Micke Kågered Racing

TOP FUEL DRAGSTER

Name Total

1 Kim Reymond 366

2 Barry Sheavills 268

3 Susanne Callin 142

4 Andy Carter 136

5 Tommy Möller 129

6 Mikael Kågered 109

7 Gary Page 86

8 Darryl Bradford 67

9 Peter Lantz 59

10 Robin Read 35

TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR

Name Total

1 Mikael Kågered 363

2 Urs Erbacher 363

3 Alex Joon 346

4 Leif Anreasson 326

5 Ulf Leanders 226

6 Leif Helander 219

7 Arvid Grödem 167

8 Dan Larsen 131

9 Jörgen Johnsson 92

10 Magnus Larsson 70

11 Dezoe Krivan 58

12 Stephanie Milam 24

13 Juergen Nagel
Dennis Wratten 12

You can find the official FIA European Drag Racing Championship point standings here (PDF)

FIA European Finals - FIA Round #6
Santa Pod Raceway, England, September 6-8th

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

TF TMFC

Winner Kim Reymond Urs Erbacher

Runner Up Susanne Callin Stephanie Milam

Low ET 4.94/277 (Barry Sheavills) 5.77/242 (Alex Joon)

Top Speed 5.00/295 (Mikael Kågered) 5.78/244 (Urs Erbacher)

QUALIFICATION RESULTS TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR

Top Fuel Dragster
E.T. sec/speed m.p.h.
Session
#1
Session
#2 Session
#3 Session
#4 Session
#5

Mikael Kågered 5.90/226 8.29/110 5.84/242 5.85/242 7.42/118

Alex Joon 6.11/188 - no show - 5.82/239 7.03/133 - no show -

Urs Erbacher 5.83/240 5.84/243 5.81/243 5.78/244 - no show -

Leif Andreasson 11.39/68 6.38/162 5.85/244 5.72/243 - no show -

Leif Helander 6.02/234 6.02/231 - no show - 9.54/88.62 6.10/228

Ulf Leanders 6.18/232 13.60/66 5.92/231 6.14/235 - no show -

Arvid Grödem 6.80/206 6.39/223 6.46/221 6.59/217 7.30/133

Jörgen Johnsson 6.82/182 ? 5.97/229 - no show - 7.30/133

Stephanie Milam 8.46/181 6.89/216 6.81/200 10.96 7.21/146

Dennis Wratten - no show - - no show - - broke - 7.36/178 10.00/85

COMMENTS Qualifications:

As we suspected the performance on saturday was to improve a great deal for most teams. It was once again to be one of the quickest field in Europe so far. Erbacher backed up a new European record of 5.78 seconds during the 4th session. Andréasson ran 5.72 during the same session. Micke continued running in the 5.80´s, but in this company it only gave him the 4th quickest E.T.
One of Leanders back tires exploded just before the finish line, which caused major damage to the rear part of the carbon fiber body. Leanders will not be able to compete in sundays eliminations, which means the first alternate (no 9 qualifier) Stephanie Milam will take his place. half of the field choosed no to run the last session, because it was 8.30 p.m. and almost dark.

ELIMINATIONS TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR
- elapsed time sec. and speed m.p.h. -

QUARTER-FINALS

1 L. Andreasson 5.98/238

8 Arvid Grödem 6.29/225 SEMI-FINALS

Leif Andreasson 9.45/86

S. Milam 6.94/207

4 (Mikael Kågered broke)
Alternate Dennis Wratten
7.78/177

5 S. Milam 7.23/196 FINAL

S. Milam 6.91/201

U. Erbacher 5.79/243 W!

2 Urs Erbacher 5.79/243

7 Leif Helander 6.08/224

Urs Erbacher 5.82/244

Alex Joon 12.50/63

3 Alex Joon 5.77/242

6 J. Johnsson 5.91/234

COMMENTS Eliminations:

