Euro Cup, Pro Stock Class

Triple victory for Herlevi family at the opening of the Finnish Championship series

Only fifteen minutes late from the schedule, when the heavy and long lasting rain had stopped, the Finnish pulling season could be started at the holiday resort of the Matikainen family in Oulainen, Finland. The organisers had done a good job in covering the track with plastic, so the rain did not do much harm to it.

Only the parking area, which was a field soaking with water, became a nightmare for crowd and the organisers. The road leading to the track was blocked and some of the spectators simply gave up even before getting down to the track. According to the organiser approximately 1000 tickets were sold.

All together there were 29 competitors in Oulainen out of which 5 participated in the most expected and impressive class, 3.5T Pro Stock. In addition to the Valtra Shell Pulling Team with three tractors, there were two Ursus tractors to fight for the FC-points in the Pro Stock class.

Broken Turbocharger

Johanna Herlevi was the first one to pull in the 3.5T pro stock class. Only after few meters she got problems with the Turbo and without any warning, lost the turbo pressure. This damage could have resulted from the slight engine damage in Bernay’s Eurocup last weekend. Since she was the first one to go in her class, the failed pull was considered as a test pull. This gave Johanna another try to take part in the competition. Back at the pit area the turbo from Matti’s Caesar was borrowed and placed into Doris.

Clear triple victory

Pekka Herlevi made nearly a Full Pull and Matti made some 90 metres. Johanna’s new attempt with the borrowed Turbo went well and she got very close to the checkered flag set by her dad. There was no need to go for the second round as it was already clear after the first round who were the winners of this race.

While pro stock class in Europe is growing bigger and more popular, in Finland there are very few competitors. This is a pity, since a bigger amount of competitors would be good both for the audience as well as the development of the sports itself.