14 September 2011

Maurice Fabietti has given the Holden Trade Club Top Doorslammer team’s Fuchs Australian Nationals campaign a pass following a first round loss at Sydney Dragway yesterday.

The Holden Trade Club Monaro underwent a major mechanical change over the short offseason with the fitting of a Lencodrive transmission that utilises a torque converter rather than a clutch.

The transmission is unique to the Top Doorslammer class in Australia and is expected to produce a more consistent and smoother performance from the 3,500hp, supercharged Holden Trade Club Monaro, while between rounds maintenance is also easier.

Despite limited testing beforehand, Fabietti was confident of a strong performance entering the 2011/12 ANDRA Pro Series’ opening round.

Fourteen cars attempted to qualify for the eight car field, the Holden Trade Club Monaro sixth quickest with a 6.028 second best in Saturday’s first of two qualifying sessions.

Fabietti then lost a close first round encounter with Mark Belleri Sunday morning, 5.97secs/243mph (391km/h) to Belleri’s 5.93/244 (392).

“Unfortunately we lost early but we ran our best elapsed time and speed with the Lencodrive transmission, so we are on the right path,” Fabietti said.

“It will take a little bit more track time with this new combination in the Holden Trade Club Monaro to get there, but we are heading in the right direction.”

With a solid crowd on hand, Fabietti was asked back out on track for a demonstration run mid-afternoon, minor progressive setup changes producing an even better 5.92/244 (392).

“The extra pass was a great opportunity to test and like the other runs we went a little bit quicker, a little bit faster so I’m happy with the weekend and the season ahead,” Fabietti said.

“Our next round’s in Perth where we have always performed well. We will go testing before we head west and be even more competitive with the Holden Trade Club Monaro.”

The next round of the ANDRA Pro Series Top Doorslammer Championship is the Goldenstate Titles at the Perth Motorplex on 18/19 November.