Before the event there was two potential FIA title winners 2002- Micke Kågered and Lex Joon. Kågered crashed his top fuel car badly one hour before he was scheduled to enter the quarter finals in his funny car. In reality that meant he did not get full points for the first round, since he failed to show up at the starting line (being hospitalised at that moment). Because of this, suddenly Erbacher also stood a chance to be the European champion, should he win the event and set a low E.T. of the weekend. Micke´s opponent in the quarter finals Stephanie Milam got to meet alternate Dennis Wratten, who took Micke´s place. Milam made it through to the semi-finals where she unexpectedly beat Andréasson after he red-lighted. Kågered´s worst opponent Joon blew the engine during the run against Erbacher, which meant he was out of competition and with no chance of winning the FIA title anymore. Only Erbacher then able to threaten Micke´s chance to become the FIA European champion. Crew members who stayed with Micke at the hospital kept in contact with the crew still at the track for continous updates. When it stood clear that Erbacher was unable to set a low E.T. in the final against Milam the good news was brought to Micke Kågered- he is the FIA European top methanol funny car champion 2002.

QUALIFICATION RESULTS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER

Top Fuel Dragster
E.T. sec/speed m.p.h. Session
#1 Session
#2 Session
#3

Mikael Kågered 5.21/265 5.00/295 11.40/75

Susanne Callin 5.40/226 5.38/253 5.13/266

Tommy Möller 11.29/70 5.02/? 10.02/77

Peter Lantz 5.05/? 5.11/276 6.81/114

Kim Reymond 11.73/69 11.01/73 5.24/268

Barry Sheavills 6.91/114 4.94/277 no show

Darryl Bradford broke 6.18/150 no show

Andy Carter 11.? no show no show

COMMENTS Qualifications:

The performance in top fuel were not as tight as we saw in the methanol funny car class. Sheavills quickest of all, but crashed the car, when the chassis broke and he is out of competition, since the car is damaged beyond repair this weekend. Micke Kågered second quickest, wanted to run quicker at the last seesion, but shook the tires and were unable to improve. Rookie Callin ran a great 5.13 sec. run during the last session. Möller and Lantz also quick, but Reymond facing problems and only qualified number 6. Reymond will be the 2002 FIA European Champion in top fuel as Sheavills is out of competition (he was the only one that could threaten Reymond in the points standing).

ELIMINATIONS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER
- elapsed time sec. and speed m.p.h. -

QUARTER-FINALS

1 (Sheavills) - bye -

8 Andy Carter 5.53/199 SEMI-FINALS

Andy Carter 5.87/172

Susanne Callin 5.08/287

4 Peter Lantz broke

5 Susanne Callin 12.64/69 FINAL

Susanne Callin 5.69/170

Reymond 5.16/284 W!

2 M. Kågered 4.97/282

7 Darryl Bradford 5.85/188

Mikael Kågered - broke -

K. Reymond - no time -

3 Tommy Möller 5.47/188

6 Kim Reymond 5.13/257

COMMENTS Eliminations:

It was a very unhappy start of the day for Micke Kågered´s crew to watch him crash the top fuel dragster at a speed exceeding 280 m.p.h at the finish line in the quarter finals. After a few very anxious minutes, we saw with our own eyes that he was alive and conscious, still strapped in an unhurt cockpit. Badly bruised and with a very sore back he was released from hospital as soon as doctors had checked that there were no fractures or internal injuries. He will be resting here in England until he is well enough to manage the flight home to Sweden.
Obviously Micke was unable to continue the race, which meant his opponent in the semi-finals Kim Reymond got a bye-run. Susanne Callin´s day turned out well, as she put both Peter Lantz and Andy Carter out of competition. In the finals Reymond was too tough to handle for Callin and he walked away as a real winner- both of the European finals and the FIA top fuel champion title.

Nitro Olympics - FIA Round #5
Hockenheim Ring , Germany, August 16-18th

Kågered and Erbacher during qualifications

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

TMFC

Winner Alex Joon

Runner Up Mikael Kågered

Low ET 5.81/395 (Urs Erbacher)

Top Speed 5.81/395 (Urs Erbacher)

QUALIFICATION RESULTS TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR

Top Methanol Funny Car
E.T. sec/speed km/h Session
#1 Session
#2 Session
#3 Session
#4

Mikael Kågered 6.10/387 5.89/386 - broke - 5.92/392

Urs Erbacher 6.06/387 5.98/389 5.99/389 9.83/?

