Pro Mod Review
Main Event / Preview Tierp
Santa Pod’s rained-off Main Event may have proved inconclusive, but it has provided a few pointers towards the FIA Pro Modified show at Tierp Arena’s inaugural Sweden Internationals two weekends later.
Most obviously, Michael Gullqvist is the man to beat. Watching the ex-R2B2 Camaro from on high in Santa Pod’s race control is a heart-in-mouth experience. The car ‘hunts’ back and forth as it hammers up the strip, twisting and turning like a manic terrier desperate to slip its leash. Perhaps it thinks it’s a Fuel Altered in disguise. It looks a terrifying ride, but neither Gullqvist nor his predecessor, Melanie Troxel, has ever shown much inclination to lift.

Michael Gullqvist

Hectic as it may seem, the car delivers the goods. Running into the flag-snapping headwind that blew all weekend before the rain arrived, Gullqvist’s 6.085 at 234.83mph/377.92kph secured him low qualifier comfortably ahead of the Santa Pod field. Gullqvist did not attend Tierp’s NDRS Nationals early last month but the performance figures turned on the virgin concrete by some of those who did, suggest that some record-battering might be in prospect.

So who might challenge Professor Gullqvist? With 31 entrants, there is no shortage of candidates. How about Bruno Bader, for instance?


Andy Robinson

The Swiss driver endured an unpleasant Main Event weekend. Heading for Santa Pod on a French autoroute in the middle of the night, one of Bader’s truck’s front tyres exploded, causing substantial bodywork damage, blowing out the vehicle’s electrical systems and severely shocking Bader’s lone crew companion sitting right above it. Lacking a spare, Bader had to transfer one of his twin rear wheels and jury-rig the electrics in the pitch dark while the shaken crewman tried to illuminate the rear of the trailer with a torch to ward off any passing vehicles that may have edged on to the hard shoulder. Then, at the track, the unfortunate crewman’s back froze while he lay working under the car and he had to be boarded out and carted to hospital.

Adam Flamholc

And still Bader managed to qualify second at 6.116, just .003 shy of his personal best. Some day Bader is going to win one of these races, and no one will say he hasn’t earned it.


Marco Maurischat
Bader’s apart, this could be the Year of the Red Car. Adam Flamholc’s and Andy Robinson’s cars are now decked out in varying shades while Gullqvist’s Camaro has switched from burgundy to scarlet. Then there is Per Svedberg’s gorgeous new, crimson Demon.

Per Svedberg

Pro Mod newcomer Svedberg impressed not only with the quality and appearance of his car and transporter, but with the quality of his performance too. The experienced Swedish Top Doorslammer racer arrived at Santa Pod with his Dodge – built, for a change, in Denmark – and an American Pro Mod legend, Scotty Cannon, accompanied by son Scott Jr., to tune it. At Tierp in May, Svedberg clocked 6.30/234/377 in his first full pass in the car and registered 6.1’s on two of the three runs he made at the Main Event, good for fifth qualifying spot in his first FIA race.


Bruno Bader

Add Marco Maurischat and his German Corvette as a darkhorse, then take your pick of the potential red car winners.

Mats Eriksson

Or could it be a green car that takes the trophy? Mats Eriksson still looks a little rusty – his 6.81 was only good enough for 13th at the Main Event – but we all know what he can do once he’s back on song.


Urban Johansson

Another, partially-green car made an intriguing FIA debut at the race when Norway’s former Top Fuel pilot, Linda Thun Tønseth, launched a new career as Europe’s first female FIA Pro Mod driver. Handling the ex-Undertaker Camaro which Urban Johansson (another victory candidate, of course) had bought from American racer Tommy Gray during the winter, Thun, who was unwell for much of the weekend, managed two 8-second, early-shutoff passes and looks to have an exciting future in the class.

