Quinn makes it two from three Targa titles

Nothing could stop Tony Quinn from winning his second Targa Tasmania in three years -- not even a day of dangerous rainy conditions. His Nissan GT-R might have four-wheel drive but it also has a lot of horsepower and staying on the road while fending off fast finishing rivals is a testament to Quinn's skill and nerve.

With co-driver Naomi Tillet calling the pace notes, Quinn wasn't headed after he took the lead on stage four of the opening day when closest rival and event favourite, Jason White, copped a 20-minute penalty for being late to a stage.

Quinn last won Targa in 2009 after 10 years trying; now he's won two in three years, an ominous sign for his rivals.

"It's beautiful to win this," Quinn smiled. "It's something that I wanted to do since I knew it was the 20th year of the event.

"We had a bit of a noise in the front-end this morning and were panicking over Mt Arrowsmith and starting to take it easy, but we had a buffer so we cruised through a bit.

"We're learning so much about the car, but there are still things we need to do to it to make it a better package. We haven't had much wet stuff to practice on, so I think we'll get better as a package."

Second outright were Dean Herridge and Ben Searcy in a Subaru WRX STi, 3min39sec behind.

Matthew Sims and Dennis Sims fished third in another Subaru WRX STi.

It wasn't a bad day for Herridge; his second place sealing the inaugural Australian Targa Championship which also includes Targa High Country and Targa Wrest Point. The gravel rally ace was chuffed.

"It's been our aim to win the championship, and we thought we'd be a chance but it's sometimes hard battling against Lambos and the GT-Rs in our little Subaru," Herridge said.

"It's a thrill to win a championship, and I'm very proud to be second in what was arguably the most competitive Targa field ever assembled."

Also starring again this year were Rex Broadbent and Chris Randell in a Porsche 911 Carrera.

It was Broadbent's fifth consecutive Classic Outright title, this year against world class opposition from German rally star Walter Rorhl who had trouble on day two, and Andrew Miedecke who crashed out on Leg 4.

Second-place getter was David Cooper in his wild Torana A9X and in third was Nic Ellis in a Porsche 911.

"Not in a million years did I think I'd win it five times," Broadbent said.

"I think of this event as 38 races and even if you win 37, but fail to finish the last, you don't win. You have to finish every stage, so that's how I drive. I'm rarely the fastest, but consistency means I'm always there.

"This win has been memorable. To be up against Walter Rohrl, that added an incredible amount of prestige to the event. In the rain he was clearly quicker, but we didn't have to push that hard because we had a buffer."

So, Targa Tasmania is over for another year and you can bet that almost everyone who entered this year has already lodged an application for 2012. The 2011/12 Australian Targa Championship starts with Classic Adelaide on September 13.

Other winners include:
Showroom:
Brendan Reeves/Rhianon Smyth -- 2009 Mazda3 MPS

Late Classic Handicap:
Duane Rodgers/Paul Rodgers -- 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera

Early Classic Handicap:
Jack Waldron/Vin Gregory -- 1955 Fiat Abarth 750

Early Modern:
Blaise Paris/Raechel Krause -- 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI

4WD Showroom:
Scott Millar/Christopher Dean -- 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X

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