Northern Thunder downunder

Canadian Alcohol Dragster racer Bob Wilson will be competing in Australia in 1998 and 1999  -  here's how, where and when. Will he be able to match the pace of the local hotshots ? Time will tell . . .

The story of this great adventure has a rather strange origin. It's a rather long and winding tale, so please bear with me for a while and you'll see how this all came about.

In 1989, my parents went on a trip to Australia and New Zealand, and almost as an afterthought, I asked them to pick up a copy of any drag racing magazine or newspaper they encountered downunder. I'd remembered reading a story many years before in Super Stock & Drag Illustrated about the Australian racing scene, and wondered what was happening down there as drag racing news from Australia was rarely reported here in North America. They brought back a copy of DRAGSTER Australia that was full of reports of new tracks in exotic sounding locales: Heathcote Park, Ravenswood, Willowbank, Calder Park and the new "super track" being built near Sydney, Eastern Creek Raceway.

At the time, any thought of me actually going to Australia seemed about as remote as taking a ride on the Space Shuttle. Now fast forward to late 1994, when I was attending a Sports Marketing night school course at a local technical school. Halfway through a class one evening, the instructor announced that following the smoke break, each student was expected to stand in front of the class and give a short talk on a proposed marketing project. There was no prior warning given, and we only had 10 minutes to prepare an off-the-cuff synopsis of our "project".

Standing outside in the rain, feeling like a condemned man having his last cigarette, and staring up at the dark, wet, winter sky, I found myself frantically trying to come up with some idea. Then it hit me, why not try to combine drag racing and travel to produce a (Canadian) winter vacation package to Australia. "THUNDER Downunder" rolled into my brain, literally like a thunderbolt, and within five minutes the idea had gelled into what was a very successful presentation. Little did I know at the time where it would lead to in the future.

As a follow-up to our presentations, we had the added assignment of producing a complete marketing campaign before the end of the course. Digging through my closet unearthed the old, rather tattered copy of Dragster Australia, and while most of the contact names, addresses and phone numbers had changed, I was able to finally reach DA at its new offices in Sydney. Updated information in the form of recent back issues of the magazine and some info from the sanctioning body, ANDRA, allowed me to complete the project on time and pass the course. Still, the thought of actually racing downunder seemed remote, at best.

Fast forward again to mid-1997, when I felt myself reaching a crossroads in racing and in life, and plans to actually travel to Australia were formed. Even though I was starting to seriously think about going down there to race, I didn't think it was really going to be possible. Believe me, the logistics of transporting a truck, 42-foot trailer, race car, tools, spare parts and equipment halfway across the world can be a very daunting prospect. Not to mention the cost ! But thinking positively, I boarded the plane from Vancouver to Brisbane on October 1st (1997) with high hopes of an enjoyable vacation centered around four race meetings early in the Australian drag racing season.

Landing in Brisbane after 24 hours on planes, in airports, going through immigration, I launched myself off the deep end by hiring (renting) a car at the airport and driving to my motel, about 20 miles southeast of the airport. Picture this, one very jet-lagged Canadian tourist, climbing into a strange car with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side and setting off onto roads where they drive on the "wrong" side, with only a very vague description of the route to my accomodation. Add in 32 deg.C (90 F.) temperatures, after I'd left cold, rainy Vancouver and you've got the makings of a disaster. Believe me, I felt like I was getting into my Top Alcohol car for the first time, my knuckles were white before I even got out of the parking lot !

Against all the odds, I actually made it to my destination without getting lost or causing any accidents, and within an hour fell into a deep sleep. This was four o'clock in the afternoon (Brisbane) time, and I awoke about three in the morning feeling refreshed and ready to go. But what do you do at that time in Brisbane ? Of course, go down to Surfers Paradise to watch the sun come up over the Coral Sea. Also, at that time of the night/ morning the roads were likely to be pretty empty and I could practice my driving on the left-hand side of the road.

Coming down the Gold Coast highway, and knowing that I was nearing Surfers', I was simply not prepared for my first view of the place. Coming around a corner, the forest of gum trees suddenly opened to reveal the ocean and the beaches. The sun was just starting to light up the sky and the view was literally breathtaking. At the very moment, I knew I'd found the south seas "paradise" that I'd being looking for.

