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20:00

Ulf Leanders (TMFC) said 'it feels unreal and it's hard to believe we have won the Championship. We had to take a chance on the lights as Leif's performance was ahead of ours, but in the event he red-lit. On the final against Dan, we had no shake on the launch and were looking forward to a good run but when we shifted into second gear, there was nothing and I suspect that the gear was broken in the tyre shake against Andreasson".

Gittli Koller of Peter Schofer's TMD team said "We are very happy with the event win. We ran each time as if it was the final and in the end we missed the championship by four points. We have had nine events this year and it's been a really busy time for us. We're looking forward to next year and thanks to Eurodragster for your coverage (you're welcome - Pit reporter) and everyone who made it happen. To compete in TMD against the other racers is a pleasure".

Anthony Cohen of Eurodragster.com event coverage sponsors American Car Imports, said of the ACI racing team "We are the first pro team in European Drag Racing to win four consecutive championships which is a credit to Dave Wilson's determination, commitment, driving prowess and ability to turn the car around. His achievements over the last five years have been marvellous and the car has set records that are only two tenths behind those in the NHRA. We are looking forward to working with him next year".

Jimmy Ålund said "It was nice to win the championship and to win a race on a holeshot, but we have also beaten Michael Malmgren 3-0 in finals which is sweet as he has had the fastest car since the Alastaro race. It makes us feel real champions. The win is also good because this is our last meeting with the car as we have sold it to sportsman racer Adam Flamholc who will be moving up to Pro Stock next year, so you will see the car in Europe.

Andrea Wucher, press officer for Urs Erbacher's team said "We have ended up as no. 3 in both Top Fuel and Supertwin championships which was our expectation. You couldn't expect more in your first year in Top Fuel. We used a lot of parts and money at the start of the year but after Finland we got better and better and it's been good to have Glenn Mikres on th team. Top Fuel has been tight this year with more than eight cars in each field. We will travel home tomorrow and start thinking and planning about next year. Our plans will be to run the same vehicles as this year and move further up in the championships".

Mats Eriksson (Pro Mod) said after red-lighting against Seppo Saapola "I was kicking myself as I did the same in Norway against Andy. My only defence is that with the two-step I have to release the clutch later than before and I lost concentration for a moment and released the clutch too soon. Overall I am really happy for the crew and we ran our best ETs in the 6.20s and we have done better in the points this year too". Mats said that he is in for a busy winter with chassis orders and also plans to build a spare chassis for the Green Goblin.

15:00

These comments were after the first round of eliminations.

Ulf Leanders (TMFC) said "We were happy with our run and had no big problems. We had a drop in no.4 cylinder pressure and so have had to take the head off. If the cylinder and crank look good, then we are looking good".

Dan Larsen of Eurodragster.com home and news sponsors Dansk Autto Hifi said "The championship was our aim this year, so now we have to settle for trying to win the race. We have a bye-run into the final and it doesn't worry me who we will meet there.

Leif Andreasson said "We read the computer data on our 5.765/245 and it said it was a perfect run for that setup. We will try to step it up a bit against Ulf. We know that it will be a good race as Ulf is good, but we'll try to give him a run for his money.

Multi-time Pro Stock Bike champion Roger Pettersson was an interested viewer of the event. He said "It's been nice to have a year off and spend some more time with my family. Depending on funding, I am hoping to return to Pro Stock Bike with a Suzuki next year or the year after. Looking at this event I have been impressed with Anders Jakobsson but also Tom Tinndahn has been very fast on his Buell".

Jimmy Ålund was delighted with his repeat championship and said how well all the Pro Stocks were running this weekend. Semi-final opponent Eero Knihtila said "We are happy with the car and came here to have some fun as the championship was almost decided. We can run consistent 6.8s which is very pleasing. Our championship campaign was hurt by the problems that we had at Alastaro and a mistake leading to a red light at Mantorp. Thanks to my crew who made the car run so well in competition. We are on the lookout for sponsors for next year.

