In Part 3 of our story about the return of the Joker Pulling Team to the mini modified class, we continue in the year 2003.
In 2003, the team from Ettlenschieß competed again in both classes of the German Championship, but with the focus on the 3.5t modified class. The best result for Thomas Zimmermann that season was a third place in the 3.5t modified class in Eschach-Seifertshofen. Another 4 4th place finishes were achieved during the season in the 3.5t and 4.5t modified class. One of the 4th place finishes was achieved by Manfred Zimmermann. Manfred drove for Thomas the Joker in the 3.5t modified class in Verl. In the mid of September 2003, the Zimmermanns were invited with Joker again to Trogstad in Norway. In the 2003 edition of the event, Karl-Sofus Engen had with Intertechno Lambada, Seaside Affair, and both Fox tractors the best modified tractors invited from Europe.
At that fun competition event, Claus Zimmermann got the chance to drive the big Joker for the first time in the 3.5t modified. And Claus did in his maiden competition a very good job. With a stormy full pull in front of the De Stille Genieter sled from Belgium, he did another nice run in the finals. His run in the final was good for the runner-up place in the 3.5t modified class behind Intertechno Lambada with Gert Dingerink from the Netherlands and ahead of Seaside Affair with Frank Kramer from the Netherlands.
His older brother, Thomas, drove the tractor in the 4.5t modified class. After a good start and a lot of speed on the good track, something broke in the drivetrain of the Joker and his pull was over before the 100 m mark. But fortunately for the team, after that event was the winter break and enough time to repair the damage.
But during the winter of 2003/2004, the Joker guys not only repaired the damage from Trogstad. They also made some major changes on the Joker. After 3 seasons with 3 Arias V8 engines in the 3.5t modified and 4 Arias in the 4.5t modified class, the team made some changes to the engine setup for the 2 classes in which they competed. To keep up with the competition on the national and international level, the team changed to a 4 engine setup in the 3.5t and to a 5 engine setup in the 4.5t class. But there was a little problem. Due to the ETPC engine limits at the time for the Hemi engines in the modified class, the team had to change 2 of the 4 Arias V8 Hemi engines from blown to natural aspirated. With the new setup, the front 2 Arias Hemi engines crank to crank were blown with 14-71 Littlefield blowers and the 2 Arias Hemi engines on the left and right side were naturally aspirated.
For the 4.5t modified class, a 5th Arias V8 Hemi engine was positioned on the top behind the 4 engines in front of the driver. That 5th engine was blown by Littlefield 14-71 blower like the 2 front crank to crank attached engines. With the 5-engine Arias setup, the Joker almost looked like a copy of the old Museums Killer from Eugen Kiemele in the 90s. Also, the broken driveline from Trogstad in Norway was improved with better and stronger components to have a more reliable driveline for the future. Besides, the old Firestone All Traction Double Cut puller tires were replaced by a set of used Firestone Puller 2000 tires. These Puller 2000 tires were purchased from Torben Larsen in Denmark and ran on his 5-blown Chevy engine-powered modified tractor called ''Fox Junior'' in 2003.
That should give the tractor compared to the old tires better traction on the pulling tracks. The new setup for both classes was tested at the opening round of the German Championship in Füchtorf, Germany, in 2004. Thomas Zimmermann was the first competitor in front of the Red Shadow sled in the 3.5t modified class. After the first few meters it looked very good, but at around 50 m on the second blown engine broke the blower belt and Thomas stopped. As the first puller, he had the option to drop 6 places and decided to do it. In the pits, a new blower belt was fitted to the engine and the team returned 6 places later in front of the sled again. Like in the first attempt, he had a good start, but again at 50/60 m the blower belt of the second Arias engine snapped and Thomas still fought with 3 properly running engines up to 81.88 m.
That meant 7th place in that competition. For the 4.5t modified, the 5th engine was mounted during the day on the Engler-style chassis and the broken blower belt of the second engine was replaced by a new one on the Joker. In the final class of the day, they wanted to attack again. The triple Allison and local hero Green Fighter was already out due to a broken engine in the 3.5t class, the twin Griffon Green Spirit 4 and the triple Isotov turbine powered tractor called ''Iwan'' had crunched their rear axle in the 5.4t modified class were out too for the 4.5t class. That meant the Zimmermann's had very good chances for a top spot in the 4.5t class. The start of the 5 Arias powered Joker was very good again, and the speed was good as well, but at around 60 m again a broken blower belt and some strange noises from the second Arias engine.
At 77.46 m the run was over and a few puzzled faces in the team about the third broken blower belt of the day. Back in the workshop in Ettlenschieß, the second engine was dismantled, and they found some more broken components in the engine. But spare parts for the engine which they needed were not in stock, so they had to order and wait for the new spare parts from the US. At that time, they couldn't compete in further pulling events at the time. At that time they did some changes on the tractor due to the problems with the second blown engine. The position of the engines was changed at the time to avoid those further big damage to the engine.
