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GT Racing
GT: Quinn Wins First Race Of Australian GT’s New Era
Klark Quinn sweeps opening rounds of new-look Australian GT Championship on streets of Adelaide...
Klark Quinn scored a double win in last weekend's Australian GT Championship season opener. (Photo: John Morris/Mpix Photography)
Much has changed during the off-season for the Australian GT Championship. After Tony Quinn purchased the championship in mid-2011, a raft of changes were brought in, including multiple tire suppliers, additional classes, regulations that more closely reflect FIA GT3 rules and a point scoring system that rewards wins over consistency.
An early season change in management also threw a wrench in the works for the championship as well, but Round 1 still saw a strong field.
There were a variety of new cars, including a Porsche GT3R for Klark Quinn, Ferrari 458s for Peter Edwards and Tony Quinn, a Corvette Z06 GT3 for Rod Wilson, a Ford GT for Kevin Weeks and a Mercedes SLS GT3 for newcomer James Brock – son of Australian legend Peter Brock.
Returning to the Series was a Ginetta G50GT4 for Darren Berry, John Briggs in a Mosler MT900GT3, ex-V8 Supercars racer Paul Morris and Development driver Ben Eggelston both in Aston Martin DBRS9s.
Twenty-four cars took the start for Race 1 – a one hour race – racing into the dark at Adelaide.
A frantic 37-lap affair was ended two minutes ahead of schedule after the leading car was punted into retirement by a back-marker.
The battle for the lead was between Hackett in the Erebus Mercedes SLS GT3, Allan Simonsen/Edwards (Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia) and Klark Quinn (VIP Petfoods Porsche GT3-R).
They were never more than a few seconds apart for the last segments of the race. Hackett and Simonsen in particular were pushing for the win – attacking the course. They came to lap defending champion Mark Eddy in his Audi when Eddy turned in.
He made contact with Hackett, breaking his steering and putting him in the barrier. Simonsen was forced up an escape road, leaving Quinn to take the win – the first for a Porsche GT3 car for the 2012 season.
“Hackett and I were having a great dice the whole race – before and after the safety car," Quinn said. "We were switching positions and about half way through the race [and] it started to rain on certain spots on the track.
"It became very unpredictable. The track and the first spot of rain we got was on Turn 8 – the last place you want rain. Our windscreens just got covered in water. So as we were heading to Turn 8, at a million miles an hour, a big wash of water comes across our windshields. It was like WOW!
“The last four laps of the race, Allan Simonsen got right behind me. I knew he was going to be quick and he came through the field. I let him through without too many dramas.
“Peter Hackett on the other hand had other ideas and defended his position a lot harder than I had. Coming out of the last turn, at Clipsal, up behind some back-markers – they got away, I got held up coming on the front straight. Through Turns 1, 2, 3 and coming onto 4, Mark Eddy was there. He, Simonson and Hackett – Eddy turned in and by the time I got there, they were all facing the wrong way.
“I just did a Steven Bradbury – got past the lot of them and cruised to the victory two laps later.”
Hackett was less than impressed with Eddy’s efforts and was out for race two.
“I was defending what would have been a great victory," Hackett said. "I was closing on the Audi – I knew he had been told the leaders were coming through so I expected him to hang wide.
“Unfortunately the Audi kept coming across on me. I had committed to the racing line through the corner and when he turned in it left me nowhere to go. The first impact broke the steering arm and left me with no steering or brakes and I went into the tire wall.”
Quinn led home Jordan Ormsby in a lower class Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car and the Simonsen/Edwards Ferrari.
An early season change in management also threw a wrench in the works for the championship as well, but Round 1 still saw a strong field.
There were a variety of new cars, including a Porsche GT3R for Klark Quinn, Ferrari 458s for Peter Edwards and Tony Quinn, a Corvette Z06 GT3 for Rod Wilson, a Ford GT for Kevin Weeks and a Mercedes SLS GT3 for newcomer James Brock – son of Australian legend Peter Brock.
Returning to the Series was a Ginetta G50GT4 for Darren Berry, John Briggs in a Mosler MT900GT3, ex-V8 Supercars racer Paul Morris and Development driver Ben Eggelston both in Aston Martin DBRS9s.
Twenty-four cars took the start for Race 1 – a one hour race – racing into the dark at Adelaide.
A frantic 37-lap affair was ended two minutes ahead of schedule after the leading car was punted into retirement by a back-marker.
The battle for the lead was between Hackett in the Erebus Mercedes SLS GT3, Allan Simonsen/Edwards (Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia) and Klark Quinn (VIP Petfoods Porsche GT3-R).
They were never more than a few seconds apart for the last segments of the race. Hackett and Simonsen in particular were pushing for the win – attacking the course. They came to lap defending champion Mark Eddy in his Audi when Eddy turned in.
He made contact with Hackett, breaking his steering and putting him in the barrier. Simonsen was forced up an escape road, leaving Quinn to take the win – the first for a Porsche GT3 car for the 2012 season.
“Hackett and I were having a great dice the whole race – before and after the safety car," Quinn said. "We were switching positions and about half way through the race [and] it started to rain on certain spots on the track.
"It became very unpredictable. The track and the first spot of rain we got was on Turn 8 – the last place you want rain. Our windscreens just got covered in water. So as we were heading to Turn 8, at a million miles an hour, a big wash of water comes across our windshields. It was like WOW!
“The last four laps of the race, Allan Simonsen got right behind me. I knew he was going to be quick and he came through the field. I let him through without too many dramas.
“Peter Hackett on the other hand had other ideas and defended his position a lot harder than I had. Coming out of the last turn, at Clipsal, up behind some back-markers – they got away, I got held up coming on the front straight. Through Turns 1, 2, 3 and coming onto 4, Mark Eddy was there. He, Simonson and Hackett – Eddy turned in and by the time I got there, they were all facing the wrong way.
“I just did a Steven Bradbury – got past the lot of them and cruised to the victory two laps later.”
Hackett was less than impressed with Eddy’s efforts and was out for race two.
“I was defending what would have been a great victory," Hackett said. "I was closing on the Audi – I knew he had been told the leaders were coming through so I expected him to hang wide.
“Unfortunately the Audi kept coming across on me. I had committed to the racing line through the corner and when he turned in it left me nowhere to go. The first impact broke the steering arm and left me with no steering or brakes and I went into the tire wall.”
Quinn led home Jordan Ormsby in a lower class Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car and the Simonsen/Edwards Ferrari.
FIA GT Nogaro
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