It might have been one of the most unlikely vehicles to attempt Targa Tasmania in many people's eyes but the Team Skoda carsales Octavia RS station wagon proved, as it did in 2010, that it has the right stuff to run near the front of a very competitive group of cars and fight for class victory.
The Octavia, competing in the two-wheel drive Showroom class for basically standard vehicles, finished second to the lighter, more powerful Mazda3 MPS driven by young WRC Academy star, Brendan Reeves.
The Skoda did not miss a beat over the six days of the rally and was 19 minutes ahead of the third-placed Mazda MX-5.
The Octavia finished in a time that would have placed it within the top 20 outright in the Modern field beating normally much quicker vehicles more suited to road rallying, such as Mitsubishi EVOs, Subaru WRXs and Nissan GT-Rs, with a combination of pace and reliability.
The final Leg from Strahan to Hobart included six competitive stages -- all run in the rain -- including the infamous Mount Arrowsmith which at 58km is the longest of the rally.
At the finish line at the Wrest Point Casino in Hobart, driver of the Octavia Mike Sinclair and pro co-driver Bill Hayes joined in a 54-bottle champagne spray with podium-winners from all classes.
A jubilant Sinclair said he couldn't have asked more from the car.
"The Skoda ran faultlessly and Billy made me do everything right so anybody who wants to do this make sure you get a proper co-driver because it's a team effort," Sinclair grinned, eyes stinging from a champagne shower from Hayes.
"Leg Five is a big day with one of the longest stages in international rallying, almost 60 kilometres, and it wasn't dry for one kilometre so we had to take it pretty easy. We were still pretty quick but after that the stages just got more slippery."
It was the second time Hayes had co-driven with Sinclair and he was also thrilled with their performance.
"For a full-time motoring journalist and part-time rally driver it was a top effort," Hayes said, wiping champagne from his face.
"There were no spins, nothing; it was an awesome effort. Obviously, Performance & Parts Engineering prepare one of the best cars in the field and we were lucky enough to be in one of them.
"The biggest thing on Targa is the weather. We've had a day and a half of rain and managed to balance the front-wheel drive car through that and here we are, enjoying the spoils and covered in champagne."
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