Nationals elimination day

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The Dragnews Australia team bring you all the elimination day results from the Fuchs Australian Nationals at Sydney Dragway

It is a killer day here at Sydney Dragway. 20 degress, blue skies, low humidity. Today’s racing should be tough and close with the conditions ideal.

ANDRA PRO SERIES

PRO STOCK 1 of 4

11:50am: First up Dave Newcombe in the Rocket lane takes on Tyronne Tremayne. Staging games straight up with neither driver wanting to go into pre stage they both bump in together. It is all Newcombe 7.093/192 over Tremayne 7.144 also at 192 mph.

11:52am: Denis Whiting and Peter Ridgeway are next out. Ridgeway takes the Rocket lane. A 7.11/189 puts Ridgeway’s 7.465 on the trailer.

11:55am: Aaron Tremayne and Wayne Daley front up for their match up. Aaron Tremayne nails it and takes the win with a strong 7.072/192 over Daley’s valiant 7.10.

11:58am: It’s John Barbagello in the Rocket lane and Jason Hedges in the Wynns. Hedges puts the rooster on the trailer 7.125 over a 7.239. The upsets continue.

12:00 noon: Lee Bektash is up next against Michael Ali. Ali red lights. Bektash wins with only a 7.2 over a stronger 7.12 from Ali. A get out of gaol free card for Bektash!!

12:03pm: Nick Xerakias and Bill Kotsias get ready to slug it out. Xerakias moves towards the centreline off the start but claws back with a 7.254 over Kotsias 7.315/189 mph.

12:05 pm: Surprise Number 1 qualifier Scott Porter takes on Ian Brown. Porter in the Rocket lane. Brown Red lights and Porter goes through for a 7.10 win.

12:09pm: Last pairing is Brian Pursell and Shane Tucker. Tucker runs a 7.070 over Pursell 7.16/189 mph.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE 1 of 3

12:12pm: Peter Cochrane and Glen Wooster first up for PSM. It is all Cochrane 7.50 over a 7.84. Wooster with a wheelstand and never looked in it.

12:14pm: Michael Gilbertson and Lachlan Ireland . Ireland red lights giving Gilbertson the win 7.682/170 mph over Irelands wasted 7.70.

12:15pm: Andrew Babcock takes on Mark Hancock , after Rabnot pulls out. The wind blows the fuchs sign over on the startline, disrupting the racers in stage. It is Babcock all the way 7.27/176 with Hancocks bike bucking all the way down for a 7.82.

12:18 pm: Phil Howard in the Rocket lane wins with a holeshot 7.53 over Maurice Allen’s 7.49/174 mph

TOP ALCOHOL 1 of 3

12:20pm: Number 1 qualifier Gary Phillips is up first against Paul Madill. Madill wins after Phillips has massive tyre shake and crosses the centreline and perhaps clips the rear panel of Madill. But it has no effect on Madill and he motors on for a 6.27/225 mph. No real damage evident on either car from the screen replay.

12:25 pm: Newby is up next against Rick Gauci. A slow reacting Newby motors through for another 5.5 second time (5.570/253) over Gauci’s 5.76/250 mph pass.

12:29pm: Steven Ham in the Rocket lane and Steve Read in the Wynns. Ham nails it for a 5.634/252 mph win over Read 6.00/243 pass.

12:31pm: Adam Marchant is taking on Aaron Hambridge for the last pairing of the elimination round. Hambridge with a jaw dropping 5.508/254 over Marchants 5.749/242.

We can confirm that there was no touch between Madill and Phillips. No damage is evident on Madill car and just damage from the cones on Phillips.

TOP BIKE 1 of 3

12:34pm: The Nitro Voodoo bike of Matheson will be taking on Phil Parker. Parker breaks. Matheson crosses the centreline and no time is recorded. Matheson will get the win as Parker did not stage.

12:37pm: Troy Maclean and Mick Murray burnout strongly. Maclean takes the win with a 7.18/191 over Murray’s 7.64/183 mph.

12:39pm: Geoff Redgrave is next up against Chris Porter. No representative times avaialble as Porter crosses the centreline handing Redgrave the win.

12:44pm: Craig Bonwick takes on Dennis Grant and is the last pairing of Top Bike. After Grants wild ride last night we will see if he can manage a straight, strong and trouble free pass? It is Bonwick bucking down the track and he just keeps it off the centreline for a 7.64 win over Grants troubled 7.75.

