John Zappia is on track to present for Round 2 of the ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship at the Fuchs Nationals in Western Sydney. A spectacular crash in the Final of Round 1 gained international media attention, and placed the Zappia Racing Team on the back foot in their preparation for the next event.
“We ended up bringing the Striker Monaro back to Perth for repairs”, said John Zappia this week, “I was inundated with offers of help from local supporting sponsors and businesses straight after the crash, and decided to come home to get the job done.”
“A special thanks to all the people that have helped repair the car. The body was panel beaten by Peter Matulovich, the painting by John from United Collision Repairs, the tin work by Dave from Kounis Metal Industries.”
The chassis is being repaired by aerospace engineer Clyde Carstairs at his Bravo Resources workshop in O’Connor WA. Clyde is well known in international Motor Sport through his involvement with the FIA Rally Championships, and in Drag Racing for his first class engineering expertise. His workshop is a Civil Aviation Safety Authority approved aircraft welding facility.
“Because we did all the modifications on this car to enable the chassis to step up into the 5.8 second range, I rang Zap and offered to help” said Clyde, “The good news is that the main chassis is undamaged. We did all the symmetry checks, and I was satisfied the main chassis structure was good. Standard aircraft repair techniques are used to replace the damaged bars, and the team is conducting all the unscheduled inspections necessary on all the components”.
With three weeks to the Fuchs Nationals the team will still be pushed to get the car back together, but this seasoned team is at its best under pressure with a depth of experience and support.
“I have analysed what happened in the crash in detail, and have learnt a lot from it”, said Zap, “We push the limits with our search for a performance advantage over the rest of the field, and we learnt where the limit is in a certain area”.
“One thing I am sure of is driver safety in our sport. The safety regulations enforced by ANDRA work and all the equipment we wear and safety systems in the car ensure we have a maximum chance of walking away from an incident”.
“I think the Fuchs Nationals will be even closer racing than the Blown Alcohol Championships, as the track is a little different to Willowbank, and I think the cars will get down the track a little easier. I know we will go quick after what I have learnt.”
Clyde Carstairs and John Zappia designing the front chassis tubing.
One of Clyde Carstairs creations - an LS2 V8 powered sand drag bike
