The battle for the Top Fuel lead in Europe

Urs Erbacher, go2geiger.com blogger
Monday, 23 August 2010

The FIA Nitrolympx at Hockenheimring in Germany is my home race. It's both good and bad because like many drag racers, it seems whenever we race at home we have bad luck. It's the race where you always want to do the best with all your friends and family there but something always seems to get in the way.

This year we really wanted to change that trend. We left Mantorp Park in a tie for the FIA Top Fuel points lead with Risto Poutiainen and we knew a big race in Germany would help our championship aspirations quite a bit.

As always, the race starts with a party as our legion of fans from Switzerland came over to support us. We also had 200 VIP guests in attendance so the Fat Attack pit was rocking and rolling from the start. We needed two trailers and a giant tent to keep everyone comfortable. But with my super Erbacher Team and Thomas Fischer, everything was handled and we were able to concentrate on the car and bike.

I walked the track Wednesday afternoon and, I must say, the retired NHRA guys that work for FIA now did a great job. The track looked awesome.

Unfortunately, it rained all day Thursday and a bit more Friday and we only got one qualifying run, which, like all the others, ended in tire smoke.

Saturday morning the weather was good and we ran a 4.986 at 472.10 kmh, so we were happy that we can handle the track now. Some of the teams behind us saw how good we did and turned the screws a little up and by the end of qualifying we were sixth overall.

That set us up with a first round race against Risto, so it was a hard night. All my VIP guests ask me, "What happened? Normally you are No 1. qualifier?" I try to explain how it works as much as I can but it was still tough to hear.

I went to bed knowing I need to win that first round against Risto, and I couldn't help but remember that Risto beat me last year in Hockenheim. My friends say, "It's time to get him back. Go get him Urs."

The pressure was sky high Sunday morning because with one race left after Hockenheim this single round might make the difference. It was clear I need a win light.

When we got there I was nervous and excited. The down time before the race took forever to pass but finally we got our chance.

By the way, for the first time my 16 year old daughter backed me up to the starting line. Our crewman Dario showed her how to do it and now this will be her job. That's her in the photos.

On to the race…I deep-staged to try and have a good light but the home race problems came back and I was dead late. Risto was out front and I could see his front wing so I knew I was behind. After a few hundred feet I start to give up in my head, thinking he was going to win. But then my car starts to pull more and I pass Risto just before the finish line.

I win! It felt so great, like I won the whole race.

My team guys are going crazy when they come to get me and when we get back to the pit my VIP guests were all clapping and cheering for us. It was great!

Of course, the job isn't over and we had to start preparing for Andy Carter, the reigning Top Fuel champion. In my head, I was getting prepared to beat him but as we're getting ready it starts to rain again. It never stopped and eventually they had to call the race off altogether. I gain 18 points on Risto and now have the lead all to myself, but it is small.

I say I can live with the decision but I would have loved to finish the race and show my fans that we can win on our home track. But the Lord must want the championship to be decided in England, so he is the Boss and we will do it in England.

We will see you all in Santa Pod.
Urs

Tied for lead with two races left

By Urs Erbacher, go2geiger blogger
Wednesday, 04 August 2010

We have just returned from the Veidec Festival at Mantorp Park in Sweden. My mood is very mixed up right now because we came home tied for the FIA Top Fuel lead with Risto Poutiainen with just two races left on the schedule. This is great news and very exciting.

At the same time, we feel like Mantorp Park could have been much better for everyone, especially the fans. As you have probably read by now on go2geiger.com, it rained so much on race day that they canceled the race before we got to make a run. It sucks for everyone but what can you do about the rain?

I really thought it would have been a big day for us. Race day was set for August 1, which is Switzerland's National Day. This is my country's equivalent of the Fourth of July. It was on this day in 1299 that Switzerland became it's own country. Obviously, we are very proud of this day and I wanted to make it the day I take over the points lead but we never got a chance.

When they called the race, they told us the points we earned in qualifying would still be added to our season total so when we add it up, me and Risto are now tied!

