Extremly fresh from the press:

Text copied from www.eurodragster.com

FIA Sweden International.
8th February: The Sweden International, to be held at the new Tierp Arena on 9th-12th June, is to be both an FIA European Championship round and a UEM European Drag Bike Championship round. A press release from Tierp Arena reads:

One of the hottest topics in the racing industry in recent months has been the question if Tierp Arena in Sweden will be approved to host one of the races in the European Drag Racing Championship in 2011? And the answer is yes!

The Swedish Automobile Sports Federation has informed the FIA that they have approved Tierp Arena to host the second of six races in the prestigious 2011 European Drag Racing Championship.

"This has been our intention from the start" says Leif Andréasson, one of the owners and driving forces behind the Tierp Arena project. "Not everyone can host a race in the European Championship, so we fully understand why this process took a while to complete."

Up until now the Championship has consisted of five races. The FIA and the representatives of drag racing have for years had additional races the top of their wish list.

"This is a important step in the development of the drag racing sport in Europe", adds Leif. "Our intention and long term goal when starting this project was to increase interest and introduce the sport to new groups of spectators. We will try to give Europe the best drag racing event ever, in every aspect."

The arena being built at Tierp is in many ways unique. First of all the race track is all-concrete, the first in Europe. The arena has also been built with a permanent grand stand for 20,000 spectators. "No track can be as smooth as one made out of concrete" says Lars-Erik Lindberg, one of the other owners and Construction Manager for work in the arena area. "Our intention from the beginning was to build the best drag racing track ever in Europe. We haven't cut any corners nor spared any expense to get a facility that will give our guests an experience that they will never forget. This is one of the most challenging projects in which I have ever been involved. But we will be done in time, well before our first races in May and June."

Representatives of Pro classes will run at the NDRS Nats at Tierp on 7th-8th May as required by FIA rules to prove the facility and the organisation. There will be a lot more to come on this, which we will of course bring you as it arrives, but in the meantime you can find the Tierp Arena web site at www.tierparena.com.