Speedgroup Club Europe

The winner takes it all
It’s always easy to say, ‘this was the best race ever’, but at least for the Top Fuel class (and not this class only) the Scandinavian Internationals was the best race ever seen in the FIA European Championship. A 3.97 seconds number one qualifying position, five 3.9’s in eliminations, a new European ET and speed record and not unimportant, close racing. At the end Thomas Nataas in the Per and Karsten Andersen tuned Top Fueler was the big winner as the Norwegian not only won the race, but also increased his lead in the FIA European Championship to 81 points and is the new European ET and speed record holder.

Things started pretty easy on Friday, although Stig Neergaard and Thomas Nataas immediately showed what was possible at the well prepared Tierp Arena track. In the first run the Dane’s 4.06 seconds was the provisional number one position, but in run number two Nataas improved to 4.05 seconds and was the new leader. But Saturday in run number three and four the teams stepped up and gave a sneak preview of the things to come.

Mäkelä

The help of the American brothers, tuners and drivers Dom and Bob Lagana really paid off for Anita Mäkelä, as after a 4.02 seconds, she improved to 3.974 seconds, her first ever 3-seconds run and the number one qualifying position! That gave the ever smiling Finnish fan favourite an extra reason to smile. Neergaard improved to 4.03 seconds and passed Nataas, who’s Friday run stayed his best of qualifying.

Halinen

Jari Halinen was the first one in the 4.1’s and with his 4.11 seconds the Finn was in the number four position, with championship candidate Antti Horto in fifth. Patrik Pers solved the problems he had at the Sweden Internationals and 4.13 seconds was good enough for sixth. With only one run left, Chris Andrews, again in the Rune Fjeld Motorsport ex-DSR car was outside the ladder. But the Lucas Oil-driver stepped up to 4.16 seconds and qualified in seventh position.

Like in Hockenheim, Urs Erbacher had a far from trouble free qualifying and with 4.22 seconds the multiple champion was the number eight qualifier and last one in the ladder. Andrews fourth run pushed Maltese Duncan Micallef (4.29 seconds) just outside the ladder. Micke Kågered could not take advantage of his Hockenheim runner-up position, as the home favourite had all kind of problems and was in tenth, 0.26 seconds away from qualifying. Timo Lehtimäki was number eleven and the last one in this biggest Top Fuel field of the season.

Qualifying was good, but nothing compared to what was to come in eliminations. In an all Finnish confrontation Halinen stormed to a great 4.04 seconds, left Horto (4.13) behind and minimized the title chances of the number three in the championship. Normally a 4.04 would have been the fastest run of an elimination round, but at the Scandinavian Internationals this was the slowest winning time of the quarter finals!

Geared up - Patrik Pers enjoyed a new personal best

Next up were Nataas and Pers and although the Norwegian almost broke the 4-seconds barrier (4.007 seconds), it was a close race as Pers improved to a great personal best of 4.06 seconds, but still not enough to defeat Nataas. But it could go faster, as next up was Neergaard and in a stunning 3.959 seconds, the best ET of the weekend, the Dane had no problems with Andrews (4.15 sec.). But in the next run another 3-seconds. For the second consecutive time Mäkelä broke the 4-seconds and improved to a winning 3.96 seconds, while in the other lane Erbacher exploded an engine.

