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ROBINSON UNVEILS AMERICAN-BUILT ROCKET
18 October 2007. By Ben Graham
The high-profile Robinson Racing outfit have long been regarded as innovators within the V8 Dirt Modified fraternity. With the level of competition amongst V8 Dirt Modified drivers now reaching unprecedented levels, the potent father/son combination of Steve and Mark have once again gone that extra yard in search of a competitive advantage over the field. That advantage, they hope, comes in the form of a newly imported Teo Pro Car, custom built in Vernon, New Jersey.
“We did get a better car for what we paid, compared to what we would have got if we bought one here” explained team driver Mark. “The aim of the exercise was to get the latest in technology and we’ve got that. All going well, this car should last us another 8 years.”
Indeed it was eight years ago that Mark took delivery of the teams first American-made weapon, an Olsen chassis, a car that was diametrically opposed to the locally engineered cars of the day. After a successful debut season that saw the team claim Queensland and South Australian Titles, as well as a runner-up finish in the 2000 Australian Title, team patriarch Steve commissioned Lismore fabricator Phillip Mathews to build an Olsen ‘clone’, a car which saw Mark claim the 2005 Australian Title as well as duel NSW Titles and a second Queensland crown. It is this success Robinson is hoping to emulate with the new Teo.
“It was still a good car but we just felt we had to update to keep up to date with the technology” said Mark. And the main area of technological advancement?
“Mainly the rear suspension. Australia has been a bit behind the eight-ball as far as suspension goes but now that we are starting to get more and more of their (American) cars over here its clear the American setup is the way to go. It’s just the rear end package they’ve got. I think it works better for our type of racing than the open-tube cars do”
Whilst the consensus domestically has been that an open-type (Sprintcar) rear-end has been the way to go, the ongoing development by American manufacturers has lead to a proliferation of enclosed differentials and a more ‘sedan’-type setup. Robinson offered a simple explanation for the benefit of the American-style rear-end.
“Its all bind free. Everything just seems to work together with the rear end. It will take us a few race meetings to get used to the changes we’ve got to make. Each track we go to we might struggle a little bit at the start of the night but by the end of the night we should be there.”
It was Robinson’s long-standing friendship with American DIRT Modified and Late Model powerhouse Tim Fuller that swayed the Lismore-based Robinson Teo’s way. But this was no ordinary ‘off-the-shelf’ purchase. In fact, it represented quite a challenge for Teo and a painstaking wait for Robinson
“They run something similar to our steer (front) tryes on their rear. I think theirs are about 94 inch circumference and ours are 104 inches. They run 13 inch wide on the rear and we run 17’s. They (Teo) took our rear tyres, the hight and width and pretty much built the whole car around that”
“They took into consideration our rules and our tyres. We sent some videos over of our tracks and stuff like that and knew what we were up against. The engine position is pretty much the same. The engine mounts go off the rear weigh percentage. I think its about 70% rear weight, just to keep the car settled. With the difference in our wheelbase they had a bit of work to do to get the rear weight right.”
Whilst the fan on the hill is unlikely to notice any of the technical improvements over his former car, Robinson’s new mount is cosmetically vastly different to its predecessor. The livery has returned to the traditional red, while & blue of long-time supporter Valvoline, after two years sporting Eagle One colours. The new car is a full 8 inches longer (104 inch wheelbase), a characteristic that Robinson says “makes the car more settled and less twitchy and more forgiving on the rough tracks”. A sleek new bonnet design and unique front scoop coupled with much higher side panels and an extremely low inner deck mean Robinson’s car will be unique amongst a growing fleet of American-inspired V8 Dirt Modifieds on-track this season.
Robinson’s new weapon first hit the race track at a mid-September practice night in Brisbane. The first sighting of what will arguably be the most talked about V8 Dirt Modified in the country this season certainly got tongues wagging. And with good reason. Robinson was rumoured to be on lap-record time in just his first outing and on a less than ideal racing surface. Initial indications certainly support the move to Teo equipment.
After a stellar start to last season, Robinson’s new toy landed in Brisbane in at the start of February. After months of planning it was decided that the new car make its racing debut towards the end of the 2006/07 season. However an untimely engine detonation two-thirds the way through last season changed all that.
“Our plan was to have the two engines and have one in the car we were running at the time and fit the other one to the new car so we could have it on the track for the end of the year. But the other engine blew up and the engine we wanted to put into the new car had to go into the old car so that put us back even more. We had to fit the engine to the new car but we couldn’t fit until the end of last year” explained a somewhat frustrated Mark Robinson.
Powering the new Teo is the same engine that saw out the end of last season, the same ‘old bitza’ as Mark likes to call it. Indeed it is an engine with some history amongst the team, containing some of the original components from the very first Ford engine campaigned by Mark’s father Steve in his farewell season in the last 1990’s.
Some well-documented engine failures have plagued the Robinson camp in recent season’s, leading some to question the team’s apparent undying loyalty to the blue oval. Indeed, with an at-times unreliable engine package, the added distraction of sorting a new chassis combination on top of reliability issued may seem an unwise move. Whilst certainly hindering the team’s performance at times, greener pastures lie ahead says Mark
“Bill Mann & Phil O’Brien at Performance Wholesale have put together a strong package for us with the engine we’ve got in the car now. Plus we’ve got the other engine up with Kenny MacNamara. He’s going to come to a few race meetings so he can get the gist of how the car works, what the engine needs and when it needs it. Then we can make changes from there. Hopefully with these guys on board all our engine dramas are behind us”
Time will tell if Robinson’s move to Teo equipment has paid off. However if looks and prior experience are any indicator, then the Valvoline No. 9 Teo Pro Car may well be coming to a victory lane near you.
For further details, please contact:-
Ben Graham- Dirt Modifieds Australia Media Liaison
Ph: 0413 761 733
E: graham.bl@bigpond.com |
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