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Super Comp Bike racer Kathrine Wagenius did well over the weekend, qualifying sixth out of 13 however in eliminations the engine blew and the bike slid in its own oil, throwing her off. It was a conrod departing the engine that caused the incident, which left her unhurt apart from a sore thumb and a little dizziness. Kathrine started racing when she was nine years old, now she is 21 and quite a veteran. When she started she was the youngest bike racer in Norway. She races in the NMC series, and her PB is 8.546/257 on her Hayabusa. Her dream is to compete in Super Street Bike, like her father Dag Wagenius. She is studying Mechanical Engineering at university in Norway. She had planned to run the whole NMC series but will now have to work on getting the bike fixed. She thanks her family, friends and the whole Super Comp Bike class who have been really supportive, and also thanks sponsors Mobil1 and Meca. Pit note © Mike Kraaij
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Maja Udtian ran her first two 3.9s in qualifying and a personal best run in the first round of eliminations, 3.848/507kph, two kph below the speed record and two hundredths above the European ET record. As father Paul Ingar and sister Mari watched from the start line their expressions show the shared joy of their team's achievement. In round two there was a rematch of the Main Event final with Maja up against Anita Mäkelä. Maja chose the left lane and the car was up in smoke which ended her landmark weekend.
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Pro Stock racer Bengt Ljungdahl had shake problems on Friday but some adjustments produced good times of 6.58 in session three and 6.57 in session five. Session four was held in the heat of the afternoon and the shake problem returned. In round one he suffered a holeshot defeat to Robin Norén, recording his best ET of the weekend, 6.558/338kph.
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Pro Stock racer Thomas Lindström, who is doing a partial season in 2019 and whose car is up for sale, ran 6.644, 6.657, 6.645 but then things went awry with the setup and he suffered bad shake in the last two sessions. The problems continued into the first round and were compounded by a red light against Stefan Ernryd.
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Pro Stock racer Stefan Ernryd had a curious race against Michael Malmgren in the semi final when Michael and then Stefan lost traction in turn and then Stefan, ahead of Michael, had an engine problem. Michael was able to get back on the throttle after the car settled and drive past Stefan. Previously Stefan had run 6.64s in sessions one and three, shook in sessions two and four, and ran his best time of the weekend in session five, a 6.61.
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Pro Stock racer Jimmy Ålund ran a 6.636, 6.585, 6.577, 6.618 and 6.564 in qualifying, the most consistent of all, and in eliminations defeated Christian Sagelv with a 6.617 and Robin Norén with a 6.571. In the pits yesterday Jimmy was paying close attention to the valve train and he is going to be hard, but not impossible, to beat. In the final he defeated Michael Malmgren with a 6.60 in a close race.
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Pro Stock racer Robin Norén has now reached performance parity with the top half of the class and this showed in his qualifying runs of 6.649, 6.659, 6.665, missing session four and 6.654 in the final session. He is also more consistent than most other competitors in the class. In round one he defeated Bengt Ljungdahl on a holeshot and in the semi final he left on Jimmy Ålund but Jimmy was able to drive around him.
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Pro Stock racer Christian Sagelv qualified seventh with 6.651 in his Jerry Haas-built (2013) Mustang, unusually running a Ford engine. In round one of eliminations, Christian had the better reaction time and 60ft time against Jimmy Ålund, a 1.0016. But he hit shake and after a pedal, the engine started smoking and that was it for Christian.
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Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren utilised the power of his Gray Motorsport engine to qualify number one, with a 6.558 following earlier efforts of 6.615, 6.631 and two shake filled runs. In eliminations, a 6.595 overcame Simon Gustafsson in round one and his racecraft came out on top against Stefan Ernryd in the semi final.
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Pro Stock racer Simon Gustafsson, pitted alongside Michael Malmgren, ran a 6.740 in session one as he sought to work the bugs out of his new car and this time could not be improved on although he ran 6.746 and 6.770 in sessions four and five.
