Doorslammerin the desert
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.”
In the final of Top Sportsman, it
was a battle of the Lucas Oilssupported racers, with Matt Forbes
(5.001 at 143.33mph) taking on and
defeating current Champ and Nitro
Up North winner Jason Stares (4.796 at
146.10mph).
For Stares, it was his third final in a
row dating back to last season’s Grand
Final, but this time it was Forbes who
took the victory – his first ever event
win in Top Sportsman after having
previously won national events and
Championships in Super Gas and
Modified.
On his way to the victory, Forbes
dispatched Frank Oliveri and top
qualifier Dan Saliba, while Stares
faced off and took victory from Rick
Smith and Greg Damiani.
the final I was really tossing up on
whether to set the dial-in at 4.99s or
5.0s – we went with a 5.0s as you can
always turn a 4.99s into a 5.0s, but you
can’t turn a 5.0s into a 4.99s!
“This is fantastic – this is the third
category we have won in now – Super
Gas, Modified and Top Sportsman –
but to get a win in this class which
I class as a really, really tough class
against some of the best racers is very
satisfying,” Forbes said.
“We went out there, I was under the
impression I would hit the tree hard
and Jason is a faster car and would
chase me. I got to the end and didn’t
see him so I dropped the nose, and
went 5.001s – we were all pretty happy
with that.”
“This is Frank and Gilbert Nichele’s
car which they allowed me to drive for
them, we brought it up and we had a
real struggle in the first two qualifiers
- we had to abort the passes as it was
not going straight at all.
The Super Comp victory was taken out
by Graeme Simms, who raced Louis
Svingos for the event win (5.935s at
100.90mph v 7.993 at 58.67mph). The
battle to make the final started off
with some shock eliminations – with
Competition Eliminator Champion
Craig Geddes; Super Stock Champion
and Nitro Up North winner Kim
Fardella; and top qualifier Jamie
Chaisty all eliminated in the first
round.
“So we worked and worked and by
the third qualifier we got it down the
track in some fashion and then the
fourth one was really good. When we
started today the car just got better
and better and the driving sort of got
better as well!
“We met Jason Stares in the final,
we are both sponsored by Lucas Oil
Products and Sunset Performance
Engines.
“Jason is a tough racer, there is no
doubt about that. That is why he
carries the number one on the side
of his car, so to race him and then to
beat him was very satisfying – he is a
great racer and I have a lot of respect
for him.
“The car was pretty much on the
5.001s all day, and we went out and
won the semi-final and I had dropped
the nose a little bit at the end. So for
While the racing might not have gone
Chaisty’s way, he does still walk away
from Alice Springs with something
to smile about, having reset his big
brother’s national H/MSA record to
5.928s at 115.38mph - at the same track
and in the same car. Also setting a
new national record was Super Comp
racer David Dequen (eliminated round
two) who with an E/AA 145.16mph
effort beat his own record which he
had originally set at ASID last year.
“It feels great to win, it has been a
long time! I have been out of the seat
for four and a half years now, so it has
been great to get back in the seat,”
said Simms.