Since 2007 NRE has been at the forefront in design and manufacture of products not only in Motor Sports, but as Australia now has a ‘two-speed’ economy (being in Industrial commodities & now predominately the Mining sector), NRE has assisted in prototypes as diverse as Drag Racing Cylinder heads for both aspirated & supercharged engines to ‘emergency underground braking systems’ for 4WD Mining vehicles.
Our Blown Alcohol Hemi Fatheads are now not only dominating in Australian Drag Racing classes, but in New Zealand, South America, Middle East, Canada, USA and of course proudly we have entered Europe. The same team of brilliant thinkers and talented engineers & machinists are still with us as we enter our 6th year as a business, and we thank all of those who have supported us from the beginning.



ÅK: What have the technical development looked like over the last say two years for NRE?

JN: Companies that do not diversify globally in these times will be simply left behind, whilst at our core we are Drag Racers  and V8SC afficiano’s (Australia’s equivalent to NASCAR), we will genuinely look at any worthwhile project that is different, challenging – and hopefully in the long term of course, profitable. The A-Fuel Nitro head and the SBC ProStock head and manifolds have consumed our time from the drawing board to the first test prototype and are now awaiting more testing then marketing, but internally NRE has adapted to change and looking to the future with the Blower Dyno, and soon – Australia’s first 4000HP Blown Hemi/BB  true Dyno Facility.
Mining equipment design and implementation with partnership opportunities with other connected businesses in that industry have also kept us busy in delivering quality products in that field that are not currently available in this country. NRE have also been sourt after by leading CNC manufacturer HASS machinery for stories on the ideas to the finished products in our cylinder head and billet valve cover/billet sumps for V8SC and associated engine design/componentry. In Sept 2012 NRE partner Andrew Collins, in charge of the CNC shop, was selected as the only Australian business representative to speak at the Asian Technical Summit in Indonesia - held by software design company Delcam, on predominately our wide range of Motorsports manufacturing, from the 3D design through to programming and finished on-track product.
Finally, as the V8 Super Car series in this country has invested millions of dollars in the ‘Car Of the Future’ (COTF), and NRE directly are involved in providing services, componentry and R&D Engine development to teams in the top 10 of this 28 car series – it has been a real mission to deliver this in time for the 2013 series that officially kicks off in February 2013.

ÅK: We know that some of the top teams are among your customers, like the European Pro Modified champion Micke Gullqvist.. Is the feedback from your customers crucial and does it affect how you develop the products?

JN: Racers are NRE’s Lifeblood, as racers ourselves, we still rely on feedback, their ideas and experiences as either crew chief’s or drivers to tell us what they experience, what, (if any) problems they see or how we can always improve. NRE never will ‘say never’ to a genuine request or assistance to our customers, it is important they are treated with respect and we listen. When the first X1 was launched, we were complimented on our bold design and quality machining finish – particularly with the unique oil delivery system to prolong spring life and asked if we could take that a step further as now there was a greater amount of oil on the heads as to a quick solution. Within months a new design (from that request) was released that was only small – but significant with an all-new oil drainage system incorporated that quickly drained the heads as the engine was shut down and could then be worked on with ease. This is an example of how we want to continually make a great product even better, performance wise and ‘asthetically’wise.


Andrew from NRE (center) at a conference the Asian Technical Summit in Indonesia.


The USA ADRL National Pro Mod 2012 record holder (Frankie Taylor - photo below), and the Div 2 NHRA and 5th in 2012 TAFC team (John Foster - photo above) – ALL run X1 cylinder heads.

ÅK: You have been involved with Speedgroup and promoted the NRE heads since 2010, what development have you seen so far and what do you hope for over the coming year?

