MOTORSPORT: Targa Tasmania cancelled for 2024
Targa Great Barrier Reef and Targa High Country also off until 2025A key series of Australian motorsport events have suffered a significant setback, with Targa Tasmania and sister tarmac rally events in Cairns and the Victorian High Country set to be parked for 2024, before being revised and rescheduled for a 2025 return.
Tarmac-based rallies have come under the spotlight in recent times following the tragic passing of four competitors over the past two editions of Targa Tasmania.
A fixture on the motorsport calendar since 1992, Targa Tasmania kickstarted a genre of competition that subsequently spread across the country.
In addition to various competitive classes for outright and historic machinery, Targa competitions have grown to encompass a wide range of introductory and ‘tour’ classes, which have proven to be popular with motoring enthusiasts.
The most recent Targa Australia event, Targa High Country 2023, was mired in controversy, with the last-minute call from sanctioning body Motorsport Australia to cut the speed limit in the touring section from 120km/h to 100km/h.
In July 2023, Targa Australia split from Motorsport Australia after 94 recommendations were imposed on the competition type, ranging from vehicle speeds, performance, logbooks and driver licensing.
For Targa Australia, the 2024 break will enable competitors to reset and organisers to introduce a range of safety-focused changes for the future, including training requirements for crews.
“This delay will enable us to finalise a number of key components while also fully supporting the ongoing coronial inquest, which should see us in a position to implement all relevant recommendations from this process for the 2025 Targa Tasmania,” said Mark Perry, Targa CEO.
“The positive that I ask you to focus on right now is the unwavering support of the Tasmanian state government, who remain committed to Targa Tasmania for at least five more years.
“Through Events Tasmania, they have played an engaged role in every step we have taken to ensure Targa Tasmania continues to be the event we love.”
In a further communication to the industry, Targa Australia noted the drop in competitor numbers experienced at the recent Adelaide Rally, which continues to be run under the auspices of Motorsport Australia.
“There was a drop of more than 80% in competition entries, with just 19 cars in the full competition (13 modern and six classic),” the statement read.
“The large majority of those taking part, including in the tours, were local people with a substantial reduction in interstate visitation, and therefore, economic return generated by the event was also heavily impacted.
“These events are multi-million-dollar undertakings each time, so if you heavily reduce the choice of cars, combined with making it overly onerous to take part, you simply will not have enough competitors and tour participants to run a long-term sustainable event.”
The 31st running of Targa Tasmania, initially scheduled for April 8-13 next year, has been penciled in over April 28-May 3, 2025. Targa High Country and Great Barrier Reef are scheduled to return later that year.
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