Alex Joon 6.07/385 5.94/351 --- 5.94/391

Ulf Leanders 9.27/135 6.02/335 6.33/363 14.15/105

Leif Andreasson 6.17/377 6.01/379 6.40/315 5.93/391

Jörgen Johnsson 6.35/339 6.03/361 6.47/370 7.06/367

Dan Larsen 6.06/387 --- --- ---

Leif Helander - broke - 6.18/368 6.19/368 11.27/150

Arvid Grödem 7.16/341 6.35/358 6.98/349 6.25/367

Magnus Larsson --- broke 6.77/265 6.68/276

Jurgen Nagel broke 21.22/93 --- 8.74/251

Deszoe Krivan 6.04/389 - broke - --- ---

COMMENTS Qualification 1st session:

The track was real slippery as the E.T:s from this first session shows. Helander and Grödem run in the first pair and Grödem smoked the tires all the way down the track, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Helander, in the other lane, shut off as soon as he felt there was no traction to talk about. The drivers that did not drive their cars very, very smooth just smoked the tires like top fuelers! After watching the pro mod cars, that run just before us, crew chief Göran Edman advised Micke to make it real smooth all the way from the starting line and not to try and go for it. It proved to be the only way to manage and most of the drivers running after Micke also chose to do it like this. We hope the track improves as more cars and bikes run on it and that we will see quicker runs, more like we are used to from the competitive class that methanol funny car is right now.

COMMENTS Qualification 2nd session:

Team Kågered was quickest this morning. The track had been worked on friday night and the traction was better now, although not perfect yet. The E.T improved for most teams, but still some of the top teams will run quicker later today for sure. The 12 cars entered qualifies into an 8-car ladder, so only the quickest 8 is in the eliminations on sunday. Two more runs today. Micke Kågered´s 5.89 sec. run was a bit shaky with tire shakes. We will work on that until next session, but we are very pleased to be quickest so far.

COMMENTS Qualification 3rd session:

After one hour delay due to an oil-down Micke Kågered was out on the track as first car in the lane after the clean up. There was no traction there whatsoever. The tires shook violently and he had difficulties just to bring the car to a stop. The very hot conditions at the track also made it difficult to improve the performance from this morning and none of the teams did. Some of them chose not to run this 3rd session, but most cars will probably be there at 18.30 for the last try.

COMMENTS Qualification 4th session:

Still very, very hot here at the track in Hockenheim. Despite this Micke Kågered did run quickest of the bunch again, this time followed by Andréasson, who now moved into the second position. Rumours say that qualifiers number 7 (Krivan) and 8 (Larsen) has major damage to their engines that can not be repaired on site. If this is correct it means that first alternate Helander will take Krivan´s place and second alternate Grödem will run instead of Larsen. We need to check this further. The 8-car elimination ladder will be posted later tonight as soon as we have got confirmation concerning the alternates.

ELIMINATIONS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

QUARTER-FINALS

1 M. Kågered 5.91/394

8 Arvid Grödem 6.68/365 SEMI-FINALS

M. Kågered 5.92/393

Ulf Leanders 7.17/242

4 Urs Erbacher 6.05/362

5 Ulf Leanders 5.95/383 FINAL

M. Kågered 5.96/392 W!

L. Andreasson 5.95/393

2 L. Andreasson 5.92/390

7 Leif Helander 12.17/120

L. Andreasson 5.95/393

Alex Joon 6.36/378

3 Alex Joon 5.87/394

6 J. Johnsson - broke -

COMMENTS Eliminations:

What a final! It can not get much closer than that! Micke Kågered took his second win in two weeks. Micke was out first from the starting line with a slight better reaction time. The time he gained at the start proved to be enough to beat Andréasson despite the one hundreds of a second slower E.T. for Micke. He commented; "I knew I was first out, but I had to get off the throttle one time to avoid losing traction and at that time I was afraid Leif would catch up on me". He did not do that and the win for Micke was well deserved. His car was one of the most consistent throughout all the event and maybe that is what payed off in the end!

In the semi-finals both Leanders and Joon got problems with the traction while Kågered and Andréasson continued in the same fashion as in the quarter finals. We are of course very happy, since this means Micke will still be in the lead in the championship points standings after this event, no matter the outcome of the final. Kågered/Andréasson in the finals - same as in the first FIA event at Santa Pod in May. That time Micke won.. we wil have to wait and see what happens this time..

