Quek at the Tamiya Asia Cup Singapore Qualifiers

Racer was sent this report from Acorn Racing about their nine-year-old team driver Dominic Quek. He was attending the Tamiya Asia Cup Singapore Qualifying Championship 2011…

“It was the final race of the 14th Tamiya Asia Cup Singapore Championships. There were about 30 racers at this event, all geared up and ready for the race ahead. The day started out with sunny skies and I was taking part in the Superstock class, which was restricted to the TT01 chassis.
My first two rounds of qualifying did not go too well, as my car had no traction whatsoever. My dad and mechanic, with help from fellow racers, tried various changes before finally tracing the problem to an issue with the droop. Before the first round of qualifying, we even changed from a gear differential to a ball differential. In the third qualifying round, however, with the set-up issue solved, my car was back to its old self and was now enjoying good traction, which allowed me to drive more aggressively though I still had to contend with understeer that is typical of the TT01. I finished second in my third qualifying heat, just behind Daryl Thong, who was fighting with Kevin Wong for a victory in the overall standings. At the end of qualifying, I was fourth behind pole position man Kevin Wong, with Daryl in second and Shawn Chow in third.
In the first leg of the A final, it drizzled just after the start. I actually had an incredible start, overtaking Shawn. When the light rain came, Kevin started to lose traction, allowing me to overtake him easily. Unfortunately, the race announcer, Joo Kiah, called the race to a halt because of the rain. In the re-run of the first final, I eventually finished fourth as I crashed into a lamppost on the last lap and broke my front left upper arm. I limped crossed the line on my roof, just a millimetre away from the Atalon Raceway owner, Pason Phua.
In the next final, a few racers jump started, so we had to re-start the final all over again. The fight between me and Shawn for the third spot was tough, as he is also a brilliant driver. I managed to hold him off to finish third, with Kevin taking the win, followed by Daryl.
The last final was once again a big fight between me and Shawn as we were both aiming for the final podium spot. When we started, I overtook Shawn and Daryl, and someone crashed into Shawn so he was way behind me. On the second lap, Daryl and I were exchanging positions through the chicane after the long straight. Daryl overtook me, and I had to settle for third place.  Coming out of the sweeper onto the straight, I nudged Daryl and he spun out. I waited for him to catch up to me and when he did so, we were fighting once again. He opened up a gap turning into the sweeper, allowing me to re-take second spot. Luckily, that was the last lap of the race and I finished in second position. Kevin again took the win, while Daryl was third.
After the race, the race director announced that Kevin has to drop down into fourth place due to a technical problem, meaning that I could claim second place overall. I was overjoyed as I finally achieved my aim of a podium finish in a TAC race.
To conclude the wonderful race, there was the prize presentation, the lucky draw, and the champagne ceremony. I was very pleased with my result, and I hope to continue to do well in future races.  With my second place finish in this event, I finished fifth overall in the series.
I would like to thank Aaron Sim and Acorn Racing, for providing me all the equipment, my dad, uncle PY Tang, Nicholas Lee and Daryl Thong for helping me to set up my car.  Next up is the Tamiya Asia Cup Finals in Singapore at the end of September 2011 where I will be competing in the Junior Stock Class.”

Source: Acorn Racing