Fuchs Top Fuel dragster pilot Phil Lamattina made his third finals appearance in row in the third round of the ANDRA Top Fuel championship in Perth on the weekend.
There were more threes after qualifying in the number three position, with Lamattina and crew chief Aaron Hambridge making dramatic changes to the tune-up for the first round of eliminations.
“We found the conditions tricky early but once we got our head around what was required, we knew we could go quick and fast," Lamattina said.
“The racetrack got better and better as the race meeting went on and to be honest, it was as good as anything we have ever raced on.”
The first round of eliminations saw Lamattina face off against good friend and West Australian local Allan Dobson.
Tuner Aaron Hambridge said the team added a bit more to the tune-up for the confrontation.
“The way we tune our car is probably a bit different, our car is making an enormous amount of power and we have to be very careful not to overstep the mark,” he said.
“The 4.66-second pass is what we thought it would achieve and the terminal speed was important too because it means we get the bonus points again for being the quickest and the fastest car, and that will all help Phil in the championship chase.”
Mark Sheehan put a stop to Darren Morgan’s winning streak in their first round match-up, which meant a finals show down between Sheehan and Lamattina.
The final was a dramatic nitro pedal-fest, with both drivers on and off the throttle as they attempted to get 8000 horsepower to hook-up. Lamattina was not too disappointed despite losing to Sheehan by just .07 of a second at the finish line.
“It was a great race,” smiled Lamattina. “Congratulations to Mark Sheehan on his second win in a row at Perth.
“The truth is that we actually underestimated the racetrack, we threw a bit more into the car but the track we so good, we actually should have gone a bit harder with the tune-up.
“In any case, this was a great event for the team, we have always had an issue modulating the throttle on our car but Aaron and the crew have made some important changes to the fuel system and as you can see, the car survived perfectly after that final with an absolute pedal-fest.
“We had Fuchs and Elders Insurance with us in the corporate area for the weekend and everyone had a great time, it was a top event and we can’t wait for the next one.”
Lamattina has narrowed Darren Morgan’s championship lead, with just nine points separating the two, thanks to the runner up and bonus points for low ET and top speed following their 4.66/522.86kmh pass in the first round.
The next round for Top Fuel will again be in Perth on February 1 and 2.