Monthly Archives: September 2016
EDRS Banquet invitation are now up and ready
Anita Mäkelä clinches the title in a semi-final Top Fuel thriller
For almost ten minutes Anita Mäkelä must have had the déjà vu feeling of losing the FIA European Top Fuel title in one of the last runs of the season. The Finnish championship leader was defeated in the semi-final by Duncan Micallef, and with a win over Micke Kågered in the second semi-final, Stig Neergaard would gain the 20 points he needed to clinch the 2016 FIA European Top Fuel title. But the Dane ran into problems, was defeated by the 2015 champion and so, to the big relief of the Finnish team, the 2016 FIA European Top Fuel title went to Mäkelä. Duncan Micallef made headlines with his stunning 3.89 second runs, and Kågered finished the season on a high with a European Finals win. Continue reading
A blue Camaro will wear the number 1, but which blue Camaro?
The 2016 Pro Stock season has certainly been a close fought race as we come into the finals at Santa Pod. Rain has affected a couple of the races this year resulting in cancellation of eliminations in Alastaro and reduced qualifying in Hockenheim and the first Tierp round. Points have been harder to come by for the main players. This has been the case across the board but we have still seen three winners before the finals. Continue reading
Michael Gullqvist, the winner takes it all
The FIA European Pro Modified championship was decided in the best possible way, in a direct confrontation between the two remaining championship contenders, Michael Gullqvist and Bruno Bader. In the semi-final the Swedish champion leader defeated the Swiss number two, to claim his second consecutive title. As Gullqvist was the only driver to break the 6-second barrier, was by far the quickest driver of the event with 5.88 seconds, and defeated Mats Eriksson in the final, the Swede deserved to win the title. Continue reading
Dennis Habermann wins, but hands title to Jonny Lagg
An all Habermann final is always close and the European Finals Top Methanol Dragster final was no exception as Dennis defeated his brother Timo on a hole shot to take the win. Because the Habermann brothers ran a part time programme this season, last year’s numbers one and two in the championship were no threat for championship leader Jonny Lagg. The Swede secured his first FIA European TMD title even before qualifying as his nearest rival, Chris Polidano, had to withdraw his entry. With the Maltese driver missing, Timo and Dennis Habermann ended the 2016 championship in second and third position. Continue reading
Anita Mäkelä, Michael Gullqvist, Jimmy Ålund and Jonny Lagg clinch the 2016 FIA European Drag Racing Championship titles at Santa Pod
The outcome of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship couldn’t have been more exciting as three of the titles were decided in the penultimate runs of the season, the semi-finals of the European Finals at Santa Pod, the sixth and final round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship. In Top Fuel championship leader Anita Mäkelä lost her semi-final, but as runner-up Stig Neergaard was also defeated in the same round, the FIA European Top Fuel title was for Mäkelä. The race at Santa Pod was won by 2015 champion Michael Kågered. In Pro Modified championship leader Michael Gullqvist defeated his only remaining rival Bruno Bader in the semi-finals, clinched the title and also won the race at Santa Pod. In Pro Stock Jimmy Ålund defeated Stefan Ernryd in the semi-final and that win was enough to secure his tenth FIA European Pro Stock title. The champion was defeated in the final by Bengt Ljungdahl. In Top Methanol Dragster Jonny Lagg already clinched the 2016 title in qualifying. The final was won by Dennis Habermann. In Top Methanol Funny Car Johnny Oksa from Finland was crowned as the new champion in the penultimate race of the season in Sweden. Continue reading
Qualifying day two of the European Finals at Santa Pod rained out
There was no racing in the FIA European Drag Racing Championship classes at all on day two of qualifying for the European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway, the sixth and final round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship. It started to rain during the night and as it was still raining at 5.30 PM, the race director had no other choice than to cancel the Saturday qualifying for the European Finals. Continue reading
Liam Jones, Michael Gullqvist, Jimmy Ålund and Timo Habermann leaders after Friday qualifying for the European Finals at Santa Pod
Liam Jones stormed to the number one qualifying position in Top Fuel with a new personal best of 3.98 seconds at the first day of qualifying for the European Finals, the sixth and final round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship. In Pro Modified and Pro Stock championship leaders Michael Gullqvist and Jimmy Ålund lead the field, while in Top Methanol Dragster Timo Habermann was quickest at Santa Pod Raceway. Continue reading
The European Finals, the climax of a thrilling season
The 2016 FIA European Drag Racing Championship is reaching its climax with the European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. Especially in Top Fuel and Pro Modified the sixth and last round of the season promises to be a thriller as the championship might be decided in the last run of the season. Also in Pro Stock the leader in the championship will have to race hard for his title. In Top Methanol Dragster the title race is almost decided, while in Top Methanol Funny Car Johnny Oksa was crowned at Tierp Arena in the penultimate round of the FIA European Championship. Continue reading
Review Pro Stock, Scandinavian Internationals. The shape of things to come?
Bengt Ljungdahl is having a season of firsts. Completely different experiences than he had in the 2015 season when he attended races at Tierp only and failed to qualify for either race day, Bengt has taken the 2016 season in his grasp and attended all races, qualifying at everything to date. Could the likeable Swede maintain his record of high qualification positions and go some more rounds at Tierp? Continue reading