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Pro Stock Bike racer Alex Hope suffered breakage in his first run and then drifted to the left in the second session to go no.7 of seven. In the points he has a 37 point advantage over Maurice Bertrand, equivalent to two rounds of racing. So Alex will need to go rounds to be assured of the title.
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Junior Dragster racer Thaliah Gibb had clutch problems, but Andy and Aaron Fensome came to her aid with the loan of a clutch, and Chris and Harry Redshaw loaned a flywheel. Mum Sandy said 'Many thanks for the help and also to our sponsors Wyldecrestparks.com, James Johnson & Co Ltd who allowed us use of their CNC machine and G R Clarke & Sons who have provided engineering and machinery services'.
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Super Pro ET racer John Pryzbl is in the driving seat for this event with Paul returning at the National Finals. John said 'The car is running very consistently, although it is around a tenth slower than at the Main Event'. Next year the team will continue having John and Paul as shared drivers. John is currently qualified tenth with a 7.549 on a 7.54 dial-in. The top 25 cars in the class are within a tenth of their dial-in.
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Super Pro ET racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Peter Walters has his refettled dragster with a new 496ci BBC engine and freshened blower. The arresting paint scheme, applied to all-new body panels, was designed by Peter and applied by Richard including the silver in the scheme which is actually the underlying ally with turning. On track, the team worked out a number of bugs in the transmission, which included a rebuild of the Powerglide after the reverse clutches burned out, and replacement of a valve body after gasket issues.
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Anita Mäkelä has won her third FIA championship (her previous titles were in 2000 and 2016). She said 'This is our lifestyle and what my family do. If there is a race, you have to go. Although we have got the championship, there is still a race going on and the partying will have to wait until later. Now I want to focus on qualifying well, as the race is there to win'. On the first run the engine lost the blower belt and so the run was not clean. But the second run had a hard wheels-up launch, and the car ran strongly until the engine quit at 800ft, running a 3.894 at only 263mph. 'I have a good crew and it is teamwork at its best', she concluded.
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Top Fuel Dragster racers Jndia and Urs Erbacher, sponsor of Eurodragster.com put out an appeal on the site for crew, and received lots of applications from well known people in the sport who wanted to help at what may be Urs's last race as a driver (his car is up for sale). 'If I win the race I may even return', he said. 'Thanks to Aaron Brooks and Tony Shortall from the US, Mark Turner and Fredrik Levstad from Micke Kågered's team who are on the clutch and Ben Allum who is working on the engine'. Jndia and Urs were also joined by Sascha, their mechanic in the custom bikes business, who has been with the company for 16 years.
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Duncan Micallef suffered shake in the first session and smoke in the delayed second session. He said 'It's been a disappointing season with first round exits as the consistency hasn't been there. At Tierp a fortnight ago I was in the last session, not qualified, and a delay meant the engine ran for too long before the run and I ended up out of the field. There is no easy way through in this class, but I have learned to stay calm and professional after the disappointments because if not, you lose the team'. Next year, work commitments may impinge on racing plans. 'We will decide about next year away from the track in December'.
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Antti Horto is looking to consolidate his runner up spot in the championship, as finalist in Hockenheim and August's Tierp race. 'A high spot for me was my first 500kph run at the NitrOlympX. The car is consistent and I am here to win. It would be a good prelude to next year, and definitely help in sponsor negotiations. But I have to win one round to be certain of my championship place'. Antti is helped by Jimmy Walsh, long time US crew chief and friend of car owner Rune Fjeld.
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Top Fuel Dragster racer Stig Neergaard said 'It's been a year of ups and downs. First we brought our old car with a new six plate clutch setup which we worked out and won the Main Event. Then I built a new car and debuted it at Hockenheim with new management systems - it ran well to the eighth but wasn't good enough for the full 1000ft. At this event we had a problem with the Electromotion system activating after only one second, and we don't know the reason why'. Stig is planning on returning to the full tour in 2019, with Kenni also driving at a couple of races, studies permitting. Best wishes to Kenni for a speedy recovery following a spill in the team's slingshot at Mosten Raceday.
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Retired Top Fuel Dragster racer Pelle Lindelow brought members of his P&G team to Santa Pod for a reunion. Pictured are car owners Pelle and Gunnar Elmqvist, Janne Carlsson, Sören Isaksson, Bosse Söderkvist (no relative to Knut), Leif Hamberg and Ulf Schill. Pelle said 'Although I've been to Santa Pod for over 50 times, it's the first time we have all been together here since 2001 when we ran the car for the last time. I can clearly remember my final race, against Anita, and had a quicker reaction but the engine lost the blower belt'. The car was subsequently loaned to Peter Lantz. Pelle's history at SPR goes back to the 1972 International meet.
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Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg had a spectacular run in the darkness yesterday evening, with a ball of flame from the right side of the bike. The team said that a spare engine will be installed today ready for eliminations tomorrow. Rene's first run had the tyre smoking, the bike headed towards the centre and then Rene back on it for a brave 7.110 which places him no.4. Thanks to Mike Kraaij for the photo.
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Super Street Bike racer Garry Bowe was joined by Brad O'Connor and the result was a great 7.032/205 run to place him no.1 after two sessions. Thanks to Mike Kraaij for the photo.
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