The Shannons Insurance Power Palooza featured three drag racing, speedway and burnouts all on the same night, attracting thousands of spectators to Perth Motorplex for their 2019/2020 season opener.
On the drag racing side of the venue, Stu Moresby showed that over six months out of the seat wasn’t enough to hold him back as he took out the Summer Slam division.
Moresby’s qualifying time of 6.05 was enough to put him into the final under the two round format, where he then clocked a 6.01 pass for victory after opponent Steve Aldridge had problems following his burnout.
“That was the first time back in the car for me since February, as I lent the car to my brother to finish last season when he damaged his car while he was chasing the track championship,” Moresby said.
“We have a new engine combination this season so we were really just using the event to get a baseline for it and get me used to driving again. That being said we went 6.05 off the trailer then 6.01 in the final so we’re heading in the right direction.
“After the first round we found the engine had a blown manifold gasket which meant engine oil was going into the intake side of the engine, but with limited time between rounds we just had to send it and hope for the best.
“This was my first win in the Summer Slam and the car is becoming more consistent. There will be a few more, it was definitely how the team and our sponsors would like to start the season.”
Adding to the entertainment for the thousands of race fans who turned out to Perth Motorplex were the jet dragsters of Pieter DeWit and Ian Wood, along with Matt Abel driving the Nitro Thunder Funny Car and Michael Brooks in the Nitro Madness Dragster. Brooks had a wild last run, crossing the centre line with the header flames standing high on his nitro FED.
The night’s racing was conducted using a single qualifying round followed by a final round, giving fans just a taste of what they can expect as the points championship proper begins next weekend.
Wayne Keys took out Top Comp in his gorgeous Camaro with a 6.43 getting past Nigel Johnson’s TA/D 6.00.
Errol Quartermaine went under the DD/GA record in his Ford Falcon, flying to a 7.67 to defeat Rob Gaikhorst’s 8.36 in C/GA for the Super Comp win.
A red light from Phill Paton (near lane) handed Wayne Patterson (far lane) the Comp Bike win, Paton wasting a sub-record 8.33.
Paul Downe looked gone for all money in Top Sportsman with a shocking .203 light as opponent Alby Bakranich went perfect with a .000, but problems for Bakranich saw Downe fight back with a 7.993 win on a 7.99 dial in.
George Kelly won Outlaw Radial with a 7.86 win against Wayne Smith, while former Super Sedan racer Nick Panagopoulos immediately cashed in on his move to Modified with a 8.000 on a 7.99 defeating reigning state champion Angelo Locantro.
ANDRA Super Sedan national champ Martin Mirco proved his worth with a win against Mick Fenton, while Stuart Dean won in Modified Bike after a red light from Ian Read.
The well-travelled Paul Garbellini rounded out the night’s results with a win in Super Street over Richard Stevens.
Drag racing returns to Perth Motorplex on Saturday, November 9 for the Goldenstate Championships.
For more images from the event, check out High Octane Photos’ full gallery.
