SA set to host fourth Targa round

The Adelaide Hills will again come alive to the sound of classic motors this September as event management company Octagon formulates its own "traditional style" Targa round.

Octagon, the organisers behind events including the now legendary Targa Tasmania, Targa High Country and Targa Wrest Point devised Classic Targa Adelaide to replace the failed Classic Adelaide tarmac rally, the team’s third new event in less than two years.

The new annual rally is open exclusively to classic cars, and will form part of the classic component of the Australia Targa Championship; a move welcomed by South Australia’s Tourism Minister, John Rau.

"South Australia has an excellent track record for staging major events, including an ever-growing line-up of sporting events such as the Santos Tour Down Under and the Clipsal 500 Adelaide," said Rau. "Events like this are a great addition to South Australia’s tourism offering. They provide valuable media coverage, attract participants to the State from interstate and overseas and provide a great spectacle for the public, whether they are from Australia or overseas. I am proud to say we can now include the Classic Targa Adelaide on our exciting calendar of events."

It is hoped the new event will eventually be expanded to include interests outside of the dwindling classic car set, organisers saying the scope for a complete Targa-style event with its own Adelaide identity is not inconceivable.

"The classic car market is not increasing in Australia, so there’s definitely some challenges for us," said Octagon general manager, Mark Perry.

Octagon boasts a database of 6000-odd registered competitors and past competitors with many owning cars outside the 20-year bracket allowed for the Classic category. Were the organisers allowed by the South Australian state government to open the event to a wider audience they are certain it could become even more successful.

The former event, Classic Adelaide, ceased operating in 2009 after the company that ran the event, Silverstone Events, went into liquidation, tallying debts in excess of $1.5 million. Some competitors were said to be sceptical about participating in the new event after their $7000 entry fees for the last event were not refunded when its cancellation was announced.

Certain the new event will be managed differently, its architects bring 22 years of motor racing experience to the table, Octagon’s managing director Sean Nicholls saying the company was delighted to bring the event back to South Australia.

"The event will be a unique addition to the Australian Targa Championship as it will be the only event that is 100 per cent dedicated to classic cars," Nicholls said. "The state has a great history of hosting world-class events and we look forward to adding Classic Targa Adelaide to that list."

The course will cover 26 closed road courses totalling 220 competitive kilometres over four days. Beginning with a "spectator friendly" prologue stage around Menglers Hill in Tanunda, the rally will then track through some of the most iconic stages of the old event, including Gorge Road, The Corkscrew, and Chapel Hill.

Driving a familiarisation stage of the route this week, motoring.com.au took in the exciting Gorge Road section -- which traces a century-old bullock track through the twisting Armco and narrow cut rock passes of the Torrens Valley – before climbing the dicey Corkscrew Road from Castambul.

From here, a flowing section of well cambered corners runs along a eucalypt-lined ridge bisecting picturesque rolling farmland, the route taking in the quaint stone residences of hamlet hill towns before culminating at the 710-metre-high Mount Lofty conservation park.

After a brief intermission to take in the view our drive route then partook of the Chapel Hill stage of the event where tall gum trees form a Cathedral-like ceiling over what’s reputed to be the event’s fastest section. Speeds in excess over 200km/h have been recorded in parts of the former rally, the occasional large gum tree and soft gravel edges obviously no deterrent to participants as they dash past some of the region’s most recognised big-name wineries.

The inaugural Supaloc Classic Targa Adelaide will run from September 14 to 17. More information can be found by visiting www.classictargaadelaide.com.au

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