TOP DOORSLAMMER 1 of 3

12:47 pm Sean Misfud takes on Mark Belleri. Belleri with a poor burnout. Misfud on a wild ride, sidewards on two wheels and drives it through for a 6.29/226 but not good enough as Belleri advances with a 6.160/241 mph pass. Misfud is visiting the beach, so he needs to be pulled out.

12:52 pm: Robin Judd takes on Steven Dupond. Judd in the Rocket lane. Dupond can’t get the engine started. This is a shame as this is the first time he has made the field. A few pedals for Judd and he runs a 6.48/239 mph. You can imagine that Dupond would have been fancying his chances if he had made the run?

12:56 pm: Fabietti takes on Defelice. Fabietti does a huge burnout hoping to put as much heat in the slicks as possible. Mr consistency does it again 5.89/242 for Fabs and a 6.57/227 for Defelice.

12:59 pm: Deno Brijeski in the Wynns lane takes on Gary Phillips in the Rocket lane. Both cars all over the track but Phillips gets it there with a few pedals for a 6.08 over Brijeski’s 6.67

TOP FUEL 1 of 3

1:02pm : Phil Read is first up taking on Terry Sainty. Read in the Rocket lane. Sainty motors through with a 5.169 after Read turns the tyres and throws a belt at 330 ft. Read rolls it through for a 8.01 second pass. Sainty has no chutes and nudges into the sand trap.

1:0 Cowin swaps lanes at the last minute electing to run the Wynns lane. Can Bob Shepherd be a giant killer once more? The engine note on Cowin’s car has to be heard to be believed! Cowin smokes the tyres at around 100ft and Shepherd strikes problems at 1/2 track and coasts through as a belt comes off. Cowin sees Shepherd problems and pedals it and just misses catching Shepherd. Shepherd gets there first 7.140 to 7.43.

The upsets continue!

12:14pm: Morgan takes on Stamatis. Morgan in the Rocket lane. Both cars over power the track before 1/2 track but Morgan takes the win with a 5.89 over Stamatis 6.68. Both Team Read cars are out.

1:16 pm: Phil Lamattina is next up and faces Alan Dobson. Lamattina takes the the win after Dobson smokes the tyres at 1000ft. A strong 4.75/312 gets there ahead of Dobsons slowing 5.00/229.

That wraps up this first session.

ANDRA PRO SERIES

PRO STOCK 2 of 4

Big news is that Bektash is out with engine damage.

1:35pm: Dave Newcombe takes on Porter. This should be a great match up. The upsets continue, Newcombe gets there on a holeshot 7.100 to a 7.098 both cars run 192 mph.

1:38 pm: Shane Tucker and Aaron Tremayne are the next pair up. There is a burn-down on the tree but Tremayne bumps in. Tremayne runs a 7.08/192 after Tucker does not leave the line. Tucker was staying out of full stage for as long as he could. We are unclear if this was an infringement of the staging rules or a mechanical issue.

1:41pm: Nick Xerakias and Denis Whiting get ready for battle. Whiting wins with a 7.19 after Xerakias fails to leave the line also.

1:45 pm: Hedges on a solo after the Bektash no show. A strong 7.136 / 191 mph pass results.

ANDRA PRO SERIES

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SEMI

2:29pm: Peter Cochrane takes on Gilbertson. It’s an upset. Gilbertson gets there first 7.335/180 mph over a 7.407/180 mph

2:31 pm Phil Howard takes out Andrew Badcock. 7.381/177 Howards way to 7.491/168. The upsets continue

TOP ALCOHOL SEMI

2:33pm: It is dragster v funny car. Newby takes on Ham. Ham in the Wynns lane. It’s all over at the start for Ham blowing the tyres off it. Newby gets there 5.916/203 to Hams 6.47 with a huge top end charge 245 mph. Ham takes out the timing block at the finish line.

2:37pm: Hambridge takes on Madill in the next semi. Madill is a no show. Hambridge needs better than a 5.91 for lane choice. Easy… 5.62/254 mph.

TOP BIKE SEMI

2:40 pm: Matheson in the Wynns Lane and Maclean in the Rocket lane. Both with strong burnouts but Macleans engine goes silent. Matheson on a solo but runs a 6.111/213 mph for the fun of it.

2:42 pm: Bonwick fires up but then the engine goes silent. Redgrave gets a free ride through to the finals. He accepts the green and pushes back.

