Top Fuel – qualifying decides the title

In Top Fuel the championship was decided in qualifying when Mäkelä gained the points she needed to claim her second title in a row by qualifying for the race.

In the first round of eliminations, the fastest qualifier Maja Udtian lost traction after the start and was defeated by Liam Jones, who was eighth in qualifying. The driver from the UK advanced to the final with a bye run as Patrik Pers was unable to come back in time after severe damage suffered in the first round.

On the other side of the elimination ladder Mäkelä recorded a 3.90s run to defeat Stig Neergaard in the first round and an even better 3.82 seconds in the semi-final to defeat Jndia Erbacher. In the final Mäkelä proved herself a worthy champion with a 3.85s winning run over Jones, who experienced problems.

Mäkelä clinched her fourth win out of six races while Udtian finished runner-up in the championship. Jones rounded out the overall podium, with Erbacher classified fourth, making it three females in the top four of the fastest drag racing class.

Ericsson clinches maiden title

Pro Modified championship contender Michael Gullqvist started his event on the back foot, suffering a defeat in the first round. The multiple champion entered the European Finals as the championship leader but lost that position to Jan Ericsson after qualifying. Ericsson, the second qualifier, took the win in the quarter-final over Dmitry Samorukov.

Jimmy Ålund, the fastest qualifier and 2018 Pro Modified champion, advanced to the semi-final but committed a false start, handing the win to Jean Dulamon, who made it to the final for the first time. In the other semi-final David Vegter pulled a red light as well, handing the win to Ericsson.

In the final it was Dulamon’s turn to make a false start, thus Ericsson claimed his title with a win. Gullqvist finished second in the championship, with Ålund third and Vegter fourth.

Bellio nets first ever title for Belgium

In Top Methanol Sandro Bellio went fastest in qualifying and that was enough for him to secure the the first ever title for a driver from Belgium. In eliminations Bellio advanced to the final after defeating Silvio Strauch and then had to face Monty Bugeja. In the semi-final the driver from Malta was too quick for Jonny Lagg, who ran into problems immediately after the start.

In the final Bellio experienced traction problems, while Bugeja recorded a great 5.30s run to claim the win. In the championship Lagg finished in second position with Bugeja completing the podium.

Norén victorious for the second time in a row

In Pro Stock the championship was clinched by Jimmy Ålund in the penultimate race of the season at Tierp in Sweden. The 11-time Pro Stock champion and number one qualifier advanced to the final after defeating 2018 champion Bengt Ljungdahl in the semi-final.

On the other side of the elimination ladder, the number two qualifier, Robin Norén advanced to the final with great elapsed times. He then defeated Ålund on a holeshot to take his second consecutive win of the season and second in the standings.

In the championship Michael Malmgren dropped one position and finished the title race in third, with Ljungdahl fourth.