2014-09-07
Race #5, The European Finals
Santa Pod, UK
Rough start, smooth ending
Wellingborough, UK, September 7, 2014 - The final round of the 2014 FIA European Drag Racing Championship was held at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK. The weekend turned out to be one of the best FIA drag racing championship races in modern history with great weather and an excellent track.
It had not been the best of seasons for the J&J Performance Racing Team. Not being able to match the KB Racing horsepower to tracks of varying quality had made for some early exits. Ã…lund went into the European Finals holding a third place in the standings. Four championship contenders were in place which made for easy math, Ã…lund had to win the event to clinch the championship.
"Qualifying was very hard for us," said Ã…lund. "We only got down the track twice, not a good way to go into eliminations." Qualifying round two was good enough to get the top spot but the team was not satisfied. "No, not at all" said Ã…lund. "We were very frustrated as we did not feel we had a solid race day tune-up in the car. Our competitors ran both quick and a lot more consistent than we did."
Sunday, eliminations. Jimmy with a solo run in the quarter finals due to being the #1 qualifier in a field with an odd number of cars. Things were looking up, a straight and strong 6.542 @ 342.75 km/hour (212.98 mph). Quickest elapsed time of the weekend.
Semifinals. Against current points leader Michael Malmgren, a must win to keep the championship hopes alive. Ã…lund leaves first and never looked back, running quicker and faster through all incrementals down the track. The numbers were 6.56 @ 339.71 km/hour (211.09 mph).
Finals. Last run of the entire season and this is where the championship would be decided. Ã…lund against Magnus Petersson who has had his best Pro Stock season ever. Petersson coming off an event win at the prior race at Tierp Arena and with more points than Ã…lund. Ã…lund left the line first, Petersson made up some ground to the first 60 feet but after half track it was all Ã…lund for the round win, the event win and an unprecedented ninth FIA European Pro Stock Championship.
"Sweet but very very tough" says Ã…lund. "Like it should be, the championship was decided in that last pair down the track. The team worked hard and got the right tune up at the right time". Ã…lund continues, "a huge thanks and appreciation to the solid support from our sponsors and our fans. Of course we extend our gratitude to the engine shop at KB Racing for all their excellent work."
"This FIA championship trophy will look just fine next to the Wally we won at the NHRA race at zMAX Dragway this spring" says Jimmy with his trademark smile. "And be sure the whole team is already looking forward to next years season of racing."
2014-08-24
2014, race 4: The Turtle Wax Internationals at Tierp, Sweden
Fast car with a hiccup
The fourth round of the 2014 FIA European Drag Racing Championship was held at the Tierp Arena in Sweden. The facility lived up to its' excellent reputation, the track crew again delivered a world class racing surface. No less then six new European records were set this weekend, among them Jimmy Ã…lund resetting his own Pro Stock elapsed time record.
The Pro Stock field was tough, 11 elite teams showed up to battle for 8 places in eliminations and made this the best event of the season by far. Jimmy Ã…lund, "we'd like to extend a huge thanks to Tierp Arena and their crew, we finally got a track that could take all of our KB Racing horsepower. This was the best track I've ever raced on".
It looked to be a very succesful weekend for the J&J Performance Racing Team. The weather made for only three qualifying rounds and Jimmy Ã…lund dominated the qualifying show with a string of 6.5-second runs, all at speeds over 340 km/hour (211.26 mph). The succesion of runs was 6.56, 6.54 with the new ET record of 6.532 in the last qualifying run. Top qualifying speed was 342.86 km/hour (213.04 mph), just a hair away from Ã…lunds own speed record. Ã…lund again, "qualifying was great, we threw the whole kitchen sink at the track and it held. Unfortunately the last round of qualifying rained out. We were swinging for the fences on that one with a killer tune up. We really wanted to lower the new ET record and touch up the speed record as well".
Sunday, elimination round one, Ã…lund against Jan Palmqvist. Both cars ran into tire shake, something came off Palmqvists car and he shut off. Ã…lund got back into it and won the round with a less than stellar ET of 7.46.
Semifinals, Ã…lund meets current points leader Michael Malmgren. When going into stage, the engine did not respond as usual resulting in a holeshot win for Malmgren. 6.67 for Malmgren, a very strong 6.58 for Ã…lund. "Yes, I left a day late and that was it for the weekend" says Ã…lund, "this is what drag racing is all about, numbers don't win races. First car across the finish line takes the points, nothing else".
Magnus Petersson wins the event and sets fire to the points standings by passing Ã…lund, setting the stage for a very exciting race at the European Finals where the 2014 champion will be crowned. "This of course a tough situation but we've come from behind before and expect to do so this year as well", says Ã…lund.
Jimmy Ã…lund and the team leave Tierp in third place in the FIA Pro Stock championship, 18 points off the lead and 5 points up to second place.
The next event for Ã…lund and the J&J Performance Racing Team is the final race of the 2014 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series, the 2014 European Finals, Santa Pod, UK. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, September 5.
2014-07-06
2014, race 2: The FHRA Nitro Nationals at Alastaro, Finland
A tricky weekend
The second round of the 2014 FIA European Drag Racing Championship was held at the Alastaro Motopark, Alastaro, Finland. The track has been resurfaced, making for a very smooth race surface. Unfortunately, due to abnormally wet spring weather it was not possible to fully follow through on the schedule for the final track preparation.
This made for a tricky weekend as regards to setting up chassis and clutch, but the J&J Performance Racing Team made a strong showing by qualifying in the number one position. The elapsed time was 6.85 seconds with the all over fastest speed of the weekend, 336.83 km/hour (209.29 mph).
Jimmy improved his ET in round one of eliminations where he took out Jan Palmqvist with the best time of the event, 6.778 at 336.29 km/hour (208.96 mph). Round two, a win against Magnus Petersson where Jimmy ran the quickest ET and speed of the round again, 6.800 at 336.68 km/hour (209.20 mph) which set up a final against Michael Malmgren. In the final round, the J&J Camaro overpowered the track and spun the tires with Malmgren taking the win.
"Congratulations to Michael and his team, they put in a better tune up than we did", says Jimmy. "The track conditions were as tough as we've seen in a long time. We had a good handle on the clutch and chassis during qualifying and did very good in the first two rounds of eliminations on Sunday".
Jimmy continues, "of course I'm disappointed but we're not even halfway into the season yet and we will be more than ready for the next race at Hockenheim."
Jimmy and the team leaves Alastaro in second place in the championship, only 6 points off the lead.
The next event for Ã…lund and the J&J Performance Racing Team is the third race of the 2014 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series, the 2014 NitrOlympx, Hockenheim, Germany. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, August 8.
2014-06-16
The Racestar Pro Stock Shootout
Malmö Raceway, Sweden
Norrköping, Sweden, June 16, 2014 - The Racestar Pro Stock Shootout at Malmö Raceway came to fruition when a group of race organizers saw an opportunity for an extra weekend of Pro Stock Car action in the early European season. The second round of the FIA European championship series at Tierp Arena had been cancelled and that race date turned out to be perfect for a drag racing Pro Stock car shootout.
Nine of the quickest Pro Stock cars in Europe entered the event, the entry list representing twelve European championships. The race format was classic: One event, four rounds of qualifying on the Saturday with eliminations on Sunday. The teams were itching to go racing and with the help of a good organization and fairly trouble free running, four qualifying rounds in one day proved to work out fine.
Malmö Raceway, a 1/8 mile track, is well known for it's excellent race surface. Thomas Lindström went all out in Q1 and fired off a 4.21 to set the stage. Jimmy Ålund just the opposite, started off with a half track shutoff at 4.72 seconds but stepped it up in the following rounds and ended qualifying in the number two spot with an elapsed time of 4.249.
Sunday eliminations. Jimmy Ã…lund got off on a good start with a quarter final win over Simon Gustafsson. Jimmy lowering his best ET to 4.245 at a speed of 265.2 km/hour (164.8 mph). A 4.25 ET in the semi finals made for a win over #3 qualifier Jan Palmqvist and took Jimmy to the final round.