The quarter finals were won by Kågered, Leanders, Andréasson and Joon. Erbacher, currently second in the FIA points standings was out already in the first round, which means he will not stay in that position after this event is completed, since Joon is still in the field and only two points behind Erbacher. We are sorry that we did not get the complete results in the quarter finals. We will add the fullE.T:s later on today.
All four semi-finalists in the 5´s during the first run and allE.T.´s close to each other. The semi-finals are scheduled for 14.00.

As we suspected Krivan and Larsen are out of competition for this weekend due to breakage. This means first alternate Helander will take Krivan´s position and run against Andréasson in the quarter finals. Grödem takes Larsen´s place and take on Mikael Kågered.

Tullinge Raceway - Top Fuel Tour Round #2
Pite Raceway, Sweden, July 10-11th

Micke Kågered at Tullinge before the first qualification run

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

	TF
Winner	Mikael Kågered
Runner Up	Tommy Möller
Low ET	4.98/451 (Tommy Möller)
Top Speed	4.99/481 (Mikael Kågered)

QUALIFICATION RESULTS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER

Top Fuel Dragster
E.T. sec/speed km/h Session
#1 Final Qualifying

Mikael Kågered 11.72/132 5.00/478

Tommy Möller 5.29/453 5.29/453

Monica Öberg 5.36/415 5.36/415

Peter Lantz 11.17/111 10.72/?

COMMENTS Qualifications 1st session:

The day did not start well for Micke Kågered, when the throttle cable snapped 75 meters after the start. He was not at all happy after the run. Too much trouble has come his way the last two events with the top fueler. Peter Lantz smoked the tires, Monica´s run looked real smooth and we are sure there is more to come out of that car. Tommy Möller started in the best fashion of the four teams, but will probably run quicker as well later this afternoon.

COMMENTS Qualifications:

Wow.. that´s all we can say. A 5.00 second run by Micke..that was really what we needed to lift the spirit some in the team again! Micke moved into the number one position and did it in grand style by setting a new track record here at Tullinge! Tommy Möller did not make it for this session as they had problems getting the car ready. Öberg´s run looked OK, but showed to be slower than her first run. It seemed the blower belt came off Peter Lantz car, so his appearance was probably not what he had hoped for. The final qualification standings means that Micke Kågered, who is currently quickest, will meet Peter Lantz who has had problems all day. Lantz can never be counted out and he was also the one winning the top fuel tour event in Piteå a month ago.

ELIMINATIONS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

SEMI-FINALS

1
M. Kågered 4.99/481

4
Peter Lantz 12.34/114
FINAL

M. Kågered 5.03/472 W!

Tommy Möller 5.59/429

2
Tommy Möller 4.98/451

3
Monica Öberg 9.17/152

COMMENTS Elimination:

The winner in the final was also to be the winner of the top fuel tour 2002. Before this event it was Peter Lantz who was in the lead. Möller and Kågered shared the second place and had equal points. Before the final Micke Kågered lead by 10 points. Crew chief Alan Jackson and car owner Knut Söderqvist wanted to setup the car to run quick enough, but would not smoke the tires. Real tricky, but in the end they managed to do just that! Möller, who had lane choice smoked the tires half track and disappeared in a big cloud of smoke . The win for Micke means his team win the top fuel tour for the second year, which pleases us a great deal. We did not really start counting points until right before the final when we realised that we still had a chance to win, so the victory of the top fuel tour is pretty unexpected but much appreciated!

The run for 3rd place was won by Peter Lantz with an elapsed time of 5.06 sec/472 km. vs Öbergs 5.36 sec./405 km

Comments semi-final; Team Möller and Kågered sure showed the crowd at Tullinge Raceway how to run a top fueler! Möller now took over the track record from Micke by one hundred of a second. Micke´s speed close to 300 m.p.h again and the run looked real pretty! Möller will have lane choice over Micke. Both Kågered and Möller chose the left lane for the first run, but we hope both lanes are equally good for the final. Lantz smoked the tires and never had a chance against Micke. The final will probably be a thriller and we will post the results right after it!