Johan and Jonnie Lindberg

Black cars are in with a chance – Johan Lindberg and Mikael Lindahl both have FIA championships to their names – and black, flamed trucks too – ‘Fast Freddy’ Fagerström pushed his hefty Chevy to a new speed PB at Tierp in May, an unbelievable 232.53mph/374.22kph. And how about psychedelic cars? Jan Gunnarsson’s eye-popping Cadillac clocked an eye-popping 241.05mph/387.93kph PB at that same race. And cars serving as temporary homes? ‘Mustang Man’ Roger Johansson has his giant nitrous mill reclining in a Corvette chassis while he builds a new ponycar. It didn’t prevent him running his own speed PB (231.25/372.16) at the NDRS Nationals.

A word of appreciation for Henri Joosten: the Dutch veteran's 27-year drag racing career came to an abrupt and incendiary end at the Main Event. A massive nitrous explosion as Joosten left the line during the first qualifying session developed into a full-scale fire, fanned by the headwind. Mercifully, Joosten escaped unscathed, but neither the car's onboard extinguishers nor the Santa Pod fire crew, who were quickly on the spot, could save the '55 Chevy Bel Air, which Joosten had bought from US Pro Mod legend Charles Carpenter in 2008.

Joosten escapes nasty fire....

Henri ran on a tight budget but was a regular and popular visitor to Santa Pod, where he won 2009's Easter Thunderball event (Round 1 of the MSA British Drag Racing Championship) in a rare, all-nitrous final against Roger Moore. With his car now destroyed, he doesn't plan to return to competition. Santa Pod's big Pro Mod events won't seem quite the same without Henri Joosten's presence in the pits.

That leaves just 17 other contenders to consider. Talk about being spoiled for choice. Pray for fine weather and Tierp’s Pro Mod show won’t disappoint.


Don´t miss to check out the separate article in this edition for the Exhaust Coating.de points standings!


BILSPORT Magazine is class sponsor for
Pro Mod  



  Pro Modified debutant Per Svedberg in his Scotty Canon tuned Dodge Demon

RESULTS:

Qualifiers:

1.                          Michael Gullqvist                          SWE                    6.085                   234.83                                            

2.                          Bruno Bader      SUI                      6.116                   226.70

3.                          Johan Lindberg SWE                    6.139                   229.03

4.                          Andy Robinson GBR                    6.152                   229.32

5.                          Per Svedberg      SWE                    6.157                   221.13                [ 229.31 ]

6.                          Adam Flamholc                             SWE                    6.303                   227.00

7.                          Urban Johansson                           SWE                    6.319                   219.09               

8.                          David Vegter     NED                    6.505                   207.90

9.                          Marco Maurischat                        GER                    6.668                   218.03               

10.                       Wayne Nicholson                          GBR                    6.716                   210.87

11.                       Roger Moore     GBR                    6.734                   204.25               

12.                       Marc Meihuizen                            NED                    6.753                   223.27               

13.                       Mats Eriksson   SWE                    6.818                   209.14

14.                       Graham Ellis      GBR                    6.823                   196.31

15.                       Philip Englefield                             GBR                    6.826                   209.87               

16.                       Marcus Hilt        SUI                      7.302                   182.82

Non-Qualifiers:

17.                       Robert Joosten  NED                    7.954                   127.22                [ 134.50 ]

18.                       Linda Thun Tønseth                     NOR                    8.032                   110.57               

19.                       Jean Dulamon   FRA                     8.599                   141.73

20.                       Norbert Kuno    GER                    10.812                65.61

21.                       Robert Koper     NED                    13.850                66.53

22.                       Nick Davies       GBR                    21.650                53.77                   [ 54.16 ]


Withdrawn entries:

                             Paul ‘Tami’ Brander                     FIN                      Did not attend

                             Andy Frost         GBR                    Licensing unfinished

                             Henri Joosten    NED                    Car destroyed by fire                   

                            

Eliminations: Rained off

link to the elimination ladder

 

Low Elapsed Time of the Event:  6.085sec. – Michael Gullqvist

Top Speed of the Event:  234.83mph – Michael Gullqvist

Career-best performances set during event:

Per Svedberg      6.157                   229.31

Linda Thun Tønseth                     8.032                   110.57

David Vegter     6.505                   -


 


Text: Robin Jackson
Photos: Remco Scheelings, Lena Perés,Speedgroup

This article is part of the Speedgroup Club Europe Newsletter #6/2011

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