2008 FIA Main Event
Saturday (qualifying)
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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 22:30 We have now posted today's pictures and Simon is on the verge of posting today's last set of pit notes. You can check out both via the Event Index page. We're due to start again at 9:00 tomorrow morning with Sportsman qualifying and we have another two Pro qualifying sessions. Tune back then for all the news. 19:55 Super Comp qualifying top five after session 6:
No changes to the top five in this session. Comp Eliminator qualifying top five after session 6:
Another improvement for Dennis Habermann but he stayed in place. Andy Frost had the Vauxhall on its back bumper this time, a nice wheelie but again put it down gently and carried on with the run, in the other lane John Tebenham's Probe was moving about its lane some and he put the chute out at half track. That's qualifying done for today, tune back in a couple of hours for today's pictures and Simon's latest tranche of pit notes. 19:45 Super Street qualifying top five after session 6:
Mark Watkins took over the lead in the first run of the session, only for Simon Cooper to take the lead away from him with a perfect run in the very next pairing, well done Simon! Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 6:
Annalieze Gibb into #2 spot in the fourth pairing of the session, two pairings later Joe Kellett moved up to #2. 19:25 Super Gas qualifying top five after session 6:
Conrad Stanley into #4 spot in the third pairing of the session. In the other lane Mick Howling had the drive shaft of Grumpy's Dodge snap and it could be seen from here in Race Control hanging below the car on the start line. A couple of pairings later Eurodragster.com Home and News sponsor Malcolm Francis came in at #4 pushing Conrad down a place. Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 5:
Spencer Tramm into #2 spot with his first Super Pro ET run of the weekend; in the next pairing Vince Gibbs took over #1 spot pushing Spencer down to #3. Towards the end of the session Rod Harrison came in at #2. The top twenty two qualifiers are separated by 0.0927 seconds. 18:55 Super Comp qualifying top five after session 5:
Dave Catton into #1 spot in the first pairing of the session, two pairings later Jon Morton came in at #4. Comp Eliminator qualifying top five after session 5:
John Tebenham improved still further but stayed in place, close to a PB for John we think, well done John! Some smoke from John Bradshaw's car in the other lane but nothing untoward found on the track so hopefully all OK. 18:40 Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 5:
Harry Elliott into #2 spot in the last but one pairing of the session. 18:25 Exhibition session 2: John Spuffard 5.2789/287.53 def. Gary Page 6.9768/125.51 The first Fuel FC match-up of the weekend, Gary away first 0.1710 to Spuff's 0.2571, a hot sixty foot time for Gary 0.9245 to Spuff's 0.9857, Gary hit shake at about 300 feet and was off the throttle at half track, meanwhile the Showtime FC was moving around its lane but Spuff stayed with it, 3.6232/233.76 at half track and a tremendous baseline pass. Nick Davies 8.0895/154.68 bye A proper wobbly Fuel Altered pass from Nick in the Havoc altered. A cylinder out on the right side and the altered was moving about its lane. Nick was feathering the throttle some in the second half.
