Willowbank Raceway was a hive of activity across the weekend as Jet Car Thunder delivered another adrenaline-fueled night to motorsport fans on Saturday while Street Machine Magazine brought their Drag Challenge Weekend to play as well.
Plenty of families felt the heat delivered by two Jet Dragsters and two Jet Funny Cars on Saturday evening. They were driven by some of the most experienced drag racers in the country including Top Fuel star Rachelle Splatt, former Top Fuel record holder and team owner Darren Di Filippo, South African Jet Dragster veteran Pieter De Wit and Victorian flamethrower Peter Bedford.
Splatt (above) proved quickest of the event, with a 5.89 second time, and claimed wins in all three rounds of racing in what was her first event in jet competition.
As well as the spectacular jets, the event also included a national championship round for the 400 Thunder Sportsman Series, where racers earned points towards Australian titles.
James Horan was consistently quick in Pro Radial, where his Toyota Hilux defeated Scott Hipwell in Pro Radial.
A quick reaction time proved the difference in the Supercharged Outlaws final, where Matthew McKnight’s holeshot against Josh Fletcher saw him gain the edge as both drivers went under their nominated dial ins. McKnight’s 6.431 on a 6.45 got the nod over Fletcher’s 7.380 on a 7.42.
Top Sportsman saw heartbreak for David Foreman as he foul started by a mere one thousandth of a second to hand victory to Allan Grimsey.
Super Sedan’s final resulted in Kevin Langridge getting a lucky break as he took out Michael Murphy. Langridge’s .224 reaction time was off pace compared to his previous rounds but with Murphy running off his dial in, it would prove enough to take home the 400 Thunder trophy.
Shawn Taskis had similar fortunes in Super Street, where an even worse .721 reaction time would be enough to win when opponent Ray Ross broke on the start line.
James Lowday was victorious in Junior Dragster, defeating Kyle Magner in the final round.
Willowbank Raceway’s busy autumn only ramps up from here with the running of the Queensland Autospectacular on April 22, Nostalgia Drags on April 29, Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Cars on May 12 and then the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals from June 7 to 10.
For more epic photos from the event check out the gallery below thanks to Dave, Dave and Grant at DragPhotos and make sure to head to dragphotos.com.au for the full set.
