Day one of racing for Street Machine Drag Challenge 2025 got off to a red-hot start in South Australia at Dragway at The Bend, with a stack of seven-second passes from the top runners.
The first to really lay down the pace was Brandon Zito in his twin turbo, small-block LC Torana with a fresh PB of 7.54@172mph. One the second round of class runs it was Keith Hards in FAIRXW to lead the pack, with a blistering 7.23@198mph to lead overall and in Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse Radial Blown.
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That run did come at a cost, the engine in the XW dropping a valve and playing ping pong in one of the cylinders. Keith, Frank Marchese and the crew stayed back at The Bend to attempt a fix while the rest of the field hit the road. Check out the the 39th minute of the video for more details on what went wrong and the plan to fix it.
More troubles in the top ranks came for DC veteran Luke Foley, who was looking to back up his PB of 7.58@176mph from testing the day prior. His first launch on race day was immediately aborted, first gear in his Turbo 400 giving up the ghost. He came back around and squeezed a 7.72@184mph out of the VH leaving the line in second gear.
2023 champion Mark Drew occupies second spot overall and in Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse Radial Blown with a 7.43@197mph in the Crusty Torana, with West Australian Nathan Jehu in his own LX sedan also in the front runners with a 7.70@185mph.
Jason Kenny’s LS1PWR VN Commodore yielded a 7.71@178mph, so it’s all chips on the table from day one!
Alon Vella’s Mk1 Capri also broke into the sevens, laying down a 7.97@176mph early in the day to take top spot in the PowerPlus Fuels Outlaw Blown ranks. Alon’s daugher Hayley is also doing well in the green Capri, nailing top spot in Kemppi Radial Aspirated ahead of Paul Wood’s epic Torana. Paul had a run in with Skippy on the way to Portland, but is still in the hunt!
Despite being just day one, there’s already been a number of withdrawals. One of the biggest was Tuff Mount’s Jason Waye and his FOXSAKE Mustang, which sheared the flexplate bolts off in the crank. Our own Mark Arblaster also didn’t make it past day one, the transmission in his POR440 Valiant giving up the ghost.
Alexis Margaritis’s stunning Torana is also out with engine issues. Troy David elected not to proceed in his FJ ute and Chris Kaarsberg is also done in his LX Torana.
You can see the full results from day one below, and we’re racing at Portland’s South Coast Raceway in southern Victoria from 9am to 3pm today for day two, so come down and check it out if you can!
