Alastaro (Finland), July 8, 2014 – Although track conditions were far from perfect, MPM-driver Martijn de Haas was up to speed at Alastaro and among the front runners in the Super Twin class. In his second qualifying run De Haas’ 6.794 sec. was only seven thousandths off his personal best and was third qualifier. In the quarter final the Super Twin driver was eliminated when he came too close to the wall and had to lift the throttle. “It’s pity as there was more to come, but on the other hand we are happy we proved the set-up we started with at Santa Pod is what we were looking for”, Martijn de Haas said after the Finnish race.
At Alastaro MPM-driver Martijn de Haas wanted to prove his Santa Pod ‘Round 1’ stunning personal best (6.787 sec.) was not a lucky shot and he is among the front runners in the FIM European Drag Bike Championship now. A few weeks before the race the Finnish track was repaved, but to make a track a real good sticky dragstrip you need races or long and intense track preparation, otherwise the track can’t handle the immense power of the Super Twin machines. And that’s what went wrong at Alastaro, the new asphalt had no traction and countless runs went ‘up in smoke’ or had to be aborted.
In the first round of qualifying De Haas went ‘up in smoke’ after 100 meter. The second run Friday afternoon was much better and the 6.794 seconds was only seven thousandths off his Santa Pod personal best. That proved it was not a lucky shot and De Haas was a force to be reckoned with in the top of the Super Twin class. The MPM-driver was now second qualifier. For the third run the team wanted to step up a bit but overpowered the tricky Finnish track and the MPM-Harley went ‘up in smoke’. “After the first run we took out power and that was just enough for a great second run. We thought the track would improve Saturday so we put some extra power in, but the track didn’t hold it and we overpowered the track. As the track didn’t get any better we skipped the fourth round”, said De Haas after qualifying. Because one of the other drivers went faster, De Haas was the number three qualifier after the final run.
As the number three qualifier the MPM-driver had to face Petri Mattson in the quarter finals of eliminations. De Haas had a better reaction time, was in front, but then drifted to the wall he had to lift the throttle for a few seconds. That was just enough for Mattson to take the lead and although the MPM-Harley came close, it was not enough to catch the Finn. With 7.72 and 8.13 sec. Mattson was the winner and De Haas’ race was over. Of course a disappointment for the Dutch team, but on the other hand De Haas Brothers team was happy they proved they could run good numbers in difficult conditions too. “I couldn’t catch Mattson, he was too far in front. That’s a pity because I’m sure there was more to come this weekend. But I’m happy we proved the set-up we started with at Santa Pod was what we were looking for and the bike is fast and reliable. A 6.79 with a soft set-up is an indication we can go one or two tenth quicker on a good track”, said De Haas.
The next round in the FIM European Championship is August 8-10 at the German Hockenheimring.
- Author
- Remco Scheelings
Alastaro Dragracing FIA European Championship Haas Brothers Main event MPM Sports Super twin Top fuel bike
