VdBWorks heeft een bezoek gebracht aan Curacao. Wij hielden ons daar bezig met afstellen van SSB motorfietsen (Superstreet Bikes). Het betreft het motormanagementsysteem (KMS). De datalog en optimaliseren van het managementsysteem voor de beste resultaten.

Hier onder wat informatie over het Dragracen in Curacao.

SHORT HISTORY OF DRAGRACING
Last Updated: May 2007
With this short history, we wish to introduce to you the sport of Dragracing.
Our goals are to promote this sport and to increase tourism to our island Curaçao (pronounced as: cur-a-sao)

THE SPORT OF DRAGRACING:
The word “Dragracing” may have negative connotations with certain persons. Popular illegal street racing movies like "The Fast & The Furious" and"2 Fast 2 Furious" put the sport in a very negative light. Locally also, you constantly read about illegalstreet racing in several of our public highways, and the associated"FEVER" (=vehicles doing 360 degree spins). Mostly these activities result in accidents, since they are not carried out in adequate nor safe places (such as a racetrack).

In the above we emphasize the word ILLEGAL, since (unfortunately) these are the activities that usually result in accidents and therefore receive the greatest attention from the media. The Curacao International Raceway however, promotes organized (and legal) dragracing, which is performed in a designated racetrack, which is very modern and adequate for the sport.

Indeed, the sport of dragracing started in the U.S.A. just after WorldWar II. It originated in the dry lakes of the western part of that country, and it was exactly 51 years ago that NHRA was founded to organize the sport, create rules, construct adequate racing facilities,etc. In the USA the sport of dragracing has grown into a multi-million dollar sport, where very large and respected companies pump large amounts of money into the sport at the same time obtaining media coverage. Some of these companies are: McDonalds, Winston, Budweiser, Miller, US Army, and many other top-notch companies.

Today in the USA dragracing is considered as the largest spectator sport. NHRA alone organizes 23 national events each year, in tracks located in the major cities of the USA. The NHRA also organizes hundreds of other regional and local events. There are several other entities that also organize dragraces. Alltogether this sport attracts millions of fans and TV viewers, and thousands of participants.

Basically, a drag race is an acceleration contest from a standing start between two vehicles over a measured distance of one-quarter mile (1,320 feet, equivalent to 402 meters). A drag racing event is a series of such two-vehicle, tournament-style eliminations. The losing driver in each race is eliminated, and the winning drivers continue until one driver (per category) remains. There are many categories or classes. Class eligibility is based on various requirements and specifications, including type of vehicle, engine type and size, vehicle weight, etc.

Drag Race in Curaçao
In Curaçao, the sport started almost 33 years ago (1971). In April 2001, the Curaçao International Raceway celebrated the 30th anniversary of the sport in Curaçao, organizing what was later deemed to be the largest dragracing event in the history of the sport in Curaçao. One of the reasons the event was such a success was the fact that the race was dedicated to two pioneers of the local sport: Stanley (“Techi”) de Boer, who was the Champion of the first dragrace organized in Koral Tabak on April 30, 1971. Mr. De Boer is still actively involved in the sport, and his son is one of the promising second-generation drivers.

Hendrick (“Henny”) Leo of Aruba, who was the owner of the first car from Aruba to participate in the first dragrace in Curaçao. Mr. Leo also is actively involved in the sport, being a racecar driver plus the principal of a team that runs several racecars. From that "First Dragrace of April 1971" the sport of dragracing has been (and still is to this day) the most popular local sport, attracting many, many people from all walks of life. One of the reasons for the sport’s popularity is that it consists of SPEED (which many people like), which makes it very EXCITING! Since the first dragrace in Curaçao, a big "positive" rivalry developed between Aruba and Curaçao. This rivalry is still ongoing, and is one of the reasons why we get a lot of visitors from Aruba for the races. Also, the date April 30th-May 1st has remained as the customary date for the “Big Race”. Originally the sport was organized on a racetrack located at Koral Tabak. However, in April of 1996 a new racetrack was inaugurated:

Curaçao International Raceway
Curaçao International Raceway is located at Ronde Klip, and is a state-of-the-art track, that is considered to be one of the best in the Caribbean, and one that does not have to envy anything from most tracks in the USA. The track is located on a plateau which is 50 meters above sea level, making for very nice and exciting views. Looking towards the north, the sea is approximately 2 kms. from the track, giving a view of the Island of Bonaire. Looking towards the south, you have a beautiful view of the city and its surroundings. The height also makes for a nice, cool breeze most of the time, easing the heat from the sun. The track itself was built to international specs, and the NHRA gave technical support. Furthermore, there are many facilities for the participants and also for the public, including permanent toilet facilities, snackbars and both aluminium and concrete grandstands (seating capacity of more than 9,000 persons).

Actually, the track is owned by Fundashon Autosport Curaçao (FAC), a non-profit foundation that had as its aim to build a first-class racetrack in Curaçao, and make this available to the local racing community. Until the end of 1999 FAC organized the drag-racing events, but as of 2005, the facility can be rented from FAC by all all organizations who wish to organize and promote events of Drag Racing.

Fundashon Autosport Curaçao (FAC)
As explained previously, Fundashon Autosport Curaçao (FAC) made all the arrangements to construct a first-class dragstrip with technical support from NHRA (the largest dragracing organization in the USA). The project was realized on a large piece of land which the local Government provided, on a long-lease arrangement.The local Government also cooperated in providing leftover GP Blocks (used as safety barriers for the racecars) and grandstands.

During the first year of operation, the Drag Racing Association Curaçao (DRAC) operated the track, but they were unable to do it successfully.During the years 1997-2000, FAC themselves operated the track, thus organizing all events. At the end of the year 2000, FAC decided not to continue operating the track themselves. The Board of FAC approached a group of dragracers/racecar owners, and the end result was the formation of Curaçao Drag Promotions N.V. (CDP) Several events were organized by the CDP from it initial foundation in March 2001 till the end of 2005.Since 2006 FAC has successfully managed to exploit the facilities again and has also implemented many upgrades to the track. One of the most important track upgrades was the installation of 2 brand new scoreboards in April 2007.

The main objectives of FAC are:

promotion of motorsport activities, by organizing races and other events
exploitation of the racetrack
promotion of automobiles and motorsports in general
to work with other similarly oriented organizations
International Participation

In the past, racers from several countries have participated in the various dragracing events organized at the Curaçao International Raceway. Among said countries are:

Aruba
Bonaire
St. Maarten
Venezuela
Netherlands
Puerto Rico
USA
Trinidad