VCM PERFORMANCE / HP TUNERS DYO Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 197 Tony Naumoski VY Clubsport 9.579 147.54 52 Sam Fichera AU Fairmont Ghia 10.073 131.55 253 Daniel Ising VZ Senator 10.104 140.3 115 Bill Martland VR SS Commodore 10.141 136.43 81 Darren Vartuli VZ One Tonner 10.172 115.69 196 Lazo Rostankov LX Torana 10.213 135.22 186 Lachie Jones HJ Kingswood Sedan 10.298 118.5 43 Leigh Burke HQ Holden 10.452 131.61 88 Ben Brown VE Commodore 10.482 130.6 226 Adam Zollenkopf Volvo 240 GLE 10.524 131.13 18 Matt Carey VZ Thunder 10.527 130.79 269 Jake Baker HJ One Tonner 10.733 124.55 212 Dave Downie Vitara 10.746 127.21 27 Matt Smoors HG Kingswood 10.794 126.38 257 Kevin English Chev C10 10.823 132.98 225 Jason Spiteri VL Commodore 10.97 122.17 131 Tim Ackland ZC Fairlane 10.997 121.25 20 Joel Lucas XF Falcon 11.019 123.31 156 Warren Eustace HG Holden 11.046 123.42 224 Andrew Fry VG Valiant 11.077 122.76 271 Heath Carroll HR Holden 11.094 103.6 32 Steve Paech HJ Monaro 11.099 126.03 284 Sam Torney FG GTP 11.177 125.94 259 Simon Vella XE Falcon 11.188 134.87 238 Jordan Musarra HQ Tonner 11.209 118.28 58 Troy Ryan Chevelle 11.246 126.33 53 Simon Cooper HZ Kingswood 11.25 127.42 136 Phill Paton FG Falcon Ute 11.342 131.23 162 Chevy Barnes Librio XB Ute 11.349 118.7 112 Nick Hansen FG Falcon 11.483 123.5 44 Marcus Hamilton HJ Monaro 11.539 118.78 153 Daniel Grima 55 Belair 11.616 117.48 263 Damien Winnen Impala 11.633 123.37 207 Peter Morris HJ Kingswood 11.713 121.86 235 Darcy Russell VL Commodor 11.763 116.16 180 Dwayne Heagney WK Statesman 11.766 120.06 62 Ji Ackland AU Falcon 11.796 117.53 47 Matthew Robinson VC Commodore 11.946 113.81 298 Duane Daye 1961 Ford Econoline 12.071 119.59 216 Kane Spiers VS Commodore 12.078 115.04 64 Rob Kranjc HJ Statesman 12.088 110.46 306 John Cleary VF Commodore 12.245 118.2 278 Marcus Skilbeck VT Calais 12.421 103.57 190 Tony Van Ginnekan 1966 Mustang 12.506 110.17 286 Craig Ritchie VX Calais 12.508 111.7 29 Adam Lincoln AC Cobra 12.515 84.53 221 Shane Emanuelli TG Gemini Sedan 12.601 108.11 280 Naomi Ward VX Calais 12.641 108.72 211 Adrian Christie D-Max 12.776 109.06 299 Simon Moir 1955 F100 12.827 108.37 283 Scott Mckenzie VS Statesman 13.341 101.37 279 Marvick Attard XW Wagon 13.807 102.06 181 Scott Levy Chev C10 13.901 101.45 210 Ashley Mcbain G60 Patrol 13.914 93.47 191 Dylan Griffiths Falcon XR6 Turbo 14.27 20.675 36 Brenton Edwards C32 AMG 20 64.999 104 Cooper Junior VX SS DNF 281 Sean Livingstone HQ Holden DNF
ENTHUSIAST MOTOR INSURANCE OUTLAW ASPIRATED Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 289 Mark Clifford Mustang 9.014 151.26 93 Michael Ryder VN SS 9.503 142.82 25 Dale Palmer HB Torana 9.88 134.41 145 David Lornic VH Commodore 10.066 132.07 87 Andrew Natoli VK Commodore 10.121 134.82 209 Elias Milonas HQ Sedan 10.186 132.39 119 Jamie Turner VK Commodore 10.206 132.57 109 Donnie Zurcas EK Holden 10.249 130.71 249 Luke Hooper HG Premier 10.274 129.25 117 Nathan Rainbird HQ Sedan 10.481 129.15 173 Steve Reimann Corvette Stingray 10.525 128.47 160 Thomas Baker VH Commodore 10.554 127.31 230 Heath Blackett XA Falcon 10.578 127.74 151 Matthew White XW Falcon 10.638 130.25 208 Shay Kohn XD Falcon 10.757 119.82 169 John Kerr Comet Caliente 10.866 125 11 Stephen Willies Ranchero 10.977 122.36 144 Greg Mason El Camino 11.193 119.75
