2006 FIA European Finals
Sunday (eliminations)


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20:45

Today's pictures have been posted together with Simon's last set of pit notes for this event. You can get to both from the Event Index page; if you don't see the pictures when you load the Gallery page then click on your Browser's Refresh button.

18:25

With all finals run and the Fuel FCs and Jets waiting in the pairing lanes the event had to be stopped due to the earlier medical emergency.

Congratulations to the 2006 European Champions (subject to official ratification):

FIA Top Fuel Dragster: Håkan Nilsson
FIA Top Methanol Dragster: Dave Wilson
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car: Ulf Leanders
FIA Pro Stock: Jimmy Ålund
FIA Pro Modified: Urban Johansson

FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike: Rikard Gustafsson
FIM/UEM Supertwin: Ronny Aasen
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike: Anders Abrahamsson

Congratulations also to our new European record holders (subject to ratification):

Top Fuel Dragster: 4.747 seconds and 312.22 mph, Urs Erbacher
Pro Stock: 6.850 seconds and 202.58 mph, Michael Malmgren
Pro Modified: 6.174 seconds, Urban Johansson

We're now working on today's pictures, and Simon has gone to talk to today's winners, so stay tuned for that.

18:00

Sportsman classes final results:

Comp Eliminator: Spencer Tramm (8.12) 9.204/145.16 def. Andy Frost (7.80) 7.967/178.58
Super Pro ET: Barry Giles (7.63) 7.648/161.22 def. Nigel Payne (7.98) 7.988/171.22
Pro ET: Ian Atkinson (10.91) 10.998/116.92 def. Paul Vrind (10.05) 10.011/132.72 red
Sportsman ET: Geoff Cowley (15.70) 15.770/83.80 def. Graham Fairhead (15.50) 15.570/83.83 Super Comp: Pete Creswell 8.902/154.55 def. Brian Pateman 8.950/152.64
Super Gas: Jon Morton 9.967/145.25 def. Stuart Morrice 10.022/140.55
Super Street: Bob Lees 11.092/111.89 def. Martyn Sanger 11.160/103.65
Junior Dragster: Jenny Gustafsson (9.05) 9.132/68.28 def. Holly Mitchell (9.40) 9.485/68.90

9.50 Bike: Andy Bird 9.641/136.30 def. Phil Pratt 9.729/140.11

17:40

FIA Top Fuel Dragster final:

Urs Erbacher 4.790/312.22 def. Håkan Nilsson 5.196/214/37

Urs did it all here, taking the event win, backing up yesterday's 4.747 for a new European ET record, the 312.22 is backed up by yesterday's 318 for a new record. Urs was away first 0.106 to 0.164, Håkan had the better sixty foot time 0.868 to 0.908, but Urs was on a stormer as Håkan pitched his blower belt at about 900 feet and it was all over for him. Congratulations to Urs on his first Top Fuel event win and to Håkan, Karsten Andersen, Per Andersen and the Veidec/Landmeco team on their Championship.

17:35

FIA Top Methanol Dragster final:

Peter Schöfer 5.559/256.03 def. Dave Wilson 5.702/244.35

Peter away first 0.098 to 0.114, an astounding 0.895 sixty foot time for Peter to Grumpy's 0.933, Grumpy's tyres started to chatter and he drive through it but lost time as the tyres smoked, 3,646/204.66 at half track for Peter to Grumpy's 3.746/201.96, Peter took the stripe by 0.158. Peter not havign taken Low ET, Grumpy wins the 2006 FIA European Top Methanol Dragster Championship, his fourth in a row, well done Grumpy!

17:15

Racing is on hold for a medical emergency. Stay tuned.

16:50

FIA/NDRS Bilsport Pro Modifed final:

Danny Cockerill 6.507/215.37 def. Seppo Saapola 6.619/206.37

Seppo was away first 0.090 to 0.169 but Danny had the better sixty foot time 1.083 to 1.116. It looked to be doorhandle to doorhandle and from here it was impossible to tell who was ahead although the incrementals say that Danny was pulling ahead a little by half track. Danny's first FIA Pro Mod win, well done Danny!

