Eric van Beelen joined the Henri Joosten Drag Racing team in 1999. “My sister lived next door to Henri and at a birthday party I saw his race car. I was interested and two years later they asked me to join the team. My first race was The Main Event and I was hooked. It started with cleaning parts and servicing the Lenco. Then came the engine, chassis etc. and now I know every inch of the car.”



In his daily job Eric has nothing to do with cars but has to admit he was always interested in all kinds of technics. “I did chemical technology at the University Twente and took a doctoral degree in analytical chemistry at the University of Amsterdam. During my study I rebuilt some complex chemical instruments and, with a manual I bought, I replaced the head gasket on my old Mazda. So there has always been a feeling for technics.”



After his study Eric started as a research scientist at Merck Sharp & Dohme. “MSD is a world-leading pharmaceutical company. I did research on how a body reacts to medicine.” After that period Eric worked for a company that checked the quality of drinking-water, until he met Sonia, now his wife.

“One of my friends married a Spanish girl in Spain and there I met Sonia. Her parents run a vineyard and winery. Viña Blanca del Salnes produces two wines and fifteen liqueurs. From 2007 until January 2010 I lived in Spain and worked on the bodega, something completely different from what I did before.” But the economic crisis hit Spain very hard. Eric had to return to Holland and is back in his old job as a research scientist with MSD. “Sonia and our son Christian, who was born in 2008, are still in Spain. That makes it very hard and I hope it will not take too long before they come to Holland and stay here.”



What makes drag racing so special for Eric to stay involved for so many years now? “To deal with the technics, it seems so simple but it’s so complex. Everything has to be 100% at the right moment. And the tension, the moments of glory but also the disappointments.” In his spare time the 39-year-old Eric is an indoor football referee. “I already refereed in Holland and did it in Spain too. That’s where I learned Spanish. At first I really didn’t know what they said to me, but when they told me afterwards I knew I had to learn the language as soon as possible. The next time they said the same things to me I could send them off.”