After setting their quickest pass of the season so far during qualifying for the Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway Darren Morgan Racing (DMR) entered Eliminations among the favourites for the title but it wasn’t to be as the AEG Dragster was knocked out in the Semi Finals by eventual winner Mark Mariani. 
With the first qualifying session being cancelled halfway through due to unsafe track conditions DMR and Terry Sainty were behind on data heading into the second session on Saturday. But despite the lack of track time DMR still managed to record its fastest pass of the season with a blistering off the trailer 4.669 @ 323.66 mph in Round 2 of Qualifying. “It was a really good run. Our quickest pass for the season so far. It ended up being good enough to claim the top spot in qualifying which was really satisfying” added Darren after qualifying.
After being caught out by the track conditions Darren was forced to pedal the car in the third round of qualifying with the result being an off the pace 5.836 second pass at 152.61mph.
Along with the prestige that goes with being the top qualifier DMR also received an added cash bonus of $2500 as the qualifying round incorporated the opening leg of the Louie Rapisarda Tribute. “I must thank Santo (Rapisarda) for his contribution to the sport and I congratulate him and his team on the win” added Darren in an appreciative manner following the event.
The opening round of eliminations saw DMR line up alongside local Sydney racer Terry Sainty with Darren producing a 4.738 pass @ 299.66 mph, taking the win easily over his rival. “That was a good run. The track conditions were a little warmer than qualifying. It was on the way to a high 4.6 pass but the chutes fell out at 1000ft” commented Team Owner and Driver Darren Morgan.
Unfortunately for DMR, their event concluded during the semi finals for the second event in a row as a mechanical issue with the engine ended their run. “The whole team was very disappointed that we didn’t progress further as we had a good handle on the track conditions and we were confident of a good result” added Car Chief Ben Patterson following the semi final pass.
But on a positive note the qualifying speed of 323 mph was the fastest ever mph by DMR and their first ever 520 kph pass. The Sydney Dragway event also attracted good crowds throughout the weekend and some tremendous racing, including some of the best action that the Top Fuel bracket has produced in some time.
Once again DMR must thank AEG POWERTOOLS for their continued support and for the second event in a row their new paint scheme attracted a lot of attention.
For those of you who are unaware this was the second event that AEG had been the naming rights sponsor for DMR and they have extended their association with the Mildura based Team to include the upcoming Winternationals in June and the opening round of the 2010/ 11 season.
The next event for DMR will be the 2010 Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway with a huge four day meeting to be staged between the 10th and the 13th of June, 2010. The event is the final event of 2009/2010 season so you can be sure that the entire DMR Team will do everything they can to secure the Winternationals crown. “The car has been performing very well over the back half of the season. It has been very consistent, the aim is to turn that consistency into a Gold Christmas Tree.”
www.darrenmorgan.com.au
