This weekend is the tenth anniversary of the first 300mph pass in FIA Top Fuel in Europe. On 2nd June 2002 Barry Sheavills lined up against Andy Carter in qualifying and Barry reached the finish line first at 304.71mph in 4.970 seconds. A whisker later Andy crossed at 303.07 in 4.897 seconds. Barry is pictured holding a copy of the historic timing ticket.
Top Fuel Dragster racer Risto Poutiainen, who like Barry, races a Rune Fjeld-owned and tuned car, is riding high at this event. He qualified no.1, pipping Stig Neergaard by 0.01s in the process. He said "The track and air are good and think we will run quicker today. We could run 300mph to 1000ft which the data said we should have done earlier, but for a broken blower belt. The next round is against team-mate Jari Halinen but there will be no foul play!" Risto said the chassis and engine are updated for the latest parts. Sponsorship comes from Multi-lotto.com, a site that enables you to enter lotteries around the world. Risto won his first FIA event after Stig Neergaard didn't make the call following earlier damage.
Top Fuel Dragster racer Stig Neergaard is joined by US racer John Smith who spent Friday and Saturday tuning Mike Smith in the family's funny car to 14th place at the time and then hopping on a plane at 6:30pm which landed in London at 9am. He said "With the rain I could take my time getting to the track and Stig has a great handle on his car, he just bounces stuff off me." Stig said "We are running the same combination as the earlier passes which works well and are only making marginal changes. It is a safe combination." That said, damage in the semi final prevented a final round appearance against Risto.
Top Fuel racer Chris Andrews shut off at 300ft against Stig's 4.15 run but it was planned. He said "We are still testing the systems. I know the car reacts well and my reaction time was 0.026. We are preparing for the whole season and have two additional spare motors and a lot of parts on the way. The way the car and team performed is bang on the money." Chris is sponsored by Lucas Oil who through Morgan Lucas had a previous ownership interest in the car.
Top Fuel racer Anita Mälkelä had a blower belt broke at 300ft. She said "We don't yet know the reason why it broke but when it did, there was total silence. The young guys in the class are doing fine and have the right attitude. At the next event there will be three more cars and it will be even more difficult so it was a pity to lose in round one here." Anita said that winter work was confined to maintenance of the car and mandatory updates. She is pictured with son Heikki who is helping on fuel and various areas around the car.
Top Methanol dragster racer Chris Polidiano was delighted to run his first 5.3 at 264mph in the Gold RV sponsored car, but was nipped at the end by Timo Habermann in the closest race of the day by 0.0032s or 14 inches. Chris said "It was my first proper TMD race. I will have to practice reaction times and we are looking forward to running at Tierp with all the team."
Top Methanol dragster racer Esko Raisvuo had a frustrating event. He said "We're going nowhere. On the earlier runs the fuel system was spraying and on this one it was too lean," after a first round defeat to Dave Wilson.
Pro Mod racer Roger Moore explained that the reason for the car dying on the start line was Roger reacting to Andy Wright leaving in the other lane by dropping the clutch before the ehgine had gone up on the chip. "I purge the nitrous in pre-stage," explained Roger, "So I just left when I saw Andy go, but it was too early." In the second round, Roger left on time against Bert-Ove Olofsson but was overpowered by the latter's Impala.
Pro Mod racer Bruno Bader has had problems getting down the track. He said "I haven't managed to find the setup and lost traction on every pass. On my last run the tyre slippage through the finish line was 25% of actual speed. All I can do is to try to stay in front and hope the track gets better later in the day." In round two Bruno's improved 6.59 was against Robert Joosten's red light and we understand that rather than pedalling, the slow time was due to a failing ignition box.
Top Methanol Dragster racer Dave Wilson said "Against Esko we were apprehensive about the traction and put a tune up in it to get down the road. The result was a 5.45 which probably won't be enough for Dennis Habermann in the next round, so we will have to do something to make it quicker."
Top Methanol Dragster racer Krister Johansson's 5.44/264 was defeated by Dennis Habermann's 5.35/263. Krister said "We did improve but not enough to defeat Dennis who cut a better light and ran quicker. But 264mph is our second best speed. Crewman Glenn Read said "We have checked the car and rebuilt it using some fresh engine parts since our last race at Hockenheim and had the block repaired. We are still running 97% nitro in the EU and hope that will remain for the sake of equality. Our cars are less predictable than the alcohol ones and we need at least a chance to win."
Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis ran a quick speed of 242mph to defeat Eurodragster.com blogger Andy Frost in the rerun first round race. He said "In the first attempt the transmission exploded as the car was winding down and we had to put in a new clutch. This time we have normal service and don't have to do so much. Against David Vegter he will be trying to win and we will still be happy if he puts us in the left hand lane. The car has boost controller issue which means it doesn't make as much boost at any point as previously, although whether the track could handle the additional boost is doubtful. We will check it out later." Graham went through to the semi-final by virtue of David crossing the centre line.
Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg was defeated by Rikard Gustavsson. Rene said "I was nervous running Rickard and the burnout didn't feel good and then I got tyre shake on the run. The team are missing the next UEM round to prepare Rene's new bike for a debut at the SPRC Summernationals.
Top Fuel Bike racer Rickard Gustavsson is pleased to be racing against the nitro bikes on his quick Funny Bike. He said after a 6.56 in round one "I hope to go quicker. A 6.3 should be possible but not here. I have Nils Lagerlof in the semi final round and will run the same setup, but will need to step up for the final against Ian King.
Top Fuel Bike racer Nils Lagerlof is at his first meeting in the class and made a promising start by defeating an up-in-smoke Steve Woollatt. He said "I made a good start and then drifted to the left and managed to get the win. The 1.09 60ft time was good. I am looking forward to running the series and have run a best of 6.74." Nils said his setup is based on a Hayabusa engine with turbo on methanol. The bike has an Ultronic SM4 engine management system. You can read Nils' blog on www.ncracing.com
Supertwin racer Samu Kemppainen suffered a belt breaking into many pieces in his first round victory against Chris Hannam. He said "There were pieces of belt all over the bike but fortunately no damage. Both Nate and I are tuning our own bikes but we share knowledge a little and have the same Ron Houliet engines and our own spare parts." Samu said Ron is tuned into the coverage from Canada and is advising the teams remotely.
US tuner Norm Grimes who took Rick Santos to five consecutive NHRA championships is here advising Manty Bugeja's TMD operation to new bests of 5.292/259. Norm said "I met Manty through Rick as he bought a car ran by Rick and asked him when he was looking for help with getting an engine. It's my first time in Europe and I have enjoyed it greatly with the friendly people, lots of meals and the rain, although it seems to rain whereever I go. Top Methanol Dragster in Europe is tougher than I expected. The grass is always greener on the other side, but there are definitely no easy pickings here. The circumstances are different and challenging. Whilst my schedule with Jim Whiteley won't allow me to visit Europe later in the year I can't express how much fun it has been to meet the people and observe the scene over here. And the Mr Whippy team are great workers, they never give up."
Super Pro ET racer Martyn Jones' crew chief Crunch was relaxing in the driver's seat. Meanwhile Sid was ruminating on having to do a footbrake launch for the first time in 22 years. "The transbrake blew and when I looked for the spare I found that one had been destroyed too. The engine is revving more than we were hoping as the convertor is slipping. I am trying to get off the rev limiter. On Friday it was on the limiter from 1000ft to the finish and on Saturday for the last 0.3s. We will get a taller rear end ratio and I hope to run a five at some stage soon."
Pro Stock racer Conrad Stanley is facing Thomas Lindströ in the first round. He said "We have been trying different clutch settings on every run and think we are going in the right direction. We have engine issues in qualifying and it dropped a cylinder off the startline. We will hopefully have a close race with Thomas." Conrad mentioned he is awaiting confirmation of funding for attending Tierp in two weeks' time, but all arrangements are in place.
Pro Stock racer Micke Callin is sponsored by Siölunds Transport AB who are in attendance. Micke said "I am pleased they are in attendance as the owner's brother sponsors Jimmy Alund." Jimmy had to withdraw with significant engine damage whereas Micke got down the track three times. "I was pleased to do that as we only managed two full passes at the Finals. The car and crew are working fine. We haven't changed much on the car and are just trying to go fast and smooth."
