The final round of the 2013 FIA European Drag Racing championships was held at at Santa Pod in England. The weather was kind to us, with only very minor delays for rain and the whole meeting was completed with all qualifying rounds run in full. Unfortunately, the TMD entry list consisted of only one car, Jonny Lagg from Sweden, after Tethys had to withdraw his entry following an incredible run of bad luck at Tierp where he broke not one but two engines.

Jonny very nearly didn't make the race, having discovered some serious engine damage of his own. A main bearing had spun, requiring machining and line boring to put it back in running condition. A huge thank you has to go to Dave Wilson for working 12 hours in his workshop to help Jonny and the team get back on track. That wasn't the end of his contribution. The next day he supplied a main bearing cap to replace one that broke in qualifying. Grumpy - maybe, all-round helpful guy and true racer - definitely !

Jonny Lagg

Jonny only made two qualifying runs but he wasn't holding back, running 5.542/249.61 and 5.586/256.6 mph. He last raced here (in Pro Comp) in 1984, that's 29 years ago ! He thinks it was a final against Steve Read, and he lost.

The final was a formality, as long as Jonny didn't red light or cross the centreline. He didn't make any mistakes and was holding nothing back. The A Fueler recorded its fastest time of the weekend, running an excellent 5.5015 at 259.62 mph (417.82 kph) to take the win. In the process, Jonny secured enough FIA Championship points to end the season as the 2013 FIA TMD Champion ahead of Paul-Ingar Udtian, Tet Tethys and Marko Leivo.


photo: Jonny (left) was the only contestant in the class at Santa Pod. Here captured with Paul Ingar Udtian (on the podium at the Scandinavian Internationals in august)