The 2012/2013 season will go down as a landmark season both on and off the dragstrip for Brisbane based racer Steve Ham.
In only his third championship campaign with the Mobil 1 Funny Car in the fiercely contested ANDRA Top Alcohol category, Ham’s season was punctuated by his first event win at the Nitro Champs in Sydney and gladly interrupted by the safe arrival of his first daughter.
“Some amazing highs and not too many lows,” was the way Ham summarised the last twelve months, rating the birth of his daughter and claiming his first Gold Christmas Tree as the best two experiences a racer could have on both sides of the fence.
“It’s no secret that our daughter’s arrival was the reason why we didn’t go to the Perth round, which would have guaranteed us a top three spot in the championship, but as much as we’re passionate about our racing, there’s no way I’d ever have risked missing the birth of my first daughter to go racing.”
And as Ham’s family added a new member, the workshop also gained two new additions with the recent purchase of a new Mustang body and NRE X1 cylinder heads for the Mobil 1 Funny Car in readiness for the next season.
“A new lighter body and some significant power gains with the new NRE X1 cylinder heads were obvious additions,” he said. “We ran the Brad 5 cylinder heads since the beginning and now with the way the car is running we are looking for every little bit of power, so the first round next season is looking good with two great additions to the stable.
“Really this season has proven that on any given day, we can be the quickest and fastest and even win events. Combine that with the really fantastic momentum within the crew and the amazing support we have from Mobil 1, ECL and RD Williams and you can imagine we’re busting to start the next season.”
The first round of the team’s third season of ANDRA Top Alcohol roars to life at the Australian Nationals on the first weekend of November at Sydney Dragway.