The BME WA Nitro Championship is set to go down to the wire, as Andrew Katavatis looks to hold back in-form drivers Matt Abel and Nathan Coles at the championship finale this Saturday.
Six cars will participate in this weekend’s WA Nitro Championship event at Perth Motorplex. Leading the points is Katavatis in the Beach Bomb on 190, following a win at the Nitro Slam and a solid pints haul earlier in the season at the Outlaw Nitro Challenge. Abel (Nitro Thunder) and Coles (Thumper) are in equal second on 100 points. The maths are in Katavatis’ favour to be sure, but the margin is not insurmountable. Katavatis will need to maintain his reputation for consistency in order to keep them at bay.
Speaking of reputations, Abel has been building one of his own as the performance king of the BME WA Nitro Championship. After recording a 5.42 second time at the last official round of the series, Abel dropped an incredible 5.35 during exhibition racing at the Westernationals.Abel wasn’t the only one in personal best territory at the Westernationals, where Coles carded a 5.58 – more than enough to defuse the Beach Bomb in competition!
While the remainder of the field are outside of championship contention, they will be looking to play spoilers to the hopes of the top trio. Michael Brooks had a hard time keeping his front engine dragster Nitro Mayhem away from the centre line at the Nitro Slam, but will be looking to charge straight down the middle to 5.8 second times and beyond at the WA Nitro Championship. Anthony Begley had more luck at the Nitro Slam, as he turned his operation around in a big way with two five-second runs in Dark Knight. Begley’s no stranger to running quick at the wheel of Graeme Cowin’s LA Hooker Funny Car, but to knock out some quick times from his own operation would be a major boost for the team’s confidence.
Shannon Taylor is perhaps unlucky to not be sitting higher in the points with the Aussie Digger. He has just one round win on his record this season despite making it down the track for every pass. With some better fortunes on his side, Taylor could be a surprise player in the championship finals!
The first round of racing for the BME WA Nitro Championship will take place at 5.30pm. Spectators can pre-purchase tickets online now.
The BME WA Nitro Championship is a heads-up series for nitro-fuelled dragsters, funny cars and altereds taking place over three rounds each season at Perth Motorplex. If you would like to join the series next season as a racer, please come and speak with any of the teams this weekend in the pits (early in the day or after racing has finished is best). We would love to have you on board!
