Stay tuned as we bring you eliminations updates from Willowbank Raceway and the Castrol Edge Winternationals.
4:29pm – Martin Stamatis 4.72/287 defeats Phil Read who smoked the tyres, Stamatis wins the championship
4:26pm – Aaron Hambridge 5.56/256 defeats Wayne Newbys shut off run in Top Alcohol
4:22pm – Robin Judd shakes tyres and loses to John Zappia who runs 5.81/246 in Top Doorslammer and wins the championship
4:19pm – Aaron Tremayne 7.04/193 defeated Denis Whiting 7.12/191 in pro stock
4:17pm – Chris Matherson 6.05/201 defeated Mark Drew who crossed the centre line in top bike
4:14pm – Peter Cochrane 7.34/184 defeats Phil Howard 7.42/173 in pro stock motorcycle
4:11pm – Ben Bray wins pro FX when Archie Kajewski can not start
4:07pm – Wayne Cartledge defeats Greame Frawley who gets loose and shuts off in competition final
4:03pm – Adam Spinozzi red lights to Tom Dimitropoulos in super stock final
4:00pm – Damian Mckern defeats Matt Lisle in super compact final
Shayne Homes defeats Kevin Williamson in comp bike, Homes also wins championship
Bill Fletcher wins against John Loy in supercharged outlaws, loy red light
Athol Jacobsen defeted Kelly Corbett in modified
Allan Woods defeted Scott o’beirne in super sedan
2:40pm Junior Dragster Final Phil Stewart defeated by Alicia Naylor
2:45pm – Shayne Homes takes the win in the Comp Bike semi finals when Peter Everett red lights with a -.016. David Shaw against Kevin Williamson and a 9.82 for Shaw is the winner with Williamson having troubles in the top end.
2:44pm – In the Modified semi finals Kelly Corbett moves through with a .042 total package against Bruce Mansfield while Athol Jacobsen takes a solo into the final to face her.
2:41pm – There was a big clean up after that last Doorslammer race. Wayne Newby only staged for the win in Top Alcohol with Dean Oakey dropping a valve in the first round. Aaron Hambridge overcame shake and a wheelstand to take a 5.73/254 win over a valiant 5.76 from Reed. In Pro FX Archie Kajewski went 7.27/190 to defeat Rod Harvey who went no where on the line, while Ben Bray defeated George Rehayem in a 6.69 to 7.57 race.
2:13pm – Robin Judd takes on Peter Kapiris. Both have a lot of shake, Judd needing to eventually pedal. It looks like Kapiris is in with a shot but then the motor goes away big time with lots of smoke in the deep end. Judd’s 6.07/242 takes the win against a 6.39/212. The championship will come down to the final race of the season.
2:09pm – John Zappia and Ben Bray face off here. The bad blood of previous starting line games is forgotten here as Bray goes straight into stage, Zappia in. Bray goes into tyre shake at 200 feet and Zappia runs away for an amazing 5.805 at 246mph, going 3.83/199 to half track. What a run to set a new standard for Australian doorslammers.
1:55pm – Martin Stamatis faces Mark Mariani. They leave evenly but Mariani seems to be mixing up the cylinders a little and then his motor expires, Stamatis looks like he pops the burst panel shortly after and both roll through the finish but with a 4.83 the win goes to Stamatis over a 5.56. 3.13 to half track for Stamatis.
1:52pm – Phil Read against Phil Lamattina, one of the greatest rivalries in drag racing. Two teams who have the resources to throw everything at a race and leave nothing on the table. Both leave with near identical .08 reaction times, read has cylinders out everywhere, Lamattina smokes the tyres, loses the belt, Read on fire but a 4.97 takes the win and the championship is alive.
1:48pm – A battle of Tremaynes takes place here. Aaron has already wrapped up the championship so this will be for some family bragging rights. A red light by Tyronne though ends it here, -.021 and a 7.07 for Aaron takes the win against a 7.09. Top Fuel out now.