In the other half of the ladder, Ford racer Christian Sagelv made for more excitement. Sagelv qualified #4 with a string of excellent reaction times and carried that into Sundays eliminations. A holeshot quarter final win against Magnus Petterson was followed up in the semis. Christian pulled the upset of the weekend by putting the #1 qualifier Thomas Lindström on the trailer with his second holeshot win of the day.
Final round, Chevrolet against Ford. Again, Sagelv leaves the line with a better reaction time but the margin was too tight this time. Jimmy Ã…lund powered on by for the Racestar Pro Stock Shootout win.
"What a great event! Everyone had a blast and this was just as tough as any European championship round" said Jimmy. "We ran our second motor, it's very important to put mileage on that one as well. Four rounds in one day makes for a load of work but, hey, 'there's no rest for the wicked'. The team is very pleased with what we accomplished with the engine tune up this weekend". Jimmy smiles, "it was great to meet Christian and his Ford in the final. A classic. Many thanks to everyone who made this event possible."
The next event for Ã…lund and the J&J Performance Racing Team is the second race of the 2014 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series, the FHRA Nitro Nationals, Alastaro, Finland. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, July 4.
2014-05-27
2014 race 1: FIA/FIM European Championships - Round 1
at Santa Pod, England
Jimmy Ã…lund continues the roll
Norrköping, Sweden, May 27, 2014 - The 2014 FIA European Drag Racing Championship season started on a wet weather note, with a forecast less than ideal for drag racing. On the first day of qualifying, the track stayed dry long enough to run two of the FIA classes, but not the Pro Stock cars. However, the track surface turned out to be in excellent shape as world-class numbers were posted in those first few runs.
Sunday was a hectic day as racers ran three qualifying rounds. At the end of the first Pro Stock qualifying round, Jimmy Ålund was at the top of the list with an elapsed time (ET) of 6.61 seconds. The J&J Performance Racing Team stepped it up for the second qualifying session and stopped the clocks at 6.55 seconds. Ålund followed that up in round three with a 6.535 second ET, one thousandth of a second short of the current FIA Pro Stock record he set in 2013. That run put Ålund at the top of the qualifying ladder. Magnus Pettersson followed as the number 2 qualifier with Thomas Lindström in the third spot.
Unfortunately, that was the last of the racing for the weekend as eliminations were called off due to inclement weather.
"The rain was very frustrating. We went to this race very well prepared and wanted to get as much track time against the opposition as possible" says Ã…lund. "The team did an excellent job with updated equipment. I really believe we could have broken our European record if the weather had cooperated." Ã…lund continues, "Of course we thank the entire engine crew at KB Racing for doing yet an excellent job on our powerplant."
Ålund had the quickest ET in all qualifying rounds, which netted him nine bonus points. He leaves Santa Pod leading the FIA Drag Racing Pro Stock Championship by six points over Thomas Lindström.
The next event for Ålund and the J&J Performance Racing Team is the Race Star Pro Stock Shootout. This is a classic 70's style shoot-out event featuring the strongest Pro Stock cars in Europe competing in a one-time, all-out brawl at the 1/8-mile Malmö Raceway in southern Sweden. Qualifying starts on Saturday morning, June 14, 2014.
2013-09-15
2013 race 6: The European Finals
at Santa Pod, UK
Jimmy Ã…lund wins championship number 8!
A very good season...
Multiple European Pro Stock car champion Jimmy Ã…lund from Sweden has been on a tear during the 2013 season and wins his 8th FIA Pro Stock championship!
This is the second year with the Jerry Haas built 2012 Camaro and it's been a stellar season. The team got very comfortable with tuning the car and the main news for this season was the horsepower, Jimmy Ã…lund is running an engine program out of the KB Racing shop in North Carolina.
In 2012, Jimmy ended up in the number two spot, less than two rounds worth of points behind the winner but 2013 has been good to Jimmy and the J&J Performance Racing Team.
The 2013 FIA European Drag Racing Championship season is now in the books. Make that the record books. "It's been a dream season"" says Jimmy, the 45 year old car shop owner out of Norrköping, Sweden. "We struggled a bit last year as the car was new in every single detail".
Not so this year. The 2013 European Championships encompasses six races in all, Jimmy was the number one qualifier at each race, he was in the final at each event and won five out of six races.
Recap, race number five - The Scandinavian Internationals, at the world class Tierp Arena. Jimmy sets new European records for time and speed, sets new track records, and pulls off a string of 6.5-second runs that has never been seen in Europe before: 6.56, 6.55, 6.54, 6.54 and the record setting run of 6.534 at 343,29 km/hour (213.31 miles per hour).
Jimmy has reset both ends of the European Pro Stock car records three times this season. The same with every single track record along the way to his unprecedented eighth FIA Pro Stock championship.
The last race of the season was The European Finals which is held at the historic Santa Pod Raceway in the United Kingdom on the first weekend of September. Jimmy and the team went all in - #1 qualifer, quickest ET and speed in all of the four qualifying rounds. Quickest ET and speed in all rounds of eliminations, new track records, quickest ET and speed of the weekend and of course all capped off with a win in the final and the teams 8th championship since his start in European Pro Stock racing in 2003.
It's hard to argue against Jimmy and the team having had their most succesful season ever. "Well... I'm not one for big words but the way we've been running all this year, it was no surprise that we got our #1 plate back".
Jimmy again, "we would like to extend a huge thanks to all our sponsors and of course to Jason Line, Greg Anderson and the whole crew in the KB Racing shop who deliver horsepower second to none and for trusting us to take it to the limits".
The first race of the 2014 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is The Main Event held at the historic drag strip at Santa Pod in the UK. The qualifying starts on Saturday morning, May 24, 2014.
2013-08-30
2013, race 5: The Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena, Sweden
Pushing hard!
Making history seemed to be at the top of the agenda at the fifth race of the 2013 European drag racing championship. The track and weather conditions were superb, helping to squeeze more performande out of the cars then ever before. Never in the history of FIA drag racing has there been so many records broken at a single event. In all, eight European records made it into the books as well as a few worlds best numbers.
The huge crowds were treated to world class racing in all classes and of course the Pro Stock teams put on a show that goes down in history.
But qualifying turned out very tricky, the air quality was good enough to cause issues for the teams. Horse-power output was beyond anything seen before and the J&J Performance Racing Team was off the pace.
After Fridays two rounds of qualifying, Jimmy Ålund had not managed to break the 11-second barrier and reigning champion Thomas Lindström was qualified in 6th place with a dismal time of 7.08 seconds.
Friday evening, the J&J Performance Racing Team was working hard on getting the chassies and driveline to match up with the massive horsepower of the KB Racing engine.
It paid off handsomely on Saturday. Qualifying round number 3 saw Jimmy leap to the number 1 qualifying spot with numbers that were the first steps to more European records for both elapsed time and speed:
6.560 seconds at 342.42 km/hour (212.76 mph).
It did not stop there, the team stepped it up for the last qualifying round where Jimmy pulled off a mind-boggling 6.534 seconds at 343.29 km/hour (213.31 mph). Again, two new European records for the team and another track record for the books.
"That was touch and go for a while" says Jimmy, "the conditions were better than anything we've ever experienced with this car which made for some issues getting off the line. But we sure got it right on Saturday."
Sunday is for final eliminations. The weather and track conditions stayed perfect and Jimmy pulled off a string of runs that have never been equalled before in Europe.
- Quarterfinals, Jimmy took out Jan Palmqvist with a time of 6.543 seconds at 342.64 km/hour (212.90 mph).
- Semifinals, a win over arch rival Michael Malmgren, 6.546 seconds @ 342.86 km/hour (213.04 mph).
