Tony Quinn will make a racing return in Townsville next weekend – 12 months after surviving an enormous Porsche crash at the Reid Park street track.
The veteran racer and motorsport enthusiast endured a punishing crash into the concrete wall at Turn 10 during the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship last year.
Quinn suffered eight broken ribs, five fractured vertebrae, a punctured lung, a broken leg and a broken foot in the accident, spending more than a month in the Townsville University Hospital during his initial recovery.
“It’s a little spooky to be heading back to Townsville, but I have my reasons for going back there,” said Quinn.
“I really just want to take Dr Soong out to dinner. He looked after me in intensive care and kept me sane. The ICU is a place where you can easily go insane.
“Dr Soong is just so friendly, so I want to meet up with him and pay my gratitude.
“I’m going to be driving the Aussie Racing Car. I’m not going to be ‘racing’ it. You’ll see me near the back of the field, just having a good time.
“My main aim for the weekend is to stay out of trouble and stay very, very far away from the concrete wall.
“Twelve months on, I can move around without any assistance. Sometimes I feel like I look like a penguin when I’m walking, but I’m getting better and better, and hopefully, in a few months, I’ll be back to how I was before the accident.
“I’ve really enjoyed coming back to racing after my accident. I think before it, I’d had enough. I was fed up with racing at the level I was at. Now I go to the tracks and I just drive around. I just like speaking to people, saying hello and enjoying the experience. It’s now a hobby and I’m enjoying it more than ever.”
A long-time investor, supporter and competitor in Australian and New Zealand motorsport, Quinn’s driving days appeared over. However, his passion for the sport and his desire to compete has seen him contest a number of events throughout his recovery this year.
But at Townsville next week, Quinn will return to the venue that rocked his world.
The 65-year-old will compete in the fifth round of the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series, the popular pint-sized racing class that thrills crowds with its close racing and variety of winners.
“I really enjoy the guys that race in Aussie Racing Cars,” said Quinn.
“They are highly competitive, but they race in this class because they love it. Everyone enjoys driving the cars. The camaraderie is second to none.
“Some of the categories have lawyers on speed dial. These are just competitive, cool guys,
“My eldest son (Kent Quinn) is racing in the Masters class, so it’s nice to share the track with him again. But I’ll be leaving him up towards the front of the field. I’ll stay up the back and sweep up the bits and pieces.”
The Aussie Racing Cars category is owned, since 2012, by Quinn himself. It is one of a number of assets that Quinn has in motorsport, including ownership of Queensland Raceway, three circuits in New Zealand and a stake in the all-conquering Triple Eight Race Engineering Supercars team.
The Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series will contest four races over the three-day NTI Townsville 500 weekend, with one race on Friday and Saturday followed by two races on Sunday.
Words and Images: Supplied
