Rob Pilkington made his intentions known ahead of the Perth round of the ANDRA Pro Series Top Alcohol championship after running a new personal best time at the Perth Motorplex Grand Opening.
The Force Equipment/Alutech Monte Carlo took advantage of the cool conditions to record not one but two 5.62sec times. Just as spectacular was the speed, with the 413kmh recording from the finish line the fastest Pilkington has ever been.
“The conditions came in well and we found the right tune up to suit,” Pilkington said. “The speed we found is amazing, it has put us among the fastest Funny Cars in Australia.”
The passes were enough to reset both ends of the track record for Top Alcohol Funny Car (TA/FC).
Running on the tough TA/FC class index (normally the team runs in AA/FC classing), the team made it to the B Final where they took on, and won against, Jeff Lewis – just one of many racers in Top Comp running on or under their national record.
“Jeff’s Falcon is going to be a tough competitor for us this season so it was good to get an early win over him as I’m sure he is going to find some more performance yet,” Pilkington said.
The preparation now begins for the November 18/19 Top Alcohol round where a strong field of competitors from interstate are expected to attend.
The data gained from the Grand Opening, including the two 5.62sec runs, will be invaluable and Pilkington is not shy about predicting a further improvement to his personal best.
“Honestly, I want to see a 5.5 coming up on my time card,” he said. “We will go with what we know for the early qualifying sessions so we can make it into the field and if we make a representative pass then we can hot it up.”
The ambition then is to advance through the rounds and hopefully take away a first win in Top Alcohol. “Our home track knowledge should prove valuable so I think this is a major chance to go rounds,” Pilkington said. “It’s a tough ask against some of the best Top Alcohol racers in the country, but as a team we need to set our goals high and then go after them.”
The team also welcomed aboard some new partners at the event with Jason from CTS Low Loaders and Frank from Matera’s Salvage and Hardware becoming a part of one of WA’s most successful drag racing outfits.
Rob and Jackie Pilkington would like to thank both their new and current sponsors for their ongoing support in the quest for a fourth Top Comp championship.
