Words and pictures Ivan Sansom & Rose Hughes

The second stop for the European Drag Racing traveling
circus is always an interesting one, with the restrictions
on the track preparation at Alastaro, thanks to it’s
position on a major aquifer, usually providing a tricky
track surface for the teams to negotiate. This season
would be no different, although the FIA Top Fuel
Dragster class would be run over 1000 feet due
to the absence of guardrails for the full length
of the shutdown area (a topic to be revisited
at the end of this report), so they weren’t
suffering from the previous problem in
Finland of gaining enough downforce at
the top end of the quarter mile within the
constraints of the regulations covering
the maximum permitted angle of the
rear wing. Despite this traction issues,
and the loss of a fair chunk of
qualifying due to some flurries
of rain, the meeting saw some
spectacular numbers recorded
in a number of classes and
one of the most usual
(and heartstopping)
endings to an event
that your correspondents
have ever seen.