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Joker Pulling Team back in the mini modified class Part 1/3

It was the comeback of the 2022 season, the Joker Pulling Team around Thomas, Claus, and Manfred Zimmermann from Ettlenschieß in Germany returned to the mini modified class with a newly built 950 kg Arias V8-powered mini modified machine after a 21 years absence. In the mini modified class, the German Team achieved their biggest successes in the past. With 2 Euro Cup and European Championship titles and many German Championship titles in the 90s, the Joker Pulling Team was one of the most successful German Teams in the mini modified class on the national and international levels. In that 3 part article, we are looking not only at the new Joker mini modified tractor, but we are also looking at the history of the team and their successes in the past. 

The Joker Pulling Team was founded by Thomas and Manfred Zimmermann in December 1990. For the Zimmermann's the world of tractor pulling wasn't new. Manfred Zimmermann, the father of Thomas and Claus Zimmermann, already started with tractor pulling in 1985. Manfred was a mechanic for one of Germany's most successful pulling teams in Germany and Europe at the time. He worked for the Kiemele Pulling Team from Eschach-Seifertshofen from 1985 until the team stopped at the end of 1999. With his great technical knowledge, Manfred was mainly jointly responsible for the success of Eugen and Hans Kiemele's time in the pulling sport. In his time as a mechanic for the team, the Kiemele Pulling Team achieved 30 German Championship titles and many European Championship titles. 

In the first years, he worked on the Allison V12-powered modified tractors called ''Museums Gigant'' and ''Second Choice''. During that time he learned a lot about the technic and the main problems of the Allison engines. After only 3 years in the team, Eugen Kiemele purchased a new toy in the USA. This time it wasn't an Allison V12-powered modified tractor. Eugen purchased a triple V8 Arias-powered tractor called ''Tom Cat'' from LD Nation in Butler, Missouri, USA in 1988. That was the first time when Manfred came into contact with the Arias V8 engines. 

In 1990, after 5 years as mechanic of the Kiemele Pulling Team there came the first consideration to form an own Pulling Team with his son Thomas, who was 16 years old at the time. 

A big modified tractor like Eugen Kiemele had was maybe too expensive for the pocket at the time, so Manfred started to search for a mini modified tractor in 1990. After a long search and help from fellow pullers and friends, finally they found a mini modified tractor at the end of the year in the USA. They found a mini modified tractor with an Arias V8 Hemi engine. The mini from the USA was the ''Michigan Twister'' of Scott Eighmey from Ida, Michigan. The deal for the purchase of the Michigan Twister was made before Christmas 1990. But before the Michigan Twister went to Germany, Scott had to run one further event at the beginning of the year 1991. But that outing wasn't a good one for Scott. At the 1991 NFMS Pull in Louisville, Kentucky, he blew up the Arias engine on the Michigan Twister. 

That wasn't in the plan of Scott. Usually, after the NFMS pull, the mini should be shipped across the pond, but that plan was shattered due to the broken power plant. So before the tractor went to the Zimmermann's in Germany, Scott had to build a brand-new engine for the tractor. But due to the delay, it wasn't possible to ship the tractor in a container with a container ship to Europe. The only way was to send the tractor in time to Germany by plane. So the Michigan Twister was in the workshop of Scott Eighmey packed into a wooden box and then transported to the next cargo airport and the flight by a transport plane to Switzerland. Usually, the plane had to land in Stuttgart, Germany with the mini, but due to some problems at the airport, the plane from the USA couldn't land there. 

So then the flight was redirected to Switzerland. After the tractor was arrived at European ground, the next problem already waited for the German Team. Problems with the Swiss customs delayed the delivery further of the tractor. Only 3 days before the German Championship opener in Eschach-Seifertshofen, the wooden box with the mini in there arrived in the workshop of the Zimmerman's in Ettlenschieß. After the new toy was packed out of the box, the German Team started the Arias V8 Hemi engine of the mini for the first time in front of their workshop. After that, the Joker (the new name of the Michigan Twister) was loaded onto a car trailer and the whole team headed to Eschach-Seifertshofen a day later. 

A day before the official competition, 16 years old Thomas Zimmermann did his maiden voyage on the Joker in front of the sled. The tractor ran pretty well and Thomas was very satisfied with the run. The official maiden run in front of the crowd was a day later on the 14th of April 1991. But the first official maiden run of the Joker wasn't made by Thomas, his father Manfred took over the seat at the first championship round in Seifertshofen. And Manfred did a good job in the hot seat of the Joker. In the end, he finished at the first outing of the new import mini in a nice 3rd place. After that first round, his 16 year old son Thomas took over the seat of the tractor for the rest of the season. 

And Thomas did a brilliant job in his first full season in the German Championship of the mini modified class. Thomas finished his first season with the Joker in runner-up position of the German Championship point standings behind Friedel Bartholome and his Le Coiffeur 2. Usually, the runner-up position in the Championship was enough to be qualified for the 1991 EC in Great Eccleston. But due to the import ban for US pulling tractors by the ETPC at the time, the tractor was banned from the ETPC competitions like the European Championship for 1 year and 10 days. 

