SUNDAY RESULTS - ZAPPIA MAKES A CLEAN SWEEP IN ALICE SPRINGS

John Zappia has clean-swept the Top Doorslammer category at Alice Spring Inland Dragway’s Desert Nationals this weekend - top qualifying and taking the event victory this afternoon (Sunday 17 July) whilst also resetting the track speed (193.97mph) and elapsed time (3.966s) eighth-mile distance records in the process.

The journey to the final was marked by plenty of exciting racing, starting with the very first round.

In that session of racing there were plenty of gasps elicited from the crowd, with Zappia starting off his chase of the track records with a win against Matt Abel including what was then the fastest speed on the ASID track.

Rookie racer Sam Fenech also impressed, taking out a round one win against drag racing legend Victor Bray. Bray’s son Ben had better luck when it came to making it past the first round with a win over Mark Belleri, while Grant O’Rourke triumphed over Mark Chapman.

The semi-final would see Zappia matched up with Fenech, while Benny ‘the kid’ Bray took on O’Rourke to proceed to a finals match-up against the defending and nine-time champion.

The West Australian would pip the Queenslander in a close race, with his 3.966s/193.97mph effort resetting the track records. While Zappia would cross the line first after Bray bested his reaction time, Bray was never far behind - traversing the eighth-mile distance in just 4.073 seconds at 187.50 miles per hour.

“It feels absolutely fantastic to take the win, this follows a lot of effort from a lot of people,” said Zappia.

“We have a new Noonan Racing engine in the car and we showed potential with one good run in Darwin. We came here though with a different mindset, looking to make the car consistent so we can win races and not just run big numbers.

“We slowed it down – everyone did – because after the crash yesterday, everyone thought ‘nope’, we just have to get from A to B, and as an eighth mile race it puts a bit less stress on the engines and all of that.

“So we backed it off and ran a heap of consistent 4.0s, and then tried to step it up for the second run and that didn’t work. It left harder, but it rattled earlier and got out of the groove a bit, so we ended up with a 4.00s again.

“We thought, do we back it off or do we leave it? We ended up saying let’s leave it and I will drive it again and hopefully drive it a bit better and do the job,” laughed Zappia.

“Benny got the holeshot on me, I had a bad light on that one. But the overall winning margin was 25 thousandths of a second, so there was not much in it at all at the finish line apparently. And we come away with a three second pass – the track record for ASID on the eighth mile, and also the overall speed record of nearly 194 miles per hour for this track.”

SPORTSMAN WINNERS CROWNED IN WHAT IS DEEMED TO BE SUCCESSFUL EVENT

While the Group One racing provided plenty of action for the enthusiastic crowd at Alice Springs Dragway, there was also plenty of other action on-show across the day, including championship racing for Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series and exhibition passes from both Matt Abel’s Outlaw Nitro Funny Car and Chris Porter’s Top Fuel Motorcycle.

ANDRA congratulates the Central Australian Drag Racing Association and Alice Springs Inland Dragway on a fantastic event and thanks the volunteers for their outstanding efforts prior to and throughout the weekend.

Alice Springs Inland Dragway has hosted a busy day of racing for round two of the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series today (Sunday 17 July), with the Desert Nationals winner’s circle hosting Mark Hunt (Supercharged Outlaws), Luke Veersma (Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster), Gavin Chisnell (Modified), Leith Darrach (Modified Bike), Graeme Simms (Super Comp), Peter Tzokas (Super Sedan), Jacob Mills (Super Street) and Matt Forbes (Top Sportsman). 

Hunt’s victory marked his first ever national event win, with the Supercharged Outlaws racer locking away a number of impressive race wins against heavy-hitters on his way to the Supercharged Outlaws Desert Nationals final against Justin Russell. 

Hunt hoisted the ANDRA tree after turning a round one win against semi final-regular Doina Day into an upset round two win against top qualifier, current Champion and Nitro Up North winner Adam Murrihy into his finals date with Russell. His ultimate victory would come courtesy of a 4.981s/142.41mph (4.95s dial-in) effort over Russell’s 4.439s/160.14mph pass (4.40s dial-in). 

“It feels fantastic to win. Absolutely fantastic,” said Hunt, whose win comes after 18 months out of the seat and despite almost not competing this weekend. 

