Castrol Edge Winternationals
June 10-13th, 2010 Brisbane, QLD Australia

2009/10 ANDRA Season a Wrap @ Willowbank

(By Daniel Ward)

After 4 days of racing and with over 39,000 spectators through the gates, the Castrol Edge Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway came to a close!

With two days of qualifying it all came down to win or lose in eliminations style racing to the finals, with many championships on the line. Top Doorslammer and Top Fuel provided the most intense fights, with the championships in both classes coming down to the final run.

In Top Fuel, it was team-mate versus team-mate in yet another championship show down; with three time national champion Phil Read facing off against title leader Martin Stamatis in the final.

For Read to claim the title, he needed to not only win the final race but also claim the bonus points for top speed and lowest elapsed time for the meeting, however with Read turning the tires off the start line it was Stamatis who blazed through – literally with an engine bay fire across the finish line – to the win.

In Top Doorslammer, reigning Champion John Zappia and championship leader Robin Judd headed to the final with just nine points between them. It was winner takes-all, and after a high-emotion build up and a rocky ride for Judd it was the defending Champ Zappia that took both the Castrol EDGE Winternationals Gold Christmas Tree and the Championship trophy – his third consecutive Top Doorslammer national title.

In Pro Stock, Aaron Tremayne again claimed the Pro Stock championship – his third consecutive title in the category, and topped it off with his first ever Winternationals Gold Christmas tree, after beating home Denis Whiting in a close final.

In Top Bike, Chris Matheson may have clinched the title at the last round however he didn’t slacken off any, with multiple stand-out performances on his way to winning the event in an action-packed final against Mark Drew.

In Top Alcohol, it was John Cannuil and Gary Phillips both in contention for the Championship, but with Cannuil having problems in qualifying then running a 5:665 and sitting on the bump spot was knocked out by .002 guaranteeing Phillips for his 14th Top Alcohol national championship.

Taking the Winternationals win was Aaron Hambridge after a charging run all weekend in his Top Alcohol dragster. Hambridge’s victory included a new ANDRA national ET record run.

Pro Stock Motorcycle, Andrew Badcock claiming the title thanks to his qualifying points despite exiting in the first round thanks to eventual event winner Peter Cochrane who took the win from Phil Howard in the final.

The 2009/10 season ending event was also a record smashing affair with a total of 31 new ANDRA records being set within 21 different classes. That included numerous new Pro standards: TAD- Aaron Hambridge 5.519 secs, TAFC – Gary Phillips 260.71 mph, Top Doorslammer – John Zappia 5.805 secs, Top Bike – Chris Matheson 6.050 secs and Pro Stock – John Barbagallo – 194.24 mph.

Taking Castrol EDGE Winternationals wins in the Rocket All-Stars sportsman categories were Lucas Holz (Speed Elec/Prime Signs Super Street), Alisha Naylor (QLD Diesel Spares Junior Dragster), Athol Jacobson (Knijff Earthmoving Modified), Tony Ward (Modified Bike), David Gauldie (Super Gas), Bill Fletcher (Wheelboyz.com.au Supercharged Outlaws), Shane Homes (Custom Central Competition Bike), Damien McKern (McKern and Associates Super Compact), Tom Dimitropouios (Lifestyle Floorcoverings Super Stock) and Wayne Cartledge (Lifestyle Floorcoverings Competition).

In the sportsman action, it was fast femmes at the forefront with three ladies claiming Australian Championships, with Kelly Corbett clinching the title in Knijff Earthmoving Modified and high-octane grandmothers Terry Sander (Speed Elec/Prime Signs Super Street) and Christine Steffens (Wheelboyz.com.au Supercharged Outlaws) also claiming their championships. Other champions included Caleb Oberg (QLD Diesel Spares Junior Dragster), Andy Roberts (Modified Bike), Dale O’Dwyer (Super Gas), Paul Patridge (Powercruise Super Sedan), Shane Homes (Custom Central Competition Bike), Damien McKern (McKern and Associates Super Compact), Nino Cavallo (Lifestyle Floorcoverings Super Stock) and Graeme Frawley (Lifestyle Floorcoverings Competition).

A huge crowd attended the season-ending ANDRA Winternationals in Queensland.

Racer John Zappia clinched the Top Doorslammer title with an event win.

Aaron Hambridge set a ANDRA record while winning in Top Alcohol

Martin Stamatis dominated while winning the event and championship in Top Fuel

Chris Matheson set a new national ET record while winning during the final round of Top Bike

Aaron Tremayne rounded out a dominating season in ANDRA Pro Stock racing.

(Photos by: Daniel Ward)