Pro Mod racer Kim Kristiansen back on track
Kim Kristiansen was a regular contender of the FIA European Pro Modified Championship, until the coronavirus pandemic forced him to take a break. That period of not racing was extended with another few years, but now he will be back. After almost eight months of hard work by Joeri Woudenberg in the Netherlands to update the famous Pontiac Firebird ‘68, the man from Denmark will make his comeback at Tierp Arena.
After several years in the FIA European Pro Modified Championship with some very quick elapsed times and elimination round wins, Kim Kristiansen had to put his drag racing plans on hold when the coronavirus ruled the world. His last race was the European Finals at Santa Pod in 2019. In 2022 the plan arose to come back, and to start racing again later in 2023. But some updates that had to be done by an external company took much more time than expected, parts were not available in time and to update the well-known Pontiac Firebird ’68 was also more work than expected, as everything had to be 100% perfect. Now that the car is almost back to racing conditions and only a few parts are still missing, the plan is to be back in the FIA European Championship at Tierp Arena during the Summit Racing Equipment Internationals.
Joeri Woudenberg, crew chief and tuner of the Pontiac in the days it was run by Marc Meihuizen and who moved over to Kristiansen when the Dane bought the racing operation, and crewmember Arndt Baslund made a plan how to update the Pontiac to the 2024 standards. The list of modifications is too long to mention them all. For a major part Woudenberg carried out the job, that, after he finally got the car back in his shop early 2024, took almost eight months of hard work.
Woudenberg started with completely stripping the Pontiac. Some chassis work was done by an external company, but the car came back months later than expected. Back in the shop, Woudenberg upgraded and reinforced the chassis, installed a titanium firewall and updated the 4-link. A new seat and several carbon parts were installed, the car got new wiring, new pedals, a smaller fuel tank and the wheelie bar was shortened (reduced to one wheel and made from titanium). New exhausts, a lighter fire extinguishing system were installed and the parachutes relocated. All in all far too much to mention all the new parts and changes. But as a result of all the hours in the Dutch workshop, the Pontiac is now state-of-the-art again, updated to the latest standards and 120 kg lighter than it has ever been!
Although not 100% sure yet, as two major parts are still on their way from the States, the plan is to be back in action at the Summit Racing Equipment Internationals at Tierp Arena in August. If everything goes according to plan, the team will also take part in the remaining races of the 2024 FIA European Pro Modified Championship and be back for the full tour in 2025. Woudenberg will be back as the tuner of the Pontiac with Baslund as the crew chief. “Our major goal for this season is to reach the end of the track, gather data and for Kim to get used to the car again. And last but not least, have fun,” said Baslund.
Text: Remco Scheelings
Photos: Remco Scheelings, Joeri Woudenberg
