Plains sailing...

You can tell the regulars. The old stagers stride towards the right garage door at the right time with the right paperwork in their hands... On the way they're saying hello left and right. A handshake here and there... And a kiss and cuddle if they're lucky!

The atmosphere's a unique mix of serious motorsport and holiday camp frivolity.

Behind, pushed by the attendant crew, rolls the real centre of attention -- sometimes exotic, more likely a humbler, but still rapid, classic... Some are new, some not so. Most have more than enough go to match their show.

We're on the outer edge of it, but not for long. Our three Chilli Red MINIs are sitting behind the Symmons Plains pit garages still to be locked down but raring to go. Luggage, spares, tyres, parts, fuel and tools are neatly stacked -- unfortunately right in the direction where we need to move the cars. No worries, it will all get relocated a couple of times before we're finished.

Our mechanics David, Peter and Ben are combining their final checks and last minute bolt-ons with the frantic requests from Yours Truly for seat alterations, belt adjustments and seven other minor items that must be done NOW! After all, there's only two days to go before we have to start!

Welcome to Targa Tasmania -- well, at least the formalities that lead into the event.

Over the next week (between now and next Monday, May 1) CarPoint and Unique Cars magazine will take you to Targa. Indeed, we have secured the best view in the house -- the driving seat of car 989.

CarPoint/Unique Cars Magazine's drive for Targa is one of three official Team MINI entries taking on the 2006 15th anniversary running of the tarmac rally classic. With the full backing of MINI Australia, our Cooper S and its two identical 'TEAMmates' are fresh out of the BMW Australia/MINI headquarters workshop. Lightly modified, the John Cooper Works equipped cars have been constructed to take on the 2100km of real road racing that is Targa Tasmania.

MINI's no stranger to Aussie motorsport, but it's been a while. In fact, 2006 marks the 40th anniversary of the MINI Cooper's domination of Australia's great race -- the Bathurst enduro. The spectacle that is Targa Tasmania is a welcome return to motorsport for a factory MINI squad -- least that's the message we're getting from competitors, spectators and officials alike.

The amount of goodwill that comes along with these cars is already a stand out. Everybody, and I mean everybody wants to know how they go, and how they are going.

It's not just Targa Team MINI will take on this year.. The team's three John Cooper Works-equipped MINI Cooper S tarmac rally cars will also campaign other events in 2006 including the Dutton Rally Series, Mt Buller Sprint and Targa Tasmania's Western Australian equivalent, Targa West. And CarPoint will be there too...

Team MINI's team for Targa Tasmania is headed by V8 Supercar and Carrera Cup driver Tim Leahey and co-driver Paul Flintoft. Dancing with the Stars and Channel Seven personality, Grant Denyer will also drive for the team, partnering with experienced ARC navigator Chris Randell. With Grant tied to the dance floor for the first two days of the Targa, however, Chris' regular rally partner, ex-works Mitsubishi man Spencer Lowndes, will steer the number two car for the all-important opening stages of Targa Tasmania this week.

Heading up the team brains trust is manager, David Vervaart, who's race crew has already burned the midnight oil to get us here.

Racecars don't build themselves, even relatively standard ones like our Coopers. Magically they take up every bit of time allocated to build them. It's Sunday night as I write this and just three days ago, the MINI were closer to shells than cars. Thanks guys.

And finally there's Yours Truly, Mike Sinclair -- and co-driver and Rally of Melbourne organiser, Justin Hunt. Justin's job is the hardest in the Targa paddock -- to teach me how to drive to pace notes and keep our MINI on the blacktop. If we're to finish in one piece it'll be Justin's expertise, hard won in the forest stages of state and ARC rallying, that gets us there.

Over the next week, we plan to update you on the progress of Team MINI each day. We might even let you know what's going on at the pointy end of the field. We'll update CarPoint each night and if that's not a big enough dose of MINI or Targa Tasmania, you can also log on to www.targa.org.au Just don't forget to come back here for the good oil...

The MINI brand is all about having fun and giving life a damn good shake. Thanks to efforts of the whole crew at Team MINI and Targa Tasmania we're about to do that and in the process prove you don't have to spend a fortune, nor own a $300K car to go motor racing.

Let's MINI ...