I promised my fans that we would come to the FIA Nitrolympx, which takes place Aug. 13-15 at Hockenheimring, in the points lead so I kept my promise. This is great news because Hockenheim is what we consider to be our home track as it is the closest one to Switzerland. I know all our friends and fans will be there so we want to have the biggest race of our lives there and take control of the championship.

If you are at the Nitrolympx, come say hello. Otherwise, we will see you in England!

Urs

A sauna in Finland does my heart good

Tuesday, 06 July 2010

After doing two "Burnout Shows" in Austria and Switzerland to make enough money to go to Finland, we were on our way north with the FIA points lead in hand.

We arrived at the FHRA Nitro Nationals at the Alastaro Circuit with great hopes but quickly found out our chassis had broken apart in the front nose up by the gas tank. So I call Mats Erikson from Sweden and he says, 'No problem, we will fix it.' Soon his son comes over and cuts the chassis apart and starts welding things back together. He put in 12 hours of hard work and finally the car is ready to go. What a great job.

The race starts Friday and when I pull up for the first session I think I must be careful to make sure the front end is perfect. We decide to make a checkout pass of maybe 200 feet or so. But on the start line when I hit the throttle it feels so good so I forgot all about 200 feet and keep going. I look for the 1,000-foot cones but blow right by those and head to the full quarter-mile.

The car runs so straight, so much better  than ever before, and we post a 4.20-second run at 463 kmh, which made us the No. 1 qualifier. That first pass ended up being our best of the whole weekend and it eventually earned us the No. 3 spot on the ladder.

The last session Saturday I see Stig Neergaard and Risto Poutiainen pulling out after they both destroyed their cars in a bad top-end crash. I have a lot of respect for these two guys if they can fix their cars over night. They must both have great crews to make that happen.

In the first round of eliminations we run against Anita Mäkele. After we start the engine I was shocked to see one of my ignition magnetos failing. I could see it on the Racepak display, and I knew right away that now we didn't have enough power to beat her. So I try to make a good light on the tree and stage as deep I can to see what may happen. Then suddenly Anita leaves too early and gets the red light.

I was happy because my car was not pulling with only one magneto and we made only a 4.50-second pass. We somehow won the round but lost lane choice for sure.

Timo Lehtimäki was next. He ran a 4.00 in Round 1 and selected the right lane, which was better. The left lane was good until half track and then everyone was up in smoke, including us, and we lost the round.

I'm not sure about the new points but I think we'll fall out of first place so we'll try to get it back July 29-Aug. 1 at the Veidec Festival in Mantorp, Sweden.

This was our second race without a U.S. crew chief and I think Robin has done a better job then all the U.S. crew chiefs we've ever had.

Back in the pits, we prepare the car for the Sweden race and put in the set-up for Mantorp. We finished in the early evening and for the first time we have a moment to sit together with other teams and have a beer.

Several hours later our Finnish neighbor says he has a sauna in his transporter. It's funny, but most of the Finns and Swedes make room for a sauna in their trailers. I went in three times for 10 minutes each and I find out my heart still works good for my age.

On to Sweden!
Urs Erbacher and his great team.

Double-win gets season off to great start

Saturday, 19 June 2010

We couldn't have asked for a better start to the FIA season as both the FatAttack.ch Top Fuel dragster and Lo Stäuble's FatAttack.ch Super Twin bike won the Santa Pod race in England.

It was the first race of the season for my Top Fuel team and second for Lo's group. No matter, we both had one clear goal: Get as many points as possible and bring two trophies home.

The first qualifying day was rained out so everybody focused on the second qualifying day. With only two runs to get into the eight-car field there was no room for mistakes. Lo took the lead after the first season and we used our second Top Fuel run to score the maximum qualifying points in this class. The experience of the past years was the baseline for our top qualifier positions. I felt like our two qualifying rounds were a strong demonstration of what this team is able to do.

Lo had a comfortable lead over his class with his 6.656-second run at 215.84 mph and we went 4.754 at 319.31 mph, which was the second fastest speed ever reached in FIA. The competitors were warned.

Based on the initial position after qualifying we started eliminations as odds-on favorites. Lo won this first round without any problems with a good time of 6.78 seconds and was onto the semifinal. For us it was even easier as we had a bye run in the first round and could save parts.