Steve Pateman 8.4067/179.89 def. Jeff Meads 9.4004/164.17 Another pair of exhibition passes from out B&H Automotive Street Eliminator racers, Steve Pateman nosed into the field at the end of the track after his race against Jeff Meads but all OK. Two big burnouts from Splinter before his match-up with Mark Perkins. 18:05 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Krister Johansson 6.1724/259.14 bye, Peter Schöfer 5.6291/255.02, Rob Turner 11.0595/69.06, Paul Ingar Udtian 5.600/255.17, Timo Habermann 5.6522/243.58 Another languid launch for Krister, 1.2172 to sixty feet and then the car really picked up, weaving left and right, 4.2875/199.56 at half track, no change in standing and missed backing up the speed record so far. A superb run for Peter, 0./9342 to sixty feet, 3.6973/204.15 at half track and into second spot, Wolfi Schöfer again punching the air with delight so I am guessing everything going to plan. 0.9506 to sixty feet for Rob, then bad shake and from here it sounded as if the transmission broke and the engine zinged, oil left on the track from sixty feet right the way down the shutdown area. One particularly nasty oildown later we were back with Timo and Paul Ingar. Nothing at all wrong with the right lane judging by that run but we expect no less from the track crew here. Paul Ingar into #1 spot 0.9605 to sixty feet, 3.6777/204.24 to half track, Timo to sixty feet in 1.0003, 3.7126/199.45 at half track and first to the stripe courtesy of his 0.0181 reaction time. Qualifying after this session:
16:30 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Arvid Grødem 7.0589/140.66, Jurgen Nagel 6.4579/227.64, Steph Milam shut off, Jarmo Kuutniemi 8.6950/154.72 bye, Leif Andréasson 10.0324/78.52, Dan Larsen 5.9220/244.86 Arvid's first run of the weekend after electrical problems this morning, 1.0275 to sixty feet and then shake, Arvid pedalled and gave it another go and then shut off at half track. Jurgen got to sixty feet in 1.1697, 4.2927/178.30 at half track, an improvement but Jurgen stayed in place. Next pairing and Steph shut off on the way back from the burnout, Jarmo took the bye and hit instant shake, pedalled and the same thing happened again and he shut off as marbles of rubber chased him down the track. Leif got to 0.9635 and then hit shake and shut off, 1.0216 to sixty feet for Dan, the car getting close to the right guardrail, 3.9170/193.41 at half track, an improvement but Dan stayed in second. Qualifying after this session:
16:20 FIA NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Ingo Rolla shut off (bye), Micke Lindahl 6.3305/225.62 bye, Bruno Bader 6.5035/217.91 bye, Kev Slyfield 7.1101/173.17 bye, Micke Nord shut off, Danny Cockerill 6.3235/224.48 bye, Micke Gullquist 6.3949/212.00, Wayne Nicholson 8.4694/164.15, Bert Englefield 6.6059/212.00, Henri Joosten 14.6088/56.41, Terje Håkonsen 6.2529/225.71, Kristian Nyström 6.4757/218.90, Marko Lantto 6.3766/218.07, Marc Meihuizen 6.3556/224.37, Mats Eriksson 6/5556/227.96, Robert Joosten 7.7218/216.72, Freddy Fagerström 6.4357/225.75, Norbert Kuno no time, Roger Johansson 6.3435/223.46, Graham Ellis 6.7189/215.73, Urban Johansson 6.2263/230.29, Andy Robinson 9.592/108.92 Ingo made it through the burnout box but the engine sounded as if it was having trouble staying lit and he shut off. Micke tried to drive through shake, the Camaro heading for the centreline and eventually Micke had to pedal, what would that run have been without the pedal? Bruno rolled almost to half track after his burnout. He rolled the beams, 1.0798 to sixty feet, 4.2414/171.73 at half track and into #6 spot at that point. A tremendous pass for Kev Slyfield, his PB gets reset, 1.1474 at sixty feet and 4.4829/161.89 at half track. Micke N was shut off before pulling forward to stage, Danny took the bye and a good one too, 1.0182 to sixty feet, driving through shake, 4.1228 at half track and I bet that's put a big smile back on his face. Wayne was a spectator as Micke G pulled out the big one, 1.0336 to sixty feet and 4.1246/174.29 to half track and right up the field. Henri clocked 1.0995 to sixty feet but then hit bad shalke and had to shut off as the Bel Air moved around its lane, in the other lane Bert was on a stormer, 1.0541 to sixty feet and 4.2679/167.09 at half track. Terje out of nowhere into #1 spot with a fantastic run, 1.0180 to sixty feet and 4.0702/178.39 at half track, Kritian