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Read logged his quickest run of the event in the final round against Phil Lamattina and in the process picked up a significant bag of points with only three rounds of the series left to run this season.
Harris had a wild time in the re-scheduled round of qualifying, logging the #1 qualifying run with a 3.87 on Sunday morning at 511km/h, but lost a front wheel after the finish line when the A-arm that supports the wheel appeared to separate from the chassis.
He did a masterful job keeping the car under control but still impacted the wall before the car slid into the sand trap and will likely require significant repairs before the next round of the series in Adelaide next month.
With Harris qualified number one, his team-mate Wayne Newby slotted into the #2 position with his 3.906 from Saturday enough to hold for second with Lamattina, Kyle Putland and Read closing out the field.
Peter Xiberras was a notable omission from the list, having withdrawn his entry from the event the week prior. No official statement was given for the absence, however the team did post on social media stating that they would return for the next round of the series in Adelaide in April.
With only four cars remaining after the withdrawal of Harris, Lamattina took on Putland whilst Newby would race Read.
In the first match-up, Lamattina was off the start line with a marginal reaction time advantage and looked strong until the engine expired in a ball of fire, leaving Putland to take the win with his career best run – a 3.94 – in blisteringly hot conditions.
Lamattina coasted to a 4.11 at 413km/h.
Newby kept his Championship on track, with a strong 3.92 to 4.04 win over Read in Round 1.
Round 2 of all-run format saw local hero Putland take on Read, with Putland fresh off a string of strong performances in front of his home crowd.
At the green, Read was away first and a great side-by-side race saw the three-time champ take the win with a 3.95 over a 3.99 from the local Putland.
The second pair would see Championship leader Wayne Newby race Phil Lamattina with Wayne Newby double stepping the throttle and red-lighting away his chances whilst Lamattina went straight down the lane with a 3.91 to take the win.
It would set up a Read versus Lamattina Final round, with Putland to take on Newby in the B final.
For Harris watching from the sidelines, the fact that Newby missed the A final was bittersweet with the result limiting the damage to his championship aspirations, but also breaking the streak of a Rapisarda Autosport International (RAI) car winning every round of the Championship so far this season.
In the B final, Newby was almost faultless after Putland did not move off the start line but after a 3.86/510km/h run his parachutes were very late in opening, sending the car deep into the sand and through both catch nets.
Newby emerged under his own power but was seen limping to the medical car in obvious discomfort as the car was returned to the pit area.
The crash now means that RAI likely has two cars requiring significant repair before the next round of the series in April.
Read took on Lamattina in the Trophy Race after a significant delay in proceedings whilst the catch nets were replaced.
Read took the last at the start and was never headed, his 3.91 enough to account for Lamattina’s 3.95, taking his second consecutive Westernationals title in what has become a happy hunting ground for the Jim Read Racing driver.
“I think I’m moving to Perth – I seem to do OK over here! This is just a great deal.”
“Thank god Wayne and Damo are OK [after their respective incidents], bring on Adelaide!”, he said.
Top Fuel Motorcycle
In top fuel Motorcycle the A final was between championship leader Benny Stevens and local racer Wayne McGuiness who had impressed with solid mid six-second runs throughout the event.
The B final saw Greg Durack race American Mike Beland, with Durack taking the win.
McGuiness left and was alongside Stevens until half track, when the bike made a hard move to the centreline and crossed meaning an instant disqualification, whilst Stevens would have been hard to beat anyway as he was out in front at the stripe.
Top Doorslammer
John Zappia and Russell Taylor again matched up for the third time in the final round, a battle that seems destined to run all the way to the final round of the championship at Willowbank Raceway in June.
In the B Final, Ronnie Palumbo took on Mark Chapman but for Palumbo that was as close as he got to the win, with the car barely moving at the green light.
Chapman went through for the win with a 6.22.
With Zappia doing battle with Taylor for the final it was over before it began with Taylor leaving a very big red light on the Christmas tree, handing the win to Zappia who put the exclamation point on the event with a 5.67 at 407 kph, which doubled as the quickest time of the event.
Zappia was jubilant after the win, saying, “the car was flying all weekend, super consistent and we have been trying to run a 5.60 all weekends and we finally got it right in the final.”
“The crew hasn’t had to work too hard because nothing broke and it’s been a great weekend”, he finished with a smile.
