Irelands First EVER aircooled drag day.

[benlawrence]

Hi folks, now im hoping i got the reason for my post out of the way in the title  

Well here goes, I have bitten the bullet and decided to put on a dedicated air cooled drag day with a good friend of mine.

so what? you may think!!

But its right here in Ireland, what makes that different from any other drag day?  Simply put, its never been done, EVER.

I race rwyb events with a couple of friends over here, they are very few and far between, the only way we get to race is to enter into a dual event day (drifting am, drag pm, we dont drift!!!!) or a Jap day. Now as much as we enjoy these events, simply put there just isnt enough drag events. There also isnt a heck of a lot of hi po vw's either.

So heres what we have come up with, a dedicated drag day, just for aircooleds with a  limited number of invited  watercooleds (they help cover the cost of the event)

We announced it on thursday last week after i got off the phone with the guy who runs the track and struck a deal at 1am, needless to say, i didnt sleep that night!!!
We already have around around 30 Entries, now these guys are going to be travelling the length and breadth of Ireland to get there and i'm amazed at the uptake. The Ethos behind it for me is, 30hp, 300hp it doesn't matter what you have, its all about giving these guys (and gals) the opportunity that they have never had, in an environment that they feel comfortable in. So if youve a 1200 bug, or a 200hp Ida stroker, you will be treated with the same level of respect and enthusiasm, "Inclusive" not "exclusive and if this works then there may well be a good few folk who ran their 1200 bug up the strip for the first time and came away thinking "That was awesome"  You guys all started somewhere right?
I started with 1500sp in an old samba, which destroy'd its clucth on its 24 sec run, but to me, it was still amazing to be on the tarmac!!

We have also booked and paid for a whole day on the saturday before the event the dyno dynamics rollers we use and are giving the paid up entrants one free dyno pull with printout to add to the occasion, then a bbq in the evening. not bad for £40  

This event is not for profit, plain and simple, its about giving those folk the chance to run the 1/4, it will be very tight just to cover the cost of hiring out the track and timing system for the day, but we'll make it happen!!

A few of the uk guys have stepped right up and offered a few goodies for these intrepid first time racers and had donations from various generous people who want to see this event work, some of which cant even make the event,  im blown away by it and cannot thank them enough, some of whom frequent this site ;-)

So there you are, ive got around hmmm 5 ish weeks to turn this drag day into something special for our friends over here.

Oh and Jussi i hope you dont mind me using a picture of your car!!!!

[56 luftpumpe]

Lookin forward to this. ...

[Jeff68]

This is very cool!! I hope you have a great Drag Day!

[richie]

Ben

1st sounds like a lot of fun   A suggestion, change the title of this to Cal look drag day Ireland or something similar, it will get much more attention that way for what it actually is   and put a similar thread in happenings to promote it there as well

Good luck with it, hope you all have a blast

cheers Richie

[benlawrence]

Hey Richie thanks for the best wishes, im leaving the title, reason why?  I have 31 cars and counting booked to race, these range from 1200 beetles, stock vans to ida'd strokered cal cars.
The reason being, there is no drag scene here, there isnt a real cal scene!!, Ireland is ireland, it just does what it does and i for one dont want to change that one bit, the people are amazing and their dedication is second to none.
This event is all about giving those guys who have never seen let alone been on a drag strip, so i think the "aircooled" drag day, works well, its not the uk, or belgium,sweden or the u.s, you have a racing scene, we dont.
Im not trying to start something, merely do something, i cant reiterate enough the support ive had from the uk and europe, im blown away and humbled immensely by it, a true credit to all involved.  

[richie]

I ment to this thread   Not everyone will read something titled "shameless plug!! "  but they are more likely to read aircooled drag day Ireland or similar

cheers Richie

[benlawrence]

i should stick to throwing plaster on walls, not trying to promote an event, you can take the boy out of essex LOL!!!!!!! what a goon!!!!   

[fastbus]

I thought that as well Ben.....lol

Its funny how words on the inter web can be misunderstood.

 

[jamiep_jamiep]

Looks fantastic ben! I hope you have as much fun putting it together as rich and i do with the uk cal look drag day, its really rewarding to see the cars out on the track when the day finally comes around

And look forward to seeing pics of the day!

[benlawrence]

Looks fantastic ben! I hope you have as much fun putting it together as rich and i do with the uk cal look drag day, its really rewarding to see the cars out on the track when the day finally comes around

And look forward to seeing pics of the day!

Thanks buddy, (you have pm  ) 

I think i may well be closing the entry on this at some point in the next few days, we now have 42 vehicles pre booked and paid to race!!!, from all types and some have a 7 hour drive just to get to the track, these guys are awesome, i cannot believe the uptake and buzz around the whole thing, lets hope all these late nights trying to get stuff organised pays off 

[jamiep_jamiep]

Got it, keep your eye out for your postie!

