Western Australian drag racing gets underway this weekend at the world famous Kwinana Beach Motorplex with the Season Opening Meeting this Saturday 1st November 2008, and Australia’s No 1 Top Doorslammer Champion John Zappia is ready to rock and roll.
Typically cold and chilly, the season opener has witnessed records tumble in the past, and Zap is keen to build on his Championship winning previous season with even better performances this year.
“We have done a lot of work in off season on the Striker Monaro to strengthen the setup, to hold the power we are making in the TFX Hemi”, said Zap this week, “first run at the opening round of the Top Doorslammer Championship in Sydney showed the potential with 5.98et off the trailer with a soft tune.”
“The run ended up a wild ride for me after I got out of the groove in the top end, and ended up on the roof in the gravel. We had our spill plate size reduced by ANDRA in their aerodynamic regulatory cleanup across the class, and our stability was affected. It put our program back a little having to rebuild the steel body of the HQ Monaro, but I guess that is racing!”
Zap competes against 12 other Supercharged teams in the local “Top Comp” competition this meeting, based on a local indexing system in a format ending up with the top four teams fighting out the A and B Finals.
“We love competing at the Perth track. All our loyal fans are here, our long term sponsors and supporters, and we love putting on an exciting show for them. Supercharged V8 racing here in Perth is world class – in Top Doorslammer, and in many other classes like Supercharged Outlaws – it’s a real class act and we feel proud to be among the pioneers of this racing since the Ravenswood days.”
“The rebuilt Striker Top Doorslammer Monaro was tested for the second time yesterday at the test and tune Wednesday, and in windy conditions I managed a pedaling 6.22et on a track that was actually pretty sticky. Saturday should be a good days racing if the weather settles down”.
Zap’s Rat fans are welcome to come down to the pit area and talk to Zap, as he will gladly spend time and autograph Zappia Racing merchandise with the No 1 - Doorslammer Champion. Watch one of Australia’s top pit crew work on the amazing 3,000 plus horsepower supercharged Hemi V8 engines in record time between races.
