Still in a lot of pain and using a spare chassis, Miguel Quiñones powered his way through what was a miserable weekend to take the chequered flag 1st on the road on Sunday. Although a post race-penalty relegated him to 3rd, the 4-time karting champion was more than pleased to walk away with a podium finish at the Rotax Max Challenge Philippines’ double-header at the Carmona Race Track (CRT).
Miguel began the weekend on the back foot as he struggled with handling issues on his #15 Parolin kart. Add to that the fact that the competition is so tight this year that only half a second split the Top 10 drivers in Round 3 Qualifying. This meant that even if his best lap was only 0.329 secs off pole, it landed him in P7 on Saturday.
He began proceedings by charging to the front in Heat 1 with hopes of improving his starting position. But while making good progress, another karter spun right in front of Miguel. In avoidance, he went straight into the catch fence where he sustained minor injuries. Unfortunately, his kart wasn’t so lucky.
The damage sustained turned his handling issues from bad to worse. But determined to fight back and overlooking the pain, Miguel went on attack mode in Heat 2 and claim 2nd place.
His luck, however, ran out during the Finals. Miguel was down on power, probably related to his earlier crash, and dropped down the order as the race went on. Eventually, he would stop on the sidelines on lap 11 after his engine cut out and was forced into a DNF.
After the previous day’s events, DRQ Motorsports hurriedly prepared a spare OTK chassis overnight in time for Round 4 on Sunday. He put it to good use in Qualifying to set a time just 0.163 secs behind the pole sitter earning him P6 on the grid.
Miguel charged through the field in Heat 1, climbing 3 places up to P3. He already had P2 in his sights, but ran out of laps and settled for 3rd place. Things did not go as smoothly as he had hoped in Heat 2 after he was pushed off the track on the opening lap. Now in dead last, Miguel had to chase after the pack and make up for lost ground to take the chequered flag in a decent 7th.
Aiming to wrap up the weekend on a high note, Miguel went all out during the Finals. He managed to catch up to the Top 2 drivers in just a matter of a few laps, before muscling his way into the lead which he kept until he crossed the finish line. Although he was later handed a 5-secs drop bumper penalty, finishing in 3rd was already a big achievement for Miguel and DRQ Motorsports after enduring a roller coaster weekend.
Miguel Quiñones: “Not a bad weekend after all the unfortunate things that happened. But that’s just part of racing. I was also lucky to have a spare chassis to use on Sunday. Most of all, I had a great team behind me. I would like to thank everyone at DRQ Motorsports for an outstanding effort, to my mechanics kuya Dodong, kuya Benjie, ate Maimai, and kuya Burong for preparing my kart setup and engine.”
Miguel Quiñones is sponsored by RZQ The Aesthetic Surgery Clinic, RZQ Aesthetic Medicine Institude, Derma Medica, and Coca-Cola.
[Photos by Bong Boado]
