Celebrating its 50th year, the annual Goldenstates returned with NDRC series rounds for Top Doorslammer and Top Fuel Motorcycle for the 2024 edition at the Perth Motorplex.
A supreme 13 entries for Top Doorslammer lined up for the battle in the West, unfortunately the field was reduced to 11 come the start of the All Run Format. Steve Aldridge was back on track with his Barracuda following a lengthy repair after a crash, however did not complete the re-licensing requirements during qualifying. And Mark Chapman’s gorgeous Plymouth Fury suffered severe tyre shake that tore the parachutes mounts off the chassis, and the repairs need were to extensive to be done in time for racing.
CHAMP IS BACK: Following an ordinary start to his first title defence at the Spring Nationals, Russell Taylor was back making statements and will be the one to beat this season once again. Taylor belted out a 5.68 to top qualifying and earn a round one solo where he delivered a 5.72, before dropping a quicker ET to dispense Frank Taylor in round two with a 5.65. The A-Final was a showcase of the new talent in Top Doorslammer, Taylor, last season’s championship winning rookie versus the latest young gun in the sport with a pedigree in Brodie Zappia, Taylor did not play safe setting low ET of the event with a 5.645 for the win.
“It is a good feeling (to get the win) – it is good to be back in Perth and get one under the belt again, after Adelaide’s season opener it was a bit of a Debbie Downer, so I am very happy to be here,” Taylor said.
“We can’t wait for the next round of NDRC, it is a great series.
STAR RISING: With Zappia as your last name you know expectations are high, and so far Brodie – nephew of the Top Doorslammer king John – has handled it smoothly, progressing successfully through the sportsman ranks to his debut in Top Doorslammer with one of his uncle’s former championship winning Monaros. Still in the early stages coming accustomed to controlling a Top Doorslammer the team have slowly been feeding in the horsepower and stepping up the performance of Brodie’s Monaro. Qualifying eighth, Brodie’s solid 5.94 was enough to stay ahead of Matt Abel in round one and round two was a repeat match up with the same result on a slightly quicker 5.90 ET. Surprisingly, but with the carnage going on in the other pairings, the ET points where enough to send Brodie into the A-Final against Taylor. An A-Final was still a dream debut of the young gun, and while we have seen anything can happen in Top Doorslammer, the team were resigned to the fact they would not have enough yet under Brodie’s foot to combat the full force of Taylor. A losing 5.84 was the result and a new PB leaving the team exceptionally happy and proud of Brodie’s first foray into the professional class showing the potential with performance they have yet to unleash.
GREGORINI GREMLINS: Despite the historic win at the first round of the championship for Lisa Gregorini, both Scratch & Match Camaros were hampered by electrical issues. This all came to a head at the Goldenstates with Daniel’s only representative run coming against Lisa in round one that saw her take with win light with a 5.78 to a 5.76.
“My car had so many add-ons to the electrical system over the years that it was causing issues. That came to a head at the Goldenstates recently when our Electrimotion command module melted a bunch of wires and brought an end to our event,” said Daniel Gregorini after the event.
“Consolidated Group have been a great partner and they want to see us at our best, so with their help and that of Tyson at Harness-Tech we have fully rewired the car to ensure there are no further issues. Lisa’s car is also being rewired as we speak to prevent future issues. FuelTech have come on board this season as a sponsor and we are proud to be a part of their family of racers using their products and ECUs.”
COSTLY BACKFIRES:
It was a immensely bruising event on the John side of the Zappia Racing pit marred by a series of set backs beginning in Q1.
“I backed up from the burnout and noticed that Shane Catalano was stuck in the top end still on the track, and a tow vehicle was approaching to remove him. As I pulled up at the start line, I thought I was told to shut down, so I shut the motor off thinking we were waiting for Shane to be towed off,” explained John.
When the race was restarted, a crucial oversight led to further complications. Zappia had not reset the auto shift, so when the car launched, it only had first gear and went straight to the rev limiter and the run was over. Then in Q2 the Dananni Hotshots/FUCHS Monaro launched hard, clocking a blistering 3.72 seconds to the 1/8 mile at 203mph. Unfortunately, a supercharger backfire curtailed the run, resulting in a 6.04-second pass and a fourth-place qualifying position.
