Australian Top Doorslammer Champion John Zappia again showed why he is back-to-back Champion with a commanding win in Round 4 of the Top Doorslammer ANDRA Pro Series Championship.
The Zappia Racing crew overcame early troubles in qualifying, and came back strong in the Fuchs Lubricants / Procomp Electronics Monaro to reset the National Record to 5.801 seconds.
“We are delighted with the win for Fuchs Lubricants and Procomp Electronics” said Zappia, “They are our Co-naming Rights Sponsors and have showed faith in us as a team to fund this season. Today we repaid them and all our other sponsors and supporters who give our team a real depth”.
“When we came out for the first qualifier and it misfired all through the run, we were in two minds what to change to correct that, as a new mag was the only change since last meeting’s win. We changed the complete ignition and control system to be sure, but a broken throttle cable on the second qualifier really set us back”.
“But we have been in this position so many times, that we just went back to our basics – checked our extensive data, put in a reasonable tune and gave it our best. A 5.915 @ 245.94mph did the trick to get us into the field in fourth position”.
“Overnight the crew did some minor head maintenance, and we set up for Round 1 against Bishop who surprised us all with his auto set up running a 5.916 in qualifying. We stepped up the tune up in Crusher for this run, and ran it out the back door for a potential National Record run of 5.801 @ 248.07mph. Benny Bray got a lucky break when Belleri shook and had to lift, Kapiris just beat Mifsud who impressed , and Judd had a bye when Fabietti could not start – what an unlucky break”.
“Our next run was a repeat of the Round 3 Final and I knew Juddy was kicking himself and would have a hot tune in the Stude, so we stepped up slightly in our tune. The Fuchs Lubricants / Procomp Electronics Monaro was crazy on this run, going sideways and I had to do some hard pedaling and steering to keep it in my lane. Robin also joined me in my lane giving me the automatic win – but a 5.952 @ 245.32mph was pretty good considering”.
Ben Bray won the other semifinal when Kapiris rolled the beams on the start to foul, and was not able to complete a representative pass.
“The final was going to be another cracker – I knew the Brays had some new equipment on the cars and were very keen for a win. Great to see them back in form. But never underestimate the power of our engines – thanks to Southside Engine Centre we had the killer motor back in for this meeting and it didn’t let us down”.
“Benny was on the money on the tree with a 0.064 reaction and was actually in front at about three quarter track, but I hit top and the torque monster Hemi we have developed at Zappia Racing set me back in the seat and just got us over the line for the win. The 5.836 @ 248.02mph was enough to back up the earlier run, and we reset our previous national Record”.
Zappia now leads the Championship on 480 points, ahead of Kapiris on 415.5, Judd on 407.5 and Belleri on 206.5.
“The team is ecstatic with the win. We have done it hard this year, and it’s been sheer guts and determination from all in the team that has us again at the top in the championship. Our will to win is high no doubt, but our team and huge list of sponsors and supporters really makes a difference in us getting all the things done. Graham Jones from Southside Engine Centre has finally retired and sold out of the business, and we pay him a huge tribute for his wisdom and racing pedigree in Australian nitro and blown alky racing. His guidance and advice has been instrumental in gaining championships. ”
“Zappia Racing heads to Mildura for Easter with the next round of Slamfest eighth mile racing, where we hope to catch Peter Kapiris who leads me by five points”.
Slamfest (www.slamfest.com.au)
Gates open at 9.00am with Racing from 11.00am
Slamfest Schedule : (Check out www.sunsetstrip.org.au for more)
Test Run: 11:00am, Qualifying: 1.00pm, Round 1: 3.00pm, Semi Finals: 5.00pm, and Final: 7.00pm
(Times are approximate check website closer to event)
“The team then heads back to Sydney Dragway for the Nitro Champs, which is Round 5 of the Top Doorslammer ANDRA Pro Series Championship”.
Co-Naming Rights Sponsors
Fuchs Lubricants, and Procomp Electronics
Major Sponsors
Striker Crushing and Screening, K-Trans Racing, Elora – German Tools, Beta Spuds, Southside Engine Centre, Noonan Race Engineering, and PPG Automotive Refinish.
Supporting Sponsors
All Tools, Santhuff, Victory1, B & J Racing Transmissions, Mi Camcorders, Current Trendz, Crow Cams, Aero Group – Avtrac Maintenance Tracking, Legend Boatbuilders, Taylor Tyres, Kounis Metal Industries, Bravo Resources, CIC High Performance Coatings, Aurora Bearings, Soltoggio Bros, and Track-Meter.
