Cold and wet conditions greeted competitors at the Grand Opening event for Perth Motorplex, with crowds also staying away as the weather threatened to put an early end to proceedings.
With dedicated efforts to restore the track to a dry state and give racers something resembling a raceable surface, most brackets were able to complete their final rounds with the exception of Super Sedan.
the following images are with thanks to Phil Luyer of High Octane Photos/Facebook.
Top Comp received just one qualifying session due to the effects of the weather and most competitors struggled to get down that track. That resulted in the unheralded Steve Aldridge qualifying in number one position with a .65 over 6.54 in Top Doorslammer trim. Al McClure was expected to make an impact but withdrew after the first qualifying session with damage to the motor and a lot of work to do ahead of his trip to the Australian Nationals to pursue a championship in Comp.
Eliminations boiled down to Wayne Keys against Russell Ladbrook in the A Final and Daniel Gregorini facing Shane Weston in the B Final.
Both Weston and Gregorini turned in rather average times, with Weston taking the best of it on a 7.14 in his Top Alcohol dragster.
Keys (pictured) had more luck against Ladbrook, hooking up with an incredible .958 60 foot time in the AA/AP classed Holden Monaro, having a pedal but going through for a 6.04 win to Ladbrook’s chasing AA/FC 6.26.
A small Super Comp field of just five cars fronted the starter. Colin Mortimore busted out an 8.28 to be right on the G/Gas national record and lead the field into eliminations.
Super Comp is using a new handicapping system this year with racers running off a national record with no index added.
The final boiled down to Mortimore up against Errol Quartermaine. Things then went awry for Mortimore however with the Oldsmobile unable to start, leaving Quartermaine to take an 8.37 solo win.
Competition Bike featured six riders in eliminations, the smallest field for some time with a few regulars not turning up on opening day.
Neil Anderson smashed out a -.82 under (Competition Bike is still using an index handicapping system) 8.69 which we are pretty sure is the quickest ever B/SB pass in the country. Ross Smith was also sub record with an 8.27 in C/AB.
Unsurprisingly those same two riders reached the final. There Smith put a holeshot on Anderson and was able to run it out for an 8.32 win against an 8.90.
Stronger in entries was Supercharged Outlaws with 15 cars making it to racing. Kelvin Lyle put his 37 Chev Funny Car into top spot with a near dead-on 6.505.
Wayne Batson (above, right) and Gregory James (above, left) worked their way to the final round. James took a .014 to .050 holeshot but in an extremely narrow double break out decider Batson came away with the win light on a 6.850 pass with a 6.88 dial in to James’ 7.139 on a 7.17.
Michelle Osborn continues to see six second runs on the horizon with a strong 7.09 pass to top qualify in Modified.
Modified is now an almost 50% female field and four out of the top five qualifiers had a couple of x chromosomes running around.
Alesha Adamos (above, right) reached the final alongside Simon Lekias (above, left). A -.008 red light from Lekias ended things early, fortunately for Adamos who abandoned her pass early as wind got hold of the car.
Troy Slamar had Super Sedan qualifying under control by a large margin with a 7.12 from the Ford FG leading the way.
Super Sedan made it to the semi finals where Slamar, Martin Mirco and Kevin Hort were due to race, but unfortunately that was all for the night for their eliminations.
Ross Garrett not only top qualified in Modified Bike with an 8.60 but also made it through to the final to race against Brett Allen (above). Allen nabbed a .058 to .138 holeshot, but a double breakout made things a little more hairy than he would have liked. His 8.862 on an 8.90 was just enough to take a win over Garrett’s 8.542 on an 8.60.
Nicholas Wroe ran a dead-on 11.000 in Super Street qualifying which needless to say had him in top position.
In yet another double break out final, Craig Caton picked up a win with an 11.09 on an 11.12 against an 11.95 on an 11.99 from Richard Stevens.
Kyle Higgins did the double in Junior Dragster with a top qualifying performance and a win. His .045 to .174 holeshot was of assistance in pushing opponent Katrina Bowman to a breakout loss.
Last but not least, a group of Top Fuel Motorcycle riders put on a six bike exhibition. Among them was Terry Burnett, above. Quickest for the night was Mark Ashelford who went 6.99.
The next event for the WA series is on November 15, which will see Top Doorslammer and Top Alcohol battling out in a ‘WA championship’.
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