Mats Eriksson's son, Lars-Göran, works full-time building race car chassis for a variety of disciplines, mostly for drag racing but also for many circuit racing and rally applications.

Lars-Göran Eriksson is busy updating European Top Fuel Champion Urs Erbacher's chassis frames for next season. One chassis has already been delivered and will be run at Las Vegas and a couple of other races next year. Erbacher spent 2009 in the US participating in NHRA Championship events, during one of which he suffered a nasty incident which fortunately ended safely for Urs, but less so for the car. The Top Fuel Dragster was sent to an authorised US chassis builder but the repairs turned out not as expected. Returning to Europe, Urs wanted his equipment refurbished, so he asked Mats Eriksson in Borlänge about an update. Mats' son, Lars-Göran, examined what was needed and decided it could be done.

 
The American chassis ready for delivery.

This wasn't the first time Lars-Göran had put his cutting tools to work on an existing chassis. Nor is he a rookie when it comes to building brand new chassis for drag racing and other motorsport disciplines. Several of the Top Fuel Dragsters competing in Europe were built in Borlänge and the company also has numerous customers in rallying and circuit racing. Mattias Ekström and Kenneth Hansen are two of the well-known names who appreciate ME Racing Service's knowledge and skills. A year ago a Koenigsegg, no less, arrived in the shop needing chassis upgrades for a forthcoming speed record attempt. The record attempt proved very successful.

Recently the ME Racing Service workshop received a brand new Mustang body. It was delivered directly from the factory production line to have a roll bar fitted. Ford earmarks a handful of bodies solely for racing use, to market the brand in professional motorsport. Race cars are often based on new bodies and the different requirements of each project determine how the tubes are installed inside the body. This demands a thorough understanding of the type of motorsport involved, together with the car's design and on-track behaviour and the location of its weak spots.

"This is the kind of work we specialise in," says Mats Eriksson, who built the business from scratch. It began as a spin-off from his own motorsport interests, especially drag racing, in which he is one of the most prominent and successful Pro Mod competitors. Nowadays it is Lars-Göran, his son, who handles the chassis building. And it's a full-time job, as Mats explains. "Lars-Göran's made really great progress. He's learned welding and chassis construction from the ground up. He spent a lot of time with me but he learned the most important skills from my colleague, Murf McKinney, in the US, where he spent several intensive weeks a couple of years ago. When he was 16, he also spent a month with drag racing legend Carl Ruth, whose Funny Car body we bought and converted to a Pro Mod."

Lars-Göran himself makes light of his wealth of knowledge. His sole aim is to deliver the highest standards of chassis construction and repair to ME's customers. It has earned the company sufficient reputation around the world that it now competes directly with America's industry leaders.

Murf McKinney has a similar business in the US building race car chassis, but also has many clients in the computer industry. He visited ME Racing Service AB to familiarise himself with SSAB's high-performance tube manufacturing process, an idea originated by Mats.

Another notable contribution from this small company is the development of a manufacturing process for high performance tubing in association with SSAB (Swedish Steel AB). "In this business we use chrome moly tubing, the same type that is used in aircraft manufacture," says Mats. "But the products are of such poor quality that a new material is very much needed, not only in this area but also in other manufacturing industries. This summer McKinney came to visit us and we had a meeting with SSAB (Swedish Steel AB) through which we established an entry channel into the American market which promises to be very rewarding. McKinney runs a company very similar to mine, which also manufactures for the computer industry. He has a wide range of contacts that would be very useful for the Swedish steel manufacturing companies. We have also, in cooperation with Dellner Couplers, developed a new train chassis that will be used in European high speed trains. This was unveiled at a trade show in Berlin this September with very successful results."


Masse, a team member also employed at Mats' other company, ME Plåtkonstruktioner AB, joined around 100 others in the shop to celebrate Lars-Göran's 30th birthday as Urs' chassis was being readied for the upcoming US season. Now attention is focused on updating his European chassis.

Mats also participates in Speedgroup's Contingency program. All cars displaying the company decal that achieve European Championship success earn money from ME Racing Service AB. "Being a part of this kind of programme gives us great prominence," says Mats. "We get brand recognition and people get to know what we do. We receive plenty of orders when we are at the races and an excellent reputation brings us new customers. We are extremely happy with that!"




Here's the chassis in a jig. Note the difference between its arrival at and departure from the shop. The whole front section has been replaced to ensure perfect straightness.