2006 Results
Hockenheim
Pro Dutch WIN at Hockenheim !
The Pro Dutch Racing Corvette takes first place
at the Pro Mod Thunder Cannonball.
And set the Dutch Pro Mod speed record at 358,7 km/h
Dutch report at www.autosport.nl
Drachten
Well….it’s been awhile since the last update and that’s because I really wanted to have better news to post. It’s not that it’s all bad but……let me start at the beginning. Last year after the final race the start line at Drachten was cut down and resurfaced. You would think that that would be a good thing, but it wasn’t. Unfortunately for us Drag Racers they resurfaced the track with a material that left a very porous surface. At the first race, the Drachten Nationals, we had no traction whatsoever. We went on in smoke at the hit of the throttle.
We pulled power and took out clutch to no avail. Because of the traction issue we did run into a little problem with over revving the engine and we did have to change a few valve springs,
And some bearings But luckily nothing else. We did find a problem that has been nagging at us when we discovered an issue with the rear axle wheel bearing. We found that those bearings have to be REALLY TIGHT to stand up to the power that’s put to them.
Another GREAT thing that happened was the return of Leon to the team. Leon has had to deal with some things that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, but we are glad to have him back with the team. He was great helping us figure out the rear wheel bearing issue.
Hey! Anybody notice that there’s another new guy sitting next to Leon? Well that’s the newest member of the team, Martijn Joon. Joon you say, doesn’t that name sound familiar? Well if you want to know stop by the pits and ask Martijn, just don’t let him get too close to your cream filled pastry. (I think he really likes them.)
Ok, the first Drachten not really what we were hoping for, but the Drachten Internationals were next and we were hoping that the track would get better. The weather was perfect with no rain all weekend and lots of people coming out to see some great drag racing action. We took a look at the track after the Friday runs and it did look like it was starting to get better.
And it was getting better……for about the first 150 feet. The first pass was still instant wheel spin so for the next pass we took out so much clutch that we burned it up. (Did you know that the clutch gets Really, Really HOT when you burn it up like that?) Ok, on to clutch number two. We’re feeling pretty good and we jump out there with a 1.07 - 60 foot and then we hit tire shake at about 150 feet. We worked on settings and got the best tune-up we could hope for on this track, but the Nitrous guys can pull power much easier and ran away with the show. The track was improving and we were thinking that the Drachten Finals might just give us a chance to make a full power run down the track, but our hopes were destroyed when we received word that the track had been chemically cleaned and all the rubber and compound removed.
We won’t be going to the Drachten Finals but we will be at the NitrOlympx the following weekend.
The track at Hockenheim was looking very good even with the rain last year and Rico says they’re going to do even better this year. That’s what we want to hear because we want to set some records (personal at least) and show people just what a great race car we have.
Pro Dutch at Dragten 1
click here for dutch rapport.
First Round- Main event
Well, you can tell we're getting better with the logistics of loading up the car and getting everything on the truck. Loading and travel went without a hitch and we arrived at Santa Pod on schedule Friday afternoon.
The weather was predicted to be bad all weekend, but you never know how it's going to turn out.
This is our first official FIA points race with the new Pro Mod car. You can tell that Pro Mod is a popular class by the fact that there were 24 entries, more than any other Pro class. Wow, that means that 8 cars will not make it to eliminations and they will only be watching come Monday!
Saturday started off with bad weather and stayed that way just about the entire day. Finally it cleared up enough to get the track dry and allow us to make one pass late in the evening. We didn't do to well and it seemed that we may have some type of chassis and/or wheel issue.
We made some changes and on Sunday we came out and were able to run a 6.760 and 6.747 which got us in the race in the 12th position. The car still was not working right and we weren't seeing the results we wanted from the changes we were making.
Monday arrives and the sky is clear and the sun is shining brightly (it’s still pretty cold though). We had all gotten together Sunday evening and discussed what we wanted to do in the first round of eliminations, and that decision was to get even more aggressive on our tune-up. Adjustments were made and we went to the line. We were close on the launch but by the 1/8 mile Robert could tell the car still had issues and clicked off for a loss in the first round with a 7.204.