So that meant, the team had to stay at home in Ettlenschiss with the mini in 1991. 

After a pretty good first year in the mini mod class, the German Team topped their results in 1992. The year 1992 started very well for the Zimmermann's. They won the Dutch Indoor pull events in Zwolle and in Rotterdam. With the victory at the European Superpull in Ahoy, Rotterdam, the team showed the potential of the Joker against the other European top minis. After that first win at a big international event, the Joker Team was now for every European top mini mod team a real force to be reconned with.

The domination of the Joker Team also continued through the summer of 1992. 

They won none less than 7 German Championship rounds in that season. They competed in 8 of the 11 Championship rounds and won at the end of the season the German Championship title in their second full season. With that German Championship title, they also were qualified for the European Championship in Bernay, France. Thomas was with his Joker, the first competitor in front of the Dutch mini sled called ''No Mercy''. Thomas Zimmermann did a Full Pull, but after that only pull the sled was broken and couldn't be repaired anymore there. After that, the EC of the minis was canceled there and postponed to the Indoor pull in Zwolle, the Netherlands in January 1993. It was a very successful EC for the Joker Team. With 2 nice runs, Thomas won the competition there and his first European Championship title in his first European Championship. 

By the note, all 3 podium places went to Germany. Helmut Schwarz with Ghost Buster 1 finished in runner-up and the 1991 European Champion Friedel Bartholome with Le Coiffeur 2 in third place. 

In 1993, the Zimmermann's could defend their German Championship title from 1992 above the Schwarz brothers with their Rover V12 tank engine powered mini called ''Ghost Buster 1''. At the European Championship in Herning, Denmark, Thomas did a flying Full Pull with his Joker and was again the main favorite for the title. In the pull off, he managed a nice pass but missed the European Championship title by just 63 cm to Helmut Schwarz with Ghost Buster 1. But all in all, the south German Team was happy with the runner-up place at their second European Championship.

In 94, Thomas Zimmermann achieved his 3rd German Championship title in a row, again in front of Ghost Buster 1. That year also marked the maiden season of the Mini modified class in the Euro Cup and the Joker Team was there from the very beginning. Surprisingly, they could win the first Euro Cup title with their blue Joker in the Mini Mod class. At the European Championship on the Flevohof in the Netherlands, they finished again in the top 3.
Thomas went home from the EC with a 3rd place behind Ghost Buster 1 and the 94 European Champion Egbert Dros with Simply Irresistible.
After the 1994 season, the Joker Team decided to build a new chassis for their mini modified tractor.

The new Joker for 1995 received a new homemade aluminum wedge frame with a homemade aluminum roll cage and a shortened Mercedes truck rear end with a Dana 60 ring and pinion gear. Also with the tires, they went a new way. After 4 successful seasons on Firestone tires, the team decided to replace the old tires by a set of new Dick Cepek tires on aluminum rims.

But 1995 with the new blue Joker was a season with many up and downs. Over the season, they had a lot of troubles with the newly built rear axle in the tractor. The new Cepek tires on the tractor made so much traction, that the original Dana 60 ring and pinion gear in the rear axle went broke. During the year, the team did some major changes to the Mercedes rear axle. The Mercedes rear axle received a homemade 5 planetary gear setup on each side of the rear axle and newly built steel half shafts. 

Due to the change to planetaries on the rear axle, the gearbox on the tractor was dismantled, and the Joker only had a reverser for forward and backward driving. The improved Mercedes rear axle with the new planetaries on it was used for the first time at the Euro Cup in Herning, Denmark in the summer of 1995. The first competition with the planetaries rear axle was a success. With two nice passes, Thomas finished in a nice runner-up place at the 4th Euro Cup round. After those changes, the tractor was more reliable and better driveable on the pulling tracks. Unfortunately, the problems at the beginning of the season cost a lot of points in the German Championship. Until the round in Sottrum, Germany, they led the German Championship point standings by a few points. 

But with another broken ring and pinion gear, the team lost the lead there and couldn't get them back during the rest of the 1995 season. After 3 German title's in a row, the Zimmermann lost their crown for the first time. Thomas also couldn't defend his title in the Euro Cup. The Euro Cup season started not well. In the opening round for the minis on the Flevohof, the Netherlands, he couldn't start in the finals due to ignition problems and lost already many points. But already at the second round in Sottrum, he fought back with a nice runner-up place behind Karl-Sofus Engen and Mini Breaker from Norway. Another runner-up place was achieved with the Joker at the next round in Herning, Denmark, again behind Karl-Sofus Engen and Mini Breaker. After those 2 great results, Joker was back in 3rd place in the Euro Cup point standings before the final round in Meerkerk, the Netherlands. 

