Drag Racing Online: The Magazine

Volume VIII, Issue 6, Page 29

Words Ivan Sansom Pics Rose Hughes and Ivan Sansom (unless otherwise stated)
Timing Data courtesy TSI Timers Europe
6/8/06

he Main Event at the end of May is the opener for the European odyssey that is the FIA/UEM series, with the 2006 edition featuring a bumper 300+ entry for the European and supporting Sportsman classes (these might sound like small beer to Stateside and Antipodean readers, but this is a big deal for the UK drag racing scene). Mercifully, the miserable wet weather that had dominated the British skies for two weeks prior to the meeting managed to improve from perpetual torrential rain to sunshine and showers, with the loss of only one Pro qualifying session and interruptions to the flow of eliminations. Although fields were slightly depleted in Methanol Funny Car and Pro Stock, the addition of Pro Mod to full FIA status pulled in a bumper field (see separate Inside Pro Mod Feature), and, with 10 Top Fuel Dragsters also in attendance, racing over the four day straightline festival was fast and furious and not without the odd surprise and incident.

The Bahco Express of Micke Kagered had a seriously ugly weekend, with three explosions on three passes leaving the team scratching their heads over the cause. Two boomers in qualifying restricted Kagered to a 5.26 best in the first session and a startline photo opportunity at the startline in the second. Luckily, the Swede was able to hold his place in the field, and also defeat fellow countryman Hakan Nilsson in the first round of eliminations, but another long fireball in the lights prevented a complete turnaround in time for the semifinals leaving a bandaged and slightly singed Kagered disappointed. The crew really need to find the source of these ignition problems soon.
At the start of the weekend you would have got pretty long odds over the identity of the two TF finalists. Event winner Hakan Fallstrom had managed to secure his license back at Easter having stepped out of his Fairlane Pro Mod and into the second team car of Lorentzen & Moller, and a sixth best effort in qualifying (a 5.20 when the top four were all in the four second bracket) didn't really offer much hint of an upset. However, a first round 5.01 was enough to cover Lex Joon and Micke Kagered's fire handed Fallstrom a single into the final round of eliminations for the ex-Pro Mod driver. A consistent 5.02/282 coupled with a slight leave on Smax Smith handed the Swede his first win on his first start in Top Fuel and an early season points lead leaving some of the big hitters with big work to do in forthcoming rounds.