| Nationals News Wrap |
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| Written by Various | |
| Wednesday, 19 September 2007 | |
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All the goss from the Australian Nationals held at Willowbank on the weekend.
Top Fuel It was a battle of experience versus youth in the Top Fuel final with Phil Read defeating fresh-faced Amanda Shepherd in a closely fought run. Phil’s 4.625 at over 318 miles per hour helped him secure the Australian Nationals title. Shepherd was ecstatic to make the final and showing huge promise in just her second event behind the wheel of a Top Fuel race car. Shepherd stuns It’s hard to believe that Amanda Shepherd has only completed a total of two Top Fuel race meetings, and over the weekend at Willowbank Raceway in Queensland for the running of the Australian Nationals she created history by taking on reigning Australian Champion Phil Read in the final. Shepherd is the first to admit that her making the final was helped along by a bit of good fortune, after she defeated Martin Stamatis in the opening round of eliminations, and then gained a free by through to the final after gaining a bye run in the semi finals. Taking on reigning Australian Champion Phil Read in the final was such a buzz for the 19-year-old, where she regarded herself as a winner no matter what the outcome. “I think I’m going to be on cloud nine for quite a long time, as making the final for the Australian Nationals is an amazing achievement, and all this in only my second ever Top Fuel meeting,” expressed a very pleased Shepherd. “Going into the final I wasn’t too worried about the end result, as I was totally stoked just to be in the final, and although first place would have been nice, second place is still very, very good, and something that will be with me forever.” After qualifying sixth, with a 5.18 second pass at 275mph, Shepherd downed Martin Stamatis in the opening round of eliminations, in what was her maiden Top Fuel victory. “When I crossed the finish line in my battle with Martin [Stamatis] I didn’t know whether or not I had won, but when it was confirmed that I had actually won, it was the best feeling ever, as this was my very first win in Top Fuel,” Shepherd explained. “My team were absolutely over the moon, as we knew that if we got through the opening round of eliminations, then we were through the final to final due to the bye in the semi-finals.” For the semi-final pass, Shepherd took to the staging lane and failed to attempt a pass due to needing to conserve the car for the final. “It was disappointing for me and especially the fans that I didn’t attempt a pass, but in the opening round we hurt a lot of engine parts during that run, so we had to look after the engine for the final as we are just a small budget team,” she said. “We are searching for a major sponsor to help us improve our budget, as the fans are what make Drag Racing and without them racing just wouldn’t be possible, and I hate letting them down by not being able to put on a performance out on the track.” Once again, Shepherd was very grateful for all the support from the fans she received throughout the Australian Nationals weekend. “The fans were out of this world and I’m very glad that everyone of one of them shows their support, as it’s invaluable,” she said. “Everyone comes up and talks to me and offers their words of support and encouragement, and I’m more than happy to take time out from my racing. I’m glad that I am able to take them along for the ride with me, as the fans are a very special part of my racing, and one of my key motivators.” Shepherd would like to thank the entire Skip’s Racing team, especially her father Bob and her own tower of strength brother Mat, for their continued efforts. Top Alcohol New South Welshman, Wayne Newby made a welcome return to the winner’s circle with a stunning performance at the Australian Nationals. The defending champion didn’t have it all his own way with Aaron Lynch making the final and also showing great form with a new clutch set-up in his Funny Car. Another final appearance has seen Lynch equal with Newby on points at the top of the standings. Reeds make progress The Reed Racing team have made some excellent progress in their assault on the 2007/2008 Australian Top Alcohol Championship at the Australian Nationals last weekend (14th-16th September). Competing on their home track of Willowbank Raceway, the husband and wife team of Steven and Debbie Reed were both in the leading pack through most of qualifying in what eventuated in being the quickest Top Alcohol field in history. Sporting a brand new PSI Supercharger on his Camaro Funny Car, Steven began his weekend well to be in the number 2 position after the first two rounds of qualifying, before settling for the number 6 spot. He then entered the elimination rounds confident of a good performance and failed to disappoint when he proceeded to lay down his quickest pass of the weekend with a 5.69 to go through to the next round. With the team on a high and some good data for the track and weather conditions, Steven then stepped up his Funny Car for his semi-final battle, only to have it drop 2 cylinders when he launched off the start line. A semi-final result at the Nationals though has kept him in touch with the leaders in the Championship with him currently sitting in third position. “Overall it was a really positive weekend for the team, we had both my Funny Car and Debbie’s Dragster running consistently in the 5-second zone without having to lean on the engines too much,” Steven