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Top Methanol Dragster racer Jonny Lagg qualified second after an initial up in smoke effort. His runs in sessions two, three and five were 5.458, 5.352 and 5.428, showing the new setup installed over the winter worked well. Speeds were in the 415-430kph range (266mph). In eliminations, he ran a 5.635 against Sandro Bellio in the semi final. In the final Jonny had a holeshot and controlled the car well to stay ahead of Silvio Strauch, 5.53 to Silvio's 5.48.
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Top Methanol Funny Car racer Sandro Bellio ran a couple of full passes in Saturday's qualifying, after the car rolled the beams and later got into shake in Friday's attempts. The times were 5.626 and 5.574 in sessions three and five, the car again rolling the beams in session four. In eliminations, he fell behind Jonny Lagg during the run when the car burned up the clutch mid track and and he shut off early.
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Top Methanol Dragster racer Daniel Jedborn ran his final licensing pass on Friday, a great 5.45/410kph and then could take part in qualifying. The car went up in smoke in session two, and he missed session three and four. In session five after Jerry Darien had looked at the car setup, Daniel went 5.341/424 and leapt to the top of the order. In round one, Daniel went up in smoke again against Silvio Strauch, showing the characteristics of A/Fuel cars - sometimes quick and fast, but also inconsistent.
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Top Methanol Dragster racer Silvio Strauch, in the Bavarian Thunder car, is part of team Engine Ghost and ran 5.78 and 5.60/409 on Friday in an impressive FIA debut. On Saturday he showed great consistency, running 5.478/418, 5.487/417 and 5.468/419. The car showed no signs of problems and in round one he defeated Daniel Jedborn with a 5.561/403.
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Pro Modified racer Jere Rantaniemi, in his first FIA race following a Top Doorslammer race here last year, had some valve train problems at the end of his final qualifying pass. He said 'I heard the problem and we were able to borrow parts from our team mate Andreas Arthursson and repair the engine'. In round one against Freddy Fagerström, Jere got into severe tyre shake and was off the throttle by quarter-track.
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Pro Modified racer Freddy Fagerström, after defeating Jere Rantaniemi in round one with a 6.13, was up against Europe's quickest Pro Mod in round two. Freddy stepped up the performance of his truck and it resulted in his first five second pass, a 5.954/382, however despite Freddy's quicker reaction, Andreas ran a 5.789/412 to win the round. We suspect Freddy won't be too disappointed!
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Pro Modified racer Marcus Perman came in as first alternate for Rolf Simonsson and left on Jan Ericsson, but then Jan's superior performance kicked in and Marcus was left trailing with a 6.356/331 to Jan's 5.879/396.
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Pro Modified racer Stian Rusånes in the Willys Coupe was second alternate but didn't get to race. He did leave the event with a 6.494/359 new Personal Best and will undoubtedly step up in future events.
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Pro Modified racer Roger Johansson had qualified only in the last session with a 6.009. In round one he faced Åke Persson and in a close race, Roger's holeshot proved superior when a 5.999 coupled with a RT of 0.0612 defeated a 5.993 with a RT of 0.1250. Previously Roger had mentioned that clutch adjustment to get down the track quicker was his main issue. In round two he squeezed the lights a bit too much and a 0.0026 red light ensured Jan Ericsson went through to the semi final.
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Pro Modified racer Åke Persson, with unexpected help from Jonnie Lindberg, ran five second passes in qualifying and in round one, but a slower reaction time against Roger Johansson was the difference in a close race.
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Pro Modified racer Mats Eriksson had a big victory in round two when he defeated Micke Gullqvist who had a slower reaction time. Mats' 0.0818 RT and 6.049 ET saw off Micke's 0.2256 RT and 5.911 ET. Neither car went straight, but Micke's made a move at the start and he was having problems keeping it in the right direction.
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Pro Modified racer Michael Joneskog qualified 11th with a 6.045 in session there, with driveline issues in session one, and shake in the other sessions apart from his best run. In round one he came up against a resurgent Mats Eriksson who defeated him with a 6.08.
