Crane stays put, Bengtsson, Mechaell, Lymant and Smallman take the top spots
Saturday at the NitrOlympX saw a bit of catching up in the FIM-E classes after yesterday’s early finish. Three rounds were completed today to give the full stanza of qualifying shots with plenty of improvements in the five classes and a new record bump spot.
Stuart Crane was the only low qualifier from yesterday to hold onto his position today, an improvement in ET to a 6.389/218.15 consolidated pole position in FIM-E Top Fuel Bike ahead of Glenn Borg 6.591) and Rene van den Berg (6.600) in the top three. 7 out of the 8 entries were in the six second bracket which should make for tight racing tomorrow.
FIM-E Super Twin stepped up considerably with Per Bengtsson ripping off a new PB of 6.195/224.92 to put The Beast on top spot. Behind is current points leader Marcus Christiansen who picked up a 6.238 in the final session and Vesa Lipponen slotting in at three with a 6.507.
The record bump spot came very quickly in FIM-E Super Street Bike with the collective pan-European gathering stepping up to have Jack Shook on the historic 16th spot with a 7.297.
Newly minted as a member of the JKE stable, Shook has the challenge of facing off with team leader Jake Mechaell in the opening round of eliminations tomorrow, Mechaell having pulled a 6.777/217 to lead the field with Alan Morrison Jnr in second with a 6.867.
FIM-E Pro Stock Bike qualifying nearly proved to be catastrophic for current champion Jorg Lymant, as an oiling issue was coincident with a bizarre malfunction in the engine mapping which somehow saved the engine on the final attempt. Lymant had earlier ascended to the top of the class with a 7.244 while yesterday’s pole sitter Karl-Heinz Weikum improved to a 7.326 for second spot.
The level of competition in FIM-E Junior Drag Bike can be ridiculous at times, and the NitrOlympX is no exception. Yesterday’s top of the heap Leif-Erik Braune dropped to 7th spot which meant that the top six were all better than his +0.056. Top of the charts going into qualifying is Maggie Smallman with a +0.004 on a 7.85 dial ahead of Jaxon King (+0.026 on a 13.33) and Leah Morrison (+0.043 on an 8.00). The Hockenheim event win is going to be a hard earnt affair tomorrow.
Text and photos: Ivan Sansom & Rose Hughes
