Caterpillar TRD C1299

Harri Luostarinen seen in his Cat during 99.

FIA Super Race Truck

The Caterpillar is built for the FIA Super Race

Truck category. It was built in England by TRD
Truck Racing Developments, which is the
racing arm of Chris Hodge Trucks. The frame is
built in-house by TRD and the engine comes
from the sponsor Caterpillar. The C12 engine is
a 12-litre 6-cylinder diesel producing no less
than 1400 HP. A 5-speed ZF transmission
transmits the power to the rear axle. It is fully
automatic but can be used manually with
sequential shift. Harri Luostarinen took a total
of 23 podium placings - including no less than
10 victories. In his TRD C1299, Luostarinen
was finally classified third overall in the
Supertruck category of the 1999 FIA European
Truck Racing Cup with a total of 368 points only four behind runner-up Alain Fert. In the
Manufacturers' Cup the single truck CaterpillarTRD team scored a remarkable total of 78
points to take third overall - 8 points ahead of
the five-strong factory DaimlerChrysler squad
with their factory-backed Mercedes-Benz
trucks!

Technical Specifications (1999)

DESIGN TEAM
Designer :
Bodywork :
Transmissions :
Fabricator :
PRODUCTION
Built by :
CHASSIS
Type :
ENGINE
Model :
Type :
Capacity :
Bore x Stroke :
Max Power :
Max Torque :
Turbos :
Boost :
Fuel system :
Exhaust :
Fuel :
TRANSMISSION
Type :
Rear axle :
SUSPENSION
Front and rear :
Rear :
BRAKES
Front and rear :
TYRES
Front :
Rear :

Heikki Luostarinen
Peter Bailey
Kalevi Hulsi
Ray Hanlon
Chris Hodge, Truck Racing Developments Ltd., Blackwall Lane, Greenwich,
London, UK.
New TRD in-house design and manufacture of Special high tensile steel, featuring
wider front track, lower centre of gravity etc.
Caterpillar C12
6-cylinder in-line, 4VPC, 4-stroke, turbocharged diesel.
11980 cc (732 cu-in)
130.00 x 150.00 mm (5.1 x 5.9)
+1400 BHP (power curve starts at 1500rpm and remains flat up to 2200rpm.)
+4200 Nm.
2 x Schwitzer S300.
4 bar
EUI fuel system. Specially prepared for racing but retaining standard production
components. K & N high flow air filters.
Ceramic filters are used to clean up exhaust emissions.
Diesel by UTA
5-speed ZF HP600 automatic with manual sequential facility.
Lightweight TRD designed de Dion rear axle with self-biasing limited slip
differential. Gearing by ATA. Aluminium hubs. (Axles manufactured in
conjunction with Sisu Axle Systems)
Specially made lightweight TRD designed front axle with aluminium hubs. 5-link
including Panhard rod. Lesjfors coil-springs. Fully adjustable hlins multifrequency gas race shock absorbers.
TRD designed de Dion rear axle, 3-link including Panhard rod. Lesjfors coilsprings. Fully adjustable hlins multi-frequency gas race shock absorbers.
Full air Knorr-Bremse SB 7000 calipers and vented disc brakes with water cooling.
BBA Friction DON pads. Forster & Hales Ltd. Pressure Tanks.
Continental HS45 SF 315/70 R-22.5
Continental HS45 SD 315/70 R-22.5

ELECTRONICS
Telemetry :
DIMENSIONS
Race weight :
Weight distribution :
PERFORMANCE
Top Speed :
Acceleration, 0-100km/h :
Acceleration, 0-160Km/h :
Cornering and braking :

M.M. Motorsport 54 channel system.

5000 Kgs (FIA minimum regulation)
45% (F) / 55% (R)
160Km/h (limited as per FIA regulations)
3.9 seconds
8.0 seconds
Generates forces in excess of 1.2 G.

1999 ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SEASON FOR CATERPILLAR-TRD

