Name		Round #1	Round #2	Round #3	Round #4	Round #5	Round #6	Total
1	Andy Carter	83	99	43	33	56	103	417
2	Mikael Kågered	54	35	93	96	83	54	415
3	Tommy Möller	97	57	34	34	97	35	355
4	Jöran Persåker	36	78	77	75	34	34	334
5	Thomas Nataas	54	33	33	52	33	77	282
6	Smax Smith	33	54	54	58	35	33	267
7	Lex Joon	33	36	55	34	44	55	257
8	Jon Webster	35	-	-	-	-	33	68
9	Monica Öberg	-	-	26	-	-	-	26

TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR

Name		Round #1	Round #2	Round #3	Round #4	Round #5	Round #6	Total
1	Urs Erbacher	102	55	58	76	97	83	471
2	Ulf Leanders	54	36	102	103	76	97	468
3	Niclas Andersson	36	103	56	57	35	55	342
4	Leif Andreasson	35	74	74	35	63	34	315
5	Dan Larsen	78	37	35	34	-	35	220
6	Arvid Grödem	54	34	33	34	-	34	189
7	Juergen Nagel	33	-	-	-	34	-	67
8	Jörgen Johnsson	-	-	34	-	-	-	34

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

ELIMINATIONS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER September 12th
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

Comment final: Andy Carters plan worked well this weekend and he won the final over Nathås as well as the FIA European championship for the second time (last time was in 2001) two points ahead of Micke Kågered.

Comments semi finals: The championship title may have flown away for Micke as the pulley and blower belt came off Micke´s car during the run. Judging from the time slip he was leading at that point. So it will be the two owned by Rune Fjeld cars in the final, Andy Carter piloting one of them and Thomas Nathås the other. Carter needs to win over Nathås to take the title from Micke and has has the capability to do just that. The low elapsed time points he is currently holding means he will pass Micke by two points if he succeeds.

Comments quarter finals: Exciting quarter finals, when Smax Smith red-lighted and lost to Andy Carter although running a better time. Joon performed real well and took out Persåker from further competition. Webster ran a personal best but lost to Nathås. Micke Kågered got a flat rear tire before the finish line, but was OK as the shutes came out fine and car just slid straight on the chassis before it stopped. Most top fuel teams did have problems with the tires as parts of rubber was ripped. Some said the traction was too good at the latter part of the track. Kågered on to the semi-finals and his only opponent left in the battle for the championship title is now Andy Carter.


QUALIFICATION RESULTS Top Fuel Dragster

Top Fuel Dragster E.T. sec/speed km/h	Friday		Saturday
	Session #1	Session #2	Session #3	Session #4
Mikael Kågered	6.02/128	cancelled	broke	5.20/201
Smax Smith	10.90/78	cancelled	10.74/81	12.96/69
Tommy Möller	5.02/261	cancelled	5.05/225	5.62/175
Andy Carter	21.03/62	cancelled	10.94/59	4.98/295
Jöran Persåker	7.69/105	cancelled	5.08/257	5.76/173
Thomas Nathås	10.30/79	cancelled	4.99/288	broke
Alex Joon	5.19/260	cancelled	broke	5.03/294
Jon Webster	10.40/69	cancelled	broke	broke

Comments qualifications session #4: A fuel hose came loose on Micke´s car as Tommy Möller´s blower belt came off his car while they were running each other. Both had it going up until then. Lex Joon improved some, Smax Smith had continued tire problems. The results means the two leading drivers in the points standings will face each other already in the quarter finals, while Smax Smith takes on Any Carter, who is currently third in the points standings. So still, there are four drivers who have a theoretical chance to win- Kågered, Möller, Carter and Persåker. We do not think it can get much more exciting than this.

Comments qualifications session #3: Two sessions scheduled today, weather windy and brisk but sunny. Miscellaneous things occured during the first session saturday. Oil leakage for Kågered, Joon´s engine misignited and Webster was backed due to for us unknown reasons.. Nathås moved up to the number one position, closely followed by Tommy Möller who is so far very consistent.

Comments qualifications friday: Only one run completed in top fuel friday as rain delayed and eventually caused a cancellation of the 2nd session. At that time it was 9 p.m. and dark and humid. Micke Kågered´s run looked OK until 300 meters out when he was hit by a loose part from the car in the opponent lane. It showed to be an air filter that touched Micke´s helmet and instinctively made him shut off. Möller and Joon in the low 5´s, the others still performing modest as is pretty normal for the first run of the event.


ELIMINATIONS TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR september 12th
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

Comments final: Tough side by side final, where Leanders took the event win, but Erbacher took the championship title. The reason being the extra points that Erbacher earned for setting low elapsed time of the event with 5.71 sec.

