Coming off the back off a record fifth victory in Targa New Zealand a fortnight ago, Quinn and his co-driver, Naomi Tillett, will be pushing hard for victory in their Nissan GT-R.
Business commitments for the new owner of the Darrel Lea confectionary company had initially meant that Quinn would miss the Mt Buller-based event, however after his win in New Zealand he is looking forward to getting behind the wheel again.
“It will be great to contest Targa High Country again, although after the distances of Targa New Zealand, this event will be a bit of a sprint,” Quinn said.“We did 850 kilometres of stages in five days, and on the final day alone the distance was longer than Targa High Country, so it will be a bit different. But we’re looking forward to it.”
Quinn says that his Nissan GT-R will be at a disadvantage compared to the Lamborghini of reigning Targa champion, Jason White.
“In reality, we’ll be racing for second place as Jason’s Lamborghini is far and away the best car in the field.
“However we’ll push hard and aim to keep him honest, but unless he has a mechanical problem, our chances of a win are fairly slim,” Quinn added.
White was pleased with the news of Quinn’s late entry after expecting his main competition to come from Matt Close’s Audi TT RS and Matt Sims’ Nissan GT-R.
“Without Quinny the top end of the field is a bit thin, so it’s great to have him on the entry list,” White said.
“He’s a great competitor and one that you can never discount, so we’re looking forward to the battle over the Victorian stages.”
Targa High Country begins with a street stage and Targa Expo in Mansfield from 4.30pm on Friday, before the cars tackle eight stages on Saturday.
The first four stages will see competitors head down Mt Buller, then up and over Tolmie and Whitlands to Whitfield, before a lunch break at Lake William Hovell. Cars will return to Mt Buller after the same four stages, run in the reverse direction on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday’s route heads to and from Eildon over a further eight closed road stage, before the official champagne finish on Mt Buller on Sunday afternoon.
For spectator information, visit the official event website at www.targa.com.au
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