moved up a fair few places too with a nice pass, 1.0591 to sixty feet and 4.2269/172.72 at half track. Marko v Marc has to be a candidate for the quickest side-by-side Pro Mod race in Europe, 1.0482 to sixty feet for Marko to Marc's 1.0027, 4.1662/176.34 at half track for Marko to Marc's 4.1535/224.37. Mats got to sixty feet in 1.0575 then drove through bad shake and stayed with it, no improvement though, Robert's 'Vette more or less stood still on the start line smoking its tyres until Robert pedalled. Norbert deep staged and then rolled through stage so no time, 1.0149 to sixty feet for Freddy and 4.2499/225.75 at half track, taking a long way round this time. A nice pass for Roger, 1.0189 to sxty feet and 4.1519/177.69 at half track and a new PB for Graham, 1.0333 to sixty feet, driving through a little shake, 4.3849/162.19 at half track and sitting on the bump. Last pairing and Andy hit bad shake after sixty feet (1.0017) and shut off, Urban got to sixty feet in 1.0133 and half track at 4.0644/181.99, #1 spot and a new European speed record backed up by this morning's run, well done Urban! Qualifying after this session:
Trackside conditions at the start of the session were 16.8 C, 71% humidity and 1001 mb of air, track temperature was 27.2 C. 15:45 FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Håkan Fällström 15.4793/52.23 bye, Urs Erbacher 4.8948/311.52, Micke Kågered 5.0174/254.61, Stig Neergard 4.8935/299.14, Lex Joon 6.0788/186.45, Andy Carter 4.8152/305.18, Torstein Risdal 5.4911/192.72 Håkan went 0.9088 to sixty feet and then his blower belt broke. Nice match-up between Urs and Micke, 0.9246 to sixty feet for Urs to 0.9317 for Micke, Urs to half track 3.3516/254.90 to Micke's 3.3747/254.26, smoke and then orange flame from Urs' headers, Micke off the throttle at about 1000 feet, Urs into #2 spot at that point and Micke into #3. 0.9144 to sixty feet for Stig, 0.8765 for Lex and then Lex hit horrendous tyre shake and got off the throttle, tried pedalling it but eventually gave up, 3.3344/253.59 to half track for Stig and off the throttle a touch early as the car made a violent move at about 1100 feet. 0.8649 to sixty feet for Andy, 0.8698 for Torstein, Torstein tried to drive through shake but was already losing time and speed at the eighth, 3.3953/230.90, Andy drive through shake and the Lucas Oils car was getting close to the left rail at half track 3.2539/252.19 but Andy stayed with it and increased his qualifying lead. Qualifying after this session:
15:30 FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Jonas Dantanus 6.9588/185.82, Jan Palmqvist 6.9269/201.32, Micke Callin 6.8891/199.82, Michael Malmgren 6.9044/202.25, Magnus Hansson 6.8527/204.25, Adam Flamholc 7.6694/130.59, Jimmy Ålund 6.8113/203.33, Richard Sundblom 6.7304/203.21 A new PB for Jan which gained him a place, well done Jan! Some smoke from Jonas' car in the second half and from the speed I am guessing he backed off early. Another PB for Micke but he stayed in place, 1.0185 to sixty feet to Michael's 1.0139, 4.4316/160.00 at half track for Micke to Michael's 4.4561/157.71. From here Michael's run looked quicker than it was. A great run for Magnus and he's next after the European speed record should Jimmy not back it up. Adam's car was getting a little bit wobbly and he held with it as long as he dared, backing off at half track. A classic match-up between Jimmy and Richard, Jimmy backing up his earlier 6.766 and 204.95 for new ET and speed records and Richard into #1 and now on an ET record of he backs it up, well done guys! Qualifying after this session:
Trackside conditions at the start of this session were 16.1 C, 71% humidity and 1001 mb of air, track temperature 22.6 C. 15:20 UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Kai Selkamaa 9.1241/139.01 bye, Ian King shut off, Tim Blakemore 7.5080/169.99, Neil Midgley 6.8159/199.62, Otto Knebl 9.9578/118.50, Rene Van Den Berg 8.7363/148.05, Gary Jones shut off, Chris Hall 7.8054/164.86 bye, Steve French 8.5266/101.22, Ivan Birch 7.5118/181.19, Steve Woollatt 6.4287/217.10, Steve Carey 12.1947/65.57, Rikard Gustafsson 9.3643/93.50 bye Kai's bike turned right off the line, he got of the throttle then straightened it up but took it easy for the rest of the run. Ian's engine was shut off a few seconds after firing up. Tim Blakemore got a time on the board and there's more to come from the Kawasaki as some