Andres Arnover well prepared for FIA European Pro Modified title race
Without a doubt, Andres Arnover is the Pro Mod driver with the most runs to his credit so far this season when the FIA European Drag Racing Championship kicks off with The Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway. And next to the most runs, the driver from Estonia also recorded the fastest and quickest runs so far and was consistent as well. After two consecutive number three positions in the FIA European Pro Modified Championship, there is more to come.
After several seasons with great results and records with his blue Ford Mustang in Competition Eliminator, Andres Arnover made his Pro Modified debut in 2021 with his current Fast Ford Racing Team red Turbo ’67 Ford Mustang GT500. The car was built by Jerry Bickel in 2019 for Rickie Smith, but as the American Pro Mod legend was not a fan of a turbo set-up, it was sold to another driver before Arnover got the chance to purchase the red rocket. Arnover impressed the last couple of seasons with great ETs and high speeds. His personal bests at the end of last season, 5.863 seconds and 251.34 mph, are a testimony of that. Lack of consistency was the only reason that the driver from Estonia was not able to go for a higher position in the championship.
This season, things might be completely different. After visiting Andreas Arthursson’s workshop in Sweden, the Fast Ford Racing Team travelled to England for a test weekend at Santa Pod Raceway. Arnover immediately reset his personal best to 5.82 seconds at only 215 mph. One week later Arnover impressed once again with a string of low 5.8-second runs, proving to be fast and consistent as well. With 252.41 mph he also reset his personal speed record. If he can keep this momentum going, Arnover will be a force to be reckoned with in the 2024 FIA European Pro Modified Championship.
And once again, hard work and dedication are the main reasons for these improvements. “We have new rear shocks and that makes a huge difference in consistency”, Arnover started. “And we have a new converter set-up. The engine is the same as last year, but with many new parts inside. Last year we made good runs, but without knowing why, we also had all kinds of problems and no traction at the same day a few hours later. For this season we were looking for a much wider tuning window so we could be far more consistent. That’s why we have been testing at Santa Pod for two weekends and will also make runs at The Doorslammers and maybe the test day before The Main Event. And so far, I think we have been working in the right direction with so many 5.8-second runs and new personal bests. To prevent problems due to small issues, like we had last year at one race, we check every part of the car after a run and replace parts way before we think it might cause problems.”
The tuning of the Turbo Mustang will once again be in the hands of Andreas Arthursson, but also his own team and team member Janis Piiritalo. “Consistency is the most important to win the championship. David Vegter is one of our main competitors, but there are several others who can suddenly be quicker and faster than before, like Stian Rusånes with his new engine combination. Our goal is to do the whole championship, go faster and quicker and be consistent. We made big steps so far. On our last two runs at The Festival of Power we tried to run our first 5.7 seconds, but that was a bit too much, we suffered tyre shake and lost traction. But for sure, a 5.7 is one of our goals. When the driver doesn’t do stupid things, anything is possible with his car and combination.”
The Doorslammers is the next outing for Arnover before serious business starts one week later with round one of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship, The Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway.
Text and photos: Remco Scheelings