- Final. Another matchup between Jimmy Ålund and Thomas Lindström. That's the fifth time this season that those drivers meet in a final. The win record this year was 3-1 for Jimmy before this run and it's now 4-1 as Jimmy pulled his fourth win of the season with one more mid-6.5 second run - 6.558/341.99 km/h (212.50 mph).
A perfect ending to a historic race weekend. "We were struggling Friday" says Jimmy, "but there's no denying the whole team was in the zone the rest of the weekend.". Historic? "Oh yeah, we'll not see the likes of this in a very long time. The level is very high, all the teams performed better than ever and we won!"
"We obviously have big power under the hood and would like to thank Jason Line and the whole crew at KB Racing for all their work and the opportunity they have given us this season."
The team leaves Tierp in the points lead, 69 points over second place Thomas Lindström. As a reference, a win in eliminations is worth 20 points.
The final race of the 2013 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is The European finals held at the historic drag strip at Santa Pod in the UK. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, September 6.
2013-08-14
2013, race 4: The NitrOlympx
at HockenheimRing, Germany
What a difference a year makes
The weather at HockenheimRing was sunny and dry all weekend with enormous crowds in place. Important ingredients for a good race but the big news this year was the all new track surface.
New asphalt needs expert preparation for the racers to be able to deliver high quality performance racing. Track preparation is a science that takes a lot of time and effort and much more so for a brand new surface. The big question was if the track would be good enough for European Championship racing this year.
Jimmy Ã…lund, did the track work? "Absolutely, we're amazed by what the HockenheimRing crew managed to do. New track records in classes for both cars and motorcycles. It made for a very good event".
It's Jimmys fourth race of the second season with this car and it looks like the J&J Performance team have confidence in what they can achieve. "I agree. We always need to be learning to try to stay ahead but the whole team feels very good about the car right now", Jimmy says. " It reacts exactly the way we want it to".
It showed in qualifying. Jimmy took the number one spot for the fourth time in as many races. The elapsed time of 6.653 seconds is also the new HockenheimRing track record for Pro Stock.
But eliminations on Sundays are a whole different matter. No second chances.
Quarterfinals: Jimmy Ã…lund won against Ulf Wagnhester with the quickest time of the day, 6.654 seconds.
Semifinals: Hot track temperature slow down the cars but it does not affect the very close racing. Jimmy 6.75 seconds against Magnus Petterssons 6.78. Magnus had quicker times all the way to half track but the KB Racing horsepower did it's job. Jimmy pulls away and wins but the margin is only 0.039 seconds.
A round win is always important but the competition is fierce. Thomas Lindström is second in the championship and he not only pulled a win in the other semi final but he also posted a quicker time than Jimmy. That means lane choice for the Lindström Dodge and sometimes a psychological advantage.
Finals: Jimmy keeps his cool with another fantastic reaction time, 0.019 seconds to young Thomas Lindströms 0.063. That's all it took. In Pro Stock you cannot give away 0.04 seconds at the starting line and expect to win in a final round. Lindström did everything in his power to reel in Jimmy, he ran a quicker time but lost the race (a "holeshot") as the KB Racing horsepower kept the J&J Performance Racing Camaro ahead all the way across the finish line.
Jimmy Ã…lund takes his third win this season. A fantastic race weekend. "Yes it was", says an elated Jimmy, "good for the huge crowd and the sport. Racing in Pro Stock on Sundays is always very challenging and today it could've turned out a lot different than it did but we all worked hard, did our jobs and it paid off."
This is the second time this season that Jimmy wins a final on a holeshot against Thomas Lindström.
"Yes, well", Jimmy with a big smile,"the older the fiddle, the sweeter the music".
Jimmy Ålund and the team leaves the NitrOlympx as the points leader, now extended to 42 points over second place Thomas Lindström. As a reference, a win in eliminations is worth 20 points.
Race number five in the 2013 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is the Sweden Internationals held at the fantastic race track Tierp Arena in Sweden. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, August 23.
2013-07-10
2013, race 3: The FHRA Nitro Nationals at Alastaro, Finland
Half way...
Alastaro is a beautiful track with one of the most pleasent pit areas in Europe. Last years race at Alastaro rained out but the weather this weekend was excellent and helped in bringing in a huge and, as usual, a very enthusiastic crowd to the event.
This was the third race which means that the FIA European drag racing championship is at the half way mark for 2013.
It turned out another very good weekend for Jimmy Ã…lund and the J&J Performance Racing Team. The racing surface was very tricky due to the heat and it took a lot of experience to get down the track. "Yes, definitely" says Jimmy, "Warm weather is nice but can make it hard to go as fast as the horsepower wants to. No records this time but we feel good about the qualifying runs. We misjudged the track in one round but apart from that it was all good".
It was very good. Jimmy hade the fastest time in three of the four qualifying rounds and ended up as the number one qualifier for the third time in a row this season. His best numbers were 6,61 seconds at 337,62 km/h (209,83 mph) which is a new track record by almost 1/10 second! The consistency in qualifying gave Jimmy 9 points which can make a big difference at the end of the season.
The perfect weather carried on into Sundays eliminations where Jimmy started the day by going up against the #8 qualifier. As usual drag racing can be very unpredicable. Jimmy says, "we were very lucky this time, we needed to be real fast to win and to to get the lance choice for the semifinals. But we overpowered the track at the start, went sideways a bit and lost important time but got the win." Jimmys time, 6,83. Jan Ericssons time, 6,84.
This made for a lot of suspense in the semifinals as Jimmy was to meet a very strong Michael Callin who had run a better time than Jimmy in his quarter final and thus had the lane choice. Not very good circumstances but Jimmy and the team worked hard setting up the transmission, clutch, and suspension for the current track conditions and it paid off. Jimmy wins with the best time and speed of the day, 6,66 at 336,60 km/h (209,19 mph).
The final. For the third time this season, Jimmy is up against reigning European Pro Stock champion Thomas Lindström. Thomas has as usual run strong and consistant all weekend and was the number 2 qualifier.
Jimmy had a slightly better reaction and leaves the line first by 0,008 second quicker than Thomas Lindström. Jimmy kept the lead and won his second event of 2013 by only 32 thousands of a second.
Jimmy comments, "A tough race as usual, Pro Stock is a tough class to race in with small margins and it was a satisfying win. We lost the last race at Tierp Arena with a technical problem that had us worried big time but the whole team put a lot of work in the car and we win this race." The smile, "I'm very very happy!"
Jimmy Ã…lund and the team leaves the Nitro Nationals as the points leader by 23 points.
The fourth race in the 2013 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is the NitrOlympx held at the historic race track HockenheimRing in Germany. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, August 10.
2013-06-19
2013, race 2: The Sweden Internationals
at Tierp Arena, Sweden
Roller coaster
Tierp Arena, an hours drive north of Stockholm, a world class race track known for its' excellent racing surface where almost all current European drag racing records have been set.
That continued this weekend with Jimmy Ã…lund again resetting both the time and speed record for FIA Pro Stock.
Qualifying for J&J Performance Racing Team was very close to perfect, Jimmy Ã…lund had both the quickest and fastest car In three of the four qualifying sessions. Two consecutive 6.5 second runs with speeds over 240 km/hours (211 mph) was unheard of before this race and that performance of course meant yet more European records for Jimmy. The new FIA Pro Stock record for elapsed time is 6,552 seconds and the new speed record is 341.34 km/hours (212.10 mph).
"We're very happy about how we handled qualifying", says Jimmy, "we have the performance but needed consistency which clearly is much better now".
Sunday morning opened up with rain but that cleared up and eliminations got under way around noon. First round out of three, Jimmy Ã…lund ran another 6.5 second run, 6.58, and took out Ulf Wagnhester.
Second round. One of the great long time rivalries in European Pro Stock racing, Jimmy Ã…lund against Michael Malmgren. Michael had been running strong in qualifying but no win for him this time, Jimmy is the definition of consistency and runs yet another 6.58 second run.
