10 May 2011

The Nitro Voodoo Team has won the Nitro Champs in Sydney for the second year running.

Matheson said “the weekend was a challenging one, due to the inclement weather, with periodic rain interrupting the meeting”.

After arrival at the track on Wednesday afternoon, after driving from Brisbane with heavy rain the entire trip along the Eastern Seaboard, the Team went about preparing final adjustments in readiness for the weekend.

Heavy rain continued Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with only one qualifier on the Saturday night.

Matheson said “there was talk the meeting would be cancelled, however, fortunately we did see racing in other brackets throughout Saturday, as a result of dedicated Track officials and staff”.

Despite the conditions, we had a pass, only to suffer a dropped cylinder resulting in a non-representative 7.395 sec.

Local racer Craig Bonwick ran a Top Qualifying pass of 6.587 seconds at 212.53 mph, which stood all weekend. The V-Twin Harley Davidson laid down its best recorded pass, which is a testament to the efforts put in by the entire Team.

Sunday saw eliminations with the Nitro Voodoo Team having a bye due to two other competitors not being able to race due to major engine damage from qualifying.

Elimination One saw Matheson vs Neville Smith, Matheson was eager to run a solid number to chase a track time and continue his 100% record for achieving lowest ET at the previous four rounds.

Again, the result was disappointing, as the bike smoked the tyre due to the inconsistent track condition. Smith shut down in the burnout, after hitting the rev limiter on his immaculate Harley Davidson.

With destruction of the bikes from the qualifying night before, Matheson had a bye in the semi and recorded a non-representative pass of 6.629 at 179.88 mph, smoking the tyre and dropping cylinders.

Troy McLean and Mick Murray faced off in the first elimination, McLean who was trailing Matheson in the Championship was knocked out by Team mate Mick Murray, with engine problems. Mick Murray was rewarded with his consistency and was set to race the final against the Nitro Voodoo Team.

Roger Bloor, Crew Chief for the Nitro Voodoo Team knew the importance of the final and the potential impact it would have on the Championship, with only one round remaining.

Fellow Team members Graeme Turner and Bruce McGonnell gathered with Matheson and Bloor to decide on a strategy for the final.

Unfortunately, prior to the scheduled final, an accident occurred, injuring one of the previous competitors, resulting in a significant delay. We understand the driver is recovering well, our condolences to him and the Team. The delay pushed the schedule race back a couple of hours, which basically threw out our tune up for the conditions as the dew began to fall on the track. Air temperatures fell dramatically as the condition began to change.

Regardless, we were faced with equal conditions and we knew it would be a big ask to lock up in the conditions. As expected, we launched hard, then went into tyre smoke, with Matheson getting on and off the power, trying to find traction. Eventually Matheson found some grip and raced to a win, recording a 7.616 at 202.27 mph to a troubled run of 12.11 at 82.62 mph for Mick Murray.

Matheson said he was ecstatic about the result, despite the ugly run, “we got to the finish line first”. The end result is a load of points towards the Championship.

We retain our Championship lead, heading into the final round at the June Winternationals at Willowbank Brisbane. It is a credit to the Team in achieving the win and a huge effort to all the Track staff and officials in providing a meeting, despite the inclement weather.

This win brings Matheson 98 points ahead of McLean, with the Nitro Voodoo Team accruing bonus points from four of the five Rounds via Top Qualifier, Top MPH and lowest ET.

Current Points Table is as follows;

Pos.

Name

State

Rnd 1

Rnd 2

Rnd 3

Rnd 4

Rnd 5

Total

1

Chris Matheson

QLD

118 (L/T)

147 (L/T)

117 (L/T)

118 (L/T)

107

607

2

Troy McLean

SQ

65

153

159

86

46

509

3

Marc Ryder

QLD

–

95

93

64

–

252

4

Mick Murray

NT

44

30

30

43

85

232

5

Terry Burnett

WA

–

62

62

45

42

211

6

Mark Drew

WA

–

71

128

–

–

199

7

Chris Porter

QLD

47

30

66

47

–

190

8

Craig Bonwick

NSW

66

–

–

–

78 (L/T)

144

9

Geoff Redgrave

QLD

81

–

–

62

–

143

10

Jay Upton

WA

–

69

71

–

 

140

11

Dennis Grant

SA

43

30

65

–

 

138

12

Phil Parker

VIC

20

66

–

–

44

130

13

Kim Stevens

WA

–

98

–

–

–

98

14

Neville Smith

QLD

–

–

–

20

43

63

15

Gavin Spann

SQ

42

–

–

20

–

62

16

Alan Herriman

QLD

–

–

–

41

–

41

17

Sam Parker

VIC

–

30

–

–

–

30

(L) Low Elapsed Time   (T) Top Speed

Special thanks to our sponsors and supporters – WebCam, Red Line Oils, RB Performance, Rocket Industries, CRC Industries, PDS Graphics, Kitten Car Care Products, GT Radiators & Machining, Hi-Side Leathers, PR Factory Store and special thanks to Larry “Spiderman” McBride & Steve McBride.

Nitro Voodoo Website: www.nitrovoodoo.com.au