Qualifying 1: 1st Qualifying 2: 1st Race: 1st
After leaving Daytona in August, the team surprisingly found themselves leading the points in the South Atlantic Road Racing Championship. A short discussion later, and we decided that we would take part in the SARRC finale at Roebling Road Raceway in search of our first championship. We needed to make the most of our opportunity, as we were in direct competition with seasoned-driver Efren Ormaza. Quentin would have to win the main event in order to insure the championship was ours.
The team did a great job as always preparing the car for our biggest weekend of the year. We also received some set-up assistance from pro-driver and master-mechanic Mark Eaton in order to find every crucial tenth on track. Meanwhile, Quentin studied old GoPro footage and plenty of other videos to prepare himself for racing at a circuit he hadn’t visited in over three years. Roebling is located in beautiful Savannah, Georgia and the weather was set to be clear for the entire weekend. That meant perfect conditions for some great racing and possibly an intense battle.
Although Quentin managed to out-pace Ormaza through the two qualifying sessions, the team was still hard at work trying to dial-in the car as much as possible for the race. Ormaza came out to the race on Sunday with a well-sorted car and the driver-skill to match. As the pair drove out onto the track for their out-lap, the tension began to build. They came around the final corner, and the race was on. Ormaza managed to time his start slightly better and led Quentin through the first corner. Quentin began falling away from Ormaza in the first couple of laps, and the team were in shock. However, Quentin actually had a plan all along. He purposefully drove conservatively in the first few laps so that his tires could gradually build up to optimum performance.
After the preliminary laps, Quentins’ strategy came to fruition. He gradually reeled in Ormaza over the next few laps, before sending it down the inside at turn 1. The car worked to perfection, and Quentin continued to pull away from Ormaza all the way to the finish line. The race was over. The team were ecstatic and relieved. We had managed to clinch our first championship. Quentin provided an outstanding performance thanks to all of the teams’ hard work. There is no better feeling than winning a race and championship after so much time, energy, and dedication from so many people working together for a common goal.
After the race, Quentin had a few words to say. “I can’t thank everyone enough for helping us to win this championship. The whole team have worked so hard in the past year and a bit to get us here. It’s still incredible to me. I need to say a big thank you to Mark Eaton for helping us find the perfect set-up on this car for this track. Also, I would like to say happy birthday to my dad! His birthday is three days away and I know he’s very happy with my performance as well as from the whole team. My dad got me into racing, and has always been my biggest supporter. I really couldn’t thank him enough for everything he has done to get me here. I also hope that one day soon, I can repay him for everything he has done for me. As always, thank you to our sponsors at Duane Neyer Motorsports, Venturi Motorsport Management, and Hooked On Driving for their continued support of this amazing team!” exclaimed Quentin. We think that was very well-said, so that is how we’ll leave you! Thank you to all of our friends, family, and countless other supporters for following our journey to this amazing achievement!
