After several seasons spent racing in the NHRA, Rapisarda Autosport International (RAI) say they are turning their focus back to the ANDRA Drag Racing Series for the coming season.

Western Australian Terry Burnett’s lead up to the opening round of the ANDRA Drag Racing Series in Top Fuel Motorcycle has been anything but smooth and we’ve got the pics to prove it.

Phil Lamattina enjoyed a positive day of testing along with a few dozen Western Australians on Wednesday at Perth Motorplex ahead of the weekend’s ANDRA pro season opener at the venue. Conditions stayed in the high twenties and with clouds shielding the track from the sun for much of the day the surface stayed in tact, a rare feat in the summer months of Perth. The Fuchs team were not the only Top Fuel team on the premises with Mark Sheehan also intending to test, however dramas in the pits meant they were unable to make a pass. Lamattina was testing with the intention of finding a way to keep cylinders alive on tricky race tracks. Crew chief Aaron Hambridge, right, was hoping for some positive results in their two passes. The first run launched strongly before buzzing the tyres about 100 feet out with Lamattina quickly off the throttle. The second pass was the home run for the day, with a 3.19 recorded to half track after which Lamattina was out of the pedal as part of a planned shut off, rolling through for a 5.05 on the quarter. Hambridge was very happy with the team’s efforts for the day, saying it was rare for testing to go exactly as planned. But that is what transpired, giving the Fuchs team a boost before Friday’s season opener. The team also had Phil’s son Rocky’s Junior Dragster out for some testing of its own. Kevin Gummow is planning to kill them with consistency this weekend in Top Fuel Motorcycle. He said the blown Kawasaki is pretty much unchanged from when it last ran in Competition Bike, bar a new tyre. He ran some mid sevens during the day. Brian Hotker ensured he got his money’s worth with the most runs of any competitor, but had a nagging shifter problem causing him some headaches. Jake Lane’s Supercharged Outlaws Torana made some wild early ventures on the track, hiking the wheels up and then wanting to turn right, but later passes were straight and in the mid sevens. Lachlan Slamar has plenty of room to grow into his Junior Dragster. Ethan Hort got a steer of father Kevin’s Monaro. With the family’s immaculate Holden ute that Ethan normally drives out of action, Kevin decided he wanted to see his own car go down the track with him outside it. Low eights saw ANDRA officials happy with the licensing efforts. Mark Drew found some big speed with a 213mph clocking during the day but was often having to ‘pedal’ the nitro Harley mid track. Brett Allen was pursuing clutch set up aboard his stretched Katana. Alanah Cope was one of many Junior Dragsters getting in some testing time. David Dequen will be out in E/AA trim on the weekend and had chassis set up guru Mick Marriott helping out on the day. Ross Smith was running near personal bests on his Suzuki Hayabusa, which has been upgraded to a stretched wheelbase this season to fit into the altered bike classes of Competition Bike. Moreno Gullotto’s Toyota Soarer continues to be a handful with plenty of wheelstands and tyre shake, even with power taken out of the car. That said, the team continues to get closer to the sweet spot. Troy Slamar surprised all with a Pontiac GTO Super Sedan rolling on out, a swap from his usual Ford FG Falcon. Ian Ashelford is back with the Attitude Racing team and his nitro Harley looks a lot like his early 2000s version which took him to three championships is the bike that took him to his three championships (thanks Mike!). Speaking of nitro Harleys, Peter Vanderaa was out and testing again in the search for his ANDRA Top Fuel Motorcycle licence. After a wild early pass that saw the Chevy Nova up on two wheels, Ben Hoar managed to get down the track strongly later in the day on a half track shut off. Looks like a definite six second car once sorted. And just because we can’t resist a good power wheelstand, another one of Moreno Gullotto to close us out. Check out the full gallery below! Images by Luke Nieuwhof. {fcomment}

Sam Treasure is praying that his hot form in Modified will continue into this weekend’s second round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship at Perth Motorplex.

2010 ANDRA Top Fuel champion Martin Stamatis will be back in action at Perth Motorplex this Friday and Saturday when the venue plays host to the opening round of the 2014 ANDRA Drag Racing Series.

Video has been released of a plane crashing into an Iceland drag strip in August last year, while an event was underway. The plane, an air ambulance, sweeps in low over the track but comes down in the braking area with race officials rushing to the scene to assist. The investigation into the accident is still underway, but reports are that the plane was fully functional and this was not an emergency landing and may have been a fly-by gone wrong. The captain of the plane reportedly had close connections to the drag racing club. Two people aboard were sadly killed in the accident, but amazingly the co-pilot survived and has assisted with investigations into the crash. Link to video embedded below – http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0c6_1389025127 {fcomment}

Kyle Putland continues to be on a roll in Western Australia’s domestic Super Comp series after two wins in a row with his A/Altered.

Former ANDRA Top Fuel Champion, Phil Lamattina, has vowed 2014 will be the year he reclaims the Top Fuel title as the Fuchs-powered team prepare for the season-opening Nitro Max at Perth Motorplex on January 10-11.

After fighting constant rain showers the opening round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship has been cancelled due to weather at Fuchs South Coast Raceway.

Craig Hewitt finally has unveiled his Pro Street Blown-destined VZ Holden Monaro at the famed Summernats car show.

When the opportunity came up to tour New Zealand and race Nitro Funny Cars, both Anthony Begley and Christine Steffens could not have been more excited.Both teams took the opportunity to not only see some of New Zealand’s famous scenery but also show race fans at Taupo Thunder Dragway what big show nitro cars are all about.

