The old adage may be that the family that races together, stays together, but when it comes to their competitive spirit father/daughter duo Anthony and Emma Begley take no prisoners and fans should expect no different at this weekend’s House and Land Expert Nitro Slam event at the Perth Motorplex (29 January).
The Begleys will compete at Nitro Slam as part of the WA Nitro Max Series, which will feature alongside the Direct Mining International Summer Slam Series and Dragon Bikes Nitro Bike, 150 of WA’s toughest Sportsman racers, and an exciting ‘Pit Party’ allowing fans to get up close and personal with their favourite racing heroes.
The pair head to this Saturday’s event fresh from a father v daughter B Final tussle at the opening round of the WA Nitro Max Series in December, where Emma successfully faced off against her dad Anthony – not only taking a convincing win, but also the low ET award for the meeting.
It was her third straight victory against her father, with both racers confirming there is no love lost on the track despite their strong relationship when the helmets are off.
“It was definitely a successful event for us – it was tough to begin with as we had issues with the car which saw us miss the first two races, but it was great to beat dad for the third time in a row in the final match-up,” Emma grinned.
“For me, it is a little more nerve wracking to line up against dad than other racers – there is the pressure of wanting to win so badly and beat him, as someone who I have looked up to my whole life and racing career. He definitely doesn’t let me have it easy and I reckon he is tougher on me than most racers to be honest, so it is certainly great when I can get the win.”
Anthony confirmed that when it comes to racing his daughter, he does her no favours: “It isn’t any different for me to be lining up against Emma, compared to lining up against any other racer,” he said.
“The B Final in December was really good – our two cars are quite different and hers is definitely fast, it has taken us a lot of years to get it sorted and I think she is probably going to be more competitive in this WA Nitro Max Series than I will be as my car is a little slower, but it is still a lot of fun.
“The last three times we have lined up against each other in different things she has beaten me – first in New Zealand for the Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Cars event, and then in Darwin earlier this year I had a fuel leak on the line, so she took the win.
“In December I tried really hard to get the jump on her on the line and get the holeshot, but it wasn’t enough, she drove around me and got the low ET of the night. I surely would have loved to win, but it is still good that she won, and it was great for us both to be back racing in front of the home crowd together as she has now moved back to Perth after being in Sydney for some time,” he said.
Emma and Anthony thank Graeme and Wendy Cowin of Aeroflow Performance Products – who are their partners in the cars and for who they race in the Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Cars Series – for their support and sponsorship of Chucky’s Toy (Anthony) and Dark Knight (Emma), as well as Applied Automotives, 89 Enterprises and Speed Torque.
“Next weekend we will be working hard to keep the back wheels of Chucky’s Toy on the ground by putting some more wing in it, and get a bit more speed, but with such a short wheel base it is out of control and really good fun to drive,” Anthony said.
“We are really looking forward to the event and seeing everyone, there should be a fantastic line up of WA’s nitro cars which will be really great to see.”
Emma has her eye on an event win this weekend: “The aim is to get down the track for all three races and hopefully come away with a trophy. Whatever happens I want to thank my mum and dad for giving me the opportunity to race, and also my brother Connor – he would normally be running Dark Knight but with his knee surgery he hasn’t been able to. He has been so very supportive of me and my partner Shane and our crew.”
Racing at the January 29 House and Land Expert Nitro Slam event will commence from 11.00am with qualifying ahead of the main feature program from 5.30pm to 10.00pm (times approximate only), while the Pit Party will be held at 4.00pm in the pit area. For more event information or to buy tickets, go to https://motorplex.com.au/nitroslamm/
For more information about the Perth Motorplex, go to www.motorplex.com.au
– Images by Phil Reeve & High Octane Photos
– Perth Motorplex Media