In the semis our opponents had no chance. The dragster and bike ran like clockwork and we both had great reaction times at the starting line.

In the final rounds, Lo had Dutchman Job Heezen. By half-track, Job had no chance and Lo took the win with the best run of the weekend -- 6.608 seconds.

WE really wanted to double win and I managed to get a holeshot on Finland's Riso Poutianen. With a run of 4.785 seconds and a new European speed record of 314.87 mph, we took the win.

I'm very proud of the team. They delivered a perfect job under difficult circumstances during the whole weekend. Many thanks to everybody involved, our sponsors, families, friends and fans for their support in the championship season 2010.

Urs

'Back to our Roots' tour set to kick off soon

Friday, 05 March 2010

Hallo everyone!

Our theme this year at Fat Attack Racing is a simple one -- the "Kings of Nitro" are going "Back to our Roots" to once again claim the FIA and UEM European championships.

I have my old team and my old car back and ready to go and I think the old Urs is back as well. We have won the Top Fuel dragster title before and we want it back. We want to be on top once again, so we're going to race like we did when we won the title before.

My teammate, Lorenz Stäuble, has his Fat Attack motorcycle prepared for another run at the Super Twin championship. Lo stumbled at the first race of the season last year and with such a short campaign, it's hard to recover from any mistakes, no matter how small. But this is how Lo and his crew like it -- they want to race the best so when they win the title it means so much to them.

Lo's group has years of experience so I am confident they will be ready to race every event. I also know they will get some wins along the way. They are very capable.

Since my side of the team won the FIA Top Fuel title in 2007 we decided to race as much as we could in the USA. Competing against the very best in the world has given us great experience that I think will make a big difference when we return to FIA competition this year. I'm proud of the fact we've had more success in NHRA than any other European team in history. We'll still try to race in America but it's very tough in the current economy. It's okay; this economic downturn can't go on forever.

The thing our fans in Europe came to expect was Fat Attack Racing being winners and good friends as well. We also have a reputation for delivering big for our sponsors. None of this will change in 2010. I can't wait to see all our fans across the FIA schedule. Please come and join us at the track whenever you can.

To kick off the new season we will have a party at my shop and bar in Arlesheim, Switzerland (please see the attached flyer). If you can come by, please make a point of saying hallo!

The Kings of Nitro are back in the city!
Urs

Coming back over looking for some good luck

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

We've been hard at work the last couple of months trying to get our new Brad Hadman-built Midland Oil Top Fuel dragster up to speed.

The guys had it together just before the Dallas race so we entered the event with an eye on making some shakedown runs and maybe getting in the show. We ended up 17th on the grid with a so-so run that wasn't close to showing our potential. It was a bit disappointing but we did make some progress. There's nothing like running the car on a track prepared by the NHRA for a national event, which is what we had at The Texas Motorplex.

As we have in the past, we stayed Monday to allow another client to license. This time it was Mike Salinas, who has raced a front-engine Nostalgia dragster in the past.

Mike's licensing runs gave our crew chief Wayne Dupuy a few more looks at the track and he decided we should get the car to the next national event in Richmond, Virginia, for more runs.

I had to miss the race because of a previously arranged appearance for my company, Fat Attack Custom Bikes, back in Europe so we got our friend Scott Weis to drive the Midland Oil car. You may remember that Scott and Wayne won an IHRA race recently.

The guys still struggled so we decided to ship the car I won the FIA title with back to the USA for the Vegas and Pomona races. The car is heavier but we know what it likes and we're tired of not running well so we will use it until the other car is reworked and begins responding the way it needs to for us to be successful.

Our great friend and teammate Johnny Bang of Johnny Bang's Bang and Bump shop near Houston has put a really great new paint job on the car and I hope you like how it looks.

The entry list shows 30 Top Fuel cars so it will be quite a feat to qualify there and win the race, but that's exactly what we hope to do. With all the attention on the Countdown to 1, it would be a perfect time to upset the apple cart and get our first win on American soil.

After Vegas we will once again stay over to license Jens Riehl, a fellow European racer who I hope to team with one day.

