Hey gang..

It has been quite some time since I have updated this blog, over 6 months to be precise!

Since we’re now in 2010 I think it’s time that I wrote something to update the blog and let you know where i’ve been hiding for the last few months!

With a bub on the way Emma and I decided we’d move to a bigger place from the 2br unit we were renting in Penrith.. Found a 3br freestanding townhouse on the other side of Penrith that had plenty of room and was quite appealing.. We Signed a 12 month lease and moved in on Good Friday… Before we moved I sold my beloved XR5 turbo for a much larger and roomier XR6 turbo, Very neat and well looked after.. But I was not to own that for very long apparently

The new townhouse was quite peaceful, good neighbours, no trouble makers.. One Monday afternoon in July I picked up Emma from Penrith rail station and pulled in the driveway at home.. To find the roller door 1/2 way up and the internal door open.. We panicked.. And sure enough our worst fears had come true. We had been robbed, during the daylight while we were at work no less!

We lost over $10,000 in one off jewelery from Italy, I lost a $4000 Apple Macbook Pro laptop and above all our personal space.. Invaded.. The house was completely trashed, doors and cupboards opened everywhere, fridge and freezer empty, clothes all over the place, all my work paperwork and tax stuff just thrown everywhere in search of money…

The next night we stayed there, the  same people came back to our house while we were asleep and took the car, they had taken the spare key I forgot I had the first time.. We only returned to the property to get our stuff and moved out right away. We simply could not stay there.

Since then we have moved to Glenmore Park and loving it.

Emma gave birth to a tiny 6.10lb girl named Jorja Ann, who is the light of our lives and we couldn’t be more thrilled having her around

In the last 6 months I have limited my photography work to enable me to spend more time around the house with Emma and the new bub.. Only really shooting major drag racing meets and working for clients.. I have picked up a number of amazing clients who are heavily involved in drag racing and general motorsport.

In September WSID had the Fuchs Australian Nationals.. Amazing event with plenty of action!

Oh, At the start of the year I also decided it was time to take the next step in my working life and finally finish off the electrical trade that I started in 1998 working for TAFE.. I enrolled in a 6 month certificate 3 course at Ultimo TAFE to give me up to date qualifications and have my prior skills brought forward. I sat the Capstone final assessment a few weeks before Jorja was born in November, Pretty difficult the paper was but the prac was easy.. Basics. I now have a certificate 3 in electrotechnology – electrician and I’ll have my trade licence soon.

After working at Makita for 4.5 years I resigned and finished up last Friday, moving on to a small electrical contracting business based out of Greystanes but operating all over Sydney.. Focussing mainly on commercial service work but not limited to this so it’s going to be fun times ahead!

Well that’s almost 600 words so should keep you entertained for ~10 mins haha.. I’ll promise to update it more frequently with less boring shit

Kyle.

Tags: Drag Racing, fuchs, kyle, morgan, motorsport, nitro, photography, random, read, sainty, sydney, top fuel, wsid

By far the biggest news to come in the lead up to the 09/10 ANDRA top fuel championship series

14 June 2009

Graeme and Andrew Cowin are announcing their return to ANDRA Championship Drag Racing following the purchase of a complete Top Fuel operation from the US.

“We are very excited to announce we have acquired all the racing equipment from David Powers Motorsport in the US, “said Graeme Cowin. “This includes two dragsters which are state-of-the-art and of championship calibre.

“I’m turning 65 later this year so this could be my last opportunity to go racing with Andrew,” joked Graeme.

Andrew added, “Things started to fall into place over the past few weeks and we decided to do it. David Powers has nothing but top of the line racing equipment and outstanding performances. This is going to be a top notch deal.

“There are no firm dates as to when we will hit the track and start testing. We have ordered a brand new transporter and are in the process of fitting out our new shop and assembling a crew. We won’t be at the track until were 100% ready, but can’t wait to get out there and go racing again. It’s great to be back.”

Graeme finished off by saying,” Our business Rocket Industries has been behind drag racing in Australia for many years in many different ways. We love drag racing and have a family tradition of doing so.”

Checkout www.rocketind.com for all of your high performance needs.

Tags: andrew, cowin, family, graeme, racing, rocket industries, top fuel, wsid

For any avid sport compact fan, you only have to take a look around the country and see just how many new cars are coming out of the wood work to realize just how popular sport compact drag racing is really becoming.

