Ben Gatt was the class of the HAMBster field scoring a win over Joe Formosa in an all sidevalve V8 final.
Enzo Cacciotti (near lane) gets the jump on his opponent (not listed) in this HAMBster duel.
No a HAMBster is not a pet that you keep inside your house – it is one that resides in the garage. HAMBster is an American term originally coming from (Hokey Ass Message
Board). It is based on a pre- 62 Flathead V8 or inline powered engine that is closely aligned to the early “rail jobs” that were so much a part of American drag racing in the late forties and fifties. The class in Australia has gone from absolutely no entries in the middle of last year to eight at this event with even more under construction as I write this.
Initially I wasn’t really a fan of this type of cut down racecar but they are starting to grow on me especially when you add a radiator surround and T bucket shaped body. They remind me of a cross between an old Offenhauser speed car and an original “rail job” dragster. On the day the bracket was won by Ben Gatt who started racing at the old Castlereagh airstrip in the early Sixties. Amazingly, four generations of Gatts have raced in Sydney competition over the past 45 years with the youngest, Paul Gatt, racing in the Aussie Muscle Car bracket on the day.
