David Vegter runner-up in FIA European Pro Modified Championship
David Vegter and his team Vegter Pro Mod Racing can look back on an excellent season. Claiming the runner-up position in the 2022 FIA European Pro Modified Championship, the Dutchman scored his best ever result. In the most competitive and most international category of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship, Vegter finished as the runner-up at The Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway, claimed the number one qualifying position at the famous NitrOlympX at Hockenheim, and recorded at least one run in the 5.8 or 5.9-second zone at every race.
After the coronavirus pandemic caused a 2-year break, the FIA European Drag Racing Championship was back on the calendar in 2022. To emphasize the new start, Vegter Pro Mod Racing revealed a brand new and fresh design for their ’67 Chevrolet Camaro short before the start of the season.
David Vegter and his team Vegter Pro Mod Racing kicked off the season in the best possible way by claiming the runner-up position at The Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway, round one of the FIA European Championship. Vegter only had to acknowledge his superior in reigning FIA European champion and European recordholder Jan Ericsson. Looking at the recorded elapsed times, Vegter also proved that the adjustments the team made during the winter to the car, engine and set-up, paid off.
A few weeks later Vegter underlined his great form in a non FIA European Championship race at Tierp Arena, Sweden, by claiming the number three qualifying position and recording 5.847 seconds, close to his 5.804 second personal best. In August Vegter Pro Mod Racing were back at Tierp Arena for the Summit Racing Equipment Internationals, round two of the FIA European Championship. From the number eight position in qualifying, the Dutchman had to abort his first round elimination run after the burn out due to a problem with the fuel tank.
But Vegter bounced back two weeks later at the famous NitrOlympX at the HockenheimRing, with over 50,000 spectators the best attended drag race event of the European season. Recording 5.91 seconds, Vegter claimed the number one qualifying position to defeat all European competitors. In the eliminations the Dutchman noticed a problem with his car, but was still able to advance to the semi-finals. After the race the team detected a cracked tube in the chassis as the reason for the car handling problems. With only two weeks to go to the fourth and final round of the FIA European Championship, The European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway, there was a lot of extra work to be done. But being the number three in the championship and with only a few points between the numbers two up to five, there was plenty to fight for.
Back from Robinson Race Cars, and after a lot of work in the pits at Santa Pod Raceway, the Vegter Pro Mod Racing Camaro was race ready again when qualifying started for The European Finals. All efforts paid off as Vegter recorded 5.89 seconds on his second run, claiming the number two qualifying position. This was even more remarkable because, due to the bad weather conditions, only two qualifying sessions had been completed, giving the team limited time to find the right set-up for the repaired Camaro. After winning his first round of eliminations, Vegter improved to 5.85 seconds in the quarter finals, but he was still defeated.
With his spot in the quarter finals, Vegter gained one position in the FIA European Pro Modified Championship, finishing the title race in second position, his best ever result. In recent years the Dutchman has scored several top five positions in this most competitive category of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship, but after finishing third in 2017 and fourth in 2019, this has been his highlight up to now.
Vegter therefore looks back on the season with a good feeling. “It was a great season in which we were still in the title fight until the last race of the season. Highlights of the season were the runner-up position at The Main Event and the number one qualifying position at Hockenheim. It was a pity to lose so many points at Tierp, and besides that we were a bit unlucky sometimes. But it was great that we suffered hardly any damage to the engine, a sign that we worked in the right direction with the set-up. The only serious damage was the cracked chassis tube in Hockenheim, but that is something we couldn’t do much about.”
Nowadays in motorsport the new season starts hardly a week after the last race finished. “We will take the car apart, check everything and replace parts if needed. We will focus on the FIA European Championship again next season, kicking off with The Main Event at Santa Pod. We are happy to announce that Velocity Classics will remain one of our partners. The company based in Rijsenhout and specialized in selling American muscle cars and classic cars, joined us this season and will continue and even expend the existing relationship. Our long time partners HKR Techniek, tomkart (electric karts) and Post & Dros will remain on board again, something we are very grateful for,” said Vegter.
Follow Vegter Pro Mod Racing on Instagram: vegterpromodracing and Facebook: Vegter Pro Mod Racing
