by John Doig, Australian Correspondent
Reigning champ Damien Harris’ title defense is back on track after a stirring win over teammate Wayne Newby in the final of the Australia Day Top Fuel meeting at Willowbank Raceway, January 26.
“This is a great result for the Rapisarda Autosport International team,” said an elated Harris. “We front-halved the car after the crash in Perth last year and we’ve been able to get two or three hits on the new chassis. All is working well. The next step is to find the happy spot on the tune-up and chase the championship.”
Series leader Phil Read downed two-time champ Peter Xiberras to win the B-Final and retains the lead in the championship with 236 points from Newby on 223, Harris 151 and Xiberras on 77.
In Funny Car, Aeroflow Racing boss Morice McMillin reigned supreme against teammate Josh Leahy, while current champ Justin Walshe accounted for privateer Chris Stipanovich in the consolation final.
“I didn’t see anything!” said McMillin after being told he had won. “The thing was moving around and I was driving the crap out of it. Then I saw Josh come past me in the braking area and I had no idea who had won it. He was flying and I was just trying to reach the end. This is a team victory, that is for sure.”
Day one of qualifying produced little cheer for teams and spectators alike. The oppressive humidity and track temperature maxed out at 140F and dipped to 117F for the final evening run. Race day conditions were marginally better, with track temperatures ranging from 100-125F.
TOP FUEL QUALIFYING
Harris snared the top qualifier spot with a 3.99, 242 mph pass to head Read on a 4.00, 235 mph. Newby was third after detonating an engine and suffering canopy damage, keeping the crew at the track until 2:30 a.m. and returning at 8:30 a.m. to continue repairs.
Two-time champ Peter Xiberras, on the comeback trail after a break of seven months, secured fourth place.
Veteran ‘Pommie’ Steve Read racing for only the second time in seven years, his previous appearance was at the 2024 Winternationals was fifth.
TOP FUEL ELIMINATIONS
Newby and crew chief Santino Rapisarda were able to put the dramas of the previous 24 hours behind them when they accounted for Xiberras in the first pairing. Xiberras red lit after cutting a stunning reaction time of .001 sec.
Phil “Pommie” Read spat out the #7 plug on the hit and, despite a furious pedal, couldn’t catch the ‘Pom’ who was able to hang on to claim the win. However, the victory came at a significant cost when he crossed the finish line in a crowd-pleasing fireball that torched all the electronics and consequently meant the ‘Pom’s weekend was over.
“This is a really disappointing way to end our weekend,” according to Read. “The trouble is when there is a fire, you know you are doing some serious damage. We wanted to go three rounds today, but that won’t happen.”
Harris, on a solo courtesy of the top qualifier spot, left hard and spun the tires around the 300-foot mark.
Due to the all-run points system, the second round saw Xiberras and Read on solo runs. The saving grace of the round was the RAI teammates going head-to-head in a classic thriller, with Harris coming out on top to nail his spot in the A-Final.
With Read, Xiberras and Newby tied with a win and a loss each, Newby claimed the spot in the A-final due to a lower ET in round two, leaving Read and Xiberras to fight out the B-Final.
An engine change paid dividends for Read who took the win.
“We had issues all day but changed engines ahead of the final. It didn’t bang and it didn’t touch any heads there, so maybe we should have changed that earlier; hindsight is a wonderful thing,” according to Read.
“Sometimes the luck just doesn’t fall your way and that was certainly the case for us this weekend,” said Xiberras. “The conditions out there were brutal with the heat and the humidity, which certainly didn’t help things for any of the Top Fuel or Nitro Funny Car racers. Even so, I am so proud of my team. They never gave up and threw everything at it this weekend.”
Going into the A-Final, the RAI teammates were tied on three wins a piece in final round appearances.
Harris is coming out on top in the closest run of the weekend with a holeshot win at 3.80/321 mph to Newby on a 3.78/323 mph.
“It’s a tribute to the boys and girls on the team that we did so well this weekend,” according to team owner Santo Rapisarda. “The conditions were really difficult and they had their hands full. It didn’t start very well with damage to Wayne’s car and the crew was there most of the night getting the car repaired. We damaged a lot of parts, but that can happen when you’re out there to win.”
“Two cars in the final is as good as it gets when you’re racing at this level.”
FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING
Justin Walshe qualified No. 1 for the first time since entering the Funny Car ranks with a 4.13, 290 mph on the final pass of the night. Until then, Aeroflow boss Morice McMillin with a 4.23, 247 mph headed teammate and series leader Josh Leahy, who was on a charge until dropping a number three cylinder. Veteran Chris Stipanovich missed Q1 due to a fuel leak on the start line, then in Q2 went into tire shake around the 330-foot mark.
FUNNY CAR ELIMINATIONS
With only four starters, McMillin and Leahy faced off in the first round. The spoils went to team boss McMillin, who had a 4.57, 276 mph despite mixing up cylinders 2.5 seconds into the run.
Reigning champ Walshe tossed a belt but was handed the win earlier when his opponent, Stipanovich, was shut off on the start line.
In round two, McMillin and Leahy were on solos after Walshe due to a fuel leak and Stipanovich were stranded in the pits.
In the B-final, Stipanovich rolled through the beams and trundled to a stop near half-track before Walshe staged. A contrite Stipanovich apologized to Walshe, who, after a short delay, had a solo run.
McMillin’s run of wins continued in an entertaining A-Final. ‘Super-Mac’ taking a photo finish victory with a 4.04, 277 mph to Leahy on a 4.12, 270 mph.
EVENT PIT NOTES
* Top Fuel tuner Bruce Read had his appendix removed on Wednesday, then after being given the all-clear, flew to Willowbank on Saturday morning in time to tune the family car for Q1.
* Calder Park Raceway boss Peter Pisalidis, with Pro Stock champ Rob Dekert on duty, set an Aussie record for Super Comp in qualifying, then red-lit in the semi-final.
* Doorslammer star Ronnie Palumbo was spotted crewing for Super Stock racer Pat Firrilo.
* Funny Car star Brandon Gosbell, currently without a ride, was a member with RAI for the weekend.
* Mixed results for the Leahy family, with Josh’s uncle Peter runner-up in Supercharged Outlaws and cousin Cody losing in the semi-final of Modified.
