Today we did 2 qualifying runs. This was the first for me to experience top fuel dragster closely. I had seen them on TV but u can’t compare anything with this.
During the warm-up the night before on methanol the car was running and I thought it was pretty loud but it was not much more then the big block McLaren I’m used to at tachyon.
Today I got to see a engine running on nitro for the first time. They start up the engine with methanol and then they switch to nitro. Immediately u hear the engine making bigger bangs and u see the nitro coming out of the exhaust because nitro cars run really rich on fuel for multiple reasons.
The fumes from the exhaust can be compared with teargas and a gas-mask is really necessary to stay inside the tent.
After the warm-up I had to check the valve clearance and adjust it if necessary.
After the warm-up it was time to go to the line-up area. Here all the cars have to wait till it is their turn to run. Every time we got closer to our run my smile got bigger.
It was my first time in that area so I wanted to be careful not to be in a dangerous position. One of the crew members told me where I needed to stand during the start.
The car is about 4 meters away from u but when it goes Whhhooooooo!!!!! U are almost blown away. The dragster produces a big pressure wave of hot air combined with a thundering noise. My smile got bigger and it stayed there for at least 15 min.
After Q1 we took the number 1 position.
When the car came back the real work started. The goal is to take the engine apart and assemble it within the time we have (minimum of 90 min). This was the first time I needed to do a service and it went ok. But I can improve myself a lot when I get more experienced.
Hey bikkel, klinkt gaaf…weer een mooie ervaring erbij.
Ik hoor de details wel bij een biertje !
Marco