IF THIS car looks familiar that is because this is the ex-Lorenzo Gullotto VL from Perth which ran 7.65@180mph in Haltech Radial Blown class at Drag Challenge 2018, was the first car at DC to crack into the four-second bracket on the eighth-mile, and finished third outright that year. Daniel picked up the charcoal VL as a roller recently, taking back to his home town of Albury-Wodonga for a new motor and ECU package.

Daniel had Matt Sims Performance (MSP) build up a big-inch 428ci combo using a Dart LS Next 2.0 block, with twin low-mount 76mm turbos. On top of this Daniel has changed the car’s brain-box with a new Haltech Elite 2500T ECU package given the nod, which MSP also tunes for him.

The rest of the 3430lb four-door is largely unchanged for Drag Challenge 2019. Given how fresh the car and combo is, Daniel set realistic goals for his tilt at Haltech Radial Blown class. “We’re still learning the car as we’ve never had something with this kind of potential, so my overriding goal going into this week is to get back here at Calder on Day Five. I drove the car from town home but we really haven’t had much time in it yet.”

After making a few exploratory passes on Day One, Daniel finished the day with a solid 8.26@174mph, before a relaxed cruise up to Mildura. Over the eighth-mile, the Albury-Wodonga lads started getting a handle on the combo, running a 5.97@95mph on Tuesday, followed by a 5.27@128mph on Wednesday and a 5.70@123mph at Portland.

By Friday they were ready to start leaning on the VL, running a handful of seven-second passes. By the end of the night Daniel handed in a 7.87@177mph timeslip to finish his first Drag Challenge sixth in Haltech Radial Blown and eighth overall.

TROPHY
SEVEN-SECOND CLUB

1987 HOLDEN VL COMMODORE
Class: Haltech Radial Blown

SPECS
Engine: Dart LS Next 2.0
Turbos: Twin Precision 76mm
Transmission: Powerglide
Converter: TCE 10.5in
Diff: 9in, 3.25:1 gears
Power: N/A
Previous PB: 7.65@180mph
Best DC 2019 Pass: 7.87@177mph