The 2 blown Arias engines were positioned on the right and left side and both naturally aspirated Arias engines were on the front end of the tractor crank to crank. After everything was changed and repaired, the team returned with the tractor on the track in Krumbach-Breitenthal 2004. After all the problems in Füchtorf at the beginning of the season, the guys had a great weekend there. After all the changes, everything worked very well on the Joker. The Arias engines ran not on maximum attack, but Thomas Zimmermann did 2 nice passes in the 3.5t modified class with 4 engines and achieved a well-deserved runner-up place behind the twin Allison V12 Green Monster Stage 4. The whole team was proud about the result, but the team didn't start in the 4.5t modified class that day.
Krumbach was also the last competition of the year for the team. Due to less time and a lot of different things in their private life, the team wasn't part of further events in 2004.
Also, the less time should continue for the next coming years.
In 2005 and 2006, the Joker Pulling Team only competed in 4 events. In 2005, they started at the pulls in south Germany. The first stop was their home event in Eschach-Seifertshofen. Like every year, they were supported by many fans and friends from Ettlenschieß at this event. But the track in Seifertshofen was pretty hard in the 3.5t modified class. Especially the tractors with the Puller 2000 tires struggled with these hard track conditions.
Also, one of them was Thomas Zimmermann with Joker. He needs both attempts to qualify for the finals in the 3.5t class. In the first attempt, the tractor started to jump, and Thomas Zimmermann had to cancel his pull. But in the second attempt, he achieved the full pull with a problem. In the finals, he had the same problem as in the first attempt, the tractor started to jump on the hard track and at 53.77 m his run was over. That bad run meant the 4th place for Joker in the 3.5t mod class. For the final class of the day, the 4.5t mod class, the team mounted the 5th Arias V8 Hemi engine on the tractor. In the afternoon, the hard track was milled and prepared again. After that preparation, the track had massively improved compared to the 3.5t class in the morning. In the last class of the day, the team was ready for the fightback.
After the start it looked not bad, the tractor was much better on the track compared to the 3.5t class, but unfortunately at 43.27 m, the run was over with damage in the rear axle. So some work before the next south German pull in Krumbach-Breitenthal at the beginning of July. Until Krumbach the damage in the rear axle was repaired again, and they switched back from the Firestone Puller 2000 tires to the old Firestone All Traction Double Cut tires for that event.
The 3.5t modified class for the Zimmermann's in Krumbach was a disappointment. In both attempts, Thomas had technical problems with the Joker. In both runs, one Arias power plant ran not on full power in both passes were pretty early over.
The problem was later found in the pits. The problem was a fuel tap on that one engine. The problem with the fuel tap could be fixed before the 4.5t modified class. The tractor ran very well with 5 engines that day. After a nice full pull in the qualifying run, Thomas achieved with 5 well running Arias engines 76.89 m in the finals. That run was enough for the 4th place in the 4.5t modified class, but he was around 11 m behind the 3rd place tractor Kiepenkerl of Paul Heistermann. That day, the old Firestone tires caused a lot of earth movement in front of the sled and the tires made less traction compared to the Firestone Puller 2000 tires. That was maybe one of the reasons why the Joker was way back behind the top 3 tractors in Krumbach-Breitenthal 2005.
Krumbach was the last of 2 outings by the Joker Team in 2005.
The Joker Team returned to the competition in Eschach-Seifertshofen in the mid of May 2006. And the surprise to all, the Joker ran with his 4 Arias V8 Hemi engines very well. The old Firestone tires worked very well on the track, and Thomas Zimmermann managed a full pull without a problem. Much to the delight of the spectators and the fans on their home pull. In the finals, Joker ran again very well in front of the brand new Red Shadow SE sled (was the first use of the new sled from Edewecht). With the 86.61 m, Thomas finished 4th, just 1.39 m behind the 3rd placed turbine-powered tractor called ''Erlkönig''.
The Team was very happy with the result and the performance of the tractor. They didn't compete In the 4.5t modified class in Seifertshofen. They decided to protect the material, for an invitation event in Italy a week later. At the event in Italy, they competed with 5 engines in the 4.5t mod class. In Italy, they not really had a rival at that time in this class. The tractors were underpowered compared to the 5 Arias Hemis blown Joker modified machine. The Joker Pulling Team won the competition there, but also paid a high price. After that event in Italy, one engine was gone and a further start in the season, like in Krumbach-Breitenthal wasn't possible.
During the winter of 2006/2007, they changed the Joker to a 3 Arias engine setup for the 3.5t modified class. The 2 naturally aspirated Arias engines on the Joker were replaced by a blown Arias V8 Hemi engine. The new setup now was the front blown Arias power plants were crank to crank and the 3rd blown Arias was stair step positioned behind the two front crank to crank power plants.
The reason for that step back to 3 engines and out of the 4.5t class, was the lot of work during a season with 5 engines, to behave financially the whole thing, and the less free time at the moment. The Joker had his maiden run with the new triple engine setup on the German Championship opening round in Füchtorf 2007. But that first run with the new setup should be really expensive for the Zimmermann's. After a very good start and a lot of speed, the crankshaft on the front Arias engine broke, and the power plant lost a lot of oil. It was a expensive damage for the Joker Pulling Team and the damage couldn't be repaired in 2007. The season for the Joker Pulling Team was already over before it really began.