16:47

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car final:

Dan Larsen 5.874/244.71 def. Ulf Leanders 6.900/134.74

Ulf away first 0.101 to 0.118, Dan drove through what, judging by his tyre marks, was pretty bad shake and he held on to the car as it moved around. There was a cloud of smoke and a muffled bang from Ulf's FC at half track and it was over for Ulf, Dan there first by 1.008.

16:43

FIA Pro Stock final:

Jimmy Ålund 6.921/198.29 def. Michael Malmgren 6.903/198.07

Another very rapid backup from his burnout for Michael followed by some last-minute adjustments to his wheelie bars. A start line victory for Jimmy with a 0.048 reaction to Michael's 0.097 and the win by 0.031 seconds.

16:40

FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike final:

Roel Koedam 6.324/195.38 def. Dave Bailey 7.391/185.27 red light

Roel Koedam's legendary Top Fuel Bike career comes to an end but he won't be lost to us as he will be riding Ton Pels' Supertwin in 2007. Roel gave the grandstand a wave during his burnout and then the crowd gave him a standing ovation as he backed up. Dave pulled a -0.024 red light handing the win to Roel and Roel didn't disappoint with a straight hard pass, only backing off at about 1200 feet as the engine made a grunting noise. Well done and thank you Roel and good luck in your new career!

16:30

FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike final:

Anders Abrahamsson 7.470/174.48 def. Orjan Gustavsson 7.696/166.83

The Team Motospeed team-mates faced off. Anders was away first 0.061 to 0.077 and never looked back with the better incrementals all the way down.

FIM/UEM Supertwin final:

Ronny Aasen no time def. Anders Karling 7.571/115.95 red light

Anders left as soon as the lights started to run, -0.400, in the other lane Ronny got to about thirty feet and a belt came off his bike. Anders was off the throttle at about half track.

15:50

Sportsman ET eliminations round 4 winners:

Geoff Cowley (15.70) 15.805/84.00, Graham Fairhead (15.35) 15.580/83.29 bye

Super Comp eliminations round 4 winners:

Pete Cresswell 8.930/148.70 bye, Brian Pateman 8.878/153.70

Junior Dragster eliminations round 3 winners:

Holly Mitchell (9.40) 9.46/69.15, Jenny Gustafsson (9.05) 9.058/70.43 bye

We are now taking a short break to prepare the track and collect our Pro finalists.

15:35

9.50 Bike eliminations round 4 winners:

Phil Pratt 9.640/139.77, Andy Bird 9.553/130.35

Super Gas eliminations round 4 winners:

Jon Morton 9.948/141.91, Stuart Morrice 9.926/140.62 bye

Super Pro ET eliminations round 4 winners:

Nigel Payne (8.00) 8.047/156.75, Barry Giles (7.65) 7.676/154.10

Track temperature at the end of Super Pro ET was 36.2 C, air temperature 25.8 and air pressure 30.15 inches.

15:30

Comp Eliminator eliminations round 1 winners:

Andy Frost (7.80) 9.858/178.79 bye, Spencer Tramm (8.12) 9.217/144.70 bye

Super Street eliminations round 3 winners:

Bob Lees 10.957/118.13, Martyn Sanger 11.020/113.29

15:25

Martin Hill followed Top Methanol FC with a 6.682/255.43 in the Fireforce 3 Jet Funny Car.

Junior Dragster eliminations round 3 winners:

Jenny Gustafsson (9.00) 9.075/70.19, Holly Mitchell (9.40) 9.428/69.55, Ross Norris (8.97) 9.056/67.45

Pro ET eliminations round 4 winners:

Paul Vrind (10.05) 10.402/103.90, Ian Atkinson (10.92) 10.921/114.17

15:15

FIA Top Methanol Dragster semi-finals:

Dave Wilson 5.515/253.91 def. Krister Johansson 6.680/189.96

Grumpy's dragster looked to roll the beam very slightly but the ACI dragster shot down the track whilst Krister's dragster was labouring, evidenced by Grumpy's 0.977 sixty foot time to Krister's 1.110 and 3.619 to 4.387 half track times. Grumpy took the stripe by 1.259 seconds.

