The postponed Street Machine Sportsman Spring Nationals have been run and won at Dragway at The Bend at the weekend, taking to the track as part of The Bend Classic on Saturday October 26.
This event, originally scheduled for Friday October 18 as part of the Aeroflow Spring Nationals before rain intervened, saw enthusiastic competitors duke it out across nine national championship brackets for special event trophies, valuable 2024/2025 Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship points, and a share in a $25k prize purse.
When all was said and done, it was Rob Church (Competition Bike), Shane Kramer (Supercharged Outlaws), David Foster (Top Sportsman), Peter Furlanetto (Super Sedan), Andrew Francis (Super Street), Zayne Condello (Junior Dragster), Johnny Ienco (Super Gas), Lawrence Raschella (Junior Drag Bike) and Michael Cristoforo (Modified Bike) who claimed the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship event wins.
Taking the runners-up honours in these brackets were Peter Cates (Supercharged Outlaws), Vlado Turic (Top Sportsman), Lisa Foster (Super Sedan), Katrina Read (Super Street), Savanna Condello (Junior Dragster), Emma Shattell (Junior Drag Bike) and John Brooks (Modified Bike), with no runner-up awarded in Competition Bike or Super Gas with those finals run as solo passes.
For Supercharged Outlaws winner Kramer, the victory required him to overcome some technical issues early in the day.
“To get the win was great, we have gone to the finals in the last three events we have entered and this time we came away with the win so that was pretty good,” he said.
“We did have some technical issues with the transmission and shifter and starter and things like that, but we were able to get those sorted and the car was really good after that.
“We had a fairly new crew and everyone worked well together which was great, and I want to say thank you to Dragway at The Bend and all of the event volunteers who help to put on the show, without them we wouldn’t be able to go racing, so thank you very much to them!”
For Top Sportsman winner David Foster, the victory saw him go one further than his runner-up spot in the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship runner-up at last weekend’s Aeroflow Spring Nationals.
“It was awesome to get the win, the best feeling ever – especially when we were the runner-up last weekend, it is great to go one further this week,” Foster said.
“It was actually a very smooth weekend for us, we were lacking a little bit with crew with two weekends in a row but we didn’t have to burn the midnight oil like we did last weekend with the blown diff, so it was pretty straight forward and everything went smoothly.
“I would like to say a massive thank you to my sponsors: Spry Civil, Burson Automotive Murray Bridge, Sherry Competition Engines, Patio Coffee, Valvoline, Burgess Paint and Panel, and Bridge Ceramic Coating.”
For Competition Bike winner Rob Church, it was a bit of a roller coaster event that ultimately culminated in him lifting the trophy.
“It was a bit of a mixed bag for us – the first run of the day I did was okay and we made some changes, and then in the second of the three passes, I warmed the bike up in the tunnel and it dumped all the oil out of it, so I didn’t get to do that run!
“Something had come loose on the oil filter and it spat it out, it had never done that before, but we were able to get it fixed up and went out for a nice and reasonable pass on the last one which was enough to get the win.
“We are of course happy to get the win – you have got to be in it to win it and I was there and we will go with that, and it is good to get some championship points as well.
“I have only been in it a few years so I am just focusing on improving and getting more consistent, and we have a new bike coming soon that will be faster and better too!” he added, while thanking his sponsor, Deyoungs Group.
Also on-track at Dragway at The Bend alongside the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship competitors were Nostalgia racers as part of The Bend Classic, with Kieley O’Connell (Nostalgia Super Stock), Denver Wade (Nostalgia Motorcycle), Ramon Baney (Vintage Gas), Vince Monteleone (Top Eliminator) Barry Ross (Aussie Muscle), John Maragozidis (Hot Rod), Alexander O’Sullivan (Middle Eliminator) and Darren Mallison (Top Gas) celebrated as the victors.
The next opportunities to score NDRC 2024/2025 Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship points will come at Benaraby Dragway’s Harbour City Nationals (November 1-2), the Perth Motorplex’s Goldenstates (November 22-23), and Portland’s South Coast Nationals (December 7-8). For the full listing of upcoming events, please visit https://nationaldragracing.com.au/calendar/
To learn more about the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship and the NDRC, visit www.ndrc.tv