Pro Stock racer Thomas Lindström qualified second after a best of 6.73, a hundredth behind Micke Callin. He said "Now we have some good settings we don't want to go outside the box and drive safely. We had no damage to the engine even though it overrevved on the left lane over the bumps in the middle and the revs went up by 1000. Conrad may have less power than us but his car can go down the track and it's not over until the fat lady sings. We think the best lane for us is the right." In the race a 6.659 was close to the ET record and the first half of a new speed record. Thomas is well-equipped for the season with a brand new Alan Johnson Dodge Hemi engine.
Top Methanol Funny Car racer Rob Turner said that after Steph Milam's withdrawal due to an injury sustained on an off-and-on the throttle run in the right lane, there will be two bye passes and then the final will be Rob and Danny Bellio. "We will go for it on the bye run and hope to get lane choice." Turner Motorsport have the Borg brothers crewing again; Paul (pictured far right) and Mario (second from left) have been in touch with the Turners over the last three years. Paul said "We bought a car from the late Bernie Hepworth in 1993 and then imported a dragster with a Small Block Chevy from the US."
Top Methanol Funny Car racer Danny Bellio was frustrated that conditions are preventing the car from performing to its potential. He said "It's not a good feeling. I feathered the throttle from 400ft and the car still ran a 5.82; the right lane is better than the left for us but in either it skates around after half track. The traction at the start is excellent but there are problems down the track. As a result of over-revving we have had to change both top bearings and bottom bearings on the rods which is unusual."
Pro Mod racer and no.1 qualifier David Vegter who is sponsored by Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil has invested the additional funds in a new Brad Anderson engine with Stage 6 heads, Waterman Fuel Pump and PSI 14-71 roots blower. David said "If the car picks up we will go quicker. We want to be quick but consistent as well. The bye run produced low ET of the round of 6.23/209. Crewman Egbert Bros said "The conditions are tricky but we are fortunately starting where we finished last year and are using similar chassis settings. Other crew members are Dick Koster (crew chief), Gijs Visser (4-link and rear axle) and Nik Spijker (clutch and gears). The team will run the championship with the exception of Finland.
Pro Mod racers Roger Moore (pictured right) and Jean Dulamon are the two nitrous runners in the thirteen car ladder. Roger said "The car shook the tyres on the first run and broke the wheelie bars. That put us behind, but we think we have sorted the ignition issue - the shake caused a lot of things to become loose."
Pro Mod racer Jean Dulamon's team was prepared and quick to act when a nitrous burp happened just as the car was coming up to the line. The restraint system, the strap of which can be seen above, prevents the concussion effect of carburretors leading to hood scoop flying into the air. Jean's scoop angled up allowing the quick-acting team to put a rag over the carbs to put out the small fire. We understand the restraint system has been developed by Roger Johansson. Jean did not qualify as he did not complete a pass.
Pro Mod racer Andy Wright (pictured right, with co-owner Bert Englefield) said "We are racing Roger Moore in the first round and I was pleased to run 6.60/218. We will keep it soft but try to apply more power at the top end and will choose the right lane. The car is fine but we needed two runs yesterday." The car has a new rear axle and injector hat for this season. In the race Andy left before the lights ran against a stalling Roger Moore.
Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com blogger Andy Frost was the victor against Graham Ellis but the race will need to be re-run following a problem with the guard beam. On the rerun, Andy ran a quickest and fastest street-legal pass of 6.59/220 in a losing effort
Pro Mod racer Kev Slyfield was catching Bruno Bader after he hit shake but then crossed lanes in the second half. Earlier Kev said "The convertor broke on Saturday so we had an emergency dash home and fitted the repaired item on Saturday night. We are happy with the repair and think it will run better than ever. The start is so important; it unsettles the car if there isn't a decent launch and the run becomes difficult."
Pro Mod racer Bert-Ove Olofsson said "We think we have figured out the track and had to lift once on our 6.33 in the second session. We would like to run the championship but will see how we go. Thanks to the team for their support." On the bye run after Wayne Nicholson failed to start, the unique Impala launched hard but got out of the groove with shake. Then a broken lifter on the warmup for the semi-final put paid to any further round wins at this event.
Pro Mod racer Marc Meihuizen was optimistic before the race. He said "We will try our best to see what the track can take and will try to do what's possible." However Marc fell prey to the rain delay and was shut down with the oil cap fallen off, having done his burnout previously.
