TARGA: Day Five — Hobart bound

Lamborghini Gallardo-mounted duo Jason and John White continue to lead the 2015 Targa Tasmania after five intense days of competition.

Commencing from the overnight stop in Strahan, the crews follow the Lyell Highway to Hobart via some of the most testing roads Tasmania can offer.

Friday’s opening stage started just before sunrise, climbing out of Strahan over 32.97km. Second-placed Glenney/Webb took the stage win in their Nissan GT-R by a scant four seconds over third-placed Vandenberg/Sims in a similar machine. The Whites were relegated to third, 19 seconds off Glenney’s pace though still over two minutes in the lead overall.

The short, sharp, tight climb out of Queenstown suited a smaller machine. Early leaders Maguire/Potter capitalised in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, taking the stage by a second from Glenney, with White and Vandenberg four seconds off the lead.

Over the menacing 51.37km Mt Arrowsmith – an stage which claimed four cars on one slippery, hidden corner – Glenney was able to close another five seconds.

Vandenberg, on fire on roads he knows well, was second despite a brief off, with White 48 sececonds off Glenney’s pace. Was he managing tyres, or had the mis-fire that has plagued the Lamborghini worsened?

On Tarraleah, White was able to pick up the pace to beat Glenney by an incredible 17 seconds over only 7.28km, with Vandenberg and Maguire 20 and 25 seconds  off the pace, respectively.

After Tarraleah the stages become shorter with easier base times. All four pacesetters were therefore able to clean Ellendale along with the Colemans in their 2008 Subaru WRX STI.

White, Glenney and Vandenberg also cleaned Grasstree Hill, a 4.75km test held with Hobart’s Derwent River as a backdrop.

Heading into Saturday’s final day of competition White leads by 1:34 from Glenney. Vandenberg sits only 19seconds off Glenney’s pace. Both Nissans may have run out of time to catch the White/White Lamborghini and if they can’t it will be Targa Tasmania victory number five for the talented nephew/uncle team.

“Yesterday we had our worst set of tyres on the rear, but today we’ve swapped them around and got the balance better, and today was more flowing with less stop-starts, and that’s easier on tyres as well,” said Glenney.

“I think we’ve taken a little bit more time of Jason White today, but we’ve got to keep pushing on. I think he may need to have a problem like we did on the first day for us to catch him.”

Classic Outright leaders Haysman/Hughes needed to nurse their Triumph TR7 V8 to Hobart after suffering a loss of power as the day evolved. They are confident of fixing the issue at overnight service. The Jensen CV8 of Ulrich/Ulrich is second once more, with last year’s Classic winners Faux/Mihajlovic third in a Mazda RX-7.

In a cruel twist the dominant Early Modern category leaders Hendy/Winton-Monet punctured a tyre on their 2003 Nissan Skyline GT-R and lost the lead to the Howarths’ 1995 Skyline GT-R.

Hendy’s lead turned into a 53 seconds deficit after Tarraleah although he had managed to slightly reduce that to 48 seconds by the end of the day. The consistent Ford/Ford Impreza WRX STi remains third, though almost five minutes off the lead.

After a flip in the 4WD Showroom order the previous day, the top three positions remained consistent on the trip from Strahan to Hobart. Kennard/Wheeler lead in their Subaru Impreza WRX STi from the Perinis’ Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG (+1:03) with the Nortons’ STI an additional 1:14 further back.

Showroom started with the disappointment of our own Editor in Chief Mike Sinclair needing to retire from the day with a water leak from his Buckby Motorsport Renault Sport Megane. Thankfully the team should be able to repair the issue to have Sinclair and Julia Barkley back on deck for the final day.

Throughout the day Quinn/Tillett – much more comfortable on these roads in the McLaren 650S – extended their lead over Grant Denyer/Alex Gelsomino in the sister Renault Megane.

Quinn headed the times for each stage, though he shared the final two tests; Ellendale with Denyer and third-placed Dean, and Grasstree Hill with Denyer. The McLaren leads by 2:14 with Dean 27 seconds behind the Megane.

As for the 1938 Dodge Speedster, it’s still pulling like a train in the Vintage category. It’s running 109th out of 128 runners as we enter the final day, with roads south of Hobart before the finale at Wrest Point.

Full coverage of 2015 Targa Tasmania on motoring.com.au

Images: Angryman Photography