2012 WINTERNATIONALS ... TRIUMPH OVER THE 'WEATHER GODS' !!!

In the weeks leading up to the iconic Winternationals, (the biggest Drag Racing event outside North America) we may have been thinking the weather would remain the blue skies and cloudless days Queensland is renowned for in the cooler months. Alas, it was not to be, with cold, dark, wet and squally conditions spoiling the event once again. However, this year, with the event spilling over into a 5th day, the organisers were able to complete the racing and decide the end of season championships !!

With PAC PERFORMANCE'S new Factory Extreme flagship not quite track ready, it would be left to team stalwarts, Damien McKern and Lee Docherty to fly the Rotary flag in Super Compact, running in AA/OM and CC/SM respectively. The format over the 4 days would see 1 qualifier per day and finals racing on the 4th day.

Friday qualifying would see Lee in the 13BT MX5 carrying his great form,(and win) from the recent Nitro Champs in Sydney, but running a slightly off pace 7.84 to put him 0.12 under the 7.97 index, while Damien in the GRUMP2 20BT,would suffer a massive back-fire which resulted in a disintegrated intake plenum !! With the help and unbelievable assistance from many people, an overnight thrash would see a new plenum constructed and fitted to the car in time to make the 2nd qualifier on Saturday morning !!!! Many thanks go out to all that helped make this possible, in particular, Dan Swanney from Pro Modz Fabrications and his amazing welding skills !!!!

Saturday qualifying would see Lee improve slightly to go 0.25 under his index of 7.97 with a 7.71, placing him 4th fastest qualifier, while Damien with his hastily repaired RX2,run an 8.17 on his 8.15 index, to place him 9th in the qualifying order.

Sunday with its inclement weather, saw Super Compact pushed back from its late morning schedule, to after Group One rounds completed, and eventually cancelled in the late evening !!! This meant Super Compact would run off in eliminations on Monday, based on positions from the two qualifiers run.

Monday once again dawned cold, dark and miserable, with proceedings delayed by persistent light misty rain. The first round of eliminations would see both Lee and Damien knocked out... Lee by an uncharacteristic red light, while Damien had a reappearance of the backfire 'demon', causing his car to falter, and not able to make up the gap to his competitor. Such is the nature of the very unpredictable 'beast' we call Drag Racing.

The next event on the calendar will be The Jamboree at Willowbank Raceway over the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of September, so everyone will be looking forward to setting new standards at this legendary event. The team looks forward to seeing you all there !!!