Second was good but not good enough

The Australian Nationals saw the LTFR team take its FUCHS dragster to the final for the second consecutive ANDRA championship round and although the team made some valuable gains in the performance of the car, the runner-up result was not what the team were looking for.

Team driver Phil Lamattina smiled, "I wasn't looking to come second, that's for sure."

"We went to Sydney to win and of course I'm a little but disappointed with the result. Hats off to Darren Morgan and his team, they have done a good job and deserve the win."

Lamattina did hint at improved performances in his own car.

"We did make some great gains - the car recorded at .84 60-foot time, which was very strong. Very strong," Lamattina said with a knowing grin.

"Of course we are looking to win events, that's what we are here for but we are also aiming at making this the quickest and fastest car in the country."

The LTFR team was consistently the fastest car across the qualifying rounds last season and Lamattina knows it's about turning qualifying speed into race results.

"We have a great crew, some very smart people in our corner and some wonderful corporate partners, we want the title this year for all of those people involved with the team, but more than that, we want to do it by taking our performances to the next level.

Lamattina concluded, "In Adelaide, I made a mistake. In Sydney, we didn't get the car quite right but we did learn a lot.

"But I would encourage any top fuel fans in WA to get to the next round at the Perth Motorplex – we will be trying to rotate the Earth!"

The next event is at the Peth Motorplex, 30 November - 1 December 2012, featuring Top Fuel Round 3 and Top Bike Round 2.