Allan Dobson and the Rapisarda Racing team will be shooting for the national record come round four of the ANDRA Top Fuel championship at Perth Motorplex on February 1 and 2.
It is part of a renewed philosophy among the Rapisarda Racing team and its Western Australian driver. Realising that they will not be able to make it to every round due to commitments racing in the USA they are looking for a new way to leave their impression.
Dobson said the Santo’s Cranes team is hell bent on running in the 4.5 second zone and claiming the record, which was set by Phil Read at 4.56 seconds way back in 2008.
According to some of their incremental times from the last Top Fuel championship round in Perth, the team was right on track.
“We had the 4.50 tune up in it all weekend and kept on changing clutch strategies to get it to work,” Dobson said. “Next time out we will rotate the earth, hopefully with a race win. It’s more about the times though, the wins will get handed to you if the race gods are on your side.”
Dobson said the equation to faster times has been making the supercharged V8 consume more nitro fuel.
“It’s the fuel volume we are using to alter the power levels, we really turned all the power right up,” he said. “The fuel volume is amazing, we are using more volume than ever before.
“I reckon we can get the record in Perth, it is trying to get the tune up right for the back half of the track. Last meeting was all in preparation to see what the track could hold.
“We didn’t really get a chance to try the back half of the track at the last event. Once you get past 1000 feet you just have to hang on and hope it holds.”
Dobson said the Rapisarda Racing team has grown ever closer and their time racing in the USA has provided much needed experience for young tuners Santo Rapisarda Jnr and Santino Rapisarda.
“Junior and Santino have come a long way with their tuning and our full time clutch guy Adam Murphy is maturing all the time and learning the strategy on the clutch to match the tracks, they are a real good trio,” he said.
Charging for the national record in Top Fuel bears a special significance for Dobson, as he compared the moment to his time in Top Alcohol when the famed Castrol team had a similar outlook on running the first five second pass back in 1993.
“Being able to reflect 20 years on being first in the fives, we took the record then, so we really need to go for this one,” he said. “We’re hell bent on running 4.50s and taking that record.”
Dobson currently sits fourth in the points behind series leader Darren Morgan, Phil Lamattina and Steve Read.