“We had a bit of bad luck on the way coming down, blowing the bus motor up. That set us back a little bit and took my concentration away from the car and all of that sort of stuff, and after that happened I didn’t know if we were going to race here but I needed to race because the field was short. 

“So I thought, let’s just concentrate on (the racing) and forget about the bus for now, we will deal with that later. 

“The car was playing up a little bit here and there, it is a new combo, so just trying to get used to it and then all of a sudden my engine builder David Baines of Baines Engines got a hold of it.

“My crew were fantastic and steered me in the right direction and then I just steered the car in the right direction and we just got through – it was amazing. We raced against three of the best drivers out there today one after another and that was just unbelievable. They are all switched on and are good racers and I have been out of the seat for over 18 months, so to come back in one meeting and do this is just fantastic. 

“In the final I just concentrated – I had my list from my engine builder telling what I had to do and I thought let’s just go out there and go for it, we have nothing to lose, we are going to be second anyway. But then everyone said to me ‘nah, nah we are going to be first!’

“I am really loving the pro tree – it is perfect for me as when the tree is on the left in my car I can’t see all of the lights, and with the pro tree you only need to see the first one. It was a good move by ANDRA to bring that in I think. 

“It has just been a buzz, a real buzz. It is so fantastic to be up there and ANDRA and everyone involved are just fantastic.”

 

 

SATURDAY RESULTS - ZAPPIA SHOWS WHY HE IS THE CHAMP

Nine-time Champion John Zappia has top qualified for the Desert Nationals today at Alice Springs Inland Dragway, in what is the first ever visit to the venue by any Group One category.

Qualifying is now complete for the professional-level bracket, with eliminations racing to commence tomorrow (Sunday 17 July) from 12.30pm (on-track action kicks-off at 10.30am). 

“We are of course very happy with the result,” said Zappia.

“We are looking good at the moment, the Fuchs Monaro is strong, and I think as the track gets better with a bit more rubber on it, it will just get better and better as the weekend goes by. 

“For tomorrow, we will just keep it all the same at this stage – we will face the number eight qualifier in the first round so we will leave the set up the same and just maybe fine-tune a couple of things and send it. We will then fine-tune across the day as we need to, depending on who we are coming up against, what lane we have and that kind of thing.” 

While the West Australian may have topped the sheets, local racer Andrew Sutton and ‘Mad Professor’ Rob Taylor gave the fans plenty to gasp about with a two-car incident during the very first Top Doorslammer pass of the day. 

Sutton got crossed up after the start and hit the left hand wall before travelling across the track in-front of Taylor, who then ‘spun out’ avoiding the wayward Corvette and as a result, tagged the wall. The incident saw the rest of that session of qualifying cancelled due to clean-up time and the need for more heat and rubber on the track surface.

Both drivers were thankfully unhurt but neither will contest tomorrow’s racing. They will be joined on the sidelines by fellow non-qualifiers Bill Goonan and Gary Phillips. Goonan missed out on the field by just 0.03 of a second, while Phillips was a shock non-qualifier after taking out the Nitro Up North Top Doorslammer victory at Hidden Valley Drag Strip just last weekend.

“It is horrible to see people crash and that can make you scared to go out there, but once we got the first run out of the way it wasn’t too bad,” said Zappia.

“I think after the crash, everyone had backed their cars down a bit. We went alright on the first one and so we said let’s leave it alone and try and do the same in the left lane. 

“It actually left about the same at the 60 foot but it rattled and I pedalled it, I recovered a bit quicker so it was a quicker run to the 330ft mark, but it got a bit sideways after that so I got it off early. I was about 21mph down on the first run, but it still went 4.10s – I was pretty surprised by that time, and it meant we had the two quickest passes of the day, one in each lane.”

As well as being the first time the venue has hosted group one racing, this weekend has also been the first time national categories have raced the quarter-mile distance in Alice Springs following recent upgrades put in place by the NT government and Chief Minister Adam Giles. 

While Top Doorslammer – along with Super Comp, Top Sportsman, Modified and Supercharged Outlaws – joined the Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster competitors in running to the eighth-mile distance in a last-minute change due to the cold desert conditions; Super Sedan, Modified Bike and Super Street all competed across the quarter-mile.