1:45pm – Pro Stock semi finals take to the track. Wayne Daley out for Diamond T Toolboxes but it’s a -.003 red light to end his day with Whiting moving through to the final with a 7.09/191 pass.
1:40pm – It’s our second solo in a row with Jay Upton’s machine making an off sound on start up and the West Aussie electing to shut it down straight away. It leaves Mark Drew to fire up and take his pass. A 6.86/199 gets him through the round and into the final. The front wheel was up in a big way. Upton crew chief Doug Green says there was an electrical problem with the bike.
1:38pm – Chris Matheson on a solo in Top Bike with Chris Porter not making it out. He is off it well early again for a 6.43/161.
1:36pm – Phil Howard makes a 7.41/181 charge that knocks out a 7.61/155 from reigning champ Michael Gilbertson. Now we go into Top Bike.
1:34pm – Back to ANDRA Pro Series racing now with Pro Stock Motorcycle. A 7.40/166 by Peter Cochrane gets him through over a 7.78/167 by Glenn Wooster whose bike really laid over into second gear.
1:30pm – Jeffrey Clarke might be out of championship racing but he is still keen for a Winternationals title up against Wayne Cartledge who is just as hungry. 7.20 from Cartledge takes the win over Clarke who shakes the tyres hard and he seems to have broken something as there is no more go for the Hog’s Breath Cafe dragster.
1:28pm – Jason Maggs takes on Graeme Frawley in a big championship race in Comp. 7.06 from Frawley defeats a 7.14 and that makes him the Australian champ. Congratulations.
1:20pm – Now into Comp. Wayne Keys lines up with Phil Otto. A big shock as Otto red lights and loses his shot at the Australian title, Graeme Frawley and Jason Maggs now in the box seat. Maurice Brennan now against Craig Geddes here. 7.69 from Geddes defeats a tyre shaking 6.48 from Brennan.
1:17pm – Back underway with Super Stock round two. Nino Cavallo against Paul Beauchamp. A championship ramifications race here, an 8.05 from Cavallo winning as Beauchamp shuts down early. Frossos in the Nissan 300ZX now faces Kevin Magner’s Pontiac, Frossos the only one left who can oust Cavallo from the championship. 8.53 by Magner defeats a 7.50 from Frossos which means the championship goes to Cavallo. Adam Spinozzi in the truck against Nick Karantonis here with Spinozzi overhauling Karantonis early for a 7.69 win against an 8.55. Les Heintz takes on his old car, owned by Tom Dimitropoulos.
12:47pm – There is some oil from Jacobsen’s car which pulled up at half track. Clean up underway.
12:43pm – Matt Lisle in the AA/OM Mazda RX7 is the performance leader in the Super Compact field and here he faces Mark Jacobsen’s monstrous GTR. Jacobsen’s car hesitates and he turns it off, an 8.25 on an 8.50 index for Lisle.
12:41pm – Bryce Miller v Dib Taouil with championship ramifications. Miller takes the win with an 8.26. If McKern wins the semi final he will be the Australian champion, if he doesn’t it will be Taouil’s.
12:30pm – Hall v Wilshire and it is all Hall. Wilshire has a turbo failure on the line whilst Hall runs through for a 9.00 win. The smoke created by the turbo failure could have put an aiport smoking room to shame. Down for a moment to clean up a small amount of oil.
12:28pm – Super Compact out now. Paul Jansik struggles in the burnout but finally gets it happening. McKern runs a 7.97/150 over Jansick, hurting his index
12:27pm – David Rundmann takes on Shayne Holmes in Competition Bike round two. Holmes takes it with a 10.07 to a 9.28. The championship goes another round, Holmes needs to win the semi final to win the championship. Peter Everett against recent Drag News feature racer Rob Cassar. Everett’s 10.17 on a 10.49 index defeats a short shifting 8.25. All P/CB as David Shaw faces Peter Strudwick. Strudwick rolls the beams and is out with a 9.45 from Shaw taking the win. Alex Buxton takes on Kevin Williamson, Buxton out with a -.007 red lght and Williamson wisely shuts down early.
