> 59the 5.7-second zone. Scott McLean
and Paul Mouhayet were also
5.7-second contenders, to keep him
honest. Mouhayet had clinched the
championship but fell to Ham in the
semis, and McLean’s final round 6.2
couldn’t touch Ham’s Winternationals
winning 5.720/256.65.
The battle of the giants in Top Bike
was always going to be between Jay
Upton and Chris Matheson. They
paired off in qualifying and did so
again in the final, where Matheson
prevailed with an off-pace 7.66.
Pro Bike was all Katie Sullivan
from the USA. She stole the show
from the outset, ran a first round
7.015, then 6.969 in the semis against
Luke Crowley (first to run a six
in Australia). The pairing had the
obvious potential for twin 6’s, but it
wasn’t to be, and Katie then went on
to win the final over championship
winner Ryan Learmonth,
7.004/191.59 to a 7.181/183.94.
Five hundred entrants and 20
brackets, made up everything you
could wish for, from the nitro-
burning fuellers to Pro Extreme
cars and bikes, on down through
the Sportsman classes, to satisfy
every appetite for performance
and spectacle. Records fell, wild
rides occurred, and upsets aplenty
all made up an entertainment
event package which is unrivalled
in Australian drag racing.Ian Philip added colour and excitement with
wheelstanding passes in Top Sportsman.Supercharged Outlaws always have a wild
array of contenders. Jason Kelly’s low 7-second
coupe was a great entertainer until it wasn’t!
If you are a Group Two entrant, you need to
run very hard to dip under national record
indexes. Jason Payne met the challenge
and won the Super Stock title, going as
quick as 7.09 on a 7.30 index along the way.Kerry Boyd took his immaculate roadster to
a deserved win in Super Gas, with a 9.908
on the 9.90 index. The race was a repeat
from last year, where Anthony Panetta
was runner up with a breakout 9.898.Professionalism equates to Katie Sullivan! “Kalifornia Katie”
out of the USA of course, trounced the Pro Stock Bike field.
Her 6.969 semi-final pass was the first six for Willowbank in
this class, and her final round win was willed on by the crowd.The track was hit and miss for the Top Fuel
teams, and the Lamittina “Carrot King” entry just
struggled. The team made the final though, and
Bettes pedalled to a 10.2 loss to Wayne Newby.In the Modified Bike final, Laeith Skinner
gave away .05 in reaction, then broke
out by .003 to lose out to Dayne Brandon.
Modified Bike is one hard-fought bracket.