Gardemoen Dragchallenge - FIA Round #4
Gardermoen Raceway, Norway, August 2-4th

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

TMFC

Winner Alex Joon

Runner Up Mikael Kågered

Low ET 5.81/395 (Urs Erbacher)

Top Speed 5.81/395 (Urs Erbacher)

QUALIFICATION RESULTS TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR

Grödem and Larsen - ready to fire up the engines in Norway

Top Methanol Funny Car
E.T. sec/speed km/h Session
#1 Session
#2 Session
#3 Session
#4 Session
#5

Urs Erbacher 5.96/384 5.91/386 5.81/395 5.86/394 -

Alex Joon - - 6.45/334 6.18/361 5.83/394

Ulf Leanders 6.10/364 - - - 5.86/389

Leif Andreasson - - 5.89/391 - 6.43/278

Mikael Kågered 6.02/385 5.95/387 6.68/246 6.09/343 5.91/392

Dan Larsen 8.33/153 5.99/389 6.06/388 5.97/391 6.60/321

Leif Helander 6.11/369 - 6.21/368 6.01/380 6.02/380

Arvid Grödem - broke - - 6.27/373 6.25/362 6.75/?

Jörgen Johnsson - - 6.47/225 - -

Magnus Larsson 8.09/192 - broke - - 6.49/351 - broke -

COMMENTS Qualification 1st session:
Pretty good first run for Kågered and Erbacher, who managed best during the first session. Some of the cars shook the tires and some seemed to be running "safe", but a bit too smooth. The cars of Andréasson, Johnsson and Joon still remain in the pit area, where the teams work to get everything ready. Since the time was short between the race at Mantorp last weekend and this event, some teams got the parts needed from the U.S. just in time to make it to Norway. However, we expect all teams to be able to participate in the qualifications saturday. Still one more run to make today and we will post the results this evening.

COMMENTS Qualification 2nd session:
Only three cars out on the track for the 2nd session. Both Kågered and Erbacher improved, with Erbacher still in the number one position, closely followed by Micke Kågered and Dan Larsen. Six cars qualified today, with four more still out side the elimination ladder. Not to worry - the qualifications continues saturday with three more sessions scheduled. Micke Kågered´s crew chief Göran Edman commented that "We are pleased - everything goes as planned for us so far, our strategy being to find a safe zone to begin with where the car will run smooth, but also moderately quick". Edman continues; "after that we will setup the car to go quicker and since the track seems good I think we can improve the E.T. tomorrow.". An engine change is on the agenda for team Kågered tonight. "Nothing is broken", assures Edman. "We run today with our spare engine, because we wanted to see what we had there. Tomorrow we will run the engine we normally use and then take a decision tomorrow night how we want to continue in the eliminations sunday". crew chief Edman concludes.

COMMENTS Qualification 3rd session:
Beautiful day here at Gardermoen Raceway - Now all 10 teams have been out on the track and it is still Erbacher, who is the quickest, now followed by Andréasson. Micke Kågered had a minor oil leak and shut off as soon as he noticed it (just after shifting to second gear). Nothing broken and the crew is preparing the car at the moment to give it a new shot in the 4th session.

COMMENTS Qualification 4th session:
Most cars out on the track this session- Kågered shook the tires bad and will change the setup for the last run. Joon also in trouble, not running as quick as we are used to see from him. Helander improved a great deal and Erbacher still quickest. One more session to go and our guess is that all cars will be out there and that the last session also will be the quickest as the air hopefully cools down a bit, but the track is still warm.

COMMENTS Qualification 5th session:
Qualifications are completed and it is indeed the quickest 8-car field we have ever seen in Europe. Erbacher did not come out for the last run, but most other teams did and the performance can not be complained about. Leanders and Joon, improved a lot, taking the number two and three position away from Andréasson and Kågered. It will be a very interesting battle tomorrow, where the three current top ranked drivers in the FIA points standings are on the same side of the ladder- Erbacher, Andréasson and Kågered!

ELIMINATIONS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

Crew chief Göran Edman checks that everything

QUARTER-FINALS

1 Urs Erbacher 5.82/395

8 Arvid Grödem 6.21/372 SEMI-FINALS

Urs Erbacher 9.92/112

M. Kågered 5.89/395

4 L. Andreasson - broke -

5 M. Kågered 7.59/246 FINAL

M. Kågered 5.93/369

Alex Joon 5.89/389 W!

