Jürgen Nagel had a perfect home race at Hockenheim. For the first time the Top Methanol Funny Car pilot broke the six-second barrier, and then did it again, improving his personal best to a stunning 5.889sec. With his semi-final win, Jürgen Nagel is now the number two in the championship, only two points behind Dan Larsen.



What a year this has been for Jürgen Nagel. He scored a stunning win at the Main Event; although he was the last one to claim it, he ran good numbers. He skipped Alastaro and Mantorp was rained out. But, in his home race at Hockenheim, the German drag race veteran showed that he can win races by being the quickest man on the track too.

The first day of qualifying was a disappointment. “In the first session I didn’t see the starter and got nervous when I saw Arvid was already in stage. I rolled through the beams and had no time. In the second session, Dezsoe came into my lane and I had to lift.” But the third qualifying pass gave the team and the home crowd something to cheer about. For the first time, Jürgen broke the six-second barrier and did so with a flourish, lowering his personal best to a stunning 5.889sec. Only Dan Larsen was quicker, so Jürgen was number two qualifier.

In the first round of eliminations, the German showed that the 5sec was no coincidence, putting a 5.9sec on the scoreboard to beat Danny Bellio. In the semi-final Jürgen was lucky when severe tyreshake made him lift the throttle; because Jarmo Kuutniemi crossed the line, Jürgen still advanced to the final. There Dan Larsen would have been his next opponent.



“This was a perfect weekend,” said Jürgen Nagel. “We found a problem with some of the parts in the car and now it runs great. It took us a long time but now we have found the right combination. This feels so great and for my long-time crew who all work so hard this is fantastic too. Without them this would not have been possible. I don’t even know if I ever ran a 6.0sec but to lower my personal best to 5.88 and show consistency with a 5.9sec gives me confidence. And I can tell you, there is more to come because this combination can even go faster. I think I have to go to the European Finals now that we are so close to the lead in the championship.”



The German is only two points behind Dan Larsen. With the great form they showed at Hockenheim, for the first time in more than ten years of Top Methanol Funny Car racing the team are not outsiders anymore. Instead, they are one of the favourites to win the race and, if they do, the championship.