NEWS

6.16 test run a boost for Judd team Kwinana, February 22, 2003

Perth based Top doorslammer racer Robin Judd has boosted his teams’ prospects of winning the forthcoming Australian Top Doorslammer Championship round in Perth. Powered by a new PSI supercharger, Judd’s Moonshine Bandit 1953 Studebaker ran a personal best 6.163 @ 231mph. It was their first full pass with the new combination, having experienced tyre shake problems in earlier testing.

“We knew we were on to something after the first run.” Judd said after the stunning pass. “It shook badly on the earlier run and I lost half a second stepping off the gas. The car hadn’t made it past 100 feet with the PSI and we needed data, so I hit the throttle again and it hooked up. I got off it just after 1000 feet and it still ran 6.67 @ 214. The old roots system would have struggled to maybe a high 6 after a glitch like that. The 6.16 felt great. After feeling a little bit of tyre shake and moving towards the centre line, I feathered the throttle a little to straighten it up – the car then hauled big time all the way to the finish line. I knew it was a quick run by how strong it felt and the thump of the chutes”.

Judd towed out for a third test run but shut it down after the burnout after discovering a brake problem. The team is now eager to contest the next round of the championship.

Round 4 of the ATDC is the Westernationals, being held on March 1 and 2 at Kwinana Motorplex. Judd hopes his team can reproduce the testing results and win the round. He said, “We are looking forward to putting down some good runs. I would love to run a 6.0 and be the first Aussie in the 5’s.”

“I would like to thank Mark Brew for helping us set up the PSI blower and John Scialpi for his continuing advice and wisdom in relation to the clutch. A lot of the credit for this performance must go to my crew chief Lee Brailsford. I would also like to thank the rest of the crew and our sponsors for their loyalty and perseverance through a tough couple of seasons. Ever since the fire ball incident it has been a struggle to get back running quick numbers again. Maybe that’s all about to change now?”

Judd’s plan for the Westernationals is to take each run at a time. Worry about qualifying first then tackle the eliminations. He will have stiff opposition from the Eastern States hopefuls, Bray (snr), Bray (jnr), Kapiris, Stevens, Phillips and Fabietti. Locals O’Rourke, Keys and Zappia make up the balance of the 10 cars fighting out the 8 car field. Most of the cars have run career bests of 6.20’s or better which should prove for a great contest. It is possible the field will be the quickest on record.

Following the event click on the “results” section for details run by run.