Comments semi finals: Close side by side run between Leanders and Andersson, where Leanders narrowly won and moves into the final. So it is down to the final who will be the European Champion in methanol funny car. Leander´s chance is to take the win and the extra points for setting a low elapsed time of the event. If this does not happen Erbacher is the champion. 

Comments quarter finals: Niclas Andersson won his run at the starting line, beating Larsen although running a slower elapsed time. Erbacher and Leanders, the two competitors for the championship title, both running strong and keeping the excitment at a high level.

ENTRY LIST & QUALIFICATION RESULTS Top Methanol Funny Car

Top Methanol Funny Car E.T. sec/speed km/h	Friday	Saturday
	Session #1	Session #2	Session #3	Session #4
Niclas Andersson	staging error	7.27/132	5.94/238	did not run
Urs Erbacher	5.91/243	5.72/244	5.76/247	did not run
Leif Andréasson	7.44/115	10.31/75	8.49/97	9.75/92
Ulf Leanders	11.69/64	5.85/239	did not run	5.96/?
Dan Larsen	11.41/68	5.94/243	5.89/244	6.00/227
Arvid Grodem	6.12/233	5.99/231	6.35/221	did not run

Comments qualifications session #4:  Team Kågered decided not to run in the last session, as we only have one engine and did not believe we could improve our placement. None of the teams that did go out improved their performance either. Andréasson is having continued problems, not reaching normal standards yet. Leanders hurt the engine during the last run, so they may have some late night work to do. So far Larsen and Erbacher have impressed most, with Erbacher being the outstanding one. Will he be the European top methanol champion for the second year in the row or can Leanders challenge him? We will know in less than 24 hours.


Comments qualifications session #3: A change in the setup cured the tire shakes Niclas had last run, this time running nice and smooth in the 5.90´s. Andréasson in the other lane leaked oil on the track and his elapsed time also indicated something was wrong or broke during the ride.

Comments qualifications session #2: Most cars in the 5 second range now, where they should be with only Andersson and Andréasson left out. Tire shakes for Niclas and he shut off early when he saw the good elapsed time he had hoped for would not happen. Erbacher still quickest, one tenth of a second before Leanders. Two more tries available for those who needs it and team Kågered for one will change setup for next run.

Comments qualifications friday: Modest performance in the methanol funny car category as well this first run. Niclas Andersson experienced troubles with the staging lights and eventually did not record a time for his run. Erbacher in the 5´s, other than that nothing much to report about so far. Three sessions scheduled for saturday.

The Nitro Olympics - FIA Round #5
Hockenheim Ring, Germany August 20-22nd

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

ELIMINATIONS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER August 22nd
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

Comments Eliminations: Traction was definately the topic of the day at Hockenheim. Some teams managed better than others, but skill had less to do with it than usual, rather the talent of the crews to take off horsepowers and the drivers to pedal their cars real carefully. Micke Kågered, as the number one qualifier enjoyed got the benefit of a bye run in the quarter finals, wanted to evaluate the traction but overpowered and smoked the tires and shut off early. Lex Joon broke the engine during his run against Smax and did not have enough time before the semi-finals to get everything ready, as a result was a no show at the startingline in the semi final. Kågered got the information he was alone on the track. To go easy on parts he decided to do a half pass and the run looked good. Möller performance consistent in the quarter and semi finals, running in the 5.40 region, which must be considered good today. Carter performed well in the quarter finals, but got traction problems in the semi final. The all Swedish final between Micke Kågered and Tommy Möller was delayed one hour due to an oil down from the pair before in Micke´s lane. It was uncertain if he would choose to run, but th organisers got the track in a condition that we considered safe, however not in the state as it was before the oil down. Micke gave it his best try, but saw Tommy pass him half track when Micke´s car lost traction and he had to pedal it. So the win goes to Tommy Möller, whose team have performed consistent througout the event and evidently that payed off

.
 

QUALIFICATION RESULTS Top Fuel Dragster

Top Fuel Dragster E.T. sec/speed km/h	Session #1	Session #2	Session #3	Session #4
Mikael Kågered	8.11/258	cancelled	6.40/383	5.33/379
Smax Smith	10.80/180	10.19/141	5.68/360	did not run
Tommy Möller	did not run	5.96/355	11.86/135	5.50/415
Andy Carter	did not run	6.60/421	6.35/323	5.53/422
Jöran Persåker	broke	cancelled	7.15/302	11.06/145
Thomas Nathås	did not run	13.45/115	did not run	7.93/171
Alex Joon	13.18/141	6.43/247	9.41/124	5.72/301

Comments saturday: Performance and track conditions improved as the day went by and Micke Kågered was quickest in the top fuel field, slightly before Möller and Carter during the last session for the day. Micke was very happy when he got the information after the. Still struggling with a bad cold, he tries to rest as much as possible in between runs this weekend.

