Targa Blog: Leg 1
It took just a few corners to turn the fun, bicycle-lugging antics of the Prologue into a dim memory for Team Skoda Carsales (TSC). Indeed, in the very first stage of yesterday's opening leg of the 2010 Targa Tasmania, our tilt was almost over before it began.
On the wet, opening Lilydale stage, yours truly tipped the TSC Octavia RS-P into a fast right hander around 3km in, to have the car snap sideways and head for the paddock. The in-car camera caught co-driver Justin Hunt's reaction...
"Oh dear..."
My choice of epithets was somewhat bluer.
More by good luck than good planning we made our way round the corner and eventually to the end of the stage. We'd recorded a top speed of close to 170km/h on the relatively tight course, so perhaps the half-off was more a case of deceptive speed than any serious shortcoming on behalf of our RS-P. More likely it was driver brain fade!
Truly the conditions were abysmal. After a drive-through on stage two was downgraded because of an accident (both driver and co-driver were unhurt), we launched into Holwell. Even this early there were three cars crashed on the stage -- again we very nearly joined them, such was the lack of grip.
And so it continued through the day. A brief patch of sunshine just after lunch was almost enough to lull us into a false sense of security. One side of the day's penultimate Sheffield stage was drying and allowed us to stretch the legs of the Octavia's turbo four just a bit. Soon enough though, we'd crossed the range that bisected the stage and we were back to tip-toeing -- albeit it at fairly high speed.
A relatively heavy wee wagon (1430kg in Targa trim), and front wheel drive, the Octavia wouldn't be the first choice of a serious racer, but its Golf GTI/Audi S3 DNA came to the fore today. It's a quick witted car with accurate steering and (apparently) quite a forgiving nature. What it wasn't possessed of today was a lot of grip.
While we stayed warm and dry in the cabin (and mist free thanks to the fact we've still got operable aircon) our talented crew of Performance Parts and Engineering's Craig Tulloch and helper Dave Barclay braved the elements. In the pouring rain they tended to our tyres and fed us and the beast.
We've been very conservative with our tyre choice, taking the hardest R compound Dunlops. This is the 'safe' choice given we're unsure of the car's appetite for rubber. Softs might have been a better choice today, but that's one of the unique aspects of Targa. You make your tyre choice at the start of the event and have to live with it come hell or (like today) high water.
Its counter-intuitive but when it's wet and cold you need to put more air into the Dunlops to get them to work. In the first few stages our tyres were under inflated. Things improved after we added air, though it was still err... 'interesting' at times.
To cut a long day short, at the end of the eight-stage Leg 1, we arrived back in Launceston in 31st place in the Modern category and the first front-wheel drive. Not a bad result given it's the RS-P's first day of proper competition -- ever. In fact, were the RS-P a production model and eligible for Targa's burgeoning Showroom class, we'd be in sixth overall and second place in the front-wheel drive sub-category.
As it is in the Modern section there's only nine two-wheel drive cars in front of us: among them Steve Glenney in the turbo RX-8SP Mazda; a bloke called Jim Richards in a Porsche GT3-RS; a 500hp Saleen Mustang; two Z06 Corvettes and an Aston-Martin Vantage.
The Carsales Network's ace reporter Joshua Dowling's christened the RS-P 'the little wagon that could' in his Prologue report. We're still a long way from Hobart but the moniker's already starting to ring true. What we need now is a bit of dry bitumen to prove the point...
From the left seat - Co-driver Justin Hunt:
I always enjoy co-driving. It's been a passion of mine for a long time. I think I generally do a reasonable job, but today I was tested.
On the first stage Driver Sinclair tried very hard to rearrange the side of a paddock and attempted to knock over a heritage listed fence that was built by convicts in about 1685. Not a great start but I digress...
Maybe it's a combination of a new car, not having co-driven with Mike for a few years and perhaps it's a case of being a bit rusty. Perhaps, it was simply the terrible, terrible weather. Fact is in 22 years I can't remember co-driving in such atrocious conditions. I was calling the notes but could not see more than 40 metres in front of the car.
As a co-driver you want to deliver every pace note perfectly and exactly on time. To do this you must be able to see the road ahead. You want the driver to have the correct amount of information at the correct time and today, to be honest, I struggled in parts.
Mike did a great job today. I was a little rusty but managed the important calls on time.
So many of a day's pace notes are delivered on time, with the right details and the right emphasis... But it's the curse of a good co-driver that you only remember the few you deliver late or not perfectly. It's like walking up 500 stairs but only tripping on one of them, and hoping it's not the one at the top.
The stages today were a mix of farm 'grid' lanes and mountain roads. This adds to the challenge, as it's very hard to get a decent flow or rhythm going.
The Skoda is a very comfortable little car and while we are only two-wheel drive I was really pleased with the car out of the box. As a co-driver you feel what the car is doing and it has taken most of the day to understand the vehicle's reactions to certain situations. A good example of this is knowing how the car feels when Mike is braking from 183km/h (I checked) for a slow, second-gear corner. Initially the amount of movement -- from the car and driver -- might be unsettling, but like a good pair of shoes, eventually they're comfortable.
It's a new day tomorrow, and hopefully fine weather so we can give this fantastic little wagon a decent workout! Stay tuned to our Targa minisite for more details.
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