PremiAir Racing team owner-driver Peter Xiberras snapped a nine-round losing streak to defeat local racer Phil Read in the A-Final of the Atlantic Oils Top Fuel Slam meet at Sydney Dragway, January 27-28.

NHRA star Larry Dixon upstaged his Rapisarda Autosport International teammate Wayne Newby to win the B-Final and Shane Olive took out the C-Final on a solo when team boss Phil Lamattina was a no-show.

“It’s been a while,” said Xiberras, who also paid tribute to Sam Fenech, the much-loved Doorslammer racer who lost his life at Willowbank Raceway earlier this month.
“This one was always about Sam.” 

"I wanted to come here for Sam and then work out what I wanted to do and I am just so proud that I could do it in his honor.”

"He is such a beloved character and we won't forget him. I had his brother and son come and see me today and it was such a vote of confidence that they still approve of what we do.”
With only three rounds remaining in the 2022-23 season, the meeting would be the tipping point for teams chasing the Australian Top Fuel Championship.  

The driver under the most pressure was Xiberras, fifth in the points and in search of his first win since June 2021 in order to keep his championship hopes alive.

For RAI star Damien Harris, undefeated this season, a win would all but seal his third Top Fuel title, while his teammate Wayne Newby in fourth spot, needs a win to remain in contention. 
 
The spotlight was also on LTFR duo Phil Lamattina and Shane Olive in third and sixth place, respectively. The Carrot King was chasing his first win since Mildura 2022 and Olive, in his sophomore year, was looking to post his second career win.

 

 

Jim Read Racing, second in the points, also added NHRA tuner Jim Oberhofer to their talent pool for the weekend. Tuner Bruce Read, lavish in his praise of Jim “O’s” efforts in helping the team finesse clutch and fuel issues that have plagued the team. 

Adding spice to the mixture was the appearance of three-time NHRA star Larry Dixon as the third wheel in the Rapisarda Autosport International team.

In Q1 Phil Read posted a 3.811. to head the charts from Newby with a 3.816 and teammate Harris on 3.83. 

The surprise packet came courtesy of the RAI C-Team headed by Dixon, crew chief Rob Cavagnino with NHRA veteran Glen Mikres on hand. A 3.84 was a superb effort from the hastily assembled volunteer crewmembers.

Xiberras was fifth with a 3.96 ahead of Lamattina and Olive.

In Q2, Harris cracked the 3.80 barrier with a 3.79, while Dixon collected his second 3.84. Xiberras stormed into third place with a tidy 3.81.

Then, with Newby and Read in the staging lanes, it began to rain, leading to the rest of the session being canceled.

Under the race regulations, the times posted in Q2 by Xiberras, Harris and Dixon were disallowed.

According to series organizer Nathan Prendergast, “The rule was updated on August 2022 and said that if one session is canceled or not completed then seeding will be from a single session. So given we only had one completed session and the other only had three of seven cars down the track, the seeding’s will be based on the first session.”
  
Harris, who was headed to the number one qualifier spot, was philosophical. "They are the rules that we agreed to and we accept that missing out is just one of those things that can happen. It was disappointing for us and the other teams that didn't get a chance to run."

On Race day, teams faced the most challenging weather conditions of the season. 
Air temperatures above 90O F, humidity hovering around the 80 percent mark, plus the added challenge of a track temperature of 135O F.

Round one was a disaster for Rapisarda Autosport International, with all three entries beaten.

Dixon faced off against Xiberras and, according to Dixon, smoked the tires “a car length into the run” yet still had the presence to keep his foot into it. Xiberras claimed victory win despite throwing a belt near the half-track.

Lamattina defeated Harris, who detonated an engine and Olive accounted for Newby after both simultaneously smoked the tires.

Read, on a solo after top qualifying, gathered low E.T. and Top Speed bonus points of the round with a 4.13, despite dropping a pair of cylinders and pushing out a head gasket.

The penultimate round of racing began spectacularly when Olive cut a red light and gifted the win and a place in the A-final to his opponent Xiberras.

Read joined Xiberras in the A-Final after taking the honors against Harris. Both cars struggled with grip. Read dropped a cylinder on the hit and was also forced to lift around 800 feet. Harris also had his hands full after smoking the tires and tossing a belt.
Despite dropping a pair of cylinders, Newby hung on to account for Lamattina and Dixon on the solo-clocked 3.94 after dropping a cylinder 1.9 seconds into the run.

 

 

The finals were played out under much-improved conditions. The air temperature was a sultry 80O F, and the track surface had dipped to 105O F.

The Read versus Xiberras A-Final shootout was over quickly. 
Xiberras led from the green, tossed a belt and cruised to the finish line with a 3.84 to claim a long-overdue win. Read dropped a cylinder on the hit, yet he battled on gamely until shutting down around the three-quarter track.