It is also the first time that nitro has come to Alice Springs Inland Dragway, with Matt Abel (Outlaw Nitro Funny Car) undertaking exhibition runs to the delight of the crowd and Top Fuel Motorcycle Champion Chris Porter joining him on Sunday. 

On-track action commences tomorrow morning from 10.30am before racing for all categories commences from 12.30pm. Also on the schedule are racing for the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series and further Top Fuel Motorcycle and Outlaw Nitro Funny Car exhibition passes.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT SPORTSMAN SERIES STRONG AT ALICE SPRINGS INLAND DRAGWAY

In its fourth consecutive annual visit to the Desert Nationals Alice Springs Inland Dragway, the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series has lit up the Northern Territory venue today.

Three qualifying rounds were held for all brackets, with the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series racers to complete one further qualifying session tomorrow (Sunday 17 July) morning ahead of eliminations racing. 

Currently top qualified are Colin ‘Baldy’ Sainsbury (Modified Bike – 9.13215s/141/41mph), Vlado Turic (Super Sedan – 8.79152s/154.28mph), Leanne Braggs (Modified – 4.64328s/150.00mph), Darren Saliba (Top Sportsman – 4.65865s/150.50mph), Adam Murrihy (Supercharged Outlaws – 4.31548s/166.05mph), Jamie Chaisty (Super Comp – 5.92869s), Sam Campbell (Super Street – 10.35598s/132/32mph) and Stephanie Davies (Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster – 11.90252s). 

This weekend heralds the first time a national event has run categories across the full quarter-mile distance at the venue, following recent upgrades put in place by the NT government and Chief Minister Adam Giles. Super Sedan, Modified Bike and Super Street all competed across the quarter-mile; while in a last-minute change due to cold conditions in the desert, Top Doorslammer, Super Comp, Top Sportsman, Modified and Supercharged Outlaws all ran the eighth-mile distance alongside Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster, which always traverses the shorter distance.

For Chaisty, his 5.928 top qualifying run in Super Comp is 0.301 seconds under the Australian H/MSA Super Stock index and quicker than his record of 5.93 seconds, previously set at ASID in 2014. If he can back this performance up tomorrow, he could reset the record. 

“We are pretty happy with being on top at this stage – we changed a few things throughout the day, so we are pretty happy with how things turned out,” said Chaisty, who thanked his dad for his support.

“The day went all right – we struggled a little bit with the track like everyone, but it got better as the day went on, so we are learning. 

“Tomorrow, we will have to see if we have got enough in it for the last (qualifying session) – hopefully no one can take us off, that would be nice!”

Braggs enjoyed her first full passes with a new engine on her way to her top performing time in Modifed.

“I have a new engine in, which we had in for Sydney – we had done two quarter-mile passes in it and in those we had a few transmission issues, so these were our first full passes for any distance. We are wrapped to have top qualified so far,” said Braggs. 

“It was a cold day, but the runs went fine. I was very sceptical about how the car was going to handle, and how we would handle the track. The Doorslammers and Outlaws had gone to the eighth-mile distance and when we were in Sydney we had run 191 miles per hour with the engine, so we were a little concerned about the quarter-mile. 

“After a meeting and a discussion, to everyone’s credit the distance was reduced to eighth-mile which I think was the safest thing to do. On the first pass I was still very hesitant, but we went as straight as a die and in all three passes, I couldn’t complain – it went perfectly.

“As far as tomorrow, the aim is to go fast and race well!” 

In another first, this weekend also heralds the inaugural appearances of both nitro and Group One at Alice Springs Inland Dragway, with Top Doorslammer undertaking its second round of the ANDRA Drag Racing Series this weekend while Matt Abel (Outlaw Nitro Funny Car) undertook exhibition runs to the delight of the crowd and will be joined by Top Fuel Motorcycle Champion Chris Porter tomorrow. 

Qualifying concludes tomorrow morning from 10.30am before racing for all categories commences from 12.30pm. Also on the schedule are racing for Top Doorslammer and further Top Fuel Motorcycle and Outlaw Nitro Funny Car exhibition passes.