Comments friday: The track was not in top condition during this first qualifying day, some teams decided not to run during the first session. Micke Kågered was out there cruising the track against the throttle stop to get from start to finish. The second session was stopped when only Kågered and Persåker as the last pair remained. There had been an oil down in the pair before and organisers estimated it would take to after the evening deadline to clean the track. Accordingly and bad luck for Kågered and Persåker they did not get to run to improve performance more today. The session was however counted for the cars that had already run.
Hopefully the weather will stay clear and the traction improve during saturday.


ELIMINATIONS TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR august 22nd
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

Comments Eliminations: Traction was the key in methanol funny car as well. Niclas Andersson and Leif Andréasson both had traction problems and was out in the quarter finals and semi finals respectively. Erbacher and Leanders performed consistent enough to be in the final. Leanders had to sit and see Urs Erbacher disappear down the track as his own car failed and had an oil leakage all down the track. Our congratulations to Swiss team Erbacher to a another well deserved win this season.


QUALIFICATION RESULTS Top Methanol Funny Car

Top Methanol Funny Car E.T. sec/speed km/h	Session #1	Session #2	Session #3	Session #4
Niclas Andersson	11.09/126	did not run	6.25/373	13.22/101
Urs Erbacher	7.65/313	6.25/386	6.20/382	5.945/396
Leif Andréasson	10.63/153	6.12/388	6.05/389	5.944/395
Ulf Leanders	6.73/298	8.44/162	6.06/392	6.02/389
Jürgen Nagel	did not run	7.72/208	7.86/209	8.02/185

Comments saturday: Most of the teams improved performance during the last session and only thousands of a second parted Andréasson and Erbacher, where Andréasson was the quickest. Niclas had traction problems and noted a best of 6.25 sec.,which puts him in the number four position.

Comments friday: Traction problems for the funny cars as well, but during the second session Andréasson took the lead running 6.12 sec/388 km/h which is impressive under the circumstances. Niclas Andersson did only one run today. As we broke an engine bad in Norway, we are out of a complete spare engine and decided to skip one session. Not much to evaluate today, probably more to come from all teams saturdays as track conditions improve.

Drag Challenge - FIA Round #4
Gardermoen Raceway, Norway August 6-8th


Pictured: Team Kågered´s pit space at Gardermoen where our clutch man Thomas is preparing the top fueler thursday evening. In the background, the methanol funny car.

ELIMINATIONS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER August 8th
- elapsed time sec. (we are sorry we are unable to report the speeds)-

Comments final: It was to be Micke Kågered´s weekend and history repeated itself when he won the final over Jöran Persåker, just like one weeks ago at Mantorp. Micke Kågered comments; "The competition is so tough in top fuel and any of the teams has the potential to win, so two wins in a row is as real achievement. The whole crew have been working hard to solve the initial problems with the new car we have been struggling with before Mantorp and it feels great to be back in competition", Mikael Kågered concludes. 


Comments semi finals: Micke Kågered´s semi final showed up to be a bye run as Nathås broke the engine bad in the quarter finals beyond repair on site. Kågered took the decision to take it easy on parts and to save time for his time before the finals. Therefore he did only a 60-foot pass. The run between Persåker and Smith was a close race where Smith had the better elapsed time (although his blower belt came off at 300 meters), but Persåker had the better reaction time and won the race. So once again, like at Mantorp we will have an all Swedish final between Kågered and Persåker.

Comments quarter finals: Micke Kågered goes on to the semi finals after winning the quarter finals against Lex Joon. Nathås, running consistent and quick, beat Carter who spread some oil over his lane (we do not know what problems they had). Smax Smith used his bye run to cruise down the track to save time and parts for the next run. So.. Kågered faces Nathås in the semis, while Persåker, who has the lane choice, takes on Smax Smith.


FINAL QUALIFICATION RESULTS Top Fuel Dragster

Top Fuel Dragster E.T. sec/speed km/h	Session #1 (cancelled)	Session #2	Session #3
Mikael Kågered	timing error	4.955/449	broke
Smax Smith	timing error	4.88/473	did not run
Tommy Möller	5.25/?	5.44/312	lost fire
Andy Carter	cancelled	6.93/194	?
Jöran Persåker	cancelled	5.35/287	9.91/308
Thomas Nathås	timing error	5.04/456	4.952/489
Alex Joon	timing error	5.54/316	lost fire

Comments session #3: Micke Kågered could not get the reverse gear in after the burnout and by that ended as 3rd quickest after Smax Smith and Thomas Nathås. Kågered is to meet number 6 qualifier Lex Joon in the quarter finals, Smith gets a bye-run since seven cars are qualified in an 8-car ladder and Smith is the number one qualifier.   

