Tony Quinn and his rising Kiwi co-driver Matt McCutcheon showed plenty of promise at Queensland Raceway in Round 2 of the Australian Production Car Series, debuting their newly built Chevrolet Camaro with front-running pace and a podium finish, only for their weekend to be cut short by engine failure during the Saturday night endurance race.
Race 1: Podium Start for the Camaro
The weekend began on a high as McCutcheon put the #101 Camaro on pole in Friday’s qualifying session, setting up Quinn for the opening 30-minute sprint race as part of the “2 Days of Thunder” event.
Despite a tricky launch that saw Quinn drop a few places off the line due to wheel spin, he quickly fought back to third by lap two, executing clean passes on Christopher Gunther and Mark Griffith.
An early battle with Trent Whyte’s Ford Mustang saw Quinn temporarily relegated to fourth, but he capitalised when Paul Buccini’s BMW 340i encountered mechanical gremlins, moving back up the order.
A mid-race safety car bunched up the field after Rohit Saini went off at Turn 1, and Quinn used the restart to climb to third once more. Holding steady behind race winner Lindsay Kearns and runner-up Whyte, Quinn crossed the line third to secure a solid podium finish in the debut outing for the Camaro.
Race 2: Heartbreak in the Twilight 300
Excitement was high for Saturday night’s marquee event, the QR Twilight 300, a two-hour endurance race run under lights.
Once again, Quinn started the race and was immediately in the thick of the action. After settling into fourth off the line, he overtook Kearns on lap one to slot into third.
As the chaos unfolded early, with Griffith suffering a dramatic front brake fire after a tyre failure, Quinn climbed to second and appeared to be in contention for a potential victory.
But disaster struck just over 10 minutes into the race. While approaching Turn 3 at over 200km/h, the Camaro suffered a catastrophic engine failure, bringing Quinn’s race to a smoky halt and forcing an early retirement.
The safety car was deployed, and co-driver McCutcheon was heartbreakingly denied any time behind the wheel.
It marked a disappointing end to what had been a strong showing in terms of pace and potential.
Race 3: On the Sidelines
With the Camaro terminally damaged, Quinn and McCutcheon were ruled out of Sunday’s final 30-minute sprint, bringing a premature end to their Queensland campaign.
The third and final race of the weekend was again dominated by Mustang rivals, with Lindsay Kearns taking the win after contact with Trent Whyte triggered a spin for the Ultimate Diesel Tuning Mustang. Kearns capitalised, overtaking the BMW 340i of Karlie Buccini and the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG of Tom Hayman to take the flag.
Buccini held off Hayman for third, while Jesse Dixon’s Kirkworks BMW 130i took another Class D win in fifth overall.
Looking Ahead
While the weekend ended in frustration, the early pace and podium result in Race 1 showed the potential of the new Camaro pairing. McCutcheon’s impressive qualifying performance and Quinn’s competitive drive in the opening race suggest this Kiwi-Aussie duo will be one to watch as the season progresses.
They’ll now turn their attention to repairing the car in time for the championship’s next marquee outing, the “Fight in the Night”, a fan-favourite endurance round scheduled for August 15–17 as part of the Australian Super Series.
Header Image: Super Series
