European Finals FIA/FIM European Drag Racing Championships, Santa Pod Raceway

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

The 2014 FIA/FIM-Europe European Drag Racing series culminated in a headline making finale in front of a bumper crowd at Santa Pod Raceway during the European Finals. With the stands and banking packed, the welcome appearance of the sun during eliminations day warmed the heart after what has been an occasionally stuttering season. Plans for next year can wait (the pits being alive with rumour and gossip about what might emerge from various wranglings during the off season), but has it really just been a five event (four for the bikes) championship series?

FIA Top Fuel Dragster

By qualifying for the field, Thomas Nataas confirmed back to back FIA titles, and the Andersen Racing/Landmeco/Teslak/Biltema/Else Marie collective put the exclamation point on their season with a low qualifying 3.9499 in the final session and a substantial 316.40mph to improve on the European TS record Nataas set at the previous meeting in Sweden. Eliminations didn’t quite go according to the detail of the plan, with a first round solo seeing smoke, a second round win coming thanks to a holeshot over Micke Kågered and a 4.3318/219 holding off the Swede’s quicker 4.3012/250 on a pedaling contest. The final delivered the ultimate win with Nataas heading Urs Erbacher off the line and at all points down the race track with a 4.0265/303.85 besting Erbacher’s 4.2852/285.72.

It has been a season of two halves for Erbacher after a couple of first round losses (tempered by the runner-up finish of former team mate Noah Stutz in Hockenheim) were followed by final four finish in Tierp and then the runner-up spot at the Finals. All three of his season round wins have come with a dose of luck with Chris Andrews’ ride giving up the ghost twice in the first round and here in England this was also followed up by a cataclysmic engine failure that befell Duncan Micallef whilst, like RFM team-mate Andrews, some way ahead of the Midland Oil/Victory Motorcycles Swiss driver who was also making a few sacrifices to the aluminum gods himself.