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Pro Modified racer Dmitry Samorukov missed the first two qualifying sessions but he was determined to make it into the ladder on the second day. On his first pass the shake was enough to deploy the safety systems and the chutes, but then in session four the car blackstriped the track, and despite early chute deployment, the car still ran a 6.489/294, quick but only 15th place at that point. In the final session he drove it out the back door and scored a 6.156/370kph to go twelfth, albeit with an oil trail to the finish line which was quickly cleared. In round one he was against Jimmy Ålund but left before the tree was activated giving the win to Jimmy and not recording a time. Crew chief Adam Flamholc commented 'It's been a great effort by the team to get the Camaro back on track after the big fire we had at Santa Pod less than two weeks ago.'
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Pro Modified racer David Vegter, who we noticed as the most consistent racer in the class by his times, was up against the Firebird of Kim Kristiansen in round one. David recorded his best time of the event so far, a 5.862/398 to defeat Kim, both cars having been built by Eurodragster.com sponsors Andy Robinson Racecars. In round two, a 'battle of the titans' did not transpire as Jimmy Ålund was unable to make the call. In the final however the car's consistency deserted David as Jan Ericsson ran a 5.85 for the win.
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Pro Modified racer Kim Kristiansen ran 6.17, 6.16 and 6.17 in his first three qualifying passes, but when he tried stepping it up the car went slower and ultimately blazed the tyres in the final session. In round one of eliminations he was off the throttle early when David Vegter drove away from him.
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Pro Modified racer Micke Gullqvist suffered engine and gearbox problems in qualifying, but he was back to usual form by session three, despite some smoke from leaky cylinders on idle, and ran 6.003, 5.929 and 5.884 in the final three sessions. A further improvement to 5.858 in round one overcame Peter Kunc but in round two he fell victim to a Mats Eriksson holeshot and lost despite recording a quicker 5.911 to Mats' 6.050.
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Competition Eliminator racer Odd Erik Fossum qualified in the number one position despite some bad shake in qualifying, and damage in session three. His best pass was a 6.329 on a 7.18 A/PM index, and in the first three rounds he had a bye run, a 6.998 against Lasse Britsmar, and a 6.511 against a red-lighting Mats Lundqvist
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Jndia Erbacher had an unfortunate series of qualifying runs when she lost a blower belt in session one, tyre shake in sessions two and three, and the engine shutting off after not finding reverse in session four. She became first alternate, and whilst she got an opportunity to race Anita in round one, the challenge faded just feet off the start line.
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Tethys was in the ladder after his 4.15 on seven cylinders in the final session, and the team were quietly confident. Tethys had additional help from team-mate Jndia's crew. After nearly being 'bulbed' for staging too late, both he and Stig Neergaard suffered shake and smoke and Tethys recovered first; at the end, his momentum carried him across the finish line before Stig. In the semi-final he is due to race Micke Kågered.
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Stig Neergaard, one of only two in the field to run a six disc clutch (the other being Anita), ran 4.253, 4.111, 5.354 and 5.433, the slower times indicating the car was overpowering the track in its runs on Saturday. This morning against Tethys, with temperatures lower than yesterday, the setup produced shake and smoke.
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Micke Kågered improved during the event with John 'Bodie' Smith keeping a watchful eye on the car setup, particularly the clutch. Qualifying times were 5.173, a shut-off in session two, 4.326 and 4.425. In round one his best time of 4.100/427 took him past Liam Jones who had his own problems.
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Liam Jones came into the event having run a string of 3.9 passes at Santa Pod Raceway. He suffered problems in qualifying with shake and smoke and his best came after being held on the line in session two and he scored a 3.891. In the first round of eliminations against Micke Kågered the tyres went up in smoke and the car went across the centre line in his effort to catch Micke, but Liam held it well and the car is still in one piece.
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkelä ran a 3.926/427 to defeat Jndia Erbacher in round one the run being just 17 thousandths off her best qualifying time of 3.911/483. In the semi-final she ran a near-record 3.852/508 to defeat Maja Udtian and get to the final against Micke Kågered, at which point the rains came once more...
