Alastaro Circuit, 3rd-6th July 2014
Saturday
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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 23:30 We have posted the second part of our gallery with thanks to Patrik Jacobsson. In total our gallery today comprises 165 images. Pro eliminations start at 11am Finnish time, 9am UK time tomorrow, set your alarm clocks for the free webcast! 19:50 We have posted the first part of our gallery with thanks to Eero Saarela. Stay tuned for the second tranche which will be posted in a couple of hours or so. The gallery can be viewed via the event coverage page. If you do not see updated thumbnails when you load the gallery page, then click on your Browser's Refresh button. 18:20 Top Fuel Bike qualifying after session 3 Filippos Papafilippou 7.344/310.35, Rickard Gustavsson 6.925/313.84, Ian King 6.164/330.46, Otto Knebl and Jan Sturla Hegre no-shows. Fil improved his time and ran straight but something came off the bike at 300ft. Rickard then on a single drifting towards the left hand side of his lane. Ian on a single in the left hand lane, good run for him as he went down the track straight with no dramas. Ian's incrementals were 1.071 to 60ft and 4.051/307.25 to half track. Final qualifying positions:
18:00 Super Twin Top Fuel qualifying after session 4 Ismo Mäenpää 10.766/152.25 Petri Mattson 7.440/246.95, Vesa Lipponen 8.550/187.78, Christian Jäger 6.692/343.55, Samu Kemppainen 11.375/180.68, Matti V�h�saari, Ronny Aasen, Keijo Välimäki, Petri Pennala, Torsti Kettula, Harri Piensalmi, Martijn de Haas all no-show Smoke for Ismo and he lifted after 100ft, Petri off the throttle by 1000ft. Best run so far for Christian and into second place as Vesa had handling difficulties and lifted after half track. Christian's incrementals were 1.114 to 60ft and 4.391/275.52 to half track. Samu on a single and blazed the tyre by the tree. Final qualifying positions:
18:00 Pro Stock Bike qualifying after session 4 Kenneth Holmberg 7.711/277.31, Miia-Maria Vepsäläinen 10, Timo Savolainen 7.345/294.63, Marko Leppänen , Gert-Jan Laseur 7.24/294.21, Fredrik Fredlund 7.061/304.47 First run for Miia-Maria to get a time on the board, nice looking machine as she took a cautious path. Nice passes for Kenneth and Timo, who was on a single, but no improvement in positions. Another good side by side for Gert-Jan and Fredrik and improvements in time for both. Their incrementals were 1.141 and 1.114 to 60ft and 4.628/246.49 and 4.519/253.08 to half track. Final qualifying positions:
17:50 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying after session 4 Stefan Gunnarson 5.782/385.31, Jonny Lagg 5.978/384.60, Manty Bugeja 5.531/422.16, Chris Polidano 5.742/421.29 Smoke free run for both and a big improvement and PB for Stefan to move him up one place, well done Stefan! Incrementals for Stefan 0.997 to 60ft and 3.825/327.84 to half track. Cylinders out for Jonny in the second half of the track, his incrementals 1.007 and 3.959/313.10. Nice runs for Manty and Chris. Their incrementals were 0.980 to 1.042 to 60ft and 3.672/337.46 and 3.877/335.51 to half track. Final qualifying positions:
17:40 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying after session 4 Ari Pietilä 6.498/TBC, Johan Lindberg 9.457/128.80, Johnny Oksa 6.249/303.71 Ari up in smoke by the tree, 1.104 to 60ft then short shifting from second to third to the end of the quarter but no improvement. Johan in smoke by 60ft, 1.051 to 60ft, and lifted before the end. Johnny on a clean pass, 1.070 to 60ft and 4.060/307.58 to half track however the chute deployed around 1000ft to slow him. Final qualifying positions:
17:15 FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying after session 4 Noah Stutz 4.709/385.52, Tommi Haapanen 5.681/366.96, Jari Halinen 16.166/52.19, Antti Horto 10.570/26.86, Mikael Kågered 4.522/324.08, Urs Erbacher 4.822/no speed, Timo Lehtimäki 5.608/226.91, Duncan Micallef 4.715/376.69, Stig Neergaard 7.352/150.43, Thomas Nataas 4.393/429.03, Anita Mäkelä 8.479/86.46, Clean launch for Noah. 0.982 to 60ft, then the usual smoke at 300ft, Noah keeping on the throttle for the remainder of the pass. That moved him up to no.7. Both Tommi and Jari up in smoke by the tree and Tommi then after pedaling once put on a show for the fans, keeping his foot in whilst smoking it for the full 1000ft. Jari lifted probably knowing by that stage he would not be in the ladder. Antti up in smoke by the tree then more smoke and he lifted. Micke