut off. Qualifying after this session:
12:55 Top Fuel Bike qualifying after session 1 Jan Sturla Hegre 6.752/284.50, Otto Knebl 6.515/332.35, Filippos Papafilippou DNS, Rickard Gustavsson 6.637/324.02, Ian King 6.672/340.32 Nice launch for Jan Sturla and new personal best, the bike weaving about in the second half and smoke but Jan moving around on it to keep it straight, well done Jan Sturla! Short break for clean-up in second half of track. Fil with touble starting did not run, Otto straight down the track with a constant engine note to a new personal best, well done Otto! Ian King lifted once after weaving after the launch and got back on it. Nice straight run from Rickard. Apologies for the lack of incrementals, the timing screens are being cleared practically as soon as racers cross the finish line. 12:35 Super Twin Top Fuel qualifying after session 1 Petri Mattson 7.282/221.70, Keijo Välimäki 9.938/166.12, Torsti Kettula no-show, Harri Piensalmi 7.208/281.02, Ronny Aasen 6.508/338.57, Christian Jäger 7.304/238.85, Vesa Lipponen 10.988/148.05, Martijn de Haas 10.241/192.40, Samu Kemppainen 6.951/314.87 Promising start from Petri, straight launch. Keijo with a V60 engine lifted very early as the bike laboured down the track. Smoke from Harri after 1.22 60 ft and nice stright run from Ronny to a new personal best, well done Ronny! Ronny's incrementals were 1.163 60ft and 4.320/300.87 to 660ft. Christian weaved down the track 4.566/265.08 to half track and Vesa's bike laboured with a little smoke. Martijn weaved at the first 300ft then smoke and shut-off. Nice run from Samu, looks as if more to come. Ismo Mäenpää and Matti V�h�saari both no-shows in this session. Qualifying after this session:
12:15 Pro Stock Bike qualifying after session 1 Kenneth Holmberg 7.977/242.49, Marko Leppänen 9.105/233.46, Gert-Jan Laseur 7.293/206.24, Fredrik Fredlund 7.208/300.00 Kenneth on a TL1000R 1.169 to 60ft and 5.026 to 660ft and Marko on a Buell shutting off well before the end. No shows from Miia-Maria Vepsäläinen and Timo Savolainen. Qualifying after this session:
11:50 Sportsman Qualifying and Eliminations Sportsman ET/Pro ET Eliminations round 1 Real Street Eliminations round 1 Top Street Eliminations round 1 Junior Dragster Qualifying session 4 Junior Bike Qualifying session 4 Street Bike Eliminations round 1 Super Gas Bike Qualifying session 4 Funny Bike Open Qualifying session 4 Stock/Super Stock Qualifying session 4 09:55 Good morning and welcome from Alastaro Circuit for our coverage of day one of the FHRA Nitro Nationals dedicated to the memory of Ed O'Connell and brought to you in association with Alamo Rent-A-Car. Once again it's sunny with a temperature of 14 degrees. The radar is clear as well after some rain during the afternoon yesterday. Racing starts shortly after 10:00 Finnish time (08:00 UK time). Today is eliminations day for Sportsman ET/Pro ET, Real Street, Top Street and Street Bike. Other Sportsman classes will continue qualifying. Pro Qualifying sessions will take place at 12:00 and 16:00 and we will report on those in real time (or as close as your reporter can manage). We will post pdfs of sportsman classes as we receive them. There are static webcam photos available at Alastaro's web site and on Sunday only there will be a free web broadcast via Livestream which we will link to on the day. In walking the pits yesterday we received many remarks of condolence about Ed and how much the racing community respected him as an individual and photo-journalist. He was well known right around the European drag racing scene and that is reflected in the number of tributes posted as well. We talked to Gary Page of Duncan Micallef's team who have a new carbon fibre bug catcher made by Carlo Gandolfi. We also saw Mats Ericsson and Adam Flamholc, who is crewing as clutch man for him at FIA events as well as racing his own Viper in Top Doorslammer and a US Pro Mod programme with PDRA. Mats' Green Goblin has a new front chassis forward of the scuttle, and the existing body has been repaired with fibreglass. Mats said 'We will have to go hard to make up the deficit in the points'. Finally we talked to Manty Bugeja in Top Methanol Dragster who is looking forward to running here again. Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |