Daniel Gregorini has a first Top Doorslammer national championship in his sights after winning the Westernationals at Perth Motorplex on Sunday.
Gregorini’s Scratch & Match Motorsport Camaro turned in a dominant performance, taking every single point on offer including for the win, top qualifying, low ET and top speed.
Taking home the ANDRA gold Christmas tree was a rewarding experience for what has been an extremely busy month for the team, who have recently launched a second car for team co-owner Lisa Gregorini.“We have done four track hires in the past five weeks, plus an ANDRA test and tune, but I’ve only done one pass to test a new camshaft, the rest of the time has been focused on Lisa,” Daniel explained.
“She has made nearly 20 passes so far and is up to half track licensing. Our goal is to have her fully licensed for the start of the 2022/23 ADRC season in Darwin. While it has required a lot of our attention as Lisa and her team grow, I’ve also found myself learning because I am tuning a car from the outside for the first time.”
Gregorini began qualifying in strong form, as changing weather conditions made tuning something of a roulette game. “I went into the trailer at 3.30pm to prepare a tune up and the track was over 125F, but by the time I came out of the trailer the track temp had dropped by 20 degrees and I was needing to rethink my plan of attack. We had a fair bit of wheel spin on the first run for a 5.74 but then in Q2 the track came to us and we were able to send it for a 5.71.
“For Q3 we watched the session to see if anyone was going to take the number one spot from us, and we actually didn’t plan to make a run. But I decided that we really should get some data in case we made it to the finals the next night, so we made a 500ft hit which gave us what we needed,” said Daniel.
The consistency of the Camaro gave Gregorini confidence in his chances for eliminations. The first round saw a 5.806 to defeat Frank Taylor, before an exciting 5.747 to 5.828 race against Stu Moresby.
“We watched Zap step it up in round one so for the semi final we fired back in a great side-by-side contest with Stu. The 5.74 gave us lane choice for the final,” he said.
What followed would be one of the best races in the season. A 0.068 to 0.105 holeshot to Gregorini set the scene, as a 5.730 defeated a quicker 5.728.
“Before the fire up we wished each other a safe race and then it was all or nothing for both of us with the championship points on the line. There were no games played and I know both of us were doing the sums in our heads on what the race would mean,” commented Daniel.
“As I rolled through the tunnel I thought to myself, ‘It’s time to get every point I can.’ When I left the start line the yellows were still on but then they went off so I knew I cut a good light. I didn’t see John until about the 1200ft mark when I could see his nose just coming alongside my door. Normally I don’t look out for the win light but this time I did when I pulled the chutes. I saw that little green light outside my window and it was a huge relief. Another epic race between myself and John.”
Fans are now going to be treated to a fantastic battle for the championship at the ADRC Top Doorslammer Grand Final in April. Gregorini said the bonus points will be key to maintaining his 48-point lead.
“The points are close and if you can get all the bonus points those are worth half a round win, so we’ll prepare the car to our best abilities. Whatever happens, happens, but I would sure love to take that Christmas tree trophy and our first national Top Doorslammer championship.”
“Before the Grand Final we have Nitro Max on March 26, so we will use that as an opportunity to get on top of our new engine and cam combo,” he added.
The team wishes to thank its major sponsors Scratch & Match Autocolour, Kerb Doctor, Westcoast Siteworks, Kendall Oils, S & S Industries and Dalisa Estate Winery, as well as supporting sponsors Signbiz WA, PT Promotions, Go Print, Dirty Detailing, Final Drive Engineering, Gforce Race Cars, Resolution Racing Services, DMPE and Applied Automotive.
