In our first part of the 20 years Green Monster Stage 4 story, we have reviewed the building of the tractor in 2002 and what happened and has changed on the modified tractor in the first 10 years. In the second part of our story we are looking back from 2013 until 2021 and the changes on the tractor for 20th Anniversary in 2022.
The plan for 2013 was to get the Pro Charger more reliable after the troubles with the driveshaft. Already during the 2012 season, the team found out the problems for those breaking driveshafts. Due to speed variation and torque variation during the pull, the drive shaft of the Pro Charger was so weakened, that the shaft broke after 3 to 4 pulls.
A claw clutch with a rubber star between the claw was fitted between the belt drive and the Pro Charger to absorb the vibration and oscillation during a pull. First, it looked like the update is working, but after some pulls, the driveshaft of the Pro Charger broke again and the team had enough. In the mid of the season, they switched again back to the original Allison supercharger. Due to all these problems with the Pro Charger, the Green Monster couldn't qualify for both classes at the EC in Zele, Belgium for the first time since 2002. But, the team competed not only on the pulling events in Germany with the Green Monster that season.
They also competed with the modified machine in Kollerschlag, Austria at the end of the season. At that pull in Austria, they tested in the original Allison supercharger a new homemade billet aluminum intake impeller wheel. That intake wheel was much bigger and had a different wing form compared to the original one. Also, the air intake funnel with the throttle valve was much bigger. That was one of the visual features of the supercharger. With the EFI system on the engine, they could collect some very worthy data with the new bigger intake impeller wheel.
They also tested that impeller wheel on some pulls in 2014, but most of the season they drove with the original Allison intake impeller wheel in the supercharger. In 2014, The Green Monster Stage 4 returned for the first time since 2011 back to the top of the German Championship point standings. With a couple of wins, the Green Monster Team won the German Championship title in the 3.5t modified class in 2014. In the light mod class, they finished again under the top 3 in the German Championship point standings, but had almost no chance against Frank Bartholome's single RR Griffon V12 powered tractor called ''Le Coiffeur Stage 8''.
Worse was the result in the light mod class at the 2014 EC in Bouconville, France. The German Team could manage only a 16th place in this class. The Green Monster Stage 4 couldn't find the right grip on the track, and also the speed was missing right from the start of the attempt. After that bad run, the team also decided not to make a second attempt and spared the technic for the 3.5t modified class on the following day. That decision wasn't too bad because they had to do 3 runs in that class. In the first pass, the twin Allison was pretty unbalanced on the track and Dirk Wessel missed the Full Pull close. In the 2nd pass, the balance of the Green Monster Stage 4 was perfect again and Dirk did a very nice Full Pull. The Pull Off worked not out in their favor.
The start was good again, but during the pull, one of the 2 Allison engines ran not perfect and the tractor lost power and speed. 79.42 m was the distance and around 10 m behind the top 3 spots. Not that result, what the team thought.
For 2015, the team replaced again the original Allison supercharger on the front engine, but this time forever. After a lot of problems with the durability of the Pro Charger on the engine the team decided in 2013 to develop their own supercharger for the engine. The team member and engineer of the team, Christoph Eusterwiemann (or better known as ''Schloer'') already started to develop that homemade blower in 2012.
After almost 3 years of development and building, the team officially revealed that new homemade blower at the 2015 European Superpull in Ahoy, Rotterdam. From the outside, the new blower looked like a Pro Charger, but the homemade charger was much bigger and had a bigger impeller wheel in the housing. For that new development, they used the best materials and components. The bearings inside of the charger come from aircraft construction, which are more reliable than the normal bearings. With that homemade blower, they hoped to have a better airflow for more power and better durability compared to the Pro Charger from the USA.
The new homemade blower received the name ''Frankenstein blower'' by the team. The first season with that new homemade Frankenstein blower was pretty good. During that 2015 season, the Green Monster Team tested different intake impeller wheels with different sizes in the blower. Despite the different tests, the team could win the German Championship title in the 3.5t modified class and achieved a nice runner-up place in the 2.5t light mod class in the German Championship point standings. The European Championships were quite better for them than the year before.