The biggest improvements have come from our newest release of the NRE X1 Blackhawk, which essentially has an improved exhaust/inlet port design and has proven to deliver more capacity to burn more fuel efficiently, increasing blower boost and HP at the top end of the track. This relates to seriously delivering a bigger MPH timecard, which depending on track conditions equates into a lower ET. This series was in response to the Extreme Pro Mod cars in the States/Canada and here in Australia, being the Top Doorslammer’ Blown Hemi cars. When you have the fastest car in this country weighing in at over 2750lbs running 5.70’s at 256 MPH (Peter Kapiris Dodge Saratoga), and at the other extreme Frankie ‘MadMan’Taylor’s 2600lb Corvette PM running the eighth mile in the Middle East at 3.53 @ 214MPH – that’s serious bragging rights anywhere in the world.
The X1 blown Alky NHRA legal heads in the states in TAD/TAFC also have delivered impressive results in the face of our competition with Chris Foster’s, Will Hanna tuned Funny Car winning the US Nationals and finishing 5th nationally on a limited budget. Garry Phillips here in Australia in his Monte Carlo Funny Car has now ran in the 5.40’s AND Jamie Noonan in the NRE TAD has the national record for Top Alky Dragster with 5.51 @ 257MPH.
 In 2013 as teams step up and look to the NRE power for replacement parts we are listening and tweaking the design to find a better way to make a mouse trap as they say, but looking also for the small things that can make a bigger difference to valve train longevity, and see the racers hard-earned dollars go further in a tough racing environment with the existing economic conditions worldwide.


Proudly, we here at NRE run the national current record holding fastest Top Alky Dragster (driven by my son, Jamie), so it’s certainly no secret that across the world we are making a ‘quiet’ impact on the scene!

ÅK: Is there a big difference between the market in your home country Australia compared to Europe?

JN: With a 23 million population, and a country bigger than ALL of Europe combined, weather that is unpredictable at any time, over 1000 kilometers between the shortest track distances and 4000 kilometers of road to the longest – the  market is definitely limited, but maybe similar to Europe in some respects. There predictably would be maybe at the most 70 cars with blown hemis in the sport, and up to 18 TFuel cars sitting around the country. We estimate we supply Hemi heads to over 22 racecars across this spectrum now, and without doubt these are the fastest in their classes – to us we are very honored the locals are now looking ‘locally’ with a product that they see as good as or better than the USA competition. Mark Brew, the tuner/engine builder with Jeff Cutajar on the awesome Dodge Peter Kapiris runs in the Top DoorSlammer class is mostly responsible for this as our official one and only Australian Distributor. The fact also that NRE and Jamie Noonan run the Dragster out of the shop here with an ‘all employee’ crew only once a year and nudge the National Record also helps get attention.
We still get a good level of enquiries from Europe and in particular through the Lindberg Bros there, we are very interested and keen to develop this market, We see the X1 product as being of high quality and performance, priced keenly in $USD against the competition and will do all we can to answer any enquires, either through Jonnie Lindberg or direct to the website. Europe is a very important scene we want to be a part of.

ÅK: Can you tell us in brief what classes can run the NRE heads and is there any “new” classes for you on the European market you see potential in?

JN: The predominant Euro market is Top Methanol of course, but we now have developed a Top Fuel X1 in conjunction with Aaron Hambridge and Phil Lamattina, who run one of Australia’s fastest TF teams – now going to a 2-car team in 2013. With the new NRE LTFR X1 they have currently ran a best of 4.62 @ 324MPH with a lot more to come!



The NRE A-Fuel head & manifold is another design awaiting testing in the US at this moment, and we believe could be a consideration for any European team running this very unique and exciting class.
Finally, the 4-time Australian ProStock champion, Aaron Tremayne and his family’s Tremaniac Racing (www.tremaniacracing.com.au), is in the final throws of testing the all-new TX1 naturally aspirated SBC version of an absolute all-new/innovative designed billet water-jacketed head for competition use – with an unbelievable rocker stand/manifold/valve cover combo to match. There is no reason why this couldn’t be offered to Euro teams in a suitable class in 2013 – all enquires through the Tremaniac website as this was a joint-development between NRE and the Tremayne family.

If interested to find out more about NRE - visit the website on www.noonanraceengineering.net.au or call/visit the Lindberg Bros website on www.lindbergbros.com We are ‘Open 24/7’ for enquiries!

THANKYOU Europe for your continued interest and support in NRE!