Hockenheim, August 12, 2013 - A great result again for David Vegter at the Hockenheim NitrOlympX, as the Dutch MPM-driver advanced to the semi-finals once again. But still, the weekend at the German track had its 'ups and downs'. "The event itself was great, but for us as a team, the result was not what it could have been. We lost three qualifying runs and important data and as a result, we were far behind the others with our set-up in eliminations. The only way to win the semi-final, was to have a better reaction time, but I was too early and pulled a red light", said Vegter after the fourth round of the FIA European Pro Modified Championship.
The 28the NitrOlympX at Hockenheimring's Rico Anthes Quartermile was one of the best ever. A great track, a good organisation and program, great and exciting races, great weather and 60,000 spectators, made the German round of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship to a great success and one of the best ever.
After the engine damage at the last race in Finland, the Vegter Pro Mod Racing crew had to work hard to get the '67 Camaro 100% race-ready again for Hockenheim. But problems in the first qualifying runs, as Vegter was hit by tyreshake three times and was still not qualified for the eight car elimination ladder with only one run to go. "There was something wrong with the ignition, but as there were other issues too in the first two qualifying runs, we were only sure after the third run the ignition was the real problem. The engine was far too aggressive and caused tyreshake. We now know that was the reason for the engine damage in Finland too", said Vegter. It all had to happen in the fourth qualifying run and to the relief of the crew the MPM-driver crossed the finish line in 6.317 seconds and jumped into the eight car elimination ladder as the number seven. "Now we have a base to start tuning from, but the problem is, we are far behind in data compared to the others when we go into eliminations", said Vegter, already thinking about Sunday.
In the quarter finals Vegter had a rerun of the Alastaro quarter finals, as he had to race his MPM-colleague Marc Meihuizen again. In Finland Meihuizen was the winner, but this time the outcome was different. Meihuizen lost traction almost immediately after the start, while Vegter's 6.24 seconds was his best run of the weekend so far and enough to qualify for the semi-finals. "The clutch setting was not perfect, so at the top end I missed power. The time was not as good as I expected", said Vegter about the MPM-battle. In the semi-final Mattias Wulcan was the next opponent and as the Swede had run a 6.06 seconds in the quarter final, Vegter knew it would be tough. "To win, I needed an almost perfect reaction time, because as we missed data after losing the first three qualifying runs, he would be hard to beat in the run itself. You are so focussed, that you react on everything, and so that happened. I don't even know what I saw and why I reacted", said Vegter about the semi-final. He pulled a massive red light and his NitrOlympX race was over. But a semi-final finish was still a great result and the MPM-driver is now fourth in the FIA European Championship in striking distance of the runner-up position. "It was a great weekend and the whole organisation did a great job. Our performance was not what it could have been, but as we lost three runs with the ignition problems, we were too far behind when eliminations started."
There is not much time to recover, as from August 23 to 25 the Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena is the next race of the FIA European Championship. With no less than 31 Pro Mods on the entry list, this Swedish race has by far the most competitive Pro Mod field of the year.
- Author
- Remco Scheelings
- Photographer
- Remco Scheelings
David Vegter Dragracing FIA European Championship Hockenheim Main event MPM Racing MPM Sports NitrOlympX Pro mod
