Australian Top Fuel champ Damien Harris will return to racing for the first time since January 2020, 777 days ago, at round two of the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship at Sunset Strip Raceway, Mildura, March 12-13.
Harris last raced at the Santo’s Summer Thunder meet at Sydney Dragway where he finished third behind Phil Lamattina and his RAI teammate Wayne Newby.
Since then the affable Western Australian has not raced due to the Covid-19 pandemic that brought the sport to its knees in Australia and the closure of the W.A. state border to the rest of Australia. The border was finally reopened on March 3.
“It has been touch and go if I was going to be able to race at Mildura,” said Harris. “I’ve been ready for a long time and can’t wait to get behind the wheel. The Rapisarda boys, Santo Junior and Santino, who tunes the Wayne Newby sister car have spent an enormous amount of time and energy prepping the car. Nothing has been left to chance. The car was stripped to a bare chassis then rebuilt.
“Santo Junior, who tunes the car, runs a real tight ship. It will be great to catch up with the team most of who were there when we last raced. That says a lot about their loyalty, commitment and the camaraderie within the group.
