Quinn aims for two Highlands 101 victories with Tander

2 November, 2014

With this year’s Highlands 101 endurance race meeting being held this weekend, November 8–9, at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell, Tony Quinn has paired up with renowned V8 Supercars driver, and three-times Bathurst 1000 winner, Garth Tander, as he seeks both the Highlands 101 race win and the Australian GT Championship (AGT) title.

Tony Quinn (L) and Garth Tander will be pairing up for the Highlands 101 endurance race

Quinn, the Highlands Motorsport Park owner, is the only winner of the two 101-format races run to date, and will be driving the same six-litre V12 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Tander is looking forward to Highlands 101, and parity afforded by the 101-format, saying, “When the ‘pro’ drivers like me compete, we can’t just come in and dominate, which is nice. It’s a bit like having a golf handicap.”

Tony Quinn and Fabian Coulthard winning a previous Highlands 101 

Quinn is also in a strong position to secure the AGT title, sitting a mere 32 points behind current leader Richard Muscat. With Muscat enlisting Craig Baird as his co-driver, the competition in this final round of this AGT series has really ramped up, ensuring the weekend’s going to be one to watch. Highlands 101 takes place at Highlands Motorsport Park over the weekend of November 8–9. Tickets are available online from TicketDirect, or at the gate during the race weekend. 

Travelling companion

It’s easy to see why the Morris Minor Traveller was one of the best-loved variants of the Morris Minor. Introduced in 1953, it was equipped with the same independent torsion bar front suspension, drum brakes, and rack and pinion steering as its saloon sibling but, with their foldable rear seat increasing versatility, many Travellers were used as trade vehicles, says Derek Goddard. Derek and Gail Goddard, the owners of this superbly restored example, have run Morris Minors since before they were married in 1974.
“Our honeymoon vehicle was a blue Morris Minor van — it was a rust bucket,” says Derek.

Super Leicht Gullwing

It’s fair to say that nothing much in the classic Mercedes world gets past Mercedes-Benz Club stalwart Garry Boyce so it wasn’t surprising to learn that around 15 years ago he had sniffed out an extremely rare 300SL lightweight Gullwing as well as a 1958 300SL Roadster hiding away in the Waikato. The cars were not for sale but Garry eventually managed to persuade the owner to allow him and his restoration team to take a look at the Roadster. They discovered a very distressed but largely unmolested car. The car was so original that the body had never been off the chassis, meaning most of the parts and fittings were still present and correct, as they had been fitted by the factory.