Of course, we're still looking for corporate funding and it's nice to see the economy in both Europe and American starting to come back to life. I believe we offer a great package and we're hopeful of securing a deal that would keep us racing in the U.S. full time.

Please stop by and say hello if you come to the races. Just look for the Swiss flag.

Urs

Glad to be back racing in America

Friday, 25 September 2009

It's so great to be back racing in America. After competing on a limited basis this summer in Europe on the FIA tour, I've come back to the States earlier than planned to race in Dallas before heading on later this year to race in Las Vegas and Pomona.

My crew chief Wayne Dupuy has practically rebuilt my Top Fuel car since our big explosion at the Houston race and it's better than ever. I had been using a dragster I bought from another team and I didn't fit inside it very well. This new car fits me perfectly and I'm confident we're going to really make some good runs down the track.

Texas Motorplex is close to Wayne's home base and he knows the track very well. He tuned the car that set the track record here in 2005, and Wayne said there's no better place to work all the bugs out of the car before racing in Las Vegas at the end of October.

It's been hard to get a driving rhythm down this year. I raced twice in Europe and just four times earlier this year with the NHRA. Hopefully we'll be able to race full time next season in the NHRA, and we'll be able to make some deep runs into races like we did last year in Pomona.

Of course that takes, sponsorship money to happen but we're hoping to make inroads on that while we're back here in the States as well.

I can't wait to see my friends and fans here in America. Stop by the Midland Oil/SCS Procurement Services/Johnny Bangs Bang & Bump Shop pit if you can.

Tough weekend in Hockenheim

Friday, 21 August 2009

We had another exciting and tough race weekend for the Erbacher Top Fuel team at our "home track" on the famous Hockenheimring in Germany.

It's a big race for us as it's closest to our home in Switzerland so there is a lot of support for us among the fans and our friends that make the trip over to the races. This was our first FIA event of the year and we were anxious to make some noise.

My FatAttack.ch teammate Lorenz Stäuble was there to test for his next championship round in Hungary as the Hockenheim race was not part of the UEM championship.

We did our best on the race course and qualified fifth with a 5.044. Then, during a special night run, we showed what we were capable of with a class-leading 4.948 that made the crowd go crazy. There is no better and more exciting race experience than to feel and hear two 8,000-horsepower dragsters shoot through the night.

It was decided that the bikes would determine a final pairing with a so-called cannonball race, which consisted of using the best average E.T. from three of four qualification runs in Top Fuel and Super Twin Bike to figure out who would race in the final. Without any pressure to chase championship points, Lo and his team went into the competition with nothing to lose and promptly ran the fastest Super Twin pass of 6.627 seconds; a clear statement as it was two-tenths of a second faster than their competitors. The set up was working and after four qualification runs, Lo was on to the final with an average run time of 6.801 seconds.

On to eliminations…

We really felt like we were ready to race Sunday morning. Risto Poutiainen qualified No. 4 and had lane choice for the first round, which appeared to be the difference as the FatAttack.ch dragster couldn't grip the track and started spinning its tires 100 feet into the run. Despite a better reaction time, I had no chance to catch up with the Finn. What a pity! The race for the dragster team was over after the first round but we will take revenge on Risto in the future, that’s for sure.

Ian King had the best Top Fuel bike so he lined up against Lo in the cannonball finale. The direct match between two-cylinder and four-cylinder Nitro Bikes is like comparing apples to oranges. Both are fruits, but not the same. Unfortunately for us, the race was over for Lo before the lights ran. During the burn out the engine revs went high and he hit the rev limiter, which cut off the engine as it is supposed to do. Obviously, this was the wrong moment for it as perhaps it would have been possible to win the race. Even so, the overall performance of the weekend shows that Lo's team can be confident about the next race in Hungary in one week's time. There we will fight for points and defend Lo's leading position in the current Super Twin championship.

