It was 250mph turbo cars that won the Pro Modified day, and the year, at Santa Pod Raceway’s FIA European Finals last weekend.
Finland’s Jere Rantaniemi and his turbocharged Chevrolet Camaro won the race and carried off the FIA European Pro Mod championship for the second year in a row. His defeated final-round opponent in Sunday’s eliminations, Estonian Andres Arnover, had earlier qualified on pole at 5.808s in his turbo Ford Mustang, good for low elapsed time of the event. Both racers had topped 250mph during the weekend. Arnover’s 252.39mph, achieved on his pole-setting qualifying pass, was the event’s top speed.
The Finn’s final-round victory came via a hole shot. Arnover’s losing 5.872s/251.88mph was quicker and faster than Rantaniemi’s 5.901s/248.12mph but he chose the occasion to deliver his slowest reaction time of the event, 0.1013s. The gap between the pair at the finish line was just 0.0038s in Rantaniemi’s favour, indistinguishable to the naked eye. Had a brisker reaction time by the Estonian won him the race, it would not have affected the FIA championship outcome. Rantaniemi had already secured the crown earlier in the day.
Coming into the European Finals, Dutch racer Marck Harteveld nursed a slender points lead over Rantaniemi. Having sat out 2024, the Dutchman had not anticipated mounting a championship challenge so soon but found himself carrying a narrow lead after rain at Santa Pod in May had curtailed the season’s opening event.
Rantaniemi had beaten Harteveld in August’s Tierp final in Sweden before Harteveld returned the favour at Germany’s Hockenheim race just one weekend before the Finals. Whoever progressed further at Santa Pod would win the title. With only four races, the foreshortened series left no room for error.
Tooren and Arnover should be back at Santa Pod in a couple of weeks for the British showdown
Photo by: Callum Pudge/Santa Pod
The denouement came as early as the second elimination round. Britain’s Andy Robinson, once more in buoyant form, beat Harteveld in a close race. In the very next match, Rantaniemi beat another Dutchman, David Vegter, and his championship was assured.
Robinson had qualified second for the race while setting a fresh career-best speed at 249.48mph. Another British entrant enjoying strong form, Jon Webster, had set a career-best elapsed time, 5.839s, to qualify fifth but struck misfortune in the opening round. Facing an overpowered German newcomer, Dominik Reinhardt, Webster got out of shape and grazed the track wall, earning instant disqualification.
Pro Mod is also the designated class of the Motorsport UK British Drag Racing Championship and Santa Pod hosts Motorsport UK rounds concurrently with its two FIA races. Arnover’s trip to the final here may have ended in disappointment but it helped secure him a commanding lead in the British title chase ahead of the National Finals in a fortnight’s time. Arnover has competed in every British and European race so far, and will be joined at the National Finals by Dutch pair Vegter and Michel Tooren.
Top Fuel Dragsters are drag racing’s peak performers. A year ago, Switzerland’s Jndia Erbacher had sprung from third in the points to snatch the FIA European championship with victory at the European Finals. This year she threatened to repeat the feat but came up short in a winner-takes-all final against Susanne Callin. Swedish racer Callin had twice finished championship runner-up. Her pole-setting 3.877s over Top Fuel’s 1000-foot racing distance was the event’s low elapsed time while Erbacher set top speed at 317.95mph.
Callin was the conqueror in the breath-taking winner-takes-all Top Fuel Dragster finale
Photo by: Callum Pudge/Santa Pod
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