Over 50 teams took to Hidden Valley Drag Strip for its first ever shake down since a multi-million dollar upgrade in 2010.
Starting Good Friday with some high octane action, competition cars and bikes made their first tentative steps onto the new race surface and were pleasantly surprised by the improvements put down by the Federal and Territory Labor Governments.
The AA/MA class Altered of Dennis Baylis ran the quickest pass of the day with an 8.0 at only 140mph. Baylis’ Altered lifted and carried the front tyres to the 330ft mark before popping the blower belt. It was still enough to net his second quickest time in the new car. The quickest bike pass for the day was Colin Sainsbury with a 10.319 second run.
Rumours throughout the pits were that several bike riders were also netting personal bests up to 0.2 seconds quicker than previous years.
“With the amount of work the HVDRA volunteers have put in over the past few weeks to get the track ready it was fantastic to see such positive feedback on the new facilities.” said HVDRA President, Jay Jukes.
Unfortunately the new track was not forgiving on drivelines with several competitors bowing out after damaging clutches, tailshafts, and a myriad of other parts due to the increased levels of tractions.
“We were told by Willowbank Raceway and Perth Motorplex that the new track would be far better than anything we have seen before and to expect breakages. The hard work has paid off and we now know that Hidden Valley is up to the standard to run some extremely quick times” explained Jukes.
In the Hogs Breath Mini Eliminator Freddy Soohoo’s Skyline was up against Troy Cameron in a Holden Gemini for the car finals. Soohoo took out the win with a 13.374 second pass on a 13.30 dialin. In the bikes Mike Lockhart defeated Tauri Minogue after Minogue broke out by only 0.007 seconds, running a 10.693 on a 10.7 dialin. Lockhart finished with a 11.052 on a 10.7 dial in.
The quickest street car for the night was Keelan Peck in his Ford XR6T with an 11.867 at 119.36mph. Fastest street bike went to Tauri Minogue with a whopping 10.7 at 137.72mph on his Suzuki GSX-R.
For the first time in 2011 the all new Colosseum was also christened. The honour of being the first burnout car to leave their mark on the virgin surface went to Territory local, Greg Reed. Reed’s Holden HQ left a perfect set of fresh black lines right through the Colosseum to the cheers of the crowd. His name will go down in history as the first to lay claim to the new dedicated burnout facility. Also in a first for the Valley, the LS2 powered Class 5 Australian Offroad truck of Ross Bohlin Ngintaka Racing also came to fry his tyres on the Colosseum. For such a large 4wd it was impressive to see spinning on a dime right in front of the Territory crowd.
Many teams are still eager to get some additional track time before the Macmahon Grand Re-Opening on the 13-14 May when 10 Top Doorslammer teams including current ANDRA Pro Series champion and current record holder, John Zappia converge on Darwin. To make the most out of the new facilities Hidden Valley Drag Strip will again open the doors next Friday night for a combined test & tune and Beat the Heat Off Street event. Gates will open from 6pm with racing underway at 7pm.
Photographs supplied by HighRPM. Check out all the pics from HighRPM here
Check out footage of burnouts in the Colosseum here
Do you want to rip a skid in the Colosseum? Do you want to get out there and race your mates or race the Beat the Heat team? Get down to Hidden Valley Drag Strip again this Friday, 29th April. Don’t forget, you can even take passengers!
Combined Test & Tune and Beat the Heat Off Street Series
Friday 29 April 2011
Gates open 6pm
Off Street Racing and T&T from 7pm
Burnouts at 9pm
Spectators $10
Competitors from $35