Supertwin racer Job Heezen suffered an engine explosion in the cylinder head that spoilt a run which the team said was a ptential 6.4. He said "We had to replace the head but the valves were ok. We think we have a speed advantage over Christian Jäger and prefer the right lane. At speed both are the same for us but the left is bumpier for us."
Pro Stock bike racer Elvira Karlsson said "I am comfortable riding the bike and am looking forward to elminations." Elvira qualified sixth with a 7.57. Team manager Roger Lyrén said "Elvira is in a learning process and whilst she has many steps to take I am not putting Elvira under too much pressure. She is running a 1500cc engine here and we will give her the 1755cc engine later in the season. We have had many riders on the team and the relationship differs with each. If they have been racing for many years we have to try to get them to unlearn their habits and be open minded enough to accept our strategy and be willing to learn."
Pro Stock bike racer Fredrik Fredlund said "We are struggling a lot. I broke a gearbox in the test session and had to take the engine out to replace it. Then I rolled backwards into the water in the first qualifier so only did one qualifier, a 7.50 for fourth place. We have a new Racepak computer which doesn't work so we have no data. Also our new longer first gear means that our previous tune-up settings don't work. The bike is lighter and we have the power to run a 7.0 or 6.9 but that is not possible here." After a lucky break when the bike wouldn't go into second against a red-lighting Len Paget, Fredrik came up fractionally short against Kalle Lyrén in the semi final.
As we passed, the nitro bikes were warming up outside their canopies. Pictured is Nate Gagnon's bike with Ian Turburville (out of shot) astride the front wheel and Samu Kemppainen looking on. Nate soloed for the win when Job Heezen broke rod bearings in the semi final.
Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis was characteristically phlegmatic. He said "We just want to get to the other end without crashing and really don't know what the outcome would be against Andy Frost. Losing two qualifying runs and the test day has undoubtedly hurt us. We know the track well but can't take it too easy as Andy has the potential to get their first. We are not comfortable about the car in the current conditions and it is the first time I have been in it in competition - there is no comparison to driving it against when it had a supercharged engine, only the seat position, pedals and steering wheel are the same and the handling and controls are completely different with a turbo."
This weekend is the tenth anniversary of the first 300mph pass in FIA Top Fuel in Europe. On 2nd June 2002 Barry Sheavills lined up against Andy Carter in qualifying and Barry reached the finish line first at 304.71mph in 4.970 seconds. A whisker later Andy crossed at 303.07 in 4.897 seconds. Barry is pictured holding a copy of the historic timing ticket.
Top Fuel Dragster racer Risto Poutiainen, who like Barry, races a Rune Fjeld-owned and tuned car, is riding high at this event. He qualified no.1, pipping Stig Neergaard by 0.01s in the process. He said "The track and air are good and think we will run quicker today. We could run 300mph to 1000ft which the data said we should have done earlier, but for a broken blower belt. The next round is against team-mate Jari Halinen but there will be no foul play!" Risto said the chassis and engine are updated for the latest parts. Sponsorship comes from Multi-lotto.com, a site that enables you to enter lotteries around the world. Risto won his first FIA event after Stig Neergaard didn't make the call following earlier damage.
Top Fuel Dragster racer Stig Neergaard is joined by US racer John Smith who spent Friday and Saturday tuning Mike Smith in the family's funny car to 14th place at the time and then hopping on a plane at 6:30pm which landed in London at 9am. He said "With the rain I could take my time getting to the track and Stig has a great handle on his car, he just bounces stuff off me." Stig said "We are running the same combination as the earlier passes which works well and are only making marginal changes. It is a safe combination." That said, damage in the semi final prevented a final round appearance against Risto.
Top Fuel racer Chris Andrews shut off at 300ft against Stig's 4.15 run but it was planned. He said "We are still testing the systems. I know the car reacts well and my reaction time was 0.026. We are preparing for the whole season and have two additional spare motors and a lot of parts on the way. The way the car and team performed is bang on the money." Chris is sponsored by Lucas Oil who through Morgan Lucas had a previous ownership interest in the car.
Top Fuel racer Anita Mälkelä had a blower belt broke at 300ft. She said "We don't yet know the reason why it broke but when it did, there was total silence. The young guys in the class are doing fine and have the right attitude. At the next event there will be three more cars and it will be even more difficult so it was a pity to lose in round one here." Anita said that winter work was confined to maintenance of the car and mandatory updates. She is pictured with son Heikki who is helping on fuel and various areas around the car.