And again the fight for 3rd place in the final round was like in the German Championship against the Schwarz brothers and Ghost Buster 1. The track didn't suit them very much. With the Cepek tires, Thomas couldn't find any grip on the very dry track and at 84.96 m the run was over. The team wasn't very satisfied with the run and third place in the Euro Cup was in danger. But the Ghost Buster Team also struggled with the hard and dry track conditions. Also, their Cepek tires on Ghost Buster 1 didn't worked well, and surprisingly they were more than 2.5 m behind Joker. That meant the 3rd place in the Euro Cup point standings was safe for the Joker Team. The Euro Cup title that year went to Karl-Sofus Engen and Mini Breaker from Norway.

The European Championship in Hörby, Sweden was a disaster for the Joker Team. In both attempts, Thomas couldn't qualify the Joker for the finals, and he was way down the leaderboard to find a disappointing 14th place. Due to problems with the ignition in both runs, the Arias V8 engine only ran on 7 cylinders and the Cepek tires couldn't find any grip on the track in Sweden. Like the Euro Cup title, also the European Championship title went to Mini Breaker from Norway.

After that up and down 1995 season, 1996 was much better again for the Joker Team. First, the mini got a new paint job. The reason for that was, the team signed a one-year contract with the US tool manufacturer Snap On for the 1996 season. Due to that, the colour of the tractor changed from blue to red, which is still now the color of the team. 

Also, after one season, the team switched back to the Firestone tires on the Joker. The season for Thomas Zimmerman started very well with the new red painted and Snap On Tools sponsored Joker. In January, Thomas dominated both sessions of the mini mod class in Zwolle, the Netherlands. The next victory followed at the 96 European Superpull in Ahoy, Rotterdam. Also, here won Thomas Zimmermann with his Joker, the competition. Germany also had in 1996 an Indoor pull in Oldenburg and the win in the mini class also went to Thomas Zimmermann with Joker. With 4 wins at 3 different Indoor pulls in Europe, Thomas Zimmermann and Joker was the unofficial Indoor champ of 1996. During the whole year of 1996, Joker ran very reliably without any major issues compared to the 95 seasons. 

In the German Championship, the fight for the title was again between Joker and Ghost Buster 1 or better said Arias V8 Hemi against Rover Meteor V12. That fight for the title was decided at the very last round of the championship. And the surprise was, Joker and Ghost Buster 1 were equal in the Championship point standings after that final round. That meant, the Joker team and Ghost Buster team shared the German Championship title in 1996. At the international pull in Windenhof, France, the team tested on the Arias V8 engine on the Joker a twin Mallory ignition setup for the first time, and finished second in the competition there.
The year in the Euro Cup wasn't so successful. The best result was a 4th place at the Euro Cup round in Haßmoor, Germany and in the Euro Cup point standings, the Joker Team finished 6th. 

But the team missed the 2 Euro Cup rounds in Hörby, Sweden, and in Herning, Denmark. That was one of the reasons for the bad placing in the Euro Cup point standings.
Much better was the European Championship for them. After the disappointing EC in 95, Thomas Zimmermann was back in top form with his Joker and achieved a very nice runner-up place behind the German Helmut Schwarz and Ghost Buster 2 in Jurva, Finland.

After a good 1996 season, the German team did some changes to their Joker mini. After that one-year sponsor deal with the Snap-On commercial on the fenders, the look of the fenders was changed. 

They changed the fenders to the 95 look. On one side of the fenders was a cap with a world globe airbrush painted, and on the other one was the Joker mini mod tractor airbrush painted. Also, the return to Cepek tires was planned for the upcoming season. During the 97 season came a new sponsor on board. The team signed a multi-year contract with the German tool sales group ''Wado'' from Riederich in South Germany.
At the first 4 events of the season, Joker Team still competed with the old Firestone tires on the Arias V8 Hemi-powered tractor. At the first 2 Indoor pulls of the season in Zwolle and Rotterdam, Thomas couldn't repeat the success from 96. With two 4th places in Zwolle and Ahoy, the team missed the podium positions very close.

Much better was the summer for the team, but also with some low points in the German Championship. After some small issues during the season, Thomas won with his Joker the last 2 final rounds of the Championship in Weseke and Oldendorf. The track conditions suited his tractor and his Cepek tires very well there. Like the year before, it was a battle for the title between Joker, Ghost Buster 1, and Ghost Buster 2. Better said, it was Arias V8 Hemi against Rover Meteor V12 and Isotov TV3 turbine. In the end, the old Rover V12 tank engine on Ghost Buster 1 with Eugen Schwarz in the saddle won the title for the 3rd year in a row. Thomas Zimmermann and Joker finished right behind Eugen Schwarz in runner-up position in the German Championship and in front of Helmut Schwarz and Ghost Buster 2.

Much more exciting for the Joker Team was the Euro Cup season in 1997. This Euro Cup year turned out to be one of the most nerve wracking mini modified seasons in Euro Cup history.

