The burgeoning Outlaw Radial class will be a highlight of the 46th annual Goldenstate Championships on November 9 at Perth Motorplex, with Ben Pisconeri’s stunning Ford Mustang expected to be one of the leading contenders.
Pisconeri’s testing pace has been on point, with a personal best pass of 7.62/180mph ahead of the opening round of the WA Drag Racing Championship points series.
“We think there is potential for some 7.5s and if we can do that we would be stoked,” he said. “We’d love to make the finals and to do that we just need reliability. Last season we had a lot of transmission and convertor issues.”
The transmission issues cited by Pisconeri saw a spectacular moment last season when a plume of smoke and liquid from underneath the car almost saw the Ford Mustang end up in the trackside walls.
“It split the transmission cooler and we were just lucky it happened in the first part of the track and not at the fast end,” he said.
Pisconeri’s Ford Mustang is one of the most unique in Australia, running a turbocharged four litre Intech six cylinder, as originally found in AU Falcons. The car itself is a 1965 model Mustang that belonged to Ben’s father Peter, which had been sitting in a shed.
“Dad wasn’t doing anything with the car so we decided to put one of my six cylinder combos in it and have a go,” Ben said. “The car was originally built in America, it is all steel and has all the glass, working indicators, lights and so on but it is not street registered here.
“My Dad used to race back in the Ravenswood days when I was a young fella, and I spent every second weekend at the drags. Ever since I got my licence I have been racing too, starting at the Wednesday night events for street cars.”
The Outlaw Radial drag racing division appealed to Pisconeri because of the ‘Chicago Shootout’ format. The racing is not handicapped, all cars race three times and the first to the finish line wins.
“We like being able to race all night, even if you’re not running so well, and it’s just a matter of taking on whoever lines you up and going the fastest you can,” he said.
The Goldenstate Championships will see sportsman qualifying begin from 10am on Saturday, November 9, with the feature program commencing from 5.30pm.
