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Four time Australian Top Doorslammer Champion John Zappia unveiled his new look HQ Monaro this week at the Fuchs Nationals event in Sydney Australia – Round One of the new Pro Series season – with stunning new graphics. Joint naming rights sponsors Procomp Electronics have contributed to the design of the new graphics. Zappia racing have welcomed all new and existing sponsors to the team.

The new car livery is thanks to modern wrap technology, designed by Drew from YBI Creative. Local Perth race graphics specialist Jamahl from Current Trendz Race Graphics used his new wrap printer and applied the graphics to the Monaro, and PPG paints finish the overall look.

The new Australian drag racing season commences this weekend, with Top Doorslammer tipped to be a highly competitive category this year.

“This season may be the best yet” said John Zappia in Sydney this week, “Zappia Racing has a very mature racing program that consistently sees us at the top end of the field, but other teams are developing their programs, or stepping up with new cars or gear. We will certainly feel the pressure, and fans will get some close exciting racing this year”.

John Zappia has won four consecutive Top Doorslammer Championships, and is the ANDRA National Record Holder for the category. He defends his title again this year, with many racers hot on his heals and anxious for wins.

 “I sense some real motivation in my competitors to beat us – and hopefully we can stay ahead of them. Racing is all about winning despite the obstacles we all face. This category of racing is difficult, and all consuming in the preparation required to run top numbers consistently. We are very confident we can put on a good show for our sponsors and fans this year.

“The weather in Sydney this week and condition of the track may see a few teams dip into the “five sevens” in competition. Our development program is driven to achieve that, and the Crusher has new technology in the car to be able to consistently run those times in the future without affecting reliability.  We look forward to racing this weekend”.

The 2011 Winternationals ended with an anti-climax with rain again disrupting racing during the event, in an unprecedented year of natural disasters and heavy rain in the east coast of Australia. The ANDRA Pro Series Top Doorslammer Series qualifying was completely washed out forcing the original qualifying order to be used, and the heavens opened up again on Willowbank International Raceway just prior to the finals - forcing another cancellation. 

John Zappia in the Procomp Electronics Monaro earned enough points after his round one victory to claim his fourth straight Top Doorslammer Championship, despite losing to Mark Belleri in round two. 

"We are absolutely thrilled to take out the Championship", said Zappia, "It's a great win for Procomp Electronics who have backed us as Naming Rights sponsors this year, and for Craig Pedley from Striker Crushing and Screening who kindly allowed me to drive his "Crusher" HQ Monaro race car for the season". 

"We went into the Winternationals with a 53 points lead over Mark Belleri and were quietly confident of getting enough points to win our 4th Championship but the weather gods were not kind to the east coast as has been the story for the majority of this season. We ran an off the trailer pass of 5.914 at 234.78mph to qualify in second place behind an improving Peter Kapiris who ran a 5.859 at 246.44mph". 

"We then stepped up the tune and after several rain delays ran a wheel standing 5.82 which would have placed us top qualifier, but again the rain came down and as the session was not completed. The run was disallowed and the qualifying order was set as per the first qualifying round". 

"We came to the Winternationals Take 2 pretty confident, but the two scheduled qualifiers set out for the Saturday never eventuated as the rain again threw the meeting into confusion. We had made some adjustments to the balance of the car to try and put the power to the ground a little better, but in round one with no prior qualifiers or testing, I just blew the tyres off and was lucky to escape with a win?. Normally the 6.337 at 245.54 mph would not be enough to win an elimination round but luckily Andrew Sutton had wheel standing problems of his own and only ran a 6.358 at 231.83 mph". 

"We backed the car down for Round 2 against Belleri, but the Crusher shook and got out of the groove forcing me to pedal. Not enough for the win, but the crew and I still had huge smiles on our faces after knowing we had the 4th consecutive Championship and Gold Christmas Tree to take home. This time we ran 6.014 at 245.36 mph to Mark Belleri's 5.915 at 245.27 mph". 