Top Methanol dragster racer Chris Polidiano was delighted to run his first 5.3 at 264mph in the Gold RV sponsored car, but was nipped at the end by Timo Habermann in the closest race of the day by 0.0032s or 14 inches. Chris said "It was my first proper TMD race. I will have to practice reaction times and we are looking forward to running at Tierp with all the team."
Top Methanol dragster racer Esko Raisvuo had a frustrating event. He said "We're going nowhere. On the earlier runs the fuel system was spraying and on this one it was too lean," after a first round defeat to Dave Wilson.
Pro Mod racer Roger Moore explained that the reason for the car dying on the start line was Roger reacting to Andy Wright leaving in the other lane by dropping the clutch before the ehgine had gone up on the chip. "I purge the nitrous in pre-stage," explained Roger, "So I just left when I saw Andy go, but it was too early." In the second round, Roger left on time against Bert-Ove Olofsson but was overpowered by the latter's Impala.
Pro Mod racer Bruno Bader has had problems getting down the track. He said "I haven't managed to find the setup and lost traction on every pass. On my last run the tyre slippage through the finish line was 25% of actual speed. All I can do is to try to stay in front and hope the track gets better later in the day." In round two Bruno's improved 6.59 was against Robert Joosten's red light and we understand that rather than pedalling, the slow time was due to a failing ignition box.
Top Methanol Dragster racer Dave Wilson said "Against Esko we were apprehensive about the traction and put a tune up in it to get down the road. The result was a 5.45 which probably won't be enough for Dennis Habermann in the next round, so we will have to do something to make it quicker."
Top Methanol Dragster racer Krister Johansson's 5.44/264 was defeated by Dennis Habermann's 5.35/263. Krister said "We did improve but not enough to defeat Dennis who cut a better light and ran quicker. But 264mph is our second best speed. Crewman Glenn Read said "We have checked the car and rebuilt it using some fresh engine parts since our last race at Hockenheim and had the block repaired. We are still running 97% nitro in the EU and hope that will remain for the sake of equality. Our cars are less predictable than the alcohol ones and we need at least a chance to win."
Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis ran a quick speed of 242mph to defeat Eurodragster.com blogger Andy Frost in the rerun first round race. He said "In the first attempt the transmission exploded as the car was winding down and we had to put in a new clutch. This time we have normal service and don't have to do so much. Against David Vegter he will be trying to win and we will still be happy if he puts us in the left hand lane. The car has boost controller issue which means it doesn't make as much boost at any point as previously, although whether the track could handle the additional boost is doubtful. We will check it out later." Graham went through to the semi-final by virtue of David crossing the centre line.
Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg was defeated by Rikard Gustavsson. Rene said "I was nervous running Rickard and the burnout didn't feel good and then I got tyre shake on the run. The team are missing the next UEM round to prepare Rene's new bike for a debut at the SPRC Summernationals.
Top Fuel Bike racer Rickard Gustavsson is pleased to be racing against the nitro bikes on his quick Funny Bike. He said after a 6.56 in round one "I hope to go quicker. A 6.3 should be possible but not here. I have Nils Lagerlof in the semi final round and will run the same setup, but will need to step up for the final against Ian King.
Top Fuel Bike racer Nils Lagerlof is at his first meeting in the class and made a promising start by defeating an up-in-smoke Steve Woollatt. He said "I made a good start and then drifted to the left and managed to get the win. The 1.09 60ft time was good. I am looking forward to running the series and have run a best of 6.74." Nils said his setup is based on a Hayabusa engine with turbo on methanol. The bike has an Ultronic SM4 engine management system. You can read Nils' blog on 
Supertwin racer Samu Kemppainen suffered a belt breaking into many pieces in his first round victory against Chris Hannam. He said "There were pieces of belt all over the bike but fortunately no damage. Both Nate and I are tuning our own bikes but we share knowledge a little and have the same Ron Houliet engines and our own spare parts." Samu said Ron is tuned into the coverage from Canada and is advising the teams remotely.
