A side by side three second, full candles blazing C-Final victory that had the crowd on its feet has highlighted a character building weekend for Hydraulink Jim Read Racing at the Perth Motorplex at the weekend.
The Sydney-based team was on-track in WA for round three of the NDRC Top Fuel Championship chase, the 54th annual Westernationals.
They headed to the Kwinana Beach venue as the twice defending event champions after lifting the winning trophy in both 2024 and 2023.
However, the hat trick wasn’t in the cards for the team across March 1 and 2, with the Hydraulink Jim Read Racing team and driver Phil Read struggling with the dragster unloading in the opening two rounds.
In round one, Read faced off against Wayne Newby for a visually stunning side by side run to open the Top Fuel proceedings for the evening to the delight of the large crowd, with Newby’s 3.987 second pass at 440.35kph enough to pip Read’s 4.003/446.35kph effort.
In round two, the Hydraulink Jim Read Racing Top Fuel Dragster lined up against Peter Xiberras, running into trouble early in that run for a 4.708 second pass at 257.37kph to Xiberras’ winning 3.895/473.36kph result.
These results saw Read sent to the C-Final against Phil Lamattina, and it was here that the team’s fortunes turned around for a truly crowd-pleasing run to round out the Westernationals weekend for the team, with a blazing 3.862 second pass at 455.41kph against Lamattina’s 3.934/408.13kph effort seeing Read celebrated as the victor.
“That was a great way to end our weekend here in Perth,” smiled Phil Read.
“We came here with big expectations, we were really hopeful of a hat trick, and this place has been so kind to us in the past so we absolutely love coming here.
“Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be, but how good has the crowd been this weekend and how good was that last run – it was a nice way to wrap things up here.
“Now our attention turns to Dragway at The Bend – last time we were there, we not only won but also set new national records, so here’s hoping we can see a return to that kind of form for the Riverbend Nationals there next month!”
“It is definitely tricky once you lose in the first run as then in the second run, your fate rests with everyone else losing, and you really want to be making your own fate out there,” added Hydraulink Jim Read Racing Crew Chief, Bruce Read.
“We weren’t able to master the right hand lane like the others were and we didn’t have things go our way, but we ended on a pretty strong note.
“While disappointed to not have made the trifecta a reality this weekend, any day at the race track is a winner and we have really enjoyed once again being here in Perth and putting on a show for what was a really great crowd this weekend.
“We were also very pleased to have 120 Hydraulink guests here with us this weekend, and while we weren’t able to bring the big trophy home for them, we were pleased to be able to offer them a chance to get up close and personal with this incredible sport of ours.”
Hydraulink Jim Read Racing will next be on-track with the NDRC Top Fuel Championship at Dragway at The Bend’s Riverbend Nationals across April 5-7. For event information, visit www.ndrc.tv
Hydraulink Jim Read Racing is supported on track by Hydraulink, Valvoline, Snap-On, McDonalds, FXD Workwear, Comp Cams, PremiAir Hire, Odyssey Batteries, PMP Motorsport Products, Oasis Aquatics, Oasis Heat Pumps, Speed Gas, Spa Electric Pool Lighting, Pacific Pools and Sander Engineering. The team also thanks Richard Smith for his assistance with photography services. To learn more about Hydraulink Jim Read Racing, visit https://www.facebook.com/JimReadRacing
