Mariani Family Motorsport getting ready to rumble

The Mariani Family Motorsport Top Fuel Dragster (Photo courtesy Mick Holgate)

Well it's been a crazy few months for Mariani Family Motorsport. We picked up the race car from Darren Morgan Racing (DMR) in April. Since DMR didn't have the spare parts they needed, we agreed to let them use some of the parts off our car for the next few months until their shipment arrived and both ours and their teams were able to be self sufficient.

May 2013 - The car has colour! I decided to colour it in the old school style of my dads car and to put it lightly, he was awesomely surprised. A huge thank you to my friends at "Pro Signs Wetherill Park" for making this Beast look the part. I think it represents a new age feel with an old Skool touch.

Back in the day dad wanted a black car with gold lettering. But when it was finished he thought it just wasn't right. Australian Funny Car legend Bob Dun came up with the livery that dad had then and this is exactly what the Pro Signs Boys have tried to replicate today.

June 2013 - Once we got the car back to our temporary stable (my workshop in Wetherill Park) we got to work on building "The Team". We have a great group of guys who are committed to building something special and they are doing a great job.

We have gutted and finished the side doors on the trailer (Stage 1).

July 2013 - We have built the steps for the trailer and the blower and head bench(Still go a bit of work to do on them).  But wait till you see the benches, we are trying something different. I'm not going ti show any picks now, but soon!. Pretty cool if I must say. (Stage 2)

August 2013 - Next was the right time to start on the rest of the benches. Our workshop was also coming along well in the background. Our new LED flood lights had arrived from China and Maracon Construction (my brothers company) has been going great guns to finalise the new shed/workshop.

August 2013 - Well it is finally finished. The workshop that is! The only thing to do now is seal the concrete driveway and then we move in. We're getting there bit by bit.

Over the last few weeks the boys have been getting stuck into building the benches for the workshop and a really cool, huge roller bench for the shop that we can use for a multitude of functions. A huge thank you to "Ezi Metal Wetherill Park" for their help in supplying the product here. Its great that a lot of companies are willing to help with our new program.

We finished off the roller bench last week and this week we also finished the benches in the shop. They look great! Bench tops are on (thanks to Ply Master Smithfield) and we are now ready to get stuck back into the trailer.

July-August 2013 - Mum and dad decided to go to the USA for a couple of weeks during the NHRA Western Swing and caught the first two races. They met up with some good contacts and we are hoping to seal a deal in the next week or so to purchase a lot of the specialist tools and equipment that's required to run a Top Fuel team.

Setting up is one of the hardest parts of Top Fuel Drag Racing. There's an awesome amount of stuff we need to manufacture to do the job properly. Hopefully we have a bit of luck and our contacts are in the right place at the right time. More about the outcome of this in our next update.

August 2013 – I've finally decided to bite the bullet and look into a professional company to look after our sponsorship proposal needs. I have tried to do this myself in the past but I decided it was time to seek some professional assistance.

The new mascot for Mark 'The Shark' Mariani (Photo courtesy Mick Holgate)After numerous discussions with various companies we have come to a deal with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. of "Jigsaw Communications". Her professionalism and directness is something that I admire. If you are going to do something, do it right and when it comes to business I believe in surrounding ourselves with people that portray the same business sense that you do.

Jigsaw Communications have come to the party with exactly this. I'm proud to say that in less than a months time we will have Professional Sponsorship Proposals available for corporate partners, showcasing how Mariani Family Motorsport can help build there business through the unique marketing opportunities only Top Fuel Drag Racing can deliver.

"Adrenaline Video" has also come onboard to assist Mariani Family Motorsport with creating a really cool video that portrays the look and feel of the new team and help us show people exactly what the sport of Top Fuel Drag Racing and the team is all about.

We have also partnred with a supplier for all our standard tools. It's a company breaking into the NSW market in a big way and the deal is almost finalised. Delivery of the new tools should be in the next couple of weeks. More on that in the next update.

So that's what we have achieved in the past four months. A lot of you may think, wow that's heaps, but quietly we are severely under the hammer and if we want to make it to the Nationals at Sydney Dragway this November then we still have a lot of work to do and only a small amount of time to do it.

Dad has finished designing the rear tail gate lifter for the trailer and we are going to ship the supporting beams from the US soon so we can build the floor for the second level. We're just waiting for our contacts to finalise the deal for specialist tools etc. We have started on the electrical components on the trailer and the generator and the compressor have been fired up and are ready to fit to the front of the trailer.

September is going to be a big month for us:

• Finally we move the race car into its home, the new race shop
• We are expecting the final shipment from DMR any day now and will finally able to fire the car up for the first time in its new abode
• We will be looking at making the first shakedown pass at the end of September. We need to step up the pace a little as we are slightly concerned about our time line at the moment
• A couple of private test sessions are in order to be able to have the team ready for the Nationals in November at Sydney Dragway

If we can't be there for the Nationals then it's because we believe in doing it right or not at all. Everyone has a goal to strive towards and that's ours. But if it's not right then it's not right and we will be there for the next one or maybe even sooner.

It's a lot to do in such a short time and we are lucky to have such a passionate crew with us to help out. Everyone is biting at the bit to go racing and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts for the hard work and commitment they have given us.

This is a sport of love and we are not only building a workshop and a trailer and the tools and equipment we need to do the job right, we're also building a "Team", a group of guys that have a passion to achieve the same goals and be that little bit special together. It will happen eventually.

So let's see what pans out :-)

More to come soon...

Mark 'The Shark' Mariani.