It was a wonderful Westernationals for Peter Xiberras and the PremiAir Racing team this weekend, with a breakthrough NDRC Top Fuel victory at the Perth Motorplex for the two-time champions.
After laying down the second quickest time in qualifying on Saturday (3.888 seconds at 490.25kph), Xiberras punched out back to back race wins across rounds one and two of the all-run format to secure his place in the A-Final against defending champ, Damien Harris.
In the first round, he had faced off against Phil Lamattina, turning on the win light with a 4.001 second pass at 425.02kph while his rival turned on the red light before traversing the 1000ft distance in 6.354 seconds.
In the second match-up, Xiberras took on Phil Read, again emerging victorious with a 3.895 second pass at 473.36kph.
In the A-Final, it was a full candles blazing 3.854 second pass at 502kph that saw the Sydney-sider take the victory over WA’s Harris, who was disappointingly pushed back from the startline.
As he was presented with his Gold NDRC Christmas Tree in the deep end, Xiberras struggled to contain his emotion.
“This is for my team, for all the guys and girls – they work tirelessly and they put in so much effort; even when things aren’t looking so good, they just keep backing up and backing up,” Xiberras said.
“Without them I wouldn’t be holding this!
“This is the first time I have won here in Perth, so I am speechless,” he grinned, before letting out a whoop of celebration.
Back in the pits, Xiberras further elaborated on what this result means to the team.
“To be getting back to having some real consistency in the PremiAir Top Fuel Dragster is such a good feeling – from 3.888 yesterday to 4.001, 3.895 and 3.854 today, we really have some confidence now that we are doing the right thing in getting all this power down onto the race track.
“That means a hell of a lot as we have been pulling out all the stops and a fair bit of hair lately with this new combination and to now have these results really sees us full of vigour and enthusiasm as we look ahead to the rest of the season.
“We can’t wait to head to Dragway at The Bend in April for the Riverbend Nationals – this championship chase is really heating up, and we are determined to play a key role in that battle across the coming events.”
The PremiAir Racing Top Fuel Dragster will visit Dragway at The Bend for the Riverbend Nationals as part of the NDRC Top Fuel Championship across April 5-7. For event information, visit www.ndrc.tv or www.thebend.com.au/dragway
In the meantime, Xiberras and his PremiAir Racing crew will be back in action for the Supercars championship, with the PremiAir Racing Camaros of Jimmy Golding and Richie Stanaway heading to the Melbourne SuperSprint across March 13-16. For event information, visit www.supercars.com
For more information on PremiAir Racing, please visit www.premiairracing.com or follow the team on its social media platforms at www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/, www.instagram.com/premiair_racing/, www.linkedin.com/company/premiairracing/ and www.twitter.com/premiairracing