OK, so as it stands for now we have qualified for every event, but we have not made our first round win yet. We didn’t hurt any parts this weekend but we really have to do some work and figure out what we need to change and where (and we WILL!!!).
For the record our best ET is 1/4=6.719, 1/8=4.371 and speed is 1/4=214,5mph 1/8=169mph Don't expect these numbers to last very long. Our next event is in Drachten were we can only run the 1/8 mile. We’re going to get this figured out and plan to get more aggressive and see what we can do.
Pro Dutch first outing!- Santa pod
OK, no matter how much time you have it always seems like you need just a little bit more. It’s the day before we leave for Santa Pod and we have not even started the engine since putting it back together. We do all we can and then toss everything in the truck and head out for Santa Pod (we’ll do the rest when we get there).
The trip was a little longer than normal due to a ferry strike so we took the ferry from France rather than Holland. The weather was looking dreary and wet all the way over but once we arrived at the track things started looking much better. We got everything set up, completed work on the car and had everything ready to go by Saturday morning.
The car sounded good and we made a few burnouts, launches and 330 and 660 foot runs. The car wasn’t working like we wanted it to so we worked on making some adjustments. Now consider these items: Only one person on this team has ever worked with a Pro Modified car before. The driver has never driven anything (on the ¼ mile) faster than 150mph or quicker than 8.13 seconds. Also consider that this thing has a transmission that is manually shifted and it has a clutch! Seems almost overwhelming if you stop to think about it, but we didn’t. Of course we have friends that offer up some VERY helpful information.
We made adjustments throughout Sunday and by the end of the day we were starting to feel more comfortable with the car. Oh did I mention that our helpful friends is none other than Jim Oddy himself and Lex Joon, current European Top Fuel Champion? Lex spent many years running a methanol Funny Car and his input and advice helped us make progress in leaps and bounds over the weekend. So we’re feeling pretty good on Sunday evening and we decide to change the oil now rather than the next morning so we can drink some beer and sleep in a little Monday morning. Do you have a feeling that something is coming up here? (Well you should!)
We drain the oil and we see something in the oil that just doesn’t look right. We talk it over and after some thought we decided to pull the oil pan and take a look. A little while later we discover that we’ve lost the thrust bearing and it must be replaced. No problem, we have one in the truck and we’ll just replace it, right? Well, it seems that the thrust bearing requires a little custom clearance work before we can use it. We did get everything completed and the engine back together about 5am Monday morning. Guess you figured out the beer drinking and extra sleep didn’t happen!
Monday morning at 8 am we’re up, start the engine to check it out and then set up the clutch. We’re taking the car off the jacks just as the other Pro Mod cars start for the staging lanes. We get to the staging lanes and get Robert strapped in and ready to go.
What’s going to happen now? The engine sounded good during the warm-up and we didn’t note any issues with the car. We need a good full run to complete licensing for Pro Mod and we only have a possible three chances remaining this weekend. Robert may be a little tired but let’s see what we can get on our first run this morning.
The burnout looks great! The weather is a little cool and the track is looking very good. Gerda (of Lex Joon fame) tells us a little about how the track looks and helps us put the car exactly where it needs to be on the track. (It matters a lot more now than it did in our Super Gas/Super Comp days).
The launch is nice and the car heads straight down the track sounding good all the way. Result of that run was a 6.719 ¼ mile at 211.95 mph. We’re licensed and qualified for Pro Mod competition. Now that makes the all the long hours worth it!
We still have lots to learn and many more trials and tribulations ahead of us, but we’ve made the start and will continue to move forward. Right now we’re going to rest up just a bit and then get ready for Santa Pod again next month. If you happened to be at Santa Pod please stop by and say hello, we love to hear from all our fans. We’ll give you another full update right here after our next trip.
Year in Pictures...
