Pro Dutch Racing newsletter March 2018
A new look, new T-shirts, a new block, testing on the Dyno Unlimited dyno and more news about Michel Tooren and Pro Dutch Racing, the Pro Modified team from The Netherlands, participating in the FIA European Drag Racing Championship.
New looks for Pro Dutch Racing
A new season with a new look for Pro Dutch Racing! After many seasons with the same team logo, Pro Dutch Racing refreshed their well-known logo this winter to give it a more modern and faster look. It’s not a coincidence that the logo looks similar to Michel Tooren’s helmet design. The new logo will be visible on all team equipment. Pro Dutch Racing started with the race trailer, and the ’71 Plymouth Barracuda will follow soon. The team clothing will also wear the new logo, but how that will look remains a secret for now.
New Pro Dutch Racing T-shirts
With immediate effect, there is a printed version of the Pro Dutch Racing ’71 Plymouth Barracuda as well. As the Cuda is one of the most popular Pro Modified cars at the European race tracks, Pro Dutch Racing got many questions about the availability of T-shirts with a print of the car. The team couldn’t ignore those requests of course, and with immediate effect T-shirts with the new team logo and the Pro Mod Cuda are for sale. Pro Dutch Racing will take the T-shirts with them to the track and fans and all interested spectators can come to the Pro Dutch Racing trailer to buy this new collector’s item.
New block
To perform to the max for a whole season, a drag race team need a large supply of spare parts. That’s one of the reasons that Pro Dutch Racing bought a brand new block from the States this winter. Before the start of the 2018 season the team will assemble the engine to have two engines race ready in the trailer. If something goes wrong in a race weekend, the team can replace the engine and continue racing. With back-to-back races, two engines also makes it easier for the team, as they don’t have to hurry any more to rebuild their engine between races.
Shocks to the USA
It’s a misunderstanding that shock absorbers are only important in corners. A drag race car only has to go in a straight line, but still, good shock absorbers are indispensable for the Pro Dutch Racing Cuda. Shocks are an important connection between the tyre/wheel combination and the chassis of the car, and they are essential in keeping the wheels on the ground, even in the most demanding situations. That’s the only way to bring the immense amount of horse power to the track surface, to convert power into speed and steer the car in the right direction when that is needed. This winter the shock absorbers were sent to the States to be tested and adjusted. The shocks are back in the car again and ready for the new season.
Pro Dutch Racing engine with Dyno Unlimited
Mid-February the engine of the Pro Dutch Racing ’71 Plymouth Barracuda had to undergo some serious testing on the Dyno Unlimited dyno. In two days nine runs were simulated on the dyno. Normally a team can only gather engine data during a run. But conditions are never the same as temperature, air humidity and track conditions can change, and many things can go wrong during a run. It’s also a problem that there are hardly any possibilities in Europe to make test runs, and so testing has to be done at the races. On a dyno all variables are eliminated and it’s possible to see how an engine reacts when adjustments are made. But there are hardly any dyno’s that can handle the immense horsepower of a drag race engine. In Belgium, the Bellio family founded Dyno Unlimited last year. The company own a dyno that can handle the horsepower of a drag race engine. Also important is the fact that the Bellio family (father Danny for many years and now his son Sandro) are racing a Top Methanol Funny Car and have a lot of experience with blown methanol engines. “Last season we had some problems with the ignition. We wanted to know more about that. We learned a lot in these two days and also found what we were looking for. It was very useful and also good to find a better baseline set-up for the engine before the start of the season. Now we can start fine-tuning the engine at the track immediately, instead of having to use some runs to find a baseline set-up,” said a happy Michel Tooren, looking back at the trip to Belgium.
Busy schedule for Pro Dutch Racing
With all six races of the FIA European Pro Modified Championship and all six races of the MSA British Drag Racing Championship, the provisional race calendar for Pro Dutch Racing is, to say the least, busy. In June the team will decide which of the two championships will get priority, as the Finnish round of the FIA EC clashes with the MSA championship’s Summer Nationals (June 30, July 1). The choice will depend on the results earlier in the season, but even if the MSA championship gets priority, Pro Dutch Racing will definitely take part in some of the remaining FIA EC races, including the Hockenheim NitrOlympX.
Calendar FIA European Championship and MSA British Drag Racing Championship
– Festival of Power, Santa Pod Raceway, March 30/31 and April 1 (MSA)
– FIA Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway, May 26-28 (FIA and MSA)
– Tierp Internationals, Tierp Arena, June 8-10 (FIA)
– FHRA Nitro Nationals, Alastaro, June 29/30 and July 1 (FIA)
– Summer Nationals, Santa Pod Raceway, June 30 and July 1 (MSA)
– Mopar Euro Nationals, Santa Pod Raceway, July 27-29 (MSA)
– FIA NitrOlympX, Hockenheim, August 17-19 (FIA)
– Scandinavian Internationals, Tierp Arena, August 24-26 (FIA)
– European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, September 7-9 (FIA en MSA)
– National Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, October 6 and 7 (MSA)