12:21pm – Bill Fletcher takes out Brian Martin to wrap up the semi finals of Outlaws.
12:19pm – Following on from Christine’s win did you know that there is also another two female champions already? Congratulations to Terri Sander in Super Street and Kelly Corbett in Modified.
12:20pm – Supercharged Outlaws on now. Nathan Peirano in the Lexus hot rod faces John Loy’s Torana. Peirano’s chance at the championship is on the line here. Big .09 holeshot by Loy and he takes the win, the championship goes to Christine Steffens. Congratulations to the Queensland DD.
12:15pm – 6.77/206 from Ben Bray (4.38 to half track for the Outlaw 10.5 fans) takes out Tony Wedlock whose Aurion is very sluggish off the line.
12:13pm – NZ’s Rod Harvey in the Rayglass Celica takes on Rocky Rehayem for Pac Performance. Rehayem leaves with a red light and shakes the tyres very badly, while Harvey drives through for just a nine second time.
12:09pm – An upset in round one of Pro FX with Joe Signorelli bumping out of the beams and a 7.41/180 by Archie Kawjewski taking the win as he finally manages to get off the line in the Mazda BT50 track.
12:01pm – Pro FX is out now and George Rehayem knocks out Zoran Gajic after a long staging duel. 7.09 by the Pac Mazda wins against a 7.54.
11:57am – John Zappia faces Stuart Bishop. Stu Bishop takes a shot on the tree but it’s a big red light and Zappia’s 5.85/244 takes a win. The championship is down to the two West Aussies. Zappia will face Bray and Kapiris will take on Judd.
11:55am – Castrol Monaro driver Ben Bray takes a five hundredths holeshot on Gary Phillips and runs out for a 5.91/245 win against a 6.01 from Phillips which was shut down early. The numbers were fairly even at half track.
11:50am – Peter Kapiris does a massive half track burnout here. But it’s drama in the staging area with Maurice Fabietti unable to start the Holden Trade Club Monaro. Kapiris comes back, Fabietti takes off the gloves and it is all over. Kapiris gives it massive revs on the ine and instantly shakes the tyres, a 6.78/230 taking him through to the semi finals. The championship is over for Fabietti.
11:46am – Top Doorslammer opens with an excellent race as Robin Judd goes 5.84/246 to defeat a new personal best 5.98/246 from Mark Belleri in the Camaro. Belleri had a four hundredths holeshot so it was quite close at the stripe.
11:43am – Debbie Reed blasts out a 5.59/252 here to defeat Dennis Byth who has severe tyre shake. Top Doorslammer coming out now.
11:40am – TQ Aaron Hambridge stages against Adam Marchant. Marchant has big revs on the line, he’s on the limiter! Both cars shake and it’s a pedal fest but Hambridge recovers first for a 5.85 win against a 6.06 in an entertaining race.
11:36am – Dean Oakey takes on Rick Gauci here in an all NSW battle. Gauci’s reverse gear impresses most of the male segment of the crowd. Oakey takes the big holeshot though and when Gauci shakes Oakey runs away for a 5.62/250 win against a 5.93/233.
11:34am – Wayne Newby confronts Gary Phillips. Newby has replaced an engine but it makes no difference here with his quickest time of the weekend, a 5.60/250 that knocks out Phillips’ shaking 5.69/259. Phillips might be out of the Winternationals but he goes home the Top Alcohol champion again.
11:30am – Todd Patterson can not start in a heartbreaking way to end his Winternationas campaign. Wayne Daley takes the solo and has a messy run with tyre shake early and buzzing the rev limiter later in the run for just a 7.39. Moving into Top Alcohol.
11:27am – Denis Whiting takes on Dave Newcombe. Newcombe goes -.086 to foul out while Whiting also has the red light but later with a -.010. A 7.04/194 is wasted by Newcombe against a 7.0/192.
11:25am – Aaron Tremayne lines up against John Barbagallo. Tremayne gets the .020 to .052 holeshot. Barbagallo goes up in tyre shake and a 7.04/193 wins for Tremayne. That is the championship wrapped up for Tremayne and he will face his brother in the semi finals.
