Wayne Newby leads the Top Fuel field at the Spring Nationals after a return to competitive professional drag racing in South Australia, at The Bend.
The ‘sold out’ sign was up at the brand-new venue by mid-afternoon, with fans embracing the first chance to see competitive drag racing in SA since 2018.
Over 20,000 fans packed in to the new venue, with owner Sam Shahin saying today, “The South Australian Drag Racing community have waited 20 years for this day and we are incredibly proud to have delivered on our promise of a world class facility in our home state.”
Shahin will be joined by SA Premier Peter Malinauskas tomorrow to officially open the venue.
On track, Q1 for Top Fuel was headlined by Wayne Newby, driving for Rapisarda Autosport International.
The former Australian champion looked at home on the new surface, racing to an early shutoff 4.00 as teams battled strong winds across the day.
Newby would lead off with a RAI one-two with team-mate and reigning champion Damian Harris slotting into second position with a 4.43, and Supercars team owner Peter Xiberras would hold down third position by recording a 4.83.
West Australian Kyle Putland debuted a new car, christening it with a very early shutoff 5.62.
The session was interrupted several times with problems for Phil Lamattina when called upon to start. He would later return to log a 6.57 to leave him fifth, with only Phil Read behind him after shutting the car down after his burnout.
Top Doorslammer was the highlight of the first qualifying session, with six of 11 cars running into the five-second zone.
Paul Cannuli and Daniel Gregorini paced the field from the outset, logging a 5.719 to a 5.795 respectively to lock down the first two positions.
Doorslammer Rookie Ronnie Palumbo shook off a wall tap on the night prior to record a new personal best of 5.82 which would leave him in the third qualifying position.
Other cars to run into the fives were Matt Abel, Lisa Gregorini, and Peter Lovering.
Top Fuel Motorcycle was somewhat patchy with only Benny Stevens Making it down the track in representative fashion, his 6.75 leading the field after Q1.
Luke Crowley leads Pro Stock Bike after one session, his 7.21 giving a clear two tenths of a second advantage over his nearest challenger, Scott White.
With the winds forecast to be a factor into the night, the second and final qualifying session will hit the track at around 18:30 local time/19:00 AEDT.
