Warm and unseasonally hot conditions were to greet competitors and spectators to J19 and after high 30 degree days earlier in the week, the temperatures had stabilised somewhat into the high 20's, although not entirely conducive to making big horsepower !!

J19 would see the dominance of the full chassis cars and performance raised to levels probably thought unbelievable even five short years ago. The ascendancy of the 2JZ powered Toyotas has taken the Sport Compact world to Group One levels, and not to be left behind, the PAC team have focused on fulfilling the potential of the 20B powered Mazda 6. To this end, a decision was made to concentrate on fine-tuning the package, while putting the MX6 and Rodney's record setting RX3 on hold !! This decision was to pay dividends in light of the misfortunes that beset the team just a short week or so from leaving for Queensland. On the final test session at WISD, the Mazda 6 would suffer a fuel fire which caused extensive damage to the front of the car. Such is the belief and dedication of the team, the decision was made to repair the car and still make the Jamboree!! Untold hours and severely tested mental and physical reserves by the team, allowed the car to arrive in Qld on Friday afternoon. As late as Saturday morning, final touches were being applied to the car to complete the repairs. With all three brothers involved in giving 100% attention to the Mazda 6, she would proudly take her place in the staging lanes Saturday afternoon.

First qualifier and with Rocky behind the wheel, the 6 reeled off a 6.99@201mph pass,(only one of two 6 second passes in Pro Turbo) first up. The initial jubilation by the team was tempered by the dust cloud at the end of the track that signalled all was not well !! A throttle stickage had caused the car to run deep, and Rocky's frantic efforts to stop it, resulted in two blown front tyres and a visit to the sand trap, but thankfully no major body or structural damage. Rocky's left wrist was badly jarred and swollen by the impact, but a trip to hospital and subsequent X ray, cleared him of any fractures. Frantic activity by the crew allowed for the 6 to make the final qualifier for a shake down pass before racing was to begin. It is in these times that the true spirit of drag racers is shown with everyone gathering around to lend a hand including fellow racers and workshops, an act that is truly appreciated by the team and a big thank you goes out to everyone who rallied to get the car back on the track that day.

Also making the comitment to tow up from NSW and the ACT to compete in Pro turbo, were Sam Sadek in 'The Godfather' RX3,Ivan in the beautiful cerise RX3 and the Stanbury family in the old 'PACMAN' RX3,with Rob steering and Dale crew chiefing !! All were to make safe and indicative qualifiers, but it was Ivan who set the world alight on Saturday evening on the 3rd and last pass, with a 7.08@193mph scorcher, to declare his place as the quickest 3/4 20B powered RX3 in the world !! His declaration of "running a six this weekend" came so close to being reality!!

Three PAC customers showed up to race in Pro Compact, George Marcevski,13B RX3,Anthony Daquino,13B RX3 and Jim Magliveras,13B Corolla and all were to run indicative qualifiers heading into Sunday's eliminations.

An interesting addition to the PAC 'family' line-up this year was Vince Santoro running his beloved XW GT Falcon, powered by a pro-charged 351c.i. small block and running in the Extreme class. A series of high nine second passes showed Vince had the consistency to go rounds, come Sunday's eliminations.

Queensland's fastest Accountant, Damien McKern elected to run in the newly created Outlaw 10.5 class in his highly distinctive GRUMP2, 20B RX2,along with the 'legend', Wayne Dyson in his 20B RX3 and both qualified in the top half of the field.

Representing the PAC team in Modified Compact were Jamil Jafaar in his 13B RX3 and Karim Balloot in his 13B RX2 as well as Danny in his beautiful blue RX3 “PANNIC”. Karim reeled off an easy 9.1 in his yellow RX2, while PANNIC managed a blistering 8.8 pass in qualifying. Jimmy ran a consistant 8.4 only to have a mishap in the pits see him pack up for the weekend.

Rounding out the PAC team representation at J19,were The Archers in their 13B powered RX4 and making a welcome return, Chris Fakinos in his 13B R100, both running in the ST289 class. Chris was coming to terms with a new package, and Russell was having difficulties in the conditions getting a benchmark for a dial-in!!

Sunday dawned with a slight fog and cooler conditions, which only lasted until the Sun burned off the fog. The warmer weather returned, and the on-track action was to heat-up as well.

With the two top classes of Pro Compact, Pro Turbo, and also OTF run on a 'Chicago Shootout' basis, each competitor would have three races and those with the most wins would face off in the finals.

And so to racing!!

With no major mechanical failures amongst the PAC team, all entrants were able to compete on Sunday. There would also be provision for some 'Grudge' races for those who went out in the first round of eliminations.

In ST289, Chris Fakinos was still coming to terms with the R100 and the Archers having difficulty setting a dial-in, went out in the first round!!

In Outlaw 10.5,Damien would progress to another final with his old sparring partner, Wayne Dyson, but on this occasion, Wayne would prevail with another seven second pass. Congratulations Wayne, and thanks must go out to Damien for being such a staunch stalwart of Sport Compact in general!!

In the Extreme class Vince went right to the final, and in a great race with the experienced Ron Newton in his LS1 powered Roadster, Vince was only beaten on a better reaction time and recorded another great 9 second pass in his XW Falcon. A very well done Vince !!

In Pro Compact, George, Jim and Anthony made many successful seven second passes, but ultimately it would be left up to Jim to face off against a resurgent Anthony Rodrigues in the full chassis Cougar, with Anthony prevailing, another p.b. and taking the win. Great stuff from the 13Bs and a six second pass in Australia is now looking a real possibility.

And so to the 'cream of the crop' , Pro Turbo. Rocky was to set a new p.b. in the Mazda 6 with a blistering 6.82 second pass, very just reward for an extremely fraught few months, and show the 2JZ players, don't discount the Rotors, just yet !!! Ivan, Sadek and Rob Stanbury, despite their best efforts in 3/4 cars, could not match the finesse of the 2J full chassis Toyotas, and on this occasion, had to concede, but the crowd certainly loves these little, short wheel-base cars, running world class times and heart-in-the mouth, wheels-up, lock to lock action !!!

J19 was certainly one to remember for the team, with great results, p.b.'s and indications the Mazda 6 is settling down to show the potential it is capable of.

PAC PERFORMANCE would like to thank all it's major sponsors, in Castrol Edge, Garrett and Turbosmart, for without your backing, this would not be possible. A special mention should also go out to all the fans and supporters of the PAC team. Over the past few months there have been disheartening incidents and some very long and tiring nights, but it is through the support and encouragement of our ever loyal fan base and support teams that have truly lifted the team to make sure that they attended this year’s Jamboree to fly the Rotary flag proud and high and for this we thank you for you the endless emails and phone calls have been much appreciated.

J20 looms and the 20th anniversary of the advent of Sport Compact will no doubt surprise once again, with PAC PERFORMANCE as a major force at the forefront of Rotary Racing worldwide !!!

See you all there !!!

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