Susanne Callin, Sandro Bellio, Jere Rantaniemi and Robin Norén clinch the FIA European Drag Racing Championship titles in European Finals thriller
Susanne Callin (Top Fuel), Sandro Bellio (Top Methanol), Jere Rantaniemi (Pro Modified) and Robin Norén (Pro Stock) claimed the 2025 FIA European Drag Racing Championship titles in their respective categories at the European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway, the fourth and final round of the title race. It was a real ‘the winner takes it all’ day as in three of the four categories the winner of the final also claimed the European title. In Pro Modified the championship fight was decided in the quarter finals when championship leader Marck Harteveld lost his race and Rantaniemi advanced to the next round.
With all four titles of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship still to be decided during eliminations of the European Finals, race day promised to be exciting. And it didn’t disappoint at all as the eliminations were a real thriller with some surprising outcomes.
In Top Fuel Liam Jones started the last race day of the season as the championship leader. The number three from qualifying had to take the win over Jndia Erbacher in the semifinals to claim the title. But while Erbacher stormed to a great 3.90 seconds, Jones suffered tyreshake and was defeated by the reigning FIA European champion. That opened the door for Erbacher, who started the European Finals as the number three in the championship, to win her second consecutive title.
Because Susanne Callin claimed the number one qualifying position, the driver from Sweden advanced to the final with a bye run.
With Erbacher and Callin in the final it became a winner takes it all final round as the winner of the final would also claim the 2025 FIA European Top Fuel crown. After the start Callin and Erbacher were close together, but when Erbacher suffered some engine problems, Callin could take the win in a great 3.94 seconds over 4.34 seconds for the Swiss driver. Behind new crowned champion Callin, Jones finished in second position, with Erbacher third.
In Pro Modified the title fight was exciting as well. There were no major surprises in the first round of eliminations. But in round two championship leader Marck Harteveld had to face local hero Andy Robinson. In an exciting run Robinson claimed the win with 5.93 seconds over 5.97 seconds for Harteveld.
Then it all depended on the outcome of the next run between David Vegter and reigning champion Jere Rantaniemi. If Vegter would win, the title would go to his countryman Harteveld, but if Rantaniemi would win, the Finn would claim his second consecutive FIA European Pro Modified title. In a close and exciting run Vegter recorded 5.87 seconds, but was defeated by the 5.83 seconds of Rantaniemi, thus the 2025 title was for the Finn.
In the semifinals Rantaniemi had to face Robinson, while on the other side of the ladder Michel Tooren was in great form again and had to race number one qualifier Andres Arnover, who defeated Bruno Bader in the quarter finals. The turbo powered cars had the upper hand this time as Arnover (5.85 seconds) defeated Tooren (5.95 seconds) and Rantaniemi (5.88 seconds) Robinson (6,12 seconds).
The final was a close race where Rantaniemi claimed the win thanks to a better reaction time. The Finn was away first (0.0685 over 0.1013 seconds), but Arnover had the better ET with 5.8727 over 5.9017 seconds for Rantaniemi. That made the difference at the finish line 0.0038 seconds!
Behind Rantaniemi Harteveld finished the championship in second position, with Arnover third.
In Top Methanol Sandro Bellio started race day as the championship leader, with Jonny Lagg in second position, but also Tony Bryntesson, Silvio Strauch and Tina Høst Nedregård were still in the race for the title. As Bellio defeated Strauch in the first round and had a bye run in the semifinals, the driver from Belgium advanced to the final.
On the other side of the ladder Bryntesson saw his race and title dream end in the first round as he was defeated by Høst Nedregård. In the semifinal Lagg had to defeat Høst Nedregård to remain in the title race, otherwise the title would go to Bellio. As Høst Nedregård suffered problems after the burn out, Lagg had a bye run into the final.
With Bellio and Lagg in the final, the winner would also claim the 2025 FIA European Championship title. This time it was Bellio who claimed the win and the driver from Belgium is the new champion in FIA Top Methanol.
Behind Bellio and Lagg, Høst Nedregård finished the championship in third position.
In Pro Stock number one qualifier and championship leader Jimmy Ålund had a walk over into the final with two bye runs. On the other side of the ladder Robin Norén, the number two in the championship, had to keep his championship dreams alive by advancing to the final.
Norén did what he had to do and defeated Michael Malmgren, while Lasse Britsmar pulled a red light in the semifinal. Thus as in Top Fuel and Top Methanol, the winner of the final between Ålund and Norén would also claim the title. Because Ålund had recorded the better ETs during the weekend, the 13-time Pro Stock champion was the clear favourite.
But in the final Norén was away first (0.0687 over 0.1233 seconds for Ålund) and although Ålund had the better ET with 6.5998 over 6.6458 seconds, Norén defeated the 13-time Pro Stock champion with 0.0086 seconds to claim the win and the 2025 title.
Behind Ålund and Norén Britsmar finished the championship in third position.
Results: https://santapodresults.com/2025/European%20Finals/
Text and photos: Remco Scheelings
