Rob Pilkington is aiming for a third straight Top Alcohol win in Perth when the ANDRA Drag Racing Series opens up for the category at the Pro Showdown on January 31/February 1.
Coming off a successful ‘testing’ phase where he reset the national record in AA/FC trim at the opening round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship just over a week ago, Pilkington has turned his focus to the pro circuit.
“Now the challenge is on for us to see if we can perform a three-peat of our wins as part of the Top Alcohol national championship,” he said. “The competition is only getting tougher and we will definitely have our work cut out to defend our title but we feel as a team we are more than capable a fending off the challengers.”
Perth suffered a heat wave last weekend that had teams and officials alike clamouring for solutions, as the excessive temperatures played havoc with the track surface and the comfort of both racers and officials.
However the rising mercury was a blessing in disguise for the Alutech/CTS Low Loaders team who buttoned their setup back to the less aggressive AA/FC specs and netted a new national speed and elapsed time record in the process.
“We really are indebted to the Motorplex track staff for our success on the weekend. To think that they would work out in 42 degree heat just because of their passion for the sport is very humbling,” he said.
Pilkington’s crew also savoured winning the event, that included the first of the new silver Christmas tree trophies ANDRA has release.
“This will take pride of place on the mantelpiece for sure,” he said. “It’s cool to be among the first recipients of these, and because our sport so highly values its history, it’s a big privilege to be a part of Australian drag racing history.”
In addition to Pilkington’s victory on a national level, the win also promoted him another forty points back in the direction of track championship leader Al McClure who now leads by a slim 27.5 points.
“I’m relieved to have pegged him back a bit, because Al is so consistent that he just keeps getting big points every meeting, so with four rounds remaining, we’ve officially passed the half way point for the season and we need to shut him down quickly,” he said.
Image by High Octane Photos.
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