In the 3.5t mod class, Dirk Wessel achieved with the twin Allison the 4th place and in the 2.5t light mod class, his teammate Frank Lehmkuhle drove the single Allison powered tractor to 6th place. In the 3.5t class, the Green Monster Stage 4 was again around 10 m behind the top 3 spots. But the track conditions in the 3.5t mod class on Saturday were not the best. Almost no grip on the start and a hard track made a good pull very difficult. When the Green Monster Stage 4 arrived at the track as the last competitor in the finals, the track already had changed from bad to worse.
Also, in 2016 the Green Monster Team showed with the twin Allison a pretty dominant season in Germany. The team won most of the competitions in the 3.5t mod class and also the German Championship title for the 3rd time in a row. In the 2.5t light mod class was finished in the Championship as runner-up, like in the last 2 years before. 2016 also marked the year of a new driver of the tractor in the light mod class in Germany. After Frank Lehmkuhle (Malilla, Sweden 2009) and Matthias Böhmann (Kalkar, Germany 2011) the next team member got the chance to drive the Green Monster Stage 4.
At the time, the 18 year old Jannis Rüter got the chance to drive the machine in Haßmoor 2016. He did a brilliant job on his maiden voyage on the Green Monster Stage 4 with a 2nd place there. After another great result one event later, he becomes one of the main drivers on the tractor for the future.
At the end of August 2016, the Green Monster Team wrote history with the Green Monster Stage 4. After 14 years of trying to win a European Championship title with the Allison-powered tractor, the team finally did it in Great Eccleston, England. In the finals, Daniel Frische behind the wheel did one of the best runs ever with the Green Monster Stage 4 on a European Championship ever.
With a real mammoth run, he passed the distance of the triple V8 Hemi powered tractor called ''Double Screamin'' of Bertus Boer by around 7 m. In the end, nobody could beat the distance of the Green Monster Stage 4, also not the local hero Daniel Whittingham with Aftermath which has finished 3rd. It was a well-deserved title for the team and also a big surprise. The surprise was nobody thought you can beat a V8-powered tractor in the 3.5t mod class after that dominance of the V8 tractors during the last years. In the light mod class of the EC, Frank Lehmkuhle also positioned the Green Monster in the top 3.
Frank Lehmkuhle made a nice pull in the finals and with 87.78 m he finished in a nice 3rd place, around 7 m behind the European Champion Double Screamin' from the Netherlands and just around 3 m behind Black Power from Denmark. All in all, it was a great weekend for the German Team in Great Britain.
In 2016, the Green Monster Team also said farewell with the Green Monster Stage 4 in the Euro Cup series at the end of the season. During the last 3 years, the Green Monster Team saw there was no chance to compete on the top with one Allison engine in the light mod class against the more powerful twin Hemi V8 and triple V8 Chevy powered tractors on International circuits.
But the team said not goodbye to the light mod class. Already in 2015, the Green Monster Team announced that they are currently working on a new twin Allison tractor for the light mod class. That tractor debuted in Füchtorf in 2016. With the new 2.5t light mod twin Allison powered tractor called ''Green Monster 5 Mitas Edition'', they had now a new toy that can beat the Multi V8 powered tractors in the Euro Cup in the future.
For 2017, the team did some updates on the tractor after the success on the EC in 2016.
The European Champion of the 3.5t mod class received a completely new paint job and look. During that winter, the tractor was completely dismantled and checked.
The 25CrMo4 tube frame was optimized again and some tubes in the chassis were changed by new ones. After all the work was done on the chassis, it also was repainted completely new in the green Claas colors again. The side shields of the engines got a new silver-grey paint job and the Dibond fenders a new design. Their main sponsor Claas did all the design work and the vinyl graphics for the Green Monster Stage 4. Also, both Allison V1710 V12 engines were checked and overhauled during the wintertime. The front Allison V1710 engine received an upgrade on the belt drive for the Frankenstein blower.
The front engine also got the latest version of the EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) system from Mick's Performance in the USA.
The maiden run of the upgraded Green Monster Stage 4 was at the Indoor pull in Riesa, Germany, where the team also won the competition in the 3.5t modified class. 2017 was another great year on the German pulling tracks. German Champion again in the 3.5t mod class and again runner-up in the light mod class. But during the season it looked quite good, maybe to win the title in the 2.5t light mod class for the first time since 2007. Driver Jannis Rüter could win the 3 rounds in Haßmoor, Anholt and Edewecht.