The 97 Euro Cup season started for the Joker Team pretty well. At the Euro Cup opener in Bernay, France, Thomas did two very nice passes in front of the sled and finished in a nice 3rd place, behind Ghost Buster 2 of Helmut Schwarz from Germany and Karl Sofus Engen and Mini Breaker from Norway. Round 2 in Sottrum, Germany was one of the worst weekends for the Joker Team. Thomas Zimmerman couldn't qualify in both attempts his tractor for the finals due to engine problems and was way down the leaderboard in Sottrum. With this bad result, he also dropped out of the top 3 in the Euro Cup point standings. But already one round later in Hörby, Sweden, Thomas, and his Joker were back in top form. 

Thomas had a strong weekend there and achieved a runner-up place behind his Norwegian rival and friend Karl Sofus Engen and Mini Breaker. Also, successful was the 4th Euro Cup round in Walibi Flevo (Flevohof), the Netherlands for them. He achieved another runner-up place with Joker behind the Dutch rival and friend Egbert Dros with Simply Irresistible. Those 2 runner-up positions brought Thomas and Joker back to 4th place in the Euro Cup point standings and back in the title hunt. In Herning, Denmark, the Joker team wanted to gain more ground in the points table. Unfortunately, after 2 passes in the finals, the Danish mini sled broke right after the start of Joker and Thomas Zimmermann. The sled couldn't be repaired there, and the competition for the minis was canceled. The Euro Cup points in Herning were shared between the Euro Cup competitors. 

That meant before the final round, 4 different teams had the chance to win the title in the Euro Cup. Those 4 competitors were within 8 points and Thomas Zimmerman was in 4th in the standings. The last and final round of the 1997 Euro Cup season was held in Windenhof in France. It should be one of the unforgettable moments in the history of the Joker Pulling Team. The track in Windenhof was pretty well for the big tractors, but not so well for the minis. Most of the high horsepower minis struggled with the track conditions and had trouble with the balance or with growing wheels. The top favorites Mini Breaker from Norway, Simply Irresistible from the Netherlands, and Ghost Buster 2 from Germany had these kinds of problems and surprisingly failed to qualify for the finals. 

That was the chance for the Zimmermann's with the Joker. Compared to his main rivals, Joker ran with a slower wheel speed, and this was the way to success. Thomas did a very nice qualifying hook and a Full Pull. In the finals also were 2 others, Ghost Buster 1 from Germany and Lambada 4 from the Netherlands. In the finals, Ghost Buster 1 set the first distance with 104.19 m. Thomas Zimmerman and Joker were next in front of the Iron Maniac sled. Thomas did a very nice pass and beat the distance of Ghost Buster 1 by 1.47 m. After the run, the clutch was gone, but he was in the lead. Gert Dingerink with Lambada 4 couldn't match the distance of Thomas Zimmerman and Joker and was around 7 m behind the German. That was the first Euro Cup win for the Zimmermann's in 97, but that win also meant they were Euro Cup Champions in 1997.

Due to the bad placing of their main rivals in Windenhof they were able to pass everyone in the point standings. That meant Joker won the Euro Cup by 4 points from Simply Irresistible and by 5 points from Mini Breaker. After 94 it was the second Euro Cup title for the team from Ettlenschieß. Around a month later was the European Championship in Erkelenz-Holzweiler, Germany. After the Euro Cup title, Thomas was one of the favorites for the European Championship title. But everything should turn out differently. After a good start in his first attempt, the mini was on the way to the full pull, but at 95.05 m the tractor came to a sudden stop and the Arias V8 Hemi engine went into the rev limiter. Back in the pits, Thomas, Claus, and Manfred found out that the bolts of the flywheel were sheared off. The damage couldn't be fixed in time for the second attempt, so the dream of a second international title was over for the Germans. With the 8th place at 97 EC, they were not happy. But all in all, with the 97 season they were pretty satisfied and already further big changes were planned for the upcoming winter.

During the winter of 97/98, Thomas, Manfred, and Claus Zimmerman built a brand-new chassis for the Joker, this time they went a different way. After 7 successful years with wedge chassis, the German team decided to build their first homemade tube chassis for the tractor with a new driveline and rear axle. The new tube frame for the chassis was built out of St 52 steel and a new aluminum roll cage was built. Also on the rearend they went a different way compared to the old one. The new 12-inch rearend was homemade and without planetaries. After 3 seasons, the team meant the planetaries on the old rearend cost too much power. That was the reason to drive again without planetaries.

Another important point for 98 was, a new sponsor came on board. Alongside the Wado sponsorship, the engine oil manufacturer ''Quaker State'' was to find on the fenders of the Joker.

The maiden voyage of the brand-new Joker was at the Indoor Pull in Zwolle, the Netherlands.
But that maiden voyage of the newly built Joker wasn't really successful. Most of the minis struggled with the difficult track conditions that day. Also, Thomas struggled with the conditions. Right after the start, the front end of the Joker came up and then suddenly the mini turned at an almost 90-degree angle to the right side of the track. Thomas tried to keep the tractor in bounds but without success. After a few more restless jumps, the run was over, and he was disqualified. Not really that what the team hoped with the new tractor. Back in the workshop, they did some changes to the diff to solve the problem from Zwolle. At the next indoor event, the European Superpull in Ahoy, Rotterdam, the new Joker ran now much better but not perfectly. The pass wasn't straight, but Thomas could keep the tractor in bounds this time. 