time was lost to wheelspin. A great pass by Midgo, the bike going slightly left but a lot more stable than previous passes. A new PB for Rene, feathering the throttle most of the way so more left in Rene's TFB yet. An improvement and a place gained for Otto Knebl. Gary shut off before staging, Chris took the bye and it was a good front half, 4.9201/141.22 at half track, but the engine sounded to be labouring in the second half. Black smoke then white smoke from Steve F's Funny Bike and another PB for Ivan in the other lane, well done Ivan! Ivan stayed in place at that point. Steve C the next to make the weather station fall over with his burnout, A nice run for Steve W, very straight again, 4.2062/178.33 at half track, Steve C loked down soon after leaving the line, something not right and he got off the throttle. Rikard tried to ride our tyre shake but got off the throttle at about 330 feet as the Funny Bike started to drift left. Qualifying after this session:
15:00 UEM Supertwin qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Job Heezen 7.5220/200.76 bye, Anders Karling shut off (bye), Ian Turburville shuf off (bye), Svein Olav Rolfstad 7.0073/193.87 bye, Hans Olav Olstad 7.0152/179.92, Tommy Möller 7.4524/177.00, Lorenz Stäuble 6.6299/206.26 bye, Gunther Sohn shut off Job's second run on the bike, riding through shake and a cylinder out between 200 feet and 300 feet and then the cylinder came back in. Nice one Job! Great to see Anders Karling back on track, the burnout made our weather station fall over, then Charley shut the bike off after the burnout, a small puddle of fluid on the track. Turbo's engine cut out after the burnout. A very brave run from Svein Olav, riding out an interminable fishtail and staying on the throttle, up in to #3 spot at that point. A great match-up between Hans Olav and Tommy, both bikes going straight as an arrow, a new PB for Tommy and into the qualifying field, well done Tommy! Gunther shut off after his burnout so Lo took the bye, an improvment on his earlier pass to consolidate the #1 spot but getting very close to the guardrail in the shutdown area. Qualifying after this session:
14:50 UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 2 (left lane first): Chris Hope 7.9350/159.08 bye, Fredrik Fredlund 7.3864/178.47, Len Paget 7.4401/173.52, Tom Tinndahn 7.2640/182.07, Martin Bishop 7.5252/176.93 Sounded as if Chris' bike was having trouble changing gear. Personal bests for both Fredrik and Len, well done guys! Len moved up the standings with his pass. An improvement for Tom to consolidate his #1 spot, Martin's run looked quicker than the time which came up. Not many bikes in this session. Qualifying after this session:
14:40 Comp Eliminator qualifying top five after session 4:
Andy Frost pulled a huge wheelie in his Vauxhall but put it down gently and stayed on the throttle. John Tebenham under index and up to #3 spot in the last pairing of the session. Pro ET qualifying top five after session 6:
Ian Brown up from #3 to #2 towards the end of the session. Not such a good session for Rick Denny whose transmission broke at the hit, hopefully nothing serious. Another breakout and PB for Mark Bishop, 8.9596. 14:10 Super Comp qualifying top five after session 4:
Dave Day and Malcolm Francis into #2 and #5 respectively in their match-up - check out that speed for Malcolm. Junior Dragster qualifying top five after session 4:
Joe Kellett into #4 spot three pairings from the end of the session, in the next pairing Rosie Hunt took over #1 spot with a perfect light, well done Rosie! Matthew Seamarks was disqualified from the event after going 91.88 mph in this session on the JMA limit of 85 mph. 13:30 Exhibition session 1: Gary Page 8.1805/114.63 bye 0.9016 to sixty feet for Gary in Kenneth Loretnzon's Fuel FC, the car made a move to the right, Gary pedalled about 150 feet out then was off the throttle very quickly. Martin Hill no time (bye) The usual spectacular flame and smoke show from Martin in the Fireforce 2 Jet FC and then the timing system said "No thank you!" so no time and speed. Nick Davies 9.8755/81.97 bye Nick of Eurodragster.com sponsor ICE Automotive in the Havoc blown-alcohol altered. A half pass for the first outing, 1.2377 to sixty feet and 5.1374/112.65 at half track. Tommy Agius 10.4476/130.60 bye A PB for Tommy in the Maksar Racing truck, more to come as Tommy lost some time to tyre shake.
