Sweden´s Per Bengtsson main priority is to run fast this season, not focusing on earning points. And he stayed home from the round in Finland to test. He go from the last rained out event at Mantorp Park to Gardermoen with a low qualifier position in the luggage. And Gardermoen is Per´s favourite track. The track makes him feel safe and is fast at the same time. And no doubt Per is among the favourites to run fast, the question is if it will win him rounds and possibly the event title? Per has nothing to do with the points battle for a championship title at this time. 



The top 5 riders positions in the UEM championship points standings remain unchanged after Mantorp Park. Top 3 contenders Job Heezen, Hans Olav Olstad and Lorenz Stäuble are less than one event apart in points standings and the heat is on already on friday august 6th at Gardermoen.



Job Heezen comes from the last event with a 3rd quickest qualification position, while Stäuble was 2nd and Olstad 5th.

Höiberget was also well in the game last weekend at Mantorp in a field where no #1-8 were spread within 15 hundreds of a second over the 1/8 mile distance. Will we see a similar scenario at Gardermoen with a tight field, but only this time faster?

The Super Twin bikes are competitive and exciting to watch as a spectator for sure. Hopefully equally exciting for the teams involved in the class. To stand out in the Super Twin class it takes something special. 

Several other riders than the current top 5 points leaders  have the potential to be a winner at Gardermoen - maybe Roel Koedam, or why not Samu  Kemppainen..

..And although young rookie rider Jan Sturla Hegré has not yet been among the absolute top contenders his learning curve is definitely heading in the right direction. And with a skilled mentor and team companion in Svein Olav Rolfstad it can develop into a very successful career for Hegré over time. 

Jaska Salakari for the 3rd event in a row on the entry list in two categories - Super Twin and Top Fuel Bike. So far the Top Fuel Bike class is where he has been most successful (the two bikes are very similar according to Jaska and can be run with  similar setups)
 


In 2009, although the Sunoco Drag Challenge at Gardermoen was not a UEM Championship round, the Super Twin class was run and included some of the competitors who will be on the starting line on august 6th.
Hans Olav Olstad was the winner 2009 with and ET of 6.99 sec/329 km. Svein Olav Rolfstad was the low qualifier with 6.69 sec/321 km 

With new asphalt and improved surface at the shutdown area, we may well see even higher speeds this time. 



Check out entry list for the Super Twin Bikes under the separate heading and stay tuned when we report via Eurodragster.com a few times every race day starting friday august 6th.