Victorian Top Doorslammer racer Rob ‘the Mad Professor’ Taylor will travel from one end of the country to the other next week to participate in back-to-back ANDRA events in Darwin and Alice Springs.
The bio chemist – who runs the Melbourne Sports Science and Anti-Aging Clinic – will take part in next weekend’s Nitro Up North event (Hidden Valley Raceway, July 8 and 9) before racing in the Desert Nationals (Alice Springs Dragway, July 16 and 17) the very next weekend.
“Our trucks are in Queensland at the moment, so we will fly our driver up to Queensland on the 1st of July and he will drive up to arrive in Darwin by the following Wednesday, which is when we will fly in,” said Taylor. We will set-up and then take a few days to regroup and put some ideas together. We are going there to run at the pointy end of the field, not to muck around, so we will be putting in some serious preparation upon arrival. We know the track will be there – the Darwin track is just phenomenal, it is one of the best in the country, and we are pretty much running consistent ‘fives’ these days so we know what we are doing now, at least we think so! As long as the weather permits as far as the humidity goes and so forth, we want to and expect to run some really good numbers in Darwin, and start off our Championship chase. Alice Springs is going to be an unknown quantity for us as although I was fortunate enough to race there last year in the Red Centre Nationals in my street car, it has been upgraded since then,” said Taylor.
Aside from the logistical challenge of moving cars and crew and equipment from one end of the country to the other for the upcoming racing, there is another large ‘shift’ for the team in heading up North.
“I am definitely looking forward to the warmer weather up there in Darwin!” laughed Taylor.
“It is very cold here in Victoria at the moment, and Scotty (MacLean - Hidden Valley Drag Racing Association President and Top Alcohol Funny Car driver) keeps sending me photos of what the weather is like up there which is making me very keen to get up there!
The Nitro Up North event will be held at Hidden Valley Raceway across Friday 8 and Saturday 9 July, 2016. It will feature racing for Top Doorslammer, Top Fuel Motorcycle and Top Fuel (exhibition only), as well as Junior Dragster, Modified, Modified Bike, Street Bike, Street Car, Super Comp, Super Sedan, Super Street, Supercharged Outlaws and Top Sportsman. On-track action will be held from approximately 3.00pm to 10.00pm each day.
The Desert Nationals will be held at Alice Springs Dragway across Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 July, 2016. It will feature racing for Top Doorslammer, Super Stock, Supercharged Outlaws, Super Street, Super Compact, Super Sedan, Super Gas, Comp Bike, Modified, Junior Dragster, Competition, Top Sportsman and Mod Bike. On-track action will be held from approximately 11.00am to 5.00pm each day.
