Another round, another win!
Dan Welberry, Marketing Manager

So, after round one under glorious English sunshine, what would FIA round two bring in Finland? Having seen the weather play such a huge part in our FIA European Championships over the past few seasons, I'm sure all the teams were hoping that The Main Event was to set the tone for future rounds. The weather had been amazing, the racing spectacular and the atmosphere at the place was hard to put into words. Basically, everyone inside Santa Pod Raceway was enjoying one of the best races put on in Europe for a very long time and you could feel it! The added colour of the Crazy Horses book launch and the return of the big guns of the past was the icing on the cake!

Now I know that some will simply glaze over here and I'll probably be denied admission to future Drag Races but in between the two rounds, I had the time of my life at the British Grand Prix! There, I came out and said it, I like roundy roundy racing too and I can't help it! Last years race was my first taste of F1 and I guess I couldn't have picked a better one. There was loads of controversy around the announcement that the 2009 race would be the last at the famous Silverstone venue, Lewis Hamilton put in one of the best 'wet' drives in F1 history to win the race and my mate got his hat signed by Mr Hamilton himself! My friends and I had such a laugh that we were all booked up for this years race by last Christmas, hotels were all sorted and we were ready for 3 more days of racing with bends! Doing the 3 days really gives you a chance to take it all in from F1 practice to historic saloons and GT racing, there's plenty to watch and merchandise to spend your hard earned cash on. I tell you what, an AC tshirt is a bargain compared to a Brawn GP white one with a black and yellow stripe on it! And you don't get them coming out before a race and throwing stuff into the crowd either!

Seriously though, what can we learn from what is the pinnacle of motorsport in terms of following, global coverage and funding? I guess, it simply shows that with money, you can do anything! That's what us bigger teams need to keep working on, attracting the big names to our sport, helping them to realise that for a fraction of the cost, they can achieve huge exposure with branding on the side of a TF dragster, rather than spend thousands/millions more to have a logo on Lewis's dust cap! If sponsorship can be found for our various pro classes and the TV package, as well as what we can achieve as teams, then I believe we'll have an impressive package on our hands. I tell you one thing we do far better, public contact! You don't get near an F1 driver or crew, we only got my mates hat signed through simply being in the right place at the right time. This year, the Brawn boys were driven to the public area to do some interviews and you couldn't even get close. They were then whisked off in a blacked out vehicle with tight security and a few limp waves for the fans who'd gathered for hours just to catch a glimpse of their idols. By contrast AC who is getting busier and busier at the races will still always try and have time for fans. Anyway, I hope I can be forgiven for my enjoyment of Bernie's circus and I also hope that you won't all be nasty to me next time you visit the Lucas Oil pit.

Meanwhile, back in a straight line, how would Finland compare to the FIA season opener at the Pod? It has to be said that for Andy and Carter Motorsport, this really has been a great hunting ground for us. In seven attempts, AC has walked away with event honours on no less than three previous occasions, four out of eight would look even better! He was also the first over 300mph in Finland and has set the track record at least twice at this event! Before the race, there had been much discussion between the TF driversabout the distance to run over in Finland and it was decided for safety reasons to run over the 1,000 foot. This also happens at Mantorp Park in Sweden where the run off area is very short, whilst in Finland the top end barriers are not long enough so safety is a concern. I think we in Europe need to get used to this new distance in Top Fuel as we pretty much always follow the NHRA and with them now running a thousand feet, it's surely only a matter of time. AC made the point in his Q&A on this that it does make the running costs cheaper and we may see some who've sat on the fence, finally take the plunge and join the TF ranks.

By mid-day Friday, our fears of another day being washed out were relieved as the sky brightened up and.... then someone dumped oil, lots of the stuff and the first Pro qualifying session did not make it in before the curfew. This meant that we were faced with only two shots at qualifying on the Saturday and after a 4.992 (the sort of numbers you'd expect on a full 1/4), the pressure was really on for Q2. By the end of this second session, Timo Lehtimaki sat on the bump spot with a 4.80 and AC and the Lucas Oil car were number 1 with a stout 4.12, we were on course for another, memorable weekend!Timo lit the tyres in round one so our 4.15 was good enough to line up along side Risto Poutiainen with AC having lane choice. It's great to have Risto back in Top Fuel and he's certainly not at the party just to make up the numbers. Performances have been strong and were improving so this one would be tough. A 4.21 from the Lucas Oil car to a close 4.32 was just enough to see AC pair up against Stig Neergard in the final, a repeat of The Main Event. AC really earned his pay in the final winning on a holeshot, 4.10 to our slower 4.12. Click here, http://www.eurodragster.com/news/09points/fia2009.pdf to check out the points going into the next FIA round in Sweden which should see 12 TF Dragsters battling to get into an 8 car field!

The next weekend after Finland it was back to the promotional tour wherewe appeared at the Retro Show, this coming weekend we will be showcasingthe Lucas Oil Dragster at the massive 90,000 people Bug Jam at Santa Pod, then on the Monday Andy & Sarah fly out to Sweden, AC is as focused as ever,in fact it seems like his focus gets stronger every year and I know he is thinkingabout nothing but a 4th FIA Top Fuel Championship.

Were hoping to do updates from Sweden so please check in here, http://www.andycarter.net/events/2009 during the event for news on how the team is doing.

Away from my duties for Carter Motorsport, I look after Andys son Albertswebsite. I recently got a chance to spend an afternoon Karting with him at PFI in Grantham and this really is a star of the future! Just 6 years old with 2 years experience it was amazing to see him beat kids of 9 and 10 years old! Check out his site at www.albertcarter.com especially video 6 with Albert weaving towarm up his tyres on the rolling lap!

Hope your enjoying the blogs, any feedback would be appreciated so if you get time email us at cartermotorsport@hotmail.co.uk

Dan Welberry
Carter Motorsport
www.lucasoil.co.uk
www.andycarter.net

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