Peter Schöfer 7.069/121.32 bye

The dragster hesitated a little off the line, 1.007 to sixty feet, and then Peter backed off before 250 feet.

Dave is Champion if he wins the final, if Peter wins the final and sets Low ET of the event then he wins by one point.

15:05

FIA/NDRS Bilsport Pro Mod semi-finals:

Danny Cockerill 7.569/131.54 bye, Urban Johansson shut off

Urban was shut off on the line for an oil leak, Danny took the bye. 1.059 to sixty feet, a brief pedal for shake, 4.390/154.65 at half track and then shut off and cruising through.

Seppo Saapola 6.596/199.30 def. Mats Eriksson 6.340/219.51 red light

Mats threw this one away with a -0.381 red light, Seppo also left early, by -0.043 but the first to do it is the first to lose it. 1.078 to sixty feet for Seppo and 4.286/169.23 at half track, from here it looked as if Seppo backed off just a touch early.

14:55

FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike semi-finals:

Roel Koedam 6.342/210.25 def. Ian King 6.519/197.34

This was a tremendous drag race between the two friends, Ian away first 0.130 to 0.188, Roel's incrementals were better from there on in, 1.093 sixty foot to Ian's 1.122 and 4.147/182.88 to half track to Ian's 4.215/178.53 and taking the win by 0.118.

Dave Bailey 8.521/118.50 bye, Sverre Dahl broke

Sverre's engine lost revs during the burnout and he shut off before staging. Dave took the bye and backed off as the Scalded Cat neared the guardrail.

FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike semi-finals:

Orjan Gustafsson 7.603/170.36 def. Martin Newbury 7.810/165.58

Orjan left first 0.060 to 0.080 and slowly pulled away down the track taking the stripe by 0.226. I think a new PB for Martin though, well done Martin!

Anders Abrahamsson 7.535/177.32 def. Anders Jakobsson 7.722/171.70

Anders J away first 0.079 to 0.088, quicker by 0.1 seconds and faster by 3 mph at half track, and won by 0.177.

14:50

FIM/UEM Supertwin semi-finals:

Ronny Aasen 6.852/209.46 def. Per Bengtsson 7.119/193.74

Ronny needed just this win to take the 2006 FIM/UEM European Supertwin Championship and he did it in fine style, the front wheel not coming down until past half track. 1.176 to sixty feet and 4.516/167.86 to half track, taking the stripe by 0.328.

Anders Karling 6.891/157.93 def. Gunther Sohn 7.335/190.73 red light

Gunther handed this one to Charley on a plate with a -0.400 red light. Anders clocked 1.135 to sixty feet and 4.351/156.89 to half track, and he backed off the throttle shortly after the halfway mark.

14:45

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car semi-finals:

Ulf Leanders 8.310/107.60 def. Leif Andréasson 6.430/150.44 red light

Leif handed Ulf the race and the 2006 FIA European Championship with a -0.251 red light. The engine of the Swedish Armed Forces FC made what can only be dscribed as grunting noises and there was oil in Leif's lane from the eighth to the finish line. Ulf hit shake and pedalled and then got off the throttle, I wonder whether he saw the win light in his lane. Congratulations to the Leanders Brothers on their Championship!

Dan Larsen 5.870/245.88 bye

A nice pass for Dan, 1.001 to sixty feet and 3.876/194.67 at half-track. Dan has lane choice in the final againt Ulf.

14:10

Fuel Funny Car match race 4:

Gordon Smith 5.935/197.32 def. John Spuffard 7.521/122.33

Spuff away first, Gordon was in hot pursuit, at about half track Spuff was off the throttle and vapour came from his headers, I am guessing the blower belt broke. Gordon carried on and then the tyres started to haze just past half track and the tyre marks went out at about 900 feet. Word just came back on the track radio that Spuff's belt had indeed broken.

Leif Helander 5.350/243.29 bye

A great run for Leif, 0.965 to sixty feet and 3.573/229.52 at half track and Leif's career best ET, well done Leif!

