Crick in control as Quinn sweats out GT Championship Practise
Tasmanian driver Greg Crick has sent a strong message to the rest of the Vodka O Australian GT competitors, by topping both of today’s practice sessions for t the final round of the Championship at the Norton 360 Challenge at Sandown International Raceway.
Crick, driving the JEEP sponsored Dodge Viper, was the only driver to break into to 1.12 second bracket and said it was simply down to braking and lots of track experience.
“I was watching the other drivers and was really surprised how early they were braking, plus having done a million laps around this place I felt really comfortable in the car,” he said.
“This is a grunt track and I knew coming into the weekend we would be quick, but I am surprised I was the only driver in the 12’s.”
Klark Quinn who currently sits in second place in the Championship once again suffered engine issues throughout both sessions leaving the QLD based driver with very little track time before qualifying tomorrow.
“We had a rear main seal issue in the first practice session, which is the same problem that hurt us earlier in the year at Phillip Island, and in the second session it looks like a throttle position sensor wasn’t sending the right message so I simply couldn’t get any power,” said Quinn.
“We have some set up data from last year when Dad ran the car, so we will head down those lines and see if we can put together a quick lap in tomorrow qualifying.”
A major incident in the first practice session involving Ash Samadi saw most of the field sitting in pit lane for 15 minutes while his Rocking Angel Mosler MT 900 GT3 was removed from Dandenong Cnr, after destroying a brake disc and spinning to the infield.
Samadi’s team was able to fix the Mosler for P2 however it took to the track with no rear body work meaning the car was very unstable in the rear.
Other cars including the Championship leading Audi R8 LMS of Mark Eddy spun on the brake fluid left by Samadi but no damage was recorded and he went on to finish fifth and third at the end of the day.
Peter Boylan, the current Challenge Class leader did not enjoy a fruitful first practice session, however got on top of his Boylan Group Porsche 997 Cup Car by practice two finishing ahead of his closest Championship rival Tim Poulton by just one tenth of a second.
“I was shocked at how slow we were in P1, but we managed to pick up two seconds in P2 which means we will be in the hunt when we head into qualifying tomorrow,” he said.
“One tenth of a second is nothing, so I have no doubt Tim will be close to me all weekend and the Championship will go down to the wire.”
Tomorrow’s GT action will feature a 20 minute qualifying session, followed by the first of two 30 minute races at 2.40pm.
Telecast details - Saturday November 26th, 1-1.30pm, 7Mate
The Vodka O Australian GT Championship is a National motor racing series pitting some of the world’s most exotic and exciting race cars against each other in a mix of sprint and endurance race formats on some of Australia’s most challenging circuits including Mt Panorama Bathurst, the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and the Adelaide Parklands street circuit for the Clipsal 500
