NitrOlympX Filled with Shocks and Surprises at Hockenheimring
Words & photos by Ivan Sansom & Rose Hughes / www.dragracingeurope.eu
With some nervous glances at the sky, eliminations day at the NitrOlympX ran through all of the fields with some shocks, some surprises and some championships pretty much decided.
ELIMINATIONS
FIM-E Top Fuel Motorcycle
When low qualifier and championship leader Rikard Gustafsson was a no show for eliminations, thanks to clutch damage in the Night Show, eliminations was opened wide up and the FIM-E Top Fuel Bike points title wasn’t decided as early as anticipated.
Gustafsson’s opponent was due to be Mike Olie, but he was also unable to make the call after damage sustained on Friday. So then there were six. It seemed that Rene van den Berg might move in with a good shot at the event win when the Dutch Shark Attack rider opened his eliminations account with a 6.054 (new PB) to defeat Mikko Rajaniemi.
In the semi-finals van den Berg slowed to a 6.315 but just was able to ride around Stuart Crane’s better leaving 6.364 while on the slightly vacant top half of the ladder was handed a freebie in the opening round when Mark Smith was too eager by some margin and Richard was also able to stage for the solo into the final. There was quite a bit at stake in the trophy match-up, not only the fate of the NitrOlympX event win, but also to keep van den Berg’s faint championship hopes alive. It was a pretty sharp final, with Richard slapping a tenth of a second holeshot at the startline and the yellow Hayabusa FunnyBike held on with a 6.611 to van den Berg’s 6.522 (the latter seeing a rod deciding to make a bid for sunlight). Richard thus took his first FIM-E event win and in doing so pretty much sealed the deal for Gustafsson’s fourth championship with the Euro Finals at Santa Pod to come.
FIM-E Super Twin Motorcycle
FIM-E Super Twin saw some very tight match-ups across the ladder (aside from anyone facing that orange bike from Denmark).
With a degree of inevitability, Marcus Christiansen seemed to ease ahead of the field with a 6.373 accounting for Vesa Lipponen in the quarters and then dropping a low ET/top speed of the event 6.283/221.85 in the semis after scheduled opponent Juha Hintukainen lost fire after the burnout. The event win came with a 6.590/214 over Finnish opponent and first time FIM-E finalist Marko Lantto who put up a game 6.913 in his runner-up effort.
Christiansen thus celebrated the NitrOlympX event win, the 2023 points championship and his birthday all in one go.
FIM-E Super Street Bike
So often the FIM-E class of the NitrOlympX, Super Street Bike really hit it’s straps on eliminations day with a slew of PBs adding to those coming out of qualifying, but at the end of the day it was the incoming top two in the points that emerged as the finalists from the four rounds of eliminations.
From the top half of the ladder Daniel Donat Lencses opened his account with a 6.767 in first round of eliminations but dropped off a bit in the quarters and semi-finals into the 6.9s but booked his spot in the final pairing after defeating low qualifier Jake Mechaell in the penultimate round. Lower half of the ladder had Alan Morrison Jnr make his way through the field improving at each stage with a 6.944, 6.830 and a 6.758 in the semis to defeat Mathias Bohlin. The final and Morrison Jnr really was on his metal, taking a tenth advantage off the start line and then disappearing off with a new PB 6.711 @ 218.69 to take low ET honours, the event win and maintain his points lead at the same time.
FIM-E Pro Stock Motorcycle
A first time winner in FIM-E Pro Stock Bike gave something for the German crowd to cheer as Joerg Lymant rumbled his way to the winner’s circle on board one of his S&S Buells.
And the 7.283 in the final round to handily Bertrand Maurice’s Suzuki lowered his PB as well as setting low ET of eliminations. Maurice also had something to celebrate as we think he has provisionally locked up the championship by going rounds at the Hockenheimring.