After a smooth 5.73 round one win against Maurice Brennan, the event went south again for Zap, ““I raced Maurice Brennan again, and the car launched hard, but the converter locked up, lifting the front wheels at the top of first gear. It came down on the second gear change and then got up on the back tyres again. I got to the 1/8 mile in 3.76 seconds, but another supercharger backfire forced me to coast to a 6.19-second win,” said Zap.
The backfire proved costly in more ways than one, losing on ET points that left John tied on overall points with his nephew Brodie for a spot in the A-Final – Brodie’s quicker 5.90 in the same round the deciding factor.
Relegated to the B-Final against Andrew Cole all hell then broke loose.
“The Monaro launched with a best-of-the-weekend 0.953 60-foot and 2.49-second 330-foot times and was on a mission when, just before the 1/8 mile, the supercharger backfired and erupted in a fireball, forcing me to coast to a 6.34. This allowed Cole to drive around me with a 6.02, and that’s when it got interesting,” said Zappia.
Unfortunately, when Cole pulled the parachutes his Corvette turned right in front of Zappia and crash into the wall, flipping onto its roof. With flames engulfing the supercharger and slowing the Monaro, Zappia had to navigate through debris scattered across the braking area that also cut down a rear slick. Zappia managed to stop 100 meters away from Cole’s wrecked car. Believing that emergency crews were attending to Cole, he activated his onboard fire system, which unfortunately failed to extinguish the fire. Quickly exiting the car, he witnessed the Motorplex fire crew arrive to put out the fire and also attend to Cole.
COLE CRASHES: It was a bittersweet for Andrew Cole, his bespoke Corvette Top Doorslammer looks stunning, and in round one earned the first five second ET for the shed-built team with a 5.98 win over Peter Kapiris, another win in round two on a 5.95 slid Cole into the B-Final against John Zappia who is at the opposing ends of the Top Doorslammer spectrum to Cole.
Chute problems have been hampering the Cole Corvette since its debut with several trips into the sand trap experienced, and even though Cole was on a dream run with performance defeating Top Doorslammer icons Peter Kapiris and John Zappia at this event, it all turned into a nightmare after crossing the strip in the B-Final. The Corvette’s chute failed to deploy and the car turned hard right flipping upside down and colliding with the wall in a shower of sparks before sliding to a stop. Fortunately Cole was uninjured and climbed out of the wreck to walk away, unfortunately the once stunning Corvette did nor fair as well. Since the event the car has been stripped bare and work begun on a new front half by Cole for repairs.
FIRST FIVE:
Top Doorslammer Gallery
Photos by Phil Reeve and On The Limit Photography
Perth Motorplex is the home to Top Fuel Motorcycle bur numbers were down at this event including the new record holder in Muscat who was still recovering from surgery following the Springnationals tumble in the sand . Seven bikes were entered, but that was reduced after qualifying with Tony Wood and Travis Lorraway unable to complete licensing, and the field was further reduced when Greg Durack and Ian Ashelford – who top qualified with a 8.479 – could not contest race day.
BACK TO BACK GOLDENSTATES: The Goldenstates once again proved a happy hunting ground for ‘Wayno’ McGuiness, last year’s event saw the Nitro Harley rider go head to head against Benny Stevens in a front wheel carrying duel to the finish line that was one of the races of the year across all professional categories. The result repeated itself again this year, but it wasn’t quite as spectacular as class struggled for representative runs.
“This win did not come without a lot of dramas, I will give you the tip!” said McGuinness. “It was a typical Goldenstates for us with dramas all weekend, but we overcame them, and we got the win.
“It is always good racing Benny, and we tried to put on a good show and keep it interesting!”
With Muscat unable to attend, McGuiness has levelled the championship points with a maximum points display.
The next round of the NDRC Top Fuel Motorcycle will be back at the Perth Motorplex for the Westernationals.
Top Bike Gallery
Photos by Phil Reeve and On The Limit Photography
