New Targa rally in Tassie

The inaugural running of the Targa Wrest Point rally commences from Saturday, January 31, 2009. Based around the southern stages formerly part of the route for Targa Tasmania, the new rally is described as a short course event by the organisers and runs over two days.

Local businesses have welcomed the event, which falls near the end of school holidays and will give local tourism a boost just as the peak season is winding down.

"We have toyed with the idea of a lead-in event to Targa Tasmania for a number of years now, and after some recent developments we felt that 2009 provided the perfect opportunity to get it going," says event organiser, Mark Perry.

"The event will bring a large number of people to the state just outside the end of the mainland school holiday period, and this is good news for business in this state as well.

Perry expects Targa Wrest Point to generate $3 million extra for the Tasmanian economy and the event is likely to attract a combination of older, experienced drivers -- such as Jim Richards and his perennial co-driver, Barry Oliver -- and younger drivers seeking the experience necessary to gain entry to Targa Tasmania.

Competitive stages will account for between 180 and 200km of the 600km route and the organisers are charging less than $2000 per entry -- about $10 per competitive kilometer. Entries must be received by September 30 to earn a discount and the field will be limited to 130 cars across the classes of Early Modern, Modern, Early & Late Classic and Showroom, so the organisers expect the field to fill quickly.

Further information is available from targawrestpoint.com.au

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