ROTAX WORLD FINALS
Alex Quinn was invited to the Rotax World Finals in Valencia, following his successful outing at the International Open, becoming Junior Vice-Champion in the process.
The format for the World Finals differs to most events. Each class has a set chassis and random engines to choose from, meaning you can only mechanic what you have been allocated.
Practice got underway on Tuesday, with the main issue being Alex requiring pedal extensions, which came at an astonishing price. Therefore changes had to be made to his seating position, which was less than optimum.
By the end of testing on Wednesday morning, Alex was pumping in very quick times, ending the final practice session 2nd overall, and in good shape for qualifying.
Qualifying started in the afternoon, it was a frantic affair with many drivers out at once, with track position being vital in the closing stages. Alex ended up getting baulked during qualifying, spoiling his chance of a top result, leaving him P11 in his group, when early on he was up in 3rd place before his issues.
The result of the two qualifying groups meant that Alex had to start his first heat from 14th.
The first heat was a messy affair, first corner carnage infront resulted in Alex having to take avoiding action, dropping him to the back of the pack. He managed to get his head down and build his way back up to 12th at the flag after a solid fightback on a talented grid.
Heat 2 sadly was another case of bad luck, wrong place at the wrong time. Alex was an innocent victim after another driver made contact with him, breaking the radiator and steering on the kart giving him no chance to continue.
A rebuild was carried out over night to ensure all was ok before the final heat on Thursday.
Alex came out of the blocks very fast, instantly on the pace in warm-up, setting the fastest time in his group, decked out in his special 'World Finals' racing suit and boots, he definitely caught the eye of the paparazzi!
A strong race in the final heat coming from 14th again saw Alex cross the line 5th, setting the second fastest lap in the process.
The strong final result saw Alex qualify for the Grand Final, avoiding the Second Chance Race. This was a huge relief after the DNF in Heat 2.
As we entered the final day, a monsoon came through Valencia, the track was like a lake, with rivers flowing over the tarmac! The warm-up confirmed how poor the visibility and conditions were. A kart spun in the middle of the track, leaving Alex no chance of avoiding him. The contact was severe enough to snap the chassis, Alex was ok but the entire kart needed a reframe before the Pre-Final.
A frantic job ensumed between Dad - Sam, and 5 Sodi mechanics, managing to get Alex out ready for the Pre-Final.
As the conditions worsened, the finals were delayed untill racing was deemed safe. The time delay meant that the Grand Final would now become the Pre-Final, leaving Alex with no further chance to build on his starting position from the Pre-Final. For the now Grand Final, Alex started 28th, worked his way up through the field through a mixture of monsoon, wet and damp conditions, as the weather played havoc with the racing. Alex came across the line 17th.
While it was disappointing to not get another race to build on the position, Alex had great pace throughout the event! Sadly the luck was not on his side for this weekend, but every experience helps along the way.
BIG THANK YOU TO THE GUYS AT COLES FOR COMING OUT TO VALENCIA FOR US AT THE WORLD FINALS!
A special thanks to those at JAG Engineering – Rotax Distributor for the UK for their support, encouragement and praise to Alex throughout the event.
Also to the fantastic team at Sodi for their unbelievable effort and assistance to get Alex out for the Final! The effort they put in was over and beyond, and we could not be thankful enough for the help!
The final mention goes to the team at Freem UK and MDM Designs for coming up with a truly unique one-off special suit and boot design for Alex.
The suit featured images of Alex throughout the season, patterned up into a story of his first year of Junior racing, which caught many admirers at the event! Thank you to both you for a very special surprise.
So there is 2014's Racing sadly finished for Alex, his first in Juniors.
Despite the bad luck at the World Finals, this year has been huge success for Alex.
This time last year, he has just finished his final Cadet race... this year he has competed in two World Championship events, competed for the British Title in Minimax and starred in European Competition.
SO ONTO 2015 WE GO! OUR PLANS WILL BE FINALIZED SOON, SO CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES
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2014 SUMMARY
SUPER ONE MINIMAX -VICE BRITISH CHAMPION
KARTMASTERS GP MINIMAX - VICE CHAMPION
ROTAX EURO CHALLENGE JUNIOR - 5TH
ROTAX INTERNATIONAL OPEN - VICE CHAMPION
ROTAX JUNIOR - WORLD FINALIST
