MOUNT Gambier drag racer Jason Arbery kicked off his ANDRA Top Sportsman championship title defence in the best possible way in the “Top End” on the weekend.
Arbery headed to Darwin’s Hidden Valley Drag Strip for the opening round of the season – Nitro up North – and returned victorious after a tight final, claiming back-to-back wins after also winning the round last season.
“We are rapped,” Arbery told The Border Watch while on his way to Alice Springs.
“As far as the title defence goes, to take the win first round, we are extremely happy.
“It is the best start possible.”
As is usually the case in drag racing, the result came down to the wire, with little to separate Arbery and Portland driver Ricky Smith.
In the end it was basically the reaction time of Arbery that made the difference, along with a quality drive.
“Every run has to be your best or you go home,” Arbery said.
“The final was against a good friend of ours, Ricky Smith from Portland, so it was really cool that we both made the trek up and both made the final.
“His reaction time was probably better throughout the day, but in the final I managed to get under him, got a better reaction time and managed to get to the line before him.”
Another major factor is the dial-in time drivers have to nominate before running.
If a driver goes too fast, he is out of the contest.
Again there was little to separate the two drivers, with just 600th of a second the difference.
“I was three hundredth off my dial in,” Arbery said.
“There is not much in that – normally we want to run a bit tighter, but the track was a bit unpredictable, so it could have gone either way.”
Arbery said the unpredictable surface came from dew that arrived after the sun went down.
He said as a result there was less grip available, but the track was sprayed for added adhesion prior to the final.
That in itself caused more issues, with Arbery having to decide on a dial-in time to run the final.
“You try to put all your experience together with the guys who are helping, you have a conversation and lock in a number with all the information you have,” he said.
“Then you have to trust it.
“Being up in Darwin last year helped because we knew what to expect.
“Generally down south as the night goes on the car goes faster, but up here is the opposite because of the moisture in the air.”
Taking all those factors into consideration, Arbery said he was still unsure what time to dial in as he headed to the staging area for the final.
“You can change your dial-in every single run, which is what we do,” he said.
“The conditions change every 15 minutes and it could be two or three hours between runs.
“I wasn’t sure to dial in an 8.29 (seconds) or 8.31 – it was 50/50.
“I was actually going to go 8.31, then changed it in the staging lane.
“I backed what I had done previously and we managed to get through.”
Once on the start line it all comes down to a fast reaction and a solid run.
Arbery said you generally have no idea where your competitor is off the line, but with such a close margin between dial-in times, he knew it was going to be close.
“As I went past the tree I could see two green lights, so I knew it was going to be a race to the end,” he said.
“As you get closer you start to judge where each other is as far as track position goes and I knew we were both going to be flat to the end.
“I got there by about half a car length.”
Arbery said the whole weekend was even more special with his family able to make the trip up.
“My family flew up to spend a week in Darwin, so my kids and my wife could be a part of it,” he said.
“Two good mates of mine – Michael Pfitzner and Simon Madigan – were there, along with Glenn and Tracey Henley and my brother Michael as well.
“A huge thank you has to go to the boys for their support – it was a massive team effort.
“You can’t just do it with a good car or good driver, you have to have the crew as well and these guys are a testament to our results.”
Arbery will now run in Alice Springs this weekend for Round 2 of the season, where last year he red-lighted and packed up early.
He said he hopes to change that result this time around, which would help set up his season.
“Winning the first round takes a heap of pressure off the championship,” he said.
“If I can do a few (runs) this weekend I will be rapped.
“It will be a big improvement on last year.”