TOP DOORSLAMMER SEMI

2:44pm: Mark Belleri chooses the Rocket lane in his clash with Robin Judd. Belleri strikes the tyres off the line to coast through for a 9.025. Judd motors through for a 6.00/244 pass.

2:47 pm. Maurice Fabietti in the Rocket lane is up against Gary Phillips. This should be a great run. Fabietti has major problems as the supercharger lets go at 1/2 track . His wild ride begins after the finish line as a huge fire erupts and he slips and slides all over the track, nudging the wall at the end. He gets the win with a 7.15 over Phillips 14.23 second pass. It is doubtful that he will be able to return for the final. Maurice is OK.

PRO STOCK: semi final

3:10pm: Aaron Tremayne and Denis Whiting are the first pairing in the Pro Stock semi. Tremayne in the Rocket lane. Whiting holds out Tremayne and then red lights. Tremayne is through to the final with a strong 7.10/192 mph pass.

3:13 pm: Dave Newcombe takes on Jason Hedges in the next semi final pairing. Newcombe gets there first and gets lane choice in the final with a 7.09/192 over Hedges close 7.12/192.

TOP FUEL SEMI 2:54 PM

3:17 pm: Darren Morgan elects to run in the Rocket lane and is up against Terry Sainty. Can the giant killing continue? Sainty breaks before staging. Morgan a 1/2 track pass with a 7.8, saving parts and maintenance time.

3:21 pm: The Carrot Kings take on Shepherd in the other semi. Lamattina in the Rocket lane. Bob does it… Lamattina turns the tyres after 1/2 track and Shepherd hauls past to earn a place in the final. Shepherd’s 5.01/268 gets there ahead of Phil Lamattina 5.10/253. Shepherd has lane choice in the final too.

EXHIBITION

4:18 pm: Luke Shepherd and Mark Mariani put down a pass for the spectators. Mariani runs a 5.142/214 over Shepherd’s 8.85/114 mph pass.

4:22pm: Andrew Cowin is out next on a solo pass. Smokes the tyres at the 330 ft mark and coasts through for a 9 second pass.

4:26 pm: John Zappia and Ben Bray come out to entertain the crowd. Zap runs a 5.837/245 and Bray runs a 6.10/ at 245 mph too.

4:30 pm: Matt Abel and Peter Kapiris also come out to put down a pass. Both cars struggle Abel a 6.92 over Kapiris who coasts to a 9 second timeslip.

The Pro stock boys are out having a shot too.

4:32pm: Jason Grima and Andrew Stavroulakis . Stavroulakis wins with a 7.24/188 over a 7.29/181

4:36pm: Perdikaris takes on Barbagello. 7.27/192 with no chutes but he pulls up ok. In the other lane an unrepresentative 17 sec pass.

4:38 pm: Ridgeway takes on Michael Ali in his grudge race. Ridgeway runs a 7.08/193over Ali’s 7.127/191

The crowd are getting a real bonus here from all these additional Group 1 runners.

Bill Kotsias takes on Wayne Daley in the next pairing. Daley with a 7.114/191 over Kotsias 7.243/189 mph

Jeff Wilson in his slammer is taking on Alex Souris in his SCO car… Wilson runs a 6.55/219 whilst Souris runs a 6.66/214 mph pass

FINALS

4:50 pm: Super Gas: David Gauldie takes on Joe Catanzariti. Gauldie in the Wynns lane but Catanzartiti takes the win with a 9.90 to Gauldie’s 9.897

4:53: Junior Dragster : Hayley Mackay takes the final afte Phil Stewart broke 8.03

4:55pm: Super Street: Darren Kellaway wins with a 11.12 over Kylie Tanner

Super Sedan – Winner Mark Harding over Steven Fowler

4:57 pm: Modified Bike. Daniel Browne 9.880 gets the win over Matt Tansley’s 9.837

5:00 pm: Modified: Kelly Corbett takes on Tony Littlewood in the final Kelly Corbet wins with a 7.52/174 mph

5:01: Super Compact : Rocky Rahayem wins with a 6.832 over Damien McKern 8.03

5:03: Comp Bike: Corey Scholes wins with a 8.880 over David Shaw

5:05pm : Super Stock: Nino Cavello takes on Mick Simic . Cavello wins as a result of Simic’s red light. A tidy 9.04 for Cavello

5:10pm: Competition: Mike Nola takes on Shane Baxter. Baxter red lights 6.88/212 for Nola

5:11pm: SCO Andrew Hodgson takes on Mike Watkins Hodgson wins 6.53 over Watkins 7.26

ANDRA PRO SERIES
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE FINAL

5:14 pm: Phil Howard takes on Michael Gilbertson in the final.The gold tree is all Gilberston 7.36/178 mph as Howards shuts it off on the line after taking the green

PRO STOCK FINAL

5:18pm Aaron Tremayne and Dave Newcombe get ready to battle it out for the gold tree. Tremayne gets it 7.08 /192 to 7.131/192 by a whisker.

