TARGA: Day Three – Can Glenney make it?

After a quite extraordinary situation overnight, when many of the 70 time penalties dished out on Day One were recounted, the focus has fortunately turned back to the best tarmac roads Australia has to offer; but as it turns out, those roads can be as devastating to a Targa campaign as anything in a rulebook.

The Modern category front-runners, all free of penalty to begin with, simply went on with the job of adding to the Targa 2015 storyline, one which is shaping up to be another classic.

While it may seem like status quo at the front with Jason and John White leading overnight, it was once more Steve Glenney/Bernie Webb who blitzed Day Three’s North East Loop, held in initially freezing but otherwise fine conditions.

The 2007 Targa winners have been making up for lost time since mechanical issues (now known to be clutch-related) almost felled their Nissan GT-R at the end of Day One. For Wednesday’s eight stages, Glenney took the outright stage win three times and tied for the win on three more.

“We’ve been getting a few stage wins today and pulling some time back. It’s a bit of a battle balancing how many days are left and how the tyres are going and how much punishment the car can take, but we’ll keep plugging away,” said Glenney.

It helped the Nissan reduce the overall gap to the White Lamborghini from 2:26 overnight to 2:04 by the end of the day, moving him up to fourth overall in the process.

White, though, has not been without issues: “We’re getting on top of the gremlins one by one, although we’ve still got a few on the list to be conquered,” White said.

“We’ve fixed our traction control problem, which was one of the biggest things, mainly over concerns with tyre wear and the front diff.

“Road conditions were great -- probably the best that we’ve ever had for the east coast -- especially the Sideling, which was fairly dry this morning.

Sandwiched between are Day One leaders Eddie Maguire/Michael Potter in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, posting consistent top-four times throughout the loop. They sit 59 seconds off the lead, and should not be written off as the roads head west tomorrow.

Reigning champs Jamie Vandenberg and Dennis Sims are also well poised in their Nissan R35 GT-R, showing regular top-three speed to finish the day only 18 seconds further adrift.

Behind the fantastic four Josh Hilton and Rodney Vanderpoel are fifth in another R35, more than four minutes off the lead.

A couple of fancied runners struck issues, with the Searcy/Lukasz Evo IX struggling with a mechanical issue early before recovering, though down in 13th position. The carbonfibre-wheeled Nissan GT-R of Spence/Kelly crashed out of the event on Elephant Pass.

Classic outright was shaken up as overnight leaders Nunn/Johnstone (Porsche 944 Turbo) succumbed to an engine failure early on Wednesday morning, leaving the door open for a couple of other familiar crews.

Haysman/Hughes ended the day leading the category in their Triumph TR7 V8, with a comfortable 2:08 margin to Faux/Mihajlovic in their 1985 Mazda RX-7. The Ulrichs’ grunty Jensen CV8 sits in third place, having lost second to Faux on the Rossarden stage.

In Early Modern the incredible BMW E46 M3 CSL of Kaplan/Kaplan suffered from mechanical issues that dropped them off the podium, though the crew was able to continue back to the Silverdome and will continue the rally.

The leaderboard reads Hendy/Winton-Monet (2003 Nissan Skyline GT-R Z-Tune) from the Howarths’ 1995 GT-R, some 2:51 behind. They nabbed second thanks to a late charge on Rossarden, forcing the Scona/James 2004 Subaru WRX STI down to third place.

Things are tighter on the 4WD Showroom leaderboard. Smith/Smith head the group in their Audi TT RS, but by only 11 seconds from the Liddle/Lloyd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. The duo traded stage times throughout the day, with the early edge going to Smith before Liddle took over in the afternoon. The pair is only 13 seconds apart after three days of rallying. Kennard/Wheeler are also within reach, their Subaru Impreza STI only 52 seconds off the Smith family.

The Showroom class is covered in our separate motoring.com.au Buckby Motorsport report, but it is the Quinn/Tillett McLaren 650S in front at the end of Day Three. Denyer/Gelsomino lie in second place, 1:27 off the McLaren after taking two stage wins. Dean/Cole lie third in their Shelby Mustang GT500.

Clark/Berriman finished the third day in their 1938 Dodge Special, the fans lining Longford enjoying it for another year.

Tomorrow teams leave the relative comfort of Launceston for the wilds of Tasmania’s west coast. Eight stages take crews north towards Burnie before cutting back down to Strahan via the legendary Hellyer Gorge.

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

Images: Angryman Photography