The siblings Miguel and Shasha Quiñones now feel confident ahead of the upcoming local championship after a solid showing during the Rotax MAX Challenge Malaysia over the weekend. Their one-off appearance at the Morac Adventure Park in Langkawi served as a warm up before the national 2022 season officially begins in April.
Driving under Double R Motorsports (DRM Racing Team) in the Senior MAX category, Miguel and Shasha were 5th and 7th fastest during Qualifying on Saturday – only a few tenths behind the pole sitter. It was a bit unfortunate though that Miguel wasn’t able to improve on his position during Heat 1 after a collision while battling for P5 lost him a position and finished in 6th. The younger Quiñones, on the other hand, was not too far behind in 7th where she started.
Things would improve come Sunday. Although the morning’s Heat 2 yielded the same results for both karters, with 6th and 7th places once again, Miguel nearly landed a spot on the podium during Pre Finals. He would start from P6 and managed to fight his way up to P3 before being overtaken by his teammate Amer Harris to finish in 4th. Shasha was sadly unclassified in 8th.
Miguel was on the hunt for a podium come the all-important Finals. Starting from P4, he was in a good position to fight for P3 over the course of the 20-lap race. His best efforts to get past, however, was unrewarded and concluded his weekend in 4th. His younger sister Shasha was also battling for position in P7. While she did get past up to P6, fatigue due to the warm weather slowed her down and later settled for 7th place.
After a productive outing in Malaysia, both karters now have their sights on the local Rotax MAX Challenge Philippines where they’ll compete with Dr. Q Motorsports on the 9th/10th of April.
Miguel Quiñones: “We had some good battles here at Langkawi with decent results. It was also a welcome experience competing in Rotax MAX Challenge Malaysia and learn a new engine that I’m not familiar with. This is in preparation for the Rotax MAX season in the Philippines which begins next month where we hope to do well. Overall, it was a great weekend with Double R Motorsports. ”
Shasha Quiñones: “I’m quite happy that I was able to get consistent lap times by Sunday practice. That allowed me to get closer to the front and finish 7th in the Finals. But I know that I can still do better if I push harder, which is a valuable lesson learned for the upcoming season. It was very hot in Langkawi making quite challenging to race in those conditions, but an enjoyable experience overall.”
[Photos by Dice Photowerkz]