After that damage, it was quiet silence around the Team. Thomas had other priorities at the time. He spent more time with his own family, and he was busy to built his house for his own family at the time. Until the winter of 2008, he was busy with that work before they returned again to the workshop to work on the changes on the Joker modified tractor for the future.
After the huge engine damage in Füchtorf 2007, the Joker Team decided to reconsider/revise the engine layout on the tractor. The team already had problems in the past with the front engines which were attached crank to crank, especially with the bearings. After some negotiations to solve the problem, they decided to say goodbye to the crank-to-crank setup on the front 2 engines and switch to a stair-step setup.
Both front engines received their own centrifugal clutch and the second engine behind the front engine received a drop box which was connected to the main driveshaft to the rearend. The drop box for the second engine was developed and calculated by the team himself. The housing of the drop box was CNC machined off aluminum, and the gears inside the housing are custom-built. Due to the new setup as the driveshaft had to be manufactured completely new because the old one was a bit too long. The rest of the driveline components on the tractor remained the same as before. Also, in that rebuild, the fenders of the Joker were built completely new and in a different shape. The new fenders were made of aluminum sheet metal and from the shape, the fenders remembered a bit of the fenders of the old Joker mini modified tractor.
That rebuild of the tractor was financed completely out of their own pocket. Their last sponsor on the tractor ''Wado'' stopped their sponsorship after 10 years, at the end of 2007. With the rebuilding of the tractor, it was now also possible to run with 2 engines in the 2.5t light modified class.
The rebuilt Joker returned to the track for the first time in May 2009 in Eschach-Seifertshofen after a 2 years absence. For the maiden run in Eschach-Seifertshofen, the team only competed in the light modified class to understand how the tractor reacts with only 2 engines in the new setup, and it worked pretty well. In the first attempt, the blower belt of the front Arias V8 engine went broke and at 85.54 m the pass was over.
For the second attempt, a new blower belt was mounted, and the Joker was back on full power. The start in the second attempt was much better and also the speed of the tractor with the old Firestone double cut tires was fabulous. At around 80 m, the Joker got a little restless and the front axle touched down a little hard a few times on the track. At the end of the 90 m, Thomas decided to shot off the throttle to avoid any damage. But the question was, was it enough for the full pull. The answer was no. With 99.28 m, Thomas missed the full pull by just 72 cm, but it was good enough for the 3rd place in the 2.5t light modified class in Seifertshofen. The Team was pretty happy with the result of the rebuilt tractor and most important was everything was technically in good condition.
The second stop for the rebuilt Joker was at the next south German pull in Krumbach-Breitenthal. In Krumbach, they competed for the first time with 3 Arias engines on the rebuilt Joker in the 3.5t modified. The Joker ran very well with the 3 engine setup, but the sled setting that day was very hard, and maybe the old Firestone tires on the Joker didn't like the track conditions. But it was a very nice pass by Thomas, and he was stopped by the sled at 92.60 m. Thomas finished 5th in the 3.5t modified class in Krumbach that day. In the 2.5t light modified class, Thomas Zimmermann handed over the steering wheel of the rebuilt Joker to his brother Claus for the first time. But the maiden run for Claus on the Joker wasn't really successful.
Claus couldn't keep the twin V8-powered tractor in bounds and was disqualified. The unfortunate part was, the run was right after the start very good and better compared to some of the other competitors in the class. A place in the top 4 would have been possible in the light mod class that day. Like in the years before, the Zimmermann's competed only in 2 events due to less time and other priorities in 2009.
In 2010, the Joker Pulling Team competed in all German Championship rounds for the first time since 2003. The team signed in the Joker for the 2.5 light modified class. A start in the 3.5t class wasn't planned for 2010. The south Germans were focused fully on the 2.5t class that season.
But actually, the Joker Team didn't want to compete in the full German Championship season, but after 2 great results in the 2 opening rounds of the year, they also decided to compete in all the other events of the season. In Füchtorf, Germany, Thomas finished on a nice 4th place in the class and was just 60 cm behind the 3rd placed tractor Isotov 2. At the second round of the season in Eschach-Seifertshofen, they were again on the podium. With a strong pass, Thomas Zimmermann managed a nice runner-up place in the class and beat tractors like Green Spirit 7 from the Netherlands and Isotov 2 from Germany there. In Haßmoor, Thomas Zimmermann had a nice full pull, but in the finals again he struggled again to keep the tractor in bounds and missed a lot of meters to the leaders. But again 4th.
But at the next 2 rounds in Haltern am See and Krumbach-Breitenthal, they were back on the podium. With 2 further nice runner-up places at these 2 national rounds, they saved the runner-up place in the German Championship point standings and a good gap in front of their rivals Isotov 2 and Le Coiffeur Stage 6 in the Championship. But the two rivals of the Joker still had chances for the runner-up place in the German Championship point standings. The runner-up position was decided in the final round of the season in Edewecht, Germany. Joker was the first competitor in front of the Red Shadow SE sled.
The twin Arias V8 powered tractor had a good balance on the track, but Thomas struggled with the left white line for almost the entire pull and just missed the full pull with 97.77 m. They would have had the opportunity for a second attempt, but they decided not to make a further run in Edewecht. In the end, it was 6th place in the daily ranking, but that was enough for the runner-up title in the German Championship in the 2.5t light modified class. That also meant the Joker Team qualified for the first time with their big Joker for the European Championship. The team decided to make that long trip to Ekeröd in Sweden to compete at the European Championship in September.
