FIA Pro Modified
| The gorgeous Blown Nugget of Rolf Ammann has always been one of the wildest handling cars in the Euro Pro Mod ranks, and was looking to improve on his close to PB 6.619/214 15th qualifying effort in the final session when shake put him close to the wall on the left hand lane and the lack of grip spearing him into the right hand lane, hitting the right wall with sufficient impact to lift the car off the ground but miraculously not rolling on the way over and only just missing the back of Ian Bishop’s Dodge. The '38 Chevy was pretty badly beaten up and the Swiss team are likely to take some time out to regroup. |
Twice Pro Modified points champion (and never out of the top two when he runs the full series) the reemergence of Patrick Wikstrom and the OFAB Thriller will have given the front runners cause to glance nervously over their shoulder this season. Although the Swedish team aren’t on the ferocious pace at the sharp end of the field, a bit of race craft and luck enabled Wikstrom to take the Euro Finals trophy despite billowing smoke through the lights with a 6.386/222 over a similarly ailing Micke Gullquist.
Although the King Kong Chevyhemi of Micke Gullquist started smoking heavily at 1000 feet in the final round of eliminations, it didn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things as the Swede had already dropped his PB down to a 6.156 in the first round of eliminations (and briefly holding a new European record in the process, backed up by a 6.164 in qualifying third). When pre-race points leader Andy Robinson wasn’t able to disengage the clutch in the semifinal burnout, Gullquist took his place in the final round and the points title (his first since 2000) by less than a round of racing.
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The Lindahl Brothers had been threatening something spectacular with their Tim McAmis Camaro since running a 4.01 over the eighth in Sweden a couple of months previously. When Mikael stopped the clocks in 6.110/223 alongside Robinson’s PB 6.161/228 in the final qualifying pair Santa Pod erupted into applause (Lindahl’s number being achieved off the back of the first sub four second halftrack timeslip with a 3.980). Lindahl backed up the 6.11 for a new Euro record with a 6.121/222 in the quarterfinals (and 3.990 at halftrack) after a first round 6.193/220 but severe tireshake slowed him considerably in the semifinals allowing Wikstrom through to the trophy runoff.
A couple of sad moments in the fury of Pro Modified competition as European drag racing wished a healthy retirement to Gordon Appleton, so long a standout in British drag racing doorslammer action with the Wheelgame series of cars. Gordon qualified for his final European event with a 6.447 but lost to Mats Eriksson in the first round of eliminations. Gordon explained the “We Love Sabra” stickers that had appeared on a number of race vehicles over the weekend as a thank you to his daughter who had been asking for years why her name never appeared on Dad’s car. Gordon is a class act that will be missed in competition next season.