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1997 - THE YEAR'S RACING |
Harri Luostarinen and the Caterpillar-TRD Supertruck have been the 'stars' of the 1997 European Truck Racing Cup; right from the start of the season it was apparent that this year the factory-backed Mercedes-Benz, MAN and DAF teams were up against some very serious competition in the shape of Luostarinen and Caterpillar-TRD.
The Truck Racing Developments team have always produced racing trucks that would be award winners if immaculate appearance and presentation were the priority; but pre-season testing suggested that the 1997 Caterpillar challenger would go as well as it looked! The engine development carried out throughout 1996 by TRD in partnership with the Caterpillar engineers at Mossville, USA was now paying dividends!
Supertruck racing always produces exciting, closely contested racing - but the 1997 season produced the fiercest competition ever with just 100th's of a second separating the lap times of leading competitors - and at many venues practice times for the entire starting grid were covered by just one second!
The opening event of the year at Barcelona in Spain saw Luostarinen stunning the opposition by stealing 'pole' position - and victory only eluded the flying Finn when a minor mechanical problem forced him to stop due to excess smoke. But two strong second places the next day served warning to the 'works' teams that the Caterpillar was a force to be reckoned with.
After the Spanish race the Truck Racing Developments Team suggested some small modifications to their colleagues at Caterpillar in Mossville - and in addition to improving the racing engine certain details were incorporated into producing units…proving that the famous phrase 'Racing improves the breed' is appropriate to truck racing!
The Circuit Paul Ricard in the sunny South of France saw another impressive performance from high-speed Harri and the stunning black Caterpillar-TRD Supertruck; with four runner-up spots and a total of 48 points, Harri was top scorer of the weekend.
One week later at Misano in Italy Luostarinen finished fourth and third in Saturday's races - then on Sunday morning powered the Caterpillar to it's first victory of the year, followed up by a strong second in the Cup race. The German duo that Harri was gunning for - championship leaders Fritz Kreutzpointer (MAN) and Markus Oestreich (Mercedes-Benz) - were now clearly within his sights.
The 'home' race for the British-based Truck Racing Developments team brought the Caterpillar to the sweeping curves of Thruxton and Luostarinen produced another winning performance; two victories on the Saturday followed by two second places the next day - moving him to within one point of championship leader Kreutzpointner.
One week later and the twists and turns of the Dijon-Prenois circuit seemed to suit Harri and the Caterpillar; four straight victories and maximum points moved Harri into the lead of the championship for the first time.
At Nurburgring in July Kreutzpointner fought back with three wins - but after problems on the Saturday Luostarinen was back in contention on the Sunday, taking two second places in front of the 200,000 German crowd to maintain a 33 point advantage in the overall championship standing.
Harri wasn't so happy for his 'home' race at Alastaro in Finland; two second places on the first day was a promising start, but a combination of small technical troubles and bad luck on the Sunday saw him out of the points with some serious bodywork damage to the normally beautiful Caterpillar, following a first lap incident.
Just one week later and - thanks to the efforts of the Truck Racing Developments crew - the truck was back to it's normal immaculate condition for Round 8 of the series at Mantorp Park in Sweden. But although the Caterpillar finished in the points Harri was not very pleased with his Saturday performances on a short, tight track he really doesn't enjoy. Matters improved on Sunday when Luostarinen battled hard to fourth in the Qualifying race and a superb second in the Cup event.
The next event took the team east - to the Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic. Problems during practice and a damp circuit saw Harri uncharacteristically at the back of the field for Saturday's Qualifying race. But in the Cup event he improved to take seventh followed by the same next day. But Kreutzpointner had also been in good form - and with just two meetings remaining had closed to within four points of the Caterpillar driver.
Zolder in Belgium was the venue for Round 10 - and provided an opportunity for Caterpillar and Truck
Racing Developments to demonstrate the advantages of modern technology.
During the Friday practice session Harri had found the engine response was not especially suited to the Belgian circuit. Team Manager Henry Garcia explained the situation in a telephone conversation with the Caterpillar technicians in America - and overnight a new engine management programme was prepared. This was then sent via electronic E-Mail to the circuit office at Zolder, downloaded into the Supertruck, just 30 minutes later Harri was out on the circuit - and the Caterpillar was really flying in the autumn sunshine to claim 'pole' position.
Harri achieved a 'double' victory on Saturday and on the Sunday took second place in the Qualifying race, followed by a memorable win in the Cup race. The strong and consistent performance of the Caterpillar-TRD team compared well to the opposition; Kreuzpointner crashed out, taking leading Mercedes driver Oestreich with him!
The Spanish finale at Jarama promised some fireworks - and the 50,000 fans weren't disappointed. Luostarinen was fifth in practice and moved up to fourth in the Qualifying race. In the Cup race the local driver Antonio Albacete caused mayhem - and eliminated three drivers including Kreutzpointner in a first corner incident that also forced Luostarinen off the road. But Harri charged back from eighth to cross the finish line in fifth… enough to claim the championship, with two races remaining.
With the European Cup title now secured Harri could afford to pull out all the stops for the final day of racing - and the Caterpillar Supertruck performed faultlessly to take him to 'pole' position and two victories - pulling clear of second-placed Kreutzpointner on both occasions.
With a total of 28 podium positions (top three finishes) including no less 12 wins the Caterpillar-TRD team driver Harri Luostarinen had succeeded in defeating the five-strong Mercedes squad, the four works-supported Man teams and the two truck factory DAF team.
But Caterpillar weren't just winners on the racetrack; with an impressive hospitality unit, product displays and merchandising sales at each venue, there was little doubt that Caterpillar were also the leaders in terms of 'off-track' promotional activities targeted at the 'live' audience that totalled in excess of half a million at the 11 races this year.
Caterpillar dealers throughout Europe had the opportunity to entertain customers and other VIP guests in a purpose-built facility right at the heart of the action - where they could see the Caterpillar-powered TRD Supertruck demonstrating it's race-winning performance.