Jndia Erbacher, Jonny Lagg, Jere Rantaniemi and Jimmy Ålund clinch the FIA European Drag Racing titles in European Finals thriller
Jndia Erbacher (Top Fuel), Jonny Lagg (Top Methanol), Jere Rantaniemi (Pro Modified) and Jimmy Ålund (Pro Stock) claimed the 2024 FIA European Drag Racing Championship titles in their respective categories at the European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway. It was an action packed day at Santa Pod with eliminations full of upsets and drama with unexpected outcomes. In Top Fuel and Pro Modified Erbacher and Rantaniemi started race day from the third position in the championship to claim the title at the end of the day and win the race in their respective categories. Lagg had to wait until the outcome of the final, won by Sandro Bellio, before he was sure about another title. In Pro Stock Ålund already secured his 13th title in this category in qualifying, but lost in the first round of eliminations, while Robin Norén claimed his first win of the season.
Race day at the European Finals, the fifth and final round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship, had everything that makes drag racing so spectacular. After a rain delay in the morning, the fans were treated to an action packed day full of spectacular runs, great ETs, close racing, major upsets and in three of the four classes an outcome of the title race as never seen before and that will be remembered for a long time. Bizarre and a real thriller it was.
In Top Fuel Duncan Micallef, from Malta, started the last race day of the season as the championship leader, with Susanne Callin, from Sweden, in second position and Swiss driver Jndia Erbacher as an outsider in third position.
Micallef and Callin had to face each other in the first round of eliminations. If Micallef would win, he would be the 2024 champion. But Micallef ran into problems during the run and Callin claimed the win in 4.05 seconds. The Maltese driver now had to wait for the outcome of the eliminations if he could still remain in the number one position.
In the semifinals Callin had to face Erbacher, the number one qualifier who stormed to a great 3.88 seconds at 320 mph in the first round. If Callin would take the win, the driver from Sweden would be the 2024 champion. But Erbacher proved her great from and stormed to a great 3.87 seconds to defeat Callin.
Suddenly the door was open for Erbacher to claim the 2024 title. If the Swiss driver would win the final over Linn Fløysvik, who defeated number two qualifier Tommi Haapanen in the first round, the title would go to Switzerland. The drama was not over yet as Fløysvik’s engine didn’t fire up in the semifinals, thus the driver from Norway didn’t advance to the final.
Now Erbacher had a bye run in the final and only had to activate the starting lights to claim the title. Erbacher did what she had to do, claimed the race win and her first FIA European Top Fuel title. Micallef finished the championship in second position, with Callin third.
In Pro Modified David Vegter (The Netherlands) started race day as the championship leader, with Andres Arnover (Estonia) second and Jere Rantaniemi (Finland) third. Even the numbers four and five, Stian Rusånes (Norway) and Michel Tooren (The Netherlands) still had a chance to claim the title. As qualifying already proved, the Pro Mod field was extremely close again and anything could happen. And all the unexpected happened.
The first round of eliminations started with a major upset as Arnover, the number one qualifier, had to shut off his engine at the start line as his Ford Mustang was leaking fluid. But that was not all, Rusånes suffered gearbox problems and was not able to start his run, while Tooren had a wild run and was defeated by Mike Reymond. With three title contenders out, the title fight was now between Vegter and Rantaniemi, with a 10-point advantage for the Dutchman. As the two were not on the same side of the elimination ladder, the final could become a winners takes it all run.
Vegter, the number two qualifier, was up to speed with two consecutive 5.83 second runs to defeat Peter Kunc and Bruno Bader to advance to the semifinals. Rantaniemi claimed the win over Fredrik Fagerström and Bobby Wallace in 5.91 and 5.87 seconds to advance to the semifinal.
Vegter had to face Andy Robinson in the semifinals and on that run the nightmare for the Dutch driver became reality. Vegter was in front when he suffered severe engine problems, slowed down and was passed by Robinson. Now it all depended on the outcome of the other semifinal. If Rantaniemi would defeat John Tebenham, the title would go to Finland.
But as Tebenham was not able to start in the semifinal, Rantaniemi had a bye run to claim the title, the first FIA European Pro Modified title for the driver from Finland.
Rantaniemi clinched the title in style by defeating Robinson in the final to also claim the race win in 5.89 seconds. Vegter finished the 2024 championship in second position, with Arnover third and Tooren fourth.
In Top Methanol Jonny Lagg started race day as the championship leader, with Tony Bryntesson in second position. As the number four qualifier, Lagg had to face number one qualifier Sandro Bellio in the first round. The driver from Belgium and former champion recorded a great 5.51 seconds to defeat Lagg.
Bryntesson advanced to the final in a bye run as Silvio Strauch had damaged his car in qualifying. Now Bryntesson had to win the final over Bellio to pass Lagg and claim the title. But drama in Top Methanol as well. Bryntesson suffered engine damage in the semifinals and was not able to start in the final.
Thus Bellio had a bye run to claim the race win, but even more important, Bryntesson was not able to collect the points he needed, thus the 2024 FIA European Top Methanol title went to Lagg, with Bryntesson second and Bellio third.
In Pro Stock Jimmy Ålund claimed the 2024 European title in qualifying, the 13th Pro Stock title for the driver from Sweden. Ålund was undefeated this season and so far in a class of his own.
But the unexpected happened in Pro Stock as well. Ålund had some traction problems in the first round of eliminations and was defeated by Lasse Britsmar, who had a bye run in the semifinals, to advance to the final.
On the other side of the elimination ladder Robin Norén defeated Simon Ekengren and Stefan Ernryd to advance to the final. As Norén was quicker in qualifying and eliminations and also recorded great reaction times, Britsmar knew he had to take a risk.
Britsmar pulled a red light, handing the win to Norén. In the championship Norén claimed the second position, with Malmgren third.
Results: https://santapodresults.com/2024/European%20Finals/
Text and photos: Remco Scheelings
