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Tri Series opener brimming with talent

Posted on November 11, 2011

SOME of the quickest regional drag racers in the country will converge on Sunraysia’s Sunset Strip this weekend for the opening round of the prestigious Tri Series drag racing title.

RED HOT: Rob ‘Macca’ McDonald lifts the front wheels as he launches from the start line.

Now in its 14th year, more than 90 competitors are expected to take to the start line tomorrow, including at least 20 cars never seen before in Sunraysia.

The Tri Series is a South Australian-based series (Sunraysia Drag Racing Association is classified as a South Australian body) and, as its name suggests, is fought out over three rounds, starting with Mildura this weekend followed by Coonawarra in January and Whyalla in March.

Sunraysia drivers have built up a strong reputation as a forced to be reckoned with in the series, boasting several class champions over those 14 years, including Annie Jones, Tony Diwell and Rob ‘Macca’ McDonald.

SDRA spokesperson, Jenni Gledhill, said Sunraysia drivers are again expected to be at the pointy end of the field comes finals time at the Sunset Strip tomorrow night, including the aforementioned drivers and the popular Mick Taylor.

Mrs Gledhill said the addition of about 20 new cars this year was an unexpected bonus, attributed to the return of drag racing to Adelaide International Raceway later this month.

“To be honest we were a bit concerned initially, we though with the return of racing to Adelaide it might have stripped us of a few cars, but it’s actually had the reverse effect,” she said.

“We’ve got new Outlaws and new cars that have never been to Mildura before, which is fantastic.”

Mrs Gledhill said there has been significant growth in several classes this year, most notably Modifieds and Supercharged Outlaws.

“I think this year we have the highest number of Modifieds since the series began, probably about a dozen of them, where normally we’d struggle to get three of them,” she said.

They include two new Sunraysia-based cars – Kingsley Kuchel’s front-engined dragster and former Darren Morgan Racing crew member Dave Thornton, in his own dragster.

The majority of the Modified field will be capable of rocketing down the one-eighth mile (200 metres) drag strip in under six seconds.

Other classes include Supercharged Outlaws, Super Sedans, Super Street, Modified Bike and Junior Dragsters.

Gates open tomorrow at 11am. Qualifying starts from 1pm. Eliminations start from 6pm and run into the night, featuring racing under lights.

Entry for adults is $15, 12-16 years $5. Entry for children under 12 is free.

A test-and-tune will be held at the Sunset Strip tonight from 6pm.

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