Erbacher´s engine damaged in the run against Mäkelä

Kågered

FIA Top Fuel Dragster - Review The winner takes it all It’s always easy to say, ‘this was the best race ever’, but at least for the Top Fuel class (and not this class only) the Scandinavian Internationals was the best race ever seen in the FIA European Championship. A 3.97 seconds number one qualifying position, five 3.9’s in eliminations, a new European ET and speed record and not unimportant, close racing. At the end Thomas Nataas in the Per and Karsten Andersen tuned Top Fueler was the big winner as the Norwegian not only won the race, but also increased his lead in the FIA European Championship to 81 points and is the new European ET and speed record holder. Things started pretty easy on Friday, although Stig Neergaard and Thomas Nataas immediately showed what was possible at the well prepared Tierp Arena track. In the first run the Dane’s 4.06 seconds was the provisional number one position, but in run number two Nataas improved to 4.05 seconds and was the new leader. But Saturday in run number three and four the teams stepped up and gave a sneak preview of the things to come. Mäkelä The help of the American brothers, tuners and drivers Dom and Bob Lagana really paid off for Anita Mäkelä, as after a 4.02 seconds, she improved to 3.974 seconds, her first ever 3-seconds run and the number one qualifying position! That gave the ever smiling Finnish fan favourite an extra reason to smile. Neergaard improved to 4.03 seconds and passed Nataas, who’s Friday run stayed his best of qualifying. Halinen Jari Halinen was the first one in the 4.1’s and with his 4.11 seconds the Finn was in the number four position, with championship candidate Antti Horto in fifth. Patrik Pers solved the problems he had at the Sweden Internationals and 4.13 seconds was good enough for sixth. With only one run left, Chris Andrews, again in the Rune Fjeld Motorsport ex-DSR car was outside the ladder. But the Lucas Oil-driver stepped up to 4.16 seconds and qualified in seventh position. Like in Hockenheim, Urs Erbacher had a far from trouble free qualifying and with 4.22 seconds the multiple champion was the number eight qualifier and last one in the ladder. Andrews fourth run pushed Maltese Duncan Micallef (4.29 seconds) just outside the ladder. Micke Kågered could not take advantage of his Hockenheim runner-up position, as the home favourite had all kind of problems and was in tenth, 0.26 seconds away from qualifying. Timo Lehtimäki was number eleven and the last one in this biggest Top Fuel field of the season. Qualifying was good, but nothing compared to what was to come in eliminations. In an all Finnish confrontation Halinen stormed to a great 4.04 seconds, left Horto (4.13) behind and minimized the title chances of the number three in the championship. Normally a 4.04 would have been the fastest run of an elimination round, but at the Scandinavian Internationals this was the slowest winning time of the quarter finals! Geared up - Patrik Pers enjoyed a new personal best Next up were Nataas and Pers and although the Norwegian almost broke the 4-seconds barrier (4.007 seconds), it was a close race as Pers improved to a great personal best of 4.06 seconds, but still not enough to defeat Nataas. But it could go faster, as next up was Neergaard and in a stunning 3.959 seconds, the best ET of the weekend, the Dane had no problems with Andrews (4.15 sec.). But in the next run another 3-seconds. For the second consecutive time Mäkelä broke the 4-seconds and improved to a winning 3.96 seconds, while in the other lane Erbacher exploded an engine. Erbacher´s engine damaged in the run against Mäkelä Kågered	Nataas and Mäkelä on the podium at Tierp So in the semi-finals another all Finnish confrontation with Mäkelä and Halinen and a Dane, Neergaard, against a Norwegian, Nataas, driving for a Danish (Andersen Racing) team. Problems for Halinen as he had no reverse and could not come back from the burn out. The team pushed the Finn back to the startline, but then the crew chief signalled to shut off the engine. In her bye run Mäkelä pushed the car to limit again and in 3.99 seconds the number two in the championship had her third consecutive 3-seconds pass. In the second semi-final almost two 3-seconds on the scoreboard. In a great run Nataas improved to 3.966 seconds, just enough to defeat Neergaard who had some problems just before the finish line and had to accept a losing 4.009 seconds. Nataas crossed the finish line with 399.08 km/h (310,11 mph), the fastest speed ever recorded since going to 1000-feet. With Nataas and Mäkelä a final with the numbers one and two in the championship. A win would keep Mäkelä in striking distance, but with a win for Nataas, the difference would be 81 points with only one race to go. No problems for Nataas when firing up, but Mäkelä’s motor popped an banged as the plug leads were not in the right position. The Finnish-American crew fixed the problem in no-time and very professional, Mäkelä made a short burn out and was almost back in starting position the same moment Nataas, who had his normal starting procedure, was ready for pre-stage. In a close run Nataas took the win light with 3.982 seconds against 4.02 seconds for Mäkelä, who had engine problems in the last few meters of her race. Nataas With his semi-final 3.965 seconds Nataas is the new European ET record holder, after Mäkelä was it for a few hours. The Norwegians 494.05 km/h (306.99 mph) in the final is the new European speed record, as there was no back-up for his even better semi-final 499.08 km/h. With only one race to go Nataas leads the championship with a 81 point advantage over Mäkelä. Horto is still in third, Neergaard fourth and Halinen completes the top five. Anita Mäkelä is a given favourite. At Tierp she gave the spectators a fantastic show both on and off the track. Duncan Micallef Timo Lehtimäki Antti Horto Stig Neergaard Chris Andrews
Team Andersen Racing Championship leader and event winners Thomas Nataas is from Norway. The team is a mix of members from Denmark, Sweden and Norway
Text: Remco Scheelings Photos by Remco Scheelings and Lena Perés This article is part of the Speedgroup Club Europe Newsletter #11/2013 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 2013