Tony Quinn literally owned the show as he combined with Fabian Coulthard to win the inaugural Highlands 101 endurance race.
At the facility he built, Highlands Motosport Park at Cromwell in New Zealand, Quinn took the spoils in the 101-lap marathon which started with a unique spin on the traditional Le Mans start of yesteryear.
After winning the final heat of the Australian GT Championship yesterday, Quinn and Coulthard again proved too good in their Darrell Lea Aston Martin.
The pair eventually finished 34 seconds ahead of Friday AGT race winners Rod Salmon and Liam Talbot, who were joined by Jason Bright to finish second in Salmon’s Audi R8.
Peter Edwards/John Bowe (Ferrari), Andrew Taplin/Dean Canto (Ferrari), Greg Murphy/Neil Crompton (McLaren) and Andrew Waite/Simon Evans (Aston Martin) completed the top six.
“It’s always satisfying to win any race, but it’s obviously mixed for me because some people might think it’s stacked in my favour in some way,” said Quinn.
“You know, I chose to drive with the Kiwi guys like Fabian – they’re very genuine and always try their best.”
The seventh-placed Porsche GT3 of Rick Armstrong and Matthew Hamilton was the first of the South Island Endurance Series entries home, with the local cars joining the imports in the 33 car field.
V8 Supercars Shane van Gisbergen was to drive Ford Falcon in the race alongside Dwayne Carter, but failed to start after cracking a differential on the way to victory in Saturday’s SIES 3 Hour.
The Klark Quinn/Craig Baird Australian GT Championship winning Porsche was the 101’s highest profile casualty.
The car failed to finish after colliding with a lapped car under the circuit’s bridge with Baird at the wheel.
The race took place in front of an official attendance of 12,000, helping the event to a three-day total of 28,000.
The event was the first major meeting for the Highlands facility, which will also host a Toyota Racing Series/V8 SuperTourer double-header in January.
“The biggest worry was we knew we’d be judged from this first event, so it was very important for Highlands to put on a good show,” said Tony Quinn.
“Everyone associated with the Australian GT Championship was blown away.
“I can tell you sincerely that less than 10 per cent of them had been to Queenstown before and there’s not one of them who’s said they’re not coming back.
“They absolutely loved it and they haven’t even tried the wine yet.”
The 2014 Australian GT Championship schedule will kick-off at Sandown in late March.
