AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION - 2009/2010 Season
ARCHIVE
Castrol
Edge Winternationals - 10th to 13th June - 2010.
The Castrol Edge
Winternationals Event, held at Willowbank Raceway, was massive to
say the least.
It's the biggest drag racing event outside of America.
This four-day
meeting began on Thursday 10th June and continued on
until Sunday the 13th with around 485 racers with their
crew competing for
the Australian Championship in their respective brackets.
The crowd rolled in
each day and filled the grandstand to cheer on the racers.
Set-up day for us
was on the Wednesday and qualifying saw us with 3 runs on the
Thursday.
Friday and we had 2
rounds of racing both of which mama claimed the win light.
Early Saturday
morning and round 3 was at 8.36am. We dialled-in 11.64 and ran 11.65
for the win once more.
Now we had to wait
until Sunday for the final three rounds of racing.
Okay this is the
quarterfinal! It begins at 8.06am. This time I’ve dialled-in
11.63. I had a .047 reaction to my opponents .129
and I ran 11.67
backing down slightly near the finish line for another win.
Next up a solo pass
for an entry into the final. We ran this pass with the race car
running 11.627 so our dial-in for the final would
be lowered.
Our final race was
at 3.49 pm and I knew it would be a tough race as I was up against
the young guy who had won our
Track Championship.
The reactions were
close…mine was .057…my opponents .031…so I’m in with a
chance. We both broke out and I lost by one
thousandths of a
second.
I claimed the
Runner-up position at the Winternationals and placed 3rd
in our Track Championship for the 2009/2010 season.
The most glorious
victory of all is being the winner of our Super Street bracket in
the Rocket Allstars Racing Series and being
an Australian
Champion.
How many motorsports
do you know of where a 53 year old grandma can compete against young
guys in their 20’s and be able
to win a
championship?
Drag Racing is the
best!
But remember…do it
safe in a controlled environment…do it at the tracks. After all
our family and friends are way too precious to lose.
Thank you to our
family, friends and fellow racers who gave me so much encouragement
throughout this four day event.
I definitely believe
this helped me to stayed focused on my racing and to win the
AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP is absolutely astounding. I'm blessed to
have such fantastic support! Love you all!
Bracket Event - 22nd May 2010 - Willowbank
Raceway.
Our day commenced around 2pm and mama had 5 qualifying passes.
They go like this:
First pass my reaction was .049 running 11.64 seconds over the
quarter mile.
Next pass was a .051 reaction and running 11.62
Then a cherry...oops! with the car having an 11.67 pass and maybe
not warmed up enough, hence the slower time.
The next was a .019 light with an 11.61 and the last qualifier
saw me with a .076 reaction and 11.60 pass.
We had 5 rounds of racing and my reactions were:
.070 .061 .003 then a bye run and in the final I had
a .092 reaction. Not real great reactions but good enough to get me
in the final.
On the bye run the Rover ran an 11.51 pass. Both Warren and
myself thought this a bit unusual, so we dialled-in 11.57 in the
final run. We really didn't think the car would have pulled another
11.51 out of the air...when, "holly molly" what does it
run an 11.50.
I had been running 116 mph and did back down to 111 mph on this
pass but still broke out...the car was definitely on a mission with
me having a PB sixty footer which was 1.572
I claimed the Runner-up position which, I believe, now places the
Mama's Toy Racing Team in 3rd Place in our Track Championship with
one event to go till end of season.
Also still sitting in 4th Place in the National Championship
having one event to go.
Next meeting is the biggest drag racing event on the Australian
calendar...THE CASTROL EDGE WINTERNATIONALS 10th -13th June 2010.
Venue: Willowbank Raceway, Queensland, Australia.
TO BE or NOT TO BE!
Qualifying for us commenced on the Saturday around 12.30pm seeing
the Rover run 11.66 over the 1/4 mile.
Three qualifying runs were scheduled for this day but only two
eventuated. Our second run was an 11.64 second pass.
Early Sunday morning saw our last qualifier at 8 am where mama
ran 11.65 seconds.
Okay; time for round one of racing around 10am, dialling in at
11.65 with a .044 reaction against my opponents .055 but
unfortunately I was defeated in a very close race...down but not
out...it was not meant to be this day. However with two
more meetings to see out the end of season racing the Mama's Toy
Racing Team are still hoping for a good result in both
the Track and Australian Championships.
The females were on the move with an all girl final in the Junior
Dragster Bracket and another woman running a 5 second
pass over the weekend. Big congrats to these girls!
Only a short review and that sums it up for now...until next
time.
See you at the track!
