NEWS

JUDD TEAM OUT TO WIN CHAMPIONSHIP

Perth driver Robin Judd wants to win the 2002 Australian Top Doorslammer Championship and has gone to a lot of trouble to give himself every chance.

The premier Australian dragracing series commences with Round 1 at Kwinana Beach Motorplex, Western Australia over two nights, November 30 and December 1. Qualifying will be held on the Friday night under a new Shootout format with additional prize money up for grabs. The top eight qualifiers will fight it out on Saturday night over three rounds. Judd is expecting tough competition from all the competitors including Brisbane's Victor Bray and Brett Stevens plus Melbourne's Peter Kapiris.

The event will be the first of two held in Perth for the season, with the Westernationals to be held on March 3 & 4, 2002. The other three rounds of the five part series will be held at Willowbank International Raceway, Ipswich, Queensland on January 18 & 19 (Australian Nationals), March 29 & 30 (Tin Top Championships) and June 8.9 & 10 (Australian Winternationals).

Following the dramatic fire ball at this year's Winternationals, Judd and his crew have worked tirelessly over the off season to get the car back to it's best.

When asked about the aftermath of the fire ball Judd said, "We completely stripped the car down to the bare chassis, I mean every last nut and bolt. Fire extinguisher foam is very corrosive and gets into everything. The chassis was sand blasted, checked and powdercoated along with all the tin work. We made a new front clip, annodised and zinc plated various components. All the wiring was redone and anything with so much as a singe, replaced. We took the opportunity to completely refurbish the car and make a few changes that were on the drawing boards anyway. There is no evidence of the fire left anywhere on the car whatsoever. It makes me very proud to see the car now - the guys have done an awesome job."

While rebuilding the car, the team made some changes to the car including altering the steering rack, fitting a new external oil (dry sump) system, new diff housing and four link suspension bars. The new fuel tank breather needed modification and the team will try to get some testing time in prior to the first round. Judd believes the team is now over its problems of last season is looking forward to getting back on top. He said, "We've gone back to our old set up. It's a case of moving a step back to move forward. I am confident we can get back up there again, running consistent .20's with the occasional 'teen. It's not impossible because we've done it before. We just got a little lost making too many changes and not having the experience to match."