EUROPEAN MAIN EVENT COVERAGE
Fri, 2009-05-29 08:35
Andy Carter the defending FIA European Top Fuel Champion started with lowly qualifying places in the eight car field, from fifth in round one to seventh in the third, ending up fouth. He got around Linda Thun Tønseth in one, Lex Joon in the semi, 4.802/307 to a 5.198/254 and took the Lucas Oil car to a 4.908/293 win over Denmark’s Stig Neergaard.
FIA Top Methanol Dragster was a riot of record setting runs all over the long weekend. Dave Wilson recorded a 5.304 best but went out in the semis to event runner up, Norway’s newly licenced Fred Hanssen. German Timo Habermann was the finals opponent and beat Hannsen with a holeshot 5.428/242 to a 5.428/263.
Defending FIA Top Methanol Funny Car Champion Ulf Leanders was a late entry with his unpainted Firebird but managed to get back on track with a number one qualifier then beating Jürgen Nagel and Dan Larsen to meet fellow Swede Leif Andréasson for the money. A holeshot 5.808/246 from Leanders beat the charging 5.795/244.
Sweden’s Jimmy Ålund took up where he left of last year in FIA Pro Stock taking pole with a European record setting ET and Speed 6.694 and 206.84mph then continued to decimate the opposition. Jonas Dantanus surprised everyone by getting to the final and despite a holeshot lost, 6.785/204 to the 6.877/201.
More personal bests and records tumbled in FIA Pro Modified with England’s Andy Robinson leading the strong sixteen car eliminator recording a Euro record of 6.100 in round two. Robinson beat Marco Maurischat, Roger Johansson and Micke Lindahl then beat Sweden’s Urban Johansson 6.106/228 to a 6.470/220 in the final.
Britain’s Gordon Smith finally managed to get a long deserved win in Funny Car by taking on and beating the number one qualifier and usual standout John Spuffard. An almost identical leave saw Spuffard go into tyre smoke at the halfway mark leaving Smith to take the win with a 5.696/244 to a 7.160/125.
In UEM Top Fuel Bike defending Champion Ian King came from number two qualifier to take the event win getting easily past Christian Jager, a breaking top qualifier Peter Svensson and a shut off Rene van den Berg on the money run, a solo 6.477/210 by King ended the day.
UEM Super Twin Bike had Sweden’s Per Bengtsson at the top on a 6.680/255 but he went bang in round one. The event win went to Swiss man Lorenz Stäuble out of the Urs Erbacher stable. His standard wild looking rides got him past Holland’s Job Heezen in the final, a 6.969/208 beat the slowed up 7.953/132.
Not the usual amount of riders in UEM Pro Stock Bike but the number one qualifier, Sweden’s Ulf Ögge managed to defeat defending Champion Fredrik Fredlund in round two after a bye then soundly beat England’s Len Paget 7.296/170 to the game 7.452/176 in the final.
A small, select entry in Competition Eliminator saw the V8
Mustang of Switzerland’s Roland Bolleter take an unopposed win as the
screaming Nissan, Ford Probe and Mazda of John Bradshaw, John Tebenham
and Chris Impey respectively all broke, a 7.895/174 secured the title.
Matthew Seamarks made good in the Junior Dragster ranks, he came from seventh qualifier all the way through the fifteen car international field to take the event win. An 8.013/73 beat the 7.919/82 from Holland’s Lisa Selles.
German Harald Sturhan wheeled out his good looking Mercedes CLK Pro Stock car and had mixed results; a best of 7.139/193 unfortunately failed to make the cut but after a first qualifier crossed up and wheelying launch he managed to get it to run straight.
England’s Dave Wilson, former multi-time Top Methanol Dragster Champion seems to have now got his new last year A/Fuel machine in the groove with runs in the 5.3s and setting a European record ET of 5.304 seconds.
Newly licenced Norwegian Fred Hanssen had the help of U.S Crew Chief Will Hanna to assist resulting in not only a new European Top Methanol Dragster speed record of 266.47 but an event runner up placing.
It was not Holland’s Robert Joosten’s day in round one of Pro Mod when he turned hard left, crossed lanes and ended up upside-down into the wall. His was not the only casualty over the weekend, Tommy Rostgaard boomed a motor and ran off the track trying for his T/F licence, Lee Cohen ended up on his roof and Martyn Jones crashed his brand new dragster in two separate Super Pro ET passes. All were uninjured.
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