A thrilling side-by-side Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship B-Final between PremiAir Hire Racing’s Peter Xiberras and Damien Harris had a packed crowd at Mildura’s Sunset Strip on tenterhooks Sunday evening, with a review of the footage and data required to decide the winner. 

Both racers had traversed the eighth-mile distance with full candles blazing, and the win light initially shined in Xiberras’ lane. However, a timing fault on Xiberras’ lane combined with the fact that to the eye, the pair crossed the line in a dead heat, meant the verification of the winner required an in-depth analysis of multiple camera angles frame-by-frame combined with race data for steward’s to make the call. Ultimately, Damien Harris was declared the winner and the third-place getter for the event.

“Who would have thought that our final would end like that – we never would have guessed it would unfold like that, you couldn’t script it, but there is one thing we all knew for sure even before they called the result – that was one hell of a race and we hope the fans enjoyed it!” enthused Xiberras. 

“While we wish the result went the other way, of course, congratulations to Damien on the B-Final win and on a hell of a race.” 

PremiAir Hire Racing and the rest of the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship competitors were breaking new ground at the weekend, competing at the Sunraysia Drag Racing Association’s Sunset Strip in Mildura, Victoria for the very first time. 

Xiberras place in the unique B-Final was earnt following a 3.470/202.49mph round one pass against Phil Lamattina and a winning 3.237s/260+mph run in the second round against Phil Read for Xiberras, after he and the team had qualified third fastest on Saturday while struggling – along with the rest of the Top Fuel field – to get a handle on the track. 

“While Lamattina beat us to the line in the first round of racing, we were still smiling after finally getting down the track in a respectable fashion after Saturday’s troubles, especially as the conditions today were event trickier,” Xiberras reflected. 

“Those smiles got wider in the second round when we took the win over Phil Read, with a pass over 420 kilometres per hour, securing us our spot in the B Final. 

“Then came that final which will have people debating for quite a while I think! It is no small job to make the call in situations like that and I salute the stewards for deliberating so carefully to be sure about their decision. 

“We dug deep and gave it everything we could, and it is safe to say we have thoroughly enjoyed our time here in Mildura. The fans came out in droves and were so appreciative of everything we laid down all weekend, and the atmosphere here was just electric all weekend long.

“We can’t wait to return to Mildura again in the future, and in the meantime, we excitedly look ahead to travelling to Perth for the next round of the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship and hopefully, securing a winning event trophy!” 

The A-Final was contested by Phil Lamattina and Wayne Newby, with hometown hero Lamattina taking out the event victory in front of an ecstatic crowd. 

The result sees Xiberras and the PremiAir Hire team third in the ATFC championship standings on 130 points, behind Phil Read and Phil Lamattina who are tied for first place (155 points).

The next round of the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship will be held at the Perth Motorplex across April 8-9, as part of the ANDRA Grand Finals event. For event info, visit www.motorplex.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/ 

The team at PremiAir Racing is looking forward to spending their Easter at Willowbank Raceway where they will contest five Top Fuel match races as part of the Apex Epoxy Flooring Super Thunder event on Good Friday and Easter Saturday (April 2 and 3). 

 This will be the first time the team has run its new Top Fuel dragster at Queensland’s premier drag racing facility, with team principal and driver Peter Xiberras set to face off against Phil Read to the delight of race fans. 

With a combination of weather and COVID-19 thwarting all attempts by PremiAir Racing to take to the track since March 2020, the crew is itching to get back into action at Willowbank Raceway this Easter.

“The last time we were on the track was for the Westernationals event in Perth on the 1st of March 2020. Since then, we have had August and September test days cancelled due to COVID and another three scheduled for December, January and March derailed by rain,” PremiAir Racing Team Manager, Tim Adams, said. 

“While we haven’t been able to get on the track, the team has been hard at work making use of that extra time to get a lot of our parts serviced.

“It is our plan to pack the truck full of spares so we can head to Willowbank Raceway early and test on the Thursday before the event to ensure we can put on a great show for the fans on Good Friday and Easter Saturday. 

“We are so excited to be a part of getting Top Fuel drag racing up and running again in this ‘new normal’ world and it will certainly be three big days at Willowbank for our team.” 

Two Top Fuel match races between PremiAir Racing and Jim Read Racing will be held as part of the event’s Good Friday program, ahead of another three which will feature on Saturday’s schedule. 

Also on the Apex Epoxy Flooring Super Thunder program will be Pro Slammer, Pro Stock, Top Bike, Pro Mod and plenty of 400 Thunder Sportsman racing, with on-track action set to commence from 3.00 pm each day. For more 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/

Two years after their infamous crash and in a brand-new Top Fuel dragster, PremiAir Hire Racing has today made a dream comeback to Top Fuel racing by taking victory at the Atlantic Oils East Coast Thunder event.