POWER PLUS RACING FUELS OUTLAW BLOWN Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 65 Alon Vella Capri 7.975 176.19 130 Stephen Micallef Maloo Ute 8.121 130.1 89 Chris Veleski Nissan Patrol 8.386 151.99 15 Vince Stigliano Mustang 8.967 152.87 194 Chris Loumanis 1964 Falcon Sprint 9 165.39 126 Matt Murphy HQ Sedan 9.207 143.59 54 Tim Browne Mustang 9.803 137.34 113 Scott Treloar VY Monaro 10.337 142.83 134 Jamie Heritage TA22 Celica 10.549 146.08 292 Damon Horsfall VU Ute 10.672 150.54 28 Anthony Burns XE Ute 15.63 59.3 120 Alexis Margaritis LC Torana DNF
HARE AND FORBES MACHINERYHOUSE RADIAL BLOWN Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 193 Keith Hards XW Falcon 7.233 198.76 288 Mark Drew LH Torana 7.43 197.67 60 Brandon Zito LC Torana 7.547 172.03 143 Nathan Jehu LX Torana 7.703 185.87 139 Jason Kenny VN Commodore 7.712 178.34 198 Luke Foley VH Commodore 7.724 184.96 101 Clinton Kelly HT Holden 8.089 171.36 218 Luke Edwards VL Commodore 8.174 172.27 40 Jamie Watson HQ Sedan 8.404 165.08 287 Jude Drew VS Commodore 8.422 167.09 199 Jayden Grimshaw HQ Ute 8.741 159.38 80 Brett Mathew HT Holden 8.832 170.93 132 Michael Rohal Ford Pickup 9.172 150.97 90 Kelvin Mann Commodore VS Ute 9.553 140.69 35 Alex Varga VS Calais 10.004 171.02 264 Paul Roberts VS Commodore 10.126 136.12 233 Rocky Caminiti Strada 10.6 169.4 79 Andrew Ricketts HZ 10.74 137.43 70 Jason Davidson Camaro 10.932 124.66 187 Ian Carpenter HJ Ute 10.987 130.16 215 Jake Grimwood VL Commodore 11.896 131.1 59 Zack Loft VK Commodore 11.954 135.22 245 David Hill HQ Ute 12.157 107.82 189 Troy David FJ Holden Ute DNF 108 Chris Kaarsberg Torana DNF
KEMPPI AUSTRALIA RADIAL ASPIRATED Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 201 Hayley Vella Ford Capri 9.039 146.74 176 Paul Wood LJ Torana 9.049 162.58 125 Tony Di Biagio XY Fairmont 9.114 146.69 84 Peter Haravitsidis XY Falcon GT 9.431 141.7 22 Jesse Davidson HG ute 9.756 133.52 37 Bryce Godfrey HJ GTS 10.832 123.08 63 George Haddad XR Falcon 10.976 124.48 10 Steve Nightingale XA Falcon 10.893 123.4 177 Larissa Franke XR8 MK2 12.051 117.46 50 Peter Zdravkovski VN Commodore 12.129 113.09 17 Melanie Lucas ZB Fairlane DNF
TUFF MOUNTS 235 BLOWN Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 24 Daniel Smith Toyota Celica 7.947 182.19 57 Tom Wright HG Premier 8.718 161.09 21 Jake Crumblin HZ Kingswood Ute 9.066 153.26 103 Mitchell Bloor VN Commodore 9.15 150.18 205 Joel Beatson XP Falcon 9.196 148.58 114 Shane Toft LC Torana 9.389 147 246 Tim Fettell 240 Volvo Wagon 9.404 145.57 12 Steven Serone EJ Holden 9.545 144.73 82 Dean Doolan EL Falcon 9.859 110.97 122 Dustin Doolan ED Falcon 10.404 125.62 231 Kyle Bray HK Kingswood 10.663 130.74 149 Jake Betteridge HT Kingswood 10.688 100.87 185 Riccardo Pontonio 230 TE 10.843 131.08 86 Trevor Hunter HJ Holden 10.91 125.78 42 Kyle Jarvis HJ Ute 10.985 111.2 46 Matthew Cavill VX Berlina 11.11 124.06 106 Daryl Amey HG Belmont 11.86 115.97 240 Max Vidau VS Commodore 14.014 77.13 195 Daniel Hough EL XR8 15.452 95.81 73 Mic House HD Holden DNF 68 Glenn Richards Mazda 323 DNF
