Classics at the 2012 Targa Tasmania
The Targa Tasmania wrapped up proceedings in Hobart yesterday afternoon, marking the 21st running of the event and the completion of another great entry in its storied history.
Drivers, and their fearless navigators, competed for five days of hard rallying across Tasmania, besting slippery, foggy and generally challenging conditions as they took on more than 2,000 kilometres of Tasmania’s twisty topography.
A strong field of vintage cars contested the Shannons Vintage Rallye this year, with Wayne Clark and co-driver Roger Richardson dominating in their 1938 Dodge Speedster Special.
Bill Griffiths followed some seventeen minutes down the road in his nicely-sorted 1936 Roesch Talbot BG, with Martin Wilson in third after some issues dropped him down from second in his 1934 Jaguar SS Special.
“The support from people is incredible, and the number that say they come to see these types of cars, rather than the shopping trolleys, is amazing. There’s an awful lot of support out there for the Vintage and Classic cars.”
The Classic Florio Handicap was won by Drew and Ella Kent in their 1971 Ford Falcon GT. With Drew and the car competing in their 18th Targa Tasmania and his daughter and co-driver Ella tackling the event for the first time, they put in an impressive performance, leading after every day and finishing with eleven minutes in hand.
The fight for the remaining two spots on the podium was a little closer, with Mac Russell taking second in his 1976 Morgan Plus 8 seven seconds ahead of Tim Bresnahan’s 1985 Porsche 944.
The Shannons Early Classic Handicap was the most closely fought class of the entire event, with just one second separating the terrific trios of Jon Siddins, Darren Ferguson and their 1970 Datsun 240Z and Andrew White, Ashley Yelds and their 1961 Volvo 122S.
Siddins had jumped to an early lead on day one, but White kept things exciting by staying within a matter of seconds across the entire event. He pulled into the lead during the final day of competition before Siddens reeled him back in during the final stage to finish one second ahead and take the Shannons Early Classic Handicap win. Peter and Sari Ullrich and their Jensen CV8 completed the podium.
Rex Broadbent and co-driver Chris Randell took the top spot for both Shannons Classic Outright and the Shannons Late Classic Handicap competitions in their 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS.
Robert Gambino had pulled out a day-one lead in his 1976 Ferrari 308 GTB, only to go off-roading on day three and hand the lead to Broadbent, who then had a healthy gap back to his competition. Broadbent used some of that gap to collect himself after heading backwards off the tarmac on day five, but otherwise drove an excellent rally to take the win ahead of Ian Morris’ 1981 Alfa Romeo GTV6 and John Ireland’s 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.
Via Targa Tasmania
Images via Targa Tasmania, by Perfect Prints