But unfortunately, he missed the full pull by just around 5 m. The distance of 54.95 m was only good enough for 6th place at the end. After the European Superpull, further changes were done to the differential to get the tractor better running. The new Joker with the new tube frame and the new 12-inch rearend showed its potential at the first round of the German Championship in Füchtorf. After 3 nice runs, Thomas finished second with Joker behind the arch-rival Eugen Schwarz and Ghost Buster 1. In the 2nd round of the German Championship, in Eschach-Seifertshofen, the first win with the new Joker was achieved that season. Like in previous years, the fight for the German Championship title was between Joker and Ghost Buster 1. The title for the German Championship was decided again in the final round of the season in Erkelenz-Holzweiler.

Thomas was the last competitor in the finals of the mini class. His qualifying run was very well, but in the finals, he struggled again to keep the tractor straight on the track, and he had a lot to brake to keep the Joker in bounds. And in the end, it was a close decision. Unfortunately, Thomas missed the leading distance set by Eugen Schwarz and Ghost Buster 1 by just 70 cm. That wasn't enough to win the event and the title in the German Championship. With the victory of Ghost Buster 1 in Erkelenz-Holzweiler, the Joker team missed the title by just 8 points and finished runner-up in the point standings for the second year in a row. Also, not so bad was the Euro Cup season for the Zimmermann's in 98. Like every year, the Euro Cup season started in Bernay, France. And for the 2nd time since 1995, the Joker Pulling Team went as Euro Cup title defender into the season. And the Euro Cup season didn't started badly for the south German team. 

Like the year before, the 3rd place was achieved in Bernay behind Bert Dijkstra with Simply Irresistible and Durk Feenstra with Landy. At round 2 in Sottrum, Germany, another 3rd place was achieved behind Lambada 3 with Willem Dingerink from the Netherlands and Mini Breaker with Karl-Sofus Engen from Norway. At round 3 in Hörby, Sweden, Thomas Zimmermann, and Joker were back on the top again. Most of his rivals struggled with the track conditions there and had problems getting their tires reasonably working. Thomas was one of 2 who had no problems with the track. His Cepek tires worked much better compared to the others. In the finals, Thomas did one of his best passes with Joker in that season. The rival in the finals, Willem Dingerink with Lambada 3 had no answer to beat the distance of 101.38 m by Thomas Zimmermann and Joker. Willem missed the distance of Thomas by more than 6 m.

That was the first Euro Cup win for Joker in 98. But the next event in Walibi Flevo, the Netherlands, was a disappointment. 

This time, Thomas and Joker were way down the leaderboard in 6th and over 10 m behind the winner Willem Dingerink. The reason for that bad result was a broken rear axle, which also cost him a lot of points in the fight for the Euro Cup title. After that event, it looked like Lambada 3 was the new main rival for Joker in the hunt for the Euro Cup title. Herning, Denmark was much better for the Joker Team but again no podium place for Thomas. Joker was to find in 4th place in the ranking there. But the most unfortunate was, Thomas missed the podium spot by just 4 cm (Lambada 5) and the win by just 3 m and 4 cm (Lambada 3). Before the final round in Windenhof, France, the Joker Team had no chance anymore to defend the Euro Cup title. The team was already 21 points behind, but still had chances to achieve the runner-up spot in the Euro Cup point standings. 

And that also was Thomas's target. And that target also was achieved. With the win and the only full pull in that class at the final Euro Cup round, Thomas Zimmerman and Joker became runner-up behind Lambada 3 from the Netherlands and ahead of Mini Breaker from Norway in the 1998 Euro Cup point standings. The 1998 European Championship in Great Eccleston, Great Britain wasn't successful for the Joker Team. The track didn't suit the Cepek tires of the Joker, and Thomas was way behind the top 3 there. More than a 4th place there wasn't in. In September 1998, the Joker Team was invited with the Joker for the 2nd time to the pull in Trogstad, Norway. That event was organized by friend and rival Karl-Sofus Engen of the Mini Breaker Pulling Team on his own yard. That event was more or less a just for fun competition with many guest pullers and friends from all over Scandinavia and Europe. The Zimmermann's did some very spectacular pulls there. 

The 98 season showed that the new Joker with the tube frame and the 12-inch rear axle sometimes was very difficult to drive and to keep straight on the pulling tracks in Germany and Europe. After that season, the decision was made to build again a completely new chassis for the tractor. The Joker team started to build the new chassis in the winter of 1998/1999. The Chassis had some differences compared to the old one. The chassis received a homemade chrome-moly tube frame with a homemade 2-bar chrome-moly roll cage (according to the new ETPC safety rules in 2000) and a 15-inch Rockwell SQHD rearend. At that time, it was the first SQHD 15-inch rearend in a mini modified tractor in Europe ever!