FIM-E Junior Drag Bike Cup
The FIM-E Junior Drag Bike Cup has a habit of ripping up the form book from qualifying and this year’s NitrOlympX proved to be no exception as Geeuwke Siersema takes home the event win back to the Netherlands having eased through the field from the number eight spot.
QUALIFYING
Somethings change, some stay the same at the second and final day of FIM-E qualifying at the NitrOlympX. Two full sessions under cooler conditions than yesterday and some improvements in a number of the classes, but some weren’t without their problems.
FIM-E Top Fuel Motorcycle
FIM-E Top Fuel Bike had Rikard Gustafsson nudge ever closer to this year’s championship picking up the little points in both sessions today with an early afternoon best of 5.922 that came with a plume of death smoke out of the headers over the finishline.
Fortunately, a nipped piston was the most significant issue, but an engine change was completed in short order for the fourth session where a 6.1 check out was in order. Concerned looks appeared again after the Night Show so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Second spot on the ladder is held by Mikko Rajaniemi with the 6.3 from yesterday, but the Finnish Sirpa team are currently working hard on repairing drive train damage suffered on the launch in the third session today. Stuart Crane carries over his 6.562 from yesterday, Eric Richard ran a very nice 6.577 from his funny, Mark Smith is in fifth with a 6.6 also from yesterday, Thomas Pettersson improved to a 6.895 and Rene van den Berg keeps a 6.9 also from yesterday. Mike Olie is a doubt for eliminations as the team are searching for an oil pump to replace the one damaged yesterday.
FIM-E Super Twin Motorcycle
Marcus Christiansen skipped the final FIM-E Super Twin session having earlier solidified his lead with a 6.347/221.77 (‘Just taking it easy and saving it for tomorrow’), so no worries there.
The Dutch de Haas Brothers were a lot happier than earlier in the year with a pair of consistent sixes including a 6.741 despite dropping a cylinder someway before the finish line to put Martijn second on the ladder ahead of Marko Lantto who also improved with a 6.750. Samu Kemppainen (7.029), Juha Hintukainen (7.143), Roman Sixta (7.499), Christian Jager (7.693) and Vesa Lipponen (7.989) complete the field with the Belgium duo of Chris van Nimmen and Marc van den Boer outside as alternates.
FIM-E Super Street Bike
Pack shuffling was certainly the order of the day in FIM-E Super Street Bike as the cooler track conditions helped the teams to dial into the Rico Anthes Quartermile, starting in the first (third) session today.
The top four in qualifying from yesterday featured the same names, but Jake Mechaell leapt to the top with a 6.793/216.41, while Mathias Bohlin (6.821/214), Alan Morrison Jnr (6.838/212) and Daniel Donat Lencses (6.884/217) all tried to get past Mechaell in the final session to no avail. All of the remaining fifteen bike field are in the sevens so tomorrow’s eliminations should be competitive.
FIM-E Pro Stock Motorcycle
The FIM-E Pro Stock Bike field ended up with Martin Newbury still on top with yesterday’s 7.2, but the rest of the top half of the field bunched up with Bertrand Maurice carding a 7.319 (at the expense of an engine), Pavlos Sidiropoulos (PBing with a 7.386) and Charalampos Bousinis (7.490) completing the top four.
FIM-E Junior Drag Bike Cup
After yesterday’s tight qualifying in FIM-E Junior Drag Bike Cup, today continued in the same vein with the top six now better than a tenth off their dial-ins. Brad Morrison holds onto top spot with his 0.032s on a 15.40 dial-in over the eighth.
Learn more about the European Speedgroup at www.dragracingeurope.eu
FIM-E Preview:
Fields Chase Points and Records at the NitrOlympX this Weekend
This weekend sees the Rico Anthes Quartermile at the Hockenheimring burst into life from its year-long slumber as the German venue hosted the FIM-E tour as part of the NitrOlympX. Often a favourite of the European season with bumper crowds and diverse enteries from across the continent, this year’s edition will significantly influence the championship destinations after rainouts at the previous two events in Sweden.