Steve Pateman 8.2192/177.77 def. Jeff Meads 9.3087/149.52 A couple of great match-ups by the B&H Automotive Street Eliminator representatives. We now have a demo from the High Risk wheelie car, we'll be back with Sportsman qualifying very shortly. 13:05 FIA Top Methanol Dragster qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Timo Habermann 5.6171/252.25 bye, Krister Johansson 5.9367/264.13, Paul Ingar Udtian 5.6461/253.10, Rob Turner 5.6540/238.83, Peter Schöfer 5.6879/250.27 A great pass from Timo, PB to start the weekend, well done Timo! 0.9931 to sixty feet, 3.7020/206.11 to half track and a big speed. A lazy launch for Krister's AFD but you could see it picking up all the way, 1.1882 to sixty feet and 4.0899/208.97 at half track, the first half of a European speed record, well done Kirister! 0.9752 to sixty feet for Paul and 3.7084/201.14 at half track. Peter staying on the throttle as long as it felt good and that must have been all the way, 0.9547 to sixty feet and 3.2066 to half track, no speed at half track, 0.9673 to sixty feet for Rob and 3.7054/204.54 at half track, some haze at the top end but maybe the tyres turning. Peter's team looked content with the pass, Wolfi Schöfer punching the air and the team exchanging nods. Qualifying after this session:
12:55 FIA Top Methanol Funny Car qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Jurgen Nagel 6.5223/218.23 bye, Danny Bellio 7.2638/144.26, Steph Milam 8.1060/97.63, Jarmo Kuutniemi 6.3335/179.19, Ulf Leanders 6.2963/173.53, Dan Larsen 5.9994/245.46, Leif Andréasson 5.7266/248.92 A lazy launch for Jurgen, 1.2550 to sixty feet and 4.3734 at half track, the FC running down the left side of the lane. 1.1661 to sixty feet for Danny and 1.0630 for Steph, 4.3339/165.31 at half track for Danny and he shut off at that point. Steph's engine was throwing out unburnt fuel as she went up on the revs, then on the launch the tyres shook and the FC made a move to the left. Steph was off the throttle before half track and put out the chutes at 1000 feet. 0.9662 to sixty feet for Jarmo, 0.9659 for Ulf, Ulf drove straight through the shake as if it wasn't happening, 3.9785/183.47 to half track for Jarmo, 3.8761/192.64 for Ulf then his blower relief panel blew, then the blower belt appeared from under the car. A great match between Dan and Leif, 1.0266 to sixty feet for Dan and 0.9685 for Leif, 3.9861/194.47 at half track for Dan to Leif's 3.7752/200.32, Dan's FC was moving to the left in the shutdown area and from here it looked as if the left chute touched the wall. No call from the top end radio though. Qualifying after this session:
12:40 FIA NDRS Bilsport Pro Modified qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Ingo Rolla 14.6161/72.54 bye, Graham Ellis 6.8304/213.00 bye, Peter Ritscher 7.6377/139.48 bye, Wayne Nicholson 8.6570/158.97, Freddy Fagerström 6.3215/222.06, Kev Slyfield 9.43888/188.87, Terje Håkonsen 6.6082/220.98, Henri Joosten 8.6527/106.48, Ian Bishop 7.0951/166.59, Kristian Nyström 8.2639/99.44, Bert Englefield 6.6227/no speed, Norbert Kuno 7.0418/214.04, Micke Nord 10.4319/85.63, Danny Cockerill 8.9181/104.99, Marko Lantto 6.6053/214.81, Marc Meihuizen 7.3493/213.93, Roger Johansson 6.3214/223.16, Robert Joosten 7.1563/207.14, Urban Johansson 6.3131/228.90, Micke Lindahl no time, Patrik Wikström 6.6747/212.76, Mats Eriksson 6.4279/227.88, Andy Robinson 6.5983/224.67, Micke Gullquist 8.6146/164.18 Ingo's first pass in the new Avenger which looks great in Highway Patrol colours. A squirt to sixty feet then idling through to get a feel for the car. A first outing in FIA for Graham's Superbird next, 1.0659 at sixty feet, 4.4594/160.06 at half track and a new PB, well done Graham! The car went down the left of its lane but Graham stayed with it. A good start to Peter's run, 1.1031 to sixty feet, 4.5161/149.13 at half track and right on half track the blower relief panel blew and took the body relief panel with it. There's something you don't see every day, Freddy's burnout not the longer one, Wayne went further. The run was all about Freddy though, 0.9964 to sixty feet and 4.1184/178.16 to half track, into #1 spot at that point, looked