2 Alex Joon 5.96/391

7 Leif Helander 10.99/121

Alex Joon 6.05/377

Dan Larsen 6.07/385

3 Ulf Leanders 8.49/179

6 Dan Larsen 5.98/387

COMMENTS Quarter-finals:
Erbacher still in good shape, took out Grödem. Andréasson run into trouble and was not allowed to run by the starter. We are unsure of what the problem was, there may have been an oil leak. Kågered got the sign that he was alone, but heard bad sounds from what he believed was the engine and made the run real smooth. After the run it turned out that it was a tube on the body that had shook loose in a w

COMMENTS Semi-finals:
The run between Joon/Larsen has just been completed after a delay due to an oil down on the track. Before that Micke Kågered took out Erbacher, who so far had a car running like a clock, but against Micke got into trouble. Team Kågered- pleased with the performance in the semi-finals will meet Lex Joon in the final. Joon has been running as quick as 5.83 during the qualifications, but a bit slower in the semi-final against Larsen (6.05). It will be an open matter where both cars sure has the capacity to beat the other one, but in the end it may be the team making the right setup decisions who come out winning. The weather is very hot and no clouds are in sight, so the sun is burning the track a great deal at the moment.

COMMENTS Finals:
It was a tight final between Kågered and Joon where Joon eventually was first over the finish line. Mickes car did shake the tires a bit after the start which may have lost him some time and he was never able to catch up with Joon after that. Our congratulations to team Joon, who now advance in the FIA points standings. As soon as we have the information about the points confirmed we will post them on the latest news page.

Sko Uno Drag Festival - FIA Round #3
Mantorp Park, Sweden, July 26-28th

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

TF TMFC

Winner Tommy Möller Urs Erbacher

Runner Up Barry Sheavills Lex Joon

Low ET 5.01/477 (Gary Page) 5.84/394 (Leif Andreasson)

Top Speed 5.01/477 (Gary Page) 5.90/395 (Mikael Kågered)

QUALIFICATION RESULTS TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR

Top Fuel Dragster
E.T. sec/speed km/h Final qualification

Leif Andreasson
5.84/394

Urs Erbacher 5.87/394

Ulf Leanders 5.880/390

Alex Joon 5.886/390

Mikael Kågered 5.90/395

Dan Larsen 5.95/389

Arvid Grödem 6.09/372

Leif Helander 6.10/361

Alternates: Magnus Larsson 6.52/296

Jörgen Johnsson 7.40/297

COMMENTS Qualifications:

As we suspected and wrote in our preview of the Mantorp event, the results improved a great deal this weekend, compared to the same event last year. The track had been prepared in a good way and many teams now perform in the 5´s more constantly. The first six teams between 5.84 and 5.95 shows that methanol funny car has become one of the most interesting and competitive classes in European Draf Racing and we are very happy to be a part of it. As team Andréasson damaged their engines beyond repair they was not able to make the first round of eliminations, which meant first alternate Magnus Larsson took their spot in the elimination ladder. Team Helander also experienced major damages during the qualifications but did get hold of all parts needed to replace the broken parts..

ELIMINATIONS TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

QUARTER-FINALS

1 Magnus Larsson 6.72/322

8 Leif Helander 6.06/363 SEMI-FINALS

Leif Helander 10.68/122 (red-light)

Lex Joon broke

4 Lex Joon 5.98/376

5 Mikael Kågered 6.02/387 FINAL

Lex Joon 7.71/199

U Erbacher 5.92/389 W!

