Hydraulink Jim Read Racing has given its all in hot and humid conditions at the Hidden Valley Drag Strip at the weekend, for the final round of the 2022 Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship.
While all teams struggled with the conditions on Friday, the Reads were able to lay down the best pass of the evening to secure the Top Qualifying bragging rights and lead the field into the final day of racing for the season on Saturday evening.
Two close races for the Reads followed, with fan pleasing runs in both round one against Wayne Newby and round two against Damien Harris.
In round one, driver Phil Read had a huge drive job on his hands but held onto it to have the fans applauding both cars over the finish line, with Newby taking a narrow victory with a 3.996 second pass to Read’s 4.021 second effort.
In round two, it was a full candles blazing run for Read and Harris to the fan’s delight, but with dropped cylinders for the Reads it was Harris who would take the advantage at the line with a 3.911 ET to Read’s 4.279.
In the third and final round of racing, the Hydraulink Top Fuel Dragster faced off against Newby once again for the C Final, but unfortunately an oil leak on the startline saw the campaign ended early.
“The track was prepped really great, it was killer! And that is what caught out pretty much every team on Friday, it was a lot better than we were thinking it would be,” Read said.
“We shook our tyres on Friday in the last run, but we still set the low ET for both rounds of qualifying and that saw us off to a good start for the weekend with the Top Qualifier spot.
“We finessed things overnight and came out Saturday full of vigour for a huge three rounds of racing.
“Rounds one and two were certainly enjoyable for those watching, but unfortunately while we put on an entertaining show, we were unable to turn on the all-important win lights.
“It was a shame also that we weren’t able to mount a performance in the C-Final with an oil leak seeing me having to shut off immediately after the launch, but that is the way it goes sometimes.
“While this might not have been the end to the season we were hoping for, we hope the fans enjoyed the show and we can’t wait to come back to Darwin this time next year – it is a really amazing place to race, even if it was much more hot and humid than we are used to down South!
“Thank you to all the fans for their support, to our crew for their unwavering dedication, to the team behind the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship for a great season, and to our sponsors Hydraulink, Valvoline, McDonalds and www.screwfast.com.au.
“Finally – we must send a hearty congratulations to Peter Xiberras on taking out the title and to Rapisarda Autosport International on the event win.
“Rest assured, the work has already begun on the coming season, and we are 100 percent laser focused on hoisting the big trophy this time next year!”
The 2022/2023 season will commence at Alice Springs Inland Dragway as part of Red CentreNATS across September 1-2. For more information about the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship, visit www.topfuelaustralia.com.au
To learn more about Hydraulink Jim Read Racing, visit https://www.facebook.com/JimReadRacing
