PRO STREET DOUBLE DUTY FOR CORTINA, STARTING THIS WEEKEND
18 March 2015
Toowoomba Pro Street racer Scott Cortina has a busy few weeks ahead, entered in both this weekend’s Pro Street Shootout (21 March) and Easter Saturday’s (4 April) Santo’s Super 3 Extreme Drag Race Event presented by Uplift Cranes and Titan Cranes – for which he is the reigning Pro Street class winner.
The 46 year old Suspension Technician has been racing for 29 years, with his interest piqued after he watched Victor Bray on-track at the now defunct Surfers Paradise facility with his brother and friends as a teenager.
Since then he has taken the wheel of a HG Ute, an LH Torana and now a 1971 HG Kingswood, in which he is set to take part in the X275 class for this weekend’s Pro Street shootout and the Pro Street class of Easter’s spectacular.
“Both events are going to deliver great racing and a good family outing – everyone is welcome to come past our set-up in the pits and have a look at the car and have a chat,” said the racer who lists the Easter event win, his claiming of the inaugural X275 Championship (2012) and his involvement in the establishment of that class, as well as running seven second passes in a street-registered HG with radial tyres as his biggest achievements.
With a high win rate in the Pro Street ranks and his position as the reigning class winner when it comes to the upcoming Easter bonanza, fans would be well advised to keep an eye on Cortina as he shoots for nothing less than the top.
“The Pro Street field is growing from strength to strength, and the Shootout is going to be a great display of that – we want to make the first spot on the top ten list, and we are also looking forward to a grudge match with Frank Marchese from Dandy Engines – bring it!” said Cortina, whose Kingswood is powered by a 565 CI big block Chev with a PKRE Nitrous system.
“For Easter, last year it was a lot of hard work to get there but it was worth it, racing in front of thousands of people in the packed grandstands and coming home with the win after racing Brett Benz in the final was just great.
“We aren’t feeling any pressure heading back there as the reigning class winners, we will be looking to just run personal bests in front of what is sure to be another outstanding crowd.”
Cortina is one-half of a two-man team alongside his brother Paul, with the pair building the car - which is run with a personally-made Gazzard Bros Custom Suspension - completely in-house from suspension to engine.
“I really have to thank my brother Paul, my friends and family for their continued support, as well as our extremely valuable sponsors Gazzard Bros, Country Cranes and Haulage, Barry Hyland Earthmoving, Abbott Engines, 6Boost, ProTrans Performance Automatics, PKRE, Advanced Suspensions, Zedtec Engineering and Arrow Automotive for all they do for us,” said Cortina.
The Pro Street Shootout will take place at Willowbank Raceway this Saturday the 21st of March 2015, with the popular event set to host the toughest and fastest Outlaw 10.5, Pro and Mod Street, Radial, X275, True Street and Pro Bikes in Australia in heads-up quarter-mile action in what will be their second national championship round for the season. Spectator gates open at 10.00am, with on-track action from 10.00am. Tickets are available at the gate at just $25.00 for adults, $20 for students with ID or Concession Card Holders, and free admission for children aged 13 and under. For more event information, please click here.
Following the third round of the Street Series on Saturday 28 March, it will then be on to the Santo’s Super 3 Extreme Drag Race Event presented by Uplift Cranes and Titan cranes on Easter Saturday (4 April).
The Santo’s Super 3 Extreme Drag Race Event will be a one-day Easter Saturday spectacular with the quickest and fastest racers in the country set to headline an action-packed four and a half hour ‘short and sharp’ show. The professional Top Fuel and Top Alcohol racers will be leading the way down the Raceway at more than 500km/h while the newly introduced Pro Mod class will pit a wide range of blown, turbo, nitrous-powered and naturally-aspirated machines against each other in a battle for a $6000 prize purse. Also taking to the track will be the popular Factory Xtreme and Pro Street brackets, as well as fixed index brackets Super 6 and Super 7 in heads-up, first to the end wins racing that is sure to deliver plenty of non-stop action. Tickets are available online now at just $35 for adults and $30 for students with ID and Concession Card Holders, while children aged 13 and under gain free admission. Scheduling information will be released closer to the event – please click here for further event information.
Willowbank Raceway is Queensland’s premier drag racing facility, located 45 minutes from Brisbane or just a short drive from Ipswich, offering a year-round program of events for the entire family. For more information including a full event calendar, please visit www.willowbankraceway.com.au