The new 400 Thunder series has kicked off with the running of the 400 Thunder In The Tropics event at Springmount Raceway in Cairns – the event was the opening round for Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle and Sportsman.
The inclemant Far North Queensland tropical weather played its part with a rain delay, but the fledgling venue did get racing completed in front of around 2000 fans despite a few new track gremlins.
Unfortunately one of the issues is the lack of detailed results from Springmount or 400 Thunder, but here is the what we know:
Qualifying for Pro Stock shook out like this. Aaron Tremayne headed the six car field with a 7.173 just ahead of Wayne Daley on a 7.176, next was Brian Pursell with a 7.388, John Barbagallo 7.405, Rob Nunn 7.498 and Tyronne Tremayne rounded out the field with the ex Spinozzi Camaro on a 7.732.
Springmount Raceway is high up on the Atherton Tablelands, this combined with typical tropical weather makes air a rarity for anything naturally aspirated.
We have no run data for eliminations except for win/loss. Pursell defeated Barbagallo to start round one, Daley took out Nunn and Tyronne Tremanye had problems with the Camaro sending Aaron Tremayne to the semis on a single. Aaron Tremayne had the luck of another single due to the six car field and moved to the final, Daley had chute problems and took a trip into the sand in the other semi, a bigger problem was the win light in Pursell’s lane
In the final it was Aaron Tremayne who had the car dramas and Pursell would solo for his first ever win in Pro Stock.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying Brad Lemberg headed the time sheets with a 7.46. Glenn Wooster and Scott White were next, split by just one thousandth with best laps of a 7.488 and 7.489 respectively. Phil Howard on Maurice Allen’s bike finished qualifying with a 7.646, followed by a 7.800 from Daniel Rabnott, and Mark Hancock rounded out the field with a 7.906.
The tricky conditions were hampering the Pro Stock Motorcycle teams even more, with bikes backed down as hard as they could. In eliminations, gearbox problems plagued Lemberg in his loss to Hancock, Wooster out run Rabnott who had a wiring issue, and Howard took down White. In the semis Hancock had the solo to the final after he eliminated the top qualifier in round one, and Howard would be in the other lane after the hired gun defeated Wooster when his bike did not leave the start line.
In the final Howard didn’t launch clean but Hancock did and was never headed for the win – making it two underdog winners in the professional categories at the event.
A few sportsman brackets did not eventuate due to low entries, and we have no qualifying or racing information bar who won each eliminator – so here goes:
Comp Bike
Winner – Daryn Schuster
Runner Up – Blair Pennington
Top Sportsman
Winner – Steven Somer
Runner Up – Dan Donnelly
Super Sedan
Winner – John Piotto
Runner Up – Scott Kloprogge
Super Street
Winner – Daryl Peterson
Runner Up – Jeremy Foster
Modified Bike
Winner – Shaun Soboll
Runner Up – Garry Kittle
Stay tuned to the next issue of Drag News Magazine which will have more action and news from the event.
Phat Photography sent us a few snaps of the event, so check them out below.
