Low qualifier (as at the Euro Finals last year) was Thomas Nataas and the Veidec/Biltema Andersen Racing entry with a 4.102/281.40mph run that headed the field by about a tenth. Although the Andersens admitted to getting a bit greedy in the semi-final against Mäkelä, they’ll have further opportunities to make amends as the winningest team in recent European fuel racing intent to run the full tour this time around.

Although Rune Fjeld Motorsports had the opportunity to celebrate the event win with Horto, the first round exit of Jari Halinen was certainly a downside. This was also coupled with the surprise non-appearance of defending 2012 champion Poutiainen in the staging lanes after an ugly suite of qualifying passes. After the final session yielded a flat five on a full track smoker (accompanied by some flames out of the back of the motor), the racing partnership was dissolved with immediate effect and, with both parties remaining tight lipped, we’ll file this one in “musical differences” category.

FIA/MSA Pro Modified

The FIA Pro Mods had struggled with the bumps and jumps that had marked the latter years of the old track surface, but by the end of the event Micke Gullqvist had carded a new European ET record at 5.945, clocked low ET of each round of eliminations bar the semi-final stage, and taken the event win with a 5.987/241.24mph. Not a bad start to the defence of his 2012 championship and a pretty impressive vindication of the resurfacing work.