In the last twelve months we have seen the likes of Malcolm Glassett step up with his Toyota Solara Pro FX/Pro turbo car, running in the 6’s straight off the bat as well as Rocky and the PAC performance boys bringing it to the 2j’s! Proving that despite the current global economic crisis enthusiasts are showing dedication to the sport they love.

To encourage racers to enter earlier Sport Compact Group have commenced date effective pricing, so the earlier you enter the cheaper it is for you. Not only does it make the event a whole lot easier to plan it also saves you money! Everyone’s a winner.

2009 sees the return of Fast Fours and Rotaries back as naming rights sponsor for the event. Fast Fours and Rotaries is a comprehensive driving force in the sport compact arena and who better to support Jamboree. As well as FF&R you will find comprehensive coverage of J19 in the newly released Boost magazine.

Jamboree 19 is held on the weekend of August 29+30 at Willowbank Raceway in QLD.

For full event information head to www.sportcompact.net.au

Tags: 2jz, boost, bray, castrol edge, compact, Drag Racing, fast fours, gas motorsport, j19, jamboree, nitro, pac, qld, rigoli, sport, willowbank, wsid

I was sifting through my photos from the Karcher Nitro Champs last night and came across this photo, I initially binned it because it was shot around midday and the track was rather glarey.. But I loved the layers through it with Phil in the left lane and Allan in the right lane. It’s pretty cool

I received a phone call from Amanda Cobb from BAM Media of Brisbane earlier this afternoon to let me know that one of my photos submitted for the Wallace Bishop photo competition was selected in the final 5 for it’s category!!!111oneone

I am yet to work out if i’ll be attending the competition at Ipswich shopping centre the Thursday night before the Winternationals at Williwbank but I certainly would like to if I am selected as a winner Perfect excuse for attending the racing across the weekend haha
I initially dismissed the photo but when I was selecting my final submissions I was totally mesmerised by Stu’s eyes and concentration on keeping the car straight throughout the burnout I had to throw it in… That and the fact that his yellow Camaro is so so easy to photograph.

Here’s my entry entitled ‘Diamond eyes‘

For more information about the Wallace Bishop photo competition head to: http://www.stuartbishopracing.com.au/competition.asp

Tags: bam media, circlework, Drag Racing, fuchs, karcher, morgan, motorsport, nitro, photography, random, read, sainty, stuart bishop, top fuel, wallace bishop, wsid

Blew the shit out of it…Sorry dad

For those that were there, Amanda Shepherd had a pretty wild ride on the second night of qualifying at the Karcher Nitro Champs this year. In the 2nd round she had a smaller exlosion but in the 3rd round she blew the blower clean (or not so) off the inlet manifold! Mighty mess

Click here for the video!

I missed the shot unfortunately.. Angus Macmaster tells me I take the camera down too quickly.. I think he’s right

Here’s a photo of the ‘aftermath’

Amanda.. You get our ‘play of the day’ Awesome effort!

Honorable mention must go to The flying kiwi, Athol Williams for his daring demonstration of his top fuel scooter on a perfect launch!

Catch ya!

Tags: amanda shepherd, Drag Racing, explosion, fuchs, karcher, lolz, motorsport, nitro, photography, read, sainty, skips fire, sydney, top fuel, wsid

Due to popular demand from some members of performance forums I have uploaded a 1680×1050 pixel wallpaper of Darren Morgan’s Wicked Quick / CHE / Rocket top fuel dragster.

Feel free to pass it around

1680 x 1050 file is here: http://gallery.kylesharp.com.au/d/2838-2/dmr16801050.jpg

Enjoy!

Hi all…

I am ’still’ sifting and sorting through photos taken at the Karcher Nitro Champs at the weekend… It’s proving to be rather exhaustive as well as not being so good for TAFE exam studies and dealing with a pregnant wife.. Sorry emma!

Mark Mariani contacted me and was after some photos of him racing the Rapisarda Racing Uplift Cranes top fueller, Sure enough I stumbled upon the following photo.. I initially discarded this photo because of the glare coming off the track and, in my opinion, ruining the shot.. On second assessment it shows there was a fairly serious fuel leak coming from the fuelbar mounted on the underside to the camera right of the butterflys.

