Race Report from Tierp Arena.
Late but hopefully a coveted race report. Ahead of the Summit Racing Equipment Internationals, we were in third place in the European Drag Racing Championship. We performed well at the first race at Santa Pod in England, which was unfortunately rained out and stopped before we could drive the semifinals. The downside of drag racing is that the track must be completely dry; otherwise, it becomes very dangerous to drive.
For this race at Tierp Arena in Sweden, we changed the gear ratio in the rear axle, hoping to drive a bit faster. Consequently, we were also required to change the gear ratios in the transmission to match the first gear with the engine and rear wheels. Changing the gear ratio in the transmission isn’t very complicated; we usually do it between rounds during a race to adjust wheel speed from the start.
We arrived at Tierp Arena with good confidence. In the first qualifying round, we had poor 60-foot times and low wheel speed from the starting line, resulting in small tire shake further down the track. Mats managed to save the round with a time of 6.11 seconds in the right lane, which gave us the sixth qualifying position.
Before the second qualifying round in the left lane, we changed the ignition to give the engine more power at the start, allowing for more wheel speed. We got that, and the car responded well to the adjustments we made. However, the car was slightly misaligned to the left at the start and did go even more left afterward since the left rear tire had less grip due to the track not being as well prepared on the sides. The car go quite hard on the rear wheels, forcing Mats to release the throttle to get the front wheels on the track and steer away from the concrete wall. We slipped down to the twelfth qualifying position.
Now, we faced a decision on whether to change the gear ratio in the transmission to achieve even more wheel speed for tomorrow’s qualification. Instead, we decided to give the engine more power since the previous qualifying round looked much better before Mats had to let off the throttle. With our ignition system, we can change the engine’s timing during the round, allowing for varying power to ensure the car launches well at the start while still maintaining full power further down the track. This enables us to reduce several hundred horsepower at the start. Having the right wheel speed from the start is crucial, and it’s very critical in the first two tenths of a second to have proper wheel speed. Too much leads to the car not moving forward quickly enough, while too little can cause the tires to shake further down the track, about a second and a half in. When the car starts, it compresses those large rear tires and then takes off. If the tires don’t grow fast enough and become round again, it’s like a boat that can’t plane out in the water. When the power kicks in, the car can jump over the rubber that has accumulated on the tire because we reduce timing and power at the start and then reapply more power further down. As the car jumps, the tires begin to shake. Depending on how bad the shaking is, the driver can release the throttle and then quickly reapply it to rescue a round, to a slower time, but perhaps still securing a win. However, if the shaking is intense, the driver must be fast and release the throttle to ensure the car is on the right course, and if it shakes too violently, they must completely let off the throttle so the car doesn’t slip sideways, gain grip, and potentially crash into the wall or, worse, into their opponent. A driver can’t think through what to do in such a situation; it comes down to the driver’s instinct to make that split-second decision by sensing the intensity of the shaking. Mats has a lot of experience with this and is very skilled at managing these situations verry well.
The first round on Saturday, which was qualifying round 3, resulted in a nice run of 5.86 seconds, putting us in second place. This was in the left lane. In other words, the engine’s power increase at the start worked well. However, the car spun more further down the track.
In the last qualifying round, we ran in the right lane and increased the power again for better wheel speed from the start while reducing power further down to avoid spinning there. Unfortunately, we faced setbacks here and had the worst wheel speed of all qualifying runs. We clocked 5.93 seconds but held onto the second qualifying position. It’s likely that the track improved after it was scraped between these two qualifying runs, as the right lane appeared to have better grip than the left one. Scraping essentially removes rubber buildup on the track. Particularly at the start, a track is prepared by laying down rubber in the asphalt or concrete, as in this case. However, when many cars run and make burn outs, more rubber builds up, so eventually, it must be removed to prevent the track from losing grip against the tires at the start.
When qualifying, if you start in the right lane, you should run the next round in the left. Then the next day, you switch it up, starting in the left and finishing in the right. This ensures both lanes are tested at different times of the day, providing equal conditions for all concerning temperature and weather. We also adjust the engine based on the weather, which is crucial for us running a supercharger and methanol; thus, we use our own weather station to monitor conditions. Tracks can change from the first to the last qualifying round, as many cars run in one day, and factors can shift, including the weather.
Before the first elimination round on Sunday, we changed the gear ratio in the transmission to achieve more wheel speed from the start and to create a larger window to adjust engine power during the elimination with a better track. We faced Benny Strand, who clocked 6.11 in qualifying. Hence, we were not entirely confident about winning against Benny. If our adjustments caused us to spin excessively, tenths of a second could disappear quickly, resulting in loss. Since we had a faster qualifying time than Benny, we got to choose our lane. We chose the left lane despite most who had lane choice opting for the right. We’d performed better in that lane, even though Mats almost hit the wall there. Everything felt good; Mats was calm. However, despite this, Mats was to quick and had a red light start of 0.08 seconds—i.e., eight hundredths of a second. Mats was very surprised when we called on the radio that he had run 5.91 seconds with a red light, thus losing. Benny ran a 6.10, which we believe is a personal best with their new car. So, we congratulate Benny and the team on the win and personal record with the new car. They’ve run faster with their previous car, but it takes a few rounds to dial in a new car to one’s preferences. Ten teams would probably have ten different setups even if they raced the same car but still might run equally fast. This is part of the appeal of this sport.
This loss was understandably disappointing for us, but we have our theory on why it happened, which is crucial for Mats to move forward to the next race without this haunting him in future eliminations. Reviewing the data afterward, we observed that we had very nice wheel speed from the start, but after half a second, it became a bit too much. Given another chance to run, we could have adjusted this and potentially run faster, possibly around the 5.86 mark again, allowing for further refinements. Thus, it was very disappointing; we lost our third place in the championship to a sixth place.
But we just have to reload and come back strong again. Even those ahead of us in the championship can have misfortune moving forward with red lights or other problems. You never know in this sport until you cross the finish line how things will go. Many factors are at play, and the margins can be very slim. There are no second chances in this sport; it’s winning or go home in each elimination round.
Our next race will be at the Hockenheimring in Germany at the end of August. After that, it’s straight to Santa Pod and England for the season finale at the beginning of September. So, we have two races in consecutive weekends. Until then, we’ll give the car some love with new connecting rods, a thorough check of the supercharger, cylinder head, and more. We will keep you updated during these last two races through our Facebook page “Green Goblin Racing.” However, the internet can be heavily taxed at these events due to the large crowds. We will do our best to stay connected.
See you soon.