The rear axle received a homemade steel sheet metal housing with a homemade aluminum diff and shafts. Only the center section and the ring and pinion gear were still original from an SQHD 15 rear axle, the rest was built by the Zimmermann's himself. Compared to the 98-tube frame, the frame was further improved and lighter built. Also, a new Arias Fontana V8 Hemi engine with more horsepower was built up for the new tractor to better compete with the Keith Black powered minis.
But the building of the brand-new chassis should last until mid-April of 1999. So the first 3 events on the schedule still had to be contested with the old Joker in 1999. The first 2 events of the season were the Indoor Pulls in Zwolle and Rotterdam. In Zwolle Joker was to find in 5th and at the European Superpull in 6th. The 3rd event and the final runs of the old Joker in 99 were at an invitation pull in Zaragoza in Spain at the end of March. The pull was part of the supporting program of the Spanish agricultural exhibition ''RAI''. The Joker Team wasn't the only mini modified pulling team here at that event, also the Lambada Team from the Netherlands was with Lambada 3 and Lambada 5 and the Simply Irresistible Team was with their mini there. At that event, together with many other teams from the super/pro stock and the bigger modified classes, they demonstrated tractor pulling there.
After the event in Spain, the team did the last work on the new Joker chassis for the first round of the German Championship in Füchtorf, Germany. The new mini mod debuted there unpainted, the reason for it, was simply to less time to get the tractor painted for Füchtorf. Also without a paint job, the new Joker proved his potential. Already at the first pass, Thomas did a nice and easy full pull. In the finals, he repeated the pass from the qualifying run, again a full pull. But he wasn't the only one who did a full pull in the finals of the mini modified class. Also, Gert Dingerink with Lambada 5 from Zwolle in the Netherlands did a full pull. In the second pull off, Thomas did with the new V8 Arias Fontana Hemi-powered Joker another nice pass and set a distance of 76.38 m. 

His Dutch rival Gert Dingerink with the V8 Keith Black Hemi-powered Lambada 5 couldn't beat the distance of the new Joker by 64 cm. The whole Joker Team was very satisfied with the performance of the newly built mini after the maiden voyage in Füchtorf. Also clear was, after that victory, the new Joker was a real force to be reckoned with in the 1999 season.

Only a week after the season opener in Füchtorf was the home event in Eschach-Seifertshofen. Also at their home pull, the new Joker was still without paint on the track. The time was too short to paint the new tractor in those few days between Füchtorf and Seifertshofen. The new tractor was again in top form in Eschach-Seifertshofen, but this time the new Joker was beaten by the reigning German Champion Ghost Buster 1. 

Two weeks later in Anholt, Germany, the new mini appeared in color for the first time. After Seifertshofen, the tractor was completely taken apart and the chassis plus the fenders were painted in red colors like the old mini. After the tractor was fully assembled again, the stickers of the sponsors were put on the fenders and the tractor was ready again. Anholt was successful again for the Joker Team, but the competition was won by Helmut Schwarz and his Isotov TV 3 turbine-powered Ghost Buster 2. Thomas finished like in Eschach-Seifertshofen in runner-up position. A week later in Haßmoor, Germany was another runner-up place achieved behind the blown Rover V12 powered Gators with Torben Hansen from Denmark. 

The reason for that runner-up place was, Thomas couldn't keep the tractor in bounds and was disqualified in the finals.

But at the next event in Verl, Germany, he was back on the top of the podium. After Verl was a one-week break before the Euro Cup season started. After the tractor was checked, the team went to Bernay in France for the first Euro Cup competition in 1999. For the new Joker, it was the first international competition and the team hoped for a place under the top 3 again. Also in Bernay, the Joker Team used a set of new tires cut by Bob Parkes in the USA on the mini. The new Joker with the new tires worked well on the sandy track in Bernay. With a nice balance and a nice run, the runner-up of the 98 Euro Cup made a full pull in front of the French crowd. Thomas and the whole team were happy with the performance of the new tractor after the first run there. The chances looked not to be bad for a good placing that day. After a rain shower before the finals, the track changed its conditions massively and most of the teams struggled with the track conditions. 4 of his 5 main rivals struggled a lot with the track. The Dingerinks struggled with growing tires on all of their 3 minis, and friend Egbert Dros with Simply Irresistible had the same problem and went out of bounds. A better day had their Norwegian friend and rival Karl-Sofus Engen with Mini Breaker, he was the only one who set a nice distance with his tractor. The Norwegian led for quite a while until the new Euro Cup competitor Gompie with Rene de Bruin from Maasland in the Netherlands came. Rene hammered his blown Rover V12 mini down the track and took over the lead from Karl-Sofus Engen, which was a surprise. 

