FIA/UEM European Drag Racing Championships, The Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway, England

Words and photos Ivan Sansom & Rose Hughes
Thanks to TSI Timers (Europe) for access to the timing data

The way to break the most significant spring drought in the UK since records began? Simple, hold the opening round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship on a bank holiday weekend, and, just to make 100% sure that rain will fall, hold the first test match of the cricket season on that weekend. The result, a miserable drop in air temperature, a gale force wind and then full day of the life giving wet stuff on the Monday (eliminations day). Still, it perked up the plants in the garden no end.

Despite the gloom and absence of eliminations, four qualifying rounds were completed that gave us a good look at the new combinations to emerge for this season, and the race saw a large number of North American visitors, including Graham Light, Tommy Johnson Jr, Kevin Poynter, Scotty and Scott Cannon Jr, Camp Stanley, Jim Brissette, George Bryce, Randy Anderson, Will Hanna, Kenny Youngblood, and Greg Pollard, racking up the transatlantic air miles to attend the meeting in a variety of capacities, demonstrating that the European scene is blooming at the moment.

FIA Top Fuel Dragster

One of major talking points of the off season in FIA Top Fuel was resolved a couple of weeks before the meeting when the 2011 driver of the European record holding Andersen Racing rail was announced as American superstar Tommy Johnson Jr. Although the deal was done at a very late stage and the driver and crew hadn’t been introduced to each other until the Thursday before the race, the partnership looks to have gelled really well, “it seems as I’ve been with this team for a couple of years already” commenting Johnson Jr. The Danish brains trust of Per and Karsten (with input from that wise old head on the top of Jim Brissette’s shoulders) quickly blew the off season cobwebs away in the third session when the Sunoco liveried fueler flew to a 4.660/317mph low qualifying effort in a seemingly straightforward fashion (the 1000 foot clocking of 3.965/301mph being pretty sharp) to give TJ Jr an early lead in the points chase.