The month of November saw John Zappia and his 5 second RENTCO Monaro compete at two events in Australia. A quick trip across the Nullabor and up the East Coast to Brisbane, Queensland in the Zappia Racing bus saw the Zap's Rat crew early for the 40th Nationals at Willowbank Raceway.
In Round 2 of Top Doorslammer, Gary Phillips retained the top position despite not contesting the final two qualifying sessions. Phillips led with a time of 6.07sec, followed by John Zappia (6.105sec), Ben Bray (6.153) and Robin Judd (6.195).
Unfortunately rain on day three washed out the event. All 8 qualifers were awarded 40 championship points, and Garry Phillips and Ben Bray picked up 5 points each for quickest ET and fastest mph. After Round 2 John Zappia leads the Top Doorslammer Championship with 150 points, Followed by Garry Phillips on 125, Brett Stevens and Steve Stanic on 100 points, Ben Bray on 85 and father Victor on 80 points.
"The rain was unfortunate, but qualifying second and getting the points for the championship were a bonus." said John Zappia after the event.
Runner up at home
19th of November saw the RENTCO Rat back in Perth for the local National Open meeting on a hot sunny day. Track conditions were not the best during the afternoon, with most teams struggling to get down the track.
After a first run of 6.830 @ 225.56 placing Zap 5th in the qualifying table, Zap defeated Damien Harris before being beaten at the tree by Separavich in his killer Torana in the A Final. An added consolation for John was that two finalists were running B&J transmissions which are distributed by Zappia Racing.
Local events allow us to test some new combinations and fine tune our package" said Zap, "We are ready to race Round 3 of the Top Doorslammer Championship on 2 - 3 December here in Perth at the Goldenstates Championships. We always look forward to racing in front of our home crowd, and if the track conditions and weather are right, we may see another 5 second run over the event. It's an event not to miss here in Perth."
TOP COMP
No.
NAME
CLASS
LANE
RUN TIME
H/CAP
ET
MPH
RT
60' ET
330' ET
660' ET
660' MPH
1000' ET
RESULT
324
TREVOR MORRISON
BB/A
1
20:33:11
7.05
6.797
202.24
0.117
1.017
2.847
4.363
161.42
5.680
LOSE
195
GEORGE SEPAROVICH
AA/G
2
20:33:11
6.82
6.506
217.91
0.093
1.073
2.817
4.241
173.71
5.466
WIN
1759
MARTIN MILLER
AA/D
1
20:39:24
6.40
6.672
196.50
0.540
1.219
2.965
4.364
176.44
5.577
LOSE
3191
JOHN MCSWEENEY
BB/AP
2
20:39:24
7.80
7.246
189.87
0.302
1.093
3.216
4.789
164.08
6.106
WIN
846
JOHN ZAPPIA (WA)
T/D
1
20:42:42
6.50
6.167
234.37
0.042
1.050
2.734
4.063
186.62
5.202
WIN
526
DAMIEN HARRIS
TA/FC
2
20:42:42
6.30
5.958
242.58
0.255
1.001
2.650
3.938
193.15
5.030
LOSE
1067
GRANT O'ROURKE
T/D
2
20:45:17
6.50
6.542
193.96
0.073
1.126
2.921
4.288
182.12
5.443
WIN
3191
JOHN MCSWEENEY
BB/AP
1
22:42:55
7.30
7.167
155.70
0.119
1.079
3.040
4.568
168.02
5.869
WIN
846
JOHN ZAPPIA (WA)
T/D
1
22:46:02
6.43
6.106
230.76
0.072
1.040
2.709
4.029
194.65
5.150
LOSE
195
GEORGE SEPAROVICH
AA/G
2
22:46:02
6.76
6.421
219.51
0.028
1.034
2.759
4.166
178.13
5.383
WIN
Time off to relax
Even though driving across the continent of Australia can take up to 50 hours continuous driving, Zap and the crew always stop off at their secret fishing spot accross the Nullabor for a few days fishing were possible.