At that EC in Sweden, they also met a lot of other pulling competitors and friends from the past again.
In the first real international competition for the team in the 2.5t light modified class, they had not the luck on their side that day. Like at most of the events this year, Thomas needed the second attempt to qualify for the pull off. In the pull off he had to use a lot the single wheel brake to keep the tractor straight on the very sandy pulling track and lost a lot of momentum and speed. The 91.25 m was not enough for a top 3 or top 5 place in the class. It becomes the 8th place at the EC in Sweden.
After the full 2010 campaign, the Joker Team only competed in Krumbach-Breitenthal, Germany in 2011. The team only ran with the tractor in the 2.5t light modified class and Thomas achieved a 5th place there. After Krumbach-Breitenthal in 2011 came the long break of the Zimmermann's.
At that time the tractor was parked in the workshop and Thomas, Manfred, and Claus were busy with other things in their free time. After a 3 years absence, the Joker Team returned with their modified tractor back on the track in Krumbach-Breitenthal in 2014. That return was for that only pull that year because it wasn't far away for them from home. It was great to see them back on the track with the tractor, and it was also great for all the Joker fans.
Another surprise was, they competed again in the 3.5t modified class with 3 Arias V8 Hemi engines for the first time since 2009. Before the event in Krumbach, they checked the whole tractor to have it back in top form. And the Joker ran very well in the 3.5t modified class. Already in the first pass of the 3.5t modified class, the tractor showed his top form and potential with a nice full pull. Thomas Zimmermann did in the finals another nice pass, but his old Firestone tires made a lot of soil movement in front of the pan of the sled, and in the end, it wasn't enough for a spot on the podium. The 4th place was a good result for the Joker on his old Firestone All Traction Double Cut tires.
In the 2.5t light modified class was the track already a bit dried out and harder compared to the 3.5t class in the morning. Usually good conditions for the old-style pulling tires on the Joker. But not today. The balance of the Joker was pretty good in both attempts, unfortunately, Thomas missed the full pull close in both attempts and finished 4th behind Le Coiffeur Stage 7, Green Monster Stage 4, and Roude Leiw Junior. With the 2 4th places in Krumbach was team satisfied and everything was ok on the tractor after those 4 passes on that day.
After that single outing in 2014, the Zimmermann's did again a 2-year break from the sport and returned with the Joker another time in 2016. That was again on their almost-home event in Krumbach-Breitenthal. In the 3.5t modified class, the 3 Arias V8 Hemi engines of the Joker ran again pretty well, but the old tires on the tractor made a bit too less traction on the track and Thomas missed the full pull close. Like in 2014, Thomas Zimmermann and Joker finished 4th in the class. In the 2.5t light modified class, he had not so much luck. The balance of the tractor was good, but like many times in the past, Thomas couldn't keep the Joker between the white chalk lines and was disqualified.
Like in the 3.5t class, a second attempt wasn't possible that day, because the clerk of the course and the officials had decided that everyone only has one attempt to qualify for the finals. That was the last place for the Joker Team in the light modified class in Krumbach-Breitenthal. After that single event in 2016, the team parked the big Joker in their shed, and it was silence around the team for the next 3 years.
In 2019, after 3 years without tractor pulling, came the first ideas and considerations to build a new pulling tractor. This time not for a new big Joker modified tractor, but for a new 950 kg mini modified machine.
As we have already reported in that story, the biggest successes in the pulling sport celebrated the team in the mini modified class from 1991 until 2001. As the story so far shows, the Zimmermann's could build with their knowledge and know-how very good pulling tractors in the past. But with the big Joker modified tractor, they couldn't achieve the big success compared to their Joker mini modified tractor. Today, the team agrees that the change in 2001 to the big modified class was probably a mistake. But somehow there was a compulsion to build a big modified tractor back then, since the Lambada Pulling Team, Simply Irresistible Pulling Team, and Breaker Pulling Team moved from the minis into the big modified class.
During the spring/summer of 2019, the team started with the drawings and CAD work for the components of the new mini modified tractor. That work was mostly done until the winter of 2019. After the first drawings and construction of the new chassis were done by Claus Zimmermann, Thomas, and Claus started with the cutting and bent work of the tubes for the new chassis in their workshop. After that, Thomas started welding the new frame and roll cage for the new Joker mini.
The new Joker mini modified got a new homemade chrome-moly tube frame with a newly developed 2 bar chrome-moly roll cage, a homemade rack and pinion steering, a racing driver seat with a 5-point harness, homemade aluminum wheelie bars, a completely newly developed and constructed hitch and draw bar and a homemade sheet metal rearend.
Compared to their last built mini modified tractor chassis in 1999, almost everything is different. From the shape of the chassis to the shape of the roll cage, everything is completely new and differently developed. The new 2-bar chrome-moly roll cage was built according to the current ETPC Tech & Safety rules for the best protection of the driver in a roll. The driver's position on the new frame is more forward and the center of gravity is much lower compared to the Joker chassis in 1999. With the lower center of gravity and the more forward driver's position, the team hopes to have a better balance with those todays puller tires compared to the past.
