At the recent ANDRA Grand Finals, part of the 52nd Westernationals at the Perth Motorplex, there was no shortage of ANDRA Christmas Tree trophies hoisted by grinning recipients following the conclusion of the 2022/2023 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.
While the title winners have understandably been the subject of much of the post-event fanfare, they weren’t the only ones impressing at the Perth Motorplex on March 4 and 5 however, with event wins just as hotly contested as the championship battles.
Taking out ANDRA Grand Final event trophies were Tyler Jarvis (Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster), Chris Fryer (Modified Bike), Paul Garbellini (Super Street), Brodie Zappia (Super Sedan), Paul Ryan (Modified), Kasey McClure (Supercharged Outlaws), Leon Davies (Top Sportsman), Daniel Natalotto (Competition Bike), Adrian Vella (Super Stock) and Michael Buckley (Competition). Davies and Vella also claimed the titles for their respective brackets.
Please read on for comment from each of our non-championship winning SRESS event winners from the 2023 ANDRA Grand Finals. For comment from Davies and Vella, please click here.
Tyler Jarvis – Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster event winner
Tyler Jarvis defeated newly crowned Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series Junior Dragster Champion, Ross Lamattina, in the final at the Westernationals to earn his first ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree.
To book his spot in the final, Jarvis had taken on and defeated Brock Moresby, Angel Bakranich and Cooper Moresby before facing off against his brother Seth Jarvis in the semi; while Lamattina defeated Jesse Martin (round one), Cooper Plummer and Nathan Townsend before a bye in the semis. When it came to the brother v brother semi-final, while Tyler took the victory to advance to the final and the event victory, Seth still had plenty to smile about as the Decoglaze Glass Splashbacks Top Qualifier.
“To win the Westernationals was great, a dream come true,” Jarvis said.
“Deep down, yes (I did think I could win) but we have a lot of tough racers over here, so it is always tough to win.
“I was not nervous (racing the new champion in the final), my new car was very consistent and I had been cutting decent reaction times so I was confident.
“In the semi-final it was a lot of fun and amazing to get to race my brother (Seth Jarvis) and it was great to get the win over him.
“The whole weekend was amazing, from my brother Top Qualifying with a 8.0003 and then me beating him in the semi to then cut a 0.000 reaction time in the final against the newly crowned Australian Champion, to winning my first ever Gold Christmas Tree at only 11 years old. It is a dream come true.
“I would like to thank my dad, Ian Board, Scruffy, Will and Creative Patios.”
Chris Fryer – Modified Bike event winner
Chris Fryer was another racer who defeated a new champion, taking on and winning against Brian Alvisio in the Westernationals final to claim his very first ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree.
On his way to the final, Fryer had successfully taken on Connor Wood (round one) and Luke Seaton before a round three bye and a semi-final against championship runner-up, Brian Hotker; while Alvisio had emerged victorious from battles against Owen Rose (round one), Andrew Sellears, Graham Jennings and Decoglaze Glass Splashbacks Top Qualifier, Chris Allen.
“I was absolutely over the moon, I had no words for it on the night,” Fryer said.
“This is my very first ANDRA Tree, and it is the second time ever that I have made a final. It was great on the night too because it was my Uncle’s birthday at the same time and he has been crewing for me for the whole time I have been racing. We have not had much to show for it, and then we got the Gold Tree!
“Interestingly in the semi-final I beat the title runner-up and in the final, I beat the champion! We weren’t thinking about any of that, to be honest I was just trying to phase out everything that was going on around me and just concentrate on the tree, and it seems to have worked!
“Thank you to Russell and Natalie Ladbroke from Ladbroke Racing, Peter Dickson, and the rest of my crew, Barry, Sheena and Brett, as well as Simon and Amanda Garbutt. And thank you to everybody at ANDRA and the Motorplex.”
Paul Garbellini – Super Street event winner
The Westernationals Super Street final was one for the story books – husband and wife, and former and reigning champions respectively, Paul and Lisa Garbellini, faced off for the event glory. It was all gloves off for the pair, with both red lighting by 0.007, but with Lisa the first to leave, Paul was awarded the victory and Lisa was awarded not only the runner-up honours for the event, but also for the championship, behind new title winner, Tommy Turic.
On their way to the final, Paul Garbellini took wins from Paul Mobilia, Jase Dobra and Joel Trotman before a round four bye and victory over Beau Higgins in the semi, while Lisa took on Stephen Hotchkin, Peter Forward, Kirstie Wroe and Daniel Brecich before a bye in her semi-final. Decoglaze Glass Splashbacks Top Qualifier Stephanie Gullotto was eliminated in the first round.
