NEW CLASSES FOR GROWING DRAG RACING FIELD

Yet another national category has been added to accommodate the growing field of national drag racers who will give spectators an adrenaline fix of note at the first round of the 2007 series at WesBank Raceway on Sunday 4 February 2007.

The new Super Competition Eliminator category will accommodate cars and dragsters that run a quarter mile in the 8.2 – 11.2 second bracket, and will fall between the Competition Eliminator category (9 – 13.5 seconds) and the faster Gatorback Senior Eliminator category (7 – 9.6 seconds). The quickest category is the Top Eliminators which run in the seven seconds or faster, with top speeds in the 300 k/ph mark. “Drag racing entries have doubled in the past three years since the nationals started, and the new category will spread the field better”, explained Jan Johnson of WesBank Raceway and a Senior Eliminator competitor in her Bosal B Dragster.

In addition to the four national categories, the street classes have had a revamp: the Factory Street class starts at 11 seconds with no limit for virtually bog standard ex factory cars, with the Modified Street class running between 11 – 16.5 seconds while the Pro Street will encompass the much quicker Competition and Super Competition Eliminator categories.

The three national bike categories for the ex factory, under 1,000cc S category, the SuperBike or SB category for 1,000cc plus bikes, and the ultra-quick Streetbike Shootout or PST category in which the big names like Brad Anassis (Suzuki), ‘Boksburg Bomber’ Fransie Engelbrecht (Suzuki), the one-handed JP Labuschagne (Kawasaki) and Pastor Fanie Coetzee (Suzuki Hyabusa) will wage war with some 7 second runs anticipated. Brad Anassis smashed the speed record in this category on 296 k/ph, and ET (elapsed time for quarter mile) record on 7,947 seconds at the final round at WesBank Raceway last year.

Spectators are in for a treat as the big guns in the awesome Top Eliminator Category go all out to stamp their authority early in the season. The newly crowned champion Phillip Palmer, who made his debut to drag racing last year in his Alcohol run Dragster, has made the big names like Nico van Rensburg and Pieter de Wit, both former national champions, less than confident. Other likely contenders include Michael van Rensburg (TA Dragster), Mike Sargeant (Alcohol Funny Car), Koos Hailey (Alcohol Funny Car) who returns after a year’s absence following an accident, and Lionel Kruger (Alcohol Funny Car).

Entertainment will include spinning demonstrations by the King of Spin, Magesh, the WesBank skydivers and kiddies entertainment. Gates open on Sunday at 8am to the pubic with the racing starting from 9am, with admission R60 per adult and R30 per child.