Funnybike
Although not the most spectacular in qualifying (5th with a 6.744), Mark Paquette managed to outlast one of the toughest Funnybike fields in history with a bit of luck and the ability to take opportunities which were presented to him thanks to a consistent series passes (including a 6.623 in the first round, a 6.692/203.31 to defeat Keith Lynn in the quarters) to get him to the finals and a 6.672/206.54 to defeat Rikard Gustafsson in the final round.
Those of you that have read DRO's European coverage over the past few seasons will be familiar with the name of Rikard Gustafsson. After the washout of much of the Euro season, Gustafsson shipped his bike over to the States to run the final two events of the year and had already clocked a 6.48 at the Norwalk event. Valdosta saw the Swede in 3rd spot with a 6.502/213.94 (the latter a new Funnybike speed record and, we think, the first record set by a Euro racer on the Dragbike tour). A pair of 6.5s in the quarters and semis put Gustafsson into his first final Stateside, but a transmission problem reared its head in the shift to 2nd gear handing the win to Paquette.
6.4s are the benchmark in Funnybike, and Travis Davis put himself in a pretty exclusive club with a new PB 6.475/206.20 to head qualifying and almost within touching distance of Gary Clark’s 8 year old record of 6.45. Davis had a best of a 6.573/203 in eliminations, but fell to Gustafsson at the final four stage.