Now seven time straight Australian ANDRA Top Doorslammer Champion John Zappia wrapped up his 2013-2014 season in Sydney at the Australian Nationals with a less than desirable finish, but put on a great show for the crowd with his wild drives on a tight and tricky track.
“The meeting was full of drama,” said a lamenting Zappia.
“The weather threw big curve balls to all the teams most of the weekend. From thunderstorms to searing heat, the set-up for the Fuchs/Striker Crushing Monaro was challenging and we suffered a lot of tyre shake, the track was really killer, and caught us out with our decision making.”
With pedaling qualifying runs of 6.076 @ 243.55mph and 6.205 @ 221.74mph, Zap slipped behind Kapiris’ 5.790 (top qualified), Bishop 5.954, and Dack 6.033 to take fourth spot in qualifying order.
“Round one ended up a solo as Fabietti could not present, the air dropped quickly to 1000 feet corrected and the Crusher made plenty of power. The car launched hard and straight, started rattling after sixty foot and went right– so I pedaled and punched second, it came around towards the wall so fast I was able to get the car around enough and slide it in sideways to the wall, and idle down through the finish line to the braking area”.
The Zappia Racing crew assessed the damage in the pits and made the call to pull out of the semi-final, the damage was too great to take any risks and as the championship was already wrapped up.
“The event was disappointing for us, but looking back on the season we are pretty happy with the end result – our seventh back-to-back Championship. It’s a big result for our co-naming rights sponsors – Fuchs Lubricants, and Striker Crushing and Screening, they have supported us in their sponsorship, and we have been able to reward them with a top result again”.
After a slow start to the season the team regrouped to power through the latter stages.
“It was a mixed season with the first three rounds a struggle, then we moved into the winning groove for the next five events after a set-up change allowed us to be more consistent,” said Zappia.
“A big thank you to all the crew who have put in their valuable efforts on this long season. Continued support from our naming, major and supporting sponsors has continued to give the team depth and confidence, and our gratitude is extended to them”.
“Also a big thank you to all our supporters and well-wishers who follow us give us the encouragement to keep putting on an exciting and professional show”.
“There will be no let up as we get back to repair the Fuchs/Striker Crushing Monaro and hopefully be back on track at the Perth Motorplex for the 15th November”.
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