TOP ALCOHOL FINAL

5:20 pm: Aaron Hambridge in the Wynns lane takes on Newby. Should be a barnstormer. Hambridge 5.60/251 over Newby who carried the front end 5.680/226 mph

TOP BIKE FINAL

5:22 pm: Chris Matheson takes on Regrave. A battle of David and Goliath. Can Matheson produce a 5? Matheson with a 6.149/ 216 mph over a 8.43/167 mph

TOP DOORSLAMMER FINAL

5:30 pm: Judd on a solo after Fabietti could not return after the fire. A strong 5.931/244 pass and the gold tree is his. He also can claim back to back nats.

TOP FUEL FINAL

5:40pm: Darren Morgan takes on the underdog Bob Shepherd. There will be a party like never before, in town tonight if Shepherd wins. No sign of Bob yet… we hear he is on the way. All Morgan 4.700/321 mph over Shepherd’s troubled and tyre smoking 9.9 second pass. I am sure it will still be party time in the Shepherd’s pit area.

That’s it from the team at Dragnews. Thanks again to Hayley Turns for her assistance.

We will add a photo gallery and summary later tonight.

The final day of the Fuchs Nationals has now been run, and the surprises continued today.

It’s a wrap

( by Phil Bondel)

Top Fuel

Top fuel was full of surprises when Phil Read, Andrew Cowin, Allan Dobson and current Aussie Champ Martin Stamatis were all eliminated in the first round of competition.

First it was Terry Sainty’s great 5.16 that knocked out Read’s 8.01 after Read’s struck the tyres and then lost a blower. The next big name to exit the field was Andrew Cowin after Bob Shepherd’s coasting 7.14 got the better of Cowins pedalling 7.43. Then came Stamatis, who ran a troubled 6.68 to lose against Darren Morgan’s 5.89. In the final pairing of the first round , Phil Lamattina knocked out Allan Dobson’s slowing 5.00 as Dobbo smoked the tyres at 1000ft allowing Lamattina the win with a 4.75/312.

In the semis, Morgan won with a 7.8 when Sainty had troubles staging, while on the other side of the ladder, the upsets continued where Shepherd eliminated Lamattina with a quicker 5.01 to Lamattina’s 5.10.

The finals saw Bob Shepherd make it just in the nick of time. His crew doing last minute adjustments to the engine whilst towing at a rapid rate to the startline. Darren Morgan, in order to have a paired final, displayed good sportsmanship by patiently awaiting Shepherds arrival . All Shepherd’s efforts were to no avail as Morgan was far too strong, laying down a 4.70 second time to win the event as Shepherd turned the tyres and coasted on through for a 9 second time.

Top Doorslammer

Top Doorslammer round one competition saw Mark Belleri advance with a 6.16 against Sean Mifsud’s 6.29. Robin Judd ran a 6.48 solo run after Steve Dupond could not start. Maurice Fabietti ran an awesome 5.89 to progress withTony Defelice only managing a 6.57. Gary Phillips progressed in his Studebaker with a 6.08 after Deno Brijeski slowed to a 6.67.

The semi’s saw Judd win again with a 6.00 after he beat Belleri’s troubled 9.02. Fabietti then had the ride of his life when a supercharger let go at half track producing a massive fireball in the braking area from leaking oil. The car finally coming to a stop with a nudge of the wall. Fabietti still carded a 7.1 second time which was good enough to beat Phillips who was taken out of competition after producing a troubled a 14.2. Fabietti was OK in the incident.

It was a one-car show though for the Final, and it was Robin Judd who took the win with another super consistent 5.93 after Fabietti could not show as a result of damage incurred in the previous round.

