ANDRA Top Doorslammer pilot, Murray O’Connor has smashed through the 6-second barrier with an amazing performance at last weekend’s Goldenstate Titles at the Perth Motorplex.
The long time racer took an aggressive approach to the first round of qualifying with the car’s tune-up and had to modulate the throttle over the pass with the carbon-bodied XM Falcon recording a strong 6.13-second pass at 236mph.
The second session saw the track cool a little, and with a small tweak to the tune-up, the Falcon scorched to a new personal best time and the first ever 5-second pass for the team with a 5.99 second run at 238mph.
“It was a very good run, I was happy to end up in the number four spot” smiled the West Aussie.
“But we have much, much more to come,” added O’Connor with absolute confidence.
Qualifying three saw the run delayed after the burnout and the resultant heat in the clutch saw Murray lift off the throttle early to coast through to a 6.07-second pass.
The first round match up saw Murray take on fellow West Australian, Marty Dack. After a conservative start the black Falcon made up enough ground to get the win at the stripe and progress to the semi-finals.
The semi saw a showdown with multi-time ANDRA Doorslammer Champion, John Zappia.
O’Connor was confident that he had the ability to run with Zappia but the Falcon’s Lenco transmission cried enough and gave up in a shower of sparks.
O’Connor concluded “We left the meeting with our heads held high, our hotrod went well but it’s ready to go quicker and faster again. It’s a great reward for all the hours that Joe, Mark Julie and the crew had put in during the off-season.
“Without the support of my dedicated crew and supporters including West Coast Siteworks, Go Green Racing CCN, Penrite Oil, CTE Mechanical, Dananni Hot Shots and Windrush Racing Composite, all this fun would not be possible.”
