Bengtsson and The Beast reflect on 2025 and ponder on 2026
By any measure it would has been a standout year for Per Bengtsson and The Beast team on their return to a full season in FIM-E Super Twin competition, but the Swedish veteran wanted more and has a few things to think about over the winter.
“We made all 4 races, the plan was to win the Championship.
Made it to the final in all races.
1st [Main Event at Santa Pod in May] was a rainout but I had lane choice in the final.
2nd [Swedish Internationals in Sweden in August] I was number one qualifier [6.208], set new PB [6.207], lane choice in the final but lost with small margin
3rd race [NitrOlympX in Germany] I was low qualifier and set another PB [6.195], but lost the final by a small margin
The Euro Finals, lane choice in the final, PB [6.142] and won the event!
So, in total we didn’t achieve what we planned but must be very pleased with the result. It’s extremely hard to win, especially since it has been more or less a two racer competition and the other guy is the best and consistent guy in the world!
When I couldn’t beat Marcus [Christiansen] at Hockenheim, I had to concentrate at winning the final. I have always said in the past, winning the Euro Finals is great, you can live on that for the whole of the winter, because now you’re the guy to beat! It was my first event win since the Santa Pod final in 2011.
A big thanks to all our competitors, since we haven’t raced the full championship for fourteen years, it has been great to meet everyone, new and old ones!”
With a specific focus on the Euro Finals a couple of weeks ago, Bengtsson continued
“At Santa Pod, we started with high power and then tried to step up. It’s not only about power, the rider needs to be able to handle it as well.
In the semi-final against Roman [Sixta] I stepped up one more level because I knew I needed even more to beat Marcus and I needed one run to get used to it. I focused too much on the lights so I totally missed the start and could have lost that one but I also had the feeling it was my turn to have some luck. In the final I added boost, ignition and fuel and used more power than ever. With the power Marcus and I used in the final I’m convinced that with a reduction in track preparation we’d have run high fives or low six zeros; at Hockenheim I ran the same 1000ft ET with about 250hp less!
We will decide if and how we continue later this year, especially at my age you must take one year at a time!”
A winter of pondering the future direction for the team lies ahead, although Per appears to found that running blown nitro is the equivalent of bathing in the Fountain of Youth! Here’s hoping The Beast will roar again in 2026 in search of Bengtsson’s fifth European championship title with the unique, formidable and unforgettable blown parallel twin.
Text and photos: Ivan Sansom & Rose Hughes
