Peter Xiberras may not be competing at this week’s Gulf Western Oil Winternationals, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be keeping a keen eye on what is the largest championship drag racing event held outside of the US.

In particular, Xiberras will be keeping close tabs on how the Top Fuel title fight concludes at what is the final round of its 17/18 championship.

“It would have been great to attend the Winternationals as winning that event is the next best thing to winning the whole championship,” Xiberras said.

“With us being third on the championship points ladder for Top Fuel currently it would have been great to do battle with Damien Harris and Kelly Bettes at the final round of the season.

“While that isn’t to be, we can’t wait to see how the battle unfolds and are looking forward to what could be an Australian-first for the professional drag racing ranks if we see Kelly take out the title.

“As Brittany Force was only the second woman to win the NHRA Top Fuel Championship last year, how great would it be to see for the first time an Aussie woman breakthrough for a professional national title – and in Top Fuel and in her rookie year no less!

“At the same time, Damien is also a very tough competitor – whoever takes it out will be a very deserving winner, and everyone at PremiAir Racing is sending their best wishes for a safe and successful event to each of the 498 racers taking part in the four-day event.”

The PremiAir Racing crew continue to work to repair the damage inflicted on its Top Fuel dragster at the recent Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder event at Sydney Dragway.

“As our recovery continues we can look fondly back on the season that was, including our first event win earlier this season (Willowbank Raceway), setting the MPH track record at Sydney Dragway (319.14mph) and becoming the bracket MPH record holder for the 1000-foot distance in Sydney (319.14mph),” Xiberras said.

“I continue to rest up and the team are working hard to fix the damage to the front and rear of the dragster. We will also be working on the cockpit but I am undecided as yet as to whether I will repair that or replace it.”

“I want to thank everyone for keeping in touch and for their messages of support, everyone at PremiAir Racing greatly appreciates them.”

For more information on PremiAir Hire Racing, please visit https://premiairhire.com.au/ or follow the team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/

Top fuel pilot Peter Xiberras had his challenge for the 400 Thunder Top Fuel Title well and truly underway at the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder event at the weekend, reducing the gap between he and title leader Damien Harris with a round one victory.

Unfortunately, a race two incident which saw Xiberras hit the left-hand wall in his PremiAir Racing dragster now sees his championship hopes in tatters.

“The weekend started out really positive for us – we came to Sydney third on the ladder, 20 points shy of second-placed Kelly Bettes and 22 away from the leader, Damien Harris,” Xiberras explained.

“We had our eyes on closing that gap right up, and with a race one win we were on our way to that goal, reducing the gap to Harris to just 16 points with two more races ahead of us for the event.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. In the second race, we were in the right-hand lane and early in the run the dragster shook the tyres very hard, with the car turning to the left and making contact with the left-hand wall.

“Thankfully, we didn’t make contact with Wayne Newby who was racing in the left-hand lane and I was able to extract myself from the car on my own and walk over to see the ambulance, which took me over to the hospital to be checked out.

“Unfortunately, when they have run a CT scan they have found some spinal fractures which will mean I will be in hospital for a couple of weeks. At this stage we are hopeful of avoiding surgery and a MRI tomorrow will give us some more information on whether we will be lucky in that regard.

“It isn’t the news you want of course but I am going to be a-okay, and that is the main thing. The fact that my injuries aren’t worse is a real testament to the safety of these cars. Unfortunately, while I will make a full recovery, I will be missing out on the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals so our championship title for this season is well and truly over.

“We will just have to come back next season bigger and better to make up for it,”

“In the meantime, I would like to send my thanks to all of the track staff and officials at Sydney Dragway as well as the medical staff who are looking after me, the racers that have checked in with me, to my sponsors, and to all of the fans and supporters who have been sending their well wishes – all of your support is very much appreciated.”

For more information on PremiAir Racing, please visit https://premiairhire.com.au/ or follow the team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/

A dark horse in the unfolding 400 Thunder Top Fuel Championship, Top Fuel racer Peter Xiberras is ready to make his play for the title at the upcoming Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs (May 4 and 5).

Heading to what is the penultimate event of the current championship chase, Xiberras sits third on the points ladder just 22 points shy of leader Damien Harris, and 20 points away from the second-placed Kelly Bettes.

With consistently strong showings all season-long and a razor-sharp focus on preparation, Xiberras and his crew cannot be discounted from the championship battle.

“Ahead of Sydney we have been working very hard on all of those ‘one percenter’ items in our set-up, to make sure that absolutely nothing is left to chance as we look to battle for the championship,” Xiberras explained.

“We have enjoyed some success at Sydney in the past with both my personal best ET and personal best speed set there (3.90s and 319mph respectively).

“On top of that, we have been at the pointy end of each event so far this season and have picked up an event win along the way, so we know we have the package to put in a good showing in Sydney.”

Xiberras and his PremiAir Hire Top Fuel dragster enjoy the support of Gulf Western Oil, for whom the next two events are particularly special.

“Gulf Western Oil are a valued supplier for our team and they are sponsoring the final two events on the 2017/2018 400 Thunder Championship calendar, so it would sure be great to bring home some event wins for them at these events,” Xiberras said.

“You can rest assured we are doing all we can to make sure that happens, including planning to run in both available test sessions at Sydney Dragway on Friday before the racing gets going on Saturday.

“Our truck will leave it’s Brisbane base for Sydney on Tuesday, and right up until that point we will be checking and re-checking, making sure that absolutely everything is as prepared as possible for us to take a swing at the event win, and hopefully the title as well!”

The Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder event will be held at Sydney Dragway across Friday May 4 and Saturday May 5. For event information, please visit www.sydneydragway.com.au

For more information on PremiAir Racing, please follow them Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/