ANDRA Grand Finals – Daniel Natalotto Wins Competition Bike
At the recent ANDRA Grand Finals, part of the 52nd Westernationals at the Perth Motorplex, there was no shortage of ANDRA Christmas Tree trophies hoisted by grinning recipients following the conclusion of the 2022/2023 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.
While the title winners have understandably been the subject of much of the post-event fanfare, they weren’t the only ones impressing at the Perth Motorplex on March 4 and 5 however, with event wins just as hotly contested as the championship battles.
While Joe Khoury won the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series Competition Bike Australian Championship, the event win went to Daniel Natalotto, who faced off against Troy Thompson in the final following the three-round format for an eight-strong field of Comp Bikes.
To secure their spots in the final, Natalotto – also the Decoglaze Glass Splashbacks Top Qualifier in Modified Bike for the event – won earlier races over Wayne Gummow and Matt Haunold with a bye in the first round, while Thompson defeated Ross Green and Rob Wasley before a bye in the third round.
“Going into it I was looking at the points as I was leading the WA Championship and I wanted to keep that lead going, and anything that came on top of that was a bonus,” Natalotto said.
“To top qualify was a dream because I haven’t done that since the 2015 Westernationals, and then to go on to win my first ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree. I have got many track records, a national record, and event wins and other bits and pieces, but I had never had a Gold tree so to get that was a one of a kind experience, it was the one I had been waiting for.
“The event actually started off really badly for us, we were investigating changing to race fuel but I ended up using some stale fuel and went backwards during testing. So last minute we put it back on pump fuel – I actually rode to the track on Saturday, top qualified, rode home, and then rode back Sunday, won the event, and rode home again, all on pump fuel. So, it is a true street bike in all aspects.
“It is as fast as you can get without going on a nitro bike, and these are the biggest and baddest guys in the country (in Competition Bike) and I have literally ridden in on my daily bike and top qualified and won, so I was a little impressed with myself, and so was my partner Tash,” he grinned.
“This whole thing really is because of my partner, Natasha. She is a modified bike racer and has put her own riding on hold this season to focus on me trying to win the WA Championship, so thank you to her and also to Brock’s Performance and Bren Tuning.
“We actually run the Street Bike Drag School over here at the Motorplex, and we are running our own championship with our last event of the season coming up – so we are looking forward to doing the same thing ANDRA does for us for someone else and handing out some cool trophies.”
ANDRA thanks the Perth Motorplex and all of its volunteers and sponsors for an outstanding racetrack and a well-run event.
For full results from the ANDRA Grand Finals, please click here.
The Australian National Drag Racing Association Ltd, or ANDRA for short, is the drag racing sanctioning body of Australia. The organization was created in 1973 from a more drag racing oriented faction of the Australian Hot Rod Federation. Today ANDRA sanctions races throughout Australia and throughout the year at all levels, from Top Fuel to Junior Dragster, on everything from temporary regional tracks to international standard facilities in capital cities. ANDRA and its members make drag racing a family-friendly, safe sport. So come along as a spectator or bring your street car to an “off-street” event and enjoy the excitement that is Australian drag racing. www.andra.com.au
