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/

PREMIAIR HIRE RACING IMPRESSES IN PERTH
Posted by: In: Uncategorized 04 Mar 2020 Comments: 0 Tags: , , , , , , , ,

PremiAir Hire Racing put on a great Top Fuel show as part of the Perth Motorplex’s 49th annual Westernationals at the weekend, completing six match races with Lamattina Top Fuel Racing to the delight of fans, resetting the track ET record and temporarily setting the national ANDRA 1000ft Top Fuel speed record.

With the final run completed on Sunday night, the score-board showed three wins apiece for the pairing who travelled from the East Coast to take part in the two-day event.

“I had been to the Perth Motorplex as a spectator around six or seven year ago and it has always been on my bucket list to come back and race there,” Xiberras explained.

“I was certainly not disappointed. We received such a warm welcome from the track and its team as well as all of the spectators, of which there were many! The facility is fantastic and the racing was also really great – I couldn’t be happier with how things went.

“I want to thank everyone behind the event for welcoming us and for putting on a fantastic event even with some major challenges after the track was struck by lightening just 36 hours before the event started. I also want to especially thank Phil Lamattina who started the negotiations with the track for us to come over.

“When it came to the actual passes, we really enjoyed ourselves out there and we were pleased to claim the track ET record (3.854s) and also to set the new ANDRA 1000 foot speed record – even if it was only for a few hours before Phil took it off us in the last pass of the evening”.

“The car might be new but it is running so consistently, it is like a bracket car – over the six passes we ran 3.889s, 3.889s, 3.874s, 3.869s and 3.854s before our last run shook the tyres.

“We are very excited to see what we can do next with the PremiAir Hire Top Fuel dragster!”

PremiAir Hire Racing will next be on-track for the Santo’s Super Thunder event at Willowbank Raceway on Good Friday, the 10th of April. 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 www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/

EPIC ROAD TRIP BEGINS FOR WESTERNATS TOP FUEL RETURN
Posted by: In: Uncategorized 18 Feb 2020 Comments: 0 Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

PremiAir Hire Racing will travel 8,000 kilometres (round trip) for 24 seconds of racing over the next two weeks, and they couldn’t be happier about it.

The Brisbane-based Top Fuel team will be part of the comeback of Top Fuel Racing to the Perth Motorplex later this month, taking part in the 49th annual Westernationals event which will be held across February 29 and March 1.

PremiAir Hire Racing will travel in a convoy with the fellow East Coast based Lamattina Top Fuel Racing team, commencing their journey this Saturday the 22nd of February.

“It might be a long trip, but it is going to be so worth it to be a part of Top Fuel racing getting back into action at the epic Perth Motorplex; it is very exciting,” PremiAir Hire Racing principal and driver, Peter Xiberras, said.

“We all can’t wait. It should be a fantastic event across two days with not only Top Fuel but also Top Doorslammer, Top Fuel Motorcycle and the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series as well.”

PremiAir Hire Racing truck driver Adam Attard will lead the way to Perth, with Mark ‘Baldy’ Savage to drive the LTFR  transporter while none other than Top Fuel racer Phil Lamattina will drive another LTFR truck loaded up with the race cars of other competitors.

The Lamattina dragster is based in Aaron Hambridge’s Sydney workshop while the PremiAir Hire dragster and transporter is also currently in the harbour city following the Santo’s Summer Thunder event in late January.

The first leg of the trip will see Attard and Savage travel from Sydney to the Lamattina family farm in Mildura (Victoria) where they will stay the night before being treated to breakfast personally cooked by Phil Lamattina who will then join the party at the wheel of the third truck.

The convoy will then travel on to Ceduna, before stopping 100km before Eucla for an all-important selfie looking over the Great Australian Bite.

From there it will be on to the Nullarbor Roadhouse for a final stop before they reach the Perth Motorplex ready for two big days of racing before they turn around and travel all the way back home with a hopeful stop at Cal Gully on the way.

“We are expecting to see lots of kangaroos on the way over and are looking to do most of our driving during the day so we can take in some of the sights as part of our travels,” Attard explained.

“We already have plenty of Kris Kristofferson, the Travelling Wilburys, Mark Knophler and the Grateful Dead queued up too, so we will have lots of great tunes rocking in the PremiAir Hire transporter for the trip!

“It is a great road trip and it is made even greater by knowing what we will be doing when we get to our destination – it doesn’t get much better than Top Fuel at the Peth Motorplex!”

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/

PREMIAIR HIRE RACING HUNTING MORE SYDNEY SUCCESS
Posted by: In: Uncategorized 13 Jan 2020 Comments: 0 Tags: , , , ,

This weekend’s Santo’s Summer Thunder event at Sydney Dragway will mark the second outing for PremiAir Hire Racing’s new Top Fuel dragster following its perfect debut at the same venue late last year.

At November’s East Coast Thunder – the opening round of the 2019/2020 400 Thunder Top Fuel Championship – the team not only reset its own ET and MPH personal bests but also won the event.

After missing round two of the title chase due to work commitments, the team is now back and ready to see if they can kick off 2020 with another victory.

“It was unfortunate that we weren’t able to go to round two, the holiday season is the busiest time of the year for PremiAir Hire and our customers have to come first,” PremiAir Hire Racing team principal and driver, Peter Xiberras, explained.

“We are very excited to now be gearing up for round three which is being held at the same venue as our successful November event with the new dragster.”

Xiberras will be joined on-track by a host of Top Fuel racers, it has also been announced that NHRA star Dom Lagana will be returning to Australia to drive for the Rapisarda Autosport International team alongside fellow American Ashley Sanford and local stars Wayne Newby and Damien Harris.

“Everything is shaping up for a great event at Sydney Dragway with what should be a great Top Fuel field as well as plenty of other racers across a host of great categories. We hope to see lots of fans out at the track and look forward to seeing them in the pits,” Xiberras said.

The Santo’s Summer Thunder event will be held at Sydney Dragway on Friday January 17 and Saturday January 18. For full event information, go to www.sydneydragway.com.au/santos-summer-thunder/

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

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/