|
Team VIP Petfoods' Father And Son In First-Ever Queensland Rally |
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, 03 July 2007 |
Team VIP Petfoods’ dynamic father and son duo - Tony and Klark Quinn - will be pulling out all the stops this week for Queensland’s first ever classic tarmac rally, the Sunshine Coast’s Suncoast Classic, to ensure it’s a home-state showdown not to be forgotten.
With the pair competing against each other for only the third time in a rally event, with Klark looking to lead his father across the line for the first time and Tony looking for a Targa Tasmania re-match, the weekend is sure to be a fiery one.
Earlier this year, Tony took top five honours with regular co-driver
Keith Wenn – who will be joining Tony again for this week’s event – in
the highly competitive Targa Tasmania event.
Now with nearly 25% of those lining up on the Sunshine Coast having
competed in Tasmania earlier this year, including event runners-up Jim
Richards and Barry Oliver and sixth place-getters Matt Close and Casey
Close, the battle is sure to be on to see who gets to the line first in
Quinn’s home-state rematch.
“Targa Tasmania was a fantastic event for us, and as we ran the old car
(the Porsche 996 turbo) with two old guys in it (referring to himself
and co-driver Keith Wenn of Tasmania) I think we did pretty good to
take the top five.
“With the Suncoast Classic being held in our home-state and a lot of
the guys who ran in our competition in Tasmania coming back, I will be
looking forward to dicing with them again - hopefully coming out on top
to put the VIP Petfoods brand up on that podium.”
While Tony is looking to better his Targa Tasmania sparring partners,
Klark is looking more towards building on his rally experience and
hopefully beating his ‘rally master’ dad and his Porsche across the
finish line aboard his Mitsubishi EVO VIII.
“The EVO is the best rally car next to the Porsche and the car I have
run in my previous two rally ventures at 2003’s Targa Tasmania and last
year’s Mt Buller Sprint, so I am happy to run it this week,” said Klark.
“I was asked the other day what I would pick if I could choose between
running dad’s Porsche or my EVO, but to be honest I would run a ‘billy
kart’ if it meant I was able to have a go at events like this.
“This will be my third rally, and with it being the first in our
home-state I am hoping we can push forward to finish at the pointy-end
of the field.
“To finish ahead of my dad would just be a bonus as he is very
experienced when it comes to events like this with so many rallies and
enduros under his belt, but I feel I am better prepared this time
around following last month’s Nürburgring 24 hour.”
The prestigious Nürburgring 24 hour, the world’s most renowned
endurance event, saw Tony and Klark alongside Team VIP Petfoods regular
Craig Baird and Nürburgring stalwart Kevin Bell take top twelve honours
during a race marred by horrific weather which saw many cars struggle
to stay on-track.
The major event, boosted by the delivery of Australia’s only Porsche
911 GT3 RSR (Type 997), was just another step in Tony’s grand ‘brand
promotion’ plan as company director of VIP Petfoods, along with the
Dubai 24 hour and the team’s campaigns in the Carrera Cup, Drift
Australia and Aussie Racing Cars series and other rally and enduro
events across the country.
Fielding two defending champions (Craig Baird in Carrera Cup and Paul
Kemal in Aussie Racing Cars) and a 2006 podium placer (Robbie Bolger in
Drift Australia) as well as top ten and top five performances in
international and domestic endurance events, the senior Quinn has
invested heavily to ensure his team and therefore his brand, are at the
top of the game.
“We are aiming to establish the team as Australia’s premier
international endurance team, and so have invested heavily to make this
a reality,” said Tony.
“It is all part of our push of the VIP Petfoods brand into
international markets, and to give Australia a team capable of winning
these major races.
“Domestically we (VIP Petfoods) have grown off the back of our
Australia-wide racing pursuits and involvement in motorsport events
over the years, and our international push is just a natural
progression from that success.
“And hey, who wouldn’t want the chance to own their own race team and have a run up the front at high speed!”
Looking at the business today, the strategy certainly seems to be
working, with the Australian owned and operated family business now not
only the number one producer of fresh chilled petfood in Australia and
the world but also the third largest petfood company in the grocery
sector in the country, while at the same time exporting to key overseas
markets.
|