ran a clean pass, 0.928 to 60ft and 3.490/370.81 to 660ft getting to the left hand side of his lane and lifting at around 900ft. That lifted Micke to no.2, bumped Tommi out and left Timo in the last chance saloon. Another small burnout for Timo. Timo up in smoke at 300ft and he was not lifting for anyone, however the engine cried enough and was in flames by 660ft. Urs up in smoke by 60ft and pedaled but no improvement. Stig up in smoke by the tree and off the throttle by 330ft, Duncan with an aggressive 60ft time of 0.898 and getting to 150ft before losing traction, pedalling twice to 660ft after 3.664/319.66 and driving through. No improvement for Duncan or Stig. Clean run for Thomas, 0.931 to 60ft and 3.482/373.39 to 660ft. For Anita, 0.918 to 60 ft then a haze of the tyres at 300ft and then a mechanical issue deployed the automatic chute release. So Thomas has proved to be consistent under the conditions whilst the most improved performance today is Micke. Final qualifying positions:
16:45 FIA Pro Modified qualifying after session 4 Marc Meihuizen 7.541/319.45, Jari Parén no-show, Tero Laukkanen 6.800/346.59, Michael Gullqvist 6.600/385.01, Roger Johansson 6.351/373.59, Mats Eriksson 12.209/14.190, Robert Joosten 14.617/104.86, Bruno Bader 6.359/366.59, Tami Brander 6.771/360.65, Mattias Wulcan 10.444/134.99 Marc in the last chance saloon and smoked the tyre by the tree keeping on the throttle and moving around his lane as the engine note went skywards. No joy for him. Tero pushed back by Ian Marshall after reverse gear wouldn't engage but he kept the enrunning. Tero in the left hand side of his lane out of the groove and Micke pedaling at 100ft and then the car moved around his lane and a puff of smoke in the shut down area. Micke moved up from eighth to fifth. Roger spun the tyres at 60ft after 1.119 but kept on it to 4.238/294.81 to half track and improved to third position. Mats had more problems off the line and shut off however he is still in the field. Robert up in smoke before the tree and the car made a big move to the right at 60ft but he kept it in his lane. Bruno to the left hand side of his lane but went down the track smoothly, 1.093 to 60ft and 4.205/291.02 to half track. Tami went down the track well whilst Mattias smoked the tyres at 60ft which he reached in 1.077s and was off the throttle after 300ft. Final qualifying positions:
16:25 FIA Pro Stock qualifying after session 4 Jan Palmqvist 8.970/268.07, Bengt Ljungdalh DNS, Sampsa Palos no-show, Jan Ericsson DNS, Christian Sagelv 7.668/293.25, Thomas Lindström 7.049/298.94, Magnus Pettersson 7.483/328.66, Michael Malmgren 6.916/315.83, Jimmy Aring;lund 24.189/46.35, Simon Gustavsson 8.068/285.00, Bengt pushed back after stopping after the burnout having lost fire. Jan spun the tyres and feathered the throttle. Jan also pushed back after reversing after the burnout, losing fire. Long side-by-side burnouts for Christian and Thomas. Smoke at the start for Thomas but he kept on it, 1.170 to 60ft and 4.582/260.45 to half track. Christian's car was moving around the track. Magnus had tyre shake off the line whilst Michael had a good launch, both stayed on the throttle for the full track, 1.115 to 60 ft and 4.496/272.82 to half track. Michael up to no.2. Both Jimmy and Simon hesitated before the tree as they pedaled then Simon got back on the throttle. Final qualifying positions:
15:45 Sportsman Qualifying Junior Dragster Qualifying Round 7 Junior Bike Qualifying Round 7 Super Gas Bike Qualifying Round 7 Super Pro Street Qualifying Round 6 14:45 Top Fuel Bike qualifying after session 3 Filippos Papafilippou 7.413/319.45, Otto Knebl no-show, Jan Sturla Hegre 6.894/TBC, Rickard Gustavsson 7.039/309.55, Ian King 6.275/351.64 Fil's bike launched soft and was moving around the track but he kept with it. Jan Sturla launched, the bike moving to the left but he stayed with it, some smoke after half track, possibly a cylinder out. Soft pass for Rickard, nice full pass for Ian King and an improvement for him to go number one. Qualifying after this session:
