FIA Top Methanol Dragster
The Bavarian Thunder entry of Peter Schofer clocked numbers (5.564) just shy of Timo Habermann’s 5.549 low qualifying effort, but got ahead of his fellow countryman when it mattered most in the final round of eliminations with a 5.543/257.95 to overcome Habermann’s slight holeshot and set low ET and high speed for the class in the process.
After over half a decade of British dominance in the form of Dave Wilson, the presence of Germany’s Timo Habermann and Peter Schofer at the head of qualifying sheets and in the class final is a reflection of early season form in the Methanol Dragster class. However, Wilson looks to be close to getting a handle on his new A/Fuel setup so we could be in for a titanic struggle in the class at the end of the season.
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car
Bouncy around at Alastaro in a Methanol Funny Car can be a frustrating experience, but not this year for the Leanders Brothers this season. Their new clutch was working well in qualifying to send Ulf into eliminations on top spot with a 5.736 and they stayed in the 5.7s in the first two rounds of elimination before dropping a 5.694/249.24 on Jarmo Kuutniemi to lower the class track record and take the event win.
The usually immaculate BoXter Avenger of Dan Larsen was looking a bit the worse for wear after a blower explosion resulted in an excursion into the open countryside to the right of the shutdown area during qualifying. The damage to the bodywork was extensive and the Danish team had a very late night and lot of help from the rest of the TMFC teams to get them out for eliminations where the battered car made it to the semifinals.