The final. For the second time this season, Jimmy is up against reigning European Pro Stock champion Thomas Lindström. Thomas has as usual run strong and consistant all weekend and was the number 2 qualifier.
Thomas leaves the line first this time, 41 thousands of a second quicker than Jimmy but the power of the KW Parts Camaro had pulled Jimmy to a slight lead at half track and things looked very good for another event win.
But that was not to be. At about 300 meters Jimmy shut off the engine and that was the end of what so far had been a superb weekend.
Jimmy, want to talk about it? "Not really, I shifted to high gear, lost power and heard mechanical noises that tells you to shut down as quickly as is humanly possible". Jimmy shakes his head, "I know what the next question is but, no, we do not yet know the extent of the damage. What I do know is that we have loads of work to do before we can go racing at Alastaro."
Is there anyhthing positive to take away from the weekend? "Doesn't feel like it right now but be sure the car ran incredibly well until that last race." A very slight smile, "every run this weekend except for the final was faster and quicker than the records from 2012".
Jimmy Ã…lund and the team leaves the Sweden Internationals as the points leader, but only by 4 points.
The third race in the 2013 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is the Nitro Nationals at Alastaro, Finland. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, July 5.
2013-05-31
2013, race 1: The Main Event
at Santa Pod, England
Full hand - All in - Jackpot
Santa Pod, a classic place for drag racing, the first race of the 2013 FIA Drag Racing Championship and a most perfect start for the J&J Perfomance Racing Team.
As Jimmy Ã…lund stated after his win at last years European Finals, "this is the start of the 2013 season."
It was. And a record weekend as well. As reported earlier, Jimmy Ã…lunds 2103 pre-season testing showed great potential and it carried on into this first FIA Pro Stock championship round at Santa Pod Raceway.
After four exciting rounds of qualifying, Jimmy held the number one spot with the first 6.5-second run in FIA history, a fantastic time of 6.56 seconds, of course a new European record.
Not only that, on Saturday morning he also ran the first speed over 210 mph in FIA Pro Stock competition, 211.07 mph (339.68 km/h). It was the fastest car in the field but not an official record at the time as record numbers need to be "backed up". According to the rules, a record run needs to be repeated within 1%.
"Of course, excellent numbers in all", says Jimmy, "but we need better consistency. The new rules gives extra points for placing well in each qualifying round and we have work to do to pick up more points there."
Sunday means eliminations. First round out of three, Jimmy Ã…lund is up against a hard charging Mats Jacobsson and takes the win.
Second round. Due to the number of cars in the race, Jimmy gets what is called a solo or "bye" run. An issue with the fuel delivery system shuts down the engine after Jimmy drops the clutch but the car left the line under its' own power and Jimmy goes on to the final round.
The final. Jimmy is up against reigning European Pro Stock champion Thomas Lindström. Thomas is a tough competitor who has run very strong and very consistant all weekend. Jimmy is first off the starting line with a much faster reaction time, only 4 thousands of a second and that made for a repeat victory here at Santa Pod. Jimmy has a time of 6.65 seconds against a slightly quicker 6.64 seconds för Lindström but the stellar reaction time had Jimmy crossing the finish line first. Jimmys speed was 210.12 mph (338.16 km/hour) which backed up the earlier numbers for another new European speed record.
First race of the season, a win and an elated Jimmy, "Wow, I can hardly find words for how good I feel about this win! We won, qualified number one and set two new European records! Thanks to KB Racing in the US for their awesome horsepower delivery."
All in all an easy weekend? Jimmy again, "no, no, not at all, it was real hard work. We were down one crew member and had to be on our toes against the competition."
The final win on reaction time? "Oh yes, the old man can still outdrive the youngsters. Close racing is what the Pro Stock class is all about."
The second race in the 2013 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is the Sweden Internationals run at the fantastic race track of Tierp Arena. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, June 14.
2012-09-15
Race 6: The European Finals at Santa Pod, UK
New European record, winning the event - the start of 2013
So well deserved for all fans, sponsors, organizers and of course The Racers: the finals of the 2012 European drag racing championships was in all a perfect race weekend.
The weather conditions for The European Finals weekend were simply superb and made for first class racing and record crowds at the historical Santa Pod Raceway.
Jimmy Ã…lund and the J&J Performance Racing Team had the engine in very good tune as evidenced by the speed shown throughout the weekend. The new 2012 Camaro was the fastest car in every qualifying round during Friday and Saturday as well as in all elimination rounds on the Sunday.
Add to that a new European Pro Stock speed record and you get a very satisfied driver. "We had some of the best weather conditions of the year and got the tune up just where we wanted it. High speed means a happy engine", says Jimmy.
The new European speed record was set during qulifying session number three on Saturday morning, the record now stands at a stellar 334,90 kilometers per hour. Jimmy again, "it's been a hot year for speed records and says something about how competitive this class is. This is the third time for a speed record just this season. With three different drivers holding it, that is a first in European Pro Stock history".
Sunday and eliminations. The beautiful weather never gave up, nor did the huge crowds who were treated to what might have been the best race ever at Santa Pod Raceway.
Jimmys string of quality runs kept up, he had the fastest speeds in all of the elimination runs. Quickest ET in two of the three rounds, most importantly the final where Jimmy won the whole event over Thomas Lindström.
An excellent way to end a year that's had its' share of hardships. An elated Jimmy, "Absolutely. This win means so much to us. We started out the year with a brand new race car that was 100% new to us in every detail. It's been a good learning experience and as can be seen on the record speeds we have made very solid progress throughout the season".
The season standings have Thomas Lindtrsöm of Sweden as the new FIA Pro Stock Champion with Jimmy Ålund as the runner up. "Congratulations. Our hats are off for Thomas' win, they've had a solid season with strong performances at all the races and we look forward to more hard racing next year"".
"We'd like to thank our sponsors for the tremendous help we've gotten this year. This win was not only a very good end to the 2012 season, we also see it as the perfect start of the 2013 season".
The first race of the 2013 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is The Main Event held at the historic drag strip at Santa Pod in the UK. The qualifying starts on Saturday morning, May 25, 2013.
2012-08-26
2012, race 5: The Scandinavian Internationals at Tierp Arena, Sweden
Racing at a record track
The fifth race of the European drag racing championship also got its share of rain but in all it was a superb race weekend and very good PR for the sport.
The weather co-operated during Friday and Saturday and record crowds were treated to some of the best racing seen in the history of the championship. The race surface was in excellent condition and a number of European records were broken and we even got to see a world best run in the Top Fuel Bike class.
Qualifying: Jimmy Ã…lund started out with a strong run and took the number 1 spot in the first qualifying round. Michael Callin in hot pursuit in second place with a speed above the European record. Unfortunately the second run was bad news for J&J Racing, Jimmy steps on the clutch at around 300 meter and crosses the finish line with a slight trail of smoke. Jimmy explains, “we unfortunately had a serious engine problem on that run. That engine was pulled out of the car and replaced with a spareâ€.
Race conditions were very good on the Saturday, perfect weather, a perfect track and a huge crowd enjoying the show. Qualifying round three was a very nice run by Jimmy with the spare engine, a 6,69 which was the quickest run of that session. Michael Callin also ran well and backed up his prior speed for a new European Pro Stock speed record.
Last round of qualifying and another strong run by Jimmy, 6,69 again but Thomas Lindström put all the pieces together and ended up the number 1 qualifyer by a margin of just 0,03 seconds.
Sunday is the day for final eliminations and the weather forecast did not look good at all as regards to rain. It cleared temporarily and in the early afternoon it was time for the first round of eliminations where Jimmy Ã…lund beat Ulf Wanghester with the quickest time in the quarter finals. Another tough matchup in the semifinals, Jimmy Ã…lund against veteran racer Michael Malmgren where Jimmy was first at the finish line again.
