Crash Rules Quinn Out of Adelaide Weekend

A crash in the opening race of the CAMS Australian GT Championship has ended Tony Quinn’s Adelaide weekend early, with the Darrell Lea team withdrawing his McLaren 650S GT3 after damage in the opening race proved irreparable.

Quinn had endured a difficult opening day of the championship, with limited running following a spin at the high speed Turn 8 during practice.

His race then lasted little more than a few hundred meters, when the Darrell Lea car was eliminated at the first chicane.

Having negotiated the first chicane safely, Quinn had begun to move right to position himself on the inside line as the field poured onto Wakefield Street.

The faintest of touches between the McLaren and Max Twigg’s Australian Engineered Flooring Mercedes-AMG GT3 saw Quinn’s race end early.

The racing incident saw Quinn spin into the barrier, damaging the rear of the McLaren too badly for the crew to repair at the circuit.

The Scotsman had been set to take the 100th Australian GT Championship race start of his career on Sunday, a milestone that now looks set to occur at the Australian Grand Prix later this month.

This comes after Quinn made a late manufacturer change just hours before the race weekend started, electing to race a McLaren this season rather than the planned Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

He previously shared the McLaren with his son Klark Quinn, as well as Andrew Waite and 2016 CAMS Australian Endurance Champion Grant Denyer, at the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hours in February.