Australia Day Celebrated In Style With New Year Nitro

When it came to ways to celebrate Australia Day 2025, Willowbank Raceway was the place to be at the weekend for the latest round of the NDRC championship, featuring 11,000hp/500+kph Top Fuel Dragsters and XPRO Nitro Funny Cars, as well as the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship.

Sunday saw intense battles unfold for the NDRC event-winning Christmas Tree trophy and valuable championship points across all categories to the delight of another packed crowd at Queensland’s premier drag racing facility.

The impressive line-up of Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship racers, who put on plenty of exciting performances to the delight of the fantastic crowd across the two days.

Taking out the event-winning NDRC Christmas Tree trophies in their respective brackets at the close of Sunday’s racing were Lillian Hagan over James Lowday in Junior Drag Bike, Sean Ricketts over Phil White in Modified Bike, Walter Hosta over Aaveen Autar in Performance Bike, and in the exhibition brackets of Extreme Bike were Nathan Neilson taking the win over Matt Wilson.

Performance Bike

Winner – Walter Hosta
Runner-up – Aaveen Autar
#1 Qualifier – Edge Mallis

In Performance Bike Walter Hosta had an epic weekend, running a personal on his B/SB Suzuki in the semi-final with an 8.970 and then winning the final over Aaveen Autar.

Modified Bike

Winner – Sean Ricketts
Runner-up – Phil White
#1 Qualifier – Johnny Lewis

Johnny Lewis kicked things off strong by securing the #1 qualifying spot on Saturday. However, the road to victory wasn’t easy—Sean Ricketts brought his A-game, knocking out Lewis in the semi-final and storming into the final showdown. In a thrilling finale, Ricketts triumphed over Phil White, earning the first win of the season in spectacular fashion!

Junior Drag Bike

Winner – Lillian Hagan
Runner-up – James Lowday
#1 Qualifier – Marcus MacDonald

The Junior Bike class kept fans on the edge of their seats! Marcus MacDonald claimed the #1 Qualifier on Saturday, but Sunday delivered unexpected twists. James Lowday knocked out MacDonald in a fierce semi-final battle before lining up against Lillian Hagan in the final.

Hagan, dialed in at 8.60, kept her cool under pressure as Lowday turned on the red light, handing the win—and the prestigious Golden Tree—to Hagan

 

Extreme Bike

Winner – Nathan Neilson
Runner-up – Matt Wilson
#1 Qualifier – Nathan Neilson

Nathan Neilson of Big Nutz Racing dominated the track, snagging the #1 Qualifying Spot and capping off an epic weekend with a victory in the final! Nearly breaking into the sixes, Neilson unleashed a blazing 7.008-second pass to defeat Matt Wilson in a thrilling Sunday showdown.

The next major event on the NDRC major calendar is on March 1-2 as Perth Motorplex hosts the Westernationals featuring Top Fuel, Top Doorslammer, Top Fuel Motorcycle and Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship.

Then, on April 5-6, Dragway at The Bend lights up for the Riverbend Nationals with Top Fuel, XPRO Nitro Funny Car, Top Doorslammer and Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship.

The Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs are in Sydney on May 2-4 headlined by Top Fuel and XPRO Nitro Funny Car and a full range of Group 1 Categories and the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship.

For the full listing of events, please visit https://nationaldragracing.com.au/calendar/

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For more information about the NDRC, please visit www.ndrc.tv

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