Words and Pics by John Baremans
Round Two of the ADBA Easyriders Top Fuel World Championship moved to sunny
Willowbank Raceway located in Ipswich near Brisbane.
After the sensational Calder Park All Bike meeting on January 29, the tour bus
departed Melbourne on Monday morning headed for a brief two day stop in Sydney
harbor before checking out the rest of the countryside on the way to Queensland.
Quite a bit of damage was reported after Calder but Queensland rider Brett Stevens
offered his race shop in an effort to make sure all would be ready the following
weekend.
One
rider who definitely would not be facing the Christmas Tree was Smokin' Joe
Edmunds. His "Kelly Country" machine was repairable but for Edmunds
himself a few bones and ligaments still needed healing. Also Kim Leonard reportedly
sustained a bit of damage and would not be making the treck up North.
Held in conjunction with the second round of the annual Castrol New Year Series the nitro Harley's shared headline bill with two US Jet Dragsters. It wasn't Willowbank's biggest one day crowd however those that witnessed the show said it was some of the best drag racing seen in a long while.
Texan rider Johnny Mancuso top qualified the world's quickest and fastest Harley on the pole for the second time running. But what made his time even more interesting was that it was run opposite Swede Anders "Charlie" Karling. The American rider took the win light with a 6.749 at 205.57 to a 6.76/200.89. That ladies and gentleman was not only the quickest and fastest pass for a Harley-Davidson in Australia but it also made local history for being the first side-by-side 6 second and side-by-side 200. It just had to happen during this series.
Third spot went to Bill Furr who went 6.94 and was just ahead of Rob Van Geffen's 6.98. The Dutchman was the first rider to record a six at the track but he was also the first to go deep into the breaking area when a leaking fork seal oiled his front brakes.
Highest Australian qualifier was Ian Ashelford who punched in with a 7.17 for
seventh.
While the field fell short by one bike, Canadian Greg "Max" Maclean
sat in fifteenth with an 8.06.
In the opening round Mancuso had the bye run. The 49 year old went even quicker stopping the timing clocks in 6.722 seconds at 205.95 mph but the joy of running a new Harley best Down Under took a turn for the worst when his machine became unstable in the downhill breaking area. Mancuso decided he didn't like the look of the fast approaching tyre wall so he stepped off. In Texas, they breed em tough and while the rider was able to walk away, the bike suffered bent front forks and was sent back into it's container for the night.
Karling recorded the second six of the round with a 6.95 being was too strong for Maclean's 8.42. Brett Jonas, riding the second of the Australian Attitude Racing Harley's, took on Furr and was a surprise winner recording a 7.75 to a troubled 29 second ET.
Calder Park winner Jim McClure, qualified 10th with a 7.42 but regained some of the winning form when he put Ashelford back on the trailer with a 7.01 to a losing 7.29. Steve Moore who runner-up'd at the last round took on Brett Stevens and won with a 7.17 to a 7.70.
In
Round Two Team Zodiac rider Ton Pels took an easy walk into the semis when Mancuso
was unable to return. Van Geffen had cracked his frame from his earlier excursion
and while he still went to the line against Moore the bluff stopped when the
Yank clicked off a 7.63 for the win. Karling broke a blower belt against McClure's
tough 6.86 while Canadian Warren Hill finished of Australia's hopes (Jonas)
with a 7.70.
In the semi finals "Godfather" Pels broke a lob off his camshaft putting Moore into his second final and joining him also for the second time was McClure who dumped a 6.99 on Hill's 7.38.
The grandfather of the tour pulled a light on Moore (.462 to .503) and from there on the Xcessive Force machine just pulled away. Across the finish line McClure's 7.01 took care of Moore's close 7.22.
With Adelaide just one week away the title for World Champion will most likely be fought out between McClure and Moore, but by now the players will also be coming to terms with their machines and the Australian conditions so a brand new winner and runner up is possible.
Words and Pics by John Baremans
Drag Racing in Australia received an injection of life when Calder Park hosted
the opening round of the ADBA Top Fuel Harley-Davidson World Championship on
Saturday January 29.
The All-Bike event was not only the richest motorcycle drag race in Australia
but it also featured the four finest nitro Harley pilots from Europe, USA, Canada
and Australia. 
The historic event was a constant up hill battle for the organisers and for
their efforts they truly deserved a big pat on their backs. The Australian Immigration
Department stopped two riders and one crew person from entering the country
in the week leading up to the event due to their involvement with a high profile
motorcycle club.
Despite this and 1001 other hiccups the show still went on and for those 3000
fans that sat on the Calder Park hill they witnessed some of the finest motorcycle
drag racing ever seen Down Under.
With two of the quickest nitro Harley riders in the world present, John Mancuso
and Bill Furr, some big things were being predicted. However after the first
qualifying session it became fairly obvious that the good ole boys weren't going
to have it all their way. With two supercharged bikes from Europe on hand and
a different track, they were going to have work hard to stay alive in the race.
Mancuso found a tune-up and his 6.827 at 201.61 mph headed the qualifying list.
Next was the awesome blown bike of Andy Karling. This spectacular machine was
worth the price of an airfare and admission alone and boy oh boy was it loud.
It was truly a Top Fuel experience. A 6.901 at 204.26 (Top Speed) put him in
second place. Third went to the second blown machine of Rob Van Geffen who stopped
the clocks at 6.948 at 200.49 mph. The final Harley in the sixes went to Jim
McClure. "The Judge" was the ADBA's Wildcard and he rode Ken McGills
Xcessive Force machine to a 6.991 at 197 mph. Brett Stevens was the strongest
of the locals with his 7.21 filling sixth spot.
Steve
Little from Victoria took the place of one of the missing riders and he sat
on the bump with a 7.834 at 170 mph.
Smokin Joe Edmunds took a nasty 170 mph top end tumble when strong winds pushed
the "Kelly Country" machine into the grass. This held up the program
by an hour and a half as Edmunds was taken away to hospital by helicopter. His
condition was listed as satisfactory and he sustained shoulder and leg injuries.
It is believed that his bike is repairable.
In the opening round Mancuso was able to give the start to Little but a strong
7.08 at 196 mph finished him off. Canadian Warren Hill who replaced Dave O'Hara
on the tour defeated Perth rider Ian Ashelford with a 7.4 to a 7.70 race. "Da
Judge" McClure was able to save equipment when his opponent Max McClean
(Canada) was unable to return from qualifying due to engine damage.
Ton Pels from Holland knocked off Kim Leonard as did Andy Karling over Brett
Jonas. American Steve Moore was a surprise winner in his race against Furr.
A 7.33 easily took care of a troubled 9.40. Van Geffen dropped a 6.94/202 on
Texan Mark Conner and Ken Kent was lucky to have survived against Brett Stevens
when the local forgot to hit the high speed button on his Jack Daniels Harley.
His 7.74 failed to catch Kent's 7.592.
In round two Mancuso came up against Hill and a strong 6.91 at 202 took the
win light. McClure recorded his second six with a tough 6.899/201 taking out
a 7.65 from Pels. Karling came unstuck against Moore's 7.18 but Van Geffen kept
the Europeans hopes alive with a win over Kent, clocking a 6.97 to a 7.41.
In the semi's Mancuso upped the ante against McClure but paid the price when
he went up in smoke. Van Geffen looked to have his race against Moore in the
bag after running consistent six-second passes all day but he was flustered
on the line cutting a sorry .863 reaction. Moore ran a 7.89 for the win.
The final was all stars and stripes although the machine that McClure was riding
was an Australian bike. Anyway Moore took the start with a .495 reaction leading
the ole man's .511 light but across the finish line McClure took the win with
a 7.21 defeating a close 7.347. Guess the first side-by-side six will have to
wait for the next race at Willowbank Raceway the following weekend.
The event was also highlighted with the appearance of Larry "Spiderman"
McBride. Truly one of the sports nice guys, McBride joined up with Peter Pearce
for a couple of days and offered advice and a six second tune-up. He also told
Pearce to hang on because if all went well it would be the ride of his life.
Unfortunately the bike never made it to the other end under full power but observers
noted that the four-cylinder fueller sounded crisp and clean and had run quicker
to the 330 mark then ever before.
Words and Pics by John Baremans