FIA/UEM European Championships, Euro Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, England

Words and pictures Ivan Sansom & Rose Hughes
Thanks to TSI Timers (Europe) for access to the timing data

Last season we prefaced the Euro Finals report with a dictionary definition for depression, this year’s event was quite simply spectacular. With a high pressure system settling in over the UK for the whole weekend and bringing in cool air, the assembled ranks of the best in European drag racing lapped up the conditions, launched a major assault on the record books, and delivered a meet that had pretty much everyone scratching their heads whilst trying to recall a better meeting in the recent and distant past. Enough of the preamble, let’s get on with the main report.

FIA Top Fuel Dragster

The Top Fuel Dragster eliminator was one of major upsets and huge talking points. At the end of the weekend, the Santa Pod crowd were celebrating a local winner. However, this wasn’t the pre-race favourite Andy Carter, but Jon Webster whose Webster Race Engineering shop is within earshot of the Santa Pod strip. Working with the McDonald Brothers and their rent-a-ride from Rune Fjeld, the team stripped their chassis down to the bare bones and replaced the data acquisition system in search of the gremlins that had blighted this car from the start of the season with Webster or Jari Halinen behind the tiller. Tentative early qualifiers led to a new PB for Webster with a strong 4.825/293 to put him third on the ladder; a tad early lift as the car got close to the wall preventing a first 300mph ticket. Saturday night wasn’t one where the team could rest on their laurels after a spun main bearing led to a past 4 am finish to get a repaired block back together. A first round pedal against RFM team mate Risto Poutiainen clicked the winlight on, but at the expense of more engine damage. A collective thrash got the motor back together again and the semi-finals came and went with a 4.902/294 pass accounting for Micke Kagered, putting Webster into the final against Joran Persaker (Persaker having an interest in both finalists as his Speed Shop was on board Webster’s ride as a sponsor). The final would deliver a first FIA event win for whoever got to the finish line first, with Webster coasting from halftrack onwards after a bottom blower pulley sheared but Persaker was ultimately unsuccessful in trying to regain traction after smoking the slicks hard off the line. “I could hear Persaker coming but just held on, after all the excitement and work over this weekend this is just fantastic”.