The B-final pitted RAI teammates Newby and Dixon, chasing third place on the podium. 
Newby was first off the line and was in front to the eighth mile when Dixon took the lead and went on to win.

“In all the time I've been racing open-wheel drag cars, this is the first time I’ve ever been on the podium for finishing in third place. This is amazing,” said Dixon. "I want to thank the Rapisarda family - Santo, his boys and Gianna - for calling me up and allowing me to race in Australia. Thanks to the crew and the tuner Rob Cavagnino for giving me a great car. Santo has quite the collection of trophies, and I might have to arm wrestle him to take home the trophy for coming third."

The race between LTFR teammates Olive and Lamattina was an anti-climax when the Lamattina car was a no-show.
"We're scratching our heads on this one," said Lamattina. “We tried to get out there, but it didn't happen. We ran out of time. It's no good rushing things because that's when things go wrong. We'll return to the shop and work it out from there."

DOORSLAMMER

Western Australian Doorslammer star Kelvin Lyle dominated the weekend with two wins.
The first came during the second round of qualifying when he scored a massive holeshot victory over fellow Western Australian John Zappia in the A-Final that was held over from the Willowbank Raceway meeting three weeks earlier.

Earlier in Q2, Lyle stamped his authority on the field, stopping the timers with a 5.72 to lead Zappia, highly fancied Daniel Gregorini, then locals Emilio Spinozzi and Geoff Gradden.
Lyle’s passage to the A-Final included a first-round solo followed by a comfortable win over Northern Territory racer Matt Abel. Lyle’s reaction time was a sluggish .11 sec. Yet he was able to run a 5.80, the best of the round. 

Gregorini made it to the trophy after leading all the way against veteran Peter Kapiris and then a come-from-behind win over local Craig Hewitt.

In the A-Final, Lyle was first on the green and led all the way to defeat Gregorini. Zappia drove around Spinozzi to claim victory in the B-Final.
“I couldn’t have scripted it any better,” said Lyle. “I wanted to win the Willowbank round to honor the memory of Sam. Then to go on and win today was the icing on the cake. The track was sticky and hot all day and thankfully came around a bit for the final.”

The surprise packet of the meet came in the guise of Peter Kapiris. Returning to the racing after an absence of eight years, he made the cut in seventh place. A loss to Gregorini, then a solo, landed the jovial Kapiris in the C-Final against well-respected local Geoff Gradden.
Kapiris trailed his rival out of the blocks and inherited the lead when Gradden
 lost traction allowing Kapiris to take a fairytale win.

"The win was awesome," said Kapiris. “We had a fantastic weekend. So many fans came around to wish the team well. We came here with absolutely no expectations. I did a couple of runs and got my groove back, then my tuner Jeff Cutajar said ‘let’s try a couple of things.’ He did. Bang. Away we went and won.”

PRO MOD

Pro Mod attracted five entries. Category front-runner Jeremy Callaghan top qualified and defeated second qualifier Neil Murphy in the final. 

 

PIT NOTES

HONORING SAM FENECH - The meeting hosted several emotional tributes to Doorslammer racer Sam Fenech.

Many teams over the weekend wore commemorative Sam Fenech Tee shirts instead of their usual race team shirts.

FULL HOUSE - Whether it was to honor the memory of Fenech, the appearance of Top Fuel at Sydney Dragway for the first time in 12 months, or the attraction of discounted admission costs, the meeting attracted a capacity crowd and forced officials to close the gates.

NEW WHEELS ARE COMING FOR LYLE - Doorslammer star Kelvin Lyle drives the team transporter across the country to Western Australia, then flies off to Buffalo, New York, to get fitted out for a new set of wheels from G-Force Race Cars. The car will arrive in Australia later this year and will likely debut in round one of the 2023-2024 season. 

U.S GUESTS IN THE HOUSE - Dixon and Jim Oberhofer were joined by veteran NHRA tuner Glen Mikres, who was spotted in the Dixon pit.

FREQUENT FLIER POINTS FOR DIXON- Dixon left Australia 36 hours after the race, headed for his hometown Indianapolis in time to see his sons’ basketball game on Monday night. The following morning he flew to Gainesville to assist a driver in upgrading their license to Top Fuel. Three days later, he returns to Indy. 

OBERHOFER’S SUMMER BREAK - After four weeks in Australia on a working holiday with Jim Read Racing, Oberhofer left Australia two days after the meeting heading back to family in Texas, then onto to North Carolina to help prepare the Rick Ware Racing Fuel car to be driven by Clay Millican in the 2023 NHRA Camping World Series.