Victory in the Territory for the Nitro Phoenix Team
The Nitro Phoenix team added to their recent success with yet another win, this time at the Nitro Up North event in NT. It was an amazing couple of days and we were honoured to join the team, chipping in as part of the crew for the event. Not without its challenges, owner Damian Muscat gave us a rundown of the event.
Opening with qualifying rounds on Friday, the team achieved a 7.196 at 203mph in round one and a 7.045 at 161mph in round two – a slight improvement but they were still finding their way.
Unfortunately, the third qualifying round was a non-event as Damian explained
“Having left the fuel pump loose after adjusting our ignition timing, we were left sitting on the starting line in a puddle of fuel.”
At the end of qualifying, the Nitro Phoenix team finished the third fastest of the six competing bikes.
The first elimination saw the team take on the turbo/nitrous Kawasaki of Greg Durack from WA. “This round turned out to be a solo pass for us after Durack’s bike snuffed it in the burnout. In the end we ran a 6.718 @ 210mph,” Damian said.
In the Semi final the Nitro Phoenix team were up against the current ANDRA #1 Chris Porter from NSW. “We got the win at the tree after I pulled off a 0.057 start at the light to Porter’s 0.337,” Damian said. The team finished with a 6.76 for the win.
In the final the team was paired against current 400 Thunder Champ Mark Drew from WA. Mark had run mid 6 second passes in qualifying and was going to be hard to beat.
“Mark cut a great 0.041 light at the tree but the Nitro Phoenix Bike was on a mission running 6.51 at 218mph taking the win and running deep into the sand trap,” Muscat recalled.
It was an amazing final race with Damian putting everything on the line to take home the win.
“In previous eliminations I’d rolled off and back on the throttle and I knew I had to keep it pinned in the final if I wanted to get there first. With the excitement and thrill I just kept holding the throttle on passing the finish line, causing me to run deep into the sand and get a little air time which was a whole ride of its own!”
“A special thanks to my crew including the bike’s previous owner Damian Cownden from Canada who assisted over the phone with our tune up. Simon Ross from Minespec Parts not only for sponsoring us but also coming along to join the crew as our clutch changer for the event. All of our sponsors for supporting the team and all of our followers for their supportive comments. We were so far from Mackay at this event yet still had local spectators there to cheer us on. That’s Mackay Pride right there!”
We couldn’t be more proud of the success Damian and the Nitro Phoenix team have had this year. It just goes to show what you can achieve with plenty of hard work, dedication and a good dose of local support!