US tuner Norm Grimes who took Rick Santos to five consecutive NHRA championships is here advising Manty Bugeja's TMD operation to new bests of 5.292/259. Norm said "I met Manty through Rick as he bought a car ran by Rick and asked him when he was looking for help with getting an engine. It's my first time in Europe and I have enjoyed it greatly with the friendly people, lots of meals and the rain, although it seems to rain whereever I go. Top Methanol Dragster in Europe is tougher than I expected. The grass is always greener on the other side, but there are definitely no easy pickings here. The circumstances are different and challenging. Whilst my schedule with Jim Whiteley won't allow me to visit Europe later in the year I can't express how much fun it has been to meet the people and observe the scene over here. And the Mr Whippy team are great workers, they never give up."
Super Pro ET racer Martyn Jones' crew chief Crunch was relaxing in the driver's seat. Meanwhile Sid was ruminating on having to do a footbrake launch for the first time in 22 years. "The transbrake blew and when I looked for the spare I found that one had been destroyed too. The engine is revving more than we were hoping as the convertor is slipping. I am trying to get off the rev limiter. On Friday it was on the limiter from 1000ft to the finish and on Saturday for the last 0.3s. We will get a taller rear end ratio and I hope to run a five at some stage soon."
Pro Stock racer Conrad Stanley is facing Thomas Lindströ in the first round. He said "We have been trying different clutch settings on every run and think we are going in the right direction. We have engine issues in qualifying and it dropped a cylinder off the startline. We will hopefully have a close race with Thomas." Conrad mentioned he is awaiting confirmation of funding for attending Tierp in two weeks' time, but all arrangements are in place.
Pro Stock racer Micke Callin is sponsored by Siölunds Transport AB who are in attendance. Micke said "I am pleased they are in attendance as the owner's brother sponsors Jimmy Alund." Jimmy had to withdraw with significant engine damage whereas Micke got down the track three times. "I was pleased to do that as we only managed two full passes at the Finals. The car and crew are working fine. We haven't changed much on the car and are just trying to go fast and smooth." 
Pro Stock racer Thomas Lindström qualified second after a best of 6.73, a hundredth behind Micke Callin. He said "Now we have some good settings we don't want to go outside the box and drive safely. We had no damage to the engine even though it overrevved on the left lane over the bumps in the middle and the revs went up by 1000. Conrad may have less power than us but his car can go down the track and it's not over until the fat lady sings. We think the best lane for us is the right." In the race a 6.659 was close to the ET record and the first half of a new speed record. Thomas is well-equipped for the season with a brand new Alan Johnson Dodge Hemi engine.
Top Methanol Funny Car racer Rob Turner said that after Steph Milam's withdrawal due to an injury sustained on an off-and-on the throttle run in the right lane, there will be two bye passes and then the final will be Rob and Danny Bellio. "We will go for it on the bye run and hope to get lane choice." Turner Motorsport have the Borg brothers crewing again; Paul (pictured far right) and Mario (second from left) have been in touch with the Turners over the last three years. Paul said "We bought a car from the late Bernie Hepworth in 1993 and then imported a dragster with a Small Block Chevy from the US."
Top Methanol Funny Car racer Danny Bellio was frustrated that conditions are preventing the car from performing to its potential. He said "It's not a good feeling. I feathered the throttle from 400ft and the car still ran a 5.82; the right lane is better than the left for us but in either it skates around after half track. The traction at the start is excellent but there are problems down the track. As a result of over-revving we have had to change both top bearings and bottom bearings on the rods which is unusual."
Pro Mod racer and no.1 qualifier David Vegter who is sponsored by Eurodragster.com sponsor MPM Oil has invested the additional funds in a new Brad Anderson engine with Stage 6 heads, Waterman Fuel Pump and PSI 14-71 roots blower. David said "If the car picks up we will go quicker. We want to be quick but consistent as well. The bye run produced low ET of the round of 6.23/209. Crewman Egbert Bros said "The conditions are tricky but we are fortunately starting where we finished last year and are using similar chassis settings. Other crew members are Dick Koster (crew chief), Gijs Visser (4-link and rear axle) and Nik Spijker (clutch and gears). The team will run the championship with the exception of Finland.
Pro Mod racers Roger Moore (pictured right) and Jean Dulamon are the two nitrous runners in the thirteen car ladder. Roger said "The car shook the tyres on the first run and broke the wheelie bars. That put us behind, but we think we have sorted the ignition issue - the shake caused a lot of things to become loose."
