The Melbourne Jamboree has officially opened competition drag racing at Victorian Motorsports Park. The rejuvenated venue, formerly known as Heathcote Park Raceway, has brought championship-level quarter-mile racing back to Victoria. Jamboree fans filled the spectator areas to watch high-horsepower imports and high-tech weapons belt down the regional strip.
The event marked the first step in the venue’s return as a major player in Australian drag racing. More than 100 racers made the trek to the Victorian countryside to let it rip, Jamboree-style.
With the track surface still in its early stages after a complete grind and reworking, it proved tricky to get hold of at times, with plenty of UV on hand during the day.
In Factory Xtreme, Rob Marjan ran the venue’s first import five-second pass, clocking a 5.95 to top qualify in the Zeus GTR. Marjan proved unstoppable, taking the final after a snaking run at the end of the night to defeat Afif Mikael’s Lexus. Mikael’s car spun the tyres on the hit and recorded a 6.497.
John Ricca returned in Pro Mod Outlaw trim with the RPM Camaro and went into the event as the unbackable favourite after clocking a 5.66 in testing the day before. With track conditions tricky, Joe Gauci top-qualified with a 6.308, strong through half-track with a 3.84, after running a 5.89 in testing.
By the end of the night, the final came down to Daniel Camilleri’s striking blown Nova against Ricca. Camilleri took a shot on the tree but went red. Ricca used a conservative tune for the conditions and carded a 5.809 for the win.
Mechanical carnage meant there was no Pro Turbo winner, as far as we know. Top qualifier Jordan Spencer ran personal bests in the Barra-powered Cutlass. His 7.42 in round one ended with a parachute entanglement that damaged the car and ruled him out for the day.
It was also great to see Snot Rocket 2.0 on Australian soil. The Barra-powered car ran a 7.515 personal best in qualifying, but Tommy Pronobis did not return after round one.
Pro Compact delivered, with Rodney Rehayem topping qualifying on a 6.518 in the Bumblebee 13B Camaro. The final came down to locals Jurgin Piscopo and Simon Ioannou. Ioannou’s RX-8 got the jump at the tree, but its 13B power faded at half-track, allowing Piscopo’s Datsun 1200 to come around for the win with a 7.21.
Radial Xtreme featured classic Jamboree match-ups, including Rob Marjan doubling up in his street R34 GTR against Adam Rogash’s twin-turbo Capri. Kon Tsiokos’ Nova did not appear for the final against Marjan, but the R34 delivered on its solo run with a 7.206 at a storming 203 mph.
In J275, Keith Hards had the twin-turbo XW honking to top qualifying with a 7.089, ahead of Sherif Tawaf’s VZ on a 7.451. Tawaf took the final and the Jamboree J-Trophy, running a 7.29 against Peter Finianos’ RX-8.
Modified 10.5 came to a wild conclusion. Po Tung top-qualified the GAS Racing Celica with a 7.665 and faced Jayson Scott’s EL Falcon in the final. Tung went red, then the Celica left the groove and spun, narrowly missing Scott before tagging the wall. The incident was eerily similar to Tung’s crash at the Street Outlaws event at Calder Park a few years ago.
In Street 289, Moustafa Sakina was on point, qualifying with a 7.505 in his RX-7 and racing through to the final. It proved somewhat of a non-event when Ertan Ozer did not front in his RX-3. Sakina tried to lay down a pass, but the RX-7 did not play along. He still took the event win.
In the Dial Your Own brackets, Daniel “Batdan” Carranza won the all-in, anything-goes DYO bracket in his dragster, with Rob Kardum’s XY Falcon ute absent from the other lane.
Adam Ince’s RX-2 had an easy run in the Modified Compact final when Jacob Nicolau’s RX-4 rolled into the beam and triggered an instant red light. In the ear-tingling All Motor final, Andrew Paschali’s R100 held off a huge holeshot from Tas Gregoriou’s RX-2 to take the win light. Adrian Aresti claimed the Street Compact win after Mark El-Khalil broke out in his BMW, closing out the finals.
The Jamboree schedule for 2027 has been announced.
Thanks to Drag Photos for the images.
