Dreams come true for Henry Riehl
Henry Riehl is living his dream at the moment. The German is just 22 years old and already racing in the FIA European Pro Stock Championship against multiple champions and experienced drivers from Sweden. That Riehl is racing a Mercedes CLK, the only European car in Pro Stock, makes his story even more special. This whole adventure would not be possible without team owner and mentor Harald Sturhan.
It proves Henry Riehl’s enthusiasm, dedication and determination that he was the first Pro Stock driver on the entry list of The Main Event and the FIA European Pro Stock Championship as well. But okay, it is quite something when you are 22 years old and given the opportunity to drive a Pro Stock car in the FIA European Championship.
It all started at a very young age for Riehl, who lives near Hannover. “Harald Sturhan, my uncle, was racing and I think I was five years old that I travelled with him to the tracks. It didn’t take long before I was one of the crew members. Harald was racing a Mercedes CLK Pro Stocker in those days, the car I am driving now”, said Riehl about how it all started. “I started racing myself when I was 17 years old and with a small block engine in the Mercedes. From Pro ET we stepped up to Super Pro ET. We raced at Malmӧ, because that is not so far away from where we live, and at tracks in Germany.”
But Harald Sturhan, who sees Riehl as a son, had other, bigger plans. “Yes, Harald always wanted to race in Pro Stock again. He loves racing and for all the Pro Stock class, and really enjoys it to be at the track. He is the owner of the whole operation. We went to the States and visited Allen Johnson. We now have two Hemi engines from Johnson. We had a great time with this Pro Stock legend.”
With a car that hasn’t made so many runs and an unexperienced driver, Riehl doesn’t want to set the goals too high. “The chassis has been updated and we have very powerful engines, but I have to learn a lot. You could see that in testing the day before The Main Event. After the burn out I pushed the wrong button and pulled the chutes. So the first goal is to gain experience and make as many runs as possible. To run a 6 in my first weekend would be great.”
Riehl proved to be a fast learner. After two 7.0-second runs in qualifying, a 6.95 seconds in the first round of eliminations was Riehl’s first 6, the major goal for the first weekend.
His Pro Stock competitors are happy with Riehl and Sturhan entering the class. “It is great to have fresh young blood in Pro Stock. We need new names and it is also really great that, with the Mercedes, there is a totally different car in Pro Stock. That makes it even more interesting. With his ‘never give up’ attitude he fits right in the class,” said Jimmy Ålund.
The Sturhan-Riehl duo once again proved their dedication and drive to gain more experience by also entering the non-FIA Championship SpeedEvents Internationals Pro Stock shoot-out at Tierp Arena. “We had a lot of problems with tyre shake at the beginning and we broke the drive shaft. But we got everything repaired with the help of other teams and ran a new personal best of 6.91 seconds. Many thanks to Robin Norén and Jimmy Ålund for giving me great driving advice,” said Riehl, just back from Sweden. It proves how willing the Pro Stock drivers are to help new entrants and that Riehl, after less than two months, is already part of the European Pro Stock family.
The next race for Riehl is the second round of the FIA European Championship, the Summit Racing Equipment Internationals at Tierp Arena. There he will try to reset his personal bests again and win an elimination round. But he is in the Pro Stock class to stay there for a while, so there is much more to come in the next couple of years.
Text and photos: Remco Scheelings
