Perth Motorplex test day shakes out the cobwebs

Perth Motorplex has opened up its drag racing season with its first FAST Series event of the year and first open test and tune.

A green track faced racers for Saturday’s FAST opener, scraped back to concrete and in need of rubber. Cool conditions weren’t conducive to laying a good amount of rubber down and the track stayed loose for most of the day, but Sunday’s warmer conditions brought better traction – so much so that recently crowned 2014 Australian Top Doorslammer champion John Zappia was able to lay down his quickest pass yet at the Motorplex, a 5.778.

Perth Motorplex drag racing manager Rod Britton said it just needed the right conditions to bring the track around.

“Nothing extraordinary came from Saturday night. Obviously, it was the first time race cars had been down the strip in six months,” he said. “The cool conditions (22C and humidity) led to around low 70s F track temp which never allowed for rubber to build up on the track.

“All it needed was heat and rubber. We did a lot of work to the track on Friday. The Doorslammer guys had to take clutch weight out and ignition timing just to get down the track.

“On Sunday for the test and tune, the Doorslammer guys were caught out by going straight into tyre shake on their first run. They began adding more and more clutch and power to the track. By the end of Sunday, Zap said he threw everything at the track he had. It did literally change from a very greasy track Saturday night due to a green surface, low temps and humidity, to when it came around on Sunday when the track sat at around 101F track temp most of the day.”

The following images are thanks to Phil Luyer of High Octane Photos/Facebook.

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