Sun & fun, that was Sydney Jamboree 2026 for the Pac Performance crew, after a huge effort and many late nights leading up to the event.
To get the PACJNR RX3 and RX9 rebuilt after their accidents to attend this event, and debuting Rodney's new Pro Compact Camaro only a 2 weeks ago has been a MAMMOTH effort by the whole team, on top of getting customer cars prepped for the event but as always, the A-Team made it happen and the boys put on a show for the Jambo crowd!
Being greeted by blue skys and cool temps is not something any of us is used to for a Sydney Jambo, but everyone certainly made the most of it, putting in work on the track from the get-go.
After a strong first hit for Rod in the 'Bumble Bee' Camaro, the crew made their tweaks and came back out for their Q2 and busted out a solid 6.62@167 getting off the throttle early. This being the cars first full track pass it gave the boys great data to work with and also slotted Rod in as top qualifier in the Pro Compact class..
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With Q3 being cut due to the event running behind schedule, it was straight into racing with Rodney being paired up with Peter in the PACJNR RX3 for the first round - a match up everyone was looking forward to! And what a show it was, with both drivers and cars right on the money, running on-song, side-by side with Rod taking the win with a very stout 6.46@209 to Peter's equally as impressive 6.99@199.
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Heading into round 2, unfortunately a fuel pump issue caused Rod to abort the run early and at this point, rather than trying to source and fit another pump, the boys decided to call it a night.
Peter came out strong as always in the RX3, wasting no time getting back into the groove of things. His first pass for the day, wheel-up to almost half track before backing off for a 7.50@133.
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Q2 the car suffered severe tyre shake but Peter still managed to steer and peddle through the shake for a 7.67@192, and after the 6.99 pass against Rodney in Round 1, Peter was looking strong heading into Round 2 where he took a win with a 7.19@177.
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Running Chicago shootout format, to make it to the finals Peter had to not only win his Round 3 race but also run one of the quickest times out of the remaining cars in the class. Unfortunately the car bogged off the line and while Peter put in a big effort to chase down Nilson Popplewell's R100, he was pipped at the line with a 7.45@193 to a 7.37@189 from the R100.
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Dom Perri GOD RX2 DON CHICH Racing was out having a ball as always in his Pro Street, deciding this event to run his no-prep slick setup in Modified 10.5.
Starting off with a shakedown 8.83@158 pass to start the day, Dom then proceeded to chip away at that ET throughout the day, going 8.73 - 8.68 - 8.43 before finishing the night with an 8.39@167
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While the RX9 didn't hit the track this event, we had Jay Sadek and Jason Both representing in Factory Xtreme. Unfortunately 'The Joker' Mazda6 suffered some electrical gremlins throughout the day that held the car back from making a pass.
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Jay also suffered some set backs early on, struggling to get the car out of the hole cleanly... The team eventually got hings sorted though, showing great persistence, coming through with a pair of solid runs heading into the evening - a 6.40@201 followed by a 6.41@207.
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Last but certainly not least, Team Archer once again gave everyone a good look at the undercarriage of their radial RX4, near dragging the rear bumper off the line not once, but twice
Thankfully, after some suspension tweaking and pulling some power out early on, Russel eventually managed to get the car off the line and down the track for a best 8.80 for the day.
Congratulations must also go to Harry and Sol for taking home the promoter's Choice trophy in the shown and shine with their immaculate RX3. Well done boys!
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While no finals appearances this year, the boys were more than happy with the effort put in and the important data gathered. As always we send out a huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out and supported us at the event, to our crew Rob, James, Deano, Stu, Geoff, Rocko & Christian (Camaro) and Aiden & Cruise (RX3) for all your hard work and dedication, our family as always and all of our sponsors who help make all of this happen! Garrett - Advancing Motion VP Racing Fuels Australia, Frango Charcoal Chicken, Connexion Concepts Group, Jetpac Dezign, MoTeC, @speedy diffs & Thomas Fibreglass. Hats-off to the Jamboree team and @sydney Dragway staff as always for putting on an awesome event!
Stay tuned for a full gallery and videos to come, as well as the match race you all want to see between the Camaro and RX9 coming real soon
