Mighty Quinn hits the dirt

There aren't too many motorsport disciplines Tony Quinn hasn't tackled and conquered. He has raced Porsches, V8 utes, open wheelers, won Targa Tasmania and recently finished ninth in the Nurburgring 24-hour race.

As he heads to Perth next week for the Australasian Safari, his remaining ambition is to complete an off-road rally and perhaps one day head for the ultimate test of man and machine - the Dakar Rally.

"We did the Safari last year but only lasted one-and-a-quarter days and blew up two engines," he said.

His Italian-made Mitsubishi Pajero rally machine featured a V6 twin turbo race engine which they melted within 22km in another off-road rally in NSW.

This year the 52-year-old Gold Coast VIP Pet Foods owner has replaced the turbo race engine with an off-the-shelf naturally aspirated six-litre LS2 V8 engine from Holden, plus a new gearbox and transfer case. "It arrived in a crate brand new. I haven't even driven it yet, but the crew tells me it will be fast," he said. "This time we're ready."

Quinn will again pair with co-driver Adrian Bolton; "a good mate and a good mechanic". "It's just a boys' own adventure," he said. "There's nothing we've done that has been more alpha-male. "Every bloke should do it (Australasian Safari). "It's an amazing event. You can't tell what is going to go wrong in the middle of the bush.

"The winner last year came in with not a panel that wasn't damaged."

Quinn said he was not hoping for any placing, just to finish the race and said there was no commercial reason to compete as media coverage of the event was limited. "We only did one-and-a-quarter days last time but I loved it because it's totally different to everything we have ever done. It's a new challenge," he said.

"It's not about winning, it's about finishing."

His Pajero rally car cost him $55,000 and he estimates he has spent about $100,000 getting it race-ready, including large truck air horns on the roof to alert drivers in front that they are about to be passed.

"They get two honks, two nudges, then two tonnes," Quinn laughs.

He will also take his Targa Tasmania-winning tarmac rally Nissan GT-R with him to Perth to compete in Targa West. His ultimate dream is to compete in the Dakar Rally, now held in South America each January.

"I was asked to do it, but it clashed with a local event," he said. "I need to finish the Safari first and if I do reasonably well I would think about going overseas.

"Dakar is like the Nurburgring; if you can squeeze it into your life, you should."

Quinn's racing career started in his native Scotland in 1977 when he successfully competed in the Formula Ford series. "I bought my first race car from (Indy and NASCAR driver) Dario Franchitti's father," he said. "I used to get podiums, but then one day this guy Eddie Cheever (later Formula One driver) turned up and blitzed us all. "I kind of lost heart a bit and gave up. "It wasn't until I was 42 that a friend on the Gold Coast asked if I wanted to do the Targa (Tasmania).

"I hadn't had a race for 20 years and I ended up winning rookie of the year."

That led to racing Porsches, V8 utes and even a dismal stint with Andrew Mediecke in a V8 Supercar at a Queensland 500 where they came last.

Now his attention has turned to dirt racing and conquering his remaining hurdle. "It's tough. After less than two days last time I had blisters on both of my hands. It's just insanity," he said.

The Australasian Safari starts on August 1 with a prologue in Perth and finishes back in Perth on August 8 after tackling 3600km of gruelling outback terrain.

It has attracted 106 competitors from as far as the Czech Republic, South Africa, Sweden, China, Japan and New Zealand.

It includes an auto category for cars, 4WDs and buggies, plus categories for motorcycles and quad bikes as a separate category from bikes for the first time.