adminCollin Matiza Sports Editor
AFTER a lengthy rainy season break, the first date in the 2018 hp lubes/Castrol Drag Racing Series is finally here!
Drag racing competitors and motor racing fans have been eagerly awaiting the season-opener event to be held at the home of local motorsport — Donnybrook Raceway — on Sunday.
Drag racing organisers, the Sables Dragpro Club, have stepped the game up this year with the introduction of “Nationals” to the motorsport genre of drag racing.
The event maintains its previous status of being accessible to all members of the public, in two-wheel and four-wheel vehicles, for unlimited quarter-mile drag racing runs through the day, followed by the popular end-of-day Eliminations Event.
Mano Zevgolis of the Sables Dragpro Club said yesterday that the inclusion of Nationals is aimed at the top-end competitors and is an important milestone for motorsport, effectively elevating the event to a professional status.
Nationals will be restricted to qualifying competitors only and will be run on a “bracket system” whereby the computerised timing system gives the green/start light to the slower vehicle/competitor, ahead of the faster vehicle, by the time margin difference between the two competing vehicles’ dial-in times. The first vehicle to cross the finish line, barring offences, will be declared the winner of the race and will progress to the next round whilst the loser is eliminated.
Points scored by both competitors will be carried forward to the next National event.
At the same time as the introduction of Nationals, excitement has been mounting for the debut performance of a purpose built “dragster” rail.
Bulawayo competitor, Terry Allberry, who has previously competed in his V8 AC Cobra and Chevy Chevair, has been pulling out all the stops to ready his dragster build by the first event of the Series.
Online Reporter