Top Alcohol

Top Alcohol produced some very quick times. Upsets continued though when Gary Phillips was eliminated in the first round after shaking and crossing the centreline, narrowly missing Madill, allowing Paul Madill to take the round. Rick Gauci and Wayne Newby were the next pair up and although Gauci ran a good 5.76, it just wasn’t enough to hold off Newby’s super quick 5.57. Steven Ham’s Funny Car was next to progress to the semi finals after his 5.63 eliminating Steve Read’s 6.00. Next up, Adam Marchant ran a 5.74 but was put back on the trailer after Aaron Hambridge ran an amazing 5.50 to advance into the semi’s.

Newby met with Ham in the first pairing of the semi’s. Newby, although some what troubled, won with a 5.91 to Ham’s 6.47. In the other pairing, Madill did not show allowing Hambridge’s 5.62 to advance into the Final.

In an awesome Final race, both dragsters were on pace and it was Hambridge the winner with a 5.60 to Newby’s wheel-standing and oh so close 5.68.

Pro Stock

The naturally aspirated Pro Stock sedans put on a great show with 16 cars in the first round. In the first pairing, Aaron Tremayne was sent home with a 7.14 while Dave Newcombe advanced with a 7.09. Next up Denis Whiting ran a 7.11 to eliminate Peter Ridgeway’s troubled 7.46. Aaron Tremayne ran a great 7.07 to advance against Wayne Daley’s super close but losing 7.10. The upsets continued when John Barbagallo’s 7.23 lost against Jason Hedges’ 7.12. Lee Bektash ran a slower 7.2 against Michael Ali, but advanced after Ali red lit. Nick Xerakias advanced with a 7.25 against Bill Kotsias’ 7.31.Top qualifier Scott Porter showed consistency running a 7.10 to win against Ian Brown’s red light.

With eight cars left for round two Newcombe got a win first up with a holeshot 7.10 against Porter’s quicker but slower reacting 7.09. Tremayne went 7.08 to win after Tucker did not leave the start-line. Whiting also advanced against Xerakias with a 7.19 and after Xerakias also did not leave the line. Bektash could not front as a result of engine damage suffered in the previous round, allowing Hedges 7.19 to progress into the next round.

The semi’s paired Tremayne with Whiting. Whiting hung a cherry on the tree giving the win to Tremayne with 7.10 . The other pairing saw Newcombe’s consistency continue with a 7.09 to eliminate Hedges’ 7.12.

It was Aaron Tremayne all the way in the final though stepping up a notch and running a 7.08 against Newcombe’s close and chasing 7.13.

Top Bike

In round one, Chris Matheson had a solo to advance after Phil Parker did not stage. Troy Maclean ran a good 7.18 to win against Mick Murray’s 7.64. Geoff Redgrave advanced over Chris Porter. The final pairing saw Craig Bonwick win with a 7.64 over Dennis Grant’s 7.75.

The semi-finals saw Matheson on another 6.11 solo after Maclean had troubles in the burnout and shut off. Redgrave got a free ride to the finals after Bonwick could not fire.

The final saw Matheson run a strong 6.14 to win the event. Redgrave had troubles on his 8.43 pass but was happy enough to finish runner up to Matheson.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

The first round saw Peter Cochrane advance with a 7.50 against Glen Wooster’s losing 7.84. Michael Gilbertson ran a 7.68 to win against Lachlan Ireland’s red lighting 7.70. Andrew Badcock went 7.27 to advance against Mark Hancock’s 7.82 and Phil Howard reacted quicker to win his round with his 7.53 against Maurice Allen’s slower reacting but quicker 7.49.

The semi’s saw Gilbertson advance with a 7.33 against Cochrane’s 7.40 whilst Phil Howard went 7.38 to win against Badcock’s 7.49.

The Final was set to be a ripper, however Howard shut off giving Gilbertson the win with a 7.36.

Other Finals were:

Super Gas
Winner – Joe Catanzariti 9.90
Runner-up – David Gauldie 9.89

Junior Dragster
Winner – Hayley Mackay
Runner-up – Phil Stewart broke 8.03

Super Street
Winner – Darren Kellaway 11.12
Runner-up – Kylie Tanner

Super Sedan
Winner – Mark Harding
Runner-up Steve Fowler

Modified Bike
Winner – Daniel Browne
Runner Up – Matt Tansley 9.88

Modified
Winner – Kelly Corbett 7.52
Runner-up – Tony Littlewood

Super Compact
Winner – Rocky Rahayem 6.83
Runner-up – Damien McKern 8.03

Comp Bike
Winner – Corey Scholes 8.88
Runner-up – David Shaw

Super Stock
Winner – Nino Cavello 9.04
Runner-up Mick Simic