Marsh wants track record

SPEEDSTER: Tony Marsh pops the parachutes on his dragster at a meet. PHOTO/FILE

CRACK Auckland drag racer Tony Marsh will have only one thing on his mind when the Masterton Motorplex Drag Racing Club stage a two-day meet this weekend.

Speaking to the Wairarapa Times-Age yesterday, Marsh said the whole focus on him coming south was to break the track record and everything points to him doing exactly that.

For that to happen, Marsh will need to have his Nitro methane-powered dragster reaching speeds in excess of 235mp/h over the quarter-mile distance, fast by most standards but not by his.

Marsh clocked 271mp/h at an event in Meremere within the past 12 months, an effort which saw him register a time of 5.4secs, and while he concedes a repeat performance might be too much to expect at his debut appearance on the Masterton drag strip he is confident of cracking the 250mp/h barrier, and possibly even getting as high as 260mp/h.

"Obviously it all depends on everything hanging together but we know the track record is achievable, and that's what we are aiming for," Marsh said, adding that this objective had been a major factor in his team working many hours last weekend on his dragster to have it in peak shape for the Masterton meet.

"We actually had to have parts flown out from the United States to correct some problems and, as soon as they arrived, we were into it ... it was the desire to break the track record which kept us going."

Marsh said his dragster was not the easiest to drive in that it had only one gear and was therefore a "bit tricky" to get off the starting blocks.

"The start is crucial, if you get that right it just explodes ... the feeling is unreal," he said.

MMDRC president Bob Wilton said the presence of Marsh was the "icing on the cake" for an event which would involve for the first time a round of the IHRA (International Hot Rod Association) championship as well as being a NZDRA (New Zealand Drag Racing Association) full competition meet.

He said as many as 160 entries were expected and they would be coming from all over New Zealand, from Invercargill in the south to Auckland in the north.

Participants are likely to be divided into as many as 10 categories with most of Saturday's action being taken up with preliminary rounds and the semifinals and finals on Sunday.

"This meet is a big deal, probably the most exciting we have ever had," Wilton said. "The speed will be phenomenal, spectators will have a ball."

While it will be Marsh who will grab the individual spotlight, the presence of Gary Bogart from Meremere is another bonus. His Falcon is rated the second-fastest street car in the country.

Rob Boyce from Morrinsville will be hugely competitive in his Chev and Clinton and Bill Minchington from Christchurch should be prominent in their Chev as well.