Reigning ANDRA Top Doorslammer champion John Zappia qualified second with a 5.928 and set the meeting's top speed of 249.3 mph across a 19-car field at the Pro Showdown - the opening round of the 2014 ANDRA Top Doorslammer season at Perth Motorplex.

Conditions were difficult. High humidity and a challenging track surface tested crew chiefs across the field. The results reflected it - consistency, not outright pace, determined who advanced.

Qualifying

Zappia's Friday qualifying session produced three runs: a 6.304 at 244.56 mph from a second-gear launch, a pedalling 6.025 at 247.25 mph, and a 5.928 at 249.30 mph that secured second position. Murray O'Connor claimed the top qualifier spot in his XM Falcon with a 5.908. The bump sat at 6.013, with all but one team running in the fives.

Eliminations

Round one paired Zappia's Speedmaster Monaro against Grant O'Rourke's Pontiac Firebird - long-time competitors dating back to battles between Zappia's original Rat HQ Monaro and O'Rourke's AA/G Torana at Ravenswood and Kwinana.

"I was out first but went to hit second gear on my steering wheel and nothing happened. The hemi hit the limiter and after working the shifter it finally changed into third gear. But it was all over - Grant ran a credible 5.992 at 242.58 mph to my 6.141 at 241.93 mph." - John Zappia

The shifting mechanism - an in-house CNC-designed component - experienced an air system issue that affected both qualifying and the first elimination round. A typically reliable part that required attention before the next meeting.

Other first-round results: Dack 6.442 over Fabietti 22.086; Bishop 6.029 over Belleri 10.057; Priolo 6.095 over O'Connor 7.639. Most teams struggled to put power to the track surface on race day.

The Final

Round two saw Priolo run a consistent 6.039 to defeat Dack's 15.72, and Bishop advance with a 6.408 over O'Rourke's 10.37. Stuart Bishop took the event win in his automatic Camaro with a 5.972 final against Pino Priolo's 6.028.

"Bishop has great potential - he is the leader in the auto cars and has run five-eights in the past. Reliability was his hurdle, and they have overcome that. It was good to see Pino do well - he has plugged away consistently with his car over the years and is a worthy runner-up." - John Zappia

Looking Ahead

The Westernationals follow in a month's time with Rounds 2 and 3. The format runs a three-round series on both Saturday and Sunday nights: one qualifier, an elimination round, and then the four fastest winners racing off in A and B finals. At least 20 paired passes and two finals each night.

"We are confident going into the Westernationals. We will rectify the small issues and get back to running five-eights - and depending on the weather and track, dip back into the five-sevens. Our local supporters have been waiting to see a five-seven on our home track." - John Zappia