The Leanders brothers, Ulf and Jörgen, are well known faces in the European drag racing community. Both started their drag racing careers as drivers in the early 1990s, each having a Plymouth. After that they bought a Dodge Dart which they took turns in driving from ‘96 to ‘98 in the Nordic Pro Street Cup. When they first entered the Top Methanol Funny Car class in 1999 the idea was to continue taking turns to drive, Ulf the first season and Jörgen the next, but after half of the first season Jörgen told Ulf that he wanted his younger brother to continue behind the wheel of the Funny Car.



In 2005 the Leanders Bros had gone as far as they could with the clutch that was in the car. It wouldn’t do what they wanted and they were not happy with it. They ordered what was supposed to be the best clutch on the market for their methanol car from another US supplier. Both were surprised and astonished to find that the brand new clutch was an identical copy of their old one, just with a different brand name printed in the instructions folder that came with it. The new clutch had all the same problems as the old one and nothing new to offer. That was just in time for the first race of the 2005 season at Santa Pod. Although they could see by eye and by measuring that the flywheel was not straight, they had no alternative other than to put the clutch in the car. Not surprisingly they had great difficulties in getting the car down the track, and as a result damaged the flywheel.



It was their dissatisfaction with what was on the market that made Ulf and Jörgen decide to develop their own clutch. Coincidently they had Ironcad as a sponsor and made good use of the Ironcad CAD programs on their computers. Neither of the brothers had much knowledge in CAD design, but they taught themselves over time. Even so, the design process was more complicated than they expected. The brothers also had a small CNC milling machine in their workshop at home but had to learn how to operate that too. Ulf says: “we have learnt by trial and error really, all through this process. We did not have much knowledge to start with and have developed everything ourselves”.



As experienced racers and mechanics they knew what they wanted to improve on in their clutch design, compared to existing clutches on the market. For instance they wanted to prevent tear to the rear main bearing, which had been a problem with previous clutches. “There can be all kinds of problems if the clutch tears too much”, says Ulf. “When that happens the angle of the arms becomes different”. Being new to the design process gave them an advantage, as they didn’t feel they had to start with a design similar to existing clutches. “There was no point in copying or using parts of designs that we did not think worked. It would maybe have meant we could get our clutch to work as well or more reliably than existing clutches on the market, but we wanted something superior to that”.

It is not an understatement to say the Leanders Bros are in control of the production of their clutches, as 90% of a Leanders Clutch is produced in their own workshop situated in Grängsbo a few hours drive north of Stockholm, Sweden. The first Leanders clutch prototype was ready for testing in their own methanol funny car late during the 2006 racing season. It took two versions and two seasons of testing until they felt ready to market and sell the Leanders Clutch to other teams in 2008. What they had at that time was an 11” clutch suited for methanol cars like Funny Cars and Pro Mods.



The introduction of Leanders Clutch was made in the US at the PRI (Performance Racing Industry) show in December 2008. Ulf and Jörgen made sure to submit their clutch to the SFI testing and certification process, which means it is legal to use in the US, Europe and Australia.

The major advantage with a Leanders clutch, says Ulf, is that it is very solid and stable, non- flexing so to speak. A big help in learning and getting the result they was looking for, was the development and construction of a clutch dyno system in 2007. They contacted the computer expert Johan Hartwig, to build them a computer that would fit inside the dyno, placed at the centre of the axle where the centrifugal forces don’t affect the measurements.



Ulf says that a methanol clutch produce 10,000 pounds of pressure. Adding a mere 60 grams of weight on the arms mean the pressure on the doughnut increases by approximately 3.9 tonnes! Under circumstances like that it is crucial that the arms have the right design and are made of the right material.

Since 2008 additional they have expanded the range to include several new models of clutches for other types of cars and classes. There is the 7” clutch suitable for Pro Mod/Top Doorslammer nitrous cars. It is currently run by two teams in Europe with 4 discs (one being Mats Brags alcohol small block chevy). The 7” can be run with either 2, 3 or 4 discs depending on the type of car. Ulf says that a car with 800 hp would need a 2-disc clutch, while a 4- disc clutch is used for engines producing 3000 hp. The 11” clutch can be run in the same way, with 2 or 3 discs instead of 4. Ulf says it is important not to get stuck with the idea that one model of clutch is only for one use or one type of car or racing event. For example the 11” clutch, initially designed for methanol drag racing cars, also works very well for tractor pulling (the Leanders Bros are currently in contact with both US and European tractor pulling teams).



