SILKS STEPPING UP

The name ‘Robin Silk’ should need no introduction to drag racing fans, with the man having had a long history in the sport both here and overseas. Over the past few years, the sport has become a family thing, with daughter Tamara getting behind the wheel of the family’s dragster before younger brother Cory also stepped up. The naturally aspirated vehicle had run a best of 8.16 at 162.53mph, with Dad on tuning and crew-chief duties, but the desire to step up was always there. When fellow Wellington-based racer Bert King let slip that he was thinking of hanging up his helmet, it was all the incentive needed for the Silks to acquire Bert’s Top Alcohol dragster. While to many this would be unfamiliar territory, Robin’s had plenty of experience with motors such as the PSI-blown 505ci big block that’s in the dragster. Obviously, for 23-year-old Tamara, it’ll be a steep learning curve but one with huge potential. The Silks debuted the car at the Auckland Invasion round of the IHRA National Series, held at Masterton Motorplex, where Tamara showed that driving is in the blood, running straight into the six-second zone on her first full pass with a 6.66 at 204.41mph. Her next pass out was a 6.41 at 199.11mph, followed by a 6.65 at 216.26, making it an amazing debut for Tamara and the whole team. That wasn’t the only success for the Silk family, as younger brother Cory, racing in Modified, ran a PB of 8.07 at 164.34mph. Tamara would love to extend a huge thanks to Lucas Oil, along with Bert King and his team — Mitch, Pau, Paul, and Gary — for all their help and patience while showing the new team the ropes; also a huge thanks to her dad Robin, Vicky, Cory, Nick, Olivia, and Brett for all their help and support. Of course, now that Tamara’s the secondquickest female in the country, there’s always the temptation to aim for that number-one spot. The car has run into the five-second zone, which is what it’ll take, so we’re sure that there’s no shortage of dinner-table conversation within the Silk household!