PREMIAIR RACING CLINCHES TOP FUEL CHAMPIONSHIP & WINTERNATS WIN
Posted by: In: racing 14 Jun 2021 Comments: 0

PremiAir Racing has dominated the 2021 Gulf Western Oil Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway, claiming the 400 Thunder Top Fuel Championship and the event’s Top Fuel trophy while rewriting the national 400 Thunder Top Fuel ET record and the track record.

The impressive performance delivers a maiden national title and Winternationals win for the team, and heartily expands an accomplishment-list that already included track records at Sydney Dragway, the Perth Motorplex and event wins at Sydney, Perth and Willowbank.

The weekend got off to a good start for the team with a personal best (at the time) 60-foot ET in their first qualifying run, before Saturday’s opening race saw them run what was the quickest Top Fuel pass in Australian history over the 1000-foot distance with a 3.767 second effort at 322.42 miles per hour, despite a red light.

In the next round, held on Sunday morning, the team bettered that marker even further with a 3.742 second pass at 325.22 miles per hour to officially rewrite the national record books while clinching the race win.

Two more passes beckoned for Sunday afternoon, with the penultimate race of the championship fight seeing the PremiAir Hire Top Fuel dragster lose a blower belt at half-track to set up a ‘winner takes all’ final against nearest title rival and two-time champion, Phil Lamattina.

The team made the most of the opportunity, returning with a vengeance to take a convincing final race win and the championship over Lamattina with a 3.76 second performance at dusk in front of a packed crowd.

“After Saturday night’s effort where we ran the quickest pass in Australia but I red lit, I really thought I had thrown the whole thing away to be honest and I didn’t get a lot of sleep that night!” Xiberras confessed.

“But here we are, we ended up in the final and to actually pull this off is what dreams are made of. I just can’t believe it.

“My crew, Timmy, Benny and the boys, they are the unsung heroes, the drivers seem to get all the credit, but it has to go to them. We were here till midnight on Saturday night just making sure everything was perfect and then we were back on Sunday morning at 6.30am to resume preparations – their commitment and their drive is just unbelievable.

“I also want to make a big mention of my wife and my kids – they are my rock and if it wasn’t for their support, I wouldn’t be here and I hope I have made them proud, I love them all to death.

“Of course, I also recognise our amazing sponsors, Rhino FSD, PremiAir Hire and especially Gulf Western Oil who are also the naming rights sponsor of the Winternationals – it is great to be able to do this for them at their event.

“I also want to thank Willowbank Raceway and 400 Thunder, and the other Top Fuel teams here this weekend – Jim Read Racing and Lamattina Top Fuel Racing who pushed and pushed, there were literally mere points between us and it was an absolute fight right to the end.

“I am just so grateful to everyone that has been involved in this journey and we are going to be celebrating this one for a long time.”

PremiAir Hire Racing Team Manager, Tim Adams, echoed Xiberras’ comments.

“We are so proud of our entire team, everyone dug so deep this weekend and there was absolutely nothing left on the table,” Adams said.

“It was getting so cold while we waited to commence the final and we were a little worried we might run into some shake as a result, but in the end, it was just perfect and here we are as the national champions, the event winner, the new national record holder, and the new track record holder – it doesn’t get much better than that!

“Thank you to everyone who has supported us in our journey over what has been a hectic and drawn-out season for all involved – we hope we have done you proud with this result!”

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

CHAMPIONSHIP SHOWDOWN LOOMS FOR PREMIAIR RACING
Posted by: In: racing 07 Jun 2021 Comments: 0 Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

PremiAir Racing is readying to contest an epic Top Fuel championship showdown as part of the largest championship drag racing event held outside of North America this weekend (June 11-13).

The Gulf Western Oil Winternationals event, held at the team’s home-track of Willowbank Raceway, will host the final round of the 2019/2020/2021 400 Thunder Top Fuel Championship season.

PremiAir Racing is ideally placed to battle for the title, with team principal and driver Peter Xiberras currently second on the points ladder on 299 points – 25 points behind title leader Wayne Newby and 10 points ahead of Phil Lamattina.

While PremiAir Racing has tasted success at Willowbank before, with both Gold and Silver Christmas Tree trophies from previous events, it is yet to claim a Winternationals Gold.

“There is a lot to play for this weekend at Willowbank Raceway – the Winters win and the championship win are both on the line and it is anyone’s game,” Xiberras said.

“We have a Gold and Silver tree from Willowbank and also a Gold and Silver tree from Sydney, as well as current track records for Sydney and Perth, but the prestige of taking home a winning Winters trophy is something we are keenly focused on heading into this weekend.

