Three-time champion Phil Read will be looking to reboot his 2022 campaign when the series travels across the country for round three of the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship at the Perth Motorplex, April 8-9.

Read, chasing his first title since 2008 scored a decisive win over reigning champion Peter Xiberras in the season opener at Sydney Dragway.

That form continued at the eighth-mile meeting at Sunset Strip, Mildura, where he overshadowed his rivals and set a new Australian record of 3.19/247 mph in qualifying.  

However, on race day, Read stumbled, finished in sixth place and surrendered the championship lead to the race winner Phil Lamattina.

“We didn’t perform up to our expectations,” said Read. “We had the speed in qualifying but didn't tune for the track on race day. We overstepped it and kept trying to go quicker while everyone else was trying to go slower. So, we ended up where they were and they ended up where we were."

The Perth Motorplex holds fond memories for the second-generation racer who claimed his first-ever win in Top Fuel at the venue in January 2005.

“I’m looking forward to racing at the Motorplex,” said Read. “The level of competition has really stepped up this season and I think you will need to run in the 3.70s to win. The Motorplex is a sea-level racetrack; the traction is always good, making for terrific racing. An air temperature of around 75F and a track temperature of around 100F is optimum for Top Fuel and is likely at this time of the year. The other factor that will come into play is the influence of the so-called "Fremantle Doctor” - the cooling late afternoon breeze that helps to produce great racing into the evening. Given the right conditions, the Australian record of 3.74, 325 mph held by Peter Xiberras could be broken."

Lamattina and reigning Oz champion Peter Xiberras will go into the event with an advantage over the rest of the field as the only two racers with a recent history at the track. The pair match raced there in February 2020, with the honors going to Xiberras 3-2.

Read and rookie Shane Olive last raced at the Motorplex in 2011 and 2019 respectively.  Rapisarda Autosport International duo Damien Harris and Wayne Newby previous appearance was in 2015.

Top Fuel bike series leader Phil Matheson will travel 5350 return miles from his home in Queensland to take on a posse of local racers led by Jay Upton and Greg Durack. “It's a long way to travel for around 30 seconds racing and even longer going back if you don’t have a good meeting,” said Matheson. 

The event will also incorporate the final round of the 2021/2022 ANDRA season with Doorslammer and Sportsman titles up for grabs.