Tierp Internationals
Tierp Arena, 7th-10th June 2018

Sunday



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Super Twin Bike was won by Vesa Lipponen, pictured with bike owner Jaska Salakari. He ran a 6.306/328 in the final round to defeat Marcus Christiansen's 6.418/345. Earlier Vesa had run 6.754 and 6.453.

Junior Drag Bike was won by John Rolfstad with a 7.627/146 eighth mile run over runner-up Eemeli Helkkala, John being son of Super Twin Bike racer Svein Olav Rofstad.


Pro Stock was won by Michael Malmgren who defeated Thomas Lindström with a 6.601, Magnus Pettersson with a 6.642 and Stefan Ernryd with a 6.629. Michael is pictured with partner Monica Bengtsson.

Pro Mod was won by Andreas Arthursson who ran 5.891, 5.885 and 5.882 in the final three rounds of racing, having qualified no.2 with a 5.8668.


Stock/Super Stock was won by British expat Rick McCann, who is joined by partner and fellow Stock/Super Stock racer Carla Pittau, and crew Dave and Christine Buckland.

Top Fuel Dragster was won by Anita Mäkelä who ran 3.91/500, 3.95/479 and 4.841/247 in the final at the expense of a blower belt.


Pro Stock racer Bengt Ljungdahl was the surprise round one exit when Magnus Pettersson inflicted a holeshot defeat on him, with a 0.005 RT to Bengt's 0.099 and a 6.668 ET to Bengt's 6.625.

Top Methanol Funny car racer Linn Engan Karlsen ran a 5.907/393.3 pass in round one but Jonny Lagg was able to pass her with a 5.6495/422.2.


Top Methanol Funny car racer Ari Pietil� had a bye in round one and ran 6.362/257.39, suffering engine damage on the run. In round two he just made the call but was unable to start against Timo Habermann

Top Methanol Dragster racer Jonny Lagg pedalled a couple of times against Linn Engan Karlsen to run a 5.6495, then in round two he improved to a 5.452/427.55 but was defeated by Dennis Habermann's 5.368/432.25.


Top Methanol Funny car racer Micke Larsson rolled the beams before the lights ran and received a disqualification against Timo Habermann in round one.

Super Twin Bike racer Per Bengtsson said 'We came here to test a new cam drive and transmission, the bike went up in smoke on the final pass, but we were happy with the testing. We hope to have Tommy back with us in August and we will test in Malmö the week before so that we are race-ready. I am ready to ride, only if Tommy is unable to join us'.


Top Fuel Bike racer Peter Andersson got to the semi final with a 7.444/297 when Sverre Dahl shut off after the burnout. He said 'I aim to go quicker in the semi final. We had a problem with the clutch on Friday but replaced that and the bike is going quicker'. His run in the semi final was a 7.385 bye and he faced Rickard Gustafsson in the final, running a 7.369 to Rickard's 6.065.

Top Methanol Funny car racer Sandro Bellio admitted he didn't see a green light on the tree when he left. He said 'It was strange for the stage bulbs to be on for so long, in qualifying I was used to leaving soon after the stage bulbs were lit. I thought I was first through the lights.' Officials decided that Dennis Habermann was the winner.


Top Methanol Dragster racer Dennis Habermann also thought he was first through the finish line. He said 'I thought the tree was slow to activate but Sandro left earlier than me with the tree advantage'. Judges of fact determined that Dennis had won the race and went on to win the final against brother Timo, both cars running in the 5.3s.

Pro Modified racer Norbert Kuno had a good day with wins against David Vegter and Jan Ericsson in rounds one and two, both five second runners during qualifying. He said 'We have a good setup which now works at this track. We want to give it more power for a five second pass in the next race against Jimmy Ålund but to be careful not to give the track too much power. Overall we're happy as this is the first semi final we've been in for some time'.


Top Fuel Dragster racer Micke Kågered reached the final by defeating Jöran Persåker in round one with a 4.564/280 and then doing an easy launch against a shut-off Timo Lehtimäki in the semi final. Crew member Rob Inglis said 'The engine had a burnt head gasket in round one and the safety device deployed when the pressure increased. So all we needed to do was replace the gasket and a couple of pistons'. Rob mentioned the adjusted altitude is 1180ft today compared with 670ft yesterday and water grains have gone from 40 to 55. 'This makes it more difficult to create power', he finished.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Bjorn Mårtensson was pleased with the car's performance despite being first alternate. He said 'We were pleased the car left the line really hard and was super strong. I was not used to the force and my foot came off the pedal on the first run. The car doesn't eat parts and feels well balanced and as strong as hell. We are figuring out the clutch settings which lost us a couple of qualifiers, we backed off it but it still smoked the tyres'. Bjorn plans to race again here in August and also at the finals if funds permit.


Top Fuel Dragster racer Timo Lehtimäki's crew chief Ulf Hultholm said after their round one defeat of Stefan Gunnarsson 'We are getting down the track but need to do better times against Anita. We'll see what happens with the changes we have made. The car is reliable as it could be and nothing has broken'. He suffered a fuel leakage after the burnout in the semi final and was shut off.

Pro Modified team owner Magnus Petersson, who has owned the Old 51 since just after the first car was built in 1995-7, said 'We knew we had something in the car and found it and unleashed it. We want to stay in the tuning area that we have found to be successful, and just make small changes to compensate for the weather and track. Jimmy has no direct input to tuning decisions, of course we discuss it with him as he is so experienced he has so much knowledge, but I make the final call.