To be competitive on the pulling tracks in Germany today, the Joker team purchased a used set of cut Pioneer Giant Puller tires with polished Real Wheel aluminum rims. These tires and rims were bought from the Blower Power Pulling Team in Norway. And yes, it is the team that won with the old Junior chassis the European Championship title in 2001. The Norwegian team around Asbjorn Herikstadt and Glen Bjorheim from Varhaug had used the tires for only one season on their mini modified tractor. The tires were in very good shape and the Norwegian made a nice offer to their friends from Ettlenschieß.
But compared to their last Cepek tires which they have used in 2001, the current Pioneer Giant Puller (in the past Dick Cepek) mini rod tires were further developed and improved for more traction, so they are completely different in the using with the tire pressure etc.
The new fenders on the Joker were made off aluminum sheet metal and are very light. From the shape, the fenders looking like the same as the current fenders on their big Joker modified tractor, only a bit smaller.
The whole chassis and the fenders were painted in red with the big yellow Joker lettering on the fenders, like the big Joker modified tractor.
The new homemade sheet metal rearend is based on a Rockwell rearend and many homemade components were fitted into the rearend. Only the ring and pinion gear and the cast aluminum center section are original Rockwell. The rest of the components were built lighter, improved, and more reliable compared to the original Rockwell stuff. The differential was made of aluminum and received some custom-built/homemade gears, and the original Rockwell half shafts were replaced by new homemade steel half shafts of a stronger steel.
Also, completely new is the drivetrain in the tractor. The drivetrain got a Lenco reverser with a Lenco planetaries gearbox, a homemade steel driveshaft from the reverser to the rear axle, and a homemade 11-inch Crower centrifugal clutch with 2 discs.
The driveshaft is covered by a custom-built aluminum pipe and the clutch is covered by a titanium bell housing from Trick Titanium in the USA. The Lenco reverser was like the rear wheels purchased from the Blower Power Pullng Team in Norway.
The new Joker mini modified tractor is powered like his predecessor from 1999 until 2001 by a blown Arias V8 Hemi engine with 560cui / 9.5l on methanol fuel. The engine on the mini is already 35 years old and had an original displacement of 8.3l/506 cui. But the engine block was bored up and received some bigger sleeves in the past. With the bigger displacement of 9.5l, the engine has more power and more torque compared to the original 8.3l. The Arias power plant was taken from the big Joker modified tractor.
The old Arias power plant has a bored up Arias cast aluminum engine block with bigger steel sleeves, forged Arias aluminum pistons with GRP billet aluminum rods, a Bryant forged steel crankshaft, Arias cast aluminum Hemi style cylinder heads with Manley titanium exhaust and intake valves, a Crane Cam steel camshaft, a Littlefield 14-71 blower with an old Enderle magnesium scoop, homemade exhaust headers, a Waterman fuel pump, a new homemade aluminum fuel tank, an Aviaid oil pump and an MSD 12 ignition. In this configuration, the old Arias V8 Hemi engine should make 2000hp maybe a little bit more.
Also, completely new is the drivetrain in the tractor.
The drivetrain got a Lenco reverser with a Lenco planetaries gearbox, a homemade steel driveshaft from the reverser to the rear axle, and a homemade 11-inch Crower centrifugal clutch with 2 discs. The driveshaft is covered by a custom-built aluminum pipe and the clutch is covered by a titanium bell housing from Trick Titanium in the USA. The Lenco reverser was like the rear wheels purchased from the Blower Power Pullng Team in Norway.
The new Joker mini modified tractor is powered like his predecessor from 1999 until 2001 by a blown Arias V8 Hemi engine with 560cui / 9.5l on methanol fuel. The engine on the mini is already 35 years old and had an original displacement of 8.3l/506 cui. But the engine block was bored up and received some bigger sleeves in the past.
With the bigger displacement of 9.5l, the engine has more power and more torque compared to the original 8.3l. The Arias power plant was taken from the big Joker modified tractor.
The old Arias power plant has a bored up Arias cast aluminum engine block with bigger steel sleeves, forged Arias aluminum pistons with GRP billet aluminum rods, a Bryant forged steel crankshaft, Arias cast aluminum Hemi style cylinder heads with Manley titanium exhaust and intake valves, a Crane Cam steel camshaft, a Littlefield 14-71 blower with an old Enderle magnesium scoop, homemade exhaust headers, a Waterman fuel pump, a new homemade aluminum fuel tank, an Aviaid oil pump and an MSD 12 ignition. In this configuration, the old Arias V8 Hemi engine should make 2000hp maybe a little bit more.
Perhaps the brand Arias is by many young people an unknown name in the pulling sport, but by the older generation a well-known brand for high-performance V8 Racing engines. The company Arias was founded by the late Nick Arias Jr in 1969. He started his company by producing pistons for all kinds of engines. 1972 was the year that Arias released the signature product of his life. He built a Chevy V8 engine with Hemi heads, which should become the Arias V8 Hemi engine later. Very popular became the 10l version of the Arias V8 Hemi engine. This engine was used by many tractor pulling teams and drag boat teams in the USA. In the 90s, Nick Arias Jr. sold his engine program to the companies Fontana (built a copy of the Arias V8 Hemi) and New Century (produce a copy of the cast aluminum Arias block). Today Miner Bros Racing producing the billet version of the Arias V8 Hemi engine.