The Winternationals event signals the end to the 2010/2011 racing season for Zappia Racing, who had a mixed season of racing. Two early departures in meetings was uncharacteristic, but a sign of the difficulty of mastering this class of racing. Zappia's 2010/2011 Championship was built on a solid base of two strong wins and a runner up, enabling a narrow win ahead of Mark Belleri, Maurice Fabietti and Robin Judd. 

Season 2011/2012 promises to be even harder as other teams have been showing good form at the end of this season. Teams such as Peter Kapiris, Ben Bray, Russ Pavey and Murray O'Connor as well as the usual consistent performers in Mark Belleri, Maurice Fabietti, Robin Judd and Gary Phillips will make next season a real battle and we will have to be at our best from the opening meeting to continue to be at the top of the Championship standings. 
  
"A big thanks to a very dedicated Zappia Racing Team Crew and supporters. It takes a lot of work and support from a large number of people to run this operation at the top level. I set high goals and our expectations to win are high, but that must be backed up with attention to detail, painstaking research and hard work in the workshop and at the track". 

"The Championship win has been made possible by sponsorship from our Naming Rights Sponsor Procomp Electronics, and our Major Sponsors. Striker Crushing and Screening who have been extremely supportive with a whole range of financial and logistics support. Fuchs Lubricants Australia stepped up their program with us this year, and their quality oils and lubricants along with financial incentives. K-Trans Racing from Perth were new sponsors this year and a very welcome addition and greatly appreciated. Beta Spuds and Southside Engine Centre are long time local WA sponsors who are very loyal to the team and their support is very important to us. Noonan Race Engineering has been providing excellent engine parts and machining, and PPG supply the paint that gives our cars such great finishes". 

"Those Major Sponsors are joined by a whole list of Supporting Sponsors who tirelessly donate time, resources and supplies to help us achieve our goal of being number one in Top Doorslammer. Our vision and drive are very clear to all around this team, and we have ambitions for next season that will keep all of us on our toes". 

"We believe that both the performance of our cars and the future of Top Doorslammer racing can jump up a level in the seasons to come. We are working hard in the background to achieve both of those, so we can continue to deliver an excellence viewing spectacle for our fans and sponsors". 

"Our venture into eighth mile racing was a success, and we will continue to support the series, and visit regional tracks in Australia".

Procomp Electronics
Zappia Wins Again - 2011 Nitro Champs

End Nitro Champs on a high with John Zappia winning the top doorslammer meet with a final run of 5.888 !! Making it back 2 back wins before the last race meeting in Queensland ! ~ More Images and Footage Coming Soon!

Procomp Electronics | Motorsport
Zappia comes away with Doorslammer points lead 

John Zappia left Perth Motorplex a very happy man on Sunday night after winning the 40th annual Westernationals and taking the points lead in the Top Doorslammer national championship with no problem. 

Zappia was on song throughout the event, recording the quickest pass of qualifying, a 5.82sec., and then going on to defeat fellow Western Australian Marty Dack, New South Wales' Mark Belleri (with a low ET 5.807 which is 0.002 of a second of the current record held by Zappia) and then another Sydneysider, Maurice Fabietti, in the final. 


John Zappia showed why he is the three times and current Top Doorslammer Champion at the 40th Westernationals, by digging deep and getting back up to his high standard of performance after an average start to the season, and dominating the meeting.

Driving the Procomp Motorsport “Crusher” HQ Monaro, John Zappia top qualified on the Saturday night, won the event, and gained the Low ET and fastest MPH points to jump three spots and lead the Championship.

“This was one of the best meetings for a while,” said an elated John Zappia during celebrations. “Feels really good to be back in the five eight zone and at the top of the field again. Not that we were working any less during the last six months, it just shows how hard this form of racing is and it’s very easy to get lost with the hundreds of variables to consider.”