Comments session #2: The timing system worked fine this time as did most f the top fuelers. Micke Kågered second quickest after Smax Smith and continuing to run in the 4-second range. Möller had it going when the blower belt snapped 300 meters out. Once again a tight field.

Comments session #1: This first session was a real disaster as the timing system repeatedly failed and the times of the runs were not recorded. Due to that, the organisers decided to not to let the last pair (Persåker & Carter) run and also that this session is to be cancelled completely. A very unusual situation and our hopes are high that the problems will be solved in time for saturday´s qualifications.



Niclas first run of the weekend resulted in a broken engine.

ELIMINATIONS TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR August 1st
- elapsed time sec. (we are sorry we are unable to report the speeds)-

Comments semi finals: Andersson took a chance in the semi finals against Erbacher. Andersson´s engine was broken in the quarter finals and he knew he could not run quick, but wanted to be there in case something happened to Urs car or if Urs red-lighted. Erbacher however took the win and meets Ulf Leanders in the final.

Comments quarter finals: We are sorry we don´t have the speeds to report (the score board is hard to read). Anyway, Niclas won his quarter final against Dan Larsen who seems to struggling with problems all weekend. Erbacher outran Andréasson and is Niclas next opponent. Our guess is that performance will have to be in the 5,70-5,80´s sto stand a chance against Erbacher. Leanders has a bye run in the semi final and meets the winner Erbacher/Andersson in the final.


QUALIFICATION RESULTS Top Methanol funny car
(We are unable to present the speeds for some runs as they were not shown on the score boards)

Top Methanol Funny Car E.T. sec/speed km/h	Session #1	Session #2	Session #3	Session #4
Niclas Andersson	timing error	did not run	5.806/395	did not run
Urs Erbacher	timing error	5.91/?	5.807/402	5.83/402
Leif Andréasson	did not run	10.27/?	12.47/?	5.89/380
Ulf Leanders	10.51/?	5.89/?	5.806/396	5.76/402
Dan Larsen	6.05/?	6.11/?	19.6/72	lost fire
Arvid Grodem	did not run	did not run	7.03/260	6.06/379

Comments session #4: Niclas not out on the track during this session as we gathered chances to improve were not so good and wanted to save the spare engine we had to put in after the first run friday. Leanders still quickest and running a great 5.76 sec run! Continued struggle for Dan Larsen, Andréasson finally got a proper run and Grödem improved some as well. Niclas Andersson still second quickest in the field and is up against Dan Larsen in the quarter finals.

Comments session #3: Wow, what a close battle between Andersson, Leanders and Erbacher! Leanders takes the lead as he had a one kilometer higher speed that Niclas! Erbacher currently third, Larsen fourth, Grödem fifth and Anréasson currently sixth.

Comments session #2: Team Kågered skipped this session as an engine change had to be performed after the first session. The spare engine in place (friday night) and we plan to have Niclas out on the track during the first session saturday. As for Leanders, who won at Mantorp last weekend, he is the leader of the pack at the moment (closely followed by Erbacher). Grödem have been waiting for spare parts from the US, which have now arrived, so we trust he will be out on the track saturday. Andréasson and Larsen still struggling a bit, but as we know their potential we are sure there is more to come from both the teams.

Comments session #1: Only four cars on the track this session. A timing system error meant Erbacher and Andersson did not get a time for their first run of the weekend and it can not be counted. Erbacher´s run looked like it was in the 5,90 range, so a real pity for him. Andersson broke the engine right after the start and is in for an engine change once again to secure a spot in the elimination ladder.

Veidec Nitro Festival - FIA Round #3
Mantorp Park, Sweden July 30th- August 1st

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

For more comments from the eliminations run by run from the event, please visit www.dragracing.se!


ELIMINATIONS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER August 1st
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

ENTRY LIST & QUALIFICATION RESULTS Top Fuel Dragster

Top Fuel Dragster E.T. sec/speed km/h	Session #1	Session #2	Session #3
Mikael Kågered	7.45/175	5.18/344	9.38/151
Smax Smith	5.23/440	5.17/428	did not run
Tommy Möller	5.16/421	5.54/290	6.52/209
Andy Carter	6.24/223	4.76/497	did not run
Jöran Persåker	5.28/251	5.09/410	did not run
Thomas Nataas	5.82/251	5.18/340	did not run
Alex Joon	5.25/360	7.81/116	5.15/385
Monica Öberg	7.82/165	did not run	5.10/398

Comments session #1: Most teams in the 5.20´s which is very good for a first run of the weekend. The blower belt came off Micke´s car half track and that puts him way back in the field for now. Two more sessions scheduled saturday.

