Qualifying in Top Methanol Dragster saw some excellent racing.



Fred Hanssen took the number one spot at 5.397 seconds, followed by Peter Schöfer at 5.404, a surprising Derek Flynn at 5.420 and Dave Wilson at 5.426. Reigning European champion Timo Habermann was back in fifth (5.439), Paul Ingar Udtian sixth (5.506) and Timo’s brother, Dennis, seventh (5.509).



Krister Johansson was last to qualify at 5.527 seconds. That made the gap between the number one and eight qualifiers just 0.13sec. At 5.774sec, Esko Raisvuo was the unlucky driver outside the elimination ladder.

There was a big upset in the first round of eliminations as the German confrontation between Dennis Habermann and former European champion Schöfer was won on a holeshot by the younger Habermann brother. Schöfer, always good for excellent reaction times, left the start line in 0.0965sec. Dennis reacted 0.05sec quicker and Schöfer ‘s 5.43 was not enough to take the win over Dennis’s 5.47.



Number one qualifier Hanssen showed fine form in the first round with a winning 5.309 (over Johansson), only 0.008sec short of Dave Wilson’s European record. In his race against Paul Ingar Udtian, Derek Flynn ran a personal best of 5.350 and a stunning speed of 271.46mph/436.87kph, more then enough to advance to the semi-finals. There he met Dennis Habermann. With a 0.0001 the German had an almost perfect reaction time and his 5.46sec secured him a spot in the final. On the other side of the elimination ladder a 5.32 was enough for Timo Habermann to sideline Dave Wilson in the first round.



The German team showed their rising form in the semi-final when Timo put a 5.33 on the scoreboard and took a surprising win over Hanssen. That made it two Habermanns in the final. Again Dennis showed how good he is on the tree by pulling a 0.006 light against an unusually slow 0.168 for Timo. Timo did the best he could but his 5.37 was not enough to catch Dennis’s 5.48 and the younger Habermann scored his first FIA European Championship event win.

FIA TOP METHANOL DRAGSTER
Winner:   Dennis Habermann  (GER)

	QUALIFYING:		ET	MPH	KPH
1	Fred Hanssen	NOR	5.3976	264.07	424.98
2	Peter Schöfer	GER	5.4044	259.05	416.90
3	Derek Flynn	GBR	5.4203	260.55	419.31
4	Dave Wilson	GBR	5.4265	265.27	426.91
5	Timo Habermann	GER	5.4393	247.66	398.57
6	Paul Ingar Udtian	NOR	5.5061	254.70	409.90
7	Dennis Habermann	GER	5.5099	253.82	408.48
8	Krister Johansson	SWE	5.5274	253.69	412.96
	Alternates:
9	Esko Raisvuo	SF	5.7746	256.69	408.27

ELIMINATIONS:

Round 1:
Timo Habermann 5.3266/256.71 def. Dave Wilson 5.5680/263.73
Derek Flynn 5.3500/271.46 def. Paul Ingar Udtian 5.6774/245.41
Dennis Habermann 5.4724/256.11 def. Peter Schöfer 5.4303/250.99
Fred Hanssen 5.3091/266.69 def. Krister Johansson 5.4576/265.58

Round 2:
Timo Habermann 5.3316/250.85 def. Fred Hanssen 5.3753/266.70
Dennis Habermann 5.4652/255.23 def. Derek Flynn 5.5098/260.53

Final
Dennis Habermann 5.4809/257.60 def. Timo Habermann 5.3760/259.53


Low Elapsed Time of the Meet:   5.3091 seconds – Fred Hanssen
Top Speed of the Meet:   271.46 mph / 436.87 kph – Derek Flynn