And that was the end of the race weekend, the rain came down hard and it was not possible to complete the finals. “The rain is of course bad news but this has been a good weekend in all. The high point is that we have the car in good order, we run consistent now but need more testing to cut our times to where we want to be.â€
Sponsors. “Yes, what a great weekend. We had a large numbers of our sponsors in place and I especially want to thank Johan Milton and Uffe from Vadstena Klosterhotell who as usual put together a real nice menu for everybody and helped make the weekend a great success in that regardsâ€.
The final race in the 2012 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is The European finals held at the historic drag strip at Santa Pod in the UK. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, September 7.
2012-08-12
2012, race 4: The NitrOlympX at HockenheimRing, Germany
Sold out fiasco
Although the organizers of this years NitrOlympX counted in a new record number of 85.000 spectators, it unfortunately turned out to be a very bad weekend at the 2012 Hockenheim NitrOlympX.
In preparations for the Formula 1 race held at HockenheimRing just before the NitrOlympX race, the drag strip was sandblasted which left the stone aggregate of the race surface sticking up above the asphalt.
The traction on that kind of surface is not at all acceptable for high powered race vehicles, and there was not enough time to prepare the race surface to the standards needed for safe and compettive drag racing on the level expected for European Championship Drag Racing.
Fridays qualifying was called off. There were three qualifying runs made on the Saturday and the results told the whole story: The number one qualifier in Pro Stock ran a best of 8.66 seconds which is two seconds slower than Jimmy Ã…lunds current European record of 6.64 seconds.
On Sunday, the decision was made to cancel racing in most of the championship classes and FIA Pro Stock was included in that announcement.
“Very dissapointing, this has got to rate as the biggest fiasco in European championship drag racing historyâ€. Jimmy Ã…lund does not spare the words, “I have been sorting out the impressions from the weekend over the last few days and unfortunately the word ‘fraud’ comes to mindâ€.
Almost 240 teams were entered to compete in the 2012 NitrOlympX. Many of them travelled long distances and arrived to find a sub standard track that was not suitable for racing and there were no prior indications from the organizers that this would be the case.
“We have bought into a product with considerable amounts of both money and time but did not get what we paid forâ€. Jimmy again, “both fans and sponsors are as disappointed as the team about last weekend. We hope that this will be a learning experience for everyone involved but right now it’s time to look forward. Two races left and the next one is at Tierp Arena which we know will deliver the kind of high quality track that we expect at this level of championship drag racingâ€.
Indeed. Race number five in the 2012 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is the Scandinavian Internationals held at the fantastic race track Tierp Arena in Sweden. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, August 24.
2012-07-10
2012, race 3: The FHRA Nitro Nationals at Alastaro, Finland
Progress
The weather continues to cause problems for the 2012 FIA Drag Racing Championship. The third race of the series at Alastaro was cut short by inclement weather.
The good news is that the teams progress with the new Camaro Pro Stock car continued this weekend. It started off with a solid set of qualifying rounds that showed both good performance and good consistency, two very important traits within the sport of drag racing.
FIA championship drag racing allows for four qualifying runs to set the stage for the finals on Sunday. Jimmy posted consecutive runs of 6.72, 6.71, 6.76 and 6.74 seconds and he ended up as the number two qualifier.
"Yes, it went well. Like I said before, the car is 100% a whole new product for us and we're learning new things every run" says Jimmy, "the progress is definitely there".
The eliminations on Sunday did not go smoothly due to rain showers on and off during the day but Jimmy won the quarter final against rookie Christian Sagelv driving the only Ford in this championship. The semifinals was a classic matchup in European Pro Stock racing, Jimmy went up against long time rival Michael Malmgren who is always a tough opponent. Jimmy won that race as well, the ET was 6.72 seconds which turned out to be the quickest time of the final eliminations.
All was set for a final between Jimmy and fellow swede Michael Callin who is driving a strong car this year, but the rain came on too hard and the race was called off.
"The rain was very unfortunate, we felt real good about today", says Jimmy, "the 6.72 in the semifinals was run under fairly poor air conditions and we felt there was more performance to gain later on in the day."
"In all it was a good weekend, mechanically all is in very good shape and we've now gotten to the point where we can run this beautiful Jerry Haas Camaro as hard as possible".
The team did not have regular crew member Kalle Hrupa on board this weekend and would like to thank Owe Sjölund for joining up and helping out. Owe is the president of main sponsor KW Parts when he's not at the track.
Jimmy would also like to extend a special thanks to part time sponsor World Wide Bearings and Anders Larsson who delivered a set of ceramic ball bearings for the Liberty transmission. Anders is very knowledgeable about the world of Pro Stock car racing and a dragracer with a background as a successful Pro Stock Bike racer. Jimmy again, "thanks Anders, we look forward to seeing you back to racing again soon". World Wide Bearings can be reached at www.WorldWideBearings.se
Last but not least, Jimmy picked up some very important championship points. The J&J Performance Racing Team is still in second place but gained more than 30 points towards the current points leader Thomas Lindström.
The next race in the 2012 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is the NitrOlympx held at the historic race track HockenheimRing in Germany. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, August 10.
2012-06-21
2012, race 2: Sweden Internationals
at Tierp Arena, Sweden
High performance racing
The weather forecast looked grim for the second FIA/UEM Dragracing Championship event in Sweden. There was rain but also a solid portion of world class racing.
Jimmy and the team were looking for a complete turnaround from the first race at Santa Pod where things did not pan out as planned with the brand new 2012 Camaro Pro Stock car.
Friday was dry and qualifying went according to plan. Jimmy came out swinging in the first qualifying round on Friday morning and was the fastest car with a strong run of 6.70 seconds at 334.37 km/hour, very close to the European speed record. For qualifying round two, the team changed to the new Bob Ingles engine and went out for a half track pass to gather test data. They got it, Jimmy posted one of the events quickest and fastest passes to half track. A successful test run and the numbers from the first round was still enough for Jimmy to end the first day of the event as the number one qualifier in the Pro Stock class.
Saturday, second day of qualifying, the predictions for rain unfortunately came true. All of the racing in the FIA classes was called off, leaving Jimmy at the top of the qualifying list.
Sunday also started with heavy rains that kept the track under water well into the afternoon. All eyes were on the weather radars and an opening came up in the early evening. The weather finally broke and Jimmy and the rest of the Pro Stock racers came to the line at around 17:00 and the spectators were treated to some very high quality racing.
Quarterfinals: Jimmy ran another 6.70 ET to move on to the the next round, fastest time of the event and new track record. And again just a smidge from the speed record.
Semifinals: Jimmy Ã…lund against fellow Swede Mats Jacobson, and another win for Jimmy. Elapsed time was 6.76 with a stunning reaction time of only 0.006 seconds.
Finals: Second year in a row with Jimmy in the finals at Tierp Arena. This time against current points leader Thomas Lindström in his Dodge Stratus and we were in for a magnificent race. Thomas left the starting line 0.02 seconds before Jimmy. Jimmy had the quicker car on all incrementals but could not reel in Thomas’ starting line advantage. Thomas crossed the line first with an ET of 6.704, Jimmy with the faster 6.701 but less than 30 centimeters (12 inches) behind Thomas. Both racers ran identical speeds of 334.37 km/hour.
A fantastic and historic race, the quickest and fastest run by a pair of FIA Pro Stock cars ever. Second place again for Jimmy at Tierp but this year we were greeted by a huge smile. "No worries, this was a very good race day. We did our best here today and came back in a big way from the problems we had in Santa Pod". Jimmy continues, "we got beat fair and square, simple as that. Congrats to Thomas and his team". Next up is the Nitro Nationals in Alastaro Finland, Jimmy again, "we're very much looking forward to that race, we enjoy being at Alastaro and expect some very good racing there".
The J&J Performance Racing Team leaves Tierp Arena in second place in the points standings, a move of two places up from the Santa Pod event. The Nitro Nationals at Alastaro takes place on 5 - 8 July.
