Photos: Erbacher, Arnover, Ålund and Lagg Claim NitrOlympx Victories
Around 45,000 fans over the weekend of August 23-25 witnessed a hot and action-packed 37th annual NitrOlympX at Hockenheim. More than 230 teams participating in 19 categories gathered to duke it out for the event win in the fourth of five FIA Championship rounds.
After a hot Friday and an even hotter Saturday, which made for challenging track and air conditions for all teams, Jndia Erbacher qualified No. 1 in her Top Fuel dragster with a best of 4.17 at 256 MPH. Behind her were Susanne Callin with a 4.778 at 158, and Linn Fløysvik, who had just received her license at the prior event in Tierp. Current points leader Duncan Micallef smoked the tires during all attempts and ended up in the fourth qualifying position, with Dennis Nilsson rounding out the five-car field.
Top Methanol Funny Car pilot Sandro Bellio recorded his quickest run, a 5.580 at 236, on Friday and remained at the top of the field through Saturday, although he had to park his car due to severe engine damage that occurred during the second qualifying round. Jonny Lagg wasn’t able to improve his E.T. recorded on Friday either, but remained in the No. 2 position. German Silvio Strauch, who didn’t make the field on Friday, was able to improve to a 5.565 at 251 to claim the third position. Tony Bryntesson in the dragster was fourth, and Funny Car pilot Jürgen Nagel was in the fifth position.
In FIA Pro Mod, Estonian Andres Arnover in his turbocharged Mustang posted a great 5.96 at 249 on the scoreboards to qualify in the top spot. Closely behind him was Roger Johansson in his nitrous Mustang with a 5.98 at 244. Stian Rusånes, who led the field on Friday, wasn’t able to improve and ended up in the No. 3 spot with his 6.002 at 228 run. Michel Tooren and points leader David Vegter were in fourth and fifth positions of the 15 cars entered. No. 6 qualifier Jean Dulamon suffered a severe accident during his fourth qualifying round. The Frenchman got out of shape around half-track, hit the wall, and spun once, landing back on its wheels. Dulamon was able to exit the car under his own power and was transported to the local hospital for further in-depth checkups. The next day he was spotted in the pits, sore but without any major injuries.
Also, in Pro Stock, the quickest runs were recorded on Friday, and none of the teams could improve significantly during Q3 and Q4. Jimmy Ålund raced to yet another No. 1 qualifying position with his 6.61 at 208 run. Michael Malmgren sat in second with his 6.656 at 208, followed by Robin Norén with a best of 6.698 at 205. Simon Ekengren’s 6.752 at 204 run earned him the fourth position, while Lasse Britsmar ended up fifth and Stefan Ernryd sixth.
The eagerly awaited Nightshow held on Saturday evening proved to be as entertaining as ever, as all Top Fuel dragsters made show runs under the colorful lights of the “Rico Anthes Quarter Mile.” A pleasant surprise was the participation of Ida Zetterström, who found the time after her recent NHRA debut at Brainerd and the upcoming U.S. Nationals and made a quick stop to show some love for her European fans. Other highlights were the bike stunt show, a fire-spitting jet bike, and various other jet-powered vehicles that made it down the track in front of the sold-out grandstands. Just after the last car made it down the track, the heavens opened and sent some cooling showers down, which led to much cooler conditions on Sunday.
Race day provided much faster times across the board, as well as some exciting upset round wins. Recent race winner Susanne Callin was up against Dennis Nilsson in the first round but smoked the tires, and Nilsson was able to drive around her, earning an upset win. Duncan Micallef met Top Fuel newbie Linn Fløysvik in the first round, but the team was forced to shut off her engine after the burnout, so Micallef got the win on a solo run and went straight to the semifinals, where he had to face Jndia Erbacher, who had a bye run in the first round of eliminations. Erbacher ran a 4.00 at 310 over a tire-smoking Micallef, 4.419 at 196, to advance to the finals. On the other side of the ladder, Nilsson had a bye run into the finals, but he wasn’t able to make the call due to ignition problems that hindered the team from starting his engine. This also meant Erbacher had a solo run in the finals. Instead of just breaking the beams for an easy win, she ran another good 4.084 at 295 to claim the NitrOlympx win.
