FIA Pro Modified

Johan Lindberg (Ivan Sansom photo)

Since joining forces with the Old 51 team at the start of the year, former FIA Pro Mod and more recently Top Methanol Funny Car champion, Johan Lindberg has been a win waiting to happen in his return to the doorslammers, and win he did at the NitrOlymp’X, perhaps one of the few non-surprises in what was a topsy turvy eliminator. Lindberg was the only driver to nip into the fives during the course of the weekend (a 5.994 in the quarters) and whilst a whole slew of others were in the 6.0s it would be Marck Harteveld (who he? you may ask, well the Voodoo Hemi team have been strong performers in the sportsman ranks and stepped up to the FIA Pro Mod class at the start of the year and, it would be fair to say, were probably expected to be first or second round fodder for most events with the stock silhouetted Superbird). The Dutch team had a weekend to remember, blitzing their PBs on almost every run in eliminations and defeating Swedish heavy hitters Mats Eriksson and Micke Gullqvist at the quarter and semifinal stage (the latter with a huge holeshot on a 6.150 to a lose out 6.005 - an unnamed member of Gullqvist’s crew suggesting that they gave him a book to read if he was to take that long on the startline again).

Marck Harteveld (Rose Hughes photo)

The final against Lindberg was a damn sight closer than expected with a 6.056 from the 51 Business Coupe and Harteveld resetting his PB with a 6.120 and both had considerable grounds for satisfaction at the end of the day.

It can’t be too often that a pair of brothers have won their respective events on different continents on the same day, but that is what the Lindbergs achieved when NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car standout Jonnie took down the event win at Brainerd in the USA a few hours after Johan crossed the Hockenheim finishline.