Driver Peter Xiberras secured victory from defending champion Wayne Newby in the final, with an ecstatic crowd on their feet in celebration of their blazing run.

When all was said and done, Xiberras saw his time-boards light up with a 3.858 second run at 315.86 miles per hour while Harris recorded a 3.880 second effort at 311.77 miles per hour.
Earlier in the event, the PremiAir Hire Top Fuel Dragster was third fastest in qualifying with a double-ended PB (3.853s/320.13mph).

Come race day, Xiberras would take wins from Terry Sainty (round one) and former champion Damien Harris (semi-final) on his way to face off against Newby, with the semi-final against Harris also seeing Xiberras better the MPH PB he had reset the day before to 321.73mph. This equates to a staggering 518 km per hour.

“Wow – what a weekend this has been,” enthused Xiberras.

“This is a dream come true. This is our comeback event, and with a brand-new dragster no less! We were hoping to PB, and we were hoping to run consistently….and of course you always hope for a win, but this is just brilliant.

“The dragster ran so consistently all weekend with four ‘three-eighty’ passes, it was basically a bracket car which is just so amazing.

“We had some fantastic races and it all just went our way this weekend – that final in particular was such a brilliant race all the way to the line.

“While it might be me sitting in the car on the track, this is 100 percent a team effort. There is so much more to this team than me in the car and without my entire team of dedicated and hard-working people we would not be here celebrating with this event trophy!

“I can’t thank everyone who has supported us and been involved in the lead up to this weekend enough and we have also been blown away by the support of the race fans here at Sydney Dragway.
“This really is just phenomenal and we can’t wait to come back and race again at Sydney Dragway for Santo’s Summer Thunder in January.”

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/

Liz Lancaster has had a life long obsession with drag racing and in particular, Top Fuel, so it was no surprise when she jumped at the chance to spend a day crewing with the PremiAir Racing Top Fuel team at Willowbank Raceway in 2018

Fast forward 12 months and now 31 year old Liz is the Operations Coordinator for the PremiAir Hire Brisbane office.

“Rob Oberg, a friend of a friend, knew I was a lifetime Top Fuel fan and called me to see if I wanted to be a crew member for a day and I of course jumped at the opportunity,” Liz explained.

“It was a very hot day, but very enjoyable and nothing can quite prepare you for what it will be like.

“I remember when we were towing out for our first qualifier, it was like the seas parted ways. Standing there on the start line the crowd was just silent waiting for these majestic kings to fire up. Then as I was standing waiting for them to come into stage, they hit the throttle & it was like a grand piano hit me in the chest – I was completely unprepared, but it was amazing.

“I had friends in the corporate box behind me and they said I jumped around six foot in the air. Pete won that day and took home his first gold Christmas tree, he hasn’t won again since so I figure I must be his lucky charm!” she laughed.

Liz has been a part of the drag racing scene since she was only eight years old, after being introduced to the sport by her best friend, Matthew McKnight, who today races in Supercharged Outlaws.

“I fell in love with it at eight and never left. My seven year old daughter now loves Top Fuel and is counting down to when she can have her own Junior Dragster!” Liz laughed.

“It is a very family orientated sport and it is like no other – you can literally feel the noise, and to me that is just out of this world.

“Top Fuel is really something that you can’t explain, you have to be there to witness it and gain a full appreciation of the noise, of the feeling under your feet when they take off, your nose is burning, your eyes are burning. They set car alarms off in the process – it is just next level.

“It really is like nothing else you will experience, the craziness from go to woah, and when you get down into the detail – I mean everyone pays attention to detail in racing, but this is next level stuff. You just can’t wrap your head around it, the Top Fuel guys are in a whole league of their own.”

When Liz isn’t at the track, she is hard at work in the Brisbane office of PremiAir Hire after joining the business around six months ago as the Brisbane Operations Coordinator.

“I look after all of the equipment logistics and operations for the Brisbane, Chinchilla and Gladstone areas. This includes looking after all of the servicing for the equipment, inventory management, depot coordination, transport and logistical management, and working with large corporations to make sure their equipment is up to spec, serviced and hitting their requirements,” Liz said.

“I also work with the team at PremiAir Hire to make sure they have all that they need and offer support for the Business Development Managers when they need it to get equipment to jobs.

“I am really enjoying it, I have known (Branch Manager) Theo Woollett for a long time and ever since meeting Pete at the track I have always thought very highly of him.”

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/