3rd OVERALL IN DRIVERS AND MANUFACTURERS' CHAMPIONSHIPS - The 1999 FIA European Truck Racing Cup
produced another exciting and fiercely contested season of competition - with the 11 events attracting a
total audience exceeding half a million. For Harri Luostarinen and the Chris Hodge Truck Racing
Developments team this was another successful season - with the Finnish driver taking a total of 23 podium
placings - including no less than 10 victories. The Caterpillar driver finished on the podium at least once at
10 of the 11 rounds of the championship - only failing to make the top three at the Austrian event. At the
end of the year Luostarinen was finally classified third overall in the Supertruck category of the European
Cup with a total of 368 championship points - only four behind championship runner-up Alain Ferte - and 36
points clear of 4th placed Gerd Korber. In the Manufacturers' Cup the single truck Caterpillar-TRD team
scored a remarkable total of 78 points to take third overall - 8 points ahead of the five-strong factory
DaimlerChrysler squad with their factory-backed Mercedes-Benz trucks! The 1999 season started with some
inconsistent results as the team worked hard to find the optimum set-up for the new truck; although
Luostarinen had a third place at the opening meeting in Dijon (France) he ended the weekend holding a
lowly eighth in the championship. Two more third places at the second round in Barcelona (which followed
just one week later) helped move the Caterpillar driver up one position - and by Round 3 at Misano (Italy)
another trio of third places saw Harri climbing up to fifth in the rankings. Improved results came in the
shape of a second place the Circuit Paul Ricard - which propelled Harri up to third overall in the
championship. But major problems at the new, high-altitude A1-Ring circuit in Austria (round 5) saw him
slump back to 7th as the team experienced their first serious reliability problems. Up to this point the hectic
international calendar had prevented there being any opportunity for any extra testing of the CaterpillarTRD Supertruck - but two valuable days of track time prior to the next European Cup event proved
worthwhile. The efforts of the team were rewarded at the Nurburgring (Germany) where Luostarinen
stormed to a third place in the first Qualifying race and fourth in the Cup race. He then took an amazing
'double' on the Sunday with wins in both the Qualifying and Cup races, defeating the factory MAN and
Mercedes-Benz teams on their 'home' ground. These fantastic results - in front of a record 230,000 crowd helped push Hari up to fourth in the overall championship standings. One of the most important
improvements to the truck's performance came mid-season with alterations to the maximum speed control;
up to this time the Caterpillar-TRD truck had been losing one of two kilometres per hour on top speed to the
German trucks - which cost valuable points on several occasions. Round 7 in Finland presented the
Caterpillar-TRD team with an unusual problem; not enough braking power! The truck certainly was quick
enough aound the Alastaro circuit - but lack of suitable brake pads saw Luostarinen suffering brake fade
after just two or three full-speed laps. Skillful driving saw Harri take one third place in the Qualifying race but the longer Cup races required a more cautious approach and he had to be content with a pair of 7th
places. This meant that the Caterpillar-TRD team approached their 'home' race at Donington Park (England)
back to seventh overall in the championship. Luostarinen soon made amends for the disappointing results in
Finland - winning both the Qualifying and the Cup races on the Saturday at Donington. The second day saw
fifth and fourth places - enough to leave Luostarinen as top scorer for the weekend - and moving him up to
fifth in the championship. Round 9 took the team into Eastern Europe - for the race at Most in the Czech
Republic. Again Luostarinen and the Caterpillar-TRD were on good form - wins in both the Saturday and
Sunday Qualifying races were backed up with strong second places in both the Cup races. A total points haul
of 50 for the weekend helped to move Harri up to fourth overall. One week later and the team were in
action again at the Zolder circuit in Belgium - where Luostarinen added another 50 points to the his tally to
move up to second overall in the championship. An enormous crowd of over 60,000 saw the Caterpillar-TRD
truck dominate the first day with wins in both the Qualifying and Cup races. A pair of third places the next
day confirmed that Luostarinen was back on top form and poised for a close fight with factory DAF driver
Alain Ferte for the runner-up spot in the championship. The final event of the season at Jarama in Spain
started well for Harri; in the first Qualifying race he was running a strong second - headed only by new
champion Fritz Kreutzpointner (MAN). But a 'grabbing' front brake disc saw him sliding off into the gravel,
dropping him to ninth at the finish - and handing third place to Ferte. The Caterpillar-TRD driver was then
faced with the unpleasant task of having to start the Cup race from the back of the grid. From there he
fought hard to climb up to seventh - but Ferte had scored another valuable 15 points with second place. The
Sunday in Spain provided plenty of excitement for the 60,000 crowd - with one man and one machine
dominating the front of the grid; Harri Luostarinen and the Caterpillar-TRD Supertruck. After taking 'pole'
position in practice there was no stopping Harri - he led both the Qualifying and Cup races from start-tofinsh - with 1999 champion Kreutzpointner having to be contest with a pair of second places. But unfortunately for Luostarinen - Ferte took his DAF to third place in both races - and this was enough for the

Frenchman to stay ahead of Luostarinen by a margin of just 4 points after no less than 44 individual races!
But the final four meetings of the season had seen the Caterpillar-TRD Supertruck consistently running at or
near the head of the field; even champion Fritz Kreutzpointner took time out to praise the outstanding
performance of the Caterpillar-TRD team as he collected the FIA Cup. During the 1999 season every race of
the FIA European Cup was broadcast to an enormous worldwide television audience; a total of over 1 billion
viewers in no less than 42 countries (plus newsreel exposure). Caterpillar-TRD have maintained their
incredible record of performance and reliablity; the only team to finish in the top three in both the Drivers
and Manufacturers' championship in each of the past three years. During the 1997/1998 and 1999 seasons the
truck and driver made a total of 128 starts - winning 27% of the races and finishing on the podium (top
three) in 52% of the events. But as Harri Luostarinen said after the final race of the year; "Only one number
is right for me and the Caterpillar-TRD team... we'll be working hard through the winter and all next season
to ensure we get back the Number 1 plate!".
THE CATERPILLAR C-12 ENGINE
The Cat C-12 is the engine of choice for fleets requiring excellent performance and dependability in a
lightweight package. Weighing in at 2,700 lb. (940 kg), the C-12 features the best horsepower-to-weight
ratio in the industry. And with up to 800 lb. (363 kg) of additional payload capacity compared to other
engines in its horsepower range, the C-12 can substantially improve your bottom line with pulling power to
spare.
IMAGE GALLERY

Harri Luostarinen with his Cat in 99.

The very powerful Caterpillar C-12 race-diesel.

The cockpit

SOURCES
http://www.caterpillar.com/products/shared/truck_engines/truck_engines.html
http://www.caterpillar.com/services/shared/marine/pleasure_craft/propulsion_power/engc12.html
http://www.caterpillar.com/about_cat/event_sponsorships/01_truck_racing/%2007_truck_specifications/tr
uck_specifications.html
http://www.chrishodgetrucks.co.uk/pager/1999year.htm
Rainer Nyberg 2000-09-07 / 2003-07-27

Fact-sheet 03/096