Championship Dinner and the Ninth Gold Christmas Tree

The Zappia Racing crew traveled to Adelaide for the ANDRA Championship Dinner ahead of Round 3, where John Zappia received his Top Doorslammer Championship Gold Christmas Tree for the 2015/2016 season - his ninth consecutive title.

"Many thanks to ANDRA for supporting racers and Group 1, and Snap-on for the vouchers. This Gold Christmas Tree is prestigious and I am so proud of what we have achieved as a team together for this Championship. It means everything to me as a racer and team owner - drag racing is our life. I presented my ANDRA Championship Jacket this year to longtime dedicated crew member Frank Cook, who works so hard for the team." - John Zappia

SA Summer Nationals: Round 3

Adelaide International Raceway hosted the SA Summer Nationals, which included Round 3 of the ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship over the 1,000-foot distance. Four teams entered: Zappia in the Fuchs HQ Monaro, Mark Belleri driving for the Fabietti team in the AC Delco Monaro, Grant O'Rourke returning from retirement in the all-black Pontiac, and the Chapman brothers making the trip from Perth in their Fury.

"We were confident we could lead the others based on our previous runs here. The Fuchs Monaro has the power, and we had good data from previous meetings to go on." - John Zappia

Qualifying

Saturday qualifying produced aggressive driving across the field. The track at Adelaide challenges drivers with unpredictable surface behavior, amplified by the power these doorslammer cars put down on launch.

"Things can get out of shape pretty quick here with the horsepower we have and the way we launch. Gearing and clutch selection and getting the car balanced for the conditions are critical." - John Zappia

After three qualifying rounds over the 1,000-foot distance, the order stood:

1. John Zappia - 4.996 @ 205.01 mph (HQ Monaro)

2. Grant O'Rourke - 5.137 @ 206.23 mph (Pontiac)

3. Mark Belleri - 5.175 @ 212.36 mph (AC Delco Monaro)

4. Mark Chapman - 5.282 @ 211.56 mph (Fury)

Mark Chapman made contact with the wall during qualifying, experienced parachute issues, and ended in the sand with front-end damage.

Zappia's Qualifying Runs

"First pass the car left hard, rattled on the 2nd gear shift and moved around causing me to pedal and run a 5.04 @ 216 mph. We stepped up the tune for the second run and it left harder but still rattled and a pedaling 4.99 @ 205 mph won us Top Qualifier position. I got disoriented not knowing where the 1,000 feet finish line was, and got off too early on both those runs. The sun had gone down for the third pass and the track temp was down, so on the 1-2 shift the Fuchs Monaro darted left and hit a cone - so I got out of that one. What a wild ride." - John Zappia

Sunday Cancellation and Points

Rain and strong winds set in on Sunday morning, and the meeting was cancelled at 11:00 am. Forty points were awarded to all qualifiers, with Zappia earning Top Qualifier and Low ET, and Belleri taking Top Speed.

Championship Standings

Zappia leads the 2016/2017 ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship on 237 points with four rounds remaining. Belleri sits on 182 points, O'Rourke on 161, and Ben Bray on 154.

"We are really concentrating on winning this Championship for Fuchs and all our team, sponsors and supporters." - John Zappia

Next Event

The team heads to the Night of Fire on Boxing Day at Perth Motorplex for local Top Doorslammer racing. The event also features four jets, Summer Slam, Freestyle MotoX, a fireworks display, and a kids zone in the pits.