Setting out on Friday 19th February for our trek from the east
coast of Australia to the west coast to compete at the 39th Annual
Westernationals ANDRA PRO SERIES drag racing event.
7 in the bus, 2 in the transporter and 5 flying over.
Upon leaving Ipswich I really wasn't sure we'd make it out of
town with all the gear crunching going on and the bus stopping a
couple of times.
Finally on our way we met up with the boys in the transporter
carrying the three race vehicles. Trev's 63 Jaffa Cortina, Col's 64
EH Holden and Terri's Mama's Toy Rover.
We had lots of mishaps along the way, most of which happened on
the way home, and to mention a few:
 Blown Headlight
Many Flat Tyres both on
the bus and transporter
Battery Terminal
Whole wheels flying off
the transporter and would you believe the bus door blew off but was
caught and eventually put back together with 19 screws, 100 MPH race
tape and for extra security a pair of thongs jammed between the door
and an aerial pole.
WAY TO GO BOYS...WHAT A FIX!
We set up at the track in very hot, wild and windy conditions
only to come back the next day to find Trev's pop-top damaged by the
wind and un-usable.
There was two qualifying sessions on the Saturday and one on
Sunday.
I dialled in 11.65 and ran 11.65 but was out-reacted and lost, so
we became spectators cheering on our fellow racers from Queensland.
Col Murray won his first round and then was paired up with Trev
Davis who won the race.
Trev went on to win our Super Street bracket and received the
coveted ANDRA gold Christmas Tree trophy.
A very big congratulations to Trev and his crew for a great
performance.
New friendships were made during this trip and what a great bunch
of characters to travel and race with.
Current Standings:
3rd Place in the Willowbank Raceway Track Championship with
four meetings to go till end of season.
Sitting in 2nd position in our Super Street bracket in the RARS
(Rocket Allstar Racing Series) for the season 2009/2010
Early rise at 5am, on track at 7.30am, with 3 qualifying runs
before midday.
The Rover showed signs of very consistent performances running
11.77 11.78
and 11.79 seconds over the quarter mile.
We had quite a wait before our Super Street Brackets first round
of racing at 7.49pm.
This saw mama with a .026 reaction and running 11.77 on our 11.76
dial-in for the win.
The second round was at 10.12pm and I had a .020 reaction to my
opponents .042 but unfortunately mama had brain-fade at the finish
line. This put an end to our racing for the day so we spent the rest
of the night cheering on our favourite racers.
The Nitro Funny Cars put on a good show as usual and were very
entertaining.
Next event for the Mama's Toy Racing Team is 6th February at
Willowbank Raceways Bracket Event.
Current standings:
3rd Place in the Willowbank Raceway Track Championship with
four meetings to go till end of season.
Leading our Super Street bracket in the RARS (Rocket Allstar
Racing Series) for the season 2009/2010.
The day commenced for us at 8am with very cloudy conditions with
the forecast of showers. Super Street had 3 qualifying passes the
first being at 10.11am then 12.27pm and 2.19pm.
Rain held up proceedings for at least 2 hours which then led our
bracket to have their first round of racing at 10.08pm.
By now this little groovy grandma should be ready for bed....lol
The Mama's Toy Racing Team managed to get to the SEMI-FINAL which
now places me in 3rd place in the Willowbank Raceway Track
Championship with five rounds to go till the end of the season.
The meeting itself was finalised at 12.30am and I believe we hit
the sack around 2.30am. Mama is still recovering...lol
A big congrats to Willowbank Raceway for seeing the meeting right
to the end through trying times with the downpour.
I'm sure like us the other racers would have been very pleased
that the organizers of this event saw fit to continue on and finish
the meeting.
Benaraby Raceway had their end of season drag race meeting on
28th November with a Test'n'Tune format the night before.
Mama, Warren, some of the crew and friends decided to make the 7
hour trip to have some fun and compete at this event. Conditions on
arriving at the track both days was very hot and dusty.
We had four runs of the Friday night with the first pass being
rather hairy. Lots of wheel spin off the line and I was wrestling
with the steering wheel trying to keep the old girl, (not me, the
Rover - lol ) headed in a straight line.
Benaraby's tree reads in .4
of a second and my first reaction was a red light.
My other reactions: .470 .461
.459
Best elapsed time on this day was 11.75
Before qualifying commenced on Saturday, I pulled out the
Portatree, purchased from Bullseyeracing a while back, to practice
my reactions. We had 5 qualifying passes and quickest ET was 11.71
Reactions: .471
.345 OOPS! .421 .518 sleep
time then .416
Racing for us commenced at 6.40pm with it being CHICAGO SHOOTOUT
racing which means 3 races to determine who's in the final. We
dialled in 11.76 in the first round of racing with a .482 to my
opponents .678 reaction and mama being the winner.
