Round 9 of the Australian Top Fuel Championship kicks off this holiday weekend at the 2013 Winternationals from Willowbank Raceway in Queensland.
After top qualifying and winning the recent Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway, Darren Morgan Racing has regained the lead in the championship and will be looking to extend that lead at Australia’s biggest and most spectacular drag race.
“We’ve made the final at the last three rounds on the calendar and we’re excited about what lays ahead this weekend,” said Darren Morgan. “Willowbank is renowned for great traction and with the cool winter air consistent 4.60s is what we’ll be aiming for.”
“With 4 qualifiers tuner Ben Patterson will have more opportunities than usual to get a handle on the track and weather conditions. At the Nitro Champs we were able to lay down five 4 second passes. This gives the team a great deal of confidence that we will be able to produce the performances we need to continue to move ahead of the field”.
Darren Morgan Racing will also be unveiling a new paint scheme thanks to Kingpins Kustom Paint and PPG. “The guys from Kingpins have done a fantastic job on the race car and we can’t wait to show it to all our fans at Willowbank”, said Darren. “I also want to say a huge thank you to our friends at K-Trans who are transporting the dragster from Mildura to the Winters so we can defend our championship lead.”
Also joining the team this weekend is the new marketing partner Replay XD Cameras. Replay XD Australia is proud to partner with DMR and capture the fastest drag racing action in Australia. The Replay XD1080, weighing in at only 90 grams, along with high quality engineered billet mounts designed specifically for racing are a perfect fit to capture all the DMR Top Fuel action in Full High Definition.
Damien Tomlins from Replay XD Australia explains; “The Replay XD1080 features a high-strength aerospace aluminium body – Mil-Spec hard-anodized for extreme durability to withstand the inherent demands of video-actionography like those experienced in Top Fuel. The XD1080 can capture footage in 1080P, 960P and 720P as well as time lapse recording and still images and has a range of mounting options to suit every application.”
The Winternationals is the most prestigious drag racing event on the ANDRA Championship calendar, made extra special this weekend when the 7 Top Fuel teams will also be vying for the ‘Mickey’ trophy in honour of the late great Mick Atholwood, who passed away on March 31 2012.
“Mick was a good mate of mine and it’s an honour to be competing for a trophy that bears his name at the largest drag racing event outside the USA,” said Darren.
Darren Morgan Racing would like to thank their sponsors, K Trans WA, Shannons Insurance and Victorian American Imports along with their many associate partners.
Current ANDRA Top Fuel Championship Points
1. Darren Morgan 605
2. Phil Lamattina 551
3. Steve Read 287
4. Damien Harris 257
5. Mark Sheehan 184
6. Allan Dobson 182
7. Luke Shepherd 87
8. Terry Sainty 87
9. Larry Dixon 72
10. Martin Stamatis 63
11. Phil Read 47
12. Tommy Johnson Jr 45