ITF HIRE 235 ASPIRATED Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 301 Louis Younis LX Torana 8.967 148.72 110 Jason Mansweto XY Falcon 9.181 145.24 98 Aaron James Chrysler Centura 9.309 145.92 164 Aidan O’Shannessy ZJ Fairlane 10.513 128.85 26 Andrew Simmons HT Ute 10.521 129.62 184 Scott Mckenzie FE Holden 10.723 126.08 188 Peter Raditsas HG Kingswood 10.827 124.85 285 Aiden Stampalia HQ Belmont 11.146 122.02 49 Peter Kelly HQ Kingswood 11.16 121.93 294 Scott Jarratt HG Premier 11.255 122.27 247 Brett Simmonds HG Kingswood 11.606 118.54 142 Stephen Ibbeson VK Commodore 11.707 115.39 273 Ash Neumann HJ Holden 12.009 110.98 290 Daniel Rankin Chev Nova 12.064 115.99 220 Peter Pollock Valiant Charger 12.601 117.85 61 Aiden Leist HJ Kingwood DNF 55 Tim Kohn HK Holden DNF
SPEED PRO SIX CYLINDER Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 97 William Yarwood Supra 8.345 172.15 272 Anthony Spadavecchia XW Ute 8.591 152.06 71 Mark Reynolds Supra 8.859 141.3 174 Mark Mills LH Torana 8.92 153.87 96 Warick Meldrum VF Valiant 8.948 145.99 39 George Hatzi XF Fairmont Ghia 8.975 153.09 135 Adrian Calleja Falcon XR6 Turbo 9.052 143.73 105 Aaron Hamilton XD Falcon 9.237 149.83 138 Joe Camilleri BA XR6 9.275 159.43 165 Adam Greer BF Falcon 9.383 136.33 127 Anthony Fortunato LC Torana 9.559 142.26 170 Tara Johnston Supra 9.731 141.16 69 Heath Black G6E 9.755 142.11 75 Reuben Davison XF Fairmont 9.89 146.58 155 Tim Fletcher VL Commodore 9.947 153.36 48 Michael Brown XD Falcon Ute 10.131 138.95 45 Mark Heyward BMW 335i 10.207 133.86 124 Luke Hamilton LC Torana 10.231 115.95 175 Nathan Camilleri XE Falcon 10.503 122.67 154 Ryan Harris XF Falcon S-Pack 10.555 130.36 91 Kris Starkey XF Falcon 10.561 135.03 255 Jarrod Rose FGX G6E Turbo 11.271 129.84 167 Casey Thomas XY Wagon 11.335 118.36 266 Matthew Smart EF Falcon 11.491 121.9 234 Corey Connor EL Falcon 11.567 125.49 282 Mitchell Correa FG G6E Turbo 11.938 118.9 236 David Waddington XE ESP 12.002 126.98 13 Shane Neumann Falcon Ute 12.065 124.7 83 Jarred davis EA Falcon 12.264 100.89 56 Tim Hudson R33 Skyline 12.65 133.73 214 Joshua Callaghan XB Falcon 12.786 121.39 227 Ben Hamilton XD Falcon 14.524 103.07 217 Ben Sharp VL Commodore 14.895 92.99 302 Jason Waye Ford Mustang DNF
PSR 8.5 RADIAL Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 141 Brad Schreiber VB Commodore 8.534 161.48 100 Chris Imlach Chev Nova 8.771 160.17 183 Rod Lyall VK Commodore 8.846 157.63 19 Kris Velkovski VS Commodore 9.025 150.73 67 Dan Oxton Hilux 9.226 146.52 179 Mitch Rogers XT Falcon 9.252 155.39 14 Tim Rhone XP Falcon Hardtop 9.293 146.11 77 Scott Whitley VT Calais 9.63 155.55 94 Shae Bastian HZ Holden 9.896 155.16 213 Dylan Kane HQ GTS 20 20 300 Mark Arblaster VG Hardtop DNF
