28 March 2011
Darren Morgan’s exceptional ANDRA Pro Series Top Fuel season continued at Willowbank across the weekend – taking the AEG Powertools machine to the Top Fuel Championships win and extending his Championship lead to 122 points.
Morgan was the third fastest qualifier on Friday night, setting a 4.772 second lap at 316.45mph, but this did not phase the Mildura racer as he first disposed of Terry Sainty with a 4.758 over Sainty’s 5.916.
The perfect drag racing conditions at Willowbank then saw a monster matchup – Morgan would have to overcome Phil Lamattina to advance to the Final.
Lamattina’s machine was on rails from the time it was removed from the trailer and he set quickest time on Friday in qualifying, breaking the track record in the process – securing low ET and top speed points.
This didn’t worry Morgan though, who was able to dispose of his fellow Victorian with a 4.738 at 323.74mph, this despite Lamattina getting his car off the line with a better reaction time.
The Final would be a matchup between Morgan and Steve Read – who had a solo pass in the semis.
Despite shattering a fuel line, which blew the manifold from the AEG Powertools machine, Morgan was able to take victory over Read who had his own mechanical issues with a 7.5 second run.
The team had some difficulty in qualifying with a belt giving them trouble in the first run, a near perfect second run and then the car threw a belt in qualifying three.
Quotes from the Driver
Darren Morgan:
“The track was outstanding, the best I have raced on in a long time and the conditions we ran in this weekend I think were the best we have had in over 12 months,” said Morgan. “It was a pleasure all weekend, and it’s a nice birthday present for my wife Nat, who celebrates her birthday on Tuesday!”
“The dragster just ran flawlessly all weekend right up to the final, where we shattered a fuel line and blew off the manifold.
“My crew, who are all volunteers, did an absolutely outstanding job all weekend, and I am so happy to have won the meeting, be leading the championship with a good margin and to be getting some exposure for our sponsors, for our crew, for Mildura, and for everyone else that has put faith in us.”