Drag Racing General Drag Racing & Motorsport

Lots going on in Melbourne. I always wanted to check this out, so it looks like the weekend of the 1st & 2nd of April might be a busy one.

 

The Event...

https://tinyurl.com/mt2z3ks8

 

LOL; Bagger Racing.

 

While not bike related, I thought I would put a post up for the 2023 WEC (World Endurance Championship).

A bit of background; as a wee nipper I saw a picture of a Porsche 917 on the cover of a car mag (probably Auto Action). It was in colour (magazines were mostly black and white back in the day) and the 917 had the classic duck-egg blue and orange livery of the sponsor (Gulf Western Oils). I was besotted. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. The following picture doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea. Compared to the F1 cars of that era, this thing looked like a rocket ship!



It was at this point that I discovered Le Mans and Sports Car racing. Since that day I have always kept an eye on the LM cars and watch (or read about) the 24 hours of Le Mans each year. There have been many highlights and low-lights over the years, but 2023 is looking like a fantastic reboot of the top class in the series. LMP1 cars have been replaced by LMH and LMDH classes. There are 2 bodies that race LM cars; The FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA Sports Car Championship (USA). There are multiple classes, but the top two classes are/were LMP1 and LMP2.

Normally (these days), there are only a few manufacturers involved in sports car racing as opposed to the 'good old days' when everyone thought winning Le Mans was the pinnacle of motorsport success. The movie 'Ford Versus Ferrari' was fun to watch even if it was a little inaccurate in its portrayal of events and the key players involved. Recently, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber both competed in the WEC championship and both are WEC World Champions. Webber started off in the WEC before getting a break with Minardi and entering F1. Mark was one of two cars (both Mercedes) that flipped on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans.



So, why is 2023 getting me all excited? Well, there's been a significant rule change and the LMP1 class is no more. In its place comes two new classes, LMH and LMDH. I won't bore you with the details of the two classes other than to say they are both called 'Hypercar' classes and manufacturers are flocking to the series by substantial numbers. Even Ferrari have decided to re-enter the WEC after a very long period where they focused solely on their F1 program. The Ferrari 499P looks fast standing still, but the early money is on the Toyota. Onboard footage from the Ferrari is fabulous https://tinyurl.com/5ee5v95s but it's a long way off Fernando Alonso's 2019 lap record 1.40.124 https://tinyurl.com/b6pkxsnz



And so, the first real race of the year is this weekend at Sebring. All the Hypercar teams are in attendance, but the BMW and Acura won't be racing in the WEC event. They will be racing in the IMSA race the day after the WEC have their crack at Sebring. The BMW performed poorly at round 1 of the 2023 IMSA season (Daytona 24 hours), so it will be interesting to see how they go this time out.




Too say that all the entries look great would be a massive understatement (I think). The Peugeot in particular is a very interesting design as they are not running a rear wing. Instead, they are using ground effects to create all of the car's downforce.



The championship has just finished its (prologue) testing at Sebring and the results and general information about the 2023 combatants can be found in the two following links.

https://tinyurl.com/3ahnt82z
https://tinyurl.com/p2txwkev

 

Oh dear...



Why does government keep giving this track money? It's run by Monkeys (no offence to Monkeys)!

 

Heathcote Park Raceway has a couple of 'Bike only' events scheduled for the next couple of months. This might be an opportunity for any interstate competitors to come on down or any locals wishing to give the 1/4 mile a try? May the 6th and June the 17th are currently on the 2023 Calendar.

 

A 'yester year' drag bike running an Ariel Arrow 250cc 2-stroke. I believe the bike was called the Pearce Arrow.

 

Junior Drag Bike racing slowly getting traction. Great to see an MC19 in amongst all the modern stuff.

 

Dubbo Drags for this weekend have been cancelled due to low numbers. There might be more to this than meets the eye. Seems like the online entry system wasn't working properly and a few racers are complaining. Weird, because you can download an entry form and send that to the club?

 

That makes more sense. HPR have a drag day on then as well, but they're not competing against Mother's Day, they seem to be using it as part of their promotion! Time will tell if its successful or not. 'Mums race for free' sounds like something the Dubbo Car Club should have thought about too.

 

HPR really do run a smart operation.

 

Chris Matheson runs 5.92 and hangs up his helmet



Australia’s quickest and fastest man on two wheels, Chris “Nitro Voodoo” Matheson, has called time on his illustrious career. Matheson was the man to beat in Top Fuel Motorcycle racing for the last decade, as he and his Nitro Voodoo team crossed Australia in their quest to rewrite history in the sport.

Matheson smashed the last major barrier for Top Fuel Motorcycle in Australia on the 5th of May 2023, at 2.39pm, when he broke into the 5-second zone, clocking a staggering 5.920 seconds at over 232 MPH (370 KPH) over the quarter-mile (400m) at WSID.

