Brisbane hero Kelly Bettes has etched her name in the record book by becoming the first woman to win a Top Fuel title in the 53-year history of drag racing in Australia. Bettes’ win in the final round of the 400 Thunder Australian championship was the highlight of the Gulf Western Oil 51st Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway, Queensland.  

The win was also a tribute to the close-knit Lamattina Top Fuel team fronted by ex-champion Phil Lamattina, who was forced to quit driving after sustaining major back injuries after a spectacular crash at the venue in 2015.

Damien Harris might have lost the war, but won the battle by stopping Bettes in the final round. 

Joining Harris in the 400 Thunder winners circle were, Pro Slammer rookie Paul Mouhayet, veteran Steven Reed in Pro Alcohol,  along with Aaron Tremayne, who now has won back to back titles in Pro Stock.

With only six entries in Top Fuel, the three-day meeting became an intriguing game of cat and mouse between the title contenders Bettes and Rapisarda Autosport International star Harris.

In the opening round of qualifying, Bettes made her intentions clear with a new Australian record of 3.80, 319 mph to claim the provisional pole. Going into the third and final round, Harris stepped up to the mark and shredded Bettes four-hour old record with a silky smooth lap of  3.78, 325 mph to grab the top spot. Defending champ Wayne Newby snared third place with a workman like pass of 3.86, 315 mph to book passage on race day against sixth placed Western Australian, Anthony Begley, who had struggled with electrical gremlins. The most intriguing round one match up pitted number four qualifier Ashley Sanford in her final outing of the season with RAI up against Victorian based Rachelle Splatt. 

Bettes and Harris, courtesy of finishing in the top of the charts were, granted first round byes and free passage to the semi-finals.

In round one of eliminations Begley’s campaign ended after cutting a red light against Newby. The Sanford versus Splatt match up was a one sided affair with Sanford leading all the way to take a comfortable win. Splatt was out of contention after tossing a belt.  

There were no team orders when RAI teammates Harris, needing to win to keep his title hopes alive, came up against the in-form Sanford. Both cars stepped off the line in unison then Harris edged to the front after half track and hung on for the win with a 3.78, 326 mph to Sanford’s 3.89, 316 mph.

In the other match-up, Bettes needed to win to secure her maiden title while Newby was on a mission to win and give teammate Harris the chance to win his second 400 Thunder title. Both cars launched hard and set sail to the end zone. Bettes reached there first to take a photo finish win with a 3.80, 324 mph lap,  Newby was gallant in defeat and clocked 3.84, 323 mph.

The Top Fuel final was a brutal affair. Harris run it to the finish line with a 3.77, 326 mph run, which smashed his Australian record and allowed him to grab the prized Winternationals crown. Bettes struggled with tire shake, had to pedal, and limped to the line at 6.26, 125 mph.  

In Pro Slammer, newcomer Steven Ham was the surprise qualifying leader topping the time sheets ahead of title contenders Paul Mouhayet and John Zappia. Gary Phillips, campaigning in both Pro Slammer and Pro Alcohol, was fifth. Outgoing champ Mark Belleri was on the bump spot with a 5.80/248 mph in the quickest field in slammer history. Missing the cut were the highly fancied Scott MacLean and American Frankie Taylor racing for Team Bray.

However, qualifying was dominated by the reappearance of Victor Bray ,the popular face of the sport in Oz sidelined since May 2017 due to a battle with an aggressive form of skin cancer. Bray made a triumphant return to the slammer ranks and the near capacity crowd was treated to a pair of trademark smokey burnouts from the doorslammer icon. Bray missed the cut, but to his army of fans that was irrelevant. The return of the local version of John Force and his iconic 1957 Chevy was worth the price of admission alone. 

On Raceday Mouhayet easily accounted for seventh qualifier Ben Bray, who got loose off the line. Phillips downed number six in the points Sam Fenech and Belleri defeated Ham on a holeshot. Zappia was handed the easiest of wins courtesy of a red light from Western Australian Marty Dack that set up a semifinal clash with Mouhayet to decide the Australian title.

The eagerly awaited duel between the arch-rivals didn’t disappoint. Mouhayet, with a holeshot, set sail to the finish line while Zappia got out of shape and was forced to wrestle his 1971 Monaro until he scraped the wall and was disqualified. Mouhayet with an arrow-like pass stopped the timers with a superb run of 5.65, 258 mph. Phillips was handed a place in the final round after Belleri in his final race for Fabietti Racing lit up a red light.       

The final pitted the least experienced driver in the field, Mouhayet, against the most experienced driver in the field, Phillips. Mouhayet lead all the way to score his second title of the day while Phillips got loose near half-track and was forced to back off.  

Second-generation racer Steve Reed claimed his first Pro Alcohol national championship since 1994 after disposing of Luke Marsden in round one. His hopes of also adding a Winters title as well ended when he rolled through the beams against Gary Phillips in the second round. For Phillips, there was some form of redemption for his loss in Pro Slammer when he won the final against Russell Mills. 

“This is an emotional time for my wife Deb, our children and grandchildren,” said Reed. “It’s been a long time between titles and through the ups and downs we kept plugging away. This for all the Reed family, our crew and supporters.”

Aaron Tremayne, with an insurmountable lead in the championship points going into the meeting, qualified top then went on to take out the Winternationals title as well when he outpaced younger sibling Tyrone in the final of Pro Stock.