SCRATCHED BUT NOT SCARRED, GREGORINI TEAM SHOWS GRIT IN NITRO CHAMPS RECOVERY

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Scratch & Match Motorsport experienced perhaps one of their wildest race weekends in history with a dramatic showing at Sydney Dragway for the Nitro Champs.

Both cars had two full days of testing planned in order to sort out suspension issues that showed up at the last round of the Australian Top Doorslammer Championship at The Bend Motorsports Park. Lisa Gregorini’s recently-lightened Camaro showed plenty of promise, as a four-link change resulted in a rapid 0.949 60-foot time and a 3.77 to the eighth-mile. A blocked injector nozzle unfortunately torched the block and head of the 3000 horsepower machine during the run. To make matters worse, only one parachute deployed, as the second wrapped around the wheelie bars. The car went into the sand trap at the end of the braking area but escaped major damage.

Things looked better for Daniel, as a flying 5.63 set the benchmark, despite a pedal in low gear.

With a complete engine swap required for Lisa, as well as other pre-event preparations, it was all hands on deck to be ready for qualifying.

The tide seemed to be turning for both cars as an enormous Sydney crowd watched on. After a faulty spark plug hampered her first qualifying pass, Lisa returned for an early shutoff 5.77 that secured seventh qualifying position.

“The car had a super-tough 0.939 60-foot time,” Lisa said. “It started to move around at the 1000-foot mark so I decided to shut it off and let it roll through.”

Daniel started his qualifying with a loose main power plug that ended his run almost before it started. The second pass, however, was a flyer at 5.67, but that was when things got crazy. Daniel experienced what he called the scariest pass he has ever made in his Camaro, a car he has put down a quarter-mile 1500 times.

“The car was clean and fast through the run, until it cracked a valve over the finish line and backfired the supercharger,” he explained. “I hit the chutes and had nothing. One chute started to grab as I went over the hill but it didn’t do much and I estimate I hit the gravel at 200 mph. I hit the sand square-on and it kind of skimmed the sand until it landed and dug the front left into the gravel. All I could do was brace myself as I prepared for the car to start to barrel roll. Thankfully as the car started to roll it intercepted the wall and net and that was what saved the car from rolling. I was unlucky not to have the chutes come out, but very, very lucky the crash was not far worse.”

This is not to understate the sheer amount of work that lay ahead of the Scratch & Match Motorsport team if they wanted to race on Sunday. The car was towed back on its wheels to the tech shed for an inspection, which was the first good sign. A chassis builder signed off on the condition of the chassis and then the team was let loose on the Camaro.

“When we got back to the pits we stripped the car, inspected it again, cleaned it, did a full engine rebuild, a full supercharger rebuild, and did a massive amount of carbon work to piece the body back together. I estimate 12 people worked 12 hours to get the car back to the stage where we could fire it up. A big thank you to all of the teams who offered help and assistance, including Gareth and Brody Davies for rebuilding the supercharger in the early morning, Joe Signorelli for a dash to his shop to get us some chromoly, and the entire A-Civil team for their help, food, and just making it all happen. I don’t know how we did it but it shows the strength and determination we have in every member of our team.”

Hopes were high for a triumphant Sunday, but relatively minor gremlins proved an impediment.

Lisa’s car suffered a sheared blower pulley as well as more spark plug issues, while Daniel’s car had an electrical issue that was thought to be due to a bad crank trigger but would prove more elusive.

While there were ups and downs for the Gregorini family, there were only positives for the Top Doorslammer class as a whole and the National Drag Racing Championship.

“Our class keeps growing and we are getting great feedback back from everyone including spectators,” Daniel said. “Our pre-race BBQs are growing, with over 100 people turning up at Sydney Dragway. We are a strong group of racers with one direction. It’s only going to get bigger and don’t be surprised if we see a 20-car field by the tail end of the season.

“The NDRC keeps going from strength to strength. The racers are supporting Top Doorslammer Australia (TDA) and TDA supports the NDRC. We have great leadership in Andy Lopez and his team and we can’t wait to keep pushing the limits, pushing the car counts and putting on a killer show. I don’t believe racing has ever been as quick and competitive as we saw in Sydney.”

The Australian Top Doorslammer Championship next heads to Willowbank Raceway on June 4-7.

Thanks to our partners

Scratch & Match Autocolour, Oil & Energy Pty Ltd, Kerb Doctor, A Civil Motorsport, Applied Automotive Performance Engines, Rain Smart Irrigation, Dalisa Estate Winery, S&S Industries