He also benefited from the mistakes of his rivals during the season. So he was in the fight for the title. The German Championship title in the 2.5t light mod class was decided in the very last round in Berghausen, Germany. His main rival for the title Frank Bartholome with Le Coiffeur Stage 9 won the final round of the season, finished above Jannis Rüter and Green Monster Stage 4 that day. That meant, Jannis with the Green Monster Stage 4 finished close behind Frank Bartholome with Le Coiffeur Stage 9 in the German Championship point standings. At the European Championship in Stroe, the Netherlands, they couldn't repeat the success of the EC in 2016.
In the 3.5t class, the sensor of the front Allison engine broke, and the tractor lost after a good start all the power from the front engine. Only a disappointing 8th place for Daniel Frische. For 2018, the Green Monster Pulling Team committed the Green Monster Stage 4 only for the 3.5t modified class and not anymore for the 2.5t light mod class in the German Championship. The reason for that was, Green Monster Team only wanted to run with every of their 3 Allison-powered mod tractors in one class.
The main class with the most success for the Green Monster Stage 4 was the 3.5t mod class in the past. The Green Monster Team won 5 of the 7 German Championship rounds and achieved in all 7 events the maximum of 26 points for the Championship. So the team won the Championship title in the 3.5t mod class with a big margin over the triple Isotov turbine-powered tractors called ''Erlkönig'' and ''Iwan''. In Krumbach-Breitenthal 2018, the Green Monster Stage 4 was for the first time driven by the old Team boss Heinz-Josef Hörstkamp in 16 years. At the age of 65 years, he did two nice runs and won the competition on the event in South Germany.
At the 2018 European Championship in Alphen, the Netherlands driver Daniel Frische achieved a 4th place with the Green Monster Stage 4. The qualifying run was very good, and it looked like a position in the top 3 was possible. But the run in the finals was a bit out of balance and Daniel had to correct with the single wheel brakes to keep the tractor in bounds, which cost at the end maybe a place on the podium.
In 2019, the team switched the tires on the tractor.
After a lot of success with the Mitas Powerpull tires in the 2018 season, the Green Monster Team switched to the Mitas Powerpull tires on the Green Monster Stage 4. The Mitas Powerpull tires brought the team the Euro Cup and European Championship title with their triple Allison Green Fighter in the heavy mod class, and the European Championship and German Championship title with the twin Allison Green Monster 5 Mitas Edition in the light mod class the year before.
The Team did the first passes with those new Mitas Powerpull tires on the Green Monster Stage 4 at the Indoor Pull in Zwolle, the Netherlands.
The new Mitas tires gave the tractor more traction than the old Firestone Puller 2000 HP tires. Jannis Rüter got the chance for the first time to drive the Green Monster Stage 4 with 2 Allison engines at an Indoor Pull. In the 3.5t mod class, he did a very good pull and qualified the stair-step Allison for the finals. In the finals, the run of the Green Monster Stage 4 was not as in the first pull. The tractor bounced a lot on the rear axle and the run was over at 67.46 m. That meant a 4th place at the end. Unfortunately, a planetary gear in the rear axle was broken after the final pass. Back in the workshop, they found more damage. Alongside the planetary gear also the machined stock Mercedes planetary carrier housing was cracked.
Before the European Superpull, the team machined 2 new billet aluminum planetary carrier housing for the sheet metal rear axle and replaced the 2 machined stock Mercedes planetary carrier housing. At the European Superpull, the Green Monster Stage 4 was back in top form and Dirk Wessel positioned the tractor in a great runner-up place, just 17 cm behind the twin RR Griffon V12 tractor called ''The Judge'' from the Netherlands. But there would be a rematch between the two later in the year.
The Summer was very successful again for the team with the tractor. Unfortunately, the 3.5t modified class at their home pull in Füchtorf unfortunately had to be canceled due to bad weather on Sunday. The rest of the 7 events in Germany was dominated by the Green Monster Stage 4.
