2009 Australian Dragbike Champs crowned

The 2009 Australian Drag Racing Championships were decided at Willowbank on June 7th.

The 2009 Winternationals were also the deciding round for the 2009 Australian Drag Racing Championships.

Top Bike

The Top Bike category had already been decided before this event, with the “Flying Kiwi” Athol Williams claiming the number one plate. Williams was not one to rest on his laurels, taking the Winternationals event win as well, over Chris Porter.

The remaining 2 dragbike classes, Competition Bike, and Modified Bike, would be decided by the results from the Winternationals.

Competition Bike

Competition Bike, which has been a street bike benefit for a while, was hard to pick in advance. By the semi finals of the event, 2 riders faced off, the result to decide the championship.

Western Australia’s Kevin Gummow, on the supercharged FME Kawasaki CC/CB was victorious over last years champion, Dave Rundmann on his street based GSX-R1000 Suzuki. Gummow was defeated in the finals by Geoff Kempe, but was consoled by the Number One plate for the year.

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Modified Bike

In the Modified bike class, favorite going into the event was Queenslander Jason Hammelswang on his R1 Yamaha. A large field of 45 bikes fronted for qualifying, and by the semi finals Hammelswang had both hands on the Championship trophy.

He faced off against West Aussie Ian “Revit” Read, a surprise finalist on his 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa after a strong run through the field. The result for Read was much the same as it has been for most of the “Hammer’s” opponents this season, with a close race going Hammelswang’s way by virtue of a better light.

The event win and Australian Championship came along with the Track Championship, and the John Storm Award for the most points scored in any category.