2 Urs Erbacher 5.89/373

7 Arvid Grödem 6.12/371

Urs Erbacher 6.03/379

Dan Larsen 7.42/185

3 Ulf Leanders 6.60/374

6 Dan Larsen 6.11/384

COMMENTS Eliminations:

As Andréasson was unable to make the first round of eliminations, first alternate Magnus Larsson took Andréassons spot in the elimination ladder. However, Helander proved to be a too tough task for Larsson, who lost the quarter finals. Dan Larsen, who made his first FIA race for the season unexpectedly took out Leanders from further competition already in the quarter finals. Team Kågered had to switch engine for the eliminations as the crank shaft was hurt during qualifications. The spare engine (similar but not identical to the other engine), did not not respond to the adjustments we made in the way we had hoped for and although Kågered´s run vs. Joon was a close side by side run in the end Joon had the margin on his side. The semi-finals between Joon and Helander turned out odd, when Helander red-lighted and Joon´s engine broke so bad half-track, that he was unable to pass the finish line. FIA judges had to to look into the rules to rule the winner of the run. In the end the win was judged to Joon´s favor as Helander was the one who faulted first and was disqualified, no matter that Joon did not cross the finish line. Joon´s crew had a hectic time changing engine for the final, made it just in time, but eventually lost to the Erbacher in the finals. A well deserved win for team Erbacher, who managed to perform consistent throughout the entire event without major damage and that payed off well in the end.

QUALIFICATION RESULTS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER

Top Fuel Dragster
E.T. sec/speed km/h Final qualification

Barry Sheavills 5.06/473

Mikael Kågered 5.07/471

Kim Reymond 5.10/446

Gary Page 5.28/352

Susanne Callin 5.97/277

Peter Lantz 6.85/191

Tommy Möller 9.77/131

COMMENTS Qualifications:

Barry Sheavills only performed one qualification run, but with car owner Rune Fjeld´s ability as a tuner, that showed to be enough to take the number one qualifying spot. Impressing.. Fjeld´s other car, this weekend piloted by Gary Page qualified number four. Rookie Susanne Callin has proved that she can drive the top fuel dragster as well as any of the "big guys" and she performed her duty as a driver well during the event. Mikael Kågered missed the number one spot by a mere hundred of a second, but thought the qualifications was OK anyway. Both Möller and Lantz did have problems with the traction and smoked the tires througout most of the qualifications, which made them the slowest cars in the field at the time being. Since the number eight spot in the elimination ladder was vacant, number one qualifier Barry Sheavills had the advantage of a bye run in the quarter finals.

ELIMINATIONS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

QUARTER-FINALS

1 B. Sheavills 11.26/162

8 - bye - SEMI-FINALS

Barry Sheavills 5.02/464

Gary Page - no show -

4 Gary Page 5.01/477

5 Susanne Callin 5.38/390 FINAL

Barry Sheavills 8.86/149

T. Möller 5.78/269 W!

2 Mikael Kågered - broke -

7 Tommy Möller 5.04/437

Tommy Möller 8.41/179

Kim Reymond 5.14/460

3 Kim Reymond 5.24/438

6 Peter Lantz 12.99/111

COMMENTS Eliminations:

Team Kågered failed to run the first round of eliminations as we did get an oil leakage when starting the engine in the line up just before the run. The problem did not occur during the "warm up" in the pit area, so the fault could not have been detected earlier. It was a real disappointment for us as we had worked harder than ever with the car and everything around it to perform well at our "home track" Mantorp Park. Peter Lantz had continued problems and did loose in the first round against Reymond. Reymond, the current leader of the FIA points standings red-lighted in the semi-finals against Möller and did not make it further than that. As Micke Kågered was unable to run the quarter finals, Möller got a bye run that he used well to perform a great time of 5.04 seconds. Micke would have loved to give him a good match there.. A bit of luck also took Möller past the semi-final. Reymond´s red-light meant Möller was in the final despite the slower E.T. The final was not quick side-by-side run we would have expected from Sheavills and Möller took an easy win running 5.78 sec.

Midnight Sun International - Top Fuel Tour Round #1
Pite Raceway, Sweden, July 13-14th

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

	TF
Winner	Peter Lantz
Runner Up	Tommy Möller
Low ET	4.93/491 (Mikael Kågered)
Top Speed	4.93/491 (Mikael Kågered)

QUALIFICATION RESULTS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER

Top Fuel Dragster
E.T. sec/speed km/h Session
#1 Session
#2 Session
#3

Mikael Kågered 4.93/491 5.22/410 4.99/469

Monica Öberg 5.28/414 6.54/218 5.10/466

Peter Lantz 5.41/322 15.14/116 18.21/74

Tommy Möller 14.20/109 - n