Anita Mäkelä shines with victory and European record at Tierp Arena

Published 2015-08-29 | By Remco Scheelings

Anita Mäkelä

Anita Mäkelä was in a class of her own in Top Fuel at the Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena. In her Dom Lagana, Sami Lehtimäki and Tommi Haapanen tuned car, Mäkelä not only drove to victory, the Finnish fan favourite reset the European elapsed time record to a stunning 3.878 seconds, made six (!) consecutive 3 second passes and closed the gap to championship leader Micke Kågered to eighteen points! But Mäkelä was not the only one in the spot light, as more Top Fuel drivers had their best ever race at Tierp Arena.

The Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena was the fifth and penultimate round of the 2015 FIA European Drag Racing Championship. Helped by the perfect weather and track conditions at the state-of-the-art drag race facility, a record crowd of 37,000 spectators were offered an action packed and exciting race weekend. In Top Fuel it was one of the best races ever seen in Europe.

Anita Mäkelä

Qualifying

With eleven entries qualifying for an eight car elimination ladder, the four qualifying sessions promised to be exciting, and that’s exactly what happened. After a 3.99 seconds in her second run, Anita Mäkelä improved to a stunning 3.90 seconds on Saturday morning. But even that was not the limit, as in her fourth qualifying Mäkelä stormed to an even more stunning 3.878 seconds at 504.20 kmh or 313.30 mph. A new European ET record and probably the fastest ever 1000-foot run in Europe. Mäkelä was naturally the number one qualifier.

Duncan Micallef

Duncan Micallef qualified in the second spot, as the Maltese lion ran a new personal best with 4.009 seconds, and came close to his first ever 3 second pass, a sign for things to come in eliminations from the Rune Fjeld Motorsport driver.

Liam Jones

For championship leader Micke Kågered, a very consistent qualifying ended with 4.01 seconds in third position. Liam Jones was extremely happy, as the Top Fuel rookie reset his personal best twice, to end qualifying with 4.09 seconds in fourth position.

Patrik Pers

Patrik Pers surprised with 4.10 seconds, and jumped into the number five position, just ahead of Stig Neergaard. The number three in the championship couldn’t find the right set-up, and with 4.16 seconds the Dane was far away from his expected 3.9 second pass. Antti Horto was seventh, while Top Fuel rookie Stefan Gunnarsson qualified for eliminations with solid 4.21 second passes.

Stig Neergaard

Jari Halinen

A big surprise, but not in the way he wanted it, was Jari Halinen, who was number nine and first non-qualifier. The Finn, who was so consistent and quick earlier this season, was plagued by all kinds of problems and caused some, for him very unusual, oil downs.

Björn Mårtensson

Björn Mårtensson was tenth qualifier, while Monica Ȍberg made a welcome return to the Top Fuel ranks. She could not upset the field, but with 4.39 seconds, the gap to the number eight qualifying position was only 0.18 seconds.

Monica Ȍberg

Stefan Gunnarsson

Eliminations

Quarter finals

In another 3.9 second pass Mäkelä never gave Gunnarsson the idea he had a chance against the Finnish chicken farmer, who was on a mission. Micallef proved that his qualifying was no fluke, as in another 4.00 seconds he defeated Horto.

Antti Horto

Jones advanced to the semi-finals again after a win against Pers. Kågered had to face one of his most important championship contenders, Neergaard. The Swede defeated the Dane, who saw his chances of winning the 2015 championship reduced to almost zero.

Liam Jones

Semi-finals

In the semi-final Mäkelä had to face Jones. Nobody was surprised anymore to see the next 3.9 seconds appear on the score board, and as Jones slowed down to 4.20 seconds, the number two in the championship advanced to the final.

Semi-final

But would she meet championship leader Kågered, or second quickest driver of the Scandinavian Internationals, Micallef. The Rune Fjeld tuned Micallef did it again, and in 4.02 seconds he defeated Kågered. And so Tierp Arena got the final it could only have dreamed of, the number one and two qualifier, and with a string of 3.9 (Mäkelä) and 4.0 (Micallef) runs, the quickest and fastest drivers of the meeting.

The final

Final

In the final both drivers and teams proved how well they controlled the perfect Tierp Arena conditions, as both repeated their previous performance. Micallef stormed to another 4.01 seconds (his third 4.0 in a row and fourth of the weekend), and although the difference was not that big, with 3.98 seconds Mäkelä made her sixth consecutive 3 second run and took the win.

Anita Mäkelä and Duncan Micallef

Anita Mäkelä and team

Championship

With her win and the semi-final exit of Kågered, Mäkelä closed the gap to the championship leader to only eighteen points! With twenty points for every elimination round win, the championship can be decided in the last run of the European Finals. What a climax that would be. Neergaard is third, but already 98 points behind Kågered. Only 23 points short of the number three position Top Fuel rookie Jones is fourth, and only four points behind, Micallef is in fifth position.