[benlawrence]

Thank you so much for the support, im overwhelmed 

2 weeks to go, 51 vehicles booked, 4 places left, t shirts are being done, Bernie and Louis are making me a special trophy for the day, tons of people have thrown in goodies and sponsored prizes for out very first racers. Its Awesome, theres a massive buzz about it, Ireland has NEVER held an aircooled drag event, im proud yet scared  to be able to organise it.

Roll on the 25th Aug 

[Brew 66]

This post is no good without a way ot buy T-Shirts in the US

Good luck Ben I hope your event has a long run!

[kustomlarry]

This post is no good without a way ot buy T-Shirts in the US

Good luck Ben I hope your event has a long run!

I completely agree....

[benlawrence]

Guys, im working on tee shirts as we speak, im having a limited and i mean (LIMITED) run of shirts for the day done, but once the event is underway those who have attended can order on the day, i dont mind passing stuff across the pond but i have said when it comes to ireland and northern ireland, if you are there on the day you can order a tee, but when the event is over, thats it, they wont be for sale, however, if the tee shirt guy comes good then one of our sponsors "Roadcow" aka Britt Gannis, Bonneville racer will be able to distribute them from the us and i will gladly let a few go to fund next years event (if there is one), he has helped massively in getting this whole thing off the ground, sorry for the lack of updates, its hard trying to organise my very first event, let alone very first drag day,I have adopted a baby girl and trying to do the father thing and organise a drag event all at the same time, its just a bit crazy at the minute. but bare with me, i will get to you, i really need to make clear one thing though. These guys have never been near a drag strip, let alone an airfeild, vw drag racing does not exist here, and my ethos going foreward is all about the little guy, no money, no racecar budget, just a shonked old 1200 sedan, they are starting where most of you started 20+ years ago, so be patient with us  



Louis and Bernie Newbury have stepped right up to support us and made a special trophy for the day, as have the outlaw flat four by donating a t shirt, this speaks volumes and i cant than them enough.



Imagine you were a guy who drove 7 hrs in an old beetle, ran a length of airfield and got a prize from one of the leading companies in the vw industry and then had a 7hr drive home at night??  Dedication!!!!

I went out on a limb and got some magnetic dash plaques made too, these folk are traveling MILES just to get here, so they need to go home with something, plus im putting together a goody bag for every racer.



Every racer gets a certificate with their best et of the day.





So we have just about a week to go until the very first ever all ireland aircooled drag event happens   

[modnrod]

........no money, no racecar budget, just a shonked old 1200 sedan, they are starting where most of you started 20+ years ago, so be patient with us  

I rekn 20 years ago we were also having a bucket-load more fun than now too!

Hope it turns out to be a great day for you all, have a good one, best of luck. 

[benlawrence]

with less than 2 days to go, t shirts have landed PHEW!!!!!





Thats it, the van is packed, i think ive pretty much got everything covered
Dave and Nikki are still putting some finishing touches together, Heading to the dyno in in the morning where Mark
and Liam will be working their magic and putting all those "Eircooled" motors through their stride on the rollers. Then im off to Bishopscourt Airfield to setup, where its all happening come Sunday,
Wayne has all the cars programmed in on the timing system, i think hes even polished the bulbs on the tree. The printers, Suppliers, sponsors, donors, makers, fixers, midnight welders, companies both uk and ireland have all done as they said they would from the start and stepped RIGHT UP!!

This event simply wouldnt have happened without all these guys and gals

WE ARE READY!!!

The first ever All Ireland Aircooled Drag Day is about to happen!!!

Thanks for all your support folks, im a little bit nervous right now!! (and tired!!)

teaser trailer here!!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/964bI4XsF5g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/964bI4XsF5g</a>

[richie]

Good luck Ben, its amazing what you have done to make it happen, hope you all have fun

cheers Richie

[benlawrence]

WHAT AN EVENT, i am straight back to work this morning but, all i can say is, it was amazing, 57 vehicles raced in the end, ranging from 12 sec bugs up 20+ sec campers, the atmosphere was fantastic, even the guy who ran the timing system said he had never had such a friendly and laid back bunch at the track, a real credit to all those that came, some drove 1200km round trip to be there, unbelievable, folk are screaming at me to set a date for next year already but thats the last thing on my mind right now.

I have to thank ALL the people and businesses that helped me get this event of the ground, without them, i dont think it would have happened. I will let the dust settle so to speak and come back to you with a full report pictures and videos, but all in all for the very first event of its kind over here, i couldnt be happier.