“It was pretty cool and a dream come true for us to meet each other in the final at a Westernationals where we had to race six rounds to get to the final – it was one of the biggest Westerns we have had in a long time and it makes it that much harder to get through, so it was pretty special to face each other in the final,” Paul Garbellini said.
“As soon as we got into the final it felt like the pressure was off, as either way the trophy was coming home with us and it didn’t bother me too much who won. If Lisa had won I would have been just as happy, but it was good to finally get a ANDRA Gold Christmas Event Tree and the fact it was my last race in Super Street before I move into Modified next season made it that much more special.
“Thank you to WA Performance, LSX Power Train, All Fast Torque Converters, Australian Scrap Batteries, and the Red Nut Racing Crew.”
Brodie Zappia – Super Sedan event winner
Brodie Zappia – last year’s Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster National Champion – took out the Westernationals event win over Glenn Sterkenburg in what was only his second national event in the senior ranks, and his first in his Chevrolet Camaro (at the Goldenstates he competed in Super Sedan in his Uncle John Zappia’s Ute).
Zappia was also the Decoglaze Glass Splashbacks Top Qualifier for the event, and faced off against Dean Whisson in round one before a bye in round two, a win over title contender Martin Mirco in round three, and new Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series Super Sedan Australian Champion and John Storm Memorial winner, Lance Larcombe, in the semi. Sterkenburg meanwhile had taken on Goran Kojic (round one) and Trung Tran before a round three bye and a semi-final win over Roger Moorhouse.
“I was ecstatic in the car, I saw the win light pop up as soon as we crossed the finish line and I couldn’t believe it that in only four meetings in the car I had taken out two wins and won a ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree in my first season in Super Sedan, which is arguably one of the closest and hardest classes in Group Three racing,” Zappia said.
“This is definitely a massive achievement for me so early on and I can’t wait to see where the rest of my senior racing career takes me. It just felt amazing, no one on the team was expecting it and it was just something that came by luck and hard work and the effort and everything that went into it, I am so grateful to have the opportunity.
“I am looking to keep the car consistent now and just have fun racing in Group Three categories while I am working and learning everything I need to learn racing, and go out and have fun and do the best I can.
“I would like to say thank you to mum and dad, Uncle John, Zappia Racing, to Lachlan for all of his help on the Camaro across the weekend, and to my sponsors Mister T Racing, ADR Engines, BL&SG Lake (Scruffy), Taylor Tyres, CIC Coatings and ACS Sports Images, and a special mention to new supporter JK Steel Construction who will be supporting me from here on out.”
Paul Ryan – Modified event winner
Paul Ryan took out the Modified win at the Westernationals over runner-up, Jeff Acton. To line up for the final, Ryan had earlier dispatched Nicholas Wroe (round one), Anthony Raschella and Shane Holmes, while Acton had taken on Michelle Osborn, Dan Hodgins and Darryl Treasure. The Decoglaze Glass Splashbacks Top Qualifier was Simon Barlow, who despite going out in the first round, was later crowned as the new Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series Modified Champions over Dan Hodgins.
“It was an honour to finally win a Gold Christmas tree, especially in a true 1965-era car. The win is still sinking in,” Ryan said.
“The 43rd Westernationals was my last time in a final at this event, where I won runner-up, as I find it a little difficult to get to most race meetings due to work commitments.
“Heading into the weekend, I was unsure what it was going to bring, and we just took each elimination race as it came, as we race to have fun.
“In the first qualifier, it wasn’t going to plan as we had some issues with the new pair of slicks recently fitted on the car. We missed the second qualifier and managed to get the car back out for the third and final qualifier.
“The lead up to the final had us waiting in the staging lanes for some time but it was a good final race with a great racer, Jeff Acton.
“I would like to thank my crew which consists of Mum, Dad – who raced one of the first two front engine dragsters in WA in 1967 – Sharon, Jamie, and Ryan, and also past crew members who have helped along the way. I couldn’t do it without them.
“I would also like to thank my sponsor – the James family who have been a great supporter through the whole journey since I imported the car from Bakersfield, California in 2009, and also some of my great work mates who came down to support us on the weekend.”
Kasey McClure – Supercharged Outlaws event winner
Kasey McClure took out the event win in Supercharged Outlaws over Norbert Claite.
McClure had earlier taken wins from Greg James and Peter Appleby, while Claite had dispatched new Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series Supercharged Outlaws Champion Alan Mahnkoph in the first round, before taking on Jodie Mellitt in the semi.
“It was an exciting and special moment to take the win at the 52nd Westernationals, especially with it being the biggest event for WA and our only chance to get a Gold Christmas tree all season. I’ve seen my dad win a few Westerns himself and to also be able to win one myself was pretty cool,” McClure said.