Håkan Nilsson was delighted with his first Top Fuel Championship in his rookie season in the class and said, "I would like to thank the crew who did such a fantastic job. We weren't so happy with Friday's runs but came back strongly on Saturday and overall I'm thrilled at how the year has gone."

Lex Joon said "It was a great race between Micke and myself and good entertainment for all the crowd. We were side by side to the eighth mile and then we pulled ahead by spun the tyres near the finish line. I am delighted that we kept the motor together and dropped no oil. Håkan is a deserving champion and I congratulate him and we are looking forward to racing him and hopefully beating him in the semi final".

Next door to Lex, fellow round one victor Tommi Haapanen's crew were looking despondent after major engine destruction with several broken rods and a bent crankcase tesimony to the attrition.

Dave Bailey (Top Fuel Bike) said "It's been a good weekend for us. We ran a NPB in qualifying and our second best run in round one. The bike is a Pro Mod owned by Ken Cooper, with an MTC Suzuki-based motor and sponsored by Wizards of NoS. Pro Mod bikes are more limited than Funny Bikes as they must run petrol with only one stage of nitrous and tyres are narrower.

Ian King said "We were happy to beat Rickard (Gustavsson) but I congratulate him on his championship. It wasn't a perfect run as we dropped a cylinder at the top of both first gear and second which resulted in lower ET and speed. I am looking forward to racing Roel in the semi".

Urban Johansson said "We lost some top speed on our second round run and we don't know why. The car was set up to run a 6.20. We're against Danny Cockeill next round and it's a shame Andy broke, we wanted to meet him in the final.

Eurodragster.com news sponsor Andy Robinson said "We were mystified why the engine wouldn't start - there was just no sprak and we still have to find out why. It's been great to run a teen and in this sport you have to accept losing a race but it's really frustrating thing being unable to start.

Danny Cockerill was downbeat about his chances against Urban Johansson. "We think the next time may be our last run this weekend", he said. "We can't get to where we need to be with our clutch setup. We beat Markko Lanto in round two but don't have anything left. If we got around Urban, then we would be looking good".

Norbert Kuno (first round loser in Pro Mod) said "We just got too close to the wall. We set the car up to run a 6.3 and had our best 60' time ever but the car went left and right down the track and was shaking so much we had to lift. It's been an awesome meeting with 12 our of 16 pro mods running NPBs".

Mats Eriksson said "I don't know how many times we have started a race with quick times and then slowed down and then come back strong in eliminations, and this is what has happened this time. It feels so good to run the car the whole way down the track and you can bet that it is sure an entertaining experience to drive it. The right way to run this car is as hard as possible. I have lane choice against Saapola and will probably choose the right lane as the left is tricky for us".

Lo Stauble's bike shut off after the burnout and he was unable to re-start it. "I think we hit the rev limiter and may have done some damage but the motor cut out while we were still in the water box. We couldn't determine the cause immediately as the computer is only switched on when we go into pre-stage. We are looking forward to next year now".

Ronny Aasen said "We are happy with the bike now. My crew chief Stein Erik Tveraaen and I had problems reading the track and we found a solution yesterday evening. It leaves the line well but is almost too lazy down the track. We're against Per Bengtsson in the semi-final. He's been doing this for 25 years and I think he's onto something now".

Gunther Sohn said "Our time in the first round was poor because the clutch didn't come in quickly enough. We will now increase the power. I am delighted with a 6.71 PB this meeting. The bike works well but it is difficult to tune with cooler conditions this morning and the warmth this afternoon - it's important to have combinations that work well in a variety of conditions".

Rickard Gustavsson said "It's been an enjoyable weekend and I am pleased with running a 6.55/205 against Ian King. Although we lost the race we did win the Top Fuel Bike championship and the season was well ahead of our expectations. For next year we want to build a stronger engine and go even faster. My thanks go to Kim and Jasmine on the team and sponsors Mac Tools".

Anders 'Charley' Karling said "We broke our crank on the first day and only had one spare engine left and saved it to the final qualifying run. The field is so competitive, I wasn't worried which postion we were in and the championship is close but we will just try to win the race. Gunther is a very strong competitor".