The clutch is still being developed and improved. Jörgen is currently in the US, testing a 9” clutch in co-operation with a methanol team in the ADRL series. “Testing in the US is so much more efficient, as they make many more runs in a shorter time span than we can manage in Europe” says Ulf. In December 2009 they tested the 7” Leanders clutch in co-operation with a US team in Bradenton Florida. “They made 19 runs in three days. To get the same testing performed in Europe would take half a season and not be as exact, because then we would have data from different tracks and weather conditions. How do you know what is the clutch and to what extent the different track conditions have influenced the test results?”




The fact that their solutions are worked out and modified to suit each individual customer’s needs make Leanders Clutch concept unique when compared to the more standardised solutions on offer from other clutch manufacturers. The service and support level is high and Leanders clutch will be represented at all FIA races this 2010 by Ulf, Jörgen or both. “We are on site at the track and will assist any of our customers if they ask” says Ulf. “We are very much aware that the support work we do at the races needs to be handled in confidence and very delicately, as our customers are in competition with each other and we get to look at their race data.”



There is also a new 6 1/8 ” model clutch, developed for Pro Stock cars in co-operation with Swedish clutch expert Markus Svensson, who has spent many years working in the US for some of the top NHRA Pro Stock top teams. It is mainly Markus who handle sales and support for the Pro Stock teams as he is the expert. In Europe the Pro Stock clutch is run by 4 of the FIA teams, among them the recent Main Event winner Micke Callin.



Among the Pro Mod teams that run the Leanders Clutch is the current championship leader, Johan Lindberg of Team Rockstar. Ulf says it would not have been possible to successfully develop the 11” clutch for the Pro Mods if it was not for “test pilots” like reigning Pro Mod champion Mats Eriksson and “Fast Freddy” Fagerström, and also Hans Knuters in Top Doorlsammer. “They dared to take the risk in helping us out in the crucial testing part of the development”, comments Ulf. Although the feedback for Leanders Clutches is very positive, Ulf is aware that there has been occasional problems, these are an inevitable part of any development process.



Leanders Clutch currently employs Jörgen full-time and Ulf part-time (Ulf is also involved in the Leanders Bros other company in the flooring business). Jörgen is managing most of the production and they both work together on the marketing and sales side of the operation. In the US, Leanders Clutch agent is Jeff Prock of Applied Nitrous Technology. “He attends the NHRA as well as the ADRL races”, says Ulf. The brothers also attend the annual PRI show in the US to promote their products. This year the PRI show is in Orlando Florida from December 9-11th. “We also use the show as the opportunity to perform the annual tech inspections and SFI certify the clutches for our US customers.”

Australian methanol Funny Car team owner Mark Brew contacted Ulf and Jörgen during the autumn of 2009 and the co-operation has resulted in some Australian teams now also running the Leanders Clutch. “In Europe we know most teams pretty well, which makes things a lot easier”, says Ulf and continues; “Most clutches are sold during the off-season months. During the race season it is mainly discs, floaters and other spare parts that are in demand. We have product with us at all races and can supply teams with whatever parts they need as well as supporting them with our knowledge.”

When asked about the Leanders’ own 2010 race season, Ulf says he feels a bit uneasy now and again that they don´t have the methanol Funny Car in Europe. The Dodge Charger is currently kept in the US and plans are for Ulf and Jörgen to participate in NHRA events later this year at US Nationals Indianapolis (Sept 1-6th), Las Vegas Nationals (Oct 28-31st ) and the last NHRA event of the season in Pomona, California (Nov 11-14th). After that it will stay to be exhibited at the PRI exhibition, where the Leanders brothers are now ‘regular’ exhibitors. They plan to bring the car back to Europe in time to participate in the 2011 FIA championship.

Additional information about Leanders Clutch can be found at www.leandersclutch.com
 
Leanders Clutch is included in the Speedgroup contingency program for the Methanol Dragster & Funny Car classes, as well as Pro Mod and Pro Stock (more about that can be found at www.speedgroup.eu contingency program page).