Without going into a long-winded "blow-by-blow" description of the balance of my month-long trip, the balance of the "tour" brought even more delights on a daily basis. Even driving through the outback was a joy. Although the highways were rather rugged away from the major cities, the lack of traffic (and police) on them allowed me to cruise at 120-130 kmh. And the only rain that fell for the entire trip was on the first day out of Brisbane on the way to Adelaide. The balance of the time was beautiful spring weather, only 30-35 degrees C every day.

The races all went off as scheduled, and while of a far smaller scale than we are used to in North America, the atmosphere more than made up for the small numbers of competitors. Australian spectators are grateful to see any race cars in action, and anything with a blower is regarded with awe. The racers, almost to a man, were among the friendliest, most accomodating that I've ever encountered. Of course, they were all amazed that someone would travel all the way from Canada just to attend their events and meet them. My pre-trip preparation, reading all the latest issues of DRAGSTER, proved invaluable as I was constantly able to astound them with my "in-depth" knowledge of the downunder scene. This gained me much respect among the racers and has led to many valuable friendships and associations, paving the way for the next step in my
"invasion" plans.

Now let's move ahead to June 1st of this year, when I flew down again to attend the Winternationals at my favourite track (and one of the best in the world) Willowbank Raceway near Brisbane. The second time around proved much easier, as I felt like an "old pro" from the moment I pulled out of the airport in the rental car. The roads looked familiar and I immediately felt at home back in Australia. The lead-up to the race weekend didn't quite go as planned, as I found myself spending most of that period helping Ken Lowe prepare his new Modified Eliminator car for the race.

My "mindset" immediately became "the beaches can wait, we've got a RACE to get ready for". Unfortunately, all the effort went partly for naught as an untimely second round red-light put Ken out of competition. Of course, it had been nearly 10 years since he'd been in a race car ! The balance of the weekend was spent talking to the racers, loading up on the free grub at the "Corporate Centre" (oh, aren't we posh !) and watching an unfortunate series of crashes take place. Some were simply due to bad driving decisions, like staying on it during heavy tire shake, while some were due to overstressed parts failing. Although the track was perfect, probably the best prepared ever in Australia, the racers weren't able to cope with it, and the majority of them suffered tyre shake all weekend, limiting performances to just short of last years' levels. For the Top Alcohol cars, the best numbers were a tenth slower than last year, but the field as a whole was tighter than ever, with 7 of the 8 qualifiers in the 5-second zone.

In the week following the Winternationals, I ventured north along the coast to Gladstone, Rockhampton and Mackay, with the intention of finally seeing the Great Barrier Reef. You know the old phrase, starting with "the best laid plans. . ." and sure enough I never did get out to the Reef. But I did get to see two more dragstrips at Mackay (Palmyra) and Gladstone (Benaraby) and spent time talking to Julie Lamb (the promoter at Palmyra) about the state of drag racing in North Queensland.

The week went by just too quickly, especially my last night in Brisbane before returning home, when a late-night bench racing session with Ken Lowe ended at 2:30 am. Driving to my pre-booked motel, hoping to shower, change clothes and pack my suitcases, I was dismayed to find they closed at midnight. Some things downunder are just not the same as North America, as many of the things we take for granted here, just don't operate quite the same down there. Have you ever seen a tourist attempt to "shower" in a washbasin in an airport at 4:00 am ? If you contact the Brisbane Airport Authority for a copy of the security camera tape from the morning of June 13 . . .

Now that I've made two trips to Australia, met all the "important" people and made many valuable contacts and some really strong friendships, what is the next step ? Currently, the new car sits unfinished, the bank account is "running on fumes" and my prospects of racing in Australia look somewhat cloudy. BUT, I am determined to make it happen, and it WILL happen in time for the 1999 season.

The current invasion plan is as follows:

•   November 1
  Pack the car, truck and everything else that will fit inside the trailer
  
  
•   November 15
  Container leaves from New Westminster, BC to Brisbane, Australia
  
  
•   December 18
  Ship arrives in Brisbane, trailer and (hopefully!) contents unloaded
  
  
•   December 28
  Myself and crew chief Tom Mohan arrive in Brisbane and haul the rig down to Ken Lowe's shop on the Gold Coast
  
  
•   January 2, 1999
  Debut performance in Australia at the first round of the Castrol New Year Series
  
  
•   January - April
  Racing at all the major tracks in Australia, including the first four rounds of the ANDRA Top Alcohol Championship Series
  
  
•   April 15
  Return to Canada to regroup and freshen up for the next "go-round"
  
  
•   June 1
  Fly back to Australia and prepare the car for the final round of the series, the Winternationals
  
  
•   June 15
  Return to Canada to regroup and gather up the money to do it all again in 2000.