I made a couple of passes but didnt enter the car into the field, i didnt feel this was fair or part of what the event was about, but the weather was great, the track was getting better as the day progressed, after the lunch break we ran an open session and i jumped into the car once more, ive really struggled to hook the car up , mainly due to not wanting to break the bone stock gearbox, this time out i still launched in my usual (walk it off the line) way, but it hooked pretty hard and i just went for it the engine was pulling over 8000rpm across the line in 3rd , when i got back to the pits a number of folk were all waving me down, turns out i went 12.4 @111mph and a 1.9 60ft.  Not bad for a fella with little to no budget, so as with so many of the guys and gals who turned up at the track, i went home with my own little achievement too.  

[benlawrence]

double post whoops 

[dannyboy]

good stuff mate bet it was a hoot ,well done 

[jamiep_jamiep]

Excellent Ben, look forward to the report n pics!

[54Kab]

 - Sounds like a great day, congrats on pulling it together Ben.  Sounds like you've got yourself another 'job' for future years...

 

[Dirty1]

That was an awesome day, one of the best VW events I've ever been to, anywhere in the world, an from the pictures circulation you would never think it was in Ireland.



Here's some links to people's pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.437196923063280.1073741840.376382385811401&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/john.burke.7568/media_set?set=a.10151794870322552.1073741831.693027551&type=3

[benlawrence]

Wow, i should really have updated this thread, apologies for that, its been a bit hectic here, but now i have a couple of hours down time i can fill in the big blank space that was the event itself.

Wow, what an incredible day, i got there on the saturday with a few friends who were happy to come and do a few hours at the track, having a tidy up and sweeping the track getting our sponsors banners up etc.



A good friend of mine Shane put a few of us early birds up for the night whilst a host of aircoolers who braved the early saturday start ended up over at the dyno at Elite Motor Performance who with Bugbitz put on a rolling road day prior to the sunday drag.

Arriving at chateaux Lawlor's for the night.



After a bit of grub and a couple of tins to calm down we hit the hay early (ish)  Needless to say i didnt sleep much that night.

Well Sunday morning started cool and a touch misty, the weather report was good, little did i know that we were set for the hottest day in the country this year, plenty of red faces and burnt scalps would be going home!!


I got down early and set up with the guys who run the timing system, i wont bore you with all that, but as 11am clicked by, the aircooled guys were all lined up ready to race, the vast majority for the first time EVER!!




Well what an absolute blast, everyone had a ball, the day went smoothly as we managed to categorise vehicles into groups sending them out in staggered bunches rather than 60+ aircooleds all in the queue at once.

I'll let the pictures do the talking, The times varied massively from 20+ seconds down to 12.4, but the most important and enjoyable thing to watch was folk stripping bits out of their campers and beetles just to go a tenth quicker, the banter was fantastic and everyone who made the massive trek to the strip were not dissapointed.

One group of guys drove all the way from County Kerry, in a hightop Vanagon (t25/3) with a 1.6 straight diesel....  towing a baja racecar!!!!!    It took them 9 hours to get to County Armagh and a further two hours the next day to get to the track, thats commitment.

[benlawrence]

Proof perfect that a 160bhp beetle will eat a 300bhp golf 

dave beat him up all day (till he broke his gearbox, but not before running his first ever 12.








Jimmys attempt to ditch the decklid.

[benlawrence]

[benlawrence]

[benlawrence]

Team "Dirty Habits" with a 2165 ida motor we loaned them.


This picture sums up the whole event, tsar went on to run low 14's in a car that was finished literally the night before after an epic build just to get there, between going on honeymoon and building a house, the best team effort of the weekend and took the Ultra VW award for their efforts



Karmann Gipsy vanagon vs a porsche?  Only in ireland!!!!





Paul Clarkes beautiful looker with ida power.







"It aint the same without the rain!!!"

[benlawrence]

Well that was that, the day that was, i let the pictures tell the story rather than me bleating on about it, but for me, the hero of the whole event is this guy.



He dragged a baja out of a field and pretty much structurally restored it from the bottom up in two weeks in his shed. He was part of the crew who had the 9 hour drive to the track, he doesnt even have a driving licence so his brother piloted his car for the day, he went round all day helping people with any issues and was an absolute gent. Well deserved to take the Bernard Newbury spirit of the event award. and Many thanks to Bernie and Louis for their support from the outset on what was a mega day, even if it was cobbled together in just 5 weeks.

I think the drag racing gods were definately on our side, as this happened on the very last run of the day 



So there you have it, there are tons of pics on our facebook page and hundreds on the net, but that small selection gives you a taste of us grass roots (literally) guys, having our first go at racing, many thanks to all our sponsors, without them we simply couldnt have pulled it together.

Roll on 2014.