After following the pulls of their rivals in the final, Joker was the next competitor after Gompie. Manfred let positioned the sled on the right side of the start to hope that his son Thomas has a good start. Thomas had a good start with his Joker and was on the way to beating the distance of Gompie. During the pull, he had to press the left brake pedal a few times to avoid going out of bounds, but the tractor still had enough speed. Then came the surprise, from the second flag marshal came the red flag, and all of a sudden he had to stop. First, Thomas didn't knew what was happening and also the rest of the Joker Team. Then came the answer from the clerk of the course, he was out of bounds. The team and thousands of french spectators were not happy about the decision of the officials. After a protest of the Joker Team and some further talks with other people and officials, it came out he wasn't out of bounds. So the disqualification was reversed and Thomas got, as the last starter in the class, another attempt. But unfortunately, there was a slight problem. Before his second attempt, the team found out the right rear tire loose air due to a creeping puncture. In his second attempt in the finals, Thomas struggled a lot to keep the tractor in bounds with the creeping puncture. Unfortunately, his distance was only good enough for a 4th place in the end. The team wasn't happy with that weekend and hoped for a better result at the next Euro Cup round. The next Euro Cup round was held in Grimmen, Germany. That Euro Cup competition was much better for the Joker Team compared to Bernay. In the finals, Thomas could beat the distance of his last year's main rival Willem Dingerink and Lambada 3, but not the distances of Mini Breaker from Norway and the new Lambada 6 from the Netherlands. Due to a lot of breaking during the pull to keep the tractor in bounds, he missed the distance of the runner-up Karl-Sofus Engen by a little bit more than 5 m and the distance of Gert Dingerink by around 7 m. But with the 3rd place, the team was happy. Also, very good for them was the Euro Cup round at Walibi Flevo, the Netherlands. With a nice straight pass, Thomas could achieve a nice runner-up place there, but he couldn't beat the new Keith Black Hemi-powered Lambada 6 with Wim Dingerink from the Netherlands. Hörby, Sweden, was disappointing compared to 1998. After the mighty win in 98, Thomas could finish with Joker only in 4th place. 

Like in Grimmen, he struggled to keep the Joker straight on the track and missed a lot of meters during the run to the top 3 guys. Also in Herning, Denmark, was achieved a 4th place. Besides, with no round win so far in the Euro Cup 1999, the Joker Team still had a chance for the Euro Cup title. Before the final round in Windenhof, France, alongside Joker were 4 further contenders for the Euro Cup title. And these 4 were Lambada 6 from the Netherlands, Gompie from the Netherlands, Wild Thing from Sweden, and Mini Breaker from Norway. Before that exciting Euro Cup final, the team refreshed the Littlefield blower and Arias Fontana engine completely. Usually, it was planned to fit a new crankshaft which was arrived from the USA at the time into the Arias engine. Unfortunately, due to problems, this could not be implemented at this time. That also meant the team didn't compete in the German Championship round in Weseke, Germany. Already at the time the Joker Team had a healthy lead in German Championship over their rivals and the title was almost safe.
Due to the chances for the Euro Cup title, the Joker Team also swapped the tires for that final round. The Bob Parkes cut Firestone tires were replaced by the Cepek tires for the first time that season. The team wanted to risk everything and stake everything on one card for that final round. In any case, they had never had any bad experiences here with the Cepek tires. The wins in 97 and 98 were achieved with Cepek tires on the Joker.
The evening session of the Euro Cup mini modified class in Windenhof was affected by rain and that made the track conditions difficult, especially at the start of the finals. The full pull in the qualifying run wasn't a problem for Thomas Zimmerman in Windenhof, but also all the other 4 contenders qualified for the finals. In the pull off, Joker ran well with the traction rich Cepek tires, but Thomas was a bit too careful on the throttle lever and gave a bit too late full throttle.

With 79.62 m, he missed the leading distance of Lambada 6 from the Netherlands by 5 m. That wasn't enough for the title. In the end, Thomas Zimmermann and the Joker Team finished 5th in the class and 4th in the Euro Cup daily ranking in Windenhof. That 4th place finish was enough for the 3rd place with 61 points in the Euro Cup point standings, 12 points behind the 1999 Euro Cup winner Gompie from the Netherlands.
A week later, after the Euro Cup round in France, Thomas Zimmermann with his Joker achieved 6th place at the German Championship finals in Erkelenz-Holzweiler. In the pull off, he couldn't keep the tractor between the 2 chalk lines and was disqualified. But that 6th place was enough to win the German Championship title in 1999. It was the first German Championship title since 1996. But the best was yet to come.
In September was the European Championship in Bouconville, France. And it should be a very successful EC for the Joker Team. Thomas Zimmermann had in his first qualifying attempt not so much luck. In his first attempt, he shut down the throttle to avoid going out of bounds. In his second attempt, he did a nice pass and a full pull. With that nice run, he was qualified for the finals with 5 others. 3 of them were also the rivals in the Euro Cup in 1999. Wim Dingerink with Lambada 6 had set the early distance to beat with 95.12 m. Nobody could beat the distance, also not the Euro Cup Champ Gompie from the Netherlands and Mini Breaker from Norway.

