The X-Champs saw ANDRA Championship Drag Racing return in full force at Sydney Dragway on May 2-4. For Pro Stock Motorcycle it was round two of their 2014 Championship and Darwin-based rider Scott White was looking to take advantage of the small field of five bikes.
White qualified in fifth position and faced number two qualifier Phil Howard in the first round of eliminations. Despite having the faster bike the Super Bike Performance Suzuki was defeated by a quicker ET – 7.50 to 7.67!
“What an amazing weekend it was at the X Champs in Sydney a few weeks ago,” said White. “It wasn’t terribly successful for us but very memorable and quite enjoyable. We all worked together and had a lot of fun.”
“I went out for the first qualifier feeling very confident. Burnout was strong and it was all looking good but as soon as I turned on the vacuum pump the bike died and went silent. The batteries died and that is now our fourth set of four batteries in three years.”
“But there is a good story to report in this case because had I made the run I could have potentially destroyed an engine. In the burnout the valve inserts had shifted and were hitting the piston, which in turn bent the valve.”
So after some debate and thought in the pits, White and his team decided to swap engines and missed the second session. Unfortunately due rain in the morning and the cold track conditions the third session was cancelled.
“I had a spare engine, one that I had been carting around with me but really didn’t know what it would do,” said White. We had a different clutch than what we were use to so we had to take a punt on the clutch and also with the jetting.”
“So we went out the following day for round one with the unknown spare in the frame and it performed well by running a 7.60 straight off the bat. Very rich, threw me back in the seat. It really surprised me off the line and when I dragged myself back down, and tucked in I was hunting “Bluey” (Phil Howard) down. He was 15 mph faster than me at half-track but I was 16 faster than him in the end!”
“The surprise was when I pulled up at the end of the track. The bike just didn’t want to roll freely and I discovered that the whole rear tail section of the body had folded up underneath the wheel. I was glad that it hadn’t punctured a tyre. I’ve got no idea why that happened because the wheel was forward.”
With bodywork to fix and the spare engine not an option, White’s plans needed to change.
“Straight after Sydney I unpacked the trailer and the bike and threw the tools and motors into the van and Monday headed off in the opposite direction to Adelaide.”
“It was my only choice as there was nothing left but to head on down and rebuild the good engine. Got four days worth of work but just three days to do it in before I fly back home and see my wife for Mothers Day and her birthday is only a couple of days later. I really couldn’t get out of that,” laughed White.
He made it to his friend’s house in the Barossa Valley in just two days then headed off to Jim Hanlon and his Super Bike Performance workshop to fix up the good engine.
“The spare engine had been dismantled at the track and is already at the machine shop getting the cylinder head fixed while sleeves are on the way from the States. Hopefully after this session I might have two good motors.”
“Then it’s back to Sydney to pick up the bike and the trailer before heading up to the Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway. So talk about squeezing it in. But that’s what we do when you are chasing gold ANDRA Christmas Tree trophies.”
Image courtesy: Fred Dwyer