Second round and I'm up against Australia No1... Paul Dilley. We
dropped the dial-in to 11.71 and ran 11.75 with a .487 reaction to
his .543 and again mama was the victor.
I had a BYE in the third round as the other racer I was to come
up against (James O'Sullivan) destroyed his engine at the finish
line on his last pass. Because of this style of shootout even though
I'd just won 2 rounds of racing this last run would be the decider
as to whether or not I'd make the final.
The rule to win this round was not to red light or breakout. I
aired on the side of caution with my reaction and waited for the
lights to come down and had a .594 and ran 11.76 on my 11.73
dial-in.
The word came back that we had succeeded and made it into the
final. It's now around 10pm. Our dial-in 11.73 my opponent 12.27
Reactions: mama .536 Oops .... another snooze! Must be a bit late
for grandma...lol
opponents
.516
My run: 11.735
Opponents: 12.280 for the win and the margin was only .015
The whole team was just rapt that we made the final. I found the
track itself to be rough in the right hand lane, especially
mid-track, however manageable and I enjoyed racing immensely.
I also had the opportunity to have a chat over the PA System with
the commentator as did other racers and the atmosphere at Benaraby
Raceway was absolutely fantastic. The meeting was run extremely well
by the organisers and everyone so friendly, to the extent that we
would not hesitate on travelling again next year to compete.
Congratulations to Benaraby Raceway for a great meeting!
This Bracket Event was rather interesting to say the least!
After arriving at the track and unloading the race vehicle etc, I
then headed to the scrutineering bay to hand in our entry form, only
to be told no paperwork would be accepted yet due to a minor fault
with the Christmas Tree lights. The third amber light was not
working and the problem couldn't be fixed on the day.
Track management did decide to go ahead with the meeting but no
points would be allocated towards the Track Championship only
trophies given to the finalists.
Racers were also given the option of having their entry refunded
if they wished to leave and not run the meeting.
The heat was soaring and after my first qualifying pass I noticed
on the way back up the return road that one out of three heat gauges
was winding itself off the clock. I pulled over to check under the
bonnet.
Fans still working, no gurgling coming from the radiator and no
signs of any other malfunction. I sat for a while to let the car
cool then drove back to the paddock area. After inspection it seemed
the gauge was at fault.
I lost by two thousandths of a second in the first round of
racing.
OH WELL! There's always next time.
Track management had a minute silence for the sad loss of fellow
racer - Darren Shepherd who was tragically killed in Sydney
recently. As a show of support the bike riders and their crew all grouped together
at the top of the lanes.
Racing continued but I think lots had problems with their
reactions due to the faulty light on the tree. Quite a few were red
lights or they went in the other direction and were .2's and .3's
However some racers did achieve good reactions and CONGRATS to
those who made the final.
Our Mini-Field of Women event was in doubt at first as it looked
very much like rain from the previous two days was to continue into
the weekend.
However we organised ourselves and headed on out to Willowbank
Raceway arriving around 12.30pm, Saturday 7th November 2009,
and
commenced setting up.
This event was to be held in conjunction with Willowbank
Raceways, Havoc Print & Sign Street Series with the gates
opening at 2.30pm.
Mini-Fields are designed to pay tribute to women who have
suffered from breast cancer and the planting of 100 Pink Lady
Silhouettes serves as a display of support for these women and their
families.
The weather was kind and the event a huge success.
I decided once again to sell Breast Cancer Network Australia
merchandise and the outcome to this was astounding. On the day we
raised $600, which in turn brought our total to $1500.
Prior to this we campaigned for breast cancer awareness with the
selling of merchandise at the recent Sunstate Nationals at Palmyra
Dragway, Mackay and the generosity of the many people was enormous
to say the least.
The whole idea of Mini-Fields is to pay tribute to women who have
suffered from this disease, but by selling the merchandise this in
turn helps to make others breast cancer journey just that little bit
easier.
I'd like to thank the Palmyra Drag Racing Club for their support
and a huge thank you to the racers and their crew who attended this
event and gave so generously.
Thank you to Willowbank Raceway for enabling our Mini-Field to go
ahead.
Thank you to the Meeting Director - Peter Duffy. the commentator
-Chris Diggles for his support during the day, the officials,
racers, spectators and of course my helpers on the day.
Husband - Warren
Daughter - Janine for her massive effort. LOVE YOU HEAPS!
Crew Member - John Mackay and his daughter Briley
Friends - Debbie Mackay, Gill Johnson, Georgina Atkinson.
www.bcna.org.au
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MAMA'S TOY RACING - Super Street - #3072 - Warren & Terri Sander
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