Phillips, Kapiris head Goldenstates qualifying

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A stunning 5.46/263 by Gary Phillips in his Lucas Oils Top Alcohol Funny Car was the highlight of the qualifying show at the Goldenstates in Perth.

The run was the quickest ever in Top Alcohol in Australia and included a 3.60/210 half track figure.

Unfortunately it went awry from there for Phillips as the chutes did not deploy and he went in very hot into the braking area, barrell rolling over the catch net with the car coming to a stop just before the tyre wall. Phillips was kept in hospital for observation over night but did not have any serious injuries and spoke to the crowd after the crash.

With Phillips then likely to withdraw, only Aaron Deery who hurt a motor on his only pass of the night, will miss the field.

Rob Pilkington made it into second with a PB 5.55 pass, with Wayne Newby settling into third with a 5.63 and the most consistent car in the field as he stayed in the 5.6s all night.

Adam Marchant’s 5.65 placed him fourth, followed by a 5.68 from Rick Gauci in the Aeroflow Funny Car, a 5.74 from Debbie O’Rourke, a last ditch 5.90 from Shane Weston and a 6.10 from Wayne Price.

All of those competitors are likely to be bumped up a spot when Phillips withdraws, meaning Jeffrey Clarke will be in the field, but with plenty of damage to his own dragster after a mechanical mishap, will he make it for round one?

In Top Doorslammer Peter Kapiris led the way with a 5.84. It was a good comeback after an earlier 5.88 was disqualified due to the chute pins being in place still after the burnout.

Robin Judd took second with a pedalling 5.86 followed by John Zappia’s 5.92.

Andrew Sutton was perhaps surprised to be as high as fourth with a PB 6.06 pass from the Corvette, while Marty Dack’s four-speed Auto One Falcon managed a 6.07.

Daniel Gregorini’s thrash to change motor after putting rods out in Wednesday testing was rewarded with a 6.18 pass to get into the field, while Maurice Fabietti’s 6.33 was not the quickest pass he was after but got him into the show. Murray O’Connor held the bump with a 6.62 leaving Pino Priolo (6.66) and Maurice Brennan (8.04) on the outside looking in.

Remember to tune in to DNA’s live coverage later today for the ANDRA Pro Series eliminations.

 

 

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