Post by Roo on May 1, 2009 12:12:55 GMT
Having been at uni and out on the stages on one day, I haven't really had much of an opportunity to post an update on the iconic tarmac event until now.
For those who aren't aware, Targa Tasmania is a five day, 2000 km, forty stage tarmac rally for all makes, models and ages of cars. Timing is calculated using a base time for each stage, and penalty time is added for each second over the base time. Earlier stages have a relatively easy time to achieve, while the latter stages become impossible to "clean" and thus all competitors loose time.
The modern competition is hottly contested and features a large array of exoctic machinery. This year cars entered included:
International motorsport debut of the Mazda RX-8 SP Turbo driven by 2008 winner Steve Glenney,
International motorsport debut of the Lotus Exige Cup 260,
Porsche 911 GT2 and GT3's,
Five R35 Nissan GT-R's,
Two Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera's,
Plenty of Evos and WRX's,
Honda powered Skelta G-Force,
and many more.
At the beginning of Leg 3 of competition today, Tony Quinn in a R35 GTR and Kevin Weeks in a Lambo shared the outright lead, a mere two seconds ahead of Jim Richards' Porsche and 14 secs ahead of local hero Jason White in another Lambo. Steve Jones in a R35 GTR
was in fifth place ahead of Dean Herridge in a Subaru.
By lunchtime, four stages into Leg 3 and 22 stages completed in total, Quinn and Weeks were still tied for the outright lead. Richards had dropped back slightly, while White had closed the gap between him and Richards. Jones crashed out heavily, ending his rally. Tony Alford in another R35 GTR also retired with a holed radiator.
But on Stage 23 immediately after lunch, Jim Richards made a very rare mistake, understeering wide and damaging his Porsche ending his rally. This was Jim's first retirement in Targa Tasmania in more than fifteen starts.
At the end of Leg 3, it is a Lamborghini one-two, with Weeks holding a three second lead over White. Quinn is only a second further back in third place. Dean Herridge currently lies fourth, 1:30 off the podium, perfectly poised to take advantage of any mishaps.
1 991 Weeks/Crunkhorn
Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera +4:24
2 934 White/White
Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera +4:27
3 996 Quinn/Tillett
R35 Nissan GTR +4:28
4 993 Herridge/Weston
Subaru Impreza WRX STi +6:08
5 913 Close/Reeves
Porsche 911 Turbo +6:32
6 947 Vandenberg/Vandenberg
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX +6:50
7 992 Quinn/Feaver
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX +7:27
8 978 Glenney/Webb
Mazda RX-8 SP +7:43
9 925 Hoinville/Searcy
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX +8:25
10 994 Thomas/Thomas
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX +8:31
11 973 Miedecke/Willson
Daytona Coupe +8:35
12 907 Nuutinen/McConkey
Skelta G-Force S/C +8:47
13 969 Evans/Bachmann
Lotus Exige Cup 260 +9:46
14 920 Leemhuis/Fitzsimons
R35 Nissan GT-R +10:23
15 976 Purdey/Burrey
Porsche 911 Turbo +10:56
16 922 Longhurst/Long
Subaru Impreza WRX STi +11:35
There are still two days to go, and twelve stages left to negatiate. These stages are mostly on Tasmania's West Coast and include iconic stages such as the 37km Cethana, Hellyer Gorge, Strahan, Queenstown and the epic 47km Mt Arrowsmith.
Image gallery, video, stage results, entry lists and live updates are available here: www.sportcom.com.au/targatasmania/
For those who aren't aware, Targa Tasmania is a five day, 2000 km, forty stage tarmac rally for all makes, models and ages of cars. Timing is calculated using a base time for each stage, and penalty time is added for each second over the base time. Earlier stages have a relatively easy time to achieve, while the latter stages become impossible to "clean" and thus all competitors loose time.
The modern competition is hottly contested and features a large array of exoctic machinery. This year cars entered included:
International motorsport debut of the Mazda RX-8 SP Turbo driven by 2008 winner Steve Glenney,
International motorsport debut of the Lotus Exige Cup 260,
Porsche 911 GT2 and GT3's,
Five R35 Nissan GT-R's,
Two Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera's,
Plenty of Evos and WRX's,
Honda powered Skelta G-Force,
and many more.
At the beginning of Leg 3 of competition today, Tony Quinn in a R35 GTR and Kevin Weeks in a Lambo shared the outright lead, a mere two seconds ahead of Jim Richards' Porsche and 14 secs ahead of local hero Jason White in another Lambo. Steve Jones in a R35 GTR
was in fifth place ahead of Dean Herridge in a Subaru.
By lunchtime, four stages into Leg 3 and 22 stages completed in total, Quinn and Weeks were still tied for the outright lead. Richards had dropped back slightly, while White had closed the gap between him and Richards. Jones crashed out heavily, ending his rally. Tony Alford in another R35 GTR also retired with a holed radiator.
But on Stage 23 immediately after lunch, Jim Richards made a very rare mistake, understeering wide and damaging his Porsche ending his rally. This was Jim's first retirement in Targa Tasmania in more than fifteen starts.
At the end of Leg 3, it is a Lamborghini one-two, with Weeks holding a three second lead over White. Quinn is only a second further back in third place. Dean Herridge currently lies fourth, 1:30 off the podium, perfectly poised to take advantage of any mishaps.
1 991 Weeks/Crunkhorn
Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera +4:24
2 934 White/White
Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera +4:27
3 996 Quinn/Tillett
R35 Nissan GTR +4:28
4 993 Herridge/Weston
Subaru Impreza WRX STi +6:08
5 913 Close/Reeves
Porsche 911 Turbo +6:32
6 947 Vandenberg/Vandenberg
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX +6:50
7 992 Quinn/Feaver
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX +7:27
8 978 Glenney/Webb
Mazda RX-8 SP +7:43
9 925 Hoinville/Searcy
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX +8:25
10 994 Thomas/Thomas
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX +8:31
11 973 Miedecke/Willson
Daytona Coupe +8:35
12 907 Nuutinen/McConkey
Skelta G-Force S/C +8:47
13 969 Evans/Bachmann
Lotus Exige Cup 260 +9:46
14 920 Leemhuis/Fitzsimons
R35 Nissan GT-R +10:23
15 976 Purdey/Burrey
Porsche 911 Turbo +10:56
16 922 Longhurst/Long
Subaru Impreza WRX STi +11:35
There are still two days to go, and twelve stages left to negatiate. These stages are mostly on Tasmania's West Coast and include iconic stages such as the 37km Cethana, Hellyer Gorge, Strahan, Queenstown and the epic 47km Mt Arrowsmith.
Image gallery, video, stage results, entry lists and live updates are available here: www.sportcom.com.au/targatasmania/