2012-06-11
2012, race 1: The Main Event
at Santa Pod, England
Eventful European debut
The brand new Pro Stock Camaro of Jimmy Ålund was flown from the US to Europe in the excellent care of our new sponsor Geodis. The preparations for the 2012 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship continued immediately at the J&J Performance shop at their home base in Norrköping.
The first race of the season is the Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK. The weekend was touch and go as regards to the weather which included both rain and cold temperatures, not good circumstances to run a brand new car. At the test session on Friday evening, disaster struck. The car hardly left the line due to poor traction with the engine over-revving and damage as the result.
The team worked well into the night to change to a spare engine and got it done in time for the first qualifying run on Saturday morning where things repeated themselves - the tires did not hook and the engine hit the revlimiter again. The team could not take a chance on the spare engine not being in racing condition after that, it needed a teardown and service rebuild which cannot be done at the track so unfortunately the weekend was over.
Not the perfect way to start the season. "No, obviously not, that was a nightmare", says Jimmy. "We simply do not have enough track time with the new car. It is a whole new product in every single detail and it takes many runs down the race track to get it to work".
After the car was serviced back home in Sweden, it was brought to Kjula Raceway near the city of Eskilstuna for testing. "We needed to regroup and we feel good about the test day at Kjula Raceway". Jimmy continues, "we made solid progress and are very confident about bringing a good car to the next round of the championship, the Sweden Internationals at Tierp Arena".
The competition? "Yes, we lost the European speed record to Thomas Lindström, that record is from 2009 and it was about time". Jimmys smile is back, "we're glad they left us the ET record. But seriously, it had to happen, the competition in this class is second to none which is why we have invested the time and money in a brand new car".
The second race in the 2012 FIA Pro Stock Drag Racing Championship series is the Sweden Nationals run at the fantastic race track of Tierp Arena. The qualifying starts on Friday morning, June 15.
2011-09-16
7-time European Pro Stock Champion!
The Finals, Santa Pod Raceway
The J&J Performance Racing Team left Hockenheim with a solid points lead. All that was needed to clinch the 2011 championship was to have the car pass scrutineering and run a qualifying run at The Finals at Santa Pod Raceway but until that was done, the championship was not confirmed.
"That's right, anything can happen. We race on the track, not on paper", says a very elated Jimmy Ã…lund. "I'm very happy about this championship. This year has to count as one of the most competitive seasons in the history of FIA Pro Stock championship racing, to win it all this year rates very high in my list of accomplishments."
This last event was just as tough as usual. Jimmy got off to a good start by being the #1 qualifier after the first round of qualifying but ran into problems in both Q2 and Q3. "Tireshake in the second round and too soft a setup in Q3 hurt us. To be honest, the track was not good at all, the changing conditions created a lot problems for the racers but we came back OK in the last run of qualifying". Yes, Jimmy Ã…lund ran the fastest time and speed of Q4 and went into eliminations as the number 1 qualifier, having run both quickest ET and fastest speed of all. Those numbers turned out to be the best for the whole event.
Sunday means eliminations. Jimmy won the first round with 6.7887 seconds at 328.9 km/hour (204.42 miles/hour) but fell victim to a tricky track in the semifinals. "We spun and shook the tires again. We did all we could and were just waiting for this bad track to hit us and it did in the semi finals."
Jimmy is all smiles despite the early departure from eliminations, "the whole team worked hard this season and brought home another European championship to the team and the sponsors".
"It's been a great season for everyone involved, it started out with us getting DHL Express on board as a new major sponsor which turned out to be very important for winning the championship. DHL Express have been very supportive of our efforts and saved us more than once when we needed fast and reliable delivery of parts from the US. Of course we thank all of our sponsors, this is simply not possible without their support."
Jimmy sends a special thought to engine builder Bob Ingles. "As always it's been good to work with a world class engineer like Bob Ingles. He did it again, supplying us with good engines and the horsepower necessary to win the championship. Thanks Bob."
The 2011 season has just ended but planning has already started for next year. Many of the cars in the class have been updated with new technology while J&J Racing have been hard at work getting the most out of what has been in place for a few seasons. The ever increasing performances in the class calls for stepping up in the engine department. "Yes, we need to take a realistic look at what we can afford for next year" says Jimmy, "it takes a good sized wallet to be competitive in these championships but right now we're very much enjoying what we accomplished this year."
All right, that's it for the 2011 FIA Pro Stock championship. Many thanks to all the fans for the great support you've given us during the year, see you next season.
2011-08-17
"Teamwork!"
Round 4, Hockenheim, Germany
Round 4 of the FIA Pro Stock Championship was held at the legendary Hockenheimring but the team had been testing at Tierp Arena just two weeks earlier.
The test session was the proverbial "good news, bad news"-scenario. The performance was very good and according to plan, the J&J Racing Team pulled off the best incrementals of all the teams present which included 8 of the top-10 cars in the championship. The bad news was that the engine was hurt in the 5th run of the weekend. Jimmy was clearly dejected and saw no possibilities for getting that motor repaired in two weeks, "we have to attend Hockenheim with a single engine which is obviously not ideal at all".
However, with the help of new team sponsor DHL Express, Jimmy managed to get all the parts delivered from Bob Ingles at J&B Performance based in New York, USA. "Simply fantastic", says Jimmy, "all in record time which allowed us to travel to Hockenheim with two engines in top shape".
"We're really happy about the very professional service that we're getting from DHL Express." Jimmy again, "this is the third time this season that DHL Express has gotten us out of trouble". Jimma also passes on a huge "thank you" to Bob Ingles for his efforts.
It paid off at the Hockenheim-race. Jimmy took it easy in the first qualifying round on Friday to get a feel for the new track, #3 qualifier 0,03 seconds behind. The team stepped things up slightly in Q2: #2 qualifier, fastest speed of the session and 0,006 seconds behind. It all fell into place for the two qualifying sessions on Saturday where Jimmy ended up in the #1 qualifying spot after it was all said and done. On the way there, Jimmy ran what turned out to be the two fastest ETs of the whole weekend. In addition, he also pulled off top speed of the event.
"Yes, things fell in place", said a very satisfied Jimmy, "qualifying was great. Everything we did was according to a plan that was set long before we left our base in Sweden". That team focus continued into eliminations with two straight wins, the J&J Performance Racing Team running low ET of each round and a place in the final. "It's very hard competition now", "some of the other teams are going all out and bringing home new engines during the on-going season".
Unfortunately the final round was rained out but Jimmy and the team left Hockenheim with an even larger points lead than from Alastaro.
Do you discuss points within the team? Jimmy replies, "not really, there are no tactics for placing in the points table other than to do your absolute best. You treat every single race as the finals, it's as simple as that". He continues, "we're in a good position going into the last race of the season but as for everybody in this sport, the one goal for each event is to leave with the winners trophy".
The final round of the 2011 FIA Pro Stock Championship will be contested at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK, September 8-11.
2011-07-05
"The old man is back!"
Round 3, Alastaro, Finland
Tough conditions, the weather was extreme, very hot and sticky air combined with torrential rain and thunderstorms that at one time knocked out the power for the whole town of Alastaro including the racetrack.
Qualifications were also tough with Thomas Lindström being the number one qualifier for the second race in a row. Jimmy qualified in the number two spot, only 6 thousands of a second behind - "The last race at Tierp was clearly a dissapointment for us and we needed to get back to form for this race. We came to Alastaro with a solid plan that we followed to 100%". It worked well, Jimmy pulled off fast and very consistent runs during qualifying. Jimmy is smiling again, "we were very pleased with our qualifying runs. The car reacted exactly according to our tuning changes."
That kind of car performance continued into eliminations on Sunday but a fast and consistent car does not win races on its own. With the small margins in todays Pro Stock racing, many of the races are decided on the starting line where a lightning fast reaction time is crucial for winning. "The old man is back", Jimmy had the best reaction times in all the elimination runs on Sunday including the final where he went up against Thomas Lindström and where J&J Performance Racing pulled off another event win in FIA Pro Stock Racing.
