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Winternationals Awaits For Stuart Bishop Racing |
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Monday, 30 April 2007 |
A third straight qualification into the finals field during today’s abandoned QT Tin Top Titles at Willowbank Raceway has marked Stuart Bishop as a genuine contender for Winternationals drag racing success on June 8-10.
Despite the event being abandoned late this afternoon when much needed rain fell upon South-East Queensland, Bishop had already mastered a sixth place qualifying effort of 6.32 seconds.
It was a progressive day for the World’s fastest jeweller, after turning in a first up qualifying pass of 6.40 seconds this morning.
All-in-all it was a pleasing result for the team who have been unable
to conduct testing due to Bishop’s work commitments with the family’s
Wallace Bishop Jewellers enterprise.
“We went into this event with an adjusted clutch set up that we’re
trying to get sorted for the Winternationals and that, coupled with
tyre shake during all three runs, masked our overall potential,” said
Bishop.
“But that being said we’ve run good enough numbers to get us into the
field and who knows how we would have fared during eliminations.
“Qualifying sixth booked us another showdown with Victor Bray which we
were all looking forward to, but with the water situation the way it is
here in Queensland you can’t really complain about the rain.
“Let’s hope it continues to fall freely over the next six weeks and
then we celebrate an ease up in the drought during a huge
Winternationals party weekend over the Queen’s Birthday.”
Despite the unfortunate situation for racers and fans alike today,
thoughts have quickly turned towards the upcoming Willowbank
Winternationals on June 8-10, the biggest drag racing extravaganza in
the Southern Hemisphere.
The 2007 version is bound to be a celebration like no other as
Australian drag racing acknowledges the 40th anniversary of the World
famous event.
The Winternationals has evolved into a major sporting event which is
expected to attract more than 45 000 people during three action-packed
days and nights of quarter mile showdowns.
On the first 20 occasions of the event, the Winternationals was staged
at the old Surfers Paradise International Raceway, beginning on June
23, 1968.
Upon the 1987 closure of the Gold Coast facility, Willowbank took over
the event and will celebrate its own 20 year association with the
iconic feature this year.
Since 1993, when the Winternationals became a national championship
event, it has grown to become the largest drag racing event outside of
North America and last year attracted a record 606 entries.
Two drivers who will no doubt go into the Winternationals boasting
confidence from their involvement in today’s QT Tin Top Titles are the
top qualifiers in Top Doorslammer and Pro Stock professional categories.
World Top Doorslammer elapsed time record holder, John Zappia of Perth
remained consistent throughout three earlier qualifying periods,
clocking a best 6.082 second pass across the quarter mile.
In Pro Stock, Queenslander Aaron Tremayne mastered a 7.216 second pass
to lead a strong field that also included his brother Tyrone who was
third quickest.
Drag racing fans young and old are encouraged to involve themselves in
the Wallace Bishop Jewellers National Photographic competition and be
in the running to win some great cash and prizes.
Opportunities abound Australia-wide to shoot images at your local drag
racing track and forward them through the website
www.stuartbishopracing.com.au to enter.
Simply by taking photos of all the drag racing action on and off the
track, then submitting images into the competition, individuals will go
in the running to win cash and prizes worth more than $20 000, courtesy
of Wallace Bishop Jewellers.
The length and breadth of the country will play host to a vast array of
quarter mile drag racing action, coordinated at the three major venues
in Ipswich, Sydney and Perth, plus plenty of smaller hotspots in
between.
It’s not just the major venues that will be pumping with quarter mile
drag racing action in 2007, as some of the smaller quarter and eighth
mile facilities get in on the act.
Stretching along the East Coast of Australia, Victoria’s South Coast
Raceway at Portland has regularly scheduled race meetings and it’s a
similar story at Tasmania’s Motors-ACDelco strip.
Mildura’s Sunset Strip in Victoria, Darwin’s Hidden Valley Drag Strip
and Queensland’s Palmyra Dragway (Mackay), Benaraby Raceway (Gladstone)
and Warwick Dragway are also bound to have plenty of high speed thrills
in store during the year.
Full details of the Wallace Bishop photographic competition are
available at www.stuartbishopracing.com.au as is all the new up to date
information relevant to the SBR team and the ’67 Camaro Diamond
Doorslammer.
Website: www.stuartbishopracing.com.au
QT Tin Top Titles – Top Doorslammer (April 28, 2007)
Willowbank Raceway
Finals Field
John Zappia 6.082
Ben Bray 6.098
Victor Bray 6.221
Gary Phillips 6.225
Aaron Lynch 6.228
Stuart Bishop 6.323
Maurice Fabietti 6.387
Brett Stevens 6.483
Round One Eliminations
Abandoned
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