Adelaide and the Ninth Championship

Zappia Racing heads to Adelaide International Raceway for the final round of the 2015/2016 ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship on 9-10 April. With 472 points, John Zappia holds a 90-point lead over Grant O'Rourke (382), with Mark Belleri (342) and Kapiris (325) rounding out the top four. Only qualifying is needed mathematically to secure the ninth consecutive championship - but the team is preparing for more than that.

"We are going to Adelaide prepared as always," said Zappia. "The last few meetings have shown us how tough drag racing can be - so we have to prepare as best we can and bring our best effort to this event."

A Season of Records and Setbacks

At the West Coast Nitro event at Perth Motorplex in February, Zappia top qualified with a 5.705 at 254.81 mph before the No. 1 engine broke several rods past the finish line. An engine change got the team back on track to win Round 1 and earn an A Finals run - but the 5.7-second win was overturned at scrutineering when the car came in approximately two pounds underweight, handing the result back to Daniel Gregorini.

"That was a tough loss - and we got caught out with the engine change being a lighter engine than No. 1 engine where we run the weight a little close to 2,700 pounds - and we must have used more fuel than normal," Zappia said.

At Calder, the team qualified fifth with a 5.356 (1,000-foot racing). After running a 4.98 in the first round, the Fuchs Monaro darted sideways at 950 feet and crossed the centreline, handing the win to DeFelice. The final was ultimately called off as O'Rourke and Belleri determined the track conditions could not hold the power.

"Those were hard losses for us as a team, after three wins in rounds two, three and four. But we hope to bounce back after some good hard thinking and analysis, and we will give it our best shot at Adelaide."

More Than Qualifying

"We are not going to Adelaide just to qualify, but hoping to take home the event and the championship. It won't be easy as O'Rourke and Belleri have shown great improvement over the second half of the season, so we are looking forward to the challenge."

Sponsors and Support

Fuchs Lubricants returns as co-naming rights sponsor for the 2016-2017 season, continuing an eight-championship partnership with the team. The full sponsor roster for the current season includes Speedmaster, Dananni Hotshots, Noonan Race Engineering, Hoosier Tires, Southside Engine Centre, Crow Cams, B&J Racing Transmissions, Santhuff Shocks, and Bravo Resources.

How to Watch

The Grand Final will stream live on Sunday, 10 April - free and available in all locations including South Australia. Visit ANDRA.com.au on race day to watch on any device.