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GT Racing
GT: Schneider Dominates, Quinn Takes Australian GT Title In Sydney
Klark Quinn scored an unlikely championship as the Sargent Security Australian GT Championship concluded on the streets of Sydney...
DTM legend Bernd Schneider dominated last weekend's Australian GT Championship round in Sydney, but the championship went to Klark Quinn. (Photo: Australian GT)
Klark Quinn scored an unlikely championship as the Sargent Security Australian GT Championship concluded on the streets of Sydney last weekend. Quinn and Peter Hackett had it all to play for with the title contenders separated by just a couple of points.
Hackett in the Erebus Racing Mercedes SLS GT3 led the VIP Petfoods Porsche GT3 of Quinn but Quinn had the momentum after leading all sessions at the Gold Coast round. The streets of Sydney, while still being a street circuit, had very different characteristics to the Gold Coast. Sydney features 90 degree corners and less street camber than the Gold Coast.
The Erebus squad would also be boosted by the addition of Mr. DTM - Bernd Schneider for the final round. Schneider was confident going into his Australian GT debut but knew what he was there for.
"The final round and I will try to do my best for Peter Hackett to win the Championship. He is leading by three points coming into the final races but we know the two races will be hard," Schneider said before the event.
"I know the Erebus guys from when the 2011 AMG Customer Awards and when I came over, I was impressed with how professional they are.
"My target is to win the race but this weekend is a bit different as I really want to support Peter in his Championship bid. If I get the possibility to win, I will try to do this - the competition is quite hard but I am confident."
Schneider, who has stepped back into the cockpit in 2012 to race selected GT3 races, was immediately on the pace, leading practice and taking pole by 1.7 seconds from the Maranello Motorsports Ferrari of John Bowe (with Peter Edwards). Hackett was third with Quinn in fourth.
Race 1 would be shortened by 12 minutes due to time restraints brought on by being on the V8 Supercar bill.
The short first race would still be enough to throw a Championship as Hackett spun at high speed, heavily damaging his car. Hackett lost the car in the fast turn five kink and appeared to lose his brakes, skating and spinning down the short straight before another concrete wall halted his path. Hackett remembers the incident in detail.
"At the turn in I carried a little too much brake, a little too much brake pressure," Hackett said."I don’t think I have ever had a racecar so sideways, so early in a corner.
"When I caught the wall on the left hand side it caught and broke the wheel instantly puncturing the tire. That put the car into quite violent spin.
"I got it parallel with the circuit, and the curbs on the turn in point for turn six, as I caught the curb, it actually bounced my right foot off the brake pedal and I went into the wall with no brakes."
The lap five crash would ensure that Quinn would lead the title going into the final race of the season.
It was unclear whether Hackett's car could be repaired in time for race two. The team's sponsors, Snap On Tools - who had a number of corporate guests at the race got a closer experience than they bargained for when the volunteer to help the Erebus Racing squad repair the car. The extra help was vital to getting the Mercedes ready.
Hackett's exit allowed Quinn to take an unchallenged second ahead of the Bowe/Edwards Ferrari. Quinn, though had his own scare, almost hitting the wall on the opening lap after missing his braking point coming onto the start/finish straight.
"When I ran wide I didn’t think too much of it but everyone seems to have seen it and keeps reminding me of it," Quinn said.
"I ran a little wide in that last turn, I got close to the wall but as long as you’re not touching it, it’s ok. The next lap round, I was looking in the mirrors, Hackett was a good bit behind me but he was still in the mirrors. The lap after, he was no longer in the mirrors and I thought something must have happened. The guys confirmed it on the radio – that Hackett was in the wall."
No one could get near Schneider who raced into the distance, winning by 17 seconds. In his efforts to keep up with Schneider, Quinn ran wide on lap one.
Hackett in the Erebus Racing Mercedes SLS GT3 led the VIP Petfoods Porsche GT3 of Quinn but Quinn had the momentum after leading all sessions at the Gold Coast round. The streets of Sydney, while still being a street circuit, had very different characteristics to the Gold Coast. Sydney features 90 degree corners and less street camber than the Gold Coast.
The Erebus squad would also be boosted by the addition of Mr. DTM - Bernd Schneider for the final round. Schneider was confident going into his Australian GT debut but knew what he was there for.
"The final round and I will try to do my best for Peter Hackett to win the Championship. He is leading by three points coming into the final races but we know the two races will be hard," Schneider said before the event.
"I know the Erebus guys from when the 2011 AMG Customer Awards and when I came over, I was impressed with how professional they are.
"My target is to win the race but this weekend is a bit different as I really want to support Peter in his Championship bid. If I get the possibility to win, I will try to do this - the competition is quite hard but I am confident."
Schneider, who has stepped back into the cockpit in 2012 to race selected GT3 races, was immediately on the pace, leading practice and taking pole by 1.7 seconds from the Maranello Motorsports Ferrari of John Bowe (with Peter Edwards). Hackett was third with Quinn in fourth.
Race 1 would be shortened by 12 minutes due to time restraints brought on by being on the V8 Supercar bill.
The short first race would still be enough to throw a Championship as Hackett spun at high speed, heavily damaging his car. Hackett lost the car in the fast turn five kink and appeared to lose his brakes, skating and spinning down the short straight before another concrete wall halted his path. Hackett remembers the incident in detail.
"At the turn in I carried a little too much brake, a little too much brake pressure," Hackett said."I don’t think I have ever had a racecar so sideways, so early in a corner.
"When I caught the wall on the left hand side it caught and broke the wheel instantly puncturing the tire. That put the car into quite violent spin.
"I got it parallel with the circuit, and the curbs on the turn in point for turn six, as I caught the curb, it actually bounced my right foot off the brake pedal and I went into the wall with no brakes."
The lap five crash would ensure that Quinn would lead the title going into the final race of the season.
It was unclear whether Hackett's car could be repaired in time for race two. The team's sponsors, Snap On Tools - who had a number of corporate guests at the race got a closer experience than they bargained for when the volunteer to help the Erebus Racing squad repair the car. The extra help was vital to getting the Mercedes ready.
Hackett's exit allowed Quinn to take an unchallenged second ahead of the Bowe/Edwards Ferrari. Quinn, though had his own scare, almost hitting the wall on the opening lap after missing his braking point coming onto the start/finish straight.
"When I ran wide I didn’t think too much of it but everyone seems to have seen it and keeps reminding me of it," Quinn said.
"I ran a little wide in that last turn, I got close to the wall but as long as you’re not touching it, it’s ok. The next lap round, I was looking in the mirrors, Hackett was a good bit behind me but he was still in the mirrors. The lap after, he was no longer in the mirrors and I thought something must have happened. The guys confirmed it on the radio – that Hackett was in the wall."
No one could get near Schneider who raced into the distance, winning by 17 seconds. In his efforts to keep up with Schneider, Quinn ran wide on lap one.
FIA GT Nogaro
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