Notable was the debut of Johnny Oksa, driving the car of his late father, Jarmo 'Japa' Kuutniemi. Johnny is a former European powerlifting champion who has now taken over the driving seat in honour of his father. He made his licencing runs at the previous national event at Tierp in preparation for this race.


Johnny Oksa

QUALIFICATIONS:
Johnny was first out on track and didn't have a good burnout but ran a creditable first pass of 6.2925/319.15. Micke Larsson, in the other lane in the Dodge Avenger, had a strong burnout but was shut down by the startline crew for a minor fluid leak that could have become a lot more serious on the launch. Next pairing was Ulf Leanders, also starting his season here. An uncharacteristic trouble-stricken Ulf shut off at 200 feet after a poor launch. Adam Flamholc was alongside Jonnie Lindberg and had the better of it, recording a fastest time of the session 5.9464/392.73 while Lindberg hit shake at shut off very early. Brother Johan took the 'scenic route' and was anything but straight and could only manage 7.1280/213.69 when he backed off to avoid the wall.

The second session saw improvements for most, with Jonnie Lindberg managing a  6.1816/404.49 with some shake but able to drive through it. Micke wasn't leaking fluid but rolled through the lights so still no time for him. Leanders was much faster with a  6.0553/341.99. Leif Andreasson opened his account with a storming 5.5896/415.70 while Johan Lindberg was alongside him all the way with a 5.7887/333.95 in an incredible display of TMFCs at their very best. The only one not happy after his run was Adam Flamholc who lost drive and over-revved the motor before clicking it off. Major work in the pits for him and the crew.

Saturday, and Q3 saw a Johnny Oksa really getting to grips with the car and running his first five  - 5.9716/353.63. Jonnie Lindberg hit shake and the tyres went up in smoke as soon as he hit the throttle. Micke left him for dead, running a 5.8519/395.31 that put him firmly in contention.  Ulf and Adam put on another great side-by-side driving display with  5.7631/406.93 to 5.7126/413.79. It was Leifs turn to give the gremlins a ride, shutting off well before half track while Johan disappeared into the distance, running 5.7007/414.43

The last qualifying session was a real crowd-pleaser. Jonnie Lindberg went 5.7170/419.25 for another possible European TMFC speed record. Johnny Oksa hit big shake and one of the chutes deployed before half track. Adam Flamholc got crossed up, crossed the centreline at 1000' so no time for him but Ulf was ahead and in no danger, recording a 5.7197/404.19. The last pair really put on a show, with Leif  making an almost-perfect run for a 5.5606/418.93 that was backed up by his run in Q2 for a European speed record but he wouldn't hold it for long. In the other lane Johan stopped the clocks and took trhe number one qualifer away from Leif with a  5.5498/417.31 that was a potential European ET record. It doesn't get any better !


The score board after Jonnie Lindberg´s  quickest ever run

Jonnie Lindberg - quickest methanol funny car driver in Europe

ELIMINATIONS:
In Round one of eliminations Jonnie Lindberg was handed the win by a red-lighting Ulf Leanders. He didn't take it easy and ran 6.1760/421.88 for a new European speed record, taking it away from Leif. Adam Flamholc had a solo run when Micke failed to show, his engine damage from Q3 being too great to fix at the track. Leif booked a place in the semi-final when Johnny Oksa hit the guardrail and was disqualified and Johan had the luxury of a bye run.

The first Semi-final was an all-Lindberg race, with Jonnie taking the honours when Johans blower belt broke after severe tyreshake. The 5.4985 ET was the fastest ever TMFC run in Europe and needed backing up, as did the top speed of 429.25  - yet another potential speed record  but it needed backing up because his previous record wasn't fast enough to be within 1% !

In the other pairing Adam Flamholc nailed a holeshot on a faster Leif Andréasson, running 5.6841/411.90 with a 0.0888 RT to a 5.5718/417.96 with a 0.2408. Andreasson was catching him but not quite fast enough to overtake and he was back on the trailer.

The final was tense and close. Jonnie was out in front by 0.04 off the startline but hit tyreshake and had to pedal. Adam drove round him to take the trophy with 5.7117/412.21 to  5.8442/421.88

LINK TO FULL RESULTS:
Link to eliminations ladder (pdf)

Results files provided by Time Tree and Tierp Arena


Leif Andreasson

Mikael Larsson

Johan Limdberg

Adam Flamholc