Pro Mod racer Jean Dulamon's team was prepared and quick to act when a nitrous burp happened just as the car was coming up to the line. The restraint system, the strap of which can be seen above, prevents the concussion effect of carburretors leading to hood scoop flying into the air. Jean's scoop angled up allowing the quick-acting team to put a rag over the carbs to put out the small fire. We understand the restraint system has been developed by Roger Johansson. Jean did not qualify as he did not complete a pass.
Pro Mod racer Andy Wright (pictured right, with co-owner Bert Englefield) said "We are racing Roger Moore in the first round and I was pleased to run 6.60/218. We will keep it soft but try to apply more power at the top end and will choose the right lane. The car is fine but we needed two runs yesterday." The car has a new rear axle and injector hat for this season. In the race Andy left before the lights ran against a stalling Roger Moore.
Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com blogger Andy Frost was the victor against Graham Ellis but the race will need to be re-run following a problem with the guard beam. On the rerun, Andy ran a quickest and fastest street-legal pass of 6.59/220 in a losing effort
Pro Mod racer Kev Slyfield was catching Bruno Bader after he hit shake but then crossed lanes in the second half. Earlier Kev said "The convertor broke on Saturday so we had an emergency dash home and fitted the repaired item on Saturday night. We are happy with the repair and think it will run better than ever. The start is so important; it unsettles the car if there isn't a decent launch and the run becomes difficult."
Pro Mod racer Bert-Ove Olofsson said "We think we have figured out the track and had to lift once on our 6.33 in the second session. We would like to run the championship but will see how we go. Thanks to the team for their support." On the bye run after Wayne Nicholson failed to start, the unique Impala launched hard but got out of the groove with shake. Then a broken lifter on the warmup for the semi-final put paid to any further round wins at this event.
Pro Mod racer Marc Meihuizen was optimistic before the race. He said "We will try our best to see what the track can take and will try to do what's possible." However Marc fell prey to the rain delay and was shut down with the oil cap fallen off, having done his burnout previously.
Supertwin racer Job Heezen suffered an engine explosion in the cylinder head that spoilt a run which the team said was a ptential 6.4. He said "We had to replace the head but the valves were ok. We think we have a speed advantage over Christian Jäger and prefer the right lane. At speed both are the same for us but the left is bumpier for us."
Pro Stock bike racer Elvira Karlsson said "I am comfortable riding the bike and am looking forward to elminations." Elvira qualified sixth with a 7.57. Team manager Roger Lyrén said "Elvira is in a learning process and whilst she has many steps to take I am not putting Elvira under too much pressure. She is running a 1500cc engine here and we will give her the 1755cc engine later in the season. We have had many riders on the team and the relationship differs with each. If they have been racing for many years we have to try to get them to unlearn their habits and be open minded enough to accept our strategy and be willing to learn."
Pro Stock bike racer Fredrik Fredlund said "We are struggling a lot. I broke a gearbox in the test session and had to take the engine out to replace it. Then I rolled backwards into the water in the first qualifier so only did one qualifier, a 7.50 for fourth place. We have a new Racepak computer which doesn't work so we have no data. Also our new longer first gear means that our previous tune-up settings don't work. The bike is lighter and we have the power to run a 7.0 or 6.9 but that is not possible here." After a lucky break when the bike wouldn't go into second against a red-lighting Len Paget, Fredrik came up fractionally short against Kalle Lyrén in the semi final.
As we passed, the nitro bikes were warming up outside their canopies. Pictured is Nate Gagnon's bike with Ian Turburville (out of shot) astride the front wheel and Samu Kemppainen looking on. Nate soloed for the win when Job Heezen broke rod bearings in the semi final.
Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Graham Ellis was characteristically phlegmatic. He said "We just want to get to the other end without crashing and really don't know what the outcome would be against Andy Frost. Losing two qualifying runs and the test day has undoubtedly hurt us. We know the track well but can't take it too easy as Andy has the potential to get their first. We are not comfortable about the car in the current conditions and it is the first time I have been in it in competition - there is no comparison to driving it against when it had a supercharged engine, only the seat position, pedals and steering wheel are the same and the handling and controls are completely different with a turbo."