13:55

FIA Pro Stock semi-finals:

Michael Malmgren 6.928/200.10 def. Tommy Leindahl 7.049/197.40

Michael really is on fire this weekend, away first 0.059 to 0.084, a much better sixty foot time of 1.048 to Tommy's 1.076, two straight runs and 0.145 seconds in it at the stripe.

Jimmy Ålund 6.957/199.30 def. Eero Knihtilä 6.988/199.11 red light

Eero handed this one to Jimmy on the start line with a 0.023 red light. Jimmy clocked 1.039 to sixty feet and 4.479/157.86 at half track.

Michael Malmgren is runner-up in the 2006 Championship which is quite some feat given his crash at the FIA Main Event, well done the Lahega team!

13:50

FIA Top Fuel Dragster semi-finals:

Urs Erbacher 4.795/304.29 bye, Tommi Haapanen no show

Track temperature at the start of this session was 39.1 C, air temperature 23.1 C and air pressure 30.15 inches. Tommi didn't make the call after his boomer earlier so Urs took the bye. What a run! 0.889 to sixty feet, 3.239/258.68 to half track, straight as you like and no haze or other problems. This 4.795 is backed up by yesterday's 4.747 for a new European ET record - it was one thousandth off backing up the 4.747. Well done Urs!

Håkan Nilsson 5.015/267.99 def. Lex Joon 5.285/230.88

Lex away first 0.125 to 0.168, a storming 0.863 to sixty feet for Håkan to Lex's 0.901, both cars started to haze the tyres in the second half of the track and there was a flash of flame from Håkan's car at the finish line. Both lanes have black stripes all the way to the finish line. Lex's stripes head for the centre line at 900 feet.

13:30

Super Comp eliminations round 3 winners:

Pete Creswell 8.950/150.45, Brian Pateman bye 8.974/152.49 bye, Chris Isaacs 8.939/150.06

Sportsman ET eliminations round 3 winners:

Nick Gay (14.10) 14.141/93.00, Graham Fairhead (15.35) 15.436/81.10, Geoff Cowley (15.60) 15.907/88.59 bye

13:25

Super Pro ET eliminations round 3 winners:

Pat Talbot (6.96) 7.007/188.96, Nigel Turner (8.27) 8.413/156.81, Barry Giles (7.65) 7.631/170.63, Nigel payne (7.95) 8.067/170.35

13:15

9.50 Bike eliminations round 3 winners:

Phil Pratt 9.745/138.80, Andy Haley 9.477/142.55, Dave Burfitt 9.884/120.70, Andy Bird 9.601/131.94 bye

13:10

Super Street eliminations round 2 winners:

Ful Lievaart 11.117/109.98 bye, Mark Watkins 10.782/125.31, Martyn Sanger 10.897/108.93, Bob Lees 10.999/127.49

13:05

Super Gas eliminations round 3 winners:

Jon Morton 9.875/145.70, Tim Adam 9.936/142.51, Stuart Morrice 9.929/139.81

Track temperature at the end of Super Gas was 36.7 C, air temperature 22.9 C, and air pressure 20.15 inches.

13:00

Pro ET eliminations round 3 winners:

Paul Vrind (9.89) 10.019/133.41, Charlie Chivers (10.47) 11.850/100.21, Ian Atkinson (10.85) 10.923/118.75, carla Pittau (10.29) 10.320/129.03

12:55

Roger Goring followed up Pro Mod with a 6.317/250.29 in the Firestorm Jet Funny Car preceded by a thundering flame and smoke show.

Junior Dragster eliminations round 2 winners:

Jenny Gustafsson (9.05) 9.075/64.56, Holly Mitchell (9.46) 9.433/69.33, Vicky Molden (12.70) 12.982/49.78, Ross Norris (8.97) 9.086/69.23, Becky Evans (7.90) 8.024/77.56, Charlotte Watts (11.86) 11.900/54.74

12:45

FIA/NDRS Bilsport Pro Mod eliminations round 2:

Seppo Saapola 6.721/179.22 bye, Andy Robinson did not start

A big thumbs-up to Seppo who shut off before his burnout to give Andy time to start his Stude but in the end Seppo was given the signal to start and he took the bye. 1.092 to sixty feet and 4.301/171.20 to half track, Seppo shut off at about 1100 feet and there was some smoke from the car as he shut off but the track was checked and found to be clean. Patrick Wikström was on the start line with Seppo.

