Zappia wins 36th Annual Goldenstates Championship in Perth
John Zappia won Round Three of the ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship at Kwinana Motorplex this weekend with a stunning array of low et passes that blitzed the thirteen car field.
Zappia top qualified with a 6.025et @ 239.36 with two of the three qualifying runs available.
“The weekend was a real success for the team, and everything ran smooth and to plan. Winning the event to extend our lead in the Championship, and getting consistently into the fives were the main focus” said Zap, “the five in the semi final against Benny was a benchmark for us, and it was only the track condition late at night that prevented another in the final.”
“The Striker HQ Monaro has now run five 5 second passes with the new TFX/PSI combination. We ran five 5 second passes with the old Walt Austin BAE/Whipple combo, but I know this new combo has more potential for me as a tuner.”
“Most teams struggled with getting the power to the ground on the new concrete surface here at the Perth Motorplex. We use our own four link rear end, which takes longer to set up but provides a better result for us long term. The B & J transmission also makes a big difference over the Lenco – a fact most teams are happy to ignore.”
“The Mickey Thompson tyres were excellent for us over the weekend, with minimal tyre shake and good traction.”
“The meeting was the first for new major sponsor Force Tools Australia, who was thrilled with the exposure and win for the team.”
The Striker Monaro top qualified on Friday night with a 6.025et @ 239.36mph after a first pass of 6.087@236.84. Weather interruptions forced the third qualifying session to be cut short, and teams were offered a last session on the Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
“We chose to sit out the third Saturday qualifier due to the unstable weather conditions and the fact we were on our last blower belt, and I thought we should save the car for eliminations. We are excellent at thrashing and completing amazing turnarounds, but we are getting used to a more planned and professional approach to our racing.”
First elimination round was a safe straight 6.051et @ 238.72mph pass for Zap to take the win over Robyn Judd’s 6.173et @ 241.28mph. Second round saw Zap get more serious in his tuning, thrilling his local crowd with a 5.956et @ 239.36mph win over Ben Brays tyre shaking 6.804et @ 163.33mph.
“I saw the final as an excellent opportunity to set our quickest time ever, but the car shook a little and I had to pedal – I think Steve had the same problem in the other lane, as the track was a little cold that late in the night. A 6.144et @ 234.98mph was enough to beat Stanic’s 6.580et @ 231.36mph.”
John Zappia now leads the ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship on 343 points, ahead of Stanic on 240, Bishop on 185, Phillips on 160 and the Brays on 155 and 150 points.
“It’s a good lead, and hopefully this may be our year with a lot of luck and a more professional approach bringing us success. Makes up for the last couple of seasons as runner-up, where we had a lot of unforced errors and failures.”
“We will now run three local meetings to test new equipment in preparation for Round 4 of Top Doorslammer on 15 - 16th Feb at the N R M A Summernationals in Western Sydney International Dragway.”
