Two Out of Two for Quinn

July 1, 2013
This article was originally published in Karting Magazine UK, July 2013

Little Green Man Series, Rowrah

On a normal afternoon you can see every inch of the Rowrah circuit from its lofty vantage points. Alas, this wasn’t a normal afternoon as incessant rain and fog restricted visibility for spectators, if not the competitors themselves.

The practice sessions were run with everyone going out on slicks but a drizzle of rain immediately before Heat 1 led to a dash for wets. As it happened this race was postponed after four false starts. With the circuit now drying out, it gave everyone a chance to reconsider their original choice. Ultimately, however, no-one was prepared to take a chance on the rain staying away. Dexter Patterson recorded an impressive win in this one.

Competitors in Heat 2 faced a similarly difficult choice, made slightly easier by a sprinkling of rain some minutes beforehand. All opted for wets and Alex Quinn got his tyre pressures just right to score a convincing victory. There was nothing borderline about tyre preference in subsequent races. The rain that appeared around11.30am was stubbornly persistent, slicks remained in their bags and no-one expected them to appear again throughout the meeting. Oliver York, Lewis Thompson and a resurgent Albert Carter won the following three heats.

Patterson had looked very quick in all three of his heats and occupied pole position for the A Final with Quinn alongside him. Thompson shared row 2 with Teddy Wilson ahead of Tom Wood and Tyler Chesterton. Patterson got away well off the line with Quinn and Thompson fighting over 2nd place. Jack Brailsford, Mario Mills and Kiern Jewiss were amongst those caught up in a first bend tangle that placed them well behind the pack. By the end of lap 1, Quinn had reduced Patterson’s lead down to three or four yards and pulled off a nice over taking manoeuvre halfway around their next tour. Thompson followed him through with Patterson slotting in tightly behind.

The front three were able to gradually pull away from a group contesting 4th place that initially consisted of Ethan Hawkey, Wood, Carter, Chesterton, Wilson and Tom Douglas. Chesterton dropped away from the pack as they disappeared into the fog and emerged back in 13th spot. From grid 17, York was making great inroads and by quarter distance, having already disposed of Douglas, he overtook both Wilson and Carter to claim 6th position.

By half distance Quinn had begun to edge away from Thompson who had pulled out a similar gap over Patterson. Further back though there was action aplenty. Wilson had latched onto York and, together, they were catching up with Hawkey who had been replaced by Wood in 4th position. Hawkey and Wood then had a coming together that allowed York to take 4th spot, with Wilson grabbing 5th. Zach Robertson and Jonny Edgar had moved ahead of Douglas, but as this race neared its conclusion Edgar took a knock that sent him spinning off the circuit. On the following lap Douglas suffered a similar fate.

Quinn had pulled out a lead of around 40 yards or more and he cruised effortlessly to record his second consecutive LGM victory. After seemingly settling for 3rd place, Patterson put in three rapid laps that brought him right onto Thompson’s rear bumper. They came round the final bend alongside each other, but Thompson had sufficient speed coming out of this corner to hold onto 2nd by a few inches. In 4th position came York, narrowly ahead of Wilson, with Wood only just getting the verdict over Hawkey for 6th. Robertson, Sean Butcher and Carter made up the top ten.

Quinn admitted that he would be completing unfinished homework on his way back down to Cornwall. However, he’d certainly scored top marks in Rowrah’s testing conditions. “l passed Dexter on lap 2 and was able to control the race from that point onwards. They were both very strong but my kart set-up was good enough for me to feel quite confident,” he said. “It’s been a great start to the season for me so far and I’m very happy to be leading the Little Green Man at this stage.”

Patterson was equally pleased with 3rd position. “I could have done with another lap to take 2nd place, but this is my best result in karting so far,” he claimed. Thompson acknowledged that it had been a close run thing but insisted he hadn’t been unduly concerned. “Even when Dexter pulled alongside me I knew that he’d be slower coming out of the corner,” the lad from Wigan pointed out “l watched Ben Watson’s goal that won us the Cup against Man City so it’s been a good weekend. 1st place would have been better, but Alex was a little bit quicker out of the corners and I realised early on that he’d be difficult to beat.”

RESULTS

  1. Alex Quinn (Zip)
  2. Lewis Thompson (Zip)
  3. Dexter Patterson (Zip)
  4. Oliver York (Zip)
  5. Teddy Wilson (Zip)
  6. Tom Wood (Zip)

Pole Position Prize: Patterson
Fastest Lap Award: Patterson {63.07s)
Best Turned-Out Kart: Abbi Pulling
Top Pair: Ethan Hawkey & Sean Butcher

Privateers Cup:

  1. Tyler Chesterton
  2. Joshua Rafferty
  3. Toby Stephenson