Team Bray Racing will kick off its 2014 ANDRA Drag Racing Series Top Doorslammer chase this weekend with the opening round of the championship taking place at the Perth Motorplex this Friday and Saturday.
Father and son racers Victor and Ben Bray are now on their way for their first competitive hit-out of the year, accompanied by the TBR crew with long-time team member Chris Hollingsworth committed to providing the team’s fans with regular road-trip updates as they make their way across the Nullabor this week.
The Brays are just two of six racers making the trip from Queensland to Western Australia for this event, with Stuart Bishop, John Cannuli, Russ Pavey and WA ex-pat Grant O’Rourke all making the journey.
Also travelling will be New South Welshman Mark Belleri and Maurice Fabietti as well as Victoria’s Peter Kapiris, with the visitors set to take on nine local racers including reigning Top Doorslammer champion John Zappia.
“Of the 19 racers entered for the opening round of the Top Doorslammer event in Perth, 10 of those will be travelling from interstate to compete,” said Bray.
“We love the Perth track as it is always well prepared and really suits our cars, but having said that all of the guys who race there week in and week out definitely have the advantage of nailing their tune-up whereas the rest of us just have to show up and try and figure it out during qualifying.
“For the guys like Stuart Bishop who have successful national businesses they have to leave to compete in events like this, that can add a lot of pressure, but at the end of the day we all love what we are doing and want to get out there and do our best to put on a show for the fans and also our sponsors like Sidchrome and WA’s K-Trans.”
The last time TBR appeared in Perth Victor Bray walked away with a runner-up finish after facing long-time friend and then series leader Peter Kapiris in the final round of what was round three of the 2013 championship. For his son Ben however, it was a shorter day at the office with a thrown blower belt seeing him out in the first round while in the lead against eventual champion Zappia.
“Our last trip to Perth some ten months ago was definitely one of highs and lows, I was leading Zappia in the first round when I threw a blower belt and that was all she wrote, while dad (Victor Bray) went all the way to the final,” said Ben Bray
“The last few months have been very busy for TBR, who like a lot of teams, have been working hard to get all our ducks in a row for a successful start to the season.
“Already this year we have appeared at the Summernats so we are definitely in the mood to go racing, hopefully the conditions in Perth are favourable and the track preparation is as good as ever so the entire field can deliver some fantastic racing for the fans to kick off the 2014 title chase.”
Festivities for the opening round of the 2014 ANDRA Top Doorslammer championship – part of the Pro Showdown event at the Perth Motorplex – will get underway from 6.00pm on both Friday 31 January 2014 and Saturday 1 February 2014 with qualifying on Friday followed by racing on Saturday. For full event information including event schedules and entry lists, please visit www.motorplex.com.au.