Oversees
Member Inducted 2007
Ton Pels
History
The first Overseas member of the British Drag Racing Hall of
Fame. The Godfather Ton Pels has been racing since 1970 and started
on a variety of 250cc two-stroke bikes, soon changing to a 500cc
Triumph on nitro. In 1977 he brought out a double-engined Triumph
and this machine received the first-ever set of Puma cylinder heads
in 1980, which were designed by Ton. Rebuilt in 1982 and renamed
The Double Dutch Puma, in the next six years, this bike
won Ton a string of National Championships. Then, having started
the Zodiac business selling aftermarket and performance parts for
Harley Davidson, Ton went Pro Stock with a Harley and ran this
machine until 1991, becoming the first ever Harley Pro Stock bike
to run an eight.
In 1992, Ton and son and Crew Chief Vincent built their first
Godfather Supertwin and won the European Championship in
the bike's first season. This bike also became the first European
Harley (and third in the world) to break the 200 mph barrier,
winning the 1996 European Championship in the process. In 2004 Ton
repeated this feat with the current Zodiac bike, which will be
ridden by relative youngster Roel Koedam from the start of the 2007
campaign.