Nathan Quinn is a man flying high on confidence.
Fresh from a his first RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) victory since 2017, the Supercheap Auto Coffs Coast Rally winner has done it again, this time winning the 2022 Alpine Rally of East Gippsland.
Behind the wheel of 1970 Mazda RX2, Quinn enjoyed a solid victory in the 100th anniversary of the famous event, finishing almost three minutes ahead of Andrew and David Travis, while Claude Murray and Lizzy Ferme rounded out the podium.
The victory came as a result of consistency and pace, which were the same key ingredients to his amazing victory on the Coffs Coast just a week before.
Although they were challenged for much of the event from a variety of different crews, Quinn continued to post solid times stage after stage, before ultimately claiming the win.
In those challenges were a number of names familiar to ARC fans around the country, including Jack Monkhouse and Dale Moscatt and Brendan Reeves, who alongside Kate Catford, piled all sorts of pressure throughout.
However, unlike Quinn, they each had their fair share of issues – Monkhouse far down the order due to a penalty sustained on the opening day, while Reeves consolidated some issues with ninth overall.
Quinn’s biggest challengers for top honours came in the form of Adrian Stratford and Kain Manning in a 1985 Toyota Corolla and 1999 Mitsubishi Magna pilots Tristan Carrigan and Neill Woolley – both crews fast early but issues forcing them out of contention.
With his plans for 2023 yet to be confirmed, Quinn was thrilled to take the win for the second time.
“To be fair, it’s unbelievable. After I won what was a shortened event a few years ago, I knew I had unfinished business and that was to win the full rally,” Quinn said.
“Our goal was to go out fast on Thursday and set the race pace. To then manage four days, stay up the front, not let the red mist take over and race once I had the lead, well that was one of the hardest things to do.
“It was a shame that Jack and Brendan had their issues because we went into the event really wanting to go up against each other, but full credit to all of the others who put on a really good show.
“As for me and my plans, it’s purely a timing thing as the amount of time away kills me.
“When I crossed the finish line and thought what next – I have had to do that a couple of times. I have only won the ARC once, but the motivation to do it again is still there. I need to sit back for a couple of weeks and work out what I want to do and work out my time for next year.”
Other notable ARC regulars in the Alpine Rally including Ryan Williams and Larisa Biggar, who finished seventh, while Williams’ usual co-driver in Brad Jones finished fifth with Ryan Smart.
White Wolf Racing’s Tom Clarke and Ryan Preston’s weekend wasn’t as good as their fellow ARC competitors, with the duo failing to finish with engine dramas forcing them to record a DNF.
