Rain halts polesitter Harteveld’s bid for Santa Pod Main Event glory

At Santa Pod Raceway, an anticipated Estonian tour-de-force dwindled against a triple Dutch threat before rain left the outcome frustratingly unconsummated.

The Main Event hosts a Pro Modified double-header: the opening round of the FIA European Pro Mod Championship combined in a single race with round two of the Motorsport UK British Drag Racing Championship. Estonia’s Andres Arnover and his scarlet turbocharged Mustang had won Easter’s Motorsport UK round one convincingly, unleashing Europe’s quickest-ever Pro Mod pass (5.695s) on the way.

A week before The Main Event, he had won Santa Pod’s Doorslammers race, an ‘outlaw’ shootout that dispenses with conventional rules. Turning up the turbo boost and switching on the traction control, Arnover delivered an unprecedented trio of 260mph speeds to carry off the big cash prize.

Back in legal trim at The Main Event and saddled with a replacement engine, Arnover found that bombastic form subdued. Instead, Dutch racers occupied the top three qualifying positions, a national first. Marck Harteveld took pole (5.871s) on his first outing since 2023; David Vegter – eternal FIA champion-in-waiting – was second, and Michel Tooren, getting to grips with the tuning intricacies of his new Camaro’s EFI system, lay third. Arnover managed fourth (5.904s), with Sweden’s sole representative, Mats Eriksson and his unique, eccentric 1956 Ford Crown Victoria, and Britain’s Andy Robinson behind him. Defending FIA champion Jere Rantaniemi (Finland) qualified seventh in the 16-car entry.

Sunday’s eliminations had whittled down the field to an intriguing semi-final quartet – Harteveld versus Eriksson, Vegter versus Robinson – when rain stopped play. Arnover’s day had ended seriously out of shape against Eriksson in round two while Robinson had beaten Tooren in a rare double-foul match-up. Tooren had lit the red light first by just 0.002s.

Vegter’s first-round 5.808s was the event’s quickest elapsed time and Britain’s Jon Webster was the unexpected recipient of top speed at 248.22mph while losing to Vegter in that same match. The good news for the Motorsport UK championship is that Arnover, Tooren and Vegter intend to contest its further rounds, though their competitors may be less enthralled.