FIA/UEM European Drag Racing Championships, FHRA Nitro

Nationals, Alastaro, Finland

Words and pictures Ivan Sansom & Rose Hughes
(Stig Neergaard and Risto Poutiainen crash sequence courtesy and copyright of Stefan Boman)

Alastaro delivered up a real surprise or two over the course of a very hot weekend. One of the main shocks was how well the track prep held up under the clear skies and baking hot sunshine, producing the best Pro Modified pass in Europe by a bunch (Alastaro had not been traditionally considered one of the quickest tracks around), and a pile of drama packed stories with the biggest being the two car top end crash in FIA Top Fuel Dragster that almost ended with an amazing fairytale finish.

FIA Top Fuel Dragster

The home fans had a blast supporting the legion of Finnish drivers in FIA Top Fuel, with five of the nine car field flying the flag. All qualified; some in more dramatic fashion that others, but by the end of the meeting it was Timo Lehtimäki and the TIL Racing team that were smiling more than most having qualified in second spot and defeated Janne Ahonen and Urs Erbacher on the way to his first final round appearance against Risto Poutiainen. In the best FIA Top Fuel race in many a year, both left the line in the same instant (0.085s RT for Lehtimäki and a 0.086s RT for Poutiainen) and then stayed pretty much together to the 1000 foot finishline with Lehtimäki arriving a couple of feet ahead on his best pass of the weekend with a 4.151/279 to secure his first FIA event win having joined the Top Fuel ranks in 2008.