The Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship and the ANDRA Grand Finals combined for one of Australian drag racing’s strongest events in recent memory at Perth Motorplex.
A capacity crowd filled Perth Motorplex to witness the nitro dragsters do their thing, in what was the first time a Top Fuel championship round has been held at the venue since 2016.
After rain saw Friday qualifying curtailed early after the first session, a second session was scheduled for 2pm on Saturday to allow the teams to find their setups for the coming racing.
Wayne Newby seemed to have the car to beat, backing up his 3.819 from Friday night with a 3.818/316mph in the Rapisarda Autosport International car.
Peter Xiberras found his way down the Motorplex in 3.839 seconds, his top speed a booming 318mph.
Damien Harris improved to an early shut off 4.047, while Phil Lamattina yet again struck the tyres on the hit.
Hopefully there was no one too superstitious out there, as the ‘Kwinana Panther’ made an appearance before the first round of Top Fuel!
Xiberras took the first win light with a strong 3.849/316mph to defeat Shane Olive, whose Burson Auto Parts car had a small fire on board from early in the run.
Harris finally got a full power pass in to defeat Phil Read, a 3.864/318mph taking out Read’s tyre smoking pass.
A red light from Wayne Newby and then tyre smoke saw his run of consistency come to an end. Phil Lamattina was on fire as he went through the traps, a 4.041 getting the W but leaving the team with plenty of work to do.
Round two took place in front of a huge Perth Motorplex crowd – this is as good as it gets folks!
Xiberras used a 3.870 to take care of Olive’s 4.242 and secure himself an A Final position.
Harris and Newby delivered a stellar race, as Harris’ 3.800/322mph clinched the race win and an A Final appearance from Newby’s 3.881. Newby’s chutes did not deploy and he dropped his dragster into the sand at the end of the braking area.
The round closed with a pedalfest between Read and Lamattina, with Lamattina’s Fuchs car struggling through to a 5.155 win. Unfortunately his ETs would not be good enough to make it to the A Final.
With the curfew pending, the A Final was the first race on track for the final round. It was arguably the best fuel race of the season, as a 0.040-reacted 3.803 from Harris crossed the line a mere 0.4 feet ahead of Xiberras’ 0.011-reacted 3.835, prompting a wild reaction from the crowd.
Both Newby and Lamattina struggled in their B Final, with Newby’s car sluggishly getting away to a 1.02 60 foot time. Both teams had been thrashing in the pits to even make it to the line, and Newby’s rolling 7.399 would at least secure him some points.
Read managed to notch his only win light of the night in the C Final, as a pedalling 4.857 took down a hapless Shane Olive.
We will have much more from this huge event in coming days, including details about Chris Matheson’s awesome streak of 6.0 passes in Top Bike (including a 6.009, oh-so-close to a five), Stu Moresby’s amazing thrash to win in Top Doorslammer, and all the sportsman so stay tuned for more stories from Drag News.