from here like Wayne had backed off by half track. Kev's Willys showing signs of it tree-punting escapade the other week, a new front end on the car. 1.0873 to sixty feet for Terje, 4.3564/170.18 at half track. Kev's front end came up at the hit then the tyres shook as it came down, every time Kev hit the throttle the front left side of the car came up and he got very close to the guardrail. Henri's Chevy made a hard move to the right at 330 feet and he got off the throttle, Ian went straight as you like and got very close to his PB. Kristian made a good start, 1.0867 to sixty ffeet but the car made a little move and Kristian put the chutes out. Bert got to sixty feet in 1.0412 and to half track in 4.2866/166.37. A very lazy-looking launch for Norbert, 1.1802 to sixty feet, 1.0731 to sixty feet for Micke, the tyres started to shake and Micke was off the throttle by 330 feet. 4.7287/161.85 to half track and a good speed for Norbert but the launch killed his ET. 1.0462 to sixty feet for Danny and then he had two shots at pedalling for shake and got off the throttle just before half track, Marko to sixty feet in 1.0550, driving through shake, some smoke from the Vette from half track 4.3319.169.63. Marc got to sixty feet in 1.0013 and then hit shake and got off the throttle as the Coupe made a move to the right, then it was as if he changed his mind and got back on the throttle, 1.0170 to sixty feet for Roger, a very slight move to the left but he stayed with it 4.1240/177.46 at half track and into #1 spot at that point. Robert's tyres went up in smoke at the hit, 1.0207 to sixty feet for Urban, driving through some shake, 4.14578/179.56 at half track and #1 spot was his at that point. A lot of excitement as Micke Lindahl's ET came up as 5.9673, speed of 229.24 but the sixty foot time of 0.6611 quickly told the take of something wrong and that was that Micke moved before the lights ran and his rear wheels happened to be in the beams as the tree ran. Patrick to sixty feet in 1.0944, 4.3651/168.82 at half track. Mats hit bad shake at sixty feet, pedalled and stayed with it, 4.2679/176.98 at half track. Clash of the titans to finish this session, 1.005 to sixty feet for Andy to Micke's 1.0654, both hit shake, Andy's Stude making a big left move and getting very close to the rail, Micke's Chevy made a move for the Tree, Micke pedalled and corrected and got back on the throttle after a long pause. Qualifying after this session:
Trackside conditions are 18.7 C, 60% humidity and 1001 mb of air, temperature at the start of the session was 29.6 C. 12:00 Apologies for the bad webcam picture in the last few minutes, the Top Fuellers actually shook the camera so much that the focus ring started moving of its own accord. The webcam was outside so there was no time to sort it out at that moent. We have now moved the webcam back indoor with us so that we can look after it properly. Next up is Pro Mod. 11:55 FIA Top Fuel Dragster qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Torstein Risdal 5.6950/170.40, Jari Halinen 5.1292/261.91, Håkan Fällström shut off, Stig Neergard 5.1102/26.95 bye, Micke Kågered 6.9932/122.06, Andy Carter 4.8914/292.27, Lex Joon 6.2138/173.67, Urs Erbacher 7.7319/98.91 A planned half pass for Torstein, Jari blackstriped his lane and the car made a gentle move for the centre line just past half track. 0.9452 to sixty feet for Jari to Torstein's storming 0.8628, Jari to half track 3.4517/235.82 to Torstein's 3.4114/231.48. Håkan on a bye as it was his first run in this car, he shut off but no clue from here what the problem was. Great run for Stig but looked to be a bit soft I'm guessing for baselining, 0.9761 to sixty feet and 3.4741/245.01 at half track and off the throttle just after half track. 0.8412 to sixty feet for Andy to Micke's 0.9102, Andy pedalled at about 100 feet, 3.3517/255.71 at half track, Micke was already off the throttle by the eighth. Lex's car visibly struggled off the line, 1.1185 to sixty feet, 3.9344/213.83 to half track, Urs to sixty feet in 0.9038 but his tyres went up in smoke at half track and he got off the throttle. Qualifying after this session:
