Tasmania will reverberate
to the sounds of sweetly tuned engines when the 20th
anniversary running of Targa Tasmania gets underway with
the pre-event Temco Prologue in George Town this
morning.
Over three hundred cars will tackle the six-day, 2,000
kilometre event in Tasmania, Australia, as it loops out
of Launceston, before heading down the west coast to
Strahan, then inland to the State’s capital, Hobart, for
the champagne finish.
Hot favourite to take this year’s Modern competition
title are 2010 winners, Jason and John White in their
Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera. The Tasmanians are
two-time winners of the event, however the
professionalism of their rivals and the speed of their
cars is increasing year on year, ensuring a see-sawing
battle throughout the course of the event.
"The pressures are
something we like to aspire to respond to and do a good
job at," Jason White, who won with the Gallardo last
year with a 1 minute and 3 second advantage, told ABC
yesterday. "It will have to be dry for us to have a
chance but looking forward to it," he added.
South Australians Kevin Weeks (Lamborghini) and Steve
Glenney (Mazda RX-8), the Nissan GT-R of Tony Quinn,
together with eight-time winner Jim Richards in a brand
new Porsche 911 GT2 look like being White’s biggest
challengers, with the weather almost certain to throw in
an extra variable for crews to master.
Tasmanians Greg Garwood (Porsche 911) and Jamie
Vandenberg (Mazda RX-8) will also be in line for top
five placings, as will former gravel rally star, Dean
Herridge, driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STI.
Five-times Australian Touring Car Champion and V8
Supercar hall-of-famer, Dick Johnson, will add extra
spice to the field. Johnson will drive a 2008 Chevrolet
Corvette Z06 – one of the rare occasions when he will be
seen at the wheel of a GM product.
The Classic competition will provide one of the most
eagerly anticipated duels with three-time winner, Rex
Broadbent, facing the proposition of battling two-time
World Rally Champion, Walter Rohrl, from Germany. Both
Broadbent and Rohrl will be driving early model Porsche
911s, but despite their pedigrees, they’re no certainty
to have things all their own way. Former touring car
star, Andrew Miedecke, has shown blistering pace in
recent events in his 1970 Ford Capri Perana, while also
V8 mounted will be Tasmanian favourite David Cooper in
his 1977 Holden Torana A9X. Throw the Porsche 911s of
John Ireland, Peter Eames and Nick Ellis into the mix
and the competition will be one of the toughest to win.
That may not be the case in the Showroom class, with
young Victorian, Brendan Reeves, a hotter than hot
favourite in his factory-prepared Mazda3 MPS. Reeves is
just back from finishing fourth in the World Rally
Championship Academy at the Rally of Portugal, and isn’t
expected to have too many problems taking his first
Targa Tasmania Showroom crown. The smart money is on
Hobart’s Tony Warren to claim the 4WD Showroom
competition in his 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX,
although a fleet of similar Lancers will be snapping at
his heels. Scott Millar, Matthew Heskin and Michael
Minshall will all be after a place on the podium, while
Launceston Subaru dealers, Ben Newman and Crichton
Lewis, are the only Subaru in a field dominated by their
Mitsubishi rivals.
Tasmanian driver, Andrew Richmond, and his Victorian
rival, Adam Newton, look to be the two drivers most
likely in the Early Modern competition. Richmond and
co-driver Matt James will again pilot a 2001 Nissan
Skyline GT-R V-Spec II N1, while Newton’s 1997
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV RS should be every bit as
competitive. Others in the mix include Gavin James
(Porsche 944), and the Mitsubishi Lancers of Steven
Spada and Blaise Paris.
In the Early Classic section, the flying 1961 Volvo
PV544 will be the car to catch, with the son and father
combination of Paul and Mike Batten setting the pace.
Targa Wrest Point category winner, Andrew Bryson, will
be their toughest challenger in a 1964 Hillman Imp
Rallye, with the class also featuring a wide collection
of classics cars, including Minis, Cortinas and
Mustangs.
Targa Tasmania is the final round of the Australian
Targa Championship, with all categories still up for
grabs. With double points on offer, competitors are
certain to be pushing hard to win the inaugural title.
The 20th anniversary running of Targa Tasmania starts
today (Tuesday, April 5). After a 5.1 kilometre prologue
stage around the streets of George Town to decide the
event running order, competitors tackle 38 Targa stages
over five days, ending at Wrest Point on April 10.