We are planning a big return to the United States to run Dallas, Las Vegas, and Pomona. It would be super to get together with a sponsor fort hese events so please keep us in mind if you happen to come across a potential sponsor. I can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and my crew chief Wayne Dupuy is at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

See you all soon.
Urs

More progress for the race team, some fights, and a special offer for Hockenheim

Tuesday, 07 July 2009

Last weekend I went to Swiss Harley Days at Interlaken to display my teammate Sascha's Harley Destroyer, the fastest Destroyer in Europe and twice the European Championship winner. There were about 6,000 Harley-Davidsons there and I was trying to sell my bikes while our other bike, with Lo Stauble aboard, raced to a runner-up finish in Finland. This makes us very proud here at FatAttack.ch Racing.

The weekend before we had a Muay Thai event in the backyard of the race shop. It was the last qualifying round for the world championship in Thailand organized by the Swiss Muay Thai Federation. About 80 fighters showed up on Sunday morning. They started by weighing the fighters and pairing them up and then the fights began. The competition was very good and went on until 10 p.m. More than 350 people showed up in my shop and bar and kept my wife, my daughter, and me busy all day.

My Top Fuel dragster is in a container on the way from Baytown, Texas. It will be here this Saturday and will arrive in Switzerland next Monday if everything works properly. We are working hard to prepare a second truck and trailer for use over here. Right now we have expanded our plans to race in Sweden and Germany and push the "King of Europe" off his high horse. We are ready to rock.

I am looking for some good pictures of Lo's new bike and of my new car. We want to make new T-shirts, posters, and autograph cards for the fans. We will print them before Hockenheim so we are ready to give them away there. So if anyone can send me some good pictures then please do so. Our address is on the Web site at www.FatAttack.ch.

In Hockenheim we have a special offer for our guests and fans. We have special hospitality passes that include a ticket for the Quarter Mile Club at Hockenheim, the best seats in the VIP grandstands, food and drink, parking directly behind the VIP grandstands, and a place in Erbacher Hospitality -- an extra tent directly by our trailer where we serve food and drink and where guests can watch us prepare the Top Fuel car. Every guest gets a new T-shirt and a cap. I will be in hospitality and will talk to the fans as much as I can.

The complete price is €400, which includes the whole weekend. We are limited to 110 guests so if anybody would like to be part of it then let me know.

Days of Steel a big success

Thursday, 02 July 2009

Things are very busy over here in Switzerland. Even without drag races every weekend, we've managed to keep our days full of action.

Each year, we have a huge charity fundraiser called Days of Steel. It's a motorcycle ride like no other and it culminates at Europa-Park in Rust, Germany. This is the largest amusement park in Germany. It's like the German Disney World.

Last year we raised $10,000 and although the economy here is as bad as it is in the United States, we were hoping to raise at least that much this time around. To our surprise, and thanks to the generosity of the riders and other supporters, we actually ended up with $13,000 in donations. We were quite pleased by that number, as you can imagine.

People that ride motorcycles know the camaraderie bikers share. Any time you pass another bike on the road, you always give them a wave or nod. We are a brotherhood. Well imagine that with thousands of your brothers all in one ride. It was awesome.

Of course, my shop, Fat Attack Custom Bikes, had a big presence with lots of show bikes on hand as well as all of our local riders participating in the event. 

Once we got to Europa-Park, we had the FIA championship-winning FatAttack.ch Harley Destroyer on hand and we executed some long smoky burnouts and launches for the crowd.

Days of Steel 2010 is scheduled for June 19, 2010. If you've ever thought about coming to Europe to ride around the continent, then please schedule your trip during this special day. You will not regret the occasion. Visit DaysofSteel.com for more information.

As for our Top Fuel team, we still plan on racing the DMV Dragsterrennen at Hockenheimring on the weekend of Aug. 14-16 in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. We're also still hopeful we can return to the U.S. and race some more on the NHRA tour.

Funding the team is still a top priority, both for the races in Europe and the States, so please let us know if you have any leads for us. Please contact my crew chief, Wayne Dupuy, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Also, we must pause to remember our friend Darrell Russell, who died five years ago of June 24. Wayne was Darrell's crew chief and great friend and he reminds us of what a wonderful person Darrell was before his tragic accident. Our prayers go to Darrell and his family. 

Regards,
Urs