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Weather
Curtails Windernationals
Eliminations |
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400 Thunder Professional Drag Racing
Series
The fourth and final day of the 50th Gulf
Western Oil Winternationals was set to
be a fitting finale of what had been an
incredible season of 400 Thunder action,
before Mother Nature had other ideas.
Early morning showers gave way to what
was (at times) torrential rain in the
afternoon, eventually forcing the
abandonment of the event, despite the
best efforts of the Willowbank track
crew to dry the track.
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As
a result, the 400 Thunder Series
Champions for both the Professional and
Sportsman brackets were decided based on
the first three days of qualifying and
racing action.
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In
Top Fuel, Wayne Newby secured his first
Top Fuel title by qualifying for the
eight-car field on Saturday afternoon,
after a season highlighted with three
event wins. Newby was overwhelmed with
emotion when also awarded with the Louie
Rapisarda Memorial Trophy for winning
the Santos Super Thunder event in April,
capping off a banner year for the
Rapisarda Auto sport International
driver.
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Top Bike was the story of one man in the
2016-17 season, as Chris Matheson
wrapped up the title with a dominating
Top Qualifier performance in qualifying.
Despite a hot and cold start to the
season, Matheson combined experience
with raw speed to score his first 400
Thunder Championship. |
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Gary Phillips made history in Pro
Alcohol by claiming a historic 20th Pro
Alcohol championship. A 5.40 run off the
trailer put him in the pound seat to
collect the title, which was confirmed
with the Sunday rainout. The rain denied
fans the chance to see Championship
deciding battles between Phillips and
Wayne price in the first round, and a
potential decider against Steve Ham
later in the event. |
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Pro Slammer had one of the most
unpredictable seasons in recent memory
with many contenders rising and falling
over the course of the season. In the
end, it was left to Mark Belleri to
secure his first Pro Slammer title in
the AC Delco Monaro after dominating the
first two events of the season.
Recurring mechanical gremlins and
accidents later in the season opened the
door for others, but a steady approach
to qualifying at the Winternationals
helped prove the lead to be
insurmountable |
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Despite being a shock non-qualifier in
the Pro Stock field at the
Winternationals, Aaron Tremayne still
walked away with another national
championship to add to his growing
legacy. Having dominated the field with
three event wins and a runner-up finish
from five events, Aaron put on a clinic
throughout the season to give the
perfect introduction to the sport for
new sponsor Mega Bulk Fuels. The Pro
Stock title was a mathematical lock
prior to the event, so the
non-qualifying status had no impact on
the outcome of the Championship |
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Pro Bike was a similar story, with Brad
Lemberg being the class of the field for
the balance of the season. The
Queenslander added consistency to his
undoubted speed to secure his first
national title, capping off his
championship-winning performance by
breaking both the ET and Speed Pro Bike
Records at the Nitro Thunder in May |
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Thunder Sportsman Series |
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In Competition, Tony Bellert came into
the event with a commanding championship
lead, and with the weather interruption,
held on to win the title over fellow
Queenslander Mike Bailey |
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Wade Moran in Super Stock had more
competition heading into the
Winternationals, as Clint George and Jai
Schluter were also in contention for the
championship. In the end however, the
status quo remained with the
Queenslander scoring the title victory. |
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Competition Bike was one of the most
hotly-contested brackets all season,
with no fewer than six riders all at the
200-point cap. The championship was
decided on a tiebreaker, with Peter
Puznik being declared the champion based
on countback. |
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Seven Dial-Your-Own Sportsman bracket
championships were awarded after the
event, namely Supercharged Outlaws, Top
Sportsman, Modified Eliminator, Super
Sedan, Modified Bike, Super Street and
Junior Dragster.
Supercharged Outlaws was a tie between
Alf Sciacca and Josh Fletcher heading
into the event, with both being at the
maximum points cap of 200. With a single
round of racing completed, Sciacca was
awarded the title after Fletcher was
eliminated by Northern Territories’ Adam
Murphy in round 1. |
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Top Sportsman had been dominated by
Steven Fowler over the course of the
season, but due to the points cap, six
drivers found themselves in contention
to take home the coveted Christmas Tree.
After the first round of racing, most of
the challengers had been eliminated –
combined with the weather intervention,
a breakout by Daniel Donnelly ensured
Fowler walked away with the title. |
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Modified Eliminator is typically one of
the most hotly-contested brackets, but
in this instance, Stephan Gouws headed
into the Winternationals with a 40 point
lead over his nearest rival. Gouws ended
up as the title winner with the washout,
despite being eliminated in round 1. |
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Super Sedan had John Kapiris leading the
championship by 10 points over his
nearest rivals David Foreman and Paul
Doeblien heading into Willowbank.
However, with Kapiris and Foreman both
being eliminated in racing before the
rain came, it was left to Doeblien to
pick up the spoils and collect the
Championship Christmas Tree at the end
of a hard season of racing. |
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Modified Bike was another
hotly-contested bracket, with six racers
on the points cap before the event, and
another five within striking distance.
Through a combination of racers being
eliminated and countbacks, Gary Kittle
emerged victorious at the conclusion of
the event. |
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Super Street was a battle for the
championship between Queenslander Shawn
Taskis and ACT native Shaun Smith. Both
made it through the first two rounds of
elimination, but it was Smith who
emerged as the championship winner on
countback. |
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Junior Dragster was an all-NSW affair
between Joel Burns and the two Hazzard
brothers, Jack and James. After Burns
was eliminated in round 1, it was left
to the Hazard’s to decide who would
emerge victorious, with Jack edging out
on countback by the narrowest of margins |
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