Setting the bar throughout his career, winning every race from a rookie start for almost two entire race seasons, ultimately accumulating 8 National Championships during his 11-year reign. Matheson closes his career as reigning champion, and number one plate holder, in both 400 Thunder series and the Burson Auto Parts Top Fuel Championship.

The Nitro Voodoo team has dominated the sport, winning his last five championships consecutively, holding national speed and ET records for some ten plus years. Incredibly, Matheson holds the track records of all major group one tracks throughout Australia, and has racked up some 50+ Group One wins, 70+ podiums, and in excess of 60 Top Qualifiers.

It hasn’t been all smooth riding suffering some spectacular mishaps in his decade of racing as well. Including being blown off his Nitro Voodoo machine at almost 235 MPH (380 KPH), and being electrocuted during a race in Darwin, when a spark plug hit him in the chest on a pass, electrifying him with some 45,000 volts.

“The team and I have achieved what we set out to do,” said Matheson. “We designed and built our own power plants here in Brisbane, Australia, under the direction of Mr Philip O’Brien of Performance Wholesale Australia, who effectively made a nitro bomb into a quick, fast and reliable machine.

“We have two of the youngest crew in the sport, Jaimie McKinley and Clutch Guy JP working tirelessly to turn the bike around between races, while Crew Chief Mick Mackay orchestrates the ensemble.

“I am elated to see a resurgence in Top Fuel Motorcycle racing in recent times, and confident we have improved the profile of our sport from when we entered the scene in 2010. We set some records along the way and changed history with our team’s efforts. I have made many friends on the journey and met many loyal fans. Sponsors, supporters, volunteers and officials have made the whole experience extremely enjoyable.

“To all the racers and teams, we competed against, thank you. Especially Chris “Bad Bones” Porter, who put up some of the toughest competition throughout my career. My wife and children who let me chase my dreams through the good times, and the tough times. It is time to move over and let some youth chase down our legacy, and write their own history in this crazy wild sport we call Top Fuel Motorcycle.” Matheson has yet to reveal what is next.

Frankster: On a personal note, I have been present on several occasions when Chris looked set to run a '5', but through breakage or any number of other reasons, he was denied the honour. His incremental times on many runs put him in the five second zone if the candles had remained lit. Chris should have taken this record years ago, but to his credit he continued chasing it through all manner of setbacks and disappointments. To illustrate the kind of person Chris is, he drives his prime mover to each of the meetings he attends. Athol Williams and Jay Upton also went close to the record, but congrats to Chris on getting it and retiring from TF Bike with the best possible microphone drop. The majority of this post were copied/plagiarised from an article in Dragnews Magazine.

 

Well, it has taken a little longer than expected, but 'The Bend' drag strip will be opening with a bang (not literally).

SATURDAY, 21 OCTOBER & SUNDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2023 - DRAGWAY AT THE BEND

SPRING NATIONALS
10,000 Horsepower, Nitro Burning Top Fuel Dragsters return to South Australia for Dragway at The Bend's SPRING NATIONALS Grand Opening. Over 200 of Australia's fastest competitiors will battle it out for glory to see who will be the inaugral first champions.

Be part of this historic event:

• Round 1 Burson Auto-Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship
• Brand New World Class Dragway
• Two days of Australia's fastest cars and bikes racing over 1/4 mile
• Family entertainment
• Free car parking
• Children 15 & Under FREE!

https://www.outix.co/tickets/event/...CwFwyH9fHBvwzm6RNDik4nyBgI4iQSrjfp7mP0_wlshRc

 

Drag Racing in Tasmania.

@Murdo and I popped in to the only drag strip in Tasmania when we were touring around Tassie in late 2017. The track was called 'Tarmac Raceway' in the early days and held many National level events as well as many local races. When we were there it seemed okay, but it appeared to be in decline. As the years have ticked by, the complex has fallen on hard times and was sold in early 2021 (I think). A group has recently purchased it and wants to get drag racing going again, which lots of people are enthusiastic about. The following timeline will give you an idea of the complex's fall from grace. The last few 'meetings' at the facility were basically just burnout competitions that would have destroyed the surface even further. If you watch any of the vision below, you'll notice a lack of 2-wheeled competitors. Something I hope will be changed when the racing starts again.

2012 https://tinyurl.com/2p94bcwd

2019 https://tinyurl.com/38w3e5ja

2020 https://tinyurl.com/3w86xezm

2023...



Hopefully, the new owners can get drag racing in Tasmania back to having regular meetings and its own championship. The last time we had one was back in 2019. I will be supporting them whenever I can both as a racer and as a volunteer.

http://dragsdownunder.info/tas_cal.php

 

Dubbo Drags on the 11th of June 2023.