After starting on a high by winning round one of the Australian Top Fuel Motorcycle Championship earlier this year, multiple Australian champion and current national record holder Chris Matheson has come back to Earth with a thud.
“We basically didn’t score any points in the double header at round two and three in Perth with the issues we had,” he said.
“First qualifier we had a fuel shut off fail on the pass, causing the motor to run at about 50% RPM, not good. Due to the engine driving, it over heated the clutch, setting fire to the wiring loom and main airline harness under the bike. That in turn caused numerous other kick on problems, which forced us out for the two day, two round meeting.
“Mathematically, it’s difficult now to run for the number one plate in the championship, but we will certainly be trying to claw back some points from the two front runners Drew and Porter respectively.
“We were scheduled to run the Santo’s Super 3 Extreme meeting at Willowbank over the Easter weekend as an exhibition, however it was rained out. Instead, we totally re-wired and aired the Bike, in readiness for the Nitro Champs. Everything has to be right, if you are serious about running at the top level.
“We still have two rounds remaining over the next couple of months and anything can happen when you’re racing these nitro bikes. Unfortunately, we have only had six passes on the bike since debuting the bike late in 2014. We are on top of the clutch and tune up, we just have to get the laps under our belts and go rounds.
“Our short times are as quick as the bike has ever gone, not forgetting the bike was a multiple championship winning machine in the USA and held the Nitro Harley World ET Record up until recently at 6.220 at over 230mph.”
Matheson’s time at Sydney Dragway has been one of highs and lows – with many victories but also a couple of very bad crashes.
“We aim to win and collect more points to better our position from our current third place in the Australian championship,” he said. “The Jack Hammer Crew are really keen to make amends for the poor result at Perth and are looking forward to seeing the fans in Sydney.”
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