“There’s no event like it and to top it off, the event is sponsored by our valued supporters Gulf Western Oil, so we will be pulling out all the stops to make sure we can secure the event and the title win this weekend.”

To prepare for the event, the team completed two test passes at the Winters Warm-Up on June 5.

“We put in some strong work at the official pre-Winters test weekend, playing around with some clutch settings to improve our short track times,” PremiAir Racing Team Manager, Tim Adams, explained.

“After recording a 60-foot time of .856 and 2.156 to the 330 in the second pass, we were pleased we had everything heading in the right direction and turned our attention to servicing the PremiAir Hire Top Fuel dragster ready for the main event.

“We will enjoy two qualifying passes at the event on the Friday ahead of a third on Saturday, before three epic ‘all in’ rounds of racing unfold across the Saturday and Sunday ahead of the ‘winner takes all’ final on Sunday afternoon.  

“We can’t wait to get after it at this fantastic event and look forward to seeing all the fans in the pits in between the runs – make sure you stop by and say hi!”

The Gulf Western Oil Winternationals will be held at Willowbank Raceway across June 11-13. Top Fuel qualifying passes are scheduled for 1.26pm and 3.23pm on Friday and 1.12pm on Saturday, ahead of racing at 3.33pm Saturday and 11.00am, 2.16pm and 4.30pm (final) on Sunday. For full event information, visit www.willowbankraceway.com.au

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

SUCCESSFUL SYDNEY SOJOURN FOR PREMIAIR HIRE RACING
Posted by: In: News, racing 10 May 2021 Comments: 0 Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Gulf Western Oils Nitro Thunder event may have been shortened to a one-day hit-out due to poor weather on Friday, but that didn’t stop PremiAir Hire Racing from pulling out all the stops for a great show of Top Fuel drag racing on Saturday.

By the time all four rounds of racing were run and won on Saturday, May 8, the Brisbane-based Top Fuel outfit walked away with three round wins, two personal best Elapsed Times (ET), a new track ET record, and the runner-up honours.

Those performances came in front of a packed crowd, which obviously enjoyed having Top Fuel back on-track after a long hiatus due to the impacts of COVID-19.

“I can’t tell you how great it was to be back on the track in a competitive environment after so long,” PremiAir Hire Racing Team Principal and Driver, Peter Xiberras, said.

“The track cooled off a lot between the third round when we set the record and the final. While you can run faster on a cooler track, you have to get the tune-up absolutely spot on and we just missed that.”

“While we might not have been able to secure the big trophy, I am exceptionally happy with three rounds wins, two PBs, a new track record and the runner-up award. The team did a fantastic job all day long and I am very proud of their efforts.”

Peter and the team weren’t just enjoying themselves on the track either.

“The atmosphere at the Gulf Western Oils Nitro Thunder event was just brilliant,” Xiberras explained.

“There was a fantastic crowd and we loved having everyone visit us in the pits again after so long between competitive events.

Our sponsor, Gulf Western Oils, was also the event sponsor and they set up a corporate hospitality area right next to our pit area, entertaining more than 1200 guests.”

“The atmosphere was just brilliant, and it will take a while for us to stop smiling after this one! We love racing, and putting on a show for the fans!”

The PremiAir Hire Racing Team will now return back to Brisbane to prepare the car for testing at the Winters Warm-Up (5-6 June) ahead of the season-ending Gulf Western Oil Winternationals (June 10-13) at its home track of Willowbank Raceway.

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

RACE WIN PUNCTUATES SANTO’S SUMMER THUNDER FOR PREMIAIR HIRE RACING
Posted by: In: Media, News, racing 27 Jan 2020 Comments: 0 Tags: , , , , , , ,

The PremiAir Hire Racing team rounded out their Santo’s Summer Thunder experience at Sydney Dragway on Saturday evening (January 25) with a race victory over Damien Harris.

A better reaction time (0.64s versus 0.89s) saw Xiberras better Harris by one hundredth of a second at the finish line with a 3.872 second pass at 304.46 miles per hour over the Rapisarda Autosport International driver’s 3.857s/301.60mph effort.

The victory came after a strong yet challenging weekend for the PremiAir Hire Racing team, which conducted two shakedown passes on Friday evening ahead of the three-round, all-run format on Saturday.

The second pass of Friday evening saw the team come oh-so-close to their Personal Best ET of 3.853 seconds with a 3.854s effort at 308.43 miles per hour before Saturday’s hot and humid conditions saw the majority of the field sit out the final shakedown session before getting down to racing.