In a stunning weekend of Top Doorslammer racing in perfect Perth weather, the large local crowd was thrilled with both qualifying racing on the Saturday night, and with eliminations on Sunday.

Qualifying for the Zappia Racing Team started with a 6.007 @ 240.64mph off the trailer that shook the tyres on the sticky Perth Motorplex track causing Zap to pedal. The run still put him at No 1 spot after session one.

The next run of 5.821 @ 245.90mph thrilled the crowd as the Procomp Motorsport Monaro hooked up the rear Hoosier slicks and carried the front wheels off the ground all the way through first and again in second gear. The run consolidated Zap at the top qualifying position and he was presented with the Pro Auto $1000 bonus prize from Greg Carter.

The third pass again got out of the groove and required a pedal but still managed a 5.952 @ 245.23mph.

The eight drivers in order – Zappia, Fabietti, Abel, DeFelice, Belleri, Judd, Gregorini and Dack forced their way past the remaining eleven in the field, with a 6.061 bump spot setting the lowest bump spot in Top Doorslammer history.

“After measuring the track with our Track Meter we made some adjustments and took on local driver Marty Dack and won with a short shifting 5.857.” The track at the Perth Motorplex has been prepared extremely well at the last two meetings, thanks to all the track staff for their efforts.

Other winners in round one were Belleri 5.989 over DeFelice 6.243, Fabietti 5.924 over Gregorini’s no start and Judd 5.944 over Abel 6.044.

“I said to the crew that this next run would be a season changing run. We had drawn Belleri who was leading the points, and we had to beat him to stand a chance of winning a fourth Championship. We fine tuned the car and I drove a little better for a quick 5.807 @ 246.57mph pass that has turned our season around.”

Fabietti disposed of Judd in the other semi final with a 6.073 @ 243.90mph pass while Judd ended up crossing the centerline after tyre shake.

The Perth Motorplex was buzzing by the time finals time came around. Local hero John Zappia describes his win – “The car launched hard but went right and started to get out of the groove. I over corrected and ended up left and out of the groove which washed off some time. But it was all over for Maurice Fabietti after he had gearbox troubles in the other lane. We still went 5.827 @ 247.93mph which is impressive for the team as it was the Crusher’s fastest top speed ever, overtaking the best speed in my car - Zap’s Rat”.

“After having all the engine parts machined at Southside Engine Centre and protected by Fuchs Lubricants we raced all six runs with little maintenance and only mandatory engine checks.”

“The win was great for all our Sponsors, and newcomers K-Trans Racing and Alltools. It was great to see so many of our Sponsors in Perth for this event including Ken from Procomp who made the trip from Sydney, Craig Pedley from Striker who made the trip from Malaysia and Chris Lane from Striker who traveled from Brisbane.

ONE HD coverage of the ANDRA Pro Series Top Doorslammer Westernationals will be on Friday 18th March at 7pm Western Standard Time (Perth Time). Check your local guides.

Zap and the team head east to Sydney for Round 6 at Western Sydney Dragway on the 18th and 19th March.

Procomp Electronics | Motorsport ~ Solid runs for Zap

In front of his home crowd last meeting, reigning ANDRA Top Doorslammer Champion John Zappia competed in the local Top Comp bracket and performed some solid runs in difficult conditions to prepare for the next round of the Pro Series Top Doorslammer event at the Perth Motorplex Westernationals.

“We tried a few innovations this meeting and were pleased with the results” said Champ Zap, “The weather was a challenge for most teams over the weekend, so it was still an equal playing field. We now have data in the system for those conditions.”

Friday night qualifying saw the Procomp Electronics | Motorsport Monaro lay down a 5.986 pass at 244.56mph straight pass off the trailer. “I got held up on the start line and ended up deep staging and running a 1.10 sixty foot time, but we were pretty happy with that pass as it could have been a low 5.9 or better”

Second qualifier on Saturday saw the timing system give an erroneous time, and then the third qualifier gave Zap a 6.012 @ 241.24mph timesheet. “That was a good run on a very sticky track, considering the heat and humidity. Our data showed us we had never run in that much humidity before”. The 5.986 slotted Zap into seventh place in the qualifying order – 0.415 under the 6.40 index. 

