MOTORSPORT: Greater traction for tarmac rallying

Next season's Australian Targa Championship, starting in mid-September, has been expanded to four rounds and it will come under the umbrella of CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motor Sport).

The addition to the championship is Classic Targa Adelaide on September 14-17, to be followed by Targa High Country at Mt Buller in Victoria on November 4-6, Targa Wrest Point in southern Tasmania on January 28-29 next year, and Targa Tasmania on April 17-22.

Modern cars will contest only the Victorian and two Tasmanian events, while classic cars, built before 1986, will compete in all four.

The series organiser is Octagon Australia, whose managing director Sean Nicholls said: "The Targa format of tarmac rallying has been going from strength to strength over the past three years, growing out of Targa Tasmania to now include four events in three states.

"I think even more competitors will be attracted to it now that it has the backing of the premier national motor sport body in CAMS.

"We believe the move to CAMS is a win-win situation. CAMS endorsement brings with it a broader recognition of its national championship status, while we obviously bring the biggest national series [in terms of number of competitors] in any form of motorsport in this country under its wing."

Octagon's event director Mark Perry said the inclusion of Classic Targa Adelaide as the opening round of the championship "is just the start of some major upgrades planned in the coming years".

CAMS president Andrew Papadopoulos said: "Tarmac rallying is a real growth area of Australian motorsport. CAMS is delighted to be adding its weight to further develop the sport.

"The Targa events have wide appeal, representing a range of marques and eras that attracts many competitors.

"It is particularly good that we see Adelaide hosting the opening round of the championship. It is a city that really understands motorsport."

Rallying, perhaps more than any other form of Australian motorsport, has had a tortured political history, largely to its detriment. We won't attempt to canvass or encapsulate that history here today, but looking to the future an astute, respected observer of the Australian rallying scene tells us that the significance of the latest announcement is that: "the (Australian Targa Championship) title now becomes a bona fide national title" and "allows potential integration of ARC and tarmac titles down the track, with shared rounds, etc."

That may all still be a long way off, perhaps even be a pipedream, but such an outcome might provide a serious -- and relevant -- alternative in the Australian motorsport landscape to V8 Supercar racing.

In the quest to make gravel rallying more relevant and appealing, the ARC's new supremo Scott Pedder has put the emphasis for the future on two-wheel-drive cars and the introduction of a new class for sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Restrictions have been removed from turbochargers for this year, the SUV class will begin next year, and from 2013 2WD cars will be the sport's primary category.

Pedder, who is open to tarmac rounds in the ARC, says his priority is enticing manufacturers to rallying, and in that he may well have greater success than V8 Supercars with its Car of the Future project.

MINI has already said it is eyeing the ARC following its recent debut in the World Rally Championship, while Pedder's new direction is believed to have generated fresh interest at Subaru, which for so long was the dominant manufacturer in the sport in Australia. Honda is yet to commit to continue its (limited) involvement in the ARC but at least one other carmaker is looking closely at the 2012 season.

Meanwhile, Classic Targa Adelaide will be based at the South Australian capital's Event and Exhibition Centre in Wayville on the verge of the city centre and take in the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula, with 25 stages and 225 competitive kilometres.

The event has SA Government backing through the state's event company and Supaloc, the Adelaide steel building systems manufacturer of prominent tarmac rallying competitor Kevin Weeks, will be its major sponsor.

LeMans scratching for Brabham
Expatriate Australian David Brabham's Le Mans campaign has fallen victim to the Japanese tsunami. Dual American Le Mans Series champion team Highcroft Racing has withdrawn its entry for this year's 24-hour French sportscar classic and its five-year partnership with Honda Peformance Development is over.

The decisions are a huge disappointment to Brabham, who has been both an ALMS champion and Le Mans winner (his 2009 outright victory coming with Peugeot).

The HPD Acura ARX-01e was a strong second on debut in America's Sebring 12-hour, beating works Audis and Peugeots.

"Everyone was really looking forward to taking the ARX-01e to Le Mans – we really believed the car could have been extremely competitive," Highcroft chief Duncan Dayton said.

Highcroft and HPD went to Le Mans last year in the LMP2 category but this year would have run for outright honors in LMP1.

"We certainly appreciate the massive impact the earthquake and tsunami has had on the people of Japan and the huge challenges facing Japanese business. It appears this may have contributed to Honda's decision and we fully respect and understand their position," Dayton said.

Dayton said Highcroft still had "very big goals and ambitions" in the ALMS, at Le Mans, and in IndyCar – although Brabham, in his 40s, would be unlikely to be chosen for that open-wheeler project.

In the meantime his main activity will be his Nissan drive in the GT1 world championship.

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