In the opening two rounds, Xiberras took on Phil Lamattina, with the first pass seeing the PremiAir Hire driver off the gas early before the second round resulted in the race being decided by just 19 thousandths of a second in Lamattina’s favour following an impressive full-track, side-by-side pass (3.884s/314.46mph to 3.915s/312.64s).

The final race was yet another impressive side-by-side pass at full flame, leaving the fans and the PremiAir Hire team grinning from ear to ear.

“It was great to end the weekend with a race win, even if we didn’t make it into the final,” Xiberras said.

“With the new combination in the PremiAir Hire dragster and these hot and humid conditions, we have been struggling to get the set-up right as we are essentially learning how to make the new combo work in this kind of weather with so much water in the air.

“While our second and third passes today were definitely strong, there is a lot more in it. The team will never give up and I think we made some really great progress across the weekend.

“Now we turn our attentions to Perth! We are all very excited to be heading over to the Perth Motorplex to race with ANDRA for the 49th annual Westernationals against some great Top Fuel racers, including this weekend’s runner-up Phil Lamattina!”

The 49th annual Westernationals will be held at the Peth Motorplex across February 29 and March 1 and will feature Top Fuel, Top Doorslammer, Top Fuel Motorcycle and the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series. For event information, please go to www.motorplex.com.au/49th-annual-westernationals

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

RHINO FSD JOINS PREMIAIR HIRE RACING
Posted by: In: racing 21 Oct 2019 Comments: 0 Tags: , , , , , , ,

PremiAir Hire Racing is excited to welcome onboard new official team sponsor and trusted heavy duty generator specialist, Rhino FSD Pty Ltd.

Rhino FSD is an independent, B2B focused Diesel Generator supplier with 12 branches nationally which proudly supply generators to many of Australia’s largest Mining, Industrial, Construction, Rental and Government organisations.

“With in-house engineering, electrical, mechanical, fabrication and field service capability, Rhino FSD is a genuine one stop supplier for fleet owners and sites which require customised solutions,” Rhino FSD General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Gary Radford, said.

“We stand apart from other Generator suppliers by being 100 percent focused on power – it is all we do and it is all we have ever done.

“This focus enables us to attract the most experienced and capable technical and applications specialists in the country. This allows us to offer the best value by delivering engineered solutions while ensuring your site has the right sized generators, with the most efficient, cost effective and efficient engine options on the market.

“We have a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship with PremiAir Hire and we are very excited about this new partnership with Peter Xiberras and PremiAir Hire Racing.”

PremiAir Hire Racing driver and team principal, Peter Xiberras, said he was very pleased to welcome Rhino FSD on board ahead of the new racing season.

“PremiAir Hire purchases equipment from Rhino FSD while Rhino FSD hires equipment from us – we have a long-standing relationship and have always enjoyed working together,” Xiberras said.

“With the new season just around the corner, I am so excited to have Rhino FSD come on board in support of our Top Fuel racing program alongside our supporting partners Gulf Western Oil, R&J Batteries and Mann + Hummel.

“Here is hoping we can bring home some event wins this season in the brand-new PremiAir Hire Top Fuel dragster once the new season kicks off in November in Sydney!”

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/

PremiAir Hire Racing welcomes new star crew member
Posted by: In: racing 05 Oct 2019 Comments: 0 Tags: , , , , , ,

Well-known and respected Australian Top Fuel crew member Ben Patterson has signed up to be part of the PremiAir Hire Racing team.

Ben has just returned home to Australia from Finland following a full season as co-crew chief for Anita Makela’s Top Fuel program which resulted in an FIA European Top Fuel Championship.

Ben has previously spent large amounts of the Australian winter for the past ten years in the US with Torrence Racing, Lagana Racing and Scott Palmer Racing and was also part of former Australian Top Fuel Champion Darren Morgan’s 08/09 season where he worked alongside PremiAir Hire Racing team manager, Tim Adams.

“When the opportunity came up to work with Tim and PremiAir Hire Racing I was very excited to get involved,” Ben said.

“I will be part of the team until May 2020 when I return to Finland, and with the brand new car and an action-packed season coming up I can’t wait to get into it.”

Tim says Ben will bring some valuable expertise to the Top Fuel racing outfit.

“Ben and I have been great mates for a long time, and he will bring a lot of great knowledge to our team thanks to his experience with the six-disc clutch and stage seven heads set-up that we have just moved to,” Tim said.

“Everyone at PremiAir Hire Racing is very excited to have Ben working with us, starting with our pre-season testing in four days this Friday and Saturday (October 11 and 12) with our brand-new Top Fueler in Sydney ahead of the 19/20 season opener there in November.”

