NEWS

6.15 off the trailer at Tin Tops

April 25, 2003 Tin Tops Championship ATDC 5 Willowbank Raceway, Ipswich, Queensland

Perth based Top Doorslammer racer Robin Judd showed his team was on top of their new combination by reeling an “off the trailer” 6.155 @ 236.72mph in the first Anzac day qualifying session. The run was a PB for Judd in both ET and speed – making him the quickest and fastest Doorslammer in Western Australia and fastest for the event. After three rounds of qualifying Judd was firmly in No 2 position, the team choosing to sit out the second and third rounds and save the car.

“There was no point beating up on the car to move one position. We are leaving it here for the Winternationals in June so the less maintenance we have to do on it the better. No 2 position is OK, we have nothing to prove” Judd said. As it turned out the resultant match ups may have worked in Judd’s favor because Peter Kapiris, the fiercest competitor in the field, had some problems and qualified eighth. That made Kapiris Brett Stevens (No 1 qualifier with a 6.14) problem in round one. Judd faces the slower car of Maurice Fabietti. Father and son team, Victor and Ben Bray, finished 4th and 5th respectively so face off in round one. All four have a chance of winning the championship.

Rain started falling later that night and continued the next morning. Organizers decided to cancel the event when it was still raining just before lunch. The qualifying stands and the eliminations postponed to May 17. Unfortunately, Judd and some of his crew have other pressing commitments and cannot return to Willowbank at that time.

“If I’d been high enough in the points rest assured I would have moved heaven and earth to be able to race at the postponed event. The fact is being so late in the season and given our problems in earlier rounds, I cannot win the championship this year. What we will do is come back for the Winternationals to improve on the 6.15. With our new combo, we have run 6.16, 6.19, 6.21 and now 6.15 in recent weeks. Our immediate aim is to consolidate on what we know we can do and become more consistent. There’s plenty left in the car to run quicker but as we step it up different problems emerge, for example, suspension settings, gear ratios, clutch settings etc – we are still learning. ”

Full run results from qualifying –
http://www.willowbank-raceway.com.au/tintopsfriday.htm

Detailed qualifying list -
http://www.willowbank-raceway.com.au/tdtintops.htm