Having purchased Tony Rizzo's Cavalier during the off season and familiarized himself with his new mount, Eero Knihtila made his first appearance at Santa Pod for a fair few seasons. Setting the car up for European conditions took all of the qualifying sessions, leaving the Finn at sixth in the short field, but a first round victory over a red-lighting and low qualifying Magnus Hansson gave a bye into the final round where a surprising 7.032 was enough to drive around reigning champ Jimmy Alund. |
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Although seven cars were entered, only six made it to the finish line under power. Michael Malmgren's new sponsorship deal with the car care division of chemical giant Lahega didn't get off to an auspicious start after a severe shake drifted the car towards the centreline and then a violent hook into (and almost over) the wall at 400 feet. The car will require a bit more than a wax and polish, but the team are optimistic about getting to the next round in Finland.