An enthralling battle for outright honours is assured in this week’s East Coast Targa, that runs from August 24-27, and is centred on the spiritual home of Australian motor sport, Bathurst.

Jason and John White have won all Tasmanian tarmac rallies in a Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R, but now the White Hot Lamborghini team will be chasing honours interstate in the same Italian thoroughbred that led them a merry chase for some time in this years Targa Tasmania. On that occasion the four wheel drive USD$440,000 Lamboghini Gallardo was driven by Nations Cup champion Paul Stokell, and led until day three when the Tasmanian crashed out and handed the lead to the Whites.

Queenslander Tony Quinn won the 2003 East Coast event, but unfortunately missed last year as he was competing in Targa New Zealand. But, he’s back in 2005 and hungry to post another win in his VIP Petfood Porsche turbo. Quinn completed his lead up to the Targa with an impressive performance in the Carrera Cup races at the recent Oran Park V8 Supercar round.

This year however, Course Notes are permitted in the event, so lack of local knowledge will not be such a disadvantage to the Whites, or other East Coast debutantes, including Victorian challengers Rex Broadbent and Mike Goedheer. Broadbent has been dominant in the Classic Adelaide, having won that event the past three occasions it has run, last time round in a Porsche 911RS. He and Goedheer also have a good record in Targa Tasmania, winning the Classic Category in 2002, then the following years competing in modern, and finishing 3rd (2003), 5th (2004) and 4th outright this year. They make their NSW debut in the Daytona Coupe they used in Tasmania this year. It is only 1100kg, has a fibreglass body shell, with full space frame and is powered by a 5.7 litre Chevy V8.

While the event is expected to be fought out by those three, there are others in with a chance, such as Peter Brown, who after finishing 4th last year in an Evo V1, will this year drive a Nissan 350Z. Last year, in their first ever rally, Phil Griffin and Mark Williamson finished 15th in the then brand new Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, and they are back again in this magnificent motor car, but this time much wiser. They messed up early in last years rally, but fought back, and the further the event went, the more competitive they became.

There are many of the 4wd Japanese turbo cars entered, that are more than capable of posting a win in this the only NSW all tarmac rally. Among the Mitsubishi challengers are father and son team Gerry and Leigh Burges in the ex Mark King GTP winning Evo 5, and Bateman Bays Bob Hughes, who will drive his ex-GT Performance Evo V111 with high profile navigator Peter Roberts.

JASON AND JOHN WHITE TO BATTLE FOR OVERALL HONOURS IN A LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO

In a surprise move, the nation’s champion tarmac rally team Jason and John White, last month announced they would be changing cars for next months East Coast Targa. The Tasmanian team have been almost unbeatable in recent tarmac rallies driving an R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, but for the only all tarmac rally in NSW, have opted to use a Lamborghini Gallardo.

The four wheel drive Gallardo made its world motorsport debut in this years Targa Tasmania, and surprised with its pace, by almost winning the event. But for an accident on the penultimate day, Paul Stokell may have taken a surprise win in the Gallardo, as he held a strong lead at the time. International golfer Stuart Appleby drove a second Gallardo, and in what was his first ever motorsport event finished a creditable 10th. The Whites eventually won their first Targa Tasmania, but they must have been extremely impressed by the Italian machine to switch camps this close to their first tarmac rally on the mainland.

It is an interesting pairing of the Whites, with Jason being John’s nephew. For John, now 56, his motorsport began late in life, as it was only six years ago he competed in his first event, that being Targa Tasmania. On that occasion he shared a Nissan 300ZX with Jason. The pair have stayed together since, however things have changed a little. “When we first started out I would drive until I lost time on a stage, and then I would let Jason take the wheel. As the competition has heated up, I only get to drive the first three stages in Targa and Jason drives the rest.

“We are really looking forward to the East Coast Targa, particularly competing on Mount Panorama. This will be my first trip to Bathurst, though Jason has been there once before, and has driven around the circuit, but only as a tourist,” John White said.

While John is a late bloomer in the sport, that’s not the case for Jason. Now 32 he is a well known and respected figure in Tasmania for both his proven driving ability, and skill as a self employed fabricator. From his Hobart based business, he specialises in designing and fabricating components essential to motorsport, such as roll cages, intercoolers, turbo systems, and suspension components. His motorsport career commenced in 1981 in karting, which resulted in three Australian titles. He has competed in the Octagon circuit racing series for three years, and also Australian and Tasmanian rally championship rounds.