Usually, the maiden voyage of the new Joker was planned for the 2020 season. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic was the whole plan smashed. Because of the pandemic, the team took its time setting up the tractor and built the new tractor without any time pressure. The Joker Team kept the news pretty secret with the return to mini mod class over those 2 years. They revealed the first information about a return to the pulling tracks in March 2022. Due to a lot of questions over the coming weeks, the team finally revealed a picture of the mini at the end of April 2022.
The new Joker had his maiden voyage at the second round of the German Championship in Anholt, Germany. For the 950 kg mini modified class in the German Championship was that, the first of four rounds in 2022.
When the team had unloaded the tractor from the trailer, the new mini was literally surrounded by spectators in the paddock. Not only by the spectators but also by friends and rivals from the mini modified class. But the competition there was really tough, with many top mini-modified machines from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland. The maiden run of the new Joker in front of the No Mercy 2.0 sled from the Netherlands was successful, but it wasn't enough for a place in the finals. The new tractor ran pretty stably and the front axle was on most of the time on the ground. 93.98 m was the distance and a 7th place in a 12 competitors strong field.
Round 2 was in south Germany, in Holzheim.
For them, it was a short trip to the event compared to the last event in Anholt. Like in Anholt, the new Joker ran well but, Thomas missed in both attempts the Full Pull by around 7 m. In the first attempt, the mini didn't lift the front wheels. For the second attempt, they did some changes to the tractor, but the track became noticeably drier and worse. The second was a bit better, but not by much. The positive point was, these two runs that day were enough for the 3rd place on the podium. Not bad for the second competition with a new tractor.
After the event in Holzheim, the Joker Team did some changes to the tractor. One of the changes was the ratio in the rear axle. They changed the ring and pinion gear for a slower ratio. With that change, they also hoped to sort the problems out so that the tractor finally gets to lift its front wheels in the air.
And in Krumbach-Breitenthal, the new mini ran much better compared to the first 2 events of the year. With a very nice pass and a very good running engine, Thomas Zimmermann achieved his first full pull with the brand new Joker. Also, very important was in that pass, the tractor lifted for the first time its front wheels from the ground. The whole team was very satisfied with the run and hoped for another great run in the finals. And that run in the finals looked very good from the start. Right from the start, the Pioneer tires found a good grip and the front end lifted again. Thomas had a good speed, better than in the first run, but at around 50 m the front end of the tractor came down and the Arias V8 engine turned into the rpm limiter. That wasn't a good sign for the team.
There were 2 options. Eighter the tractor jumped out of gear or something went broke in the driveline. The 65.15 m was enough for the first win with the new Joker. It was the first win for Thomas Zimmermann in the mini modified class since the European Superpull in 2001.
Back in the workshop, they dismantled the driveline of the tractor and found the problem. The 35 years old Arias V8 Hemi engine still produced so much power that the whole planetaries setup blew up in the Lenco planetaries gearbox. All gears and bearings were ready for the junkyard. For the final round of the year, they need a replacement for the Lenco gearbox. The issue was temporarily fixed with some new gears and bearings.
During this almost 2 1/2 months break, the team also did some further adjustments to the tractor to save more weight. One of the changes was made on the roll cage. The back end of the cage was chopped off, and 2 new pipes were welded into the back end of the cage. Also, the driver's position was moved a little bit more forward due to those changes on the roll cage.
For the final round of the season in Schlechtenwegen, the Joker mini was ready to run again. But unfortunately, due to inclement weather and a lot of rain overnight from Saturday night to Sunday morning, the event was cancelled. But also with the cancelation of the final round of the season, Joker Team finished with their new Joker in runner-up position of the German Championship point standings in 2022. For the team was that a great result with the new tractor, and it also showed that the team had nothing in the mini mod class forgotten from their knowledge in the past.
During the winter of 2022/2023, Thomas, Claus, and Manfred did on the Joker some further improvements and changes, a new improved gearbox for the tractor was built. With that new gearbox, they wanted to replace the old Lenco planetaries gearbox in the Joker which broke at the pull in Krumbach. That also was one of the reasons why the team optimized the roll cage for the weight during the summer of 2022. The construction and calculations were already done by Claus Zimmermann in the fall of 2022. Usually, Thomas Zimmermann had planned to build the gearbox by himself, but there was a problem. Shortly after the 2022 season, Thomas had a surgery on his shoulder and was unable to build the parts for the tractor in the first half of the winter break.
But things were to get even worse. After the first surgery wasn't successful, he had a second surgery at the beginning of 2023, which also should have a major impact on his 2023 season. So, not able to build a completely new gearbox himself, he needed a second option. After some considerations, he contacted Stefan Schwarz of the Ghost Buster Pulling Team from Oberharmersbach in the black forest, if he could build new gearbox parts for him. Stefan with his company called ''Schwarz Frästechnik'' had already built gearboxes, gears, and many other pulling components for many different mini modified and garden puller teams in Germany and Switzerland in the past.
