Upton sets new Australian elapsed time record

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Upton sets new Australian elapsed time record

Monday, 16 November 2009 13:19

The Top Fuel Bike bracket is one the fastest growing Group One categories in Australian Pro Series Drag Racing. Running on Nitro, reaching speeds in excess of 200mph and completing the quarter mile in less than seven seconds, they are no ordinary motorbikes.

The third round of the 09/10 ANDRA Pro Series Top Bike Championship was held at the 38th annual Goldenstates at the Perth Motorplex.

New Zealand rider Athol Williams, dubbed the flying kiwi, had dominated Top Bike in the 08/09 season to take the Championship but was not able to source the funding to defend his title, leaving the 09/10 battle for the Championship wide open. Going into the Goldenstates the surprise of the season so far had been Chris Matheson on the Nitro Voodoo bike who won his first gold Christmas Tree trophy in his Top Bike debut at the first round, and with a strong performance in the next round was championship leader heading into the event. Kim Stevens took the win at the second round of the season and was looking to overtake Matheson on the championship ladder at Stevens’ home track and a track that Matheson had yet to race his Top Bike at.

However it was seasoned Top Bike competitor Jay Upton who was the stand out performer in Friday night qualifying on his nitro fuelled Honda Top Bike, running a 6.12 in the first session, which backed up the new Australian elapsed time record of 6.11 he set in the second session. This performance was especially impressive given he shut off the bike before the finish line on both runs. Chris Matheson who ran a 6.435 in the third session, and also shut off early, was his closest competition. Sam Parker was out after the first round of qualifying and his father Phil had issues with his new motor, not running quick enough to qualify and dropping oil on the track during his only run. After the three rounds of qualifying the field was split by more than two seconds, with Upton the top qualifier.

Neither Wayne Barrett nor Mark Ashelford recorded times in the first round of eliminations allowing Upton and Stevens to cruise to victory running sevens in their respective rounds. In the third match up Matheson defeated Mick Murray with a 6.563/166mph. The final first round match up was a little closer with Ian Ashelford taking the victory after running a 6.593/218.97mph, though he had issues pulling the bike up and ended up in the sand trap at the end of the braking area.

Upton edged closer to the lead of the Top Bike Championship after defeating Stevens in the second round of eliminations with a 6.353/176mph. Ashelford did not make the second round of eliminations after his tour of the sand earlier in the night but in spite of being on a solo Matheson still put on a show for the fans running a 6.282/178mph.

The final promised to be a close race with Top Bike rookie, Matheson, up against seasoned Top Bike competitor, Upton. In the end Upton again showed just how powerful his bike was, running a 6.133/197mph in spite of another early shut off to defeat the Nitro Voodoo bike which ran a 6.930/158mph. Matheson’s runner up points enabled him to maintain the Championship lead, however with Upton taking the win as well as points for the highest speed and lowest elapsed time he moved into a close second in the Championship.

The next round of ANDRA Pro Series Top Bike will be held at the Westernationals, which are also staged at the Motorplex, in February 2010. by Chelsea Woods www.girlracer.co.uk