The First Six-Second Pass in Australian Drag-and-Drive History Has Been Made

The six-second quarter-mile street car barrier has been broken in Australia with Mark Whitla’s Ford Capri delivering an outstanding 6.91/208mph at the brand new Dragway at The Bend facility as part of Street Machine Drag Challenge.

The run was the first six-second pass in Australian drag-and-drive history and the first 200mph pass. The chase for the first six in Australia is comparable to the first five in America, given the much harsher restrictions to keep cars road legal in the country.

After a 7.19/197mph from Mark Drew’s Holden Torana earlier in the week, most eyes were on him to achieve the first six. But with more runs giving Whitla’s new turbo combination more data, his ETs dropped like a stone throughout the week before eventually making the record pass.

“We knew it had it in it, but you still have to do it,” Whitla said. “We built it to run sixes, we just had to get there. After (a 7.2) we added more boost, added some timing and took some fuel out. I’d been praying to run our first six at Drag Challenge, so I couldn’t be happier.”

The numbers might have showered Whitla in glory at the week’s conclusion, but it didn’t come easy at stages of the 1000-mile event. The car even caught fire after a pass earlier in the week.

“It’s been a super-challenging week for us, but that’s all part of it,” he said. “We never give up, we’ll only stop when the rods come out!”

A remarkable footnote on Whitla’s achievement is that he also runs without a trailer!

Though Drew missed the first six, dropping his best to a 7.07 on the final day, his performances across the week earned him the overall win. We will have more on Street Machine Drag Challenge in our winter issue of Sick The Magazine!

Images and quotes courtesy Street Machine.