TARGA: Day Two – White returns but doesn't lead
Jason White’s Viper penalty rescinded, but Matt Close hits back in 25th anniversary Targa TasmaniaWe woke this morning to news that Jason White’s one-minute penalty for beating the minimum time on Targa’s opening stage by 0.8sec had been overturned, vaulting the Tasmanian’s Dodge Viper ACR to the GT2 class lead.
But it was the man White usurped at the top, Matt Close, who now leads the category at the end of Leg Two.
The Victorian put on a show in his Porsche 991 911, taking the opening 14.08km Sideling stage by eight seconds over White to re-establish his GT2 lead, penalty or not.
From there it was Targa Tasmania at its best, the day’s stage victory count showing just how closely these two are matched: Close: 3, White: 3… and a tied time on the 13.36km Weldborough Pass.
After White took Elephant Pass by 8sec, it appeared the Viper had the upper hand, only for Close to take the day’s final stage, the 12.13km Rossarden, by 10sec to establish a slender 2sec overnight lead.
To his credit, Close welcomed the fair fight: “I’m really glad Jason (White) had his penalty taken away. That’s not how you want to duke it out.
“We’re trying to look after our tyres early because it looks like it’s going to be a fairly dry event.
“I don’t want to ruin my front tyres by getting drawn in to trying to win it on day one.”
A couple of minutes further back, a similar battle was breaking out between Craig Dean’s new Shelby Mustang and another Dodge Viper ACR, this time in the hands of Michael Pritchard. They finished the day running third and fourth in GT2.
In GT4 the twisty Sideling stage saw Ben Manion establish quickest time with his 2008 Subaru Impreza STI, ahead of Ralph Norton’s similar machine. It was a good omen for Manion, who carried that momentum to lead the category overnight.
It’s a slender lead, however, as Tony Quinn’s new Lamborghini Huracan trails by only 5sec as he continues to battle traction control issues. Brent Coleman’s 2015-spec Subaru STI sedan holds third position, another 6sec adrift.
The Modern category sees Roderick Neville’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII with a comfortable 39sec lead over the surprisingly rapid (and very rare) HSV Coupe 4 of Chris Crowe, with Greg Burrowes’ Evo X only a second off the local machine.
Sadly, overnight leader Simon Cliento lost drive in his 2005 911 Turbo S on the day’s final Rossarden test, finishing the stage on a flatbed.
Shifting to Early Modern, Alan Roe put on an exceptional performance in what is one of the fastest machines in the overall event. His 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI TME ended the day 1:08 ahead of Mark Balcombe’s 1995 Mazda RX-7 SP after taking six of the day’s seven stages. Andrew Bollom’s similar Aussie-market RX-7 SP lies in third place, 1:55 off the lead.
Like Jason White, favoured Classic GT (outright) participant Jon Siddins received a 60sec penalty on Leg One, only for it to be rescinded this morning. It handed his 1970 Datsun 240Z the category lead.
The lead quickly changed, however, with Peter Nunn’s 1985 Porsche 944 Turbo beating Siddins by 19sec on The Sideling. But on the very next stage Nunn sadly crashed out of the event.
That left Siddins back in the lead, before Matt Cardinaels became the day’s third category leader with his 1972 Datsun 240Z. He was able to extend that through the day to return to the Silverdome with a 48sec advantage. Siddins is second, with Craig Haysman’s 1979 Triumph TR7 V8 third, another 7sec behind.
Classic Handicap remains the domain of Peter Ulrich. His Chrysler big-block V8-powered 1963 Jensen CV8 is 49sec to the good of Andrew White’s 1961 Volvo 122S. Leigh Achterberg’s 1982 Porsche 944 sits 55sec off the pace.
“It’s been a good day today. We’ve had a few weird rattles and things, but the wheels haven’t fallen off, so it’s all good,” Ullrich explained.
“We’ve been going pretty hard – we push the old girl as fast as she’ll go, comfortably without falling to bits, so no dramas so far.”
Finally, Wayne Clark’s 1938 Dodge Speedster Special is the sole remaining Vintage category vehicle, finishing the second leg in his 1938 Dodge Speedster Special.
Leg Three sees crews depart from the Launceston Silverdome base and head for Burnie. With nearly double the competitive kilometres over Leg Two, the 137km test takes in the legendary Cethana and Riana stages.
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