23 November 2010

The Top Fuel Challenge at Perth Motorplex on Saturday, 20 November, held eleven cars in the Top Comp bracket, all of who qualified under their personal indexes.

Qualification Rounds:

Shane’s first qualifying run saw him run at 3pm in warm, humid conditions, and complete a lap in 5.90 secs @ 234.98 Mph, qualifying fourth at that time. After checking to ensure that cylinder temperature problems, which had plagued the team at the last meeting, had been corrected, the team was happy to move forward and lean on the tune up.

The compulsory qualifying run at 6pm saw the pairing of the K Trans Racing teams, Shane Weston and Maurice Brennan match racing. A red light from Shane saw the win go to Brennan, however Shane had just bettered his qualifying time to a 5.81 secs @ 241.93 Mph, and this subsequently moved him into third place in the rankings.

Elimination Rounds:

First round in eliminations saw the Weston Racing Team up against John Zappia. To complicate matters, a slight shower from above saw the track conditions change without notice, as prior teams found traction difficult. The pairing immediately before (Croker/Gregorini) were instructed to shut their cars down as a slight shower had started during their burnout.

John’s experience saw him cut a mean light – 0.004 second reaction time, and he had to peddle his car down the track, but Shane, leaving at 0.022 seconds, motored past John at about three quarter track to take the win light and record the fastest time of the meeting for Top Comp for the second time this year – 5.77 secs @ 243.24 Mph. Just shy of the Australian National Record for AA/Dragster – 5.75 secs.

The team was happy with this result, as the tune-up was working to plan, and the car was still running fast in less than ideal conditions.

The win against Zappia, saw Shane move into the Top Comp A-Final, and this time against another tough Doorslammer racer – Robin Judd. Shane followed the script as planned, moving through his burnout and pre-race checks, and waited patiently for Judd to move into stage. As Judd had the benefit of a slight handicap, he left first, unfortunately he unloaded the tires in a big way causing him to veer right sharply and cross the centerline. As Judd wrestled with his car, Shane shot past him on his way to a win – 5.79 secs @ 242.58 Mph.

Summary:

Weston Racing were delighted with the win, with Shane dedicating the win to Keith Middleton from K Trans. Shane said during the trophy presentation – ‘I would like to dedicate this win to Keith, because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be racing, so thanks Keith’.

Weston Racing would like to thank all of our sponsors below, as we chase the 2010/11 Top Comp Championship and the Australian National Record for AA/Dragster.

Major Sponsors –

        K Trans WA Racing

         including:        K Trans WA,

                                 Austral Risk Services,

                                 Donewell Contracting,

                                 JGB Cranes,

                                 Tarp Art Signwriting

Associate Sponsors –

        Stewarts Pest Control

        Compressor Valve Services (CVS)

        Croker Racing

        Zappas Lunchbar

        Al’s Automotives