On paper it all sounds so simple, but in the next six months, more money has to be found, much work remains to be done, and then we only have to figure out how to make a "state-of-the-art" Top Alcohol dragster get down the track. At the least, they should be exciting and busy times.

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER

SPECIFICATIONS


CHASSIS

MODEL	1998 Brad Hadman - SFI 2.3H
WHEELBASE	280 inches
WEIGHT	2060 lbs. with driver
TRACK WIDTH	26" front - 36" rear
BODY	Brad Hadman aluminum
FRONT WINGS	Brad Hadman Carbon-Fibre
REAR WING	Marty Lentz aluminum - 744 sq. in. Brad Hadman stands - SFI 2.3H

ENGINE

MODEL	TFX-96 solid block
DISPLACEMENT	468 cubic inches
BORE and STROKE	4.380" bore - 3.875" stroke
FUEL INJECTOR	P.S.I. magnesium hat - ENDERLE barrel valve
FUEL PUMP	WATERMAN Red Billet - 18% underdriven
FUEL SYSTEM	Les Davenport Air Timers and System
SUPERCHARGER	P.S.I. at 86.96% overdrive - SFI 34.1
IGNITION	M.S.D. 44-amp PRO-MAG
CYLINDER HEADS	Brodix B-1 MOPAR wedge (solid)
VALVES	STEALTH Titanium - 2.30" intake - 1.81" exhaust
CAMSHAFT	ISKY Cams - specs T.B.A. (maybe!)
PISTONS and RODS	ARIAS pistons - B.M.E. Rods
CRANKSHAFT	CROWER Forged - Balanced
OIL SYSTEM	SYSTEM-1 billet pump
	DAN OLSON 13-qt. pan
HORSEPOWER	2500 at 9000 R.P.M. (estimated)

DRIVELINE

CLUTCH	CROWER 10" 3-disc pedal-type - SFI 1.4
BELLHOUSING	McKINNEY 8.125" steel - SFI 6.2
TRANSMISSION	LENCO New Generation 3-speed and reverse
	1.80 1st gear - 1.38 2nd gear - 1.00 3rd gear
REAR-AXLE	STRANGE Live-Axle full floater
	9" STRANGE 4.57 ratio gears
BRAKES	STRANGE Billet calipers - STRANGE steel rotors

WHEELS and TIRES

FRONT	WELD Aluma-Star PRO wheels - 2.25" X 17" GOODYEAR Front-Runner tires - tubeless - 2.25" X 17"
REAR	WELD Aluma-Star PRO wheels - 14" X 16" - SFI 15.1 GOODYEAR D1490 tubes, liner, tires - 17" X 34.5" X 16"

SAFETY EQUIPMENT

PARACHUTES	STROUD with fireproof packs
BLOWER RESTRAINT	TAYLOR Motorsport - SFI 14.21
BURST PANELS	P.S.I. - SFI 23.1 - Manifold and Blower
LOWER-END RESTRAINT	TAYLOR Motorsport - SFI 7.1
DRIVER RESTRAINT	JAGER 5-point Cam-Lock - SFI 16.1
FIRESUIT	SIMPSON 2-piece - SFI 3.2A-15
ACCESSORIES	SIMPSON gloves and shoes - SFI 3.3-5
	SIMPSON head sock - STROUD neck collar - SFI 3.3
HELMET	SIMPSON - Snell SA95 - SFI 31.2
TRANSMISSION BLANKET	TAYLOR Motorsport - SFI 4.1
STEERING WHEEL	M-W Quick-Release - SFI 42.1

MISCELLANEOUS

COMPUTER	RACEPAK On-Board Data Recorder - 2000/3000 Model
	8 E.G.T.'s - Fuel, Pan, Oil, Boost Pressure
	Input/Output R.P.M. - Download system
SOFTWARE	ACCELERATION ENTERPRISES Fuel System and Clutch
PAINT	White - GM #10 - Acrylic Enamel
GRAPHICS	John Baremans - AUTOGRAPHICS

written by Bob Wilson from DRAGSTER Australia - page 40-41 - September 25, 1998 © DAVID COOK PUBLISHING PTY. LTD. 1998