The Gulf Oil Dragracing – Grand Prix Originals Top Fuel Bike team suffered a significant setback in their quest for
the 2012 European Top Fuel Bike Championship after suffering problems when preparing for their first round elimination run.
Despite concerns about the weather again affecting qualifying at this second Swedish event on the calendar, the
forecasts proved wrong when two full days of qualifying on a well prepared track were available to the large number of competitors.
Using their four qualifying runs to experiment with different settings the team gleaned much need data and
qualified solidly in second place with a 6.23 secs. @ 220.17 mph.
Ordinarily the team would have been slightly disappointed at not achieving number one position, but after a blistering World
record pass by the local STARTA Racing team of veteran Top Fuel Bike rider Peter Svensson this was a satisfactory mark.
First round saw King with lane choice against the impressive team of Nils Lagerlof who had hastily rebuilt the front end of
his machine after a hard excursion into the boundary wall in qualifying.
However, disaster struck for the championship leaders when their machine failed to fire up correctly due to a failure of an
electrical component, an ignition crank trigger.
The team could only watch on as the number two in the points table took an unopposed bye run into the semi finals.
The team next travel next to their home track of Santa Pod, UK on the 6-9 September for the finals of the European Championship for an exciting season finale with four teams able to
assume the Championship title depending on the outcome of the race.
Photos courtesy of Ivan Sansom & Rose Hughes.
For more information on the
European Championship visit www.speedgroup.eu
The
team is extremely proud to be supported by many leaders in their chosen markets
in their challenge for the 2012 European Championship:-
APE
– The
world’s most innovative manufacturer of aftermarket parts for race bikes
ACTION
CAMERAS – Europe’s leading source for action sports cameras
COMETIC
GASKETS – The Premier
Manufacturer of racing gaskets
BELL HELMETS
– The ultimate iconic
helmet brand
GATES
– The world’s most trusted name in drive
belts, hoses and hydraulics
GOODRIDGE
– The most innovative and the best in
fluid transfer systems
GRAND
PRIX ORIGINALS – The brand for drive and lifestyle, past and
present
GULF
OIL INTERNATIONAL – The world’s most iconic brand in automotive
fuels and lubricants
HYPERPRO – The
leading producer of progressive suspension products for motor bikes
JE
PISTONS – The world’s premier
manufacturer of high performance forged pistons
KENT CAMS
– Specialists
in motor sport camshaft manufacture, short runs and one -off’s
KIBBLEWHITE
PRECISION MACHINING – The highest
quality valve train components available
KING
RACING – The most successful Top
Fuel Bike team in European Dragracing history
MICKEY
THOMPSON – Simply the best drag
race tyres in the world
MRE
– Leaders in trackside support for drag
race components nand air shifting systems
MTC
ENGINEERING – Manufacturer of clutches for the fastest
motorcycles in the world
NITROSHUTTER
– Europe’s leading dragracing
photojournalists
NCTENGINEERING – Manufacturer
of the world’s leading non-contact motorsport torque sensors
NGK
SPARKPLUGS UK – The world’s number one spark plug
manufacturer
PAR
WILLEN – Master webmeister and
proprietor of HarleyDrags.com
PORTABLE
SHADE – The best custom branded
collapsible canopies available
PRO
ALLOY MOTORSPORT – The UK’s leading fabricator of alloy tanks,
intercoolers and radiators
PUMA
ENGINEERING – Manufacturer of the world’s most powerful
motorcycle engines
RSG
CUSTOMIZE – The UK’s most
creative website designers and vinyl artists
VANSON
LEATHERS – The most iconic brand
in motorsport leather goods
WORLDWIDE
BEARINGS – The world’s leading supplier of ceramic
bearings for racing
ZODIAC
– Europe’s largest supplier of
performance and aftermarket HD parts
For more on information on King Racing,
visit www.kingracing.com