PSR 9.5 RADIAL Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 41 Jim Spiers VE Commodore Ute 9.515 142.56 51 Phil Dynon F6 9.563 140.95 111 Kevin Cox HK Premier 9.565 138.44 23 Dave Carnell HQ One Tonner 9.567 144.34 148 Alex Bird HZ Ute 9.573 139.51 268 Scott Bradshaw VT Commodore 9.601 134.36 66 Chris Stafford HJ Kingswood 9.697 140.43 166 Greg Richards ZC Fairlane 9.698 138.51 38 Dan Harms Chevelle 9.72 139.57 204 Ollie Kent XE Falcon 9.794 137.64 72 Matthew Cowley VE Commodore 9.806 147.03 206 Harrison Dale Toyota Hilux 9.838 139.38 158 Steve Hutchins HX Kingswood Deluxe 9.868 138.58 219 Nicholas Tzavaras EL Fairmont 9.95 142.93 260 Travis Nitschke VS Commodore 10.092 130.17 118 Rob Bertram LX Torana 10.138 149.96 16 Ross Harris Supra mk3 10.142 136.69 146 Ross Court VN Berlina 10.331 140.63 178 Luke Spalding VS Acclaim 10.454 141.07 222 Vahe Kassardjian VH Commodore 10.51 135.53 200 Nichole Willett HG Kingswood 10.558 128.82 228 John Urquieta VH Charger 10.802 123.25 232 Paul Rush EB Fairmont 10.913 125.68 92 Michael Noack HJ Sedan 11.045 121.08 172 Michael Fotopoulos VE Commodore Ute DNF
UNRIVALED ENGINEERING STICK SHIFT Tailem Bend ENTRANT # NAME VEHICLE ET MPH 182 Zane Heath STI R Spec 10.16 144.74 99 Bruce Howie 63 XL Falcon Ute 10.424 130.56 297 James Miller Mk4 Supra 10.616 130.91 78 Chris Kane GTS 10.711 135.15 123 Grant Grech VK Commodore 10.807 129.75 203 Justin Hallock R32 GTS4 10.933 130.42 251 Jake Manhire VL Commodore 11.641 119.81 241 Nicholas Everson 1996 BMW M5 11.702 135.44 275 Heath Van Der Waerden LX Torana 11.93 120.29 267 Troy James VN Commodore 12.023 117.83 239 Ken Besgrove Vovlo 240 GL 12.123 116.93 243 Travis Bond VY Commodore 12.249 123.42 171 Jason Vyner XFN ute 12.272 115.57 250 Ben Jaeschke XB Falcon 12.824 110.07 256 Jarrad Klingberg VN Commodore 13.134 117.91 261 Jeremy Bennett Falcon XG XR6 ute 13.336 109.05 258 Anthony Mohring KB Centura 13.41 112.89 248 Ryan Mcpherson VL Commodore 13.41 111.31 102 Michael Ludviksen HZ Sandman 14.057 97
TOP 10 OVERALL – DAY ONE TAILEM BEND NAME VEHICLE ET MPH CLASS 1 Keith Hards XW Falcon 7.233 198.76 Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse Radial Blown 2 Mark Drew LH Torana 7.43 197.67 Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse Radial Blown 3 Brandon Zito LC Torana 7.547 172.03 Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse Radial Blown 4 Nathan Jehu LX Torana 7.703 185.87 Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse Radial Blown 5 Jason Kenny VN Commodore 7.712 178.34 Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse Radial Blown 6 Luke Foley VH Commodore 7.724 184.96 Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse Radial Blown 7 Daniel Smith Toyota Celica 7.947 182.19 Tuff Mounts 235 Blown 8 Alon Vella Capri 7.975 176.19 Power Plus Fuels Outlaw Blown 9 Clinton Kelly HT Holden 8.089 171.36 Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse Radial Blown 10 Stephen Micallef Maloo Ute 8.121 130.1 Power Plus Fuels Outlaw Blown
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