"What a win!" says an elated Jimmy Ã…lund, "we came here with one single purpose and that was to win the race. The team performed flawlessly and the driver did his job". Jimmy again, "it was real hard racing this weekend, the competition is better than ever."
An event win is big but not only that, Jimmy leaves Alastaro leading the championship. "Of course we feel good about that but we're only half way through the championship. The competion is fierce, no one can afford any mistakes and other teams are making big investments in going faster right now".
Next up is a test session at the Tierp Arena in Sweden on the last weekend of July. It's a rare opportunity for testing and at least eight of the fastest Pro Stock cars in Europe will be in place which speaks volumes about the professional level and commitment of todays FIA Pro Stock racing teams.
The next round of the FIA Pro Stock Championship will be contested at historic Hockenheim Ring in southern Germany, August 12-14.
2011-06-13
World premiere at Tierp Arena
Race 2, Sweden
This was a fantastic weekend for racefans as well as racers - the inaugural FIA race at the brand new world class Tierp Arena in Sweden.
It was very tight racing as usual, Jimmy ended up as the number 3 qualifier after a very eventful qualifying session that had three different cars at the #1 spot before the list was settled. Rookie Thomas Lindström took the top spot for the first time in his career with Jimmy a number three. "Yes, it was very tight racing, the number one position was decided by one thousand of a second", said Jimmy. "Very tough racing, we're happy to be up there in the top three. The spectators love this kind of racing, it is really good for the sport".
That kind of racing continued during eliminations on the Sunday. J&J Racing had the second fastest time and speed in the quarter finals, was quickest and fastest in the semi finals but met defeat in the finals against first-time event winner Sampso Palos from Finland. Sampsos winning margin was just
over 1 meter at the finish line.
"Everything was fine until the final". Jimmy is clearly dissapointed, "we made a small mistake with the cluch setup and on this level of racing there is literally no margin for errors". Jimmy continous, "Sampsa made seven good runs during the weekend, we made six. Well, we never stop learning and are looking forward to the next race at Alastaro, it's a different track with different conditions".
On a positive note, many of the teams sponsors were in place this historic weekend at the home track for the Swedish racers. Jimmy smiles again, "oh yeah, it's always a real pleasure to have our sponsors in place. This would simply not be possible without them, a special thanks to Vadstena Klosterhotel who again provided everybody with fantastic food and catering".
Jimmy leaves Sweden in second place in the points standings, 11 points behind new leader Sampsa Palos.
2011-05-30
Season opener rain-out in the UK
2011 FIA Main Event Santa Pod UK
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with the intent of The Main Event at Santa Pod in the UK. Two days of qualifying in very hard winds were followed by a complete rain-out of eliminations.
Jimmy Ã…lund picked up the most points by being on top of the list after four rounds of qualifying.
The field was very tight with three cars running under 6.8 seconds, very good times considering the head winds.
J&J Racing pulled off a solid set of runs, Jimmy had the fastest times and speeds in three of the four qualifying rounds.
The eliminations were cancelled due to rain so the team left the first race at the top of the points list.
Next race in the championship series is in Sweden at the brand new Tierp Arena in just two weeks.
2010-09-16
2010 FIA European Finals
Business as usual...
OK, final race of an exciting year. Due to the Klintberg & Way US tour, J&J Racing missed events in Europe and was out of contention for the European Pro Stock championship.
But an event win is important and the team finished the season with a resounding reminder to the competitors that the car is as fast and the team is as solid as ever.
Jimmy started out the weekend by being the number one qualifier after the first round of qualifying and fastest car in 2 of the 3 qualifying rounds.
The team carried that kind of performances on into the Sunday eliminations: Jimmy ran the best times and fastest speeds in every round of eliminations and set the low ET and top speed marks during the semifinals - a blistering 6.69 seconds at 332.65 km/hour (206.70 miles/hour).
In the final round it was the reigning champion Jimmy Ã…lund against the newly crowned champion Michael Malmgren. Malmgren had the advantage off the starting line but Jimmy had that made up, and more, by the 60 foot timers and powered on to another event win at the prestigious Finals.
"That felt real good", said Jimmy, "big thanks to the fans, sponsors and the team". He continued "our hat is off to Michael Malmgren, the new champion. He did a lot things correct this year and will run the number 1 plate in 2011".
What about next year? "Well, the target is as always winning the championship. We felt we performed very well here during The Finals and are really looking forward to try to carry that momentum on to the 2011 season".
Another season to the close, with lots of fans already looking forward to the start of the 2011 FIM European Championship season. Next race coming up is The Main Event held at Santa Pod Raceway, racedate is May 27th, 2011.
2010-08-15
2010, third round, Hockenheim Germany
Strong performance, but...
A superb track and as usual a good show with a large crowd of dragracing fans. The team and car performed like the six-time champions they are. After two days and four rounds of qualifying where Jimmy had the fastest time in three of those rounds and fastest speed in all four rounds, Jimmy was the number one qualifier again. Included in that effort was yet another track record this season, the new Hockenheim ET record now stands at 6.74.
The Sunday eliminations started very good. In the quarterfinal against hometrack driver Harald Sturhan, Jimmy ran a superb 6.678 which turned out to be the quickest run of all Pro Stockers this weekend. Unfortunately, that performance did not follow on to the semi-finals against fellow Swede Jan Palmqvist. Jimmy left first on a reaction time of only 0.009 seconds, a quicker time to the 60-foot timer but then the car went into a tireshake and this weekend was over for the J&J Performance Racing Team.
The race ended with rain, no finals were run and Michael Malmgren leads the championship going into The European Finals at Santa Pod in the middle of September.
2010-08-05
2010, third round, Mantorp Sweden
Racing at home
Time for the hometrack race at Mantorp, Sweden. "The newly asphalted track was tricky but we managed well with setting the car up," said Jimmy. "We were the number one qualifyer with over one tenth of a second over number two". Very much so, the team and car performed well. Best time and speed in two of the three qualifying rounds, lowest time and highest speed of the weekend. That included not only a number one qualifying spot with en ET of 6.77 seconds but also a new speed record for the Mantorp track at 329,22 km/hour (204.62 miles/hour).
Unfortunately the weather was not aligned with what is needed for going dragracing. Sunday morning opened up with a rainfall that never really stopped, and the whole race had to be called off without a single run in eliminations for the Pro Stock cars. "Yes, that was really unfortunate" said Jimmy. "This was the first race back in Europe with our own car. The team had worked real hard and we felt we had a good chance to pick up much needed points in the European Chamionship." That was not to be, next race up is the Nitrolympix in Hockenheim, Germany, only two weeks away.
2010-07-06
2010, second round, Alastaro Finland
Back from the US Tour
First race in Europe for Jimmy Ã…lund this year. The team showed up at Alastaro for the second round of the European Pro Stock Dragracing Championship. The J&J Performance Team joined forces with Futura Racing to try to score their first points of the year after having spent the first part of the season in the USA, racing in the NHRA Pro Stock Series.
This was the first race with this combination of car, engine and driveline. Having that in mind, the first round of qualifying turned out very satisfying. Jimmy Ã…lund ran an ET of 6.93 which put the team in the number three qualifying spot and ahead of some of the strongest Pro Stock teams in Europe. The second qualifying run netted almost as good an ET as the first, 6.97 seconds, but when the team returned to the pits they found that a connecting rod had broken right at the finish line. Unfortunately, that meant the end of the weekend for J&J Performance.
"We tried hard" say Jimmy, "the performance level of these Pro Stock motors is astounding and sooner or later things break". He continues, "the runs we got in were really promising but unfortunately it was all over after that second qualifying run". "We picked up points and are now part of this years European Pro Stock Championship". Jimmy sends thanks to the sponsors and obviously to Stefan Eriksson and Mats Olsson of Futura Racing who made the Alastaro race possible.
