Targa Tasmania 2011 final report

Classic Heroes update on Targa Tasmania.....The rally ended in Hobart last night, after the long run across the island on the last day in the rain. Many cars did not make it home. But for those finishers, it was a hugely satisfying experience. In hindsight, the experience is simply surreal. The ultimate boys’ adventure. And an immense challenge. Over the last days, the miles increased, the speeds increased and the rain fell. A deadly cocktail. The roads were unbelievable. Even in our little M3 we regularly touched 200kph on winding country roads. We saw 7500rpm in 5th many times. It just doesn’t get any better than that. Pure adrenalin! One can only imagine how fast the guys in the modern cars were going.

Up and down mountain pass we sprinted, wound our way along valleys below, testing brakes, engine and skills, over and over again. On the last day we ran the famed Arrowsmith stage, at 58kms apparently the longest stage in a tarmac rally in the world. In the rain! It was here that we had our “moment”: about to overtake a Jaguar XJS it spun and bounced off the embankment blocking the road ahead of us. I still don’t quite know how we managed to avoid hitting it. But we did. So after having confirmed that the crew was OK, we continued, albeit at a more subdued pace.

To our surprise and delight, we picked up a podium finish – 2nd in the (rather contrived) class comprising those entrants who had competed in the inaugural Targa all those years ago. We were beaten by a Jaguar XJS “Walkinshaw look-alike”. So we’ll take home a lovely piece of silverware to remember the best week of motorsport you can ever imagine. In the truer class comprising all classic cars, we finished 47th from 83 finishers. There were 20 cars which DNF. So for us, it was a terrific result, for we certainly did the best we could and came home without a scratch on the car. And that was all we aimed to do.

And in case you are wondering what really won the honours? Well, the rally was won outright by a 2009 Nissan GT-R in the modern category and, as usual, by a 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS for the classic category. But the truth is that we were all winners, every one of us. For we’ve competed in the world’s best tarmac rally. And will we be back next year? You’d better bloody believe it! Because we couldn’t disappoint spectators like those in the attached photo, could we?