The new gearbox for the Joker mini got a CNC-milled aluminum housing, with custom-built shafts and gears. Stefan could almost do all the asked parts in house for the gearbox, just the hardening and grinding for the gears was made by another company in his area of the black forest. Meanwhile, Thomas produced all the shafts for it. After the parts were finally done for the mini, Thomas picked them up at the Schwarz shop because the season was close, and the gearbox had to be assembled, adjusted, and fitted into the tractor. In that time, Thomas received from his father Manfred a lot of help to make the tractor ready for the new season and for the first round in 2023.
When the Joker was ready, there was still the problem, Thomas wasn't fully recovered from his second shoulder surgery, and also from the doctors he had not the ok to drive his mini. So, Thomas needed a replacement driver for the Joker. But who would be good and experienced enough to drive a mini modified tractor?
After some investigations about who would be the right person to drive the mini, Thomas decided to ask Katrin Ebner, the younger sister of Stefan Schwarz if she is interested and would like to drive the Joker on some events at the beginning of the season.
That decision was made by Thomas due to the recent help of the Schwarz Family for the new gearbox for the Joker mini modified tractor, and driving a mini modified tractor was not for her a new land. In the past, Katrin drove the family's own Rover Meteor V12 powered mini modified tractors called ''Ghost Buster 1'' and ''Ghost Buster 3''. So the experience was there, but she never drove a V8 Hemi powered mini modified before.
But there also was something to report positive. After many years without a sponsor on the tractor, a new sponsor found its way on the tractor. With the company called ''Sonax'' a deal was signed for the season.
The Sonax GmbH is a German company based in Neuburg an der Donau, which produces and sells chemical products and services related to car care under this brand. The company is the market leader in the industry in Germany and Austria. Another branch is in Austria. Sonax products are represented in over 110 countries worldwide
The first German Championship round in 2023 for the mini modified class was in Anholt, Germany, with several guest starters from the Netherlands. And it was a good season opener for the Joker Team. Katrin Ebner did her maiden voyage on the Joker mini of the Zimmermann's and did a very good job there.
In her both attempts, she missed the Full Pull close, but she finished on a nice runner-up place, close behind Reborn Rascal from the Netherlands and ahead of Hot Head from Germany. But the most important was, the new gearbox worked very well and made no troubles. With that result, Thomas Zimmermann was very happy and the choice to arrange Katrin Ebner for driving the Joker was right.
For the second round in Haßmoor, Katrin was already planned as driver again for the Joker, but unfortunately, she had no time on that weekend to drive the mini for the Zimmermann's. So Thomas needed another replacement driver for his toy.
He decided this time to give a Danish guy a chance to drive his blown Arias V8 Hemi powered machine. And that was Patrick Hansen, the driver of the twin supercharged Rover Meteor V12 powered light modified tractor called ''Gators''. For him, it was a debut. Patrick has never driven before a mini modified tractor in his time of pulling. The decision to give Patrick the chance to drive the mini was made due to the long-term friendship with Patrick's dad Torben, he competed in the late 90s until the early 2000s in the Euro Cup of the mini modified class against the Joker Pulling Team, and the contact of Claus with Patrick inside the ETPC.
The qualifying run for Patrick went very well, with the front wheels in the air and a lot of speed, he made without any problems the Full Pull much to the delight of the Danish fans who arrived to Haßmoor. In the finals, Patrick had a good start again, and it looked very well again, but then the Joker turned to the left and Patrick had to fight to keep the tractor in bounds. Unfortunately, he couldn't, and he went out of bounds on the very tricky track in Haßmoor. Patrick wasn't happy about that mistake, but he couldn't change it anymore. But the positive point was, Patrick enjoyed the chance to drive the Joker mini. Thomas Zimmermann wasn't disappointed about the disqualification of Patrick, but there were some things which impressed him that day.
Thomas was mainly impressed by the commitment and the driving skills of the young Dane. In any case, he left a good impression on the Zimmermanns, and they are thankful for getting valuable championship points.
A week later in Holzheim Katrin was back in the hot seat of the Joker. On dry and hard track conditions, she could manage the only Full Pull in the mini mod class of the day and won the first competition in the hot seat of the Joker for the Zimmermann's.
The success should continue in Krumbach-Breitenthal a few weeks later. Like in Holzheim the event before, she did a Full Pull on the tractor without any problems.
But this time, 2 further minis followed her into the finals.
In the finals, Katrin did another great pass and won the competition for the Joker Team also there, the second victory in a row.
Round 5 of the Championship was held in Knutwil, Switzerland. On sandy track conditions and a heavy sled setting, Katrin couldn't achieve in both of her attempts a Full Pull, but the distances were far enough for the 3rd victory in a row. For Katrin, it was a win on home soil, because she is living in Switzerland. This victory of Katrin Ebner in Knutwil also meant that Joker was already German Champion 2023!
Knutwil also was the last ride for Katrin Ebner on the Joker that season, because Thomas Zimmermann should return for the next round on the hot seat of the Joker for the first time since July 2022.