Urban Johansson 6.236/222.79 def. Roger Johansson 13.102/75.77

This was over within moments. Roger had the better reaction time 0.059 to 0.144, Urban was at sixty feet in 0.985 to Roger's 1.135 but then Roger's Mustang hit hard shake and turned hard right. The car went all blurry from here but Roger told me last night that it looks worse than it feels. Ubbe got to half track in 4.059/179.28.

Danny Cockerill 6.880/205.64 def. Marko Lantto 7.314/205.27

Marko's engine stopped on the way back from the burnout, but then he re-started and made the line. Marko got away first 0.059 to 0.199, his sixty foot was better 1.047 to 1.056, then both cars hit shake and it turned into a pedal fest as each realised that he couldn't see the other. Danny's Chevy made some hard moves left and right and he did a great job of hanging on to it, and he took the stripe by 0.291.

Mats Eriksson 6.297/224.79 def. Bruno Bader 6.522/217.18

This one was all about Mats, 0.075 reaction to Bruno's 0.211, 1.019 sixty feet to Bruno's 1.078, 4.106/177.82 at half track to Bruno's 4.253/173.14, and the stripe by 0.361.

12:35

FIA Top Methanol Dragster eliminations round 1:

Dave Wilson 5.453/258.59 bye

Grumpy took the bye for #1 qualifier. 0.938 to sixty feet, 3.570/209.72 to half track and going for lane choice against the winner of the Rob Turner v Krister Johansson race. Grumpy's ET is the same as his qualifying time, especially impressive given that Grumpy and the American Car Imports team changed the engine last night!

Krister Johansson 5.809/251.64 def. Rob Turner 5.923/238.00

Krister was away first 0.105 to 0.122, Rob had the better sixty foot 0.946 to 1.041 and then Krister's dragster visibily picked up and shot down the track whilst Rob had his hands full driving through shake and moving for the guardrail. The difference in half track speeds, 202.80 for Krister to 183.52 for Rob, shows just what a job Rob had on and he couldn't catch up, Krister took the stripe by 0.130.

Peter Schöfer 5.637/255.40 def. Rikard Persson 6.924/191.39

Peter got away first 0.192 to 0.227, and he just pulled away all the way down the track, 3.731/204.73 at half track to Rickard's 4.410/159.11 shows the difference between the cars. Peter took the win by 1.321 seconds but Rickard set a new Personal Best and his first six, well done Rickard!

12:25

FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike eliminations round 1:

Martin Newbury 7.887/166.79 def. Tom Tinndahn 8.663/133.51

A big shock as Tom's bike more or less died off the line and then it sounded as if Tom was cruising (relatively) up the track. Martin's win margin was 0.850 seconds.

Orjan Gustafsson 7.653/170.38 def. Len Paget 7.870/159.20

Len away first 0.052 to 0.096 nd had the better sixty foot time 1.170 to 1.176, but then Orjan's incrementals started to get better and he was ahead by half track.

Anders Jakobsson 7.400/175.86 def. Luigi Chinarello 30.591/27.19

Luigi got away 0.198 to 0.267, but there was a metallic snapping sound from his engine before the Tree and Anders shot away into the distance.

Anders Abrahamsson 7.515/172.24 def. Martin Bishop 7.652/172.99

Martin whacked Anders at the Tree, 0.018 to 0.102, his sixty foot time was the better 1.182 to 1.187, but Anders had made up the holeshot by half track and took the stripe by 0.052.

12:10

FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike eliminations round 1:

Roel Koedam 6.710/210.25 def. Neil Midgley 9.441/94.17

Neil got away first 0.132 to 0.208 but his Funny Bike sounded as if it was misfiring, Roel very quickly got past him blackstriping the entire length of his lane.

Ian King 6.432/197.39 def. Rikard Gustafsson 6.558/205.63

Sharkman summed this one up nicely: "Rikard couldn't have done any more could he, a PB". Rikard was away first 0.179 to 0.192 but Ian was past him by 330 feet.

