LAMATTINA VICTORY WITH 4.65 LOW ET!

The huge crowd stayed righ to the end to see Phil Lamattina set the event low ET in the final.

Pics by High Octane Photos

Phil Lamattini made an emotional return to the winners circle with an emphatic 4.65 second low ET for the event on his way to winning the Perth round of the Australian Top Fuel Championship. The disappointment of a solo in the final - after Darren Morgans Wicked Quick dragster refused to fire in the final - was nullified as the scoreboards lit up with the 4.65 second time. For Lamattina it was vindication to him, his family and crew after returning from the hooror crash at Willowbank Raceway that totally destroyed their previous ride. Darren Morgan, while obviously disappointed in not racing in the final was happy with the event and now heads to Sydney for the Summernationals in a fortnights time bouyed by the result from this weekend.

For full event results including incrementals please click HERE

Event report by Drag Racing scribe Simon Cope following:

With four top-notch teams on hand this weekend there will be no shortage of world-class nitro action as the teams vie for the bonus points on offer at the Perth round. Friday night saw two qualifying rounds scheduled for 7pm & 9:30pm, with a further compulsory qualifier round scheduled for 6pm Saturday. The teams left no stone unturned in their quest to conquer the track during the evening chasing top-speed and low-ET, and perhaps even a new record while they were at it. The first Qualifier at 7pm had Phil Read pitted against Darren Morgan. Good burnouts performed by both cars. Read posted a tough .856 60’, Morgan not slouching either with a .901 in the other lane, Read starts turning the tires at half track though and pushes a gasket out around 1000’ for a slowing 5.075 to Morgan’s storming 4.773/501.15kph on the cars first lap down the Motorplex. In the second pair Phil Lamattina pairs up with West Aussie Martin Stamatis however Lamattina can’t find reverse after the burnout though and drives off the end of the track. Stamatis, however, is not bothered one bit and runs a solo 4.812 with a relatively slow 451.20kph top end charge. No doubt there will be some head scratching in the Read pits before the second qualifier later in the evening. For the 9:30pm second qualifier Stamatis pairs up with Morgan, both cars sound very tough in the cooler evening air, the track is still nice and warm and has plenty of bite, both cars leaving hard, something in Stamatis’s engine lets go just past half track (a 3.191 to 660’) and has a major explosion and it’s oiled the track right through to the turn off, Morgan shutting off in the other lane when a chute comes out early. Final TF pairing for Friday night is Lamattina vs Read, both cars again setup tough, both cars out hard and the candles a lit all the way down track until Read gets off the pedal around the 1000’ mark, no doubt Stamatis’s run had the team thinking hard as to the cause, Lamattina however cranking out a 4.66 to top qualify. Saturday sees the compulsory qualifier at 6pm in front of a solid crowd in the blistering afternoon heat (a sweltering 35C). The first pairing out under the bridge after the anthem being Phil Read and Darren Morgan. Both cars out hard and even but both turning the tires at the 330’ mark and they abort, hardly surprising given the heat in the track (over 132F). Phil Lamattina and Martin Stamatis round out the session, Stamatis was keen to put down a good performance after that huge explosion Friday night in the second qualifier. On staging Stamatis has trouble with a blip on the throttle putting him through the beams. Meanwhile Lamattina stages and lays down a stellar 4.76/499kph in the tough conditions. The semi finals saw Top Qualifier Phil Lamattina paired up with Phil Read, Read lucky to make the round after having problems in the pits and having to pull the engine down twice. It was a race to the line after Read got out on Lamattina with the Fuchs car having a nose in front at half track edging away to take the win with a 4.77 with Read shuting off around 1000’ with a blower belt broke. In the other pairing it was Stamatis and Morgan. Would the Read camp be packing up early or can Stamatis take down Morgan who has been impressive all weekend. Both cars left well and Morgan takes the lead at half track and powers through to a 4.70 as Stamatis smokes the tires heavily in the other lane, throws the belt off and rolls through with a 6.74. The final was Lamattina v Morgan. With improved conditions in the evening it’s good fuel racing weather. Looks like it will be a solo though when Morgan can’t fire, they had to pull the blower back off in the pits so looks like something not quite right still. Phil into stage after a tidy burnout, he’s straight out on the green and it’s right down the middle for a 4.65 - the event low ET.

Phil Lamattina made a triumphant return to the winners circle after the horrific crash at Willowbank Raceway earlier in the season.

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The next major Drag Racing event will be the 37th annual Westernationals.