11:40 FIA Pro Stock qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Richard Sundblom 6.8093/201.59, Micke Callin 6.9076/198.67, Jan Palmqvist 7.9072/119.79, Jonas Dantanus 6.9443/200.49 Adam Flamholc 6.8565/198.84, Magnus Hansson 6.8155/201.41 Michael Malmgren 6.8743/200.70, Jimmy Ålund 6.7668/204.95 Rickard and Micke in new cars and Rickard on his first run with the new motor. A tremendous match-up to start the Pro Stock season, 1.0091 to sixty feet for Micke to Richard's 1.0123, Richard quicker at half track, 4.4314/158.22 to 4.3955/161.19 and there first by 0.0339. Jan and Jonas both headed left, Jan to sixty feet in 1.0262 to Jonas' 1.0540, Jan got close to the guardrail before backing off just before half track, Jonas ran almost down the centreline, 4.4861/159.40 at half track. Another nice match between Adam and Magnus, Adam to sixty feet in 1.0197 to Magnus' quicker 1.0144, Magnus quicker at half track 4.3830/160.47 to Adam's 4.4159/160.05, a new PB for Magnus. The first half of new European ET and speed records for Jimmy, well done Jimmy! 0.9903 to sixty feet to Michael's 1.0046, 4.3460/161.07 at half track to Michael's 4.4257/159.99 and first by 0.1844. Qualifying after this session:
11:30 UEM Top Fuel Bike qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Kai Selkamaa 11.0685/90.66 bye, Ivan Birch 7.6481/169.16, Tim Blakemore shut off, Rene Van Den Berg 10.6152/107.26, Steve French 7.1816/188.73, Chris Hall 7.7185/169.75, Gary Jones 12.7253/94.38, Michal Ponca shut off, Eric Teboul 6.2930/211.90 bye, Steve Carey 6.6713/207.15, Otto Knebl 18.4016/39.39, Neil Midgley 13.8561/55.53, Steve Woollatt 6.6099/207.89, Rikard Gustafsson 6.5046/201.66 bye Kai's first UEM outing in Top Fuel Bike so he took a bye. The rear tyre spun up at the hit, 1.1258 to sixty feet then Kai got off the throttle and idled through. Tim's bike started up but then he shut off before the burnout, Ivan took the bye. A nice pass by Ivan, the front wheel up most of the way and we think a PB, well done Ivan! Rene's TFB headed for the centreline and he feathered the throttle for a few seconds then got back on, meanwhile Steve went straight and true and close to his PB. Gary's bike tried to pitch him off at the hit, Gary got settled then got back on the throttle, Chris was on a good-looking pass but there was a lot of black smoke in the second half so I am guesing he has some work to do on the fuel system. Michal shut off after the burnout so Eric took the bye, a tremendous pass, 1.0146 to sixty feet, 4.0747/180.55 at half track and into #1 spot - not a straight pass either so there is more left in Eric's TFB. A superb pass for Steve Carey, 1.1317 to sixty feet, the slightest of fishtails about 150 feet out, 4.3423/171.66 at half track and a new PB speed and #2 spot at that point, well done Steve! Otto was off the throttle very early and just barely made the finish line. Neil's tyre went up in smoke and he was more or less doing a burnout for the length of his lane whilst Steve's run looked quicker than it was, 4.3375/172.07 at half track and into #2 spot. A superb pass by Rikard, the fourth quickest Funny Bike pass on the planet and not far off the world best, the front fairing came off the bike on the finish line. Qualifying after this session:
Trackside conditions are 17.8 C, 66% humidity and 1001 mb of air, track temperature is 27.1 C. 11:05 UEM Supertwin qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Svein Olav Rolfstad 7.1458/191.32 bye, Tommy Möller shut off, Ian Turburville shut off, Per Bengtsson 8.3099/115.76, Hans Olav Olstad 7.0379/179.78, Gunther Sohn 6.7155/192.99, Lorenz Stäuble 6.6916/211.67 Svein Olav back from his travels in the USA. A good baseline pass for Svein, the bike drifted to the left but he corrected and stayed with it. Great to see Tommy back on track, on two wheels this time. Ian was shut off for a fluid leak, Tommy went forward to stage and then he too was shut off. Fantastic burnouts by Per and Hans Olav, Hans Olav visibly away first 0.2728 to 0.4202, Per had the better sixty foot 1.194 to5 to 1.2382 but Per was off the throttle at half track. A tremendous pairing between Gunther and Lo, Lo away first 0.1666 to 0.3008, Gunther was visibly gaining on Lo at half track, 4.4304/178.45 to Lo's 4.4320/176.15 but Lo held on and took the strip and #1 spot by 0.1581. Qualifying after this session:
10:55 UEM Pro Stock Bike qualifying session 1 (left lane first): Chris Hope 8.1904/163.55, Ray Debben 10.8179/95.58, Richard Gipp 7.7117/167.24, Ulf Ögge 7.9452/175.62, Len Paget 7.5392/175.01, Fredrik Fredlund 7.4154/180.51, Martin Bishop 7.5134/175.69, Tom Tinndahn 7.3006/177.63 Trackside conditions at the start of the session were 17.0 C, 69% humidity and 1001 mb of air, track temperature was 24.2 C. Chris' front wheel was in the air for an eternity and from here it looked like he was off the throttle briefly as it came down. Ray headed left and got off the throttle. Straight baseline pass for Richard, Ulf's bike sounded to hesitate at the top of first gear. A great off the trailer pass for Len and a new PB for Fredrik. Martin's bike didn't move on the green, but eleven seconds later he put in a solid pass, an easy-looking and sounding pass for Tom and into #1 spot. Qualifying after this session:
10:45 Super Street qualifying top five after session 5:
An improvement for Mark Watkins but he stayed in place. Next up is our Pro session starting with UEM Pro Stock Bike, then UEM Supertwin, then UEM Top Fuel Bike. 10:40 Super Pro ET qualifying top five after session 5:
An improvement for Ian Tubb but he stayed in place. Brendan Clancy into the top five at #3. Congratulations to Nick Good on a superb 6.7567 in the Beovax dragster and to Eurodragster.com News sponsor Pete Walters on a new PB of 8.6092/115.57 and that was shut off early so there is more to come. 10:10 Super Gas qualifying top five after session 5:
No changes to the top five but lots of breakouts in this session, down to the tailwind I think. 10:05 Pro ET qualifying top five after session 5:
Mick Howling moved into #4 in the fourth pairing of the session. This lasted a few pairings until Charlie Chivers came in at #4 to bump him down a spot. A big cloud of smoke from Neil Hunter's Capri right on the finish line and oil on the shutdown area. Neil told us that the oil filter blew off the car and then he felt a lot of heat on one side of the car which was the oil catching fire. In his own words Neil "bailed out quickly" and is quite OK, and he asked us to say a big Thank You to the top end safety crews. Congratulations to Mark Bishop on what we think is a PB of 9.0382 in his Vegas Hustler altered. The 32-car qualifying field is now separated by 0.1918 seconds and the top 27 by 0.0872 seconds. Trackside conditions are 15.1 C, 74% humidity and 1001 mb of air, track temperature is 16.9 C. 8:20 Good morning and welcome from Santa Pod Raceway. It's day two of the FIA Main Event and we're here to bring you the news in association with American Car Imports. The Webster Race Engineering/MPM Oil webcam is on-line and will post a picture every sixty seconds until the track closes on Monday evening. It's dry here at Santa Pod, with high thin cloud, the sun breaking through every so often, and a fairly stiff tailwind. Trackside conditions are 14.4 C, 78% humidity and 1001 mb of air. On that subject will people please stop E-Mailing your reporter about the weather forecast? I've written on these pages often enough that I don't look at weather forecasts before or during a race, and there is a reason for that so please respect it. Quite an interesting day here in Race Control yesterday. Word has obviously got round about our office resembling NASA Launch Control with all the laptops we have set up this weekend, and we had a steady stream of visits from racers needing broadband access to download drivers, datalogger programs etc. Installing a cable driver on Swedish-language Windows was a bizarre experience but we got there and of course that's a bit more Swedish I've learned. We are due to start at 9:00 with qualifying session 5 of Pro ET, and today's Pro sessions are due at 10:30 and 14:30. Those classes which didn't get a fourth session yesterday will have it slotted in during the day. Stay tuned and as soon as the engines fire up we'll be back here with all the news. Reports and pictures ©Eurodragster.com |