rom a mainland European perspective, the trip to Alastaro is the furthest outpost of the FIA/UEM tour, and represents something of a logistical nightmare for what are largely comparatively low budget teams. These problems are not so much in terms of money (although travel funds greatly ease the financial impact for the non-national racers, it is still pretty pricey to get race vehicles and crew there), but travel time is the killer as most of the European teams are far from full-time racers and it’s a long way to Alastaro from Italy or the UK. Having said that, the Alastaro venue, part of a purpose built motorsports park, is one of the gems of the European tour, great layout, great facilities and a great welcome.

In previous seasons, the Alastaro strip has been plagued by a series of interesting traction problems, including windblown sand and pollen, and the local environmental restrictions on using grease sweep. This year many of the teams were initially caught out by just how good a surface the FHRA crew had prepared for them, and, had the meeting been blessed with a bit more luck in avoiding oildowns and the rain that has plagued the European season so far, a true classic would have entered into the record books. In the event, just a single round of eliminations was completed after a late start on Sunday and the arrival of a heavy shower drenched the racing surface before the curfew was reached.

The loss of the Main Event and the bulk of the Nitro Nationals means that the fields in all categories are still wide open with Mantorp Park, Sweden, Gardermoen, Norway (bikes only) and Santa Pod, England, left to decide the 2007 champions. Here’s hoping that the rain clouds will stay away and give us the racing that we’ve only seen the briefest glimpses of so far.