Thomas Zimmermann was the last competitor with Joker in the finals, and he hoped, he can beat the distance of Wim. Thomas had a very good start and found very good traction in the already dry soil, with a very good speed he passed the mark of Lambada 6. With a distance of 99.24 m, he beat the distance by 4 m and 12 cm. That was a huge surprise because Lambada 6 won 3 rounds in the Euro Cup and Joker won not a single Euro Cup round for the first time since 1996. Thomas Zimmermann and the whole Joker Team were absolutely happy with the win of the last European Championship title in the mini modified class of this century. For Thomas was this his second European Championship title after 1992. The successful season for the Zimmermann's ended again at Karl-Sofus Engen's invitation pull in Trogstad, Norway.

That was part one of our story. In part two we will look to the early 2000s of the Team and their switch to the modified class.

For further information, check here: https://www.facebook.com/JokerTeamZimmermann/?locale=de_DE

Ocala live stream

 

Trucks & Tractors at Ocala Jan 27 & 28 2023

All Full Pull RWYB Trucks 2023 Season

The maximum weight of all 4x4 will be 7,500 lbs, Limited Pro Diesel 3.0 trucks will be allowed to compete with a maximum weight of 8,000 lbs. 575 cubic inches on gas/alcohol engines with a single supercharger or a single turbocharger. The maximum of 460 cubic inches for diesel trucks. Here are all the RWYB hooks we filmed this 2023 Season. Follow Full Pull Productions on the web: www.fullpullproductions.com #truckpull #diesel #truck

RWYB Trucks Langford NY August 5 2023 Session 2

2024 Euro Cup Schedule revealed

Today, the ETPC (European Tractor Pulling Committee) has published the calendar for the Euro Cup Series in 2024. For 2024 there are 9 rounds on the calendar which will held in 6 different European countries from the end of April until the end of August. With Zele in Belgium and Allingabro in Denmark, 2 locations will return to the Euro Cup calendar in 2024. Zele had held a Euro Cup round last time in 2012 and Allingabro last time in 2019. New in the schedule will be the event in Hoogblokland, the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the rounds in Sdr. Hygum, Denmark, and Edewecht, Germany dropped out of the Euro Cup calendar for 2024. The rest of the events in 2024 will be the same as in 2023. 

Also, new in the Euro Cup Series will be the limited super stock class, which will have 5 competitions in 2024.

Positive by the note, all 8 Euro Cup classes will have between 4 and 6 competitions this year.

The 2024 Euro Cup season will begin on the 27th and 28th of April in Füchtorf, Germany with the super stock, light modified, and heavy modified division.

For the full Mitas Euro Cup calendar, check here: https://tractorpulling.com/events/

 

 

 

Joe Eder, Emax Unlimited Modified - Behind The Hook Season 2

Pulling Tractors exhibited at the Autosport International Show 2024

Since Thursday is the Autosport International Show in Birmingham, Great Britain, one of the largest motorsport exhibition in Europe. At the Autosport International Show is everything to find which has to do with motorsport. Many categories of track and off-road motor racing are represented, including Formula One, BTCC (British Touring Car Championship), 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the WRC (World Rally Championship) to name just a few. The show also has a "Live Action Arena" where spectators can see motorsport, including stunts. 

The British Tractor Pulling Sport is represented as well with a booth at the 2024 Autosport International Show. At the exhibition in the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) of Birmingham are 3 pulling tractors exhibited. 

At the booth the twin Rolls-Royce Griffon V12 powered modified tractor called ''Snoopy 3'' of the Whittingham Pulling Team, the twin Chevy V8 powered light modified tractor called ''On the Limit'' of Mark Pacey and the Ford 7800 limited pro stock tractor called ''Hard Work'' are exhibited.

The booth for the Autosport International Show was organized by the Whittingham Pulling Team for the BTPA (British Tractor Pulling Association) and the SWTPA (South West Tractor Pullers Association).

The booth with the 3 pulling tractors is to find in ''Hall 3A'', ''Stand 3A360''.

The first 2 days of the 4 days Autosport International Show were opened just for trade people. From Saturday on, the exhibition will also be open for the public.

About the Autosport International Show: 

Autosport International connects motorsport brands, experts and professionals to network, trade, discuss, explore and market their unique showpieces – all under one roof at Birmingham’s NEC from 11 – 14 January 2024. 60,000 industry professionals and motorsport enthusiasts attend the show every year to see an unmissable combination of cars, stars and live action. From karting to Formula 1, this event brings together all things motorsport in one location across two trade-only days (Thurs/ Fri) and two public days (Sat/Sun).

For further details, check here: https://autosportinternational.com/en

All Trucks and Tractors at Williamston NC Indoor Pull Jan 16 2015

The entire Budweiser 250 Truck and Tractor Pull from Big Daddy Motorsports in Williamston, North Carolina on Night 1. Follow Big Daddy Motorsports on the web: www.bigdaddymotorsports.org 00:00 NATIONAL ANTHEM 02:07 6200 NATIONAL 4X4 06:36 6200 SMALL BLOCK 4X4 13:40 STREET TRUCK 15:44 3000 LIGHT 2WD 23:07 1850 MINI RODS 26:47 PRO STOCK 4X4 #wwptv #truckpull #tractorspull