Next race is coming up at the end of July. The venue is Mantorp Park, Sweden, only a few miles from Jimmys shop. The team are waiting for their own car which is in transit from the US and it's all for picking up a maximum of points at round 3 of the championship.
2009-09-12
European Finals, Santa Pod, UK. September 12, 2009
New European ProStock Records: 6,6492/207,07 MPH!
We would like to congratulate Richard 'Nixxon' Sundblom to the race win, well deserved after running consistantly fast all weekend.
Jimmy and crew did it again during 1st round of qualifying for the 2009 FIA European Pro Stock Championship: The new ET record run in details: 0,0093 RT, 0,9871 60ft, 4,2785/164,00 MPH 1/8, 6,6492 1/4. Later Jimmy also captured the new speed record which now reads 207,07 MPH. Jimmy's # 1 GTO broke with a engine failure during the final run against Nixxon's Cobalt.
But the 2009 FIA European Pro Stock Champion is multiple champ and ace driver Jimmy Ã…lund and his JJ Performance crew of Petter Greborn (clutch), Mats Appelgren (engine) and Kalle Hrupa (rear end).
The team would like to say THANK YOU to all our great sponsors for their participation under 2009! Please use our sponsors if you need a product or service supplied by them.
2009-08-17
2009 Pro Stock Champion!
NitrOlympx, Hockenheim Germany
Jimmy Ã…lund and crew secured the 2009 FIA Pro Stock Championship early at Hockenheim on Sunday, August 16.
The Jerry Haas GTO performed good in the heat, with temperatures as high as 32C on Sunday with only 3,000 ft of air. The track was going away with the high temp's so it was a real challenge to adjust the setups.
Qualifying began on friday with a 6,804/204,4 MPH run, followed by 6,767/204,5 MPH, 6,784/205,4 MPH and a 6,768 205,0 MPH which put Jimmy in the No 1 qualifying spot.
Eliminations started with taking on the no 8 qualifyer Harry Sturhan from Germany, with a winning time of 6,772/204,6 MPH. Next round against Magnus Hansson produced a winning time of 6,80/204,02 MPH.
Richard Nixxon Sundblom, no 2 qualifier, made it to the final but ended up losing to Jimmy's better 6,812/204 MPH.
Congratulations to Jimmy, Petter, Mats and Kalle for making history in European Dragracing with 6 straight F.I.A European Championships!
Next stop on the 2009 FIA Pro Stock Championship tour is on September 10-13 at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK.
2009-07-27
2009 Veidec Festival Mantorp Park Sweden
Rain halted, record braking race
Tight qualifying with only 1/1000 sec separating No 1 qualifyer Richard Nixxon Sundblom at 6,791, from Jimmy's almost identical ET!
Bump spot in the 15 car field 6,91
New track record 6,773/203,90 mph by Jimmy Ã…lund's Klintberg & Way entry in the winning semi final run against Michael Malmgren's Lahega GTO
Jimmy's final race against Magnus Hansson was not possible due to heavy rain
2009-07-08
2009 FHRA Nitro Nationals, Finland
Swedish Pro Stock Victory!
Jimmy wins the finals with a bye run since Richard Sundblom and Michael Malmgren were disquilified due to crossing the line and hitting the wall in a wild semi final round.
Jimmy qualified at No 1 with 6,767/330,00 km/h, and raced Tommy Leindahl with a winning time 6,772 to 6,945 then defeating Magnus Hansson with a 6,786 to a 6,94. In the final bye run Jimmy ran a new trac record with 6,755/330,76 km/h (205,6 mph)
2009-06-01
Jimmy wins the season opener
2009 FIA Main Event Santa Pod UK
By defeating Jonas Dantanus with a 6,7858/204,06 to a 6,8777/201,53 Jimmy Alund took his first win in the 2009 European Pro Stock Championship. With Bob Ingels power he also ran a new European Pro Stock Record with 6,694/206,84! Next stop on the tour will be in Alastaro, Finland 2-5 July.
2009-05-25
6,6940/206,84 MPH
New European Pro Stock Record!
Jimmy Alund took his # 1 GTO to the top spot in qualification for the FIA Main Event in England at Santa Pod Raceway with a blistering 6,6940 at 206,84 mph which is the new European Pro Stock Record.
Stand by for the results of today's exiting finals.....
2009-05-18
Poker Wallenberg 50 år
Jimmy Ã…lund inbjuden....
Grattis Poker!
Tillsammans med andra specialinbjudna gäster hade Jimma sin Pro Stock GTO med sig. Poker fick en teknisk genomgång, och han fick lyssna på hur 1,400 HK låter live!
2009-05-14
Test: Jimmy Ã…lund Meca Test Event
May 2009
New personal best with 4,32/260 km/h at the 2009 season opening test event. FIA Pro Stock season premiere will be at the Santa Pod Main Event 22-25 May.
2009-03-04
Pro 1 på mässa i Oslo
Som representant för Klintberg & Way besökte team JJ Performance Automessen i Februari. Jimmy höll ett föredrag för Klintberg & Ways kunder i Norge om vad som är viktigt i dragracing…
2008-09-10
European Finals 2008
Victory in a rainy race
J&J Performance team with ace driver Jimmy Ã…lund managed to secure his 5th consecutive European Pro Stock Championship at Santa Pod Raceway in UK.
The weekend started out with rain on friday and saturday, with no qualification runs at all. Sunday started dry, so each team got just one qualification run. Jimmy kept cool and managed to qualify at the top with a 6,83 run. The following runs were winning runs at 6,82 and 6,80. Just before the final run the sky opened up again, and destroyed all chances to complete the race.
However, Jimmy was the winner in the overall points and the 2008 FIA Pro Stock Champion!
It's a great feeling - and a BIG thank you to the crew and all our sponsors for making our racing possible!
2008-07-28
Veidec Festival, Mantorp Park July 26-27
Semi final loss - struggling in the heat!
The heat was definitely on! Over 125 degrees in the track on Sunday....!
The racetrack gradually became really hard to cope with, as the heat was taking most of the traction out and making it very unpredictable and tricky for Petter to read.
After strong qualifying with some solid high 6,80 runs we clinched number 1 spot at 6,85. But it all ended for Jimmy in the semifinal round against Richard Nixxon Sundblom, who later defeated Michael Malmgren in the final. Winning time 7,24 says a lot about the track condition.
We are taking our hats of to Nixxon for his win, and by that making the run for the championship very tough.
Last round of the European Championship will be at the European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway September 4-7.
2008-07-08
FHRA Nitro Nationals, July 3-5 2008, Alastaro, Finland
On the winning streak!
The bumpspot was a record low 6,93! The quickest Pro Stock field in Europe, ever!
After qualifying second at 6,79@325 behind Richard 'Nixon' Sundblom (6,77@327*), the Klintberg & Way Pontiac GTO was unstoppable, winning the final over Tommy Leindahls new Cobalt at 6,881@322 vs 6,954@319.
Thanks to Jimmy for flawless driving, thanks Mats for nursing the motor between rounds, thanks Petter for reading the track and finetune the clutch and thanks to Kalle for doing all the hardwork under the car. And a big thank you to all our great sponsors who made it all possible!
As a result, we are now the new 2008 European Pro Stock Championship points leader.
Next stop Mantorp Park, Sweden July 25-27. See you all there!
By Lars, the PR-guy
PS We got a glitch in the website photo management. Therefore no new pictures yet....
* new european speed record at 329,93 km/h - congratulations Team Nixon!
2008-06-27
6,766 s / 204,95 mph
(329,76 kmh)
Jimmy sets new European Pro Stock Record at the Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway, UK.
The 2008 season opening race at Santa Pod could not be completed. Only two qualifying runs were possible on May 24, after that racing became impossible because of repeated rain. But Jimmy and the team managed to make two good runs in qualifying, backing up the new European Pro Stock record.
Next stop on the FIA European Championship tour is on 3rd-6th July: FHRA Nitro Nationals, Alastaro, Finland