FIA/UEM European Drag Racing Championships, European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, England

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

Drama, controversy, nail biting title chases, and the somewhat disappointing sight of the cream of European drag racing trying to get to grips with a freshly re-laid startline over the course of the weekend at what traditionally is the quickest track in Europe proved the narrative of the European Finals. The venerable Santa Pod racing surface started to show its age a few weeks ago and the management took the decision to put off resurfacing the startline until after a street car event (one of the main sources of income for the track which saw the venue having to turn latecomers to a huge overflow crowd away) for fear of the treaded tyres damaging the new asphalt. This left the track prep crew with a swine of a job to get both lanes up to speed and, although we saw the quickest fuel bike pass outside of the US during the course of the event, the absence of significant numbers across the piece that we’ve come to expect, nay demand, from this event must mean the whole track gets fixed as soon as the coffers allow; a heartfelt apology from TrakBak’s Keith Bartlett at the post-race prize awards suggests this will be a very high priority over the winter break.

With only the UEM Pro Stock Bike title decided before the event (congratulations once again to Jesper Thiel and the Sovereign team), and the FIA's upholding of Tommy Johnson Jr’s suspension (but reducing the sanction to 12 months at an appeal hearing just prior to the event) over a misunderstanding on the procedures for declaration of prescription medication (not the anti-American stitch up it has been portrayed in some quarters) making the FIA Top Fuel Dragster championship chase a far from straightforward affair, there was an awful lot riding on the outcome of the racing over the weekend.

FIA Top Fuel Dragster

At mid point in the season we’re not convinced Urs Erbacher would have seriously thought he could defend the championship he’d won for the second time in 2010 (with five FIA titles in total including those accrued in Top Methanol Funny Car). However, when opportunity came a-knocking at the European Finals, Erbacher came to the fore with a 4.807/309 to gain maximum qualifying points and a 4.795/313.59 safely negotiated the first round hurdle of Patrik Pers and the Speedghost team and then had a competition bye into the final when Jari Halinen’s Sisu Polar rail failed to disengage reverse after the burnout. With a winner takes all final round against Risto Poutiainen it was pretty obvious that this would prove to be a classic, and, with both dragsters breaking traction before passing the christmas tree, the resultant wild, smoky, on, off, on, off, on, off, on, off, whatever the Finnish is for ‘b*gger there’s the belt gone’, on, 7.845/166 to an 8.654/105 had everyone watching cheering to the echo and with the win light illuminated above Erbacher’s lane it handed the Swiss star the event win and the number one plate for 2012.