Daniel Gregorini knew there was something his Scratch & Match Motorsport team needed to find in their 3500hp Camaro Top Doorslammer — the only trick would be to find it.
After poor showings at the Desert Nationals in Alice Springs and the Direct Mining & Industrial Summer Slam opener at Perth Motorplex, Gregorini went on a deep dive through his car to find the source of his problems.
“A new supercharger and freezing weather conditions at the Motorplex proved our car no longer fit in the tuneup window we had,” he said. “We couldn’t get down the track at that meet, so afterwards we measured, scaled and asked ourselves questions to create a plan to move forward.”
Testing before the Goldenstates Championship offered Gregorini a chance to conduct the research he needed to solve the speed woes. Three consecutive five-second runs showed that he was moving in the right direction.
“After Thursday night testing I was up until 4.30am on Friday morning looking at data, and worked out we had an issue in the Quickdrive. A call to Steve Graves at Quickdrive pinpointed an issue with the oil feed, so we were able to fix that and make sure our convertor worked as expected.”
The next step was to take the knowledge learned from testing and apply it to qualifying on day one of the Goldenstates. A 5.847 pass off the trailer was just what the team was looking for, and an event quicker 5.752 followed in the second session. The final session saw a stunning 5.705 run at 259.82mph (418.15kmh), a new personal best speed for Gregorini.
“We got it all right, from the timing curve to the fuel ratios. The testing on Thursday definitely gave us a leg-up — I believe all championship rounds should have a testing opportunity beforehand. We gapped the field by a tenth of a second and we were pumped, until we found a small crack in the four-link that is!”
The top qualifying buzz turned to work focus, as the team made the repairs necessary to the chassis. Eliminations would see a solo run for Gregorini in the first round, a reward for his number one qualifying position.
“The car drove left slightly, but I put it down to the track surface. It seemed like everyone was having problems, with even Zappia crossing lanes. I just thought we didn’t have a great contact patch.”
The semi finals would see Gregorini up against Stu Moresby. Things looked good for Gregorini with a super-quick 0.973 60 foot time, but then the car once again moved left.
“I had a battle on my hands,” Gregorini said. “Convertor cars are unforgiving if you pedal, because they will drive up on the tyre and wheelstand. I had to make a decision and that was to let it move out left and wait until the front wheels came back down, then try to steer the car away from the wall. I had four big goes at it but it just kept going for the wall so I lifted. It looked like we hit the wall with all the sparks but it was only the headers rubbing the track surface.”
Gregorini later realised that he made a ‘rookie error’ by not re-scaling the car after the chassis repairs. Despite the semi final exit, Gregorini secured bonus points for low ET and top speed, allowing him to take over the lead of the Australian Drag Racing Championship.
“We turned a 14 point deficit into a 17 point lead, and the bonus points were huge for us. While I’m disappointed at the way it ended I have to congratulate Stu on his first Top Doorslammer win and Pino Priolo for his runner up on his return to racing.
“We should have capitalised on Zap’s round one exit but we didn’t, and we learn from our mistakes. Experience is what makes you a better driver and tuner, so this week we purchased a set of scales of our own so we never have this problem again.
“We will be testing a new combo on January 8 to try and keep progressing before the next round in Victoria in February, if borders allow us to travel. Some people might ask why change now, but if you don’t keep progressing you will be left behind!”
The team wishes to thank its major sponsors Scratch & Match Autocolour, Kerb Doctor, Westcoast Siteworks, Kendall Oils, S & S Industries and Dalisa Estate Winery, as well as supporting sponsors Signbiz WA, PT Promotions, Go Print, Dirty Detailing, Final Drive Engineering, Gforce Race Cars, Resolution Racing Services, DMPE and Applied Automotive.