Pro Modified racer Michael Gullqvist was joined by his mother Ola. He said 'The event has not been so wonderful as we had problems keeping the car in sync with conditions. The weather is changing all the time and we never got into anything that works perfectly and we are chasing the tuneup. The track is getting warmer too'. A 6.05 and 5.93 in rounds one and two were followed by a 6.07 in the semi final but Andreas Arthursson went 5.88/409 to defeat Michael and reach the final.

Top Fuel Dragster owner Dan Söderberg, who is still 50:50 in partnership with former driver Monica Öberg, said the meeting was good in the end. 'It didn't start so well as Jöran is new to the car, didn't fit perfectly into it and deployed the chutes rather than selecting reverse after his first burnout. Then in the second session, reverse was not obtainable. We fixed those issues for Saturday and ran a good 4.27 in the third session, shut off after 4.1s. We don't have a big budget and plan to find a reliable combination that can run 4.1s soft and repeat. We only had one breakage this event, a blower belt. We want to run in August and then discuss plans for next year. I've run the car with Monica for 35 years now so a change of driver was significant, and she gave the ok to have another driver and can now invest in parts'.


Competition Eliminator racer Jens Eklund won the race after qualifying with a best of 7.079 and then running mid sevens in eliminations. He said 'The times were off our personal bests as we had silly problems and too much power leading to spinning the tyres and tyre shake after launch. The car runs well when we are not pushing it and have enough in reserve to go more rounds'.

Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkelä ran a holeshot victory over Liam Jones with a 3.918/500.46 to Liam's 3.908/503.73, the race of the event. She said 'I couldn't see Liam, I could hear him but didn't know how close he was. Our next event is at Alasataro about which I am sentimental as I have raced there ever since it opened. I think there will be a happy ending as the new facility will be nice. I've got to thank Alastaro and all those who have been involved in running it for their work in bringing FIA Drag Racing to Finland'.


Pro Mod racer Roger Johansson qualified in no.9 with a 6.027/367 after problems earlier and continued his renewed form in round one with a 6.03/384 defeat of Åke Persson who crossed the centre line and hit the 330ft reflectors. Roger met Jimmy Ålund in round two and despite stepping up to a 5.97, was beaten by Jimmy's 5.885.

Pro Mod racer Marcus Perman was the surprise of the event, not having licensed before and then running a 6.31/363 to go first alternate. He got to race Micke Gullqvist after Håkan Persson had a cracked block, but came up short with a game 6.45/358.


Pro Mod racer Michael Joneskog lost in a very close race against Marco Maurischat, 6.090/388 to Marco's winning 6.082/372, his performance continuing to show improvement after fitting a new third member.

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Marco Maurischat's improved performance continued in round one where he defeated five second qualifier Michael Joneskog. He met Andreas Arthursson in round two but the car crossed the centre line and hit one of the 330ft reflectors.


Pro Mod racer Freddy Fagerström had a massive holeshot win against Kim Kristiansen, Freddy's 0.089 RT against Kim's 0.2671 and then a 6.054/381 to Kim's 5.913/394. Freddy met Michael Gullqvist in round 2 but was 'bulbed' for late staging.

Pro Mod racer Norbert Kuno had the best reaction time of the round, a 0.003 and his 6.069/380 showed his car was tuned into the track conditions. Opponent David Vegter had other problems which the team had tried hard to resolve to no avail. Norbert defeated Jan Ericsson in round 2 and then suffered instant shake in the semi final against Jimmy Ålund.


Pro Mod racer David Vegter had a lot of work when the engine blew in qualifying session 4. Pictures show there was a fire at the top end. 'The fire didn't get in the drivers compartment but caused a lot of damage to the engine and front bodywork'. The team worked on it until 4am with help from Mats Bråg who welded the block and Kenneth Holmgren who worked on the carbon fibre front body. Dick Koster from Eurodragster.com sponsor Post & Dros said a lot of engine components and electrics needed to be replaced. Then in round one the car went left and took out the 330ft and 1000ft reflectors as David fought with it down the track.

Pro Mod racer Jan Ericsson qualified in no.4 position with a 5.936/393 and in round one defeated Bruno Bader with a 6.071/382 after backing the car down following tyre shake in Q4. He met Norbert Kuno in round two and ran a losing 6.123/381 to Norbert's winning 6.033/373.


Pro Mod racer Bruno Bader has had a uncharacteristically poor start to the season with the car shaking on most runs. He said 'The car seems not to like concrete tracks which are now the majority of the championship'. He qualified in 13th place with a 6.115 and in round one shook away from the line and a fuel line on the injector came loose as well spraying methanol on his tyres.

Pro Mod racer Micke Gullqvist qualified third with a 5.886/397 and defeated Marcus Perman with a 6.052/394.45 fastest speed of the round. In round two, he ran 5.936/397 and then a losing 6.079/387.37.


Pro Mod racer Micke Johansson raced Andreas Arthursson and Andreas crossed the finish line first, but with no times recorded Andreas was adjudged the winner despite the green light not appearing.

Pro Mod racer Jimmy Ålund in the Old 51 ran the quickest time of round one with a 5.870/390 to defeat Lars Järpler. He qualified no.1 with a new PB 5.845, thanks to Robin Jackson for supplying details of new personal bests. In the final the team couldn't get the car started leaving Andreas Arthursson to solo for the win.

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