TARGA: Day 4 - The Whites stamp their authority

Yesterday Targa adventure reminded one of the old football adage: That the game is won in the third quarter.

While the numbering convention may not quite work in a five-day event, the sentiment remains…the victory comes easier if it’s set-up in the penultimate challenge.

Jason and John White finished the day 57 seconds ahead of Steve Glenney/Bernie Webb, extending their lead by 44 seconds from the end of Leg Three.

To achieve this, they won or tied for victory in seven of the day’s eight stages, dropping only Gunns Plains to the Glenney/Webb Nissan R35 GT-R.

In fact, the White Lamborghini finished third on Gunns, Purdey/Reeves in another R35 GT-R taking second behind Glenney.

“Yesterday we had electrical problems and we fixed them overnight,” said Jason White. “Today, we had fuel issues, but nevertheless we were able to push on and increase the gap.”

Glenney was not without his own concerns: “We’ve been having the same issue as yesterday...With the cold mornings I’m not able to get enough heat in the tyres so we’ve had to manage that.”

The afternoon proved more competitive for Glenney/Webb with the fastest time at Gunns Pains and a tied first place with the Whites on the 32.86km Riana.

Sims/Sims in another R35 remain in third, 5:41 behind White, with Purdey/Reeves moving up to fourth ahead of multiple champion Jim Richads and co-driver Barry Oliver in their Porsche 997 GT2 RS.

After an eventful Leg Three in Classic Outright, the Garwood/Allen Holden Torana A9X took the three pre-lunch stage wins, tied for second in Natone after lunch, won Gunns Plains…then disappeared from contention with engine problems.

This paved the way for the rare 1981 Triumph TR7 V8 of Haysman/Branum to take the lead, which was held to the end of the day. The aqua Ford Capri Perana of Todd/Tighe is second, only 32 seconds off the lead, with Ireland/Ribot third in their 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0, another 42 seconds back.

In Early Modern the Pritchard/Mourant Porsche 911 GT3 retained its lead, despite an increased threat from the Manion/Roach Nissan Skyline GTS-t, which closed the gap by two seconds to trail by a mere 32 seconds as they enter the final day.

Re-taking the third place they held earlier in the event was the Thatcher/Handley Nissan ATTKD Select R SP (or R32 Skyline), though with a deficit of nearly five minutes to the leading Porsche it is unlikely they will climb higher.

The Grant Denyer/Dale Moscatt Renault Sport Megane RS 265 heads Showroom class by some 11:07 from the Megane RS 250 of Noor/Challoner-Miles. Another Megane RS 250, that of Strange/Cudmore, sits third, almost three minutes off Noor’s pace.

Team motoring.com.au’s Mike Sinclair and Bill Hayes returned to the stages in sixth after their off in Leg Three, completing the day with no real issues and confident of closing the 3:51 gap to fifth place.

With the retirement of the Millar/Dean Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, the Subaru Impreza STis of Newman/Lewis (2010 model) and Kennard/Wheeler (2007 model) assumed the top two steps on the podium in Showroom 4WD.

Unfortunately the new leader struck trouble in the morning, dropping the Subaru out of contention for victory. Although they managed to get going again, Newman/Lewis finished the day in fifth place, 19:54 off the lead.

The Burrowes/Burrowes Evo X finished the day seconds, 14:43 behind the leading Kennard/Wheeler Impreza. Minshall/Gentleman currently sit third in class aboard their Evolution IX, 2:35 behind the Burrowes Evo.

Over in Showroom Sports, it appears the Ford family of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 drivers will take the first two positions at the ceremonial finish in Hobart on Sunday. It is tight between the father and son drivers, with only 13 seconds separating dad Neil from son Daniel.

Once more the Dean/Quigley Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 proved very quick, winning each of the day’s eight stages in class, but there simply isn’t enough time for the supercharged Ford to claw back the delays it suffered on Leg One. They sit 12:15 off the top Corvette.

After a brief Leg Three appearance by the 1938 Dodge Speedster Special of Wayne Clark and Trevor Berriman, the only entrant in the Vintage category didn’t return to the stages of Leg Four.

On Saturday night crews remain in Strahan before moving out bright and early to tackle Targa’s final leg on Sunday.

There is little transport time to the start of the first stage, as it takes in the 33km of climbing road out of Strahan towards Queenstown. Then, it’s the slippery mountain road above Queenstown before Targa’s big daddy: the 58.55km of Mount Arrowsmith.

The 2013 Targa Tasmania then concludes with Tarraleah, Woodsdale and Grasstree Hill stages before a final transport to Wrest Point for the podium presentations.