Dave Bailey 7.181/186.57, Shaun Branch shut off

Dave was in as alternate for Steve Woollatt, Shaun in as alternate for Eric Teboul. Shaun shut off in pre-stage and Dave took the bye.

Sverre Dahl 6.925/219.60 def. Steve Carey 7.319/177.90

Sverre's rear tyre spun up and he had to feather the throttle, but he managed to stay ahead of Steve and took the stripe by 0.603.

12:10

FIM/UEM Supertwin eliminations round 1:

A big Hello and lots of love to the Pels family who are tuned in from The Netherlands.

Per Bengtsson 7.333/180.75 def. Job Heezen 8.981/154.17 (alternate for Lorenz Stäble)

A big shock as Lorenz's engine stopped during the burnout, Job came in as alternate. Job pulled a massive 0.144 to 0.506 holeshot on Per, but Per was past Job by half track and won by 1.285 seconds. There was a puff of smoke from Per's bike at the finish line but the track was clean.

Ronny Aasen 6.973/179.86 def. Hans Olav Olstad 7.198/205.40

Ronny was away first 0.136 to Hans Olav's 0.187, 1.174 to sixty feet to Hans Olav's 1.274. Ronny backed off in the second half of the track but took the win by 0.276.

Anders Karling 6.793/158.48 def. Jaska Salakari 8.442/112.51

Anders was on a real stormer here, 1.131 to sixty feet to Jaska's 1.250, 4.245/182.88 at half track, but by half track all eyes were on Jaska as his bike started to make serious moves and he had to lean it right over to keep control. Jaska shut off at half track to get a hold of the bike and Charley shut off at about 1000 but took a comfortable win.

Gunther Sohn 7.305/198.05 def. Joachim Riemer 8.543/108.18

Joachim was in control from the start, 0.144 to 0.154 reactions, 1.174 sixty feet to 1.318, and 4.672 to half track to 4.881. But then Joachim's bike stopped and Gunther rode past him.

12:00

FIA Top Methanol Funny Car eliminations round 1:

Ulf Leanders 5.836/240.75 def. Arvid Grødem 5.900/240.66

A great match-up, Arvid away first 0.106 to 0.112, Ulf had the much better sixty foot time 0.985 to Arvid's 1.027, Ulf pulling ahead at half track 3.824/196.33 to Arvid's 3.870/194.83 and Ulf took the stripe by 0.058. Sharkman at trackside said that Ulf's pass was the straightest TMFC run he had seen in a long time.

Dan Larsen 5.840/244.69 def. Kjell Sjöb;om 6.148/233.32

Dan pulled a daylight holeshot on Kjell of 0.135 to 0.271, his sixty foot time was better 0.950 to 0.958, and even by 330 feet - 2.545 to 2.667 - Dan was visibly pulling away and took the win by 0.443.

Leif Andréasson 5.765/245.84 bye

Leif had the bye by dint of his #1 qualifying spot. 0.153 reaction, 0.949 to sixty feet, 3.777/196.64 at half track.

Dan gets the bye next round and we have the Championship decider between Leif and Ulf.

11:50

FIA Pro Stock eliminations round 1:

Tommy Leindahl 6.979/198.06 def. Magnus Hansson 6.967/197.34

Tommy was away first 0.031 to Magnus' 0.065, Magnus' sixty foot was the better, 1.024 to Tommy's 1.050, Magnus was also better to half-track 4.479/156.76 to Tommy's 4.497/157.45 but Tommy's start line advantage kept him in front and he won by 0.022.

Eero Knihtila 6.911/200.90 def. Kenneth Söderströ 7.112/196.67 red light

Kenneth handed this one to Eero with a 0.064 red light. 0.173 reaction for Eero, 1.028 to sixty foot, 4.450/158.30 at half track, Kenneth was there first by 0.035 but he had already given it away.

