In round one of qualifying Fred Hanssen recorded a
creditable 5.409/264 mph and only Derek Flynn could get close in the
challenging track conditions. He stopped the clocks at 5.545/265 mph.
Tyreshake and blazing the tyres off the line were common problems Oliver
Azzopardi had his run disallowed when the car was found to be underweight
when checked by the scrutineers. The second session proved more successful
for Dennis Habermann 5.413/259 mph and Paul-Ingar Udtian 5.536/251 mph.
Timo Habermann
spread fuel on the track in the burnout when his fuel tank cap
was left open and was shut down.
On Saturday, after a night to think and adjust their tune-ups,
the teams made their next attempt. Derek Flynn was shut down when a
dropped cylinder was throwing huge amounts of fuel over one of the rear
slicks, making launching too dangerous to make a run. Timo improved to a
5.500/253 mph and Manty Bugeja improved his place in the ladder with a
5.528/258 mph. The last session proved exciting with Oliver Azzopardi
finally making the field with a 6.219/242 mph and Dave Wilson assured his
place in his last race with a 5.522/261 mph, leaving Esko Raisvuo outside
the field as the DNQ.
Top Methanol Dragster Review
European Finals
For once the weather gods were kind and the teams were able to
complete all rounds of qualifying and eliminations at the final round of
the FIA European Drag Racing championships. Nine teams were competing for
a place in eliminations and a chance to win the title for
2011.
Round One of eliminations opened with Paul-Ingar Udtian going
up against Dave Wilson, who needed to win this round to keep his
championship hopes alive. It wasn't to be, he blazed the tyres off the
line and Udtian was first to the finish in the car he bought from Wilson.
Dennis Habermann had a easy race against Manty Bugeja, who went up in
smoke on the line. Fred Hanssen who could win the championship by going
more rounds than Wilson, ended Grumpy's hopes of gaining a 6th
title. He took an automatic win when Oliver Azzopardi was shut down after
his crank trigger failed and the ignition losing lost synchronisation. The
last pairing was Timo Habermann against Derek Flynn. It was a close race,
with Flynn dropping a cylinder and Habermann having to pedal to get to the
other end first.
In the semi finals it was Timo versus Dennis Habermann. Both cut good lights and both suffered from tyreshake. Dennis had the wilder ride and it allowed Timo to take the win by almost a second. The others semi pitted the two Islanders teams against each other – Udtian and Hanssen. Once again it was decided by shake, with Hanssen powering through and Udtian pedalling hard, but to no avail.
In the final, it was neck and neck until the eighth mile, when one of Hanssen's chutes deployed early and he towed it to the finish line. Timo produced his fastest run of the weekend in the process of taking first place but it was Hanssen who took the title, his points lead being unassailable.
Read European Champion team Hanssens Pressrelease!
Check the points table under a separate headline
In the semi finals it was Timo versus Dennis Habermann. Both cut good lights and both suffered from tyreshake. Dennis had the wilder ride and it allowed Timo to take the win by almost a second. The others semi pitted the two Islanders teams against each other – Udtian and Hanssen. Once again it was decided by shake, with Hanssen powering through and Udtian pedalling hard, but to no avail.
In the final, it was neck and neck until the eighth mile, when one of Hanssen's chutes deployed early and he towed it to the finish line. Timo produced his fastest run of the weekend in the process of taking first place but it was Hanssen who took the title, his points lead being unassailable.
Read European Champion team Hanssens Pressrelease!
Check the points table under a separate headline
TOP METHANOL DRAGSTER RESULTS EUROPEAN
FINALS
ELIMINATION LADDER
QUALIFICATION RESULTS
click to open separate documents as pdf - courtesy of TSÍ time keepers and Santa Pod Raceway
Winner: Timo Habermann
(GER)
|
|
QUALIFYING: |
|
ET |
MPH |
KPH |
|
1 |
Fred Hanssen |
NOR |
5.4022 |
260.55 |
419.31 |
|
2 |
Dennis Habermann |
GER |
5.4135 |
259.66 |
417.88 |
|
3 |
Timo Habermann |
GER |
5.5001 |
253.39 |
407.79 |
|
4 |
Paul Ingar Udtian |
NOR |
5.5181 |
253.67 |
408.24 |
|
5 |
Dave Wilson |
GBR |
5.5223 |
261.17 |
420.31 |
|
6 |
Derek Flynn |
GBR |
5.5236 |
263.73 |
424.43 |
|
7 |
Manty Bugeja |
MT |
5.5286 |
258.03 |
415.26 |
|
8 |
Oliver Azzopardi |
MT |
6.2192 |
242.88 |
390.88 |
|
|
Alternates: |
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
Esko Raisvuo |
SF |
6.5996 |
244.06 |
392.78 |
ELIMINATIONS:
Round 1:
Paul Ingar Udtian 5.4804/255.26 def. Dave Wilson 11.1052/89.96
Dennis Habermann 5.4269/258.17 def. Monty Bugeja 9.8308/83.80
Timo Habermann 5.7269/255.09 def. derek Flynn 5.8135/254.71
Fred Hanssen 5.4086/264.20 bye, Oliver Azzopardi shut off
Round 2:
Timo Habermann 5.6517/256.10 def. Dennis Habermann 6.4649/232.85
Fred Hanssen 5.5267/259.50 def. Paul Ingar Udtian 7.5219/133.34
Final
Timo Habermann 5.4160/254.77 def. Fred Hanssen 5.5209/228.16
Low Elapsed Time of the
Meet: 5.402 seconds – Fred Hanssen
Top Speed of the
Meet: 264.20 mph / 425.1 kph – Fred
Hanssen
European Champion 2011 Fred Hanssen (left) was
runner-up at the European Finals, while Timo Habermann won at Santa Pod.
Timo was the 2010 champion and ended 3rd in the points standings
2011
Text: Dave Alexander
Photos: Remco Scheelings
This article is part of the Speedgroup Club Europe Newsletter #15/2011
Published by Speedgroup www.speedgroup.eu
All material, text, images and logtypes are the property of Speedgroup AB
Any use of the above requires permission from Speedgroup
email: asa.kinnemar@speedgroup.eu
© Speedgroup 2011