Top Methanol points leader Jonny Lagg won over Jürgen Nagel in the first round with his 5.39 at 267 run to beat Nagel’s 6.651 at 157. Tony Bryntesson defeated Silvio Strauch with a 5.353 at 265 to Strauch’s slower 5.51. Lagg and Bryntesson each had a bye run into the finals, where they would meet each other. Lagg ran 5.38 at 254 to beat teammate Bryntesson’s 5.627 at 257 for the event win and an extension of his points lead.
In Pro Modified, No. 1 qualifier Andres Arnover beat Walle Strobel in the first round and had a bye run in the second round to advance directly into the semifinals against Michel Tooren. He went on to beat Tooren with a 6.540 at 233 against Tooren’s 7.379 at 200. On the other side of the ladder, it was Bruno Bader who outran Peter Kunc in the first round and went on to beat Roger Johansson in the second round. He met Stian Rusånes in the semifinals and defeated him in a close race, 5.980 at 237 to a 6.059 at 231. In the finals, Arnover was off the line first and never looked back. Another strong 5.957 at 237 earned him the win against Bader, who had to step off the throttle.
No. 1 qualifier Jimmy Ålund continued his dominance in the Pro Stock class by defeating Stefan Ernryd in the second round with a 6.604 at 208 to Ernryd’s 7.022 at 203. He then had a bye run into the finals, where he posted another 6-second run to the boards. On the other side of the ladder, No. 3 qualifier Robin Norén beat Simon Ekengren and Michael Malmgren. Malmgren ran a 6.665 at 199, but Norén was just a tick quicker with his 6.636 at 208 and advanced into the finals. Norén was off the line first, but Ålund drove around him, beating him with a 6.582 at 210 against Norén’s 6.699 at 206.
Winners in the other categories were:
FIM Top Fuel Bike: Mark Smith 11.959 at 70 mph def. Rikard Gustafsson no time
FIM Supertwin: Marcus Christiansen 6.321 at 223 mph def. Chris van Nimmen 15.430 at 48 mph
FIM Europe Super Street Bike: Jake Mechaell 6.894 at 2076 mph def. Kristian Jasz 6.902 at 204 mph
FIM Europe Pro Stock Bike: Jorg Lymant 7.182 at 183 mph def. Dimitros Petridis 7.439 at 156 mph
FIM Europe Junior Drag Bike: Richard Willcox (9.70) 9.854 at 63 mph def. Hollie King (8.36) 8.327 at 81mph breakout
Super Pro ET: Robert Gassner (8.42) 8.417 at 160 mph lesser breakout def. Franz Aschenbrenner (8.15) 8.132 at 154 mph breakout
Pro ET: Andreas Glanzmann (10.95) 11.565 at 98 mph def. Karl Geiger (9.07) no time DQ
Super Comp: Gerd Habermann 8.954 at 122 mph def. Oliver Krautberger 9.141 at 154 mph
Super Gas: Oscar Scappocin 9.935 at 128 mph def. Philipp Daud 9.872 at 137 mph breakout
Pro Comp Doorslammer: Thomas Ranft 7.492 at 183 mph def. Markus Welte 7.303 at 187 mph
Junior Dragster: Luke Mugridge (8.00) 7.955 at 80 mph def. Sam Timmers (9.15) 9.159 at 72 mph DQ red light
Funny Bike/Super Twin Gas: Markus Laur 6.967 at 206 mph def. Maarten Zijlstra 11.354 at 72 mph
Super Comp Bike: Carl Thomas 8.530 at 165 mph def. Travis Merite 8.385 at 151 mph breakout
ET Bike: Lorens Bochnig (9.04) 9.169 at 148 mph def. Stefan Graff (9.75) 9.839 at 134 mph DQ red light
DMV Junior Drag Bike: Hugo Leistner (8.58) 8.614 at 72 mph 2 def. Leif-Erik Braune (7.90) 8.016 at 86 mph.
The final round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship will be held at Santa Pod Raceway in England from Thursday, September 5th to Sunday, September 8th.
This story was originally published on September 4, 2024.
The post Photos: Erbacher, Arnover, Ålund and Lagg Claim NitrOlympx Victories first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