As you can see, there’s a fair bit of fuel being shot out of the lines there! Fairly lucky there wasn’t a serious fire.. Actually we’re probably lucky there wasn’t a fire because there were about 6 other photographers around me.. About 2 shots after this photo it appeared to correct itself..

And a close up…

And with that it’s over and out until next time!

Tags: Drag Racing, mark mariani, nitro, photography, read, sainty, sydney, top fuel, wsid

Darren Morgan Racing capped a triumphant return to WSID, the track where Morgan survived a horrific accident, by claiming their maiden ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree.

“What an amazing weekend,” beamed an elated Morgan in a post-race television interview.
“This is such a great result for the team. Every single one of our guys has worked so hard lately. This win is for all of them.”
“This is only the second event for this car and it’s been to the final on both occasions,” Continued the Mildura man.
“The more passes we do down the race track the more we learn. We came here looking for good data and to come away with the win is unreal.”

The victory came at a perfect time for the Rocket Industries Wicked Quick Top Fuel Dragster, as a host of extra support was needed to ensure the team could put on a good show and go a few rounds.

“Hi Tec Oils really upped their involvement this weekend,” Said an appreciative Morgan.
“Castle Hill Exhaust and Performance centre are joined us here this weekend too and so did Redback Exhaust.”
“We really needed the extra support to help us make it to the racetrack. This win is a great way of saying thanks,” He concluded.

After qualifying third out of nine cars with a 4.66 second blast down the quarter mile, Morgan charged to the final eliminating fellow ANDRA Top Fuel pilots Luke Shepherd and Martin Stamatis. His win in the final round came against Alan Dobson.

Be sure to catch Darren and all the top fuel drivers at the Castrol Edge Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway June 4-7 2009. For more information head to www.willowbankraceway.com.au

Tags: circlework, Drag Racing, fuchs, morgan, motorsport, nitro, read, sainty, sydney, top fuel, wsid

After a long wait for the return of nitro to WSID in 2009, the Karcher Nitro Champs was all you could have expected and more! Quick passes, records falling and a few blow ups wowed the crowd throughout the weekend. One highlight was John Barbagallo resetting the national Pro Stock record! Well done to John and the team.

GROUP 1 RESULTS

Top Fuel: Darren Morgan – 4.854 @ 295.46

Top Alcohol: Gary Phillips – 5.634 @ 255.15

Top Doorslammer: John Zappia – 5.828 @ 246.17

Top Fuel Scooter: Athol Williams – 6.549 @ 208.84

Pro Stock: John Barbagallo – 7.064 @ 192.74

Pro Stock Bike: Phil Howard – 7.36 @ 178.57

GROUP 2 RESULTS

Comp Eliminator: Greg Leahy – 6.918 @ 196.62

Super Stock: Paul Beauchamp – 7.201 @ 184.12

Super Compact: Rodney Rehayem – 8.781 @ 112.07

Comp Bike: Kevin Gummow – 7.864 @ 163.57

GROUP 3 RESULTS

Supercharged Outlaws : Geoff Gradden – 6.994 @ 197.62

Modified: Ken Stewart – 7.656 @ 173.29

Super Sedan: Steve Fowler: 8.42 @ 161.17

Modified Bike: Jason Hammelswang – 9.712 @ 140.99

Super Street: Terri Sander – 11.604 @ 115.21

Junior Dragster: Rocco Romano – 8.688 @ 70.63

Super Gas: Darryl Stephen – 9.926 @ 141.86

Darren Morgan in the Wicked Quick/Rocket/Castle Hill Exhaust Top Fuel dragster on his way to a well earned victory after hot favourites Phil Lamattina and Phil read were eliminated in round 1

Greg Leahy with the nose well in the air!

Lee Bektash’s Dodge with it’s jaw dropping paint scheme points the nose at the sky

Top Fuel Driver Allan Dobson pumped with his round 1 win over Phillip Lamattina and going on to be runner up

Tags: athol williams, barbagallo, circlework, Drag Racing, fuchs, gary phillips, karcher, morgan, motorsport, nitro, phil howard, photography, pro mod, read, sainty, supercharged outlaw, sydney, top alcohol, top doorslammer, top fuel, wsid, zappia