14:30 Super Twin Top Fuel qualifying after session 3 Matti V�h�saari no-show, Ronny Aasen 6.681/299.81, Keijo Välimäki 7.761/259.94, Petri Pennala no-show , Petri Mattson 7.800/194.73, Torsti Kettula no-show, Christian Jäger 7.152/249.29, Samu Kemppainen 6.876/326.73, Harri Piensalmi 7.112/260.03, Ismo Mäenpää 36.401/62.02, Martijn de Haas 13.173/104.61, Vesa Lipponen 8.551/268.32, Ronny back after missing session 2. Softish launch to 1.172, 4.378/302.00 to half track, puff of smoke at 1000ft, then shut off. Keijo much improved, leaned to left in second half to keep the bike straight down. Petri M went down the track but the bike was set soft so no improvement. Great side-by side pass for Christian and Samu, Samu going slightly to the left hand side of his lane but kept with it. Incrementals for Christian and Samu were 1.138 and 1.162 to 60ft and 4.471/271.28 to 4.504/268.67 to half track. Harri on softer settings so no improvement and Ismo smoked the tyre at the tree and shut off. Martijn up in smoke at the tree and lifted, Vesa ran softer without improvement. Qualifying after this session:
14:15 Pro Stock Bike qualifying after session 3 Kenneth Holmberg 7.739/273.74, Miia-Maria Vepsäläinen DNS, Timo Savolainen 7.304/239.02, Marko Leppänen 13.059/95.15, Gert-Jan Laseur 7.322/290.14, Fredrik Fredlund 7.130/303.26 Nice straight pass for Kenneth after Miia-Maria was shut off. Great run for Timo, 1.154 to 60ft and 4.662/244.08 to half track, new PB, well done Timo! Clean runs for Gert-Jan and Fredrik, incrementals for them were 1.145 to 1.121 to 60ft and 4.663/242.89 to 4.558/250.15 to half track. Qualifying after this session:
14:10 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying after session 3 Stefan Gunnarson 9.313/176.29, Jonny Lagg 5.816/391.14, Chris Polidano 5.616/422.03, Manty Bugeja 5.966/397.91 Stefan up in smoke by the tree and smoked again after a pedal, Jonny down the track without smoke, 1.014 to 60ft and 3.857/328.13 to half track, and a cylinder or two out from around 1000ft. Big burnout for Manty, almost to half track. Clean pass for Chris on soft settings, Manty more aggressive and smoked the tyres at half track but kept with it despite the car moving around at the top end. Incrementals for Chris and Manty were 1.001 to 0.988 to 60ft and 3.785/347.84 to 3.937/298.88 to half track No changes in position at the end of the session. Qualifying after this session:
14:00 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying after session 3 Ari Pietilä 17.507/70.37, Johnny Oksa 10.173/159.93, Johan Lindberg 5.741/409.03, Ari running a single in the right lane up in smoke at the tree and then lifted and idled down the track. Johnny up in smoke by the tree, pedaled, then got into smoke again and lifted. Nice clean pass for Johan to get down the track, 1.023 to 60ft, 3.822/329.18 to half track. Qualifying after this session:
13:00 FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying after session 3 Noah Stutz 5.125.356.63, Mikael Kågered 9.111/126.04, Tommi Haapanen 4.887/376.50, Jari Halinen 14.513/58.89, Antti Horto 4.708/302.50, Timo Lehtimäki 15.107/60.68, Urs Erbacher 4.665/359.95, Anita Mäkelä 4.573/375.62, Duncan Micallef DNS, Stig Neergaard 4.641/402.79, Thomas Nataas 4.450/424.75 Noah on a single in the right lane. Pedal at the tree, 1.025 to 60ft, smoke, longer pedal but stayed with it despite more smoke, 4.024/304.54 to 660ft, and an improvement in his time, wouldn't be surprised if there was a burst panel gone as there was a bang at the top end. Micke up in smoke at 100ft after a 0.963 60ft and lifted, Tommi pedaled in smoke at 60ft which he reached in 0.986s and stayed with it despite more smoke to improve his time. Jari was up in smoke before the tree and suffered an explosion shortly after that point, 1.048 to 60ft, however Antti who launched to 0.911 best 60ft time of the session, got to 330ft when smoke hit and he pedaled, 3.550/339.44 to 660ft to an improvement for him. Small smoke on the burnout for Timo, then blazed them on the launch to 1.164 60ft and lifted. Urs launched to 0.988 60ft, smoked the tyres at 330ft and kept in it, with a 3.670/340.96 660ft, through more smoke for an improvement in time but not in position. Anita on a single as Duncan shut off for a leak after reversing back from the burnout, 0.917 to 60ft, then a puff of smoke at 330ft again, 3.563/338.88 to 660ft, and drove through for an improvement to second. Both Stig and Thomas made it down the track without tyre smoke, 0.962 to 0.914 to 60 ft and 3.673/350.44 to 3.523/363.92 to 660ft, although Thomas had looked to pedal at 330ft point. Stig moved up into fourth. Qualifying after this session:
13:00 FIA Pro Modified qualifying after session 3 Jari Parén no-show, Tero Laukkanen 6.983/335.04, Mats Eriksson 6.964/365.66, Marc Meihuizen 9.364/171.41, Michael Gullqvist 10.839/124.58, Roger Johansson 6.832/262.34, Bruno Bader 9.073/158.05, Tami Brander 8.392/205.21, Mattias Wulcan 6.278/369.20, Robert Joosten 13.966/105.18 Tero with a tyre spinning launch, pedal before 60ft then some smoke out of the engine in the second half of the track to get his first time and into 6th place at that point. Mats with a softer launch and short shifting down the track, Marc taking a more aggressive approach with a pedal and then further tyre smoke down the track. The next pair was wild, with Micke's car moving to the left and right before he lifted and Roger, 1.080 to 60ft and 4.228/278.54 to half track, keeping in the throttle but drifting left until he hit the 1000ft reflectors. After short pause while the reflectors were replaced, Bruno made a good launch but tyre shake forced him to go off the throttle at half track whereas Tami smoked the tyres and lifted a little later. Finally Mattias got down the track with what looked like soft settings, 1.071 to 60 ft and 4.200/298.39 to half track, and Robert smoked the tyres, got out of shape and shut off at 330ft. Qualifying after this session:
FIA Pro Stock qualifying after session 3 Michael Malmgren 20.139/62.01, Jan Palmqvist 8.675/215.57, Simon Gustavsson DNS, Christian Sagelv 7.625/319.31, Sampsa Palos no-show, Jan Ericsson 27.674/40.22, Magnus Pettersson 7.250/330.15, Thomas Lindström 7.599/279.45, Jimmy Ålund 10.016/150.79, Bengt Ljungdalh 8.572/228.13, Both Michael and Jan's cars spun their tyres off the line, Jan making a small move to the right and then back on it. Michael off the throttle after 60ft. Simon pushed back after the burnout again. Sampso spun the tyres, pedaled quickly before 60 ft and then short shifted to a 7.62. Again Jan and Magnus spun their tyres, Jan shutting off at 60ft and Magnus pedaling at around 60ft to improve his time but not his position. Thomas smoked at 60ft then pedaled and ran to the end as Jimmy lifted. Bengt spun the tyres on the launch then drifted to the left until he grazed the wall but stayed with it. Although he recorded a time, as he commited a boundary violation we expect it will be disallowed. Qualifying after this session:
12:20 There is a short delay before the Pro sessions and we have some incrementals printed out from session 2: In Top Fuel quickest 60ft was 0.896 from Duncan Micallef, who also had the best 330ft at 2.317. Best 660ft was Thomas Nataas with 3.472 at 363.64kph. In TMD Manty Bugeja had the best 60ft of 0.996, 330ft at 2.500 and 660ft at 3.686/334.42 In TMFC Ari Pietila launched best with 1.036 and was quickest to 660ft with 3.978/299.25. However Johan Lindberg who did 660ft in 3.984 was travelling at 321.58 by that point and was stronger in the second eighth. In Pro Mod best 60ft was 1.056 from Robert Joosten but Bruno Bader was just a little quicker to 330ft with 2.850 to Robert's 2.854. At 660ft Mattias Wulcan was quickest at 4.170/298.70 to Robert's 4.251. In Pro Stock Jimmy Ålund had the best incrementals at 1.171 to 60ft, 3.001 to 330ft and 4.494/266.79 to half track. In Top Fuel Bike, Jan Sturla Hegre had the best 60ft at 1.053 to Ian King's 1.126. By half track Ian had 4.402/247.21 to Jan Sturla's 4.467/202.97. In Super Twin Bike, Christian Jäger had the best 60 ft in the session at 1.115. By half track Harri Pienslmi was 4.395/279.13 to Martijn de Haas's 4.508/281.46. 12:00 Sportsman Qualifying Junior Dragster Qualifying Round 6 Junior Bike Qualifying Round 6 Super Gas Bike Qualifying Round 6 Funny Bike Open Qualifying Round 6 Stock/Super Stock Qualifying Round 6 Super Pro ET Qualifying Round 6 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 9 degrees. Racing starts shortly after 10:00 Finnish time (08:00 UK time). The FHRA track crew have done a fantastic job as overnight they sledded it in shifts operating continuously, and the result looks perfect. Santa Pod Chief Starter Ian Marshall and Dave Warren have been involved as well. Thanks to those who have sent compliments on the coverage so far, particularly Frans Steilberg and Finnish bike racer Asko M��tt� who can't be here but is preparing for his 60th anniversary tour next year. Thanks also to Petteri Haapaniemi of the FHRA timing crew who has supplied pdfs in between managing the timing team and the system. It looks as if despite the best efforts of the crew there will be no timing screens in the commentary office where we are situated on the top floor of the tower, so we will not be reporting incremental times today. 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. Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |