Class: Pro Street
Qualified 13th out the world’s fastest 33 PST bikes.
Ran my personal best time ever 7:03 @ 340kmh
The event started well but ended in tears, during pre-testing and qualifying I ran my personal best ET of 7.03 and in another run a top speed of 340kmh, moving me into the top 25 worlds fastest PST rankings and into P13 for the event ladder. A 6 second pass was only matter of time. The team from RMR Ronnie Mitchel Racing prepare the Anassis Racing Suzuki Turbo Hyabusa however the old 2011 Busa really needed some upgrades but only riding it once a year I could not justify the $20k spend so we had to do with what we had. Ronnie did a great job to ease the power in over the race weekend. Qualifying was held over two days, you get three runs. I rand 7.04, then 7.03 and in the last run had a huge wheelie so had to shut it off. the last run was well in the 6’s till half way so it was really frustrating to shut it off. Any I was very happy with P13.
Race day, 20 min before my run ‘Korry Hogen’ crashed in the left lane on the Top Fuel Bike, the bike threw a rod out so the track to be totally cleaned and re-done. First round I had the same lane and how ironic that I would crash as well. I hit the wall at 250kmh, the bike came out the blocks leaning over to the right this caused the bike to steer left in the change from 3rd to 4th gear it went violently left into the barrier wall. It catapulted my off, during the crash I was thinking this could not possibly be happening, everything was happening in slow motion, only after I slowed down sliding along the tar I realised I was crashing then when I tried to stand up while still travelling at quite a speed I roll over again and again. Eventually it all stopped, I stood up and the bike was still skidding down the road. I could not believe I crashed, it happened so fast there was nothing I do to save it.
I was rushed to the track side emergency ward with a hole in my right hand. Later was dismissed with instructions to go to the local hospital. The bike was brought back to the pits and it really did not look to bad, the front BST wheel had shattered into a million pieces, the left had fairings were damaged, not other structural damage at all. What a sad way to end the event, but glad to have walked away from a 250kmh crash with no major injuries. From hospital I then drove 300km to Atalanta arrived at Midnight to catch a flight home the next morning. What all we do to go fast.