“I was confident in how the car was running and how I’ve been driving in the lead up to the event, but you can never feel too confident coming into an event like the Westerns and just have to take every race as it comes and try to have fun with it.
“Saturday qualifying went really well, the car ran very consistently and gave us good information to dial in with for Sunday. There were very windy conditions all weekend and the crew worked very hard to predict what the car was going to run, which gave me the confidence to drive the car out the back door on all three elimination rounds.
“The final went very well as I cut my best light of the whole weekend and combined with my closest ET to our dial in, it gave us a great package. We knew that we would need every bit of that package in the final to beat Norbert Claite, who is a very tough competitor.
“I would like to thank all of the track staff, the other racers in Supercharged Outlaws and most importantly, my Mum and Dad, my brothers Connor and Bailey and my crew, Troy Lane and Brad Anderson.”
Daniel Natalotto – Competition Bike event winner
While Joe Khoury won the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series Competition Bike Australian Championship, the event win went to Daniel Natalotto, who faced off against Troy Thompson in the final following the three-round format for an eight-strong field of Comp Bikes.
To secure their spots in the final, Natalotto – also the Decoglaze Glass Splashbacks Top Qualifier in Modified Bike for the event – won earlier races over Wayne Gummow and Matt Haunold with a bye in the first round, while Thompson defeated Ross Green and Rob Wasley before a bye in the third round.
“Going into it I was looking at the points as I was leading the WA Championship and I wanted to keep that lead going, and anything that came on top of that was a bonus,” Natalotto said.
“To top qualify was a dream because I haven’t done that since the 2015 Westernationals, and then to go on to win my first ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree. I have got many track records, a national record, and event wins and other bits and pieces, but I had never had a Gold tree so to get that was a one of a kind experience, it was the one I had been waiting for.
“The event actually started off really badly for us, we were investigating changing to race fuel but I ended up using some stale fuel and went backwards during testing. So last minute we put it back on pump fuel – I actually rode to the track on Saturday, top qualified, rode home, and then rode back Sunday, won the event, and rode home again, all on pump fuel. So, it is a true street bike in all aspects.
“It is as fast as you can get without going on a nitro bike, and these are the biggest and baddest guys in the country (in Competition Bike) and I have literally ridden in on my daily bike and top qualified and won, so I was a little impressed with myself, and so was my partner Tash,” he grinned.
“This whole thing really is because of my partner, Natasha. She is a modified bike racer and has put her own riding on hold this season to focus on me trying to win the WA Championship, so thank you to her and also to Brock’s Performance and Bren Tuning.
“We actually run the Street Bike Drag School over here at the Motorplex, and we are running our own championship with our last event of the season coming up – so we are looking forward to doing the same thing ANDRA does for us for someone else and handing out some cool trophies.”
Michael Buckley – Competition event winner
Michael Buckley had a very successful event, taking out the Competition event win over Craig Geddes, who just claimed his ninth Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series Championship, and his seventh in a row. Geddes was also the Decoglaze Glass Splashbacks Top Qualifier for the Westernationals.
Buckley also reset a national record on his way to the victory, while defeating Bailey McClure (round one) and Sam Treasure before a bye run in the semis. Geddes meanwhile had enjoyed an opening round bye before taking on Paul Carey and Jayde Richardson.
“My head is still spinning a bit; I certainly didn’t expect to win against Craig Geddes. I had to go for gold as such to get around Geddes, the record is a by-product of that,” Buckley explained.
“It felt great to get around him, by the time I was just about ready to go into third gear or coming out of third gear, he sort of just disappeared from my line of sight to the left of me and I sort of gave myself half a chance from there on. It was good.
“I was certainly gifted two solos into the final, but I will take that any day that I can. It was a really good final, a great race.
“100 percent it was unexpected, generally I am just there making up the numbers. The car performed first run off the trailer, which I was surprised about as I had changed quite a few things on the tune-up side of things.
“It went seven-one straight off at 196, where I thought it was going to run like a nine with the amount of change we had made. We had gone in there not knowing where it would be tune-up wise, and after the first run we just made a couple of tiny little changes to the tune-up and then didn’t touch it for the rest of the weekend.
“To win my first ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree is fantastic, totally unexpected, and with the two solos into the final I sort of went in with a clear head and no expectations – I knew the car was performing reasonably well but usually when I am under the pump in a final like that I will do something stupid like red light or fall asleep on the tree, but I managed to fluke it, so that was good.
“Thank you to my crew, Lawrence, Sean, Dave, and to Todd Stacy – a massive thank you to him, and also my sponsors Last Man Standing, Johnex Explosives, Boardwalk Pools, Billet Inc and Haltech.”