Zap drew Anderson in the BB/G Torana for the Eliminator, and won with a 5.951 @ 243.24mph to Anderson’s slowing 8.961. “We stepped the car up in every area for this pass, and considering the conditions we were very happy with the result”. The win put the Procomp Motorsport Monaro sixth in the win list, not enough for a B Final.

“This is a good lead into the Westernations in March. We are confident this year, after winning last year’s event – the first ever in all my years racing in Perth. We are hungry for the win, and to set ourselves up for our team goal of another Championship”.

“I am also confident given the right weather conditions, of being the first door car to run a 5.7 pass in the country. The Perth Motorplex has got the track very sticky lately, and my developments on the race car in the last few months will all help in maybe pulling off the quickest pass. We already are the quickest in Australia, being the National Record Holder with a 5.805, but we always want to do better”.

“Thanks to our local Western Australian supporters, who came to the last meeting to offer their support. Having so many people involved is a great morale booster for us all, and makes all the hard work we do worthwhile”.

Procomp Electronics | Motorsport 
Zappia Tuning Up for Westernationals 

Zappia Racing are in their home town of Perth, Western Australia for their next drag racing meeting, competing in one of the most popular events on the calendar - ANDRA Pro Series Top Fuel. Hot summer days are forecast, and huge crowds will inundate the Perth Motorplex on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th to watch eight fuelers and over forty blown cars compete in various brackets. 

"We are looking forward to scoring well in Top Comp" said a confident John Zappia, "We will be back to our usual game this weekend and will take it up to the front runners. Our tough group one Top Doorslammer index is harder for us to get a final than other group two racers, but it drives us to search for extra ways to go quicker and in doing so improves our performance for Top Doorslammer events". 

Zappia ran a 5.938 @ 240.64 mph qualifying pass last meeting in the Procomp Motorsport Monaro to slot into fifth spot in Top Comp qualifying, before dipping back into the "five eights" with a solid 5.857 @ 242.58 mph elimination round win. 

"It was great to go quick again last meeting. We were trying some new setups on the car in the last few meetings, and to be frank theories are just that until the car can prove them on the track. As good as we are as National Champions, these Top Doorslammer cars are complex and difficult race cars to get down the track quick and fast, and we are pushing the boundaries to go “five seven”". 

"The Americans are making huge advancements in eighth mile ADRL drag racing in the US and Middle East, but those developments don't always work in quarter mile racing but here in Australia we have our own work to do with our unique setups, tracks and weather conditions". 

"We are still a good chance in Top Comp here in Perth, running fifth behind Clark, Pilkington, Weston, and Gregorini on points. You never know what can happen in drag racing and any racer can win given the right conditions and a certain amount of luck". 

Zappia Racing are building up to the next round of ANDRA Top Doorslammer here in Perth at the Westernationals in March. Running fourth, Zap is keen to come from behind and clinch a fourth successive Championship with his winning ways. 

“Running here in Perth is great for our local Major sponsors”. Racing in Perth also helps promote Procomp Motorsport and Procomp Electronics, our naming rights sponsors, who have given us great support and we hope to help promote their quality products via our website and through their very professional and very well priced online store. 

“All this local support including unmentioned individuals who continually drop in and give to the team, give Zappia Racing a depth of knowledge that make for a winning combination. But most of all it’s the crew that bring professionalism and consistency to the team and not forgetting Diz and Lex who help out with Merchandising, chute packing and keeping the crew well fed and hydrated”.