Comments session #2: Best run so far this season with the new car for Micke Kågered. Carter well ahead of the rest of the field running a stunning 4.76 sec/497 km/h! All in all a close field and not many failures. Still one more session to go this evening.

Comments session #3: During this last run Micke Kågered´s car overpowered the track and smoked the tires. Improvements for Öberg and Joon, not all teams out on the track.
 

ELIMINATIONS TOP METHANOL FUNNY CAR August 1st
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

ENTRY LIST & QUALIFICATION RESULTS Top Methanol funny car

Top Methanol Funny Car E.T. sec/speed km/h	Session #1	Session #2	Session #3	Session #4
Niclas Andersson	5.95/387	5.90/391	38.38/136	5.89/392
Urs Erbacher	5.83/401	5.87/399	5.87/398	5.89/382
Leif Andréasson	broke	6.00/395	6.09/345	5.99/390
Ulf Leanders	5.86/393	did not run	11.89/112	5.89/382
Dan Larsen	7.49/201	6.19/378	6.66/?	5.90/395
Arvid Grodem	did not run	6.13/381	14.42/82	did not run
Jörgen Johnsson	6.84/327	6.02/388	7.64/193	did not run

Comments session #1: Once again a very quick and close methanol field at Mantorp. This time Erbacher back in good forma and quickest in the field with Leanders and Niclas close behind. Niclas two runs pretty much according to plan and with two more sessions scheduled saturday, we hope to improve some.

Comments session #2: Problems for Niclas when the blower belt snapped and ruined his run. Erbacher still quickest in the field.

Comments session #3: Niclas improved to the 3rd quickest position during this last session. Erbacher still in the lead followed by Ulf Leanders. Niclas is up against Jörgen Johnsson in the quarter finals.

The Nitro Nationals - FIA Round #2
Alastaro Raceway, Finland July 2-4th

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

Photo: Micke Kågered (left) discussing with mechanics Kjell, Thomas and Pärra before a run.

ELIMINATIONS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER JULY 4th
- elapsed time sec. and speed km/h -

Comments quarter finals: As one day of qualifying were lost due to rain, it was more exciting than usual to see who got the best setup for today´s track conditions. With 7 cars on site, Persåker being the number qualifier had the advantage of a bye-run in the quarter finals. He used it to coast through to save time in between runs. Micke Kågered used all his drivers skill to try and outrun Smax Smith, but the tires spun and the setup of the car did not work with him. It was Smax who was first over the finish line. So Micke out of competition earlier than we would have hoped for. The run between Möller and Nathås were the weirdest of them all. Möller ahead from the starting line when his blower belt came off half track and he looked very close to the centerline. Nathås probably thinking the same, shut off to avoid the risk of an incident and both of them were just coasting the last part of the track in 150 km/h. It was Möller who crossed the finish line first and moves on to the semi final where he will face Andy Carter. Carter, although running in the high 4´s were not completely at ease with the track condition. So the two remaining Knut Söderqvist cars are up against each other in the semi´s. Who will it be in the final, 2003 chmapion Smax Smith or top fuel rookie Jöran Persåker and will Carter let Möller reapeat his win from the season opening event?

Comments semi finals: It was to be Persåker and Carter who presented the best performance in the semi-finals meaning Möller lost the chance of winning the second event in a row.

Comments final: This finals was decided already on the starting line when Persåker got too eager and red-lighted. Automatically the win goes to Andy Carter, who did prove himself well running a 5.01/466 km to complete the event! Micke Kågered was of course disappointed about loosing the quarter finals. "We would really have needed saturday´s qualification runs too", he said and continues "at the moment we are struggling with more than one component in the setup and more runs is the only way we can learn and adjust. New car and new setup, so we just have to keep on trying when we come to Mantorp three weeks from now and hope we get it together better then".

QUALIFICATION RESULTS Top Fuel Dragster

Top Fuel Dragster E.T. sec/speed km/h	Session #1	Session #2	Session #3	Session #4
Mikael Kågered	6.25/256	6.31/250	cancelled	cancelled
Smax Smith	did not run	6.33/220	cancelled	cancelled
Tommy Möller	5.61/328	did not run	cancelled	cancelled