Portland, Victoria plays host to the opening round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship this weekend and coming into the event with an expanded family team is Modified national champion Craig Baker.

2013 ANDRA Top Fuel champion Darren Morgan has made the shock announcement that he will miss the season opening round in Perth on January 10 and 11, 2014.

Western Australian Competition Bike veteran Kevin Gummow will be making a move into Top Fuel Motorcycle for the opening round of the series at Perth Motorplex on January 10 and 11.

Australian Nitro Funny Car drivers Christine Steffens and Anthony Begley raced in Taupo on Saturday in a rare appearance for big show nitro cars in the land of the long white cloud.

Perth Motorplex played host to jet dragster match racing for the third event in a row on Saturday with the fourth round of the state championship going down alongside.

Modified Bike will see the return of the Nieuwhof family this weekend with Luke Nieuwhof back aboard the family’s 8.2 second 60foot Kawasaki.

The sportsman drag racing category of Super Sedan certainly attracts some different takes on what a drag car is and Western Australian Norbert Claite has begun racing possibly one of the most unique Super Sedans in the country, a nineties model Jaguar.

Drag racing truly does come in all shapes and sizes. But the city of Camrose, Alberta in Canada is home to something from the very fringe of that notion.

The ANDRA Board will have a new chairman for 2014 with Michael Fotheringham to take over from Liam Waldron who has decided to relinquish the role.

Australia’s newest Outlaw Nitro Funny Car has hit the track, the “Superbad” Nova of Peter Leahy rumbled to life on the weekend at Willowbank Raceway for a shake down.

The 2013 NSW Championship has been wrapped up at Sydney Dragway in very hot conditions, your winners for round nine and the series champions are here.

ANDRA has unveiled its latest promotional tool and no one will miss this one. A semi trailer has been spectacularly decked out to serve as a mobile base of operations, amongst other things, and will tour the country delivering an outstanding presence for ANDRA.

The Alutech/CTS Low Loaders Funny Car of Rob Pilkington made an aggressive return back to the 5.50 second range last Saturday at the Perth Motorplex to trump a star studded thirteen car field and be top qualifiers in Top Comp.

The Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Car show has a new star – the Super Bad Nova of Peter Leahy is heading to Adelaide for the January 4 event at Adelaide International Raceway for the car’s Australian debut.

Wheelstands are what she does best according to Allison Stewart. Image by Grant Stephens. Fuchs South Coast Raceway in Portland, Victoria will play host to the first round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship on January 4 and 5, 2014 and giving the event some old school style will be New South Wales’ Allison Stewart and South Australian Mark Hunt. Both drivers are part of a large contingent of teams coming from far and wide to compete at one of the country’s best regional venues. Stewart, 24, will be driving the ‘Oztin’ Austin A40 in the Super Sedan category, a car she and her family races in memory of her father Doug. “As a little kid, my sisters and I would frequently go to the track at Canberra to cheer dad on and I haven’t looked back from there,” she said. “Dad first built the ‘Oztin’ in 1983 and he continued to race at most tracks in eastern Australia until he passed away in 2007.” Fun comes first for this team and the unique little ute, but there is still a competitive streak present in Stewart. “Like everyone else racing at Portland it would be nice to win, but my main goal is to make sure everyone has a good time and to win would be a bonus,” she said. “Having fun is the easy part, to win I would have to be at the top of my game. It’s not all up to the driver, a good crew is very important as they are the ones with you on the start line and behind the scenes making everything run like clockwork, so the driver is able to go out and focus solely on the run ahead of them.” Hunt, 52, nicknamed “The Huntsman”, will be using the event to make his debut in Supercharged Outlaws with a 1956 Ford Customline-bodied, tube chassis machine that should be capable of topping 250kmh in under five seconds at the eighth mile (201 metre) Victorian strip. This Adelaide-based Customline is no lemon, despite its vibrant colour! Image by David Hope. Hunt said the Customline has been completely rebuilt with a supercharged 380 cubic inch (6.2 litre) Ford engine using a two-speed Powerglide transmission, a far cry from its original cruising roots. “This will be our first competition season in this car,” he said. “Being a new car we are hoping to get an idea of its capability and times at Portland.” The daunting prospect of over 1000 horsepower available at the accelerator pedal has Hunt wanting to ensure he can focus on the task at hand. “My goal for the weekend is simply to be switched on,” he said. “We’re hoping to test this beast out properly at Portland and see what it is capable of, while enjoying some good quality racing and competition and having fun doing it. “I have not raced at Portland before but attended in 2013 as a spectator and found it to be a great track, with a great family environment and very friendly people. We stayed at the track for three days and had a fantastic time.” A valuable part of Hunt’s team will be son Luke and daughter Kirsty who make up his pit crew. “My son assists with set up and maintenance and my daughter assists with back up on the track and recording all details of each run,” Hunt explained. The Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship at Fuchs South Coast Raceway begins with qualifying from 11am to 5pm on Saturday, January 4, with racing from 10am to 4pm on Sunday, January 5. Tickets will be available for $20 at the gate. {fcomment}

The newest generation of the venerable Nissan GTR platform has provided one of the most significant leaps forward for the marque in years, particularly on circuits. While the drag strip has proved more difficult to adapt the highly strung supercar to, it has been making leaps and bounds in the hands of South Australia tuning house Willall Racing.

The Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Car show will take centre stage at Adelaide International Raceway as the coolest show in drag racing heads south, January 4, 2014.