Entering the NitrOlympx we had two drivers in the top of the championship at the same points - Ulf Leanders and Arvid Grödem.

Now Leanders hit it off big time during qualifying round #3 when he was able to set the first part of a new European record in both ET and speed (the existing ones already belonging to himself). With 5.684 sec at 409.38 km/h (254.43 mph) Leanders took the lead before Danny Bellio at 5.860 sec.

Arvid Grödem managed 5.980 sec during qualifications good enough for a 4th place. In the eliminations he took out Rob Turner in round one and faced his strongest opponent for the title, Ulf Leanders in the semi final.

And then out of nowhere the jackpot came just when Grödem needed it, in form of a 5.70 flat against Leanders 6.51, the latter suffering tyre shake and traction problems. A new personal best for Arvid, who moved on to the final.

And so did Danny Bellio from Belgium, who does not run the full championship this season. But at Hockenheim his 5.86 in qualifications set the standard and he ran consistent in the low 5.90´s after that. In round one Bellio took out Nagel, then enjoyed a bye run in the semi final. Teh reason being that in the other pair, Dezsoe Krivan pulled a red-light while Jarmo  Kuutniemi  crossed the centerline and none of them came of winning the run.

The final Bellio vs Grödem was called off as the curfew put an end to the further racing sunday evening at 18. We are sure it would have been an exciting final and the question is now can Grödem continue where he was performancewise at Santa Pod?

If Ulf Leanders can pull it all together and repeat the record performance at Santa Pod, we are in for a real thriller!

With Grödem in the final and after having taken out Leanders himself in the semi final, Grödem now holds the destiny of the championship title in his own hands when entering the last event for the season -the European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway september 9-11th

Check the full points table under a separate headline!

Jürgen Nagel lost to Bellio in the first round of eliminations


Ulf Leanders - was on a record setting streak but got interrupted..


Danny Bellio had a successful event at Hockenheim which earned him a place in the final


The crew of Dez Krivan waiting for a sign to fire up the engine at the startline area. Krivan qualified 6th and was too quick at the startline in the quarter finals which resulted in a red-light and the end of competition for this time.