The XM Falcon Top Doorslammer of Murray O’Connor dug its heels in at the recent race meeting at Perth Motorplex but the O’Connor Motorsport team eventually got the carbon-bodied Ford to co-operate and in the process ran another personal best for the car.
“It was a tough start to the weekend! We had what we thought would be a strong but still conservative tune-up in the car but round one of qualifying saw some extreme tyre shake for us,” explained O’Connor.
“The tyre shake caused the diff to break at half track, which inturn allowed the engine rev up to 11,700rpm, dropping a valve in the process.”
Unfortunately the extra engine revs meant that O’Connor and his crew had to go straight back to the pit area for a replacement differential and a full engine tear down.
“We had an early start Saturday morning,” smiled the drag racing veteran.
“After replacing the diff, we had to change out all the pistons, pins, rods and prepare a spare pair of heads to get the engine back healthy condition.
“On top that, we also had to replace half of a set of rocker gear. We just made it out for the 6pm qualifier,” the laconic West Aussie added.
After a nice, strong burnout the team made the unwelcome discovery that they had also broken the gearbox.
After a quick repair and the gearbox back together at the last second for the final qualifier, O’Connor scorched down the track to lay down another personal best with a stunning 5.93-second pass.
O’Connor concluded, “That last lap put a few smiles back on some very tired faces. We’re looking forward to getting back out on track to keep chipping away at our performances – we still feel there’s more to come. But for now, it’s big thank you to my hard working team.”
