The extremely hot and humid air conditions at Alastaro made it very difficult for the nitro-burning teams to produce the horsepower for great numbers. Track temperatures exceeding 75 degrees Celsius did not make it any easier. Under these conditions crewchiefs want to make as many runs as possible to get the information for the best possible set-up. But thunderstorms reduced Friday and Saturday qualifying to only one run each day. You’ll understand that the Top Fuel teams had a tough weekend in Finland.

Top Fuel was run over 1,000 feet at Alastaro. Rookie nitro driver Antti Horto had shown great form at Tierp and did it again on his home track by leading the field after the first run with a 4.274sec. His countryman and last year’s winner, Timo Lehtimäki, gave the home crowd something extra to cheer about by recording the second quickest time (4.34sec) followed by reigning FIA European champion Urs Erbacher (4.48sec) and Tierp winner Tommy Johnson Jr. (5.49sec). After the first run Anita Mäkelä held the bump spot and outside the ladder were Jari Halinen and Håkan Fällström. The second Friday qualifying session only saw three drivers on track. After Mäkelä, Micke Kågered (ending in a big fire) and Håkan Fällström had made their runs, heavy rain hit Alastaro and the session had to be cancelled. That was bad news for Fällström whose 4.64sec (number four) did not count as the session was not completed.


Micke Kågered would probably have wished for the two rained out qualification sessions. An engine fire in combination with a fuel leak resulted in the team ending the event outside the ladder.


Jim Brissette was on site at Alastaro to supervise the Andersens and Johnson Jr.

Risto Poutiainen too ended outside the ladder at his home track Alastaro. Rare experience for Risto who is normally among the top contenders.


Jari Halinen was taken out in the first round by Timo Lehtimäki

Tommy Johnson Jr. towed back after the final

Owing to a thunderstorm, Saturday’s qualifying was also shortened to one run. To almost everybody’s surprise, there were no changes in the number one and two positions so Horto led the field into Sunday’s eliminations. But behind Lehtimäki (who improved to 4.31sec) the positions changed with every run. Johnson Jr. improved to 4.34sec and took over the number three position from a tyre-smoking Erbacher. Fällström, tuned by Top Fuel veteran Peter Lantz, did a great job by almost matching his Friday performance. With a 4.653, the Swede jumped into the number five position. Following a DNQ at Tierp and sitting outside the ladder before the Saturday run, Halinen did a great job: a 4.78 brought the Finn the number seven qualifying position. Everybody had run more quickly so Mäkelä was now outside. But the Finnish lady struck back and, with a solid 4.71sec, she moved into sixth. Last to qualify was Andy Carter. The Lucas driver’s 5.12sec was enough to push Risto Poutiainen and Kågered off the ladder. For Poutiainen, the Finnish favourite and Tierp runner-up, it was a big disappointment and a blow to his title aspirations. Kågered failed improve on his Friday time when a fluid leak forced him to shut off after the burnout.

There was a big upset in the first round of eliminations as reigning European champion Erbacher suffered traction problems and was passed by Fällström. There were similar problems for Halinen, handing the win to Lehtimäki, and for Carter who had to abandon his run against Horto. It looked as though Per and Karsten Andersen had learned their lesson in qualifying. With a red light for Mäkelä, the Sunoco car was already the winner on the startline but Johnson’s 4.209sec was the quickest run of the meeting so far. Had the Danish team found the right set-up for these difficult conditions? The semi-final was a strong indication they had. Another great 4.224sec was too much for an early shut-off Lehtimäki who could not repeat his last year’s event win. In the other semi-final, Fällström was the one with traction problems and Horto the winner and finalist in only the second Top Fuel race of his career.

The contrast could hardly have been greater in the final, pitting an American superstar with NHRA Top Fuel wins and hundreds of nitro runs to his credit against a Finish rookie who had made his Top Fuel debut only a few weeks earlier at Tierp Arena. The race was decided on the start line as Horto could not hold his Eagle Racing Fueler on the line and pulled a red light, handing the win to Johnson. But it must be said that, even without his red light, it would have been impossible for the Finn (5.16sec) to beat the 4.185sec of Johnson’s Sunoco Fueler. With elimination runs of 4.20, 4.22 and 4.18 the Per and Karsten Andersen-tuned Johnson Jr. recorded the three quickest runs of the meeting. The American thoroughly deserved the Alastaro win and, after Tierp Arena, this second victory of the season.


Peter Lantz who operated and piloted in Top Fuel many years, was on site to assist Håkan Fällström and team Nitrobear

Check the full points table under a separate headline.

Round #4 of the FIA Championship is held at HockenheimRing Germany august 12-14th