The next round of the 2023 German Championship was held at Eschach-Seifertshofen, better known as the home pull for the Joker Pulling Team. After a 13-year absence, the tractor pulling circus returned for the first time back to Eschach-Seifertshofen, on that place where everything started with the Joker Team in 1991. In front of their home crowd, the Zimmermanns wanted to make a good show again, which they also did there in the past. Like many others, Thomas has looked forward to the event the whole year. But the return on his mini should become a disaster. Already after 70cm everything was over.
In the closed pits, they found out the new gears in the newly built gearbox were destroyed, and a further start that day wasn't possible, much to the disappointment of the fans and the Joker team. It’s always discouraging when expensive paid parts already fail after just a few pulls.
So that meant, they had still plenty of work to do until the European Championship in 3 weeks’ time. First, it wasn't foreseeable if the tractor would be ready for the EC due to the broken gearbox. But with the help from Dominik Eisenmann giving the old gears from his Knockout mini – “do whatever you need to do with them, just to be ready for the EC”- and lots of over hours from Thomas and Manfred repairing and adjusting the gearbox housing, manufacturing new shafts, and milling the gears in the correct shape to fit in the box, Joker was ready very close to the EC date.
The 2023 EC was held in Brande, Denmark. Besides the participation at the EC in the Light modified class in Ekeröd/Sweden in 2010, for the Joker Team it was the first European Championship since 2000 in the Mini class, which was held as well in Denmark, but in Herning (the old location before Brande). At that event, they also met many good friends and competitors from the past, like Hans-Kristian and Karls Sofus Engen from Norway and many others.
Thomas Zimmermann hoped for a top 8 finish in a very strong international field of 14 competitors from the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. But like in Seifertshofen, the bad luck continues. Again, right after the start something broke in the driveline, and all of a sudden on the way back to the pits there was a noise in the rearend, and later on the way the rear wheels blocked on the rearend, which not was a good sign.
Back home in the workshop, they found out the rear axle wasn't damaged, and the repaired gearbox was in proper condition as well, but something wasn’t between the rearend and the gearbox. The coupler at the entrance of the rearaxle was exploded and the pieces of the teeths blocked between the shielding and shaft, that caused the blocked tires.
The broken coupler was built new by Thomas, again in a short period of time, and the tractor was repaired for the 7th and final German Championship round of the season in Schlechtenwegen. Last year it was cancelled due to bad weather, but this year the weather was sunny and fine. Although the title was already won, Thomas decided to show up there. After 2 competitions with bad luck and plenty of damage in the driveline, the Joker ran like at the beginning of the season.
The Joker ran like a rocket in Schlechtenwegen. Like in his old days, Thomas Zimmerman hammered the Arias V8 Hemi powered mini down the track to a Full Pull. The finals should usually become to a fight between Sven Müller with Little Bastard from Switzerland and Thomas Zimmerman with Joker. But Sven Müller decided not to run in the finals, and the fight for the last win of the season was over. Thomas Zimmermann decided to run in the finals for the spectators. Like in the qualifying run, the tractor ran perfectly but at around 60m, Thomas came on the left side of the track into a loose spot of dirt and the left tire lost the traction.
Thomas shot off before something goes wrong and ends in a wild ride. With that final run, he secured the 4th win of the season with the tractor and his first German Championship title in the mini modified class since 2000. For the Joker Pulling Team was 2023 a great season with plenty of success but also with some costly damages. Thomas was very satisfied with the season and hopes they can continue with the success and good results with the Joker mini mod in 2024. After the season, there was another positive news. In November 2023, another sponsor came on board alongside Sonax on the fenders of the Joker. The team signed another sponsor contract with the company called ''Kleeschild'' for the 2024 season. Kleeschild is a manufacturer and supplier of the “anti-tick cloverleaf'' from Jevenstedt in Germany. Also, the Joker mini was a whole week exhibited at the booth of Sonax at the world’s largest agricultural machinery exhibition called ''Agritechnica'' in Hannover, Germany.
For the 2024 season, they have already some plans for the tractor to get more power out of the old Arias V8 Hemi engine. In the workshop, they still have a set of used billet aluminum Fontana Hemi heads for the power plant, and they would like fitted to the Arias V8 engine for the 2024 season. Also, currently, they are looking for a used carbon fiber scoop for the blower of the engine to have a better airflow in the future and to save more weight on the tractor for 2024. At the moment, they started already with building a new homemade gearbox with stronger gears, as the current one was just a temporary solution so they could compete till the end of the season.
The Joker Pulling Team has currently planned to compete with their Joker mini like in 2023 on all German Championship rounds in 2024.
The Joker Pulling Team would also like to thank their sponsors Sonax, LU-Vogel and Kleeschild, their Supporters and their Fans for the faithful support during the 2023 season!
And of course, they also want to thank Katrin Ebner and Patrick Hansen for driving the Joker during the season and help to win the 2023 German Championship title! Who knows, maybe we will see Katrin on Joker again in 2024?
During this almost 2 1/2 months break, the team also did some further adjustments to the tractor to save more weight. One of the changes was made on the roll cage. The back end of the cage was chopped off, and 2 new pipes were welded into the back end of the cage. Also, the driver's position was moved a little bit more forward due to those changes on the roll cage.
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