Susanne Callin strikes back with 2025 FIA European Top Fuel title
What a difference a year makes. At the 2024 European Finals Susanne Callin lost the decisive semi-final run from Jndia Erbacher and saw her dream of winning the FIA European Top Fuel Championship fall apart. This season Callin had to face Erbacher again, now in the final, and once again is was the decisive run who would clinch the title. Callin threw off all her title nightmares by winning that crucial ‘winner takes it all’ run to claim her first FIA European Top Fuel crown. Time to look back with the champion on a season with highs and lows.
When Susanne Callin made her fulltime comeback in the Top Fuel class in 2022, she was immediately close to winning the FIA European Championship. After finishing second in 2022 and 2023, the European Finals of 2024 was her best chance so far. A win in the semi-finals over Jndia Erbacher would hand her the title. But she lost that most important run of the year and finished the title race in third position. This season had to be the year for revenge.
Callin started the season with a number one qualifying position at The Main Event, but then lost her semi-final run against, once again, Jndia Erbacher and was the number four in the ranking after race one. At Tierp Arena Callin bounced back with a number one qualifying position, a race win and as a result the number one position in the championship at the halfway point of the season. At Hockenheim the title dream seemed to fall apart again as she suffered a severe explosion on her last qualifying run. There was so much damage, that she was not able to take part in eliminations and had to start the last race of the season twenty points short of her RF Motorsport teammate Liam Jones. Qualifying for the European Finals didn’t go well, until the last run when Callin stormed to a great 3.877 seconds to claim the number one qualifying position. Suddenly the title dream came to life again, as a bye run in the semi-finals handed her a place in the final. That final was a ‘winner takes it all’ run as the winner would also claim the 2025 FIA European Top Fuel Championship and once again Callin had to face Erbacher. Callin threw off her title nightmares, crossed the finish line first, claiming the race win and her maiden FIA European Top Fuel title.
This was your first FIA European (Top Fuel) title. How does it feel to be champion?
Yes, got to the no.1 spot at last! Was a long time coming but got there in the end. Naturally it feels good to be champion, but in the beginning so was it more relief to have won, so that I finally could breathe out again, rather than only the expected happiness and joy.
How do you look back at last season?
I would say it was up and down, just like every season and even every race as it so often is with these temperamental nitro cars. All of the sudden everything goes smooth and fast from been chaos the run before and the other way round. You never know what you’re going to get.
Every run of the European Finals was a run that could decide the title fight. How difficult was that weekend for you? Especially the final as that was a ‘winner takes it all’ final.
It was a tense weekend for the whole team, we knew we had to not only win the event, but also score crucial points qualifying. My toughest moment was before the last qualifier on Saturday night when I was last place in qualifying, we’ve been having electrical issues all weekend, and then went from the last to top position on the very last go. If that wouldn’t have happened, then it wouldn’t been enough and wouldn’t mattered if I had won the rest of the event or not, so that was the make-or-break point for me. Once we pulled that off, then I knew we stood a good chance, even though other things had to fall into place, but being over that first hurdle so could I concentrate on doing my own thing and take it step by step. We left everything to the last minute, as always, and every single run counted. I still have PTSD from being in the same now or never situation with Jndia last year haha. All teams running there were desperate to come out on top and I think people could tell we all were giving it our all on every single run.
The Euro Finals was also your best race?
We were consistent and stable in the second half of the Finals and wese solid in Tierp as well when the conditions where there. Was aiming for and would have liked to run a bit quicker at the Finals, but we got the job done.
Most proud of in 2025?
How my team and all of RFM pulled through from having major breakage in Hockenheim the week before and being ready for going back-to-back at the Finals the following weekend. Regrouped and worked relentlessly to get everything done in time and then managed to stay steady when the pressure was on from start to finish.
Toughest moment of the season?
Hockenheim was a big blow for us, no pun intended haha, and completely destroyed the rear end and almost everything else with it on the last qualifying run. Never seen so much oil in my life… It was no fun standing on the start line on the Sunday without a car and I had already prematurely kissed the championship goodbye for a while the night before when I thought I didn’t have a chance anymore, but after some calculations there was theoretical and mathematical hope if I cleaned out at the Finals. Sending my deepest thanks to Jndia and Urs for offering their rear end to me straight away in Hockenheim for eliminations, even though it unfortunately didn’t fit. The season also didn’t start great for us at The Main Event being shut down both runs on the Friday, but later went from not being qualified to no1 qualifier. Hang on, I’m starting to see a trend here: we perform best under pressure!
How were the reactions after winning the title?
Never been so showered with cheers and congratulations from both near and afar. I definitely felt the love and appreciate every single message.
People/companies you want to thank?
Would like to say a big thank you to my hard working team for never giving up and working so well together and the same goes to everyone in RFM. We were there for each other and I had a blast running together with Liam and all the Bro Joe’s.
Plan for next season?
I got a title to defend!
Text and photos: Remco Scheelings