Anders Jakobsson (Pro Stock bike) is happy with a NPB of 7.36 this meeting but is wary that semi-final opponent Anders Abrahamsson will find something to step up with. From PiPPi, we learned later that Anders Abrahamsson changed to a backup engine, and that helped him to win that race.

Martin Newbury was pleased to reach the semi when he will meet Anders Abrahamsson's team-mate Orjan Gustavsson. Martin said "We are getting better and will try our best to beat him." Martin's support comes from Psycleworkz.com.

Luigi Chinarello has enjoyed the weekend coming from Italy to race in PSB. "Our best ET and speed are 7.650 and 175mph. It's a shame that our home tracks are really for street cars and we are unable to run there safely. We may go to Malta to test later and will be back here for sure next year".

12:10

Peter Dahlin runs the Pro Stock Dodge Avenger in Team Samantha. Erik Zettervall of Svensk Dragracing said that the team name has an interesting derivation. "The team ran in Street Altered (SA) class in Sweden in the mid-1980s in an Opel Manta. The team name was taken from the class and the car joined together and they have continued with it." Peter went out to a strong Michael Malmgren, who ran the quickest ET of round 1.

Lorenz Stauble's non-appearance in Supertwin round one has meant that Anders Charley Karling is the only rider that can catch Ronny Aasen. If Ronny wins the semi-final, he will be champion.

We understand Shaun Branch was delayed in traffic coming to the track and did not have time to warm the bike up

11:00

A few words from the no.1 qualifiers interviews:

Lo Stauble (Supertwin): "We've great guys on the team. We have a chance of the championship. It will be difficult, but we are going for it".

Tom Tinndahn (Pro Stock Bike) said "I am enjoying racing in Pro Stock bike and have had a great year".

Roel Koedam (Top Fuel Bike): "The nitro burners can still hold their own and we can beat the funny bikes but they are very consistent". Happy Birthday to Roel who celebrated his 50th birthday this weekend.

Urban Johansson (Pro Mod) said "We are looking to win the event as well as the championship. In performance a 6.0 is our next target".

Dave Wilson (TMD): "The other competitors are chasing for my no.1. We tried to make the car run as quickly as possible yesterday but had a malfunction with the fuel system that caused a damaged motor. It's a close championship with Peter (Schofer). Anyone could win this meeting but we could decide the championship in the semis".

Leif Andreasson (TMFC) said "With my Swedish Armed forces sponsorship, we are getting the tank down the track! When we got the new car we struggled to get the combination and now we have found it, we want to keep it there. We can't be comfortable though".

Michael Malmgren (Pro Stock) said "We are happy big-time. Suddenly everything is working. After our crash at the Main Event, we almost parked the car, but I put some steam in the team and they said "We will do whatever it takes". My driving was bad in Finland and we went out in the semis at Norway, but the car has been the fastest in the field and my driving is getting better every run".

Urs Erbacher (Top Fuel) said "We started blowing engines at the Main Event. The team works really well together and we wanted to make the transition ourselves. We now have a really nice setup. After this season I feel comfortable in the car and it pulls very hard from mid-track".

10:00

Good morning and welcome to Sunday's pit notes from race day at the FIA European Finals. The fog has mainly lifted, the temperature has risen from 11 to 20 degrees in the last hour and a half and we're looking good to start racing in the next hour. First will be the startline interviews with no. 1 qualifiers.

In the championships, congratulations to Urban Johansson (Pro Mod), Rickard Gustavsson (Top Fuel Bike) and Anders Abrahamsson (Pro Stock Bike) for winning their repective titles.

In the remainder of the championships, Top Fuel will be decided in the first round matchup between Håkan Nilsson and Thomas Nataas. Top Methanol dragster is close between Dave Wilson and Peter Schofer and could be decided if these two meet in the semi-final. TMFC is between Leif Andreasson and Ulf Leanders and could go down to the final. And in Pro Stock, Jimmy Alund will win the championship if he gets past the first round. In Supertwin, too close to call between Ronny Aasen and Lo Stauble and this could also go down to the final.