That meant title number 12 in the 3.5t mod class for the team with the Stage 4 Monster.
At the 2019 European Championship in Brande, Denmark came the rematch of the battle Green Monster Stage 4 and The Judge or better said twin Allison V12 vs twin Rolls Royce Griffon V12.
Both tractors did a Full Pull in the qualifying run, but the run of the Green Monster Stage 4 wasn't very good. The Full Pull was close, and the engines also ran not very perfectly. For the finals, the team switched the mapping for the EFI on both engines, and that should still have an effect.
In the finals, the engines ran now much better and with a perfect pass, Jannis Rüter beat the leading distance of triple Isotov TV3 turbine powered tractor Argos Oil Whispering Giant by around 3 m. The German fans were totally over the moon, but there should be someone else who had just beaten the Green Monster Stage 4 at the European Superpull in March. And that was the Dutchman Theo Fijn with The Judge from Ijsselmuiden. Theo took everything out of his RR Griffon engines and with a great run, he was stopped right checkered white flag of the Green Monster Stage 4. The laser was then supposed to decide who had the edge in the end. And the surprise was huge, Theo Fijn missed the distance of Jannis Rüter by just 60 cm.
The Green Monster Team couldn't believe it to have won the European Championship title in the 3.5t modified class for the second time in 3 years. Jannis was very happy with his first achieved European Championship title on the Green Monster Stage 4 for the team in his 4th season as a driver.
For the 2020 season, the Green Monster Pulling Team had again some changes planned for the front Allison engine of the tractor. The plan was to replace the first evolution of the Frankenstein blower with a new, bigger one. The new, bigger homemade blower was the third evolution of the Frankenstein blower. The new bigger Frankenstein Evo 3 blower has a bigger aluminum housing with a bigger intake impeller wheel.
Also, the shape of the blower housing and the impeller wheel is different and further improved compared to the Evo 2 version on the Green Monster 5 Mitas Edition 2.5t light mod tractor.
Also, the water injection around the air intake funnel was changed, and some more injector nozzles were added to cool the air further down. With the different shapes of the housing and the impeller wheel, hoped to have a better airflow on the Allison engine. Also, the intake manifold was changed for the new charger and the first billet homemade camshafts were machined for the update of the engine.
For the first pull of the season in Zwolle, the Netherlands, the Frankenstein Evo 3 blower wasn't ready yet, but the team competed with the old charger setup on the engine. For the second year in a row, the guys finished with the tractor in 4th place in the 3.5t mod class.
Unfortunately, a broken driveshaft of the supercharger on the top Allison engine stopped the tractor a bit too early, and the 3rd position was missed by just 84 cm.
Back in the workshop, the work continued on the new Frankenstein blower and the damage on the top engine was fixed for the next event, but then came corona which stopped the tractor pulling sport for almost 2 years in Germany. During the next months, the team spent most of the time at home and not in the workshop due to the lockdown. That meant the team couldn't work on the new project further for the next few months.
As the situation improved, the work continued in the workshop on the new charger. In August 2020, the Green Monster Team tested for the first time the newly Evo 3 Frankenstein blower on their home track in Füchtorf. The first 2 passes in front of the Red Shadow TE sled were very impressive, and the team was happy so far with the first data of the new Frankenstein blower. The tests with the new Frankenstein blower continued for 3 events in 2021. The best 2 pulls in front of the sled did the team in Kalkar, Germany. That really showed the potential of the new Frankenstein Evo 3 blower on the front Allison engine for the first time.
At all of these 3 events, they competed with the light mod configuration on the tractor, because the team already had further plans for the top Allison engine.
In the winter of 2021/2022, the team started to work to replace the original Allison supercharger and camshaft drive through a belt drive with a Frankenstein blower like on the front engine. But there is a difference between both engines on the tractor. The front power plant is turning clockwise, and the top engine is turning counterclockwise. So the team needed a different blower housing, a different intake impeller wheel, different camshafts, and a new intake manifold.
The billet aluminum blower housing, the billet aluminum intake impeller wheel, and the components for the intake manifold were CNC-machined at their sponsor Hermesmeyer-Greweling in Marienfeld, Germany. Hermesmeyer-Greweling supports the Green Monster Team with CNC-machined parts for their tractors for many years now and has been involved in many of the successes so far. The safety blanket is specially made for the Frankenstein blower. The blanket was made by the company Holland Blankets from Egmond-Binnen in the Netherlands.