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/

WINTERS PROVIDES WARM WELCOME TO PREMIAIR HIRE RACING
Posted by: In: racing 10 Jun 2019 Comments: 0 Tags: , , , , , , , ,

While for much of Gulf Western Oil Winternationals the weather was cold and rainy, the welcome from fans and racers alike for PremiAir Hire Racing was especially warm as the team made its comeback to racing at what is the largest drag racing event held outside of the US.

Peter Xiberras and his Top Fuel racing team have been on the sidelines since a major crash at Sydney Dragway in May of last year, but has been busy behind the scenes preparing for this weekend’s comeback at Willowbank Raceway.

Unfortunately the weather and a mechanical issue combined to reduce the Brisbane-based team’s on-track time to just two passes, but even so, the atmosphere was jovial as the team made its first steps towards what is expected to be a full tilt at the 19/20 Top Fuel Championship with a brand-new car.

“What a weekend it has been at Willowbank Raceway,” smiled Peter Xiberras.

“Results wise and track-time wise, it sure didn’t go our way. Rain saw us get only one qualifier instead of three, and then in the first round of racing I was matched up with Kelly Bettes and experienced a neutral safety switch failure – the switch is designed to neutralise the car in case the clutch welds at the end of the run so it can be pushed off the track safely without refiring the engine, but it failed and instead neutralised us at the end of the burnout!

“Even so, when we review our weekend overall we are grinning from ear to ear – the welcome we have received here at the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals has just been phenomenal and we are so glad to be back in amongst all the action and festivity of Top Fuel drag racing.

“Our congratulations goes to all of the racers on a great weekend at the race track, and especially to Wayne Newby on his well-deserved event and Top Fuel championship victory today.”

With their comeback now under their belt, PremiAir Hire Racing is looking ahead to what will be a large push for the 19/20 season.

“Our brand new car has arrived from the United States. It is currently in Melbourne and we are planning on testing in late September/early October ready for the season opener in November.

“Our sincere thanks goes to everyone who has supported us in our journey to this point, hopefully we can bring home some great results in thanks for your ongoing support in the upcoming season!”

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/

NEXT GENERATION SOAKS UP WINTERNATS SIGHTS AND SOUNDS WITH PREMIAIR HIRE RACING
Posted by: In: racing 06 Jun 2019 Comments: 0 Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Day one of the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals has not only hosted plenty of on-track action and off-track preparation for around 500 race teams today, but also an enthusiastic group of students from Horizons College.

The 20 students from the non-state Special Assistance School based in Caboolture are all studying an Auto Certificate Course and were hosted by Top Fuel team PremiAir Hire Racing today at what is the largest championship drag racing event held outside of the US.

As part of their Winternationals experience, the students were able to witness driver Peter Xiberras and his crew completing their final preparations ahead of Peter’s highly anticipated comeback to racing tomorrow.

They also took in some great qualifying action from the popular Sportsman racing categories and spent a large amount of time with PremiAir Hire Racing Crew Chief, Tim Adams, who taught them all about what it takes to get a 10,000hp Top Fuel dragster down the drag strip.

“We were very pleased to be able to provide this special experience with the help of Willowbank Raceway to these students,” Adams said.

“This event is particularly special for us as it marks the comeback to Top Fuel racing for the PremiAir Hire Racing team and for our driver Peter Xiberras following his well-publicised crash in Sydney in May of last year.

“Today has been an intense day of final preparations and for the Horizons College students to be involved in that process is something very unique indeed. With each of them keen on pursuing an automotive-based career, it was great to be able to show them up close the intricacies of our sport.”

Horizons College Deputy Principal, Jane Robinson, said experiences like the one offered today by PremiAir Hire Racing and Willowbank Raceway are very important for the school and its students.

“Horizons College of Learning and Enrichment is all about assisting young people for whom mainstream education is not meaningful. The school commenced in 2014 and now caters for students across years 7-12,” Robinson explained.

“This is the fifth year in a row that we have been able to send some very well-deserving students to this amazing event with the support of the Raceway and some very generous race teams.

“This is an opportunity that many of these students would not have had otherwise. It is a true highlight of their year; feeding their passion and inspiring them to continue to learn. We are very grateful to Willowbank Raceway and PremiAir Hire Racing for the experiences they have provided to our students today.”

PremiAir Hire Racing will be on-track at the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals from tomorrow (Friday June 7) with qualifying to mark the official comeback to racing for the team. Qualifying will continue on Saturday June 8 ahead of eliminations racing on Sunday June 9.

For event information, visit www.willowbankraceway.com.au

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/