Get The Party Started: Gatebil Våler

The weather’s heating up, the days are getting longer and if you needed any more confirmation that Summer is truly on its way (at least for the Northern hemisphere), the echoes of screaming engines bouncing off rev limiters, tortured tyres screeching round corners and the occasional Scandinavian fan trying to start a chainsaw coming from the northern reaches of Europe should be enough to convince you. Yes, it’s that time of the year again: the time when the Scandinavians decide to forgo any idea of sensibleness and kick off the season with everyone’s favourite collection of craziness. It’s the first Gatebil of the year.

This year our Norwegian buddy Egil Håskjold from GS Bildeler would cover the the summer opening event at the Våler track…

Våler is the event where we first get to bear witness to the new creations that have people have been working on during the long, dark winter days.

There’s always a special atmosphere at the May event.

On Thursday evening the cars start to arrive: this gorgeous Escort MkII being a good example of the insane cars that would be on offer in the line-up.

The big teams roll in with their big trucks, such as Team TS Racing.

Soon after, the smell of E85 and race fuel starts to fill the air as last checks are completed on the cars. This Opel Kadett with a Cossie engine is a regular sight at Gatebil.

It’s easy to find new creations at the Våler event. This E30 may look stock and shiny but there’s a beast lurking under the bonnet: 800whp!

What would a Gatebil post be without an engine bay shot? Audis at Gatebil always have some of the coolest on show.

But it’s on the track that the real mayhem occurs. Fires are unfortunately always something that happens at the Våler event. The Drift Monkey Soarer was the unlucky victim this time.

The Gatebil session where street cars are out on track is great fun to watch.

The level of the cars in this session is just crazy!

The free drift session is where the craziness starts: 10-15 drift cars at once on the track is an amazing aural and visual experience.

Christe Havorsen in his awesome S15 has one of the most aggressive styles out on track.

The weekend saw the debut of many new builds, like this Drift Monkey Supra.

The time attack/extreme session is where the brutal cars come out to play.

The pure madness these cars make demonstrate during the time attack/extreme session is amazing! Check out Vidar Jødal and his monster 1200hp, 2JZ-powered E30 M3 oversteering on slicks during the race. Crazy!

The KRB wing monster is a regular, but always welcome sight out on track.

Vålersladden is the bragging rights competition at Gatebil.

During the qualification on Saturday evening, someone had a big moment when he hit the concrete barrier side on. OUCH! Thank god he’s alright!

In the main event on Sunday, the top 16 drivers have one run to produce the best smoke and put on a show to impress the judges.

This year’s winner was Smygen with his Opel Omega V8.

Speedhunters’ very own Mr. Aasbø was also tearing up the track and having some fun.

The winner this time round for best mechanical failure must be this E36. There’s a hole straight through the engine block. Congrats!

I hope I gave you a small insight into what this Gatebil event at Våler is like.

The next event is at Mantorp Park in Sweden, and the Speedhunters will be there in full force to cover the event!

Make sure you look out for Joachim Waggard`s Mazda Rx7 there!

Thanks for reading!

– Egil Håskjold

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