Unheralded Paul Cannuli upstaged his better-credentialled rivals to take the win in Pro Slammer at the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway, June 9-12.

Vying with Cannuli’s win as the highlight of the meet was veteran Steve Reed winning his seventh Winternational crown in Pro Alcohol.

Category front-runner George Tsakiridis claimed the honors in Pro Mod. local hero Aaron Tremayne won Pro Stock and Top bike warrior Chris Matheson added another gold Christmas tree to the trophy cabinet.

The premier event on the domestic calendar attracted 347 entries across the Pro and Sportsman categories.

Pro Slammer and Pro Stock raced under the all-in format. While Pro Alcohol Pro Mod and Top Bike ran under the traditional elimination format. 

For many racers, the meeting was their first event since the 2021 Winternationals and, in some cases, their first competitive hit-out since Covid-19 struck.
 
According to some observers’ ‘rusty’ reaction, times may explain why there were so many red lights over the four-day meeting. 
 

PRO SLAMMER

Star attraction in the category was the appearance of John Zappia, who made the 2650-mile journey from Perth to race at Willowbank for the first time since 2019. ‘Zap’ also provided the highlight of qualifying when he thrilled the crowd with a superb 5.73/250 mph pass while carrying the front wheels to half-track.

In round one, Zappia's weekend turned sour after he smoked the tires on the hit against highly-rated Sam Fenech. Rookie Sam Afchal caused a major upset when he defeated Craig Burns, who spun the tires off the line. Veteran Ben Bray easily accounted for the sole woman in the Pro ranks - Michelle Davies. Cannuli was handed the win when his rival Russell Pavey cut a red light. Steve Ham, the winner of the 2021 Winternats, was gifted victory when his opponent Peter Lovering failed to appear. 

Ham and Cannuli shared bonus E.T. points with identical times of 5.69 sec.

In a repeat of round one, Bray drove around Davies to take an easy win. The eagerly awaited Fenech versus Zappia showdown was an anti-climax after the Fenech Monaro was wheeled off the start line with no oil pressure. Ham cruised to the easiest of wins after Burns went up in smoke on the hit. Cannuli cruised to an easy victory over Lovering and Afchal defeated Russell Pavey, who broke a belt.

Under the all-in format, the top two in the points, Cannuli and Bray, got to race off for the gold Christmas tree. Bray jumped Cannuli with a superior reaction time of .010 sec to Cannuli’s .057 sec. but was slowly reeled in by Cannuli, who took the win with a 5.72/227 mph. to Bray's 5.89/246 mph

“I don’t know what to say," said Cannuli. “I want to thank my team. I’m over the moon. It’s always been my dream to win the Winternationals and I can’t believe it’s finally happened.”

The win was also some consolation for the Cannuli family after sibling John failed to qualify for Top Alcohol.

PRO ALCOHOL

Top qualifier Steve Reed opened his account with an easy win when rookie Caan Childs posted a red -light. Justin Walshe, campaigning the only Altered in the field, easily accounted for Wayne Price. Veteran Gary Phillips, chasing his fifth consecutive Winters crown, took the green and then returned to the pits when his opponent Cameron Ambresi was a no-show. The eagerly awaited matchup between the two brightest talents in the ranks, Jake Donnelly and Chris Hargrave, failed to eventuate when Donnelly went up in smoke on the hit.

In second-round, Walshe went for broke with a superb reaction time of .004 sec, only to be hunted down by Reed, who went on to take the win. Phillips made the final after defeating Hargrave but at a major cost when a blower backfire caused significant damage to the engine. The team, uncertain of the cause, elected not to run the final and cause further damage.

A rapidly cooling track surface foiled Reed from chasing a P.B. in the final.

"It's been a fantastic weekend," said Reed. “I really, really wish that the last run had been better but the other six runs we made over the weekend were spectacular. Winning the Winters is always a special occasion.”

PRO MOD

Racing under an index of 5.85 sec. The opening round produced few surprises. Top qualifier Collin Willshire took a comfortable win after an entertaining staging duel with veteran Tony Wedlock. Category ace Jeremy Callaghan clocked a strong 5.88 to dismiss New Zealander Barry Plumpton and Zoran Gajic, on a solo, also posted a 5.88 sec. Tsakiridis took the win after local Neil Murphy cut a red light.

In round two, Willshire continued his superb form and overcame a sluggish reaction time of .34 sec to drive around Callaghan. Tsakiridis made the final after scoring a holeshot win over Gajic.

However, the highly anticipated final never eventuated. Willshire staged but never left the line allowing Tsakiridis to pocket the easiest of wins.

PRO STOCK

The two rounds of qualifying under the all-in format were a bruising affair. The stand-out performance in the first round came courtesy of Omar Sedmak, who was making his debut in the naturally aspirated category and accounted for category heavyweight Chris Soldatos. Noted engine builder John Barbagallo, returning to the class after an absence of seven years, got a holeshot over fellow Queenslander Wayne Daley but lost when his ‘chutes opened early. Aaron Tremayne stunned the crowd with a jaw-dropping reaction time of .003 sec to down Sydney racer Mario Polito. And number one qualifier Rob Dekert cut a red light against highly rated Clint George while 2019 Winters winner Brian Pursell had a solo and Nino Cavallo drove through a bout of tire shake to defeat Scott Porter.

In the second round, Daley upstaged Sedmak on a holeshot and Cavallo’s second win of the day came after overcoming a holeshot from Clint George. Porter was given a solo and Dekert led all the way against Pursell. Tremayne outpaced Barbagallo with a 6.95 to a 6.96 in the closest run of the round. 

With Cavallo, Tremayne and Daley locked together on two wins apiece, bonus points for low E.T. came into play in deciding who raced off in the final. Cavallo and Tremayne made the final, but it was wretched luck for Daley, who missed out by one point. 

The final was shaping up as an epic down-to-the-wire battle but ended in spectacular fashion when Cavallo got out of the groove, turned hard left and ricocheted off both walls near half-track. Cavallo was able to walk away from the wreck unaided. Tremayne took the win with a 6.93 sec.