FIM-E Top Fuel Bike
After Neil Midgley’s crash a couple of weeks ago at Tierp Arena, the 2023 title appears to be in Rikard Gustafsson’s hands bearing mathematical improbabilities. With a healthy lead over the rest of the field, the battle appears now to be focused on the remaining event honors and overtaking Midgley for the second spot.
With eight teams on the entry list for the NitrOlympX, including the returning funnybikes of Stuart Crane, Mark Smith, Eric Richard and Mike Olie, tour stalwarts Rene van den Berg and Thomas Pettersson and what we think will be a final FIM-E event of the year for Finn Mikko Rajaniemi, the field will be all run in eliminations but don’t be too surprised if some personal bests fall by the wayside if conditions permit.
FIM-E Super Twin Bike
A healthy ten teams on the entry for the event will mean tight and potentially quick qualifying. The field will also be looking to take out runaway points leader and oh-so-consistent Dane Marcus Christiansen and the Torxster.de injected bike although the odds heavily favour Speedy’s Racing team securing their fourth FIM-E title in a row during the event.
The rest of the field is very stout, including Finns Vesa Lipponen (first into the fives on a twin), Samu Kemppainen, Marko Lantto and Juha Hintukainen (resident in Sweden but regularly competing on both sides of the Atlantic), Czech favourite Roman Sixta, the Belgium duo of Chris van Nimmen and Marc van den Boer, a resurgent Martijn de Haas from the Netherlands and not forgetting Germany’s own Christian Jäger at one of his all too infrequent appearances on the European scene.
FIM-E Super Street Bike
If the championships in Top Fuel and Super Twin appear to be a done deal, Super Street Bike certainly isn’t, bringing the NitrOlympX into sharp focus. At the head of the bunch, Alan Morrison Jnr is just about an eliminations round ahead of 2022 champion Dániel Donát Lencsés who is similarly ahead of Mathias Bohlin, with Mogens Lund and Ross Morrison ready to make moves behind the top trio.
Clemens Walleit and Ricardo Grauer will be giving the home crowd something to cheer on, while Peter Ostlund, Mark Hope, Margot Schmidt, Krisztián Jász, Erich Gruber, Stephen Mead and Aggelos Semertzidis add to the multinational flavour of the meeting and will be looking for event honours and PBs. A spoiler for both event honours and making a mess of the hopes of the championship contenders could be Jake Mechaell, fresh off a seriously quick PB last weekend at Santa Pod.
FIM-E Pro Stock Bike
A season-high nine entries in Pro Stock which is very much a haulmark of the central European location of the event. Championship-wise it looks as if it is in Bertrand Maurice’s hands, baring unforeseen circumstances (but stockers can be temperamental beasts so maybe expect the unexpected).
Last season’s champion Martin Newbury is in experimental mode this year, and will be joined by compatriot Martin Bishop and Dutch racer Aswin le Noble. The Greek duo of Pavlos Sidriopoulos and Charalampos Bousinis and Maurice’s fellow French Jerome Rougemont and David Simon join the tour for the first time. Home interest will be focussed on Jörg Lymant on the only V-Twin in a field of Suzukis.
FIM-E Junior Drag Bike Cup
Second event of the year in the Junior Cup series and the entry has very much a British flavour with Richard Willcox leading the charge after the Main Event back in May.
Accompanying him on the trip over the Channel are last year’s Cup holder Hollie King, Jaxon King, Harry Isaacs, Alia Lester, Brad and Leah Morrison with the Dutch duo of Geeuwke Siersema and Anouk Burgering trying to prevent British dominance.
Qualifying is Friday 25th and Saturday 26th with eliminations scheduled for Sunday 27th August. Livestream will be available here: https://www.nitrolympx.de/livestream/
Also, in competition at the NitrOlympix…
FunnyBike
Super Comp Bike
ET Bikes