said. “With my car running so well I would have really like to have made it through to final as I think I would have had as much chance as anyone at taking it out, but after dropping a couple cylinders in my semi it was all over for me.” “We still aren’t quite sure as to why it dropped them so we will take the car back to the workshop and strip down the engine to make sure we find the problem so it doesn’t happen again.” Debbie Reed found herself as one of the most unlucky racers of the weekend though as she took it up to the men in her Top Alcohol Dragster. After blasting down the quarter mile track in 5.82 seconds, a time that would have qualified her in the top 8 of every other field in the brackets history, she found herself sitting in the number 9 spot with just one pass left to run. In a final attempt to grab back one of the spots which she had occupied through most of qualifying, Debbie was looking good as she powered straight down the middle of the track, only to have the burst panel on her supercharger blow out leaving her less than 6 hundredths of a second outside the field for the elimination rounds. “After I had run the 5.82 in my third qualifier I thought that I would have definitely made the Finals on Sunday, it was enough to make every other field at any other event,” Debbie Reed said. “But unfortunately for me it just wasn’t enough, to miss out by such a small margin at the very last minute is pretty disappointing but that is racing.” “I will just have to keep pushing my dragster harder and faster to make sure I am there next time.” “On a positive note though we have eliminated the tyre shake problems I was having and now I have a really competitive package together so things are really looking good for the rest of the season for the team.” Top Doorslammer Bishop moves to second Teamwork, commitment and an unwavering dedication to the job has ensured Stuart Bishop Racing second position in the Australian Top Doorslammer Championship, thanks to back-to-back semi-finals appearances in the competitive drag racing category. Top Bike The Australian Nationals Top Bike final was an all Harley affair with Ian Ashelford getting there first over Championship leader, Troy MacLean. Ashelford’s impressive form over the weekend culminated in a devilish 6.66 second run in the final over MacLean’s 6.74. Dennis Grant and Neville Smith used their Harley’s to good effect by making the Semi’s after Round One winner, Brett Stevens was a shock first round casualty. Rodney Salvestro walked away from the Australian Nationals at Queensland’s Willowbank Raceway last weekend (September 14 – 16) pleased with his efforts in the Top Bike category despite being knocked out in the opening round of eliminations. For the second meeting in a row Salvestro and his Gulf Western Oil / Gatorz Precision Eyewear and Fabre Australia supported Nitro Harley Davidson took on top ranked rider Troy McLean in the opening round of eliminations and once again was defeated comfortably by his opponent. “It’s not doing me any favours running up against Troy [McLean] at each meeting as he is a class act and someone that I look up to, and at this stage it’s going to take some divine intervention for me to be able to defeat him,” Salvestro said. “With that said, I can still learn from being beaten by one of the best riders in the country, and that is that I need to go faster, but in all seriousness running up against the best brings me to a level that I need to be at, if I want to be successful.” McLean moves to top of championship Brett Stevens Racing team member Troy McLean asserted his authority on the Australian Top Bike Championship at the Drag Racing Nationals on the weekend (14th-16th September) with a runner up result aboard his Jack Daniel’s Racing Nitro Harley. His second position in the professional bracket, coupled with the speed and elapsed time bonus points he earned, was enough for him to move to the top of the National Championship table after two rounds of the series. The Brett Stevens Racing team began their weekend well with an incredible qualifying effort where they managed to Top Qualify in three out of the four Group 1 brackets they were competing in. In what was Australia’s quickest ever Top Alcohol field, Stevens himself lead the qualifying charge in his Kitten Car Care Products Funny Car after blasting a 5.62 second pass, while also running the second fastest time ever for a Top Alcohol Funny Car in the country at 258.47 mph (416 kph). Stevens then ensured the team was well represented in Top Bike, qualifying second behind team mate and eventual runner up Troy McLean on the two Jack Daniel’s Racing Nitro Harleys. Pro Stock Bike also saw a familiar sight with the teams S&S Powered Buell claiming the top spot with Peter Cochrane running a personal best 7.21 second time. “To top qualify in three out of four professional brackets with across both cars and bikes is a fantastic result for the team,” Stevens said. “Unfortunately we couldn’t go on to take a win though, I had electrical issues in my Funny Car during my semi-final and couldn’t get it to fire properly, and also had to shut down my Top Bike in the quarter-final due to a leaking seal on the fuel pump.” “After setting the quickest time in qualifying Pete (Cochrane) also went out in the quarter-finals of Pro Stock Bike when he jumped the start and red lighted.” “Fortunately for the team Troy (McLean) managed to take his Jack Daniel’s Racing Top Bike through to final where he was only just pipped by 8 hundredths of second despite running a personal best speed of 211 mph (340 