Mini Jam 2007
Round 3 of the Sport Compact Group drag racing series found its home at Willowbank Raceway, Queensland. www.willowbankraceway.com.au Perfect weather greeted a large field of cars as they set up in the racers pits and show and shine areas. If you have never been before, all areas except the start line are public accessible - allowing you to get close to your favourite car and driver. Drag racing, show and shine, babe and bikini comps were the days entertainment.
Street tyred brackets had their qualifying session from 9 till 1pm. During this time, Shane Crichton easily set new Street RWD class records in his Toyota Cressida, with a ET of 10.043 and a MPH of 146.44. www.1jz747.com.au
In the afternoon, it was the return of the big guns with the pro guys leading out the slick tyred classes for their 3 qualifying runs. Wayne Dyson set the best qualifying ET of the day for ST289 with 8.25 @ 165MPH on his first pass, with Damien nipping at his heals with a strong 8.35 @ 165MPH later on in the afternoon.
Unfortunately for us, we still had launching issues. Getting a full clean pass was going to be hard fought. The car seemed to bounce and wheel spin on launch from the start line, which continues on with what was happening at Drag Warz. It’s been decided that our shock absorbers on the rear were going to be under scrutiny before we race at the next round. We entered the eliminations with a best of 10.468 @ 141.2MPH.
With a 10.4 set as our dial in, we were first up against Ben in his ‘I5EEU’ RX7. This car has turned its back on the show scene and has undergone plenty of changes to get it where it is today as a competitive drag car. On this run , however, Ben had larger problems than us on the start line, giving ‘7SINS’ an easy win.
Luke White in his ‘TURBO 7′ first gen RX7 was our next pairing. He proceeded to kick our arse over the half track mark, but his bonnet decided to part ways giving him an instant disqualification, and an instant win our way.
The Semi Finals saw Glenn Melbourne’s blue RX3 up against Wayne Dyson’s 20B RX3 coupe, and Damien Mckern’s ‘Grumpe2′ RX2 and our RX7 to battle it out. Wayne proceeded to the finals and so did Damien. A bogged launch and a bad 3rd to 4th gear change finished our night.
The entertainment doesn’t stop till the last race is won. All categories were hard fought, with Wayne and Damien’s final as no exception. Side by side racing down the strip, both with matching 8.2 dial ins, Wayne’s reaction time give him the win with an almost unmeasurable 0.032 seconds. Congratulations both for an incredible final.
Our efforts at this event give us another 60 points, added to our existing total we are 2nd on the board with 220, close behind Damien. Will our luck continue?
Track logs, points, results and anything else about the series can be found at www.sportcompact.net.au
7SINS would like to thank Justin and Jon at RX Engineering, contingency sponsors: Aeromotive, Sunoco race fuels and VPW, and Trade and General Towing - Newcastle.
See you at the track!
