2026 Summit Racing Equipment Internationals at Tierp Arena

August 9, 2026

Summit Racing Equipment Internationals
FIM-E Drag Racing Championship – Round Two
Tierp Arena, Sweden
August 6-9, 2026

2026 Summit Racing Equipment Internationals at Tierp Arena

words and photos by Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes

SUNDAY VIDEO COVERAGE

Christiansen, Mechaell, Farrugia and Lymant grab the Summit eliminator trophies in Sweden

A curious weekend at the second stop on the FIM-E tour culminating in a curious Sunday that had a number scratching their heads as they wended their way through eliminations.

FIM-E Super Twin Bike

Although it boiled down to a familiar final, FIM-E Super Twin Bike had a number of turns along the way. Eventual runner-up Per Bengtsson managed to just get past Roman Sixta in the opening round with a spin-shake spin-shake on and off the throttle, 6.918 to a quicker leaving 7.005, the difference at the finish line being substantially less than a foot.

Anders Jensen progressed to the semi-final in the top half of the ladder and is starting to produce consistent high-sixes. Jensen would fall to a 6.131/223 from his Danish compatriot Marcus Christiansen in the final four, Christiansen having previously accounted for Chris van Nimmen who arrived in eliminations as an alternate (Erling Opheim failing to start), but van Nimmen will have been heartened by a straight six, suggesting the gremlins that have beset the Belgian American Lifestyle team might be loosening their grip.

Per Bengtsson and Roman Sixta (far lane)

On the lower half of the ladder, Bengtsson gained a freebie into the final (a 6.203 suggested The Beast team were making progress in reading the complexities of the Tierp track) when scheduled opponent Greger Johansson was a no-show. The class final, which was so often a feature of last year, pitted Bengtsson against Christiansen, although it was over as a contest by the 60-foot clocks, as the Swedish-blown parallel bike spun hard while the Danish V headed off to break the beams with a 6.175/224. While we’ve got slightly blasé in Europe about 6.1s, this really is world-class racing.

FIM-E Super Street Bike

A sixteen-bike ladder for FIM-E Super Street Bike provided plenty of scope for drama, and boy did it deliver. Low qualifier Daniel Donat Lencses departed at the quarter-final stage when a conrod decided to fail before getting to the start line, handing Mathias Bohlin a pass into the semi-finals where the Swede would meet Ioannis Lampropoulos, the Greek number four qualifier having dramatically improved on his qualifying effort with a 6.805 in the opening round and a 6.750/225 mph in the quarters.

Lampropoulos continued in the 6.7s with a 6.771/224 from the Casper Racing GSXR, handily covering Bohlin’s 6.987. The lower half of the ladder at the semifinal stage had 2025 Champion Jake Mechaell going head to head with Lampropoulos’s teammate Ioannis Martzaklis in an all Hayabusa match-up. When the win light came on in the Greek’s lane after a 6.799/221 to a 6.858/223 from the Brit, it seemed an all-Greek final was on the cards.

However, a startline infringement had been spotted by the officials, and Martzaklis was excluded, which came as a bit of a shock to Mechaell as he was getting ready for a post-race beverage when he was informed of the decision.

With more than a bit of an edge for the trophy runoff, a burndown at the startline was perhaps somewhat inevitable, but this came at the expense of Lampropoulos overpowering the track and Mechaell getting his championship defense back on track with a 6.939 to a 7.292.

FIM-E Top Fuel Bike

With only four qualifying for FIM-E Top Fuel Bike, the eliminator was an abbreviated affair, more so when Kari Rautanen was a no-show for the first round. Luke Farrugia handily covered Peter Andersson with a 6.733 to a 7.8 to gain his spot in the final.

The Maltese Checkmate/Warpspeed entry then faced off with Thomas Pettersson who’d managed to run consistent sixes in qualifying. Unfortunately, this form deserted the Swede, with Farrugia taking a seemingly comfortable victory on a 6.860, but he was fighting the bike to keep it off the centreline for a considerable way down track.

FIM-E Pro Stock Bike

FIM-E Pro Stock Bike was somewhat surreal. Jorg Lymant emerged victorious to give him a strong leg up in his title defence at the midway point, despite his Buell trying to spit him off in the first round of eliminations where he took the winlight over Jerome Rougemont. The lower half of the ladder had two pairs with no contender progressing thanks to all four managing to leave before the tree activated. Thus Lymant was able to stage twice in quick succession to progress through the semis and finals before heading on to Germany for the next event.

SATURDAY VIDEO COVERAGE

Christiansen, Lencses, Lymant and Farrugia take the top spots heading into race day

A prolonged day for the FIM-E classes as three sessions were interspersed with numerous incidents, many in other classes. Still some struggles to get to grips with the track conditions, but there was some shuffling in each of the four classes to set the ladders for eliminations tomorrow (Sunday).