Procomp Electronics | Motorsport
Zap stays for Night of Fire - Willowbank cancelled 

Reigning Australian Champion John Zappia has decided to run his Procomp Motorsports Top Doorslammer this meeting at the Perth Motorplex, after Willowbank International Raceway cancelled the upcoming ANDRA Pro Series Top Doorslammer round due to bad weather, and flooding in that state. 

"It has put us a day behind on short notice" said Zap, "but we will make it, and welcome the chance to run the car here for our local sponsors and fans. The Crusher will run in Top Comp in full Top Doorslammer trim as usual, and we look forward to putting in some quick times and gaining points in the Championship". 

"Our thoughts go to racers and fans that have been affected by the flooding and the state of emergency in Queensland". 

Runner-up for Zap at Goldenstates, and new Web Store opens.

Reigning Australian Champion John Zappia gained valuable points in the ANDRA Pro Series Top Doorslammer Championship at the Goldenstates last weekend with a strong runner-up result in the Procomp Motorsport Monaro owned by Striker boss Craig Pedley.

In what turned out to be an eventful meeting, Zappia lost the rain delayed final to Mark Belleri in the Camaro after experiencing tyre shake and having to pedal. Congratulations to Mark on his first win in Top Doorslammer competition.

"It was touch and go with the running of the final due to a heavy downpour," said Zappia, "and I was very reluctant to run given the conditions, but credit goes to the Perth Motorplex track crew for their persistence in cleaning and drying up the track. The ANDRA Stewards and Motorplex management gave the all clear, so we presented the Procomp Motorsport "Crusher" for racing . It was good to get a result both for the points and for the One HD television coverage, but I ended up hurting another engine and losing the race."

A record twenty two cars entered for the event, all competing for eight positions in the field but was reduced to 21 after Victor Bray withdraw with illness. Friday nights qualifying was in cool weather and an increasingly cool track as the night went on. Only 24 of the 57 passes attempted by the 21 cars qualifying were representative passes as the cars struggled with the track conditions. Four local Perth racers made their debut in Top Doorslammer, joining the other seven West Australians taking on competitors from the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

John Zappia managed a 5.924 @ 243.24mph off the trailer, a pedaling 6.330 @ 234.98mph,and blew the tyres off in the final pass to end up second top qualifier behind Robin Judd on 5.845, and ahead of Fabietti 5.969, Belleri 5.994, Phillips 6.097, Ben Bray 6.112, Bishop 6.145 and first time qualifier Gregorini 6.157 on the bump.

"We had a soft tune up in it for the 5.924 to get in the field, then stepped it up for the second run but had shake and had to pedal. The crew swung the Force Tools hard and did a fantastic job changing a melted piston between runs, and by the time the last qualifier came around the air had improved and with the track cooling the car just blew the tyres off on the hit in the final qualifier. Overall we were happy with the result, as we are still trying new things to improve the overall performance in the car.

First round match up for Zap was up against Bishop in the Camaro, who blew the burst panel on the hit giving the win to the Zappia Racing Team with a 6.022 @ 238.09mph . Other winners were Gregorini 6.140 over Judd 6.115, and Belleri 5.998 over Phillips 6.694.

"We went back to the safer tune for this eliminator, but the track was different with more humidity and the car ended up a little lazy. The crew were under pressure again after it was decided to run another spare engine combo, but they got it in and poured the Fuchs oil in just in time for me to start the big hemi and warm it all up, and get to the staging lanes".

The Semi Final saw Zap take on Fabietti, and take the win with a 6.007 @ 239.36mph over Fab's 6.170 @ 234.37mph. Belleri (6.009) put Gregorini (6.442) away in the other semi to set up a thriller final.

"We turned the car around and were sitting in the staging lanes at 10pm when out of the blue the rain hit. It rained hard for five minutes and we were close to the event curfew time, when the decision was made to attempt a clean up. I have never seen so many vehicles and officials on the track heating, rubbing, mopping and wiping up! We had an in depth discussion with ANDRA Stewards about splitting the points and prize money when the track was given the all clear, and we were obliged to run.

