Atlantic Oils/Rapisarda Autosport International veteran Damien Harris has won this third Australian Top Fuel championship for the team after a dramatic final round in Darwin.
The West Australian’s maiden title came in 2005 with the ANDRA Championship Drag Racing series, in 2016, he secured the 400 Thunder Championship. At Hidden Valley Drag Strip, Darwin, on June 17, he secured his place in the history book when he defeated reigning champ Peter Xiberras to win the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship.
“As I’ve said on more than one occasion, it’s an absolute honour to race for and represent the Rapisarda family,” said Harris. “It means the world to me. I need to thank Santo Junior, the crew chief who tunes the car and has assembled a great crew to enable me to win the championship. I also want to thank my family for their support, this weekend and over the years. Santo Rapisarda may have been a little nervous watching back home in Sydney, but then I reckon he would have been over the moon and jumping up and down on the couch after the win.”
The Darwin result was a reversal of what happened in 2022 when Harris won the final round, and Xiberras took out the title.
Hidden Valley Drag Strip in the Northern Territory is a unique venue, high temperatures in the middle of Winter provide a unique set of conditions, unlike any other event on the tour. Heading into the final round Harris, lead reigning champ Peter Xiberras, and three-time champ Phil Read by just over 60 points.
Qualifying never rose to any great heights. Xiberras, the only racer to dip below the four-second barrier topped the time sheets with a 3.99/290mph. Harris secured second place on a 4.14/218mph from teammate Newby, who changed an engine between rounds with a 4.15/218mph, followed by LTFR duo Phil Lamattina and Shane Olive. Western Australian rookie Kyle Putland, in his third ever meeting was sixth, with Read in seventh spot seeded to meet Harris in round one of eliminations.
With Xiberras on a solo in round one, ran a 4.01 despite getting loose around half-track and pocketed the maximum 30 points on offer to close within 35 points of Harris. Read’s championship hopes evaporated in bizarre circumstances against Harris when excessive sump pan pressure shut his engine off 3.3 seconds into the run. Newby spun the tires 2.8 seconds yet hung on to defeat Putland, who dropped a number three cylinder at half-track. Newby also hit a bird at the finish line.
“At 300mph, it got my attention, but I couldn’t tell you what type of bird it was,” joked Newby.
In round two Damien Harris secured the championship despite a major fright from Putland, who led off the line by .001 sec and held out Harris until the last 25 feet. Xiberras booked passage to the A-final against Harris with a 4.02/290mph.
Newby found himself in the B-Final against Lamattina, but lost a tyre smoking duel. Finishing runner up in the B-Final was not the result the team was chasing at the season finale.
“We’ve had our chances this weekend, but lady luck hasn’t been on our side,” said Newby.
Xiberras, who surrendered his title to Harris in the previous round, took the A-Final in another off and on throttle whacking final, as both driver fought to control wheel spinning dragsters.
“This was an awesome result,” said Xiberras. “At the end of the day, we were chasing the championship and did everything that was possible. We won the meet and bagged as many points as possible, but Damien won too many meets earlier in the season and put himself in the position to win the series. Damien is someone I consider to be a friend. I admire and respect the guy and am stoked that he won the championship.”
It was a incredible season of persistence for the Atlantic Oils/Rapisarda Autosport International team. After bolting out of the gates early in the season, the Harris team came back to field with some mid-season jitters, the title not decided until the penultimate round of racing thanks to a strong final event finish.
Harris will begin to defend his championship in the brand new National Drag Racing Championship beginning at the all new Bend Dragway in October.