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Patrik Pers struggled to get the engine to start against Anita Mäkelä with an electrical malfunction, the result being a push back and Jndia Erbacher being given a chance to race the defending champion.
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Pro Modified racer Åke Persson said after running a 5.983 to qualify 7th. He said 'We are happy with the way the car is running and handling. We are grateful that Jonnie Lindberg is available to help us, we contacted him on Wednesday via Snapchat and he said he could come to the track. We have the best team'! Mikael Lindahl is also helping the team this weekend, he and brother Marcus are racing a '63 Corvette with a screw blower and are considering a move back to Pro Modified, but will first compete with it at the Cordova World Series of Drag Racing in September before bringing it back to Sweden.
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Jonnie Lindberg has had to return to Sweden as his passport and US Visa have expired, and he is awaiting the outcome of his application for a Green Card in order for him to resume his Funny Car season with Jim Head racing. He said 'As well as racing Funny Car, I am advising TAFC racer Brian Hough who is number three in the championship and racing at Topeka this weekend. The next two races for Jim Head racing are back to back dates in Bristol and Norwalk during the next two weekends'. Jonnie has been able to help Åke Persson and other teams and is in demand during his unplanned visit to his home country.
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Pro Modified racer Mats Eriksson was in the low 6.0s on Friday but improved in session four to 5.96 which he repeated in the final session. He said 'The car has now run well in both lanes which has given me confidence. We want to step up to high 5.8s and have the capacity to do so and think we now have consistency as well'.
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Pro Modified racer Jere Rantaniemi is running a PPF team car and sharing data with Andreas Arthursson. The turbo Camaro ran a 6.05 in session three and 5.95 in session four before being shut off in the final session. He said 'Our target is to be the quickest car. We have run here as a Top Doorslammer and won the Night of Fire race at the end of last season. We have upgraded for this season and moved to a ProLine Hemi engine, made weight distribution changes and installed a FuelTech engine management system'. The team plans to run in Finland, Hockenheim, Tierp in August and then depending on the points championship, may come to the Euro Finals.
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Pro Modified racer Andreas Arthursson ran a 5.845/408 in session two to qualify number one and repeated in session four, however experienced tyre shake in sessions three and five. He said 'We tried to go quicker and it shook. But our best runs were with high track temperatures, the temperature in Q4 had gone up to 125 degrees. The car is mechanically reliable and we have only had to change one valve spring. But with temperatures expected to be lower tomorrow, we have a lot of thinking to do on the raceday setup'.
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Tethys qualified in the last session with a 4.15 run after missing two sessions following major engine damage in session one and a blower problem in the warm up for session three. But with Jndia Erbacher in ninth place, would team orders come into play? Tethys explained 'In the deal I struck with Urs at the start of the season we agreed there would be no team orders. The whole team is helping on the car, Tony Shortall has been working on the clutch and Aaron Brooks will be helping on the engine. The 4.15 was on seven cylinders as one went out at the hit. A pulley sheared off at the end of the run, but apart from that and a couple of pistons there was no major damage. So we have the potential for more performance and will probably need it as we are racing against Stig'. Tethys reminded us that his previous race at Tierp was in Dave Wilson's A/Fuel car, and in three passes, two blocks were destroyed.
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Pro Stock and Pro Modified racer Jimmy Ålund was relieved to have got into the ladder for Pro Modified with a 5.908 after problems. 'The car was sketchy, and we had a lot of tyre shake, and the starter motor broke on one run. But Magnus found a setup that could get us into the ladder. There is nothing wrong with the track but we found we had to adapt the setup to work on it. In Pro Stock the car feels really good and we had five solid runs with it, and we had no problems. Michael has found some more performance which is good and the competition is better'.
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Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren is in his second year of using Gray Motorsports engines and he got the best power out of his to go number one in the final session with a 6.55 run. He said 'I'm very pleased with a new Personal Best and the team have done a super job on the car. With cooler temperatures, we could run quicker tomorrow'. Pictured are Monica Bengtsson, Michael Malmgren, Kent Eriksson, Kent Jonsson and Rob Stanley.
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