THE racing couldn’t have got much closer or much louder at Willowbank Raceway on the weekend.
On Saturday night, Jake Donnelly won Pro Alcohol in dramatic fashion with a holeshot win over Championship leader Steve Read by only five thousandths of a second.
However, the celebrations were shortlived as Donnelly’s parachutes failed to blossom after crossing the finish line, resulting in his car colliding with the catch net built for this reason to slow the 400kph cars down in an emergency.
They of course did the job and kept Jake aka the Scorpion safe.
Despite the crash, Donnelly remained uninjured and climbed out of the car with his usual trademark smile.
The incident was a spectacular way for him to pick up his first-ever event win, although his front-running car suffered significant damage.
The accident brought an end to the night, with only Top Fuel Funny Car left to run in the schedule.
The winner’s trophy for the category went to Morice McMillin, with Adam Murrihy taking the runner up spot.
It was an unfortunate end to a spectacular day’s racing which saw a stellar 4.88 in round one from McMillin in the Aeroflow Top Fuel Funny Car.
Murrihy made a statement about his intentions in Top Fuel Funny Car with a string of solid performances.
With the win, McMillin moves two points clear of his teammate Brandon Gosbell in the Australian Top Fuel Funny Car Championship.
In Pro Stock, Aaron Tremayne extended his championship lead with an incredible 6.96 in the final round, which doubled as the low elapsed time of the event for the category.
Tremayne was undefeated throughout the day and has stretched his lead over Brian Pursell in the Glass Trade Centre Pro Stock sponsored bracket by a significant margin.
Championship #2 Brian Pursell had a difficult weekend and was unable to present the car in time for the final round of racing where he was scheduled to take on Scott Porter. Overall, it was a thrilling day of racing with some unexpected results and impressive performances from the winners.