Also, the cylinder heads of the engine were revised and flowed for a better airflow with the Frankenstein blower. The rest of the engine like the Arias pistons, Toolox rods, the crankshaft, the block, and the sleeves remains the same. For the team will be the counterclockwise turning engine with the Frankenstein blower a new experience in 2022, because they never had a counterclockwise turning engine with a Frankenstein blower so far tested. Also, the EFI system on the top engine was updated. It has now the same configuration as on the front Allison engine.
One is sure, with the updated top Allison engine, the Green Monster Stage 4 will have more power in the 3.5t mod class than in 2019. It will be exciting, how the tractor will perform with the second Frankenstein blown Allison power plant in the 3.5t mod class against the top V8 tractors in Europe in a European Championship or in international competitions in the future.
For this season, the Green Monster Pulling Team has planned to compete in the German Championship of the 3.5t mod division to defend the title from 2019.
But the main goal for 2022 is to qualify for the European Championship in Great Eccleston, England at the end of August.
Who knows, maybe they can defend their EC title from 2019 there.
The Green Monster Pulling Team would also like to give a big thanks to all the sponsors for the great support for their Green Monster Stage 4 tractor during the last 20 years!
Drivers of the tractor from 2002 until now: Daniel Frische
Dirk Wessel
Tobias Hörstkamp
Frank Lehmkuhle
Matthias Böhmann
Jannis Rüter
Heinz-Josef Hörstkamp
Results National and International from the past:German Championship 3.5t modified 2002: 4th
2003: German Champion
2004: German Champion
2005: German Champion
2006: German Champion
2007: German Champion
2008: 2nd
2009: 2nd
2010: 3rd
2011: German Champion
2012: 3rd
2013: 3rd
2014: German Champion
2015: German Champion
2016: German Champion
2017: German Champion
2018: German Champion
2019: German Champion
2020: No Championship due to covid
2021: No Championship due to covid
German Championship 2.5t light modified:2002: 5th
2003 German Champion
2004: 3rd
2005: German Champion
2006: German Champion
2007: German Champion
2008. 3rd
2009: 2nd
2010: 4th2011: 2nd
2012: 3rd
2013: 3rd
2014: 2nd
2015: 2nd
2016: 2nd
2017: 2nd
2018-2021: not registered for the class in the Championship, competed only on some pulls
Euro Cup 4.5t heavy modified:2005: 7th
2006: 7th
Euro Cup 2.5t light modified:2007: 3rd
2008: 4th
2009: 7th
2010: 7th
2011: 8th
2012: 5th
2013: Excluded from the Euro Cup Series due to a lack of attendance at the events
2014: 9th
2015: 9th
2016: 7th
2017-2021: not registered anymore for the class in the Euro Cup
European Championship 3.5t modified class:2002: Not qualified
2003: 4th
2004: 17th
2005: 14th
2006: 4th
2007: 8th
2008: 2nd
2009: 6th
2010: 4th
2011: 6th
2012: 3rd
2013: Not qualified
2014: 5th
2015: 4th
2016: European Champion
2017: 8th
2018: 4th
2019: European Champion
2020: No European Championship due to covid
2021: No European Championship due to covid
European Championship 2.5t light modified:2002: Not qualified
2003: 5th
2004: 4th
2005: 7th
2006: 2nd
2007: 7th
2008: 5th
2009: 9th
2010: Not qualified
2011: 7th
2012: 6th
2013: Not qualified
2014: 16th
2015: 6th
2016: 3rd
2017: 11th
After a lot of success with the Mitas Powerpull tires in the 2018 season, the Green Monster Team switched to the Mitas Powerpull tires on the Green Monster Stage 4. The Mitas Powerpull tires brought the team the Euro Cup and European Championship title with their triple Allison Green Fighter in the heavy mod class, and the European Championship and German Championship title with the twin Allison Green Monster 5 Mitas Edition in the light mod class the year before.
Drivers of the tractor from 2002 until now: 
2013: Not qualified
