What are the other European strips like compared to SPR?

[nitromaniac]

Apart from The Pod, Shakey & York, l've only been to US drag strips. l can't afford to go back to the USA for a while, what are the other European strips like compared to SPR, and which are the best meetings to attend?

Some of the European countries are expensive for accommodation, food, etc - if you've been please give advice.

[NuthinFancy]

Mantorp is fun to drive on, going uphill with a very short shutdown area and a sharp right hand turn before the kitty litter, always a interesting one that. Facilities at Mantorp are awesome too with lots of great people too.

Gardemeon is a very mix match place, the track is awesome with a long shutdown and is completely level and smooth. Only down side is the entrance to the track is the return road to the track aswell. No shower facilities on site (at least not when I went) and the toilets are minimal. You gotta time it right, oh and always have your own roll of loo paper on standby, don't trust the cubicle to have a roll ready for you lol.

Hockenheim is possibly the best european track i've been to, built straight into the circuit facility. Showers, toilets with a swimming pool nearby! Wonderful! Track is great too, with a huge runoff.

Those are the only ones i've been to, perhaps anyone who's been on the European tour can say about Alastaro, and maybe some other guys can say about the smaller tracks like Meca, Pitea, Sundsvall, Tullinge, Drachten etc.. etc...

[blownalky]

hi ,
i agree with mr fancy,if you want to go to europe .
go to mantorp,sweden.
its good on and off the track.
finland is expensive to get to and the track is nearly always a tuners nightmare(sorry but true).
expensive from england anyway!

Edited by blownalky on Saturday 23 December 13:16

[MotorPsycho]

the track, facilities and the venue for Mantorp are superb, not quite as good as the Pod but still very very good, better than Shakey

Gardemoen in Norway, the track is probably on a par with Santa Pod and generally the air is awesome however the facilities barely exist, flushing toilets is about it - fine if you have a motorhome

Hockenheim has the best venue and facilities in Europe, matching some of the best in America but the track quality always seems to be a bit of let down, in terms of atmosphere you cannot beat Hockenheim

all of them are better than many of the smaller tracks in the states, if its not IHRA or NHRA over there it tends to be a bit dire

then you have the smaller tracks mainly in Sweden, Malmo, Tullinge etc some of which have no barriers and are 1/8th mile only with minimal prep, but when the weather is good they turn out some very impressive numbers

Edited by MotorPsycho on Saturday 23 December 14:31

[Collin_Morrice]

I went out this year (2006), but i think everything has been said about the tracks, Norway hasnt changed really, just now there 'showers', a container!

I also went to Malmo (mecca) which is in the middle of an industrial estate, only 1/8th mile but faciltys are new and great! Grand stands down one side, a Canal down the other. The track its self, is probly better than Avon park but that was on a wednesday night test session full of street cars, so not overly preped.

Collin

[Benni]

MotorPsycho said:

Hockenheim has the best venue and facilities in Europe,
matching some of the best in America but the track quality always seems to be a bit of let down,
in terms of atmosphere you cannot beat Hockenheim.

Hi Quartermile travellers !
The track quality in Hockenheim has improved in the last 2 years,
it was bad after the "new" quartermile was run when the whole GP track was renewed.
With only 1 race annually there was just not enough rubber & trackbite on it.

In the last 2 years, there is another event called the "Thunder Drome" one week before the NitrOlympX.
And the promotor has hired 2 experienced NHRA track preppers
to survey and guide the work of the german track crew.
They start prepping now 10 days before the Nitros and do it all days through.
This has led (back) to some fast times on the strip.
Like Karlings 6,4 (still a european rec. I think) SSBs in the 7s, and TF in the low 4,9s.

I have spoken to Roel Koedam and he admitted that in 05 and 06,
they underestimated the track - and this was after 6,3 then 6,2 then 6,1 on his TF Bike in 06.

By the way, the www.thunder-drome.de is a "public race only" weekend,
with sportsman dragster/bike teams allowed for T&T.

Benni

€dit for trying to get small lettering




the quality of the organisation, however, is a different story though,
but this could be on the way to betterment because of a change in team there

Edited by Benni on Monday 25th December 02:27