Round six of the WA Drag Racing Championships saw title chances rise and fade with a number of upsets to the leading contenders on February 16, 2019.
Outlaw Radial lived up to its wild reputation with Darryl Maxfield taking out the win with a quick 7.43sec. personal best pass in the final to defeat Timothy Roads.
The win came after a big wheelstand in the early rounds of racing, which threatened to derail Maxfield’s event.
“The wheelie was a big one,” he said. “That did get my attention and put me back into reality that this car has to be treated with the utmost respect.
“The win was an awesome feeling, being fairly new to racing.
“We have been taking baby steps every meet, because this car has a mind of its own. We throw everything at it and it goes slower, but then we back it off a bit and she runs harder.
“Jeff and Lundy from Streetbuilt Racing and Lundy Race Fabrication in Wangara spent about four weeks taking weight out, moving things around and playing with the setup. It paid off to break the previous 7.48sec. record we have been chasing for a while.”
Nick Panagopoulos claimed the Super Sedan victory, getting by Neil Scott in the final round. His win created the tightest championship fight of any bracket, with five drivers now separated by just ten points at the top of the standings!
“We were pretty stoked to get through to the final for the second meeting in a row and to come out on top this time was great,” Panagopoulos said.
“We struggled with our set up for the first few rounds of the season but have got on top of it all now and the car is running very consistently. We had some very tight races throughout eliminations but we put together some great packages to come out on top.
“The meeting went about as smooth as you could hope for and we didn’t have any issues at all.”
Jacob Mills earned a long awaited win in Super Street, defeating Paul McNamara.
“It felt really good to finally get a win,” he said. “I’ve had a heap of runner ups at the Motorplex but never a win. It only took seven years! I think it was just our day.”
Russell Ladbrook took out Top Comp with a 5.82 pass in his AA/FC in the A Final to defeat John Zappia. With points leader Sam Treasure falling in the opening round, the finals were wide open, with Ryan Moresby claiming the B Final over Stephen Del Caro.
Brett Ghedina returned to form in Competition Bike, riding to victory against Ross Smith, hitting a new personal best along the way of 7.30sec. Ghedina said it was seat time on his new bike that has proved most important so far to his season, as he learns what the machine likes.
Alan Mahnkoph and Jodie Mellitt appeared in their fifth final this season together in Supercharged Outlaws, with Mahnkoph taking out the win and further extending his points lead.
In contrast, Top Sportsman saw points leader Chris Roe bow out in round one to eventual finalist Amanda Martin. However it was Alby Bakranich who took the win for the night, using a better reaction time in the final round to help stay ahead of Martin.
Angelo Locantro was another driver to extend his points lead, claiming his third event win of the season in Modified by defeating Nicholas Wroe, while Modified Bike went Chris Moore’s way, as he got by Rob Good.