Jimmy Ålund 6.907/199.96 bye, Richard Sundblom shut off

Richard's Cobalt had wedding ribbons and bows in the pairing lanes - if you don't know what that's about then you need to read Simon's pit notes. After Richard pulled his burnout, word came over the track radio that he had left oil in the bleach box. Richard was then shut off on returning from the burnout. Jimmy took the bye: 0.128 reaction, 1.021 to sixty feet, 4.439/158.23 at half track and the 2006 FIA European Pro Stock Championship, well done Jimmy!

Michael Malmgren 6.882/200.05 def. Peter Dahlin 7.204/190.64

Michael backed up from his burnout at a speed of which Freddy Fagerström would be proud. A burndown and then Peter was away first 0.101 to 0.133, but then the incrementals were all about Michael: 1.022 to sixty feet to Peter's 1.073, 4.422/158.58 at half track to Peter's 4.629/152.15, and the Lahega Grand Am took the win by 0.289.

11:30

FIA Top Fuel Dragster eliminations round 1:

Tommi Haapanen 7.179/108.20 def. Tommy Möller 7.661/102.98

Tommi was in as an alternate for Smax Smith whose clutch explosion yesterday finished his weekend. Tommy was away first 0.175 to 0.270, a small wheelie from Tommi's car, Tommi's tyres started to smoke and then there was a huge ball of flame from his dragster, in the other lane Tommy's dragster threw its blower belt and then it was a race of momentum between Tommi and Tommy, Tommi's engine still on fire through the top end whilst Tommy's car was visibly slowing. It must have been an anxious wait for the finish line safety crews as the dragsters rolled towards them but once past the safety teams moved very quickly indeed. There was a wide and long trail of oil in Tommi's lane.

Håkan Nilsson 4.864/296.20 def. Thomas Nataas 7.271/109.73

On the restart the track temperature was 25.2 C and trackside conditions were 20.3 C and 30.15 inches of air. Into the Championship decider then. Just before the race Karsten Andersen signalled the Veidec/Landmeco team to move Håkan to the right lane after he had been lined up in the left all through the clean-up. Håkan nailed Thomas to the Tree 0.047 to 0.177, 0.875 to sixty feet to Thomas' 0.909, Thomas hit shake passing the Tree, he tried pedalling but it was all over as the tyres went up in smoke. Meanwhile Håkan put in a clean pass, 3.272/254.01 at half track, a little move to the right but he stayed with it. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our 2006 FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion: Håkan Nilsson. Well done guys and commiserations to Thomas but he should be proud of himself on a worthy fight even when he had other distractions earlier in the year.

Urs Erbacher 4.912/244.71 def. Stig Neergard 6.199/145.30

Some consternation in the left lane as Stig looked to have trouble getting reverse and then again selecting forward gear after he got back. Stig got away first 0.398 to 0.398, Urs' sixty foot 0.890 to Stig's 0.952, 3.235/257.34 at half track to Stig's 3.638/210.42. Urs' blower belt shot across the track at about 700 feet, Stig was already shut off by that point, no visible problem, but Urs was way ahead and took the stripe by 1.274.

Lex Joon 5.115/244.35 def. Micke Kågered 5.946/142.40

Lex was away first 0.098 to 0.157, to sixty feet in 0.898 to Micke's 0.915, then the drama started as Lex's tyres started to haze at half track and the MPM Oil dragster started weaving left and right, at one point we saw the side of the car and Lex did a great driving job to hang on to it and took the stripe by 0.889. Micke clicked it off at about half track.

10:30

FIA/NDRS Bilsport Pro Mod eliminations round 1:

Roger Johansson 6.402/220.43 def. Norbert Kuno 8.175/136.76

0.110 reaction for Norbert to Roger's 0.139, 1.007 sixty foot for Roger to Norbert's 1.046, Norbert hit shake at about 100 feet, he pedalled but the Avenger turned hard right and had to shut off, Roger took a clean, straight pass.

Seppo Saapola 8.112/117.01 bye, Robert Joosten did not stage

Robert didn't get reverse after the burnout and drove up the track. Seppo took the bye, 0.223 reaction and 1.071 to sixty feet and then shut off at the top of second gear, about 300 feet.

