John Zappia has returned to the top of the ANDRA Top Doorslammer points table following victory at the X-Champs at Sydney Dragway on Sunday.
Zappia defeated arch rival Peter Kapiris with low ET of the event, a 5.79.
“What a defining moment in our championship race,” he said. “Going into today (Sunday) I have to say I was completely lost in my tune up after yesterday’s qualifying – as were many other teams.
“I am a weather watcher and my online programs were telling me finals day was going to be just like the day we tested during the week where we did a pedalling 5.9. So I went back to that tune up, and that decision ended up underpinning our day’s consistent racing.”
In cold conditions during qualifying, Zappia finished up third with a 6.01 and reconsidered his race day set up.
“We went back to Wednesday’s tune up, changed a gearbox and lined up against Marty Dack for round one,” he said. “I cut a good .054 light and ran a straight 5.84 @ 251mph to Dack’s red lighting 6.12 @ 223.17mph.
“Just a few quick repairs on the Crusher and a very few fine adjustments to the tune and we presented against my old mate Victor (Bray) for round two. The car ran straight with a hint of shake but I just drove through it for a 5.82 @ 251.72 – fastest speed for the event. Victor got out of it after shaking I think – I never really saw him in my vision.”
The much anticipated final had the West Australian Zappia quietly confident against his Victorian opponent Kapiris.
“He (Kapiris) was not as quick as he can be but (I) was still wary of him pulling out a fast run,” Zappia said. “The car launched well (1.02 60 feet time), but rattled a little bit so I punched second and it hooked up hard moving to the right – a little like Zap’s Rat used to – so I yanked it back hard and ran it through for a 5.79 @ 250.83 win over Pete’s 5.98 @ 229.66mph. I wiped off some speed with the wander, but a strong back half made up for it.
“Absolutely fantastic to get the win. Our hard working crew put in a great effort – and they are very calming around me, such is their experience and manner of working.”
With qualifying points, 100 points for winning the event and gaining low ET and top speed John Zappia has now jumped ahead of former points leader Stu Bishop.
“Great result for the team, but still a lot of work to do as it’s a long season,” he said. “Today (Sunday) was super consistent with 5.84, 5.82 and 5.79 runs and our engine package super strong.
“A big thanks to Ray Treasure and Sydney Dragway for giving us a killer track this weekend. We were glad we could give Fuchs Lubricants the win and Craig Pedley from Striker will be over the moon his car has won another Gold Christmas Tree.”
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