11:22am – Scott Porter faces Tyronne Tremayne. Tremayne holds Porter out just a little and it works with Porter going big time red with a -.126. Tremayne also had a red light with a -.003 but he will get lucky here, his 7.07 winning against a 7.13.
11:19am – Mark Drew on a solo here with Ian Ashelford not emerging from the lanes. Drew leaves lazily but comes home strong for a 7.13/206. He goes very deep in the braking area but pulls it up just before the sand. Pro Stock out now.
11:17am – Jay Upton in a close contest with Mick Murray. Upton’s bike had a cylinder out early and then shut down, going through for a 7.26 win at just 142mph, Murray flying by with a 7.53/184 but just missing out.
11:14am – Westernationals winner Geoff Redgrave up against Chris Porter. Redgrave’s bike comes out of gear on the line and he is left to just sit there as Porter goes a 7.51/154, throwing a belt about three quarters of the way through the run.
11:12am – Chris Matheson faces Troy McLean for round one of Top Bike. Matheson out hard with a 3.88/202 to half track, off it at 1000 feet again and very close to the centreline at the finish for a 6.11/184. McLean runs a 7.24/178 to improve his time on this new bike.
11:09am – Phil Howard gets holeshot by Mark Hancock but a 7.50 is able to hole out for the win against a 7.67. Top Bike out now.
11:07am – Michael Gilbertson racing Ross Lemberg here in an all North Queensland contest. Lemberg puts a big .019 to .134 holeshot on Gilbertson who rides right out to the wall but brings it back for a 7.58 victory against a 7.77. Gilbertson spent last night replacing pistons in his motor until 3am so this is a good reward.
11:05am – Locky Ireland faces off against Glenn Wooster. Ireland shakes off the line and heads out to the wall while Wooster is all over the place as well. Wooster has an easier recovery for a 7.90 win against an 8.70.
11:02am – Into Pro Stock Motorcycle. A big opening race with Peter Cochrane up against Andrew Badcock. Badcock may be the champion but out he goes in round one with a 7.29/185 from Cochrane crossing the stripe ahead of a valiant 7.41/172 from the Dutch Master Suzuki.
10:58am – Terry Sainty gets shut down on the start line with a leak which leaves top qualifier Martin Stamatis on a solo. He stages and launches hard for a stunning run, 4.603/316mph for low ET and top speed of the event so far. All three championship contenders are still in play for the semi finals.
10:54am – Mark Mariani up against team mate Allan Dobson. Mariani looks like he is going to get dragged through the beams, he’s into deep stage, but then Dobson launches right as the tree is activated for a big red light. Mariani leaves and goes 4.77/294 with a big 268mph to half track.
10:47pm – Bob Shepherd holeshots Phil Read who instantly has cylinders out. Shepherd pedals with tyre shake and the noise goes way from Read’s car. Shepherd shoots ahead but then crosses the centreline! A 5.63 from Shepherd disqualified and Read’s 6.24 takes the win. Massive get out of jail for Read and heartbreaking for the Shepherd team.
10:34am – Phil Lamattina wins the opening round with a 4.69/312. It was burning up a little through the top end but nothing too serious. Darren Morgan got sideways big time as he tried to pedal after smoking the tyres at about quarter track. He did have a small holeshot with .086 to a .090. There is apparently a small amount of oil in the braking area.
10:31am – Ceremonies are complete and Top Fuel has just fired up. Let’s get ready to rumble!
10:01am – It’s still a chilly 11 degrees here at Willowbank Raceway as opening ceremonies begin. Group Two has already had its first rounds and interestingly the top qualifiers in both Comp and Super Stock have already been eliminated. The race in Comp between Justin Walshe and Jeffrey Clarke was spectacular as a 5.86 from the BB/D of Clarke ouste a 5.88 from Walshe. We will bring you run by run updates today from the ANDRA Pro Series today as well as the later rounds of sportsman racing. So keep coming back for all the latest on Drag News!
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