kph).” “Hopefully we can keep up these times for the rest of the season and go on take some event wins and maybe some Championships.” In Top Doorslammer the team made some excellent progress in their assault on the Australian Championship with their two Jack Daniel’s Racing Falcons (Brett Stevens and Kath Stevens) and SP Racing Falcon (Steve Packman) all competing. Both Brett Stevens and Packman were inside the top 8 for the majority of Saturday qualifying in what eventuated in being the quickest Top Doorslammer field in history. Adding to this was Kath Stevens setting a personal best elapsed time despite shutting off well before the finish line. Unfortunately though for the team they were just bumped out of the Finals field in the last qualifying runs as the record field was set. “I was a bit disappointed at not being able to improve on my time second qualifying time (of 6.27), I was in the field right up until the last minute so to go out by such a small margin is devastating,” Packman said. “Things are really looking good for the rest of the season though with all of our testing and development finally paying dividends.” “We have now eliminated the tyre shake problems that we were encountering and will really begin to apply the pressure as we turn up the wick.” “I am really looking forward to the next round of the Championship in Perth, there is a really positive vibe around the cars now and I am certain I will be able to not only lower my personal best times, but also stake my place at the top end of the most competitive and exciting bracket in Australian Drag Racing.” Salvestro earlier in the Australian Nationals weekend qualified into the field by claiming the eighth and final spot of the elimination rounds after a productive qualifying runs where he managed to get amongst the 7 second bracket. “I’m pretty happy with the weekend overall despite being eliminated in the opening round, as I was able to get consistently down the track, and a 6 second pass shouldn’t be too far away,” commented Salvestro. “In one of my qualifying runs I was actually well on my way to a 6 second pass only to back off the throttle at half track due to lack of light at the bottom end of the Willowbank Raceway which is quite daunting especially at such high speeds, so that gives me plenty of confidence that a 6 second pass is within my reach.” Pro Stock Aaron Tremayne has stared the 2007/2008 ANDRA Pro Stock Championship on fire, winning both rounds and taking all but one of the performance bonuses in both events. John Barbagallo proved a worthy adversary with a series of stout ETs across the weekend but couldn’t hold of Tremayne in the final. Two Mustangs made the semis, with Jason Grima and Scott Porter both missing out on victory by the barest of margins. Tyronne Tremayne had some niggling issues with his Pontiac but still managed to qualify in the number four slot. As is typical for Pro Stock the entire field was covered by slightly more than a tenth of a second with Newcombe, Daley and Tucker all making the first round. Pro Stock Bike Callam Godeassi rode his Suzuki all the way to an ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree with a victory over Victorian Graeme Weston in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final. The final was the end of a good weekend for the Godeassi team with consistent riding getting him through the rounds over the entire weekend. 2007 AC Delco East Coast Nationals winner, Adelaide’s Jason Lee took his Suzuki into the semis where he met Godeassi. Peter Cochrane managed to take both speed and time performance bonuses aboard the Brett Stevens Racing Buell, but a red light saw an end to the day. Maurice Allan is having a consistently fast season and currently sits fourth in the points. Eight national records reset The Australian Nationals at Willowbank Raceway saw a sensational eight new ANDRA Nationals reset over an amazing weekend of ANDRA Championship action. It was long time Top Doorslammer campaigner Peter Kapiris that rewrote the record books in Group One, with the Studebaker recording a massive 246.58 miles per hour. In Group Two, the records were falling thanks to the impressive performances of Rob West and Anthony Selva. West and his T-Bucket reset both ends of the BB/AA record list with a 6.539 at 211.17mph meaning the class index has been lowered slightly to 7.03. Selva’s dragster was equally impressive and also managed to do the National Record double with 7.614 seconds 174.15mph, meaning the index is now 8.11. An excited Colin Lloyd also took a record on his way to winning the Australian Nationals title with his B Gas Pontiac, achieving a 7.909 second ET and lowering the class index got B/GA to 8.40 in the process. Suzuki pilot Peter Everett came to the Nationals with a runner-up performance at WSID and went one better to take the title and also set a new National Record with an 8.799 run. The Group Three Records also took a shake with Darryl Marsh’s Toyota powered altered running hard to record a 9.438 second record. Top Doorslammer – Peter Kapiris - Studebaker/KB 511 - Terminal Speed 246.58 BB/AA – Robert West – T-Bucket/Chev 469 - Elapsed Time 6.539 - Terminal Speed 211.17 - Class Index 7.03 CD/A – Anthony Selva – Dragster/Ford 360 - Elapsed Time 7.614 - Terminal Speed 174.15 - Class Index 8.11 B/GA – Colin Lloyd - Pontiac/Chev 330 - Elapsed Time 7.909 - Class Index 8.40 A/SB – Peter Everett - Suzuki/GSX 1100 - Elapsed Time 8.799 - Class Index 9.29 CC/MA – Darryl Marsh - Altered/Toyota 18R - Elapsed Time 9.438 |
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