A character-building New Year Nitro weekend at Willowbank Raceway has seen PremiAir Racing save the best for last at what was round two of the 2024/2025 NDRC Top Fuel Championship.
On Sunday evening, Peter Xiberras joined with Phil Read to put on an impressive B-Final show for the large and enthusiastic crowd after a difficult weekend, with PremiAir Racing’s 4.212 second ET at 217.25mph the best pass of the weekend for the locally based Top Fuel outfit.
While Read was the one to hoist the B-Final trophy, it was a redemption run for Xiberras and his dedicated crew following a host of challenging outings across the January 25/26 weekend.
The event commenced with a test session and two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, before three rounds of all-run racing were conducted on Australia Day Sunday.
The test session delivered a half-track shut off (6.456/93.87mph) to open the books, before Xiberras laid down a 5.043/140.61mph pass in the first qualifier ahead of a 4.514s/170.11mph effort in the second to be fourth quickest on the qualifying ladder.
Race day and the PremiAir Racing team was full of vigour heading out for round one, however an unfortunate red light quickly put a damper on their spirits (9.266/81.27mph).
In round two, Lady Luck again had no favours for the team, with electrical issues becoming apparent during the burnout and off the hit, seeing Xiberras forced to get off the throttle very early for another nine second ET (9.743/84.31mph) and on his way to the B-Final against Read, who had had a similarly challenging weekend up to that point.
“It was such a relief to finally feel like we were going in the right direction in that B-Final, and while we couldn’t take the win, to deliver such a crowd-pleasing, full candles side-by-side pass for the fans was rewarding for me and the entire team,” Xiberras said.
“We worked our butts off in preparation for this event and in between every pass, but sometimes the luck just doesn’t fall your way, and that was certainly the case for us this weekend.
“The conditions out there were brutal with the heat and the humidity, which certainly didn’t help things for any of the Top Fuel or Nitro Funny Car racers.
“Even so, I am so proud of my team for their relentless commitment and dedication – they never gave up and never slowed down as we threw everything at it this weekend.
“It was certainly a case of saving the best for last this weekend, but we want so much more, and I can assure you we are already working on how we can make sure that our next time out can be a more winning affair for us!”
The next 2024/2025 NDRC Top Fuel Championship round will be held at the Perth Motorplex’s Westernationals across March 1-2. For event information, visit www.motorplex.com.au or www.ndrc.tv
Before then, PremiAir Racing will be on-track for the 2025 Supercars season opener, with the PremiAir Racing Supercars driven by Jimmy Golding and Richie Stanaway set to hit the track in Sydney across February 21-23. For event information, visit www.supercars.com
For more information on PremiAir Racing, please visit www.premiairracing.com or follow the team on its social media platforms at www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/, www.instagram.com/premiair_racing/, www.linkedin.com/company/premiairracing/ and www.twitter.com/premiairracing