Bruno Bader 7.036/212.21 def. Marc Meihuizen 7.237/209.26

The one was like a ballet, both cars hit shake, Marc drifted left and Bruno turned right, there was a startled silence until both racers realised that they couldn't hear or see the other and the chase was on. Bruno took the win by 0.010. Erik of Svensk Dragracing said "That must have been the closest seven-second Pro Mod race ever!".

Danny Cockerill 6.542/218.61 def. Bert Englefield 13.332/58.35

Reaction times in Danny's favour 0.184 to 0.330, 1.054 to sixty feet to Bert's 1.135, Bert hit shake by the Tree and got off the pedal. Danny drove through his own shake and took the stripe by 6.937 seconds and we think something close to a Personal Best speed.

Marko Lantto 6.440/216.49 def. Jan Arve Nygård 14.798/52.75

Huge plumes of nitrous from Jan Arve before staging. Marko was away first 0.075 to 0.146, 1.050 sixty foot to Jan Arve's 1.052, Jan Arve shut off shortly after the sixty foot marker whilst Marko drove through shake and took the win.

Mats Eriksson 6.575/222.91 def. Ulf Rapp 14.478/56.04 red light

Ulf slightly rolled the beams as the Tree ran, Mats got to sixty feet in 1.082 then had to pedal for shake as the Green Goblin headed for the centre line but is safely into the next round.

Andy Robinson 6.234/226.27 def. Robert Koper 6.796/204.51

This one was all about Andy: away first 0.088 to 0.128, 1.027 to sixty feet to Robert's 1.118, 0.4 seconds and 16 mph advatange at half track and visibly pulling away all the way down the track, taking the win by 0.601.

Urban Johansson 6.306/216.18 def. Henri Joosten 6.943/194.74

Urban whacked Henri on the Tree 0.183 to 0.659, a meteoric sixty foot of 1.001 to Henri's 1.115, 4.100/176.57 at half track and then shut off slightly early. Henri was also off the throttle early.

10:00

The minute's silence for Svein Gottenberg was immaculately observed by the huge crowd. We won't forget you Svein.

The mist has burned off and we will be starting racing in a few moments.

8:55

Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway. It's the last day of the 2006 FIA and FIM/UEM European Championships and we're here to bring you all the news in association with American Car Imports.

The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and is posting a picture every two minutes. You can reach the webcam from the Event Index.

We were greeted with thick fog this morning but the sun is already starting to burn it off. Trackside temperature is 14.0 C and the air pressure is 30.12 inches.

At the end of qualifying we have some European Championships already tied up. Congratulations to:

FIA Pro Modified: Urban Johansson
FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike: Rikard Gustafsson
FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike: Anders Abrahamsson

The FIA Top Fuel Dragster Championship will be decided in round one as, would you believe, Championship leader Håkan Nilsson faces Championship #2 Thomas Nataas in round one of Top Fuel Dragster this morning!

The usual raceday Hello to our US correspondents Ed O'Connell and Kathy Hileman who are tuned in from New Hampshire. Hope that you are enjoying your weekend guys and we wish you were here, and we think you do too! Hello also to UK Pro Stock Bike racer Dave Beck who is racing in the Prostar event at Atco Raceway in New Jersey this weekend. Dave is qualified #7 in Top Fuel Bike and faces Larry McBride in round one of eliminations. So good morning and good luck to Dave and thanks to Stephen Moon for letting us know.

This morning's schedule has round 2 of Junior Dragster starting at 9:00, then the presentation of the #1 qualifiers. Then we have the minute's silence for late Supertwin racer Svein Gottenberg, to whom this weekend's coverage is dedicated. If you would like to join us in a pause for reflection then keep an eye on the webcam and you will be able to see everyone collected on the start line. Svein's crew are here and I'm sure that they will gain strength from all the support.

Racing starts at 9:30 with FIA Pro Modified, then FIA Top Fuel Dragster, FIA Top Methanol FC, FIM/UEM Supertwin, FIM/UEM Top Fuel Bike, FIM/UEM Pro Stock Bike, FIA Top Methanol Dragster, then round 2 of Pro Mod.

Stay tuned and as soon as the action commences we'll be right here with all the news, and keep an eye on the pit notes page to keep up with the word from Simon.


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