MPM-driver Marc Meihuizen’s winning chances ruined by broken blowerbelt

Tierp (Sweden), August 26, 2014 –MPM-driver Marc Meihuizen was one of the favourites to win the Turtle Wax Internationals at Tierp Arena after his runner-up position in qualifying. In the first round of eliminations everything seemed to be okay and in another 5-second run the MPM-driver was on his way to the quarter finals. But suddenly the blowerbelt broke and Meihuizen could do nothing against Urban Johansson, who passed him just before the finish line. “So much bad luck, nobody can beat that. We never use parts too long and this belt was almost new. We really don’t know why it broke. Very sad, as together with Michael Gullqvist we were the favourites to win this race”, was the only thing Meihuizen could say after so much bad luck.

After the bad Alastaro and Hockenheim tracks, the fourth round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship was at Tierp Arena, at last a track where the JWR Racing ’68 Pontiac could use all its power. Tierp Arena is the most state-of-the-art drag racing facility in Europa and with its concrete strip and nine out of ten European records in the car classes, it’s the fastest track in Europa. But the first qualifying run was not MPM-driver Marc Meihuizen’s run. There were some problems with the gearbox and Meihuizen had to abort the run. The second run was far from perfect too, as the ’68 Firebird was hit by tyre shake. The MPM-driver had to lift, but still his time was 6.16 sec and in the twenty car field Meihuizen was number nine. Promising was the speed at the finish line. The 389 km/h was an indication there was more to come. And what ‘more’ was, showed the third qualifying session, Saturday, as Meihuizen’s E.T. was 5.997 sec, another 5-second run and behind reigning champion Michael Gullqvist the number two qualifying position. “At these perfect tracks you see which cars can really go fast, Michael and we. There is so much more to come, the next run must be a 5.8 sec. We still have some problems in first gear, if we can solve that and do the second part of the run as we do right now, it’s a low 5.8”, said the MPM-driver, much happier than after Friday qualifying. Rain washed away the fourth qualifying session, but with his second qualifying position Meihuizen did an excellent job in the extreme competitive Pro Mod field. In the first round of eliminations the JWR Racing Pontiac had to face outsider Urban Johansson, who can be extremely fast, but also fail completely. Meihuizen had a far better reaction time, took the lead and seemed to be on his way to the quarter finals. “Suddenly the blowerbelt broke and hit the ignition. All the power was gone and it went extremely silent in the car. To my surprise there was still no sign of Urban Johansson, but short before I reached the finishline he passed me and my race was over. Bad luck, as the blowerbelt was only a few runs old and had at least ten more runs to go. There was nothing with the engine too, so that was not the reason too. Pure bad luck”, said a very disappointed Meihuizen. “When you look at the computer data, this could have been a low 5.8 sec. Together with Gullqvist we were the only ones to run 5-second without any problem. Out teams were the favourites to win this race. Unfortunately we didn’t get that chance.” In one week Meihuizen will have another chance to show his speed and go for a good result. September 5 – 7, Santa Pod Raceway will host the fifth and last round of the FIA European championship, the European Finals. At the first race this season at the same track, Meihuizen impressed with a 5-second pass and the MPM-driver wants to end the season with a new personal best and a 5.8 sec.
Author
Photographer
Remco Scheelings
Dragracing FIA European Championship Main event Marc Meihuizen MPM Racing MPM Sports Pro mod Tierp Arena

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