"Unfortunately the track condition was totally different after all that washing and cleaning, and the Procomp Motorsport Monaro shook hard and I had to pedal - our 6.299 @ 221.67mph was unable to catch Belleri's 6.109 @ 235.60mph. Overall we were happy with the result considering our times are a little off our normal five eights. We will be back to those performances for Round Three at Willowbank I can assure fans".

The results for the weekends racing has made the Championship interesting after Belleri now leading on 227 points behind Judd (200), Fabietti (186),Zappia (151), and Phillips (132). The Championship race is very alive with 5 rounds to go and it could end up with another cliff hanger that could decide the Champion in the final race - as was the case last season.

Fans can now shop online at the new Zappia Racing Web Store to purchase the range of merchandise normally available at the track. Staff will be adding a large range of products from exclusive suppliers B & J Racing Transmissions, Santhuff Shocks, and Procomp Electronics | Motorsport and Zap will be listing a range of his second hand race parts as they become available. International fans can now purchase our Australian merchandise on a secure professional web store

Procomp Electronics | Motorsport ~ Goldenstates lead up for Zappia

Current Top Doorslammer Champion John Zappia has presented Craig Pedley’s “Crusher” Procomp Motorsport Monaro for local racing at the Perth Motorplex in the team’s lead up to Round 2 of the ANDRA Pro Series Championship at the Goldenstates.

Perth is the blown alcohol capital of Australia, with the Top Comp class highly competitive with the need to run on the National Record or below to stand a chance of winning.

The Grand Opening meeting saw near perfect weather conditions for making huge power – cool temperatures, low humidity and low corrected altitude – and the famous Fremantle Doctor westerly wind bringing fresh oxygen rich air off the Indian Ocean.

“Our first pass off the trailer was a 5.828 @ 245.23mph”, said John Zappia, “but then the air came around and we overpowered the track on the next run. The 82 was good enough for fifth position in qualifying going 0.572 under the 6.4 index. Unfortunately we had too much power to match the track on that particular day and progressed no further in competition”.

Three members of the team then traveled to Las Vegas for the SEMA Show, where they spent time with sponsors B & J Transmissions and Procomp Motorsport in California, and attended several drag meetings.

“We were with the Strasburg Top Fuel Team sponsored by Procomp Motorsport at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, and saw Team Rapisarda do really well there, and then went to the NHRA Finals at Pomona, California, before heading back to Perth to prepare for the second meeting”.

The Top Fuel Match race meeting held last weekend at the Perth Motorplex saw completely different weather conditions in Perth – with high temps, high corrected altitude and high humidity.

“We reconfigured the Crusher Monaro to better handle the massive power we are making, and to better equip the car to run five sevens in the future, so we had the setup a little soft just to watch the way it ran down the track and test new components”.

“The first pass was a 6.110 @ 229.00mph, the second a 6.116 @ 236.84 mph as we slowly fed in power to the new setup. That put us eighth in the qualifying list and up against Weston in round one. The Crusher damaged a slick on the run, and with a pedal still managed a 6.079 @ 236.22mph for the loss”.

“I was pretty happy with my reaction times on the day, going 0.004 on that last run. It may seem that we went slow on the weekend, but we have a long history of undergoing development programs that at first seem to be going backwards, but then produce longer term winning results. We broke the world record by going first into the fives by doing that – and we want to jump into the five sevens to keep leading the field in Top Doorslammer”

“It was great to see Craig Pedley from Striker Crushing and Screening get down to the track to see his car in action, but unfortunately we weren’t able to do something special for him. We are looking at the big picture and that is winning as many of the Championship rounds as possible and hopefully win our 4th consecutive championship and 2nd in the Crusher”.

“The 39th Annual Goldenstates is on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th December at the Perth Motorplex and we hope to see as many of our fans and supporters as possible to cheer us on and to check out some of the new merchandise”.