factory Nissan leaf springs and some semi-
aggressive 3.7:1 diff gears.
As for Drag Challenge Weekend, Michael
had the time of his life during this year’s
three-day event in Queensland. “When Drag
Challenge was first brought to my attention,
I thought to myself I’d better give that a go,”
he says. “Going into the weekend, my goal
was just to finish and have some fun.”
Michael did a lot more than that. By the end
of Day One at Willowbank Raceway he was
leading the Tuff Mounts 235 Blown class
with a staunch 8.97@150mph pass, and
was sitting in ninth spot overall.
Despite the SR20 being a highly strung,
small-capacity donk, Michael made it
through the road stages of the weekend
without any major dramas. “The car went
really well on the road, but the suspension
is definitely more set up for racing than the
road; some of that route was pretty rough
on the old backside,” he says. “I reckon
I got airborne at least once on a couple
of sections, so I’ll be sorting some more
padding on the seats for next year.”
By the end of Day Two, Michael was still in
the class lead with a best of 5.82@123mph
over Warwick’s eighth-mile, before getting
pipped by a blistering-quick Jason Ross in
the UC Torana on Day Three, who ran an 8.63
to Michael’s 8.93. “We tried screwing a bit
more boost into it on the last day, but we just
couldn’t quite get it to work,” Michael says.
Despite just missing out on the class win,
Michael was still all smiles, scoring three
trophies for his efforts. “To come second
in class was really cool, and then to finish
10th overall was really amazing; I actually
couldn’t believe it when Scotty read my
name out at the awards ceremony,” he
says. He also took out the Quickest Four-
Cylinder/Rotor award.
It’s pretty safe to say Michael’s well and
truly caught the Drag Challenge bug: “I’m
planning on doing the weekend event again
next year, and then all going well I should
have a new motor ready and I’ll try and do
the full week-long one next year as well,”
he says.
Michael has plans of 1000hp and low
eights with the new donk, so we’re definitely
keen to see him back in the saddle again.
But the competition isn’t what he loves most
about Drag Challenge: “It’s just such a fun
event, and the best part is that there are no
egos; everybody’s happy to help each other
out and have a beer at the end of the day,”
he says. sMICHAEL SILK
DATSUN 1200 WAGONSPECS
Engine: 2.2L SR20
Turbo: Garrett GTX45
Transmission: Two-speed Powerglide
Converter: SDE, 6100rpm stall
Diff: HiLux, 3.7:1 gears
Power: 650hp
Best DCW pass: 8.93@152mphTHE SUSPENSION IS DEFINITELY MORE SET UP FOR RACING THAN THE ROAD;
SOME OF THAT ROUTE WAS PRETTY ROUGH ON THE OLD BACKSIDE!