FIA Pro Modified 
Review Scandinavian Internationals
All this race lacked was a European ET record, an all-time-low bump spot and a completed final. Otherwise, it had just about everything.
If Johan Lindberg had got moving a little sooner, maybe that ET record would have fallen too. The 2010 FIA champion qualified uncharacteristically far down the list in 14th spot, though hardly sluggish at 6.176sec, but began to pick up steam in eliminations. He saved his best for last, hitting a 5.926 in the semi-final that fell only .004 short of his elapsed-time personal best and was good for Low ET of the Meet, allied to a speed (392.44Km/h/243.85mph) that exactly equalled his existing PB. A 5.985 would have backed up the mark as a new record, but 6.046 was the next-best that Lindberg could muster.

Johan Lindberg

Unfortunately for Lindberg – and especially for championship contender Bruno Bader – the semi-final was the end of his day. Lindberg wound up on the wrong end of a holeshot in Europe’s first side-by-side 5-second match. Opponent Michael Gullqvist clocked 5.980 to snatch the win and extend his points lead by a vital extra round ahead of Bader for the looming championship decider at Santa Pod.

Unusually, Gullqvist’s was not the name atop the qualifying list. Norway’s Terje Håkonsen had re-equipped over the winter (see Pit Notes on Eurodragster.com) and had narrowly edged his 6.25sec PB during a recent test. At Tierp he burst to the fore. His first three qualifying sessions each produced fresh personal-best times and speeds, culminating in a 5.968 that secured low qualifier and made him the fifth racer – and first non-Swede – to join Europe’s Pro Mod 5-second elite.

That was as good as it got for Håkonsen. His fourth qualifying pass slipped back into the 6.2’s and, agonisingly, the Norwegian was shut off with a hose leak before his opening round of eliminations. Opponent Fredrik Fagerström was the beneficiary. On recent form, Fast Freddy had been a little slow during qualifying, finishing on a 6.262 bump spot that fell narrowly short of the all-time-low 6.240 bump established by Norbert Kuno at Tierp last year.


Niclas Andersson

Micke Gullqvist leads the championship 
after Tierp

Three seasons after Mats Eriksson dipped below 6.1sec for the first time (Hockenheim 2009), no fewer than nine racers qualified in the 6.0’s or better here at Tierp. Marc Meihuizen had the unique experience of qualifying at 6.095 yet facing a quicker opponent in the opening round. Three new faces appeared on the FIA Pro Mod scene – Joakim Backman, Jan Bränvall and Tero Laukkanen – and were among the 15 racers who between them posted 41 separate improvements to personal-best times and speeds.


Marc Meihuizen

The barrier-breaker was Martin Lundkvist. Europe’s top man in turbocharging qualified fourth at a personal-best 6.026, but it was his terminal speeds that grabbed the attention. In the second qualifying session, Lundkvist became the first European to exceed both 400Km/h and 250mph in Pro Mod competition. His 403.59/250.78 was too fast for a record in its own right but did serve to back up his first-session 398.52/247.63 as the new mark. Lundkvist scored three wins in eliminations – all at over 390/240 – to reach his first FIA Pro Mod final, an intriguing-looking face-off against Gullqvist. Then the rain set in.


Bruno Bader

At least the final-round cancellation would have pleased Bruno Bader. Having led the FIA points at the start of the event, the Swiss racer now finds himself 46 points – two-and-a-bit elimination rounds – behind Gullqvist going into the European Finals at Santa Pod. Catching Gullqvist now will be hard enough, but not impossible, but victory at Tierp would practically have sealed the deal for the Swedish reigning champion.

Bader began comfortably well, qualifying fifth with a personal-best 6.063, but two holeshot losses dented his title hopes. One was Johan Lindberg’s semi-final defeat to Gullqvist which gave Gullqvist that extra round’s grace. The other was Bader’s own marginal slip-up in his opening match against Mikael Lindahl, 6.122 to Lindahl’s slower 6.198. If one adds in the two red-light exits he made at Tierp 1 and Alastaro, one could surmise that, had the odd half-second or so gone in his favour instead of against him, Bader might be heading for Santa Pod with a healthy lead. The margins by which championships are won or lost are sometimes that close.

                            
Micke Gullqvist new championship leader after Tierp

Eliminations Round 1:

Marc Meihuizen 6.143sec, 379.48km/h-235.80mph def. B-O Olofsson 6.181, 378.42-235.14
Jan Gunnarsson 7.613, 259.49-161.24 def. Urban Johansson 8.840, 183.18-113.82 DQ R/L
Tami Brander 6.625, 346.82-215.50 def. Ola Dahlblom 7.615, 274.67-170.67
Mikael Lindahl 6.198, 373.19-231.89 def. Bruno Bader 6.122, 367.35-228.26
Martin Lundkvist 6.013, 390.37-242.56 def. David Vegter 8.762, 170.62-106.02
Johan Lindberg 6.150, 386.64-240.25 def. Niclas Andersson 6.168, 377.62-234.64
Michael Gullqvist 6.020, 390.17-242.44 def. Mats Eriksson 6.248, 379.21-235.63
Fredrik Fagerström 6.160, 374.74-232.85 def. Terje Håkonsen shut-off

Round 2:

Marc Meihuizen 6.184, 377.09-234.31 def. Fredrik Fagerström shut-off
Martin Lundkvist 6.134, 397.06-246.72 def. Mikael Lindahl 6.917, 296.87-184.47
Michael Gullqvist 5.981, 391.87-243.50 def. Jan Gunnarsson 6.685, 356.67-221.62
Johan Lindberg 6.046, 389.83-241.92 def. Tami Brander 6.150, 372.41-231.40

Semi-final:

Martin Lundkvist 6.170, 394.74-245.28 def. Marc Meihuizen 6.166, 378.95-235.47
Michael Gullqvist 5.980, 391.87-243.50 def. Johan Lindberg 5.926, 392.44-243.85

Final:

Martin Lundkvist v. Michael Gullqvist – rained off

Low Elapsed Time of the Event:  5.926sec. – Johan Lindberg
Top Speed of the Event:  403.59km/h / 250.78mph – Martin Lundkvist
                                      [backed up 398.52 / 247.63 as European record]

 Personal-best performances set during event: 

                                          ET          MPH      Km/H
Niclas Andersson                6.023        236.63     380.82
Joakim Backman                 7.535        177.25     285.26
Bruno Bader                      6.063                -              -
Paul ‘Tami’ Brander             6.130                 -              -
Jan Bränvall                       8.844        151.69     244.12
Ola Dahlblom                     6.070        234.48     377.36
Terje Håkonsen                  5.968        233.66     376.04
Stefan Holmberg                7.069        203.85     328.07
Micke Johansson                        -        195.42     314.50
Tero Laukkanen                  6.686        212.50     341.99
Martin Lundkvist                  6.013        250.78     403.59
Marc Meihuizen                          -        235.80     379.48
Bert-Ove Olofsson               6.094                 -              -
David Vegter                      6.175        234.15     376.83
Mats Wicktor                      6.711        333.54     207.25


Martin Lundkvist - new European speed record holder after Tierp

Low qualifier - Terje Håkonsen



Text: Robin Jackson 
Photos: Remco Scheelings 

This article is part of the Speedgroup Club Europe Newsletter #7/2012

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
© Speedgroup 2012