TARGA: Rookie Rallye review
In addition to the main Targa Tasmania protagonists, competitors new to the tarmac rallying scene are able to enter a sub-section of the event, known as the Rookie Rallye.Its intent is to ease inexperienced crews into a Targa-style event, with competition concluding at the end of Leg Two.
Split into Rookie Modern and Rookie Classic categories, the 2013 event saw three entries in Modern with an additional Classic entry -- the 1979 Mitsubishi Scorpion of Bernie Keast and Sue Thompson.
Keast and Thompson duly made it to the finish of Leg Two, despite some battle scars to the front of the Scorpion.
“It feels good to win -- we’ve had an interesting event with a good day today and a tough day yesterday, but it’s good to get here (the finish),” said Keast.
“It’s been a good experience. This is my first tarmac rally. I’ve been a gravel rallyer for 30 years and I got an invitation to come and have a try on this stuff, so I thought I would give it a go.”
In Rookie Modern the title went to Anthony and Toni Rizzo, their 1997 Subaru Impreza WRX STi the only vehicle to return to the Launceston Silverdome unscathed.
“It’s a fantastic event. We’ve had a lot of issues and we’ve worked through every one of them, and my navigator’s done a fantastic job,” explained Anthony Rizzo.
“We’ve had intercooler issues, tyre issues, brake issues -- we’ve had them all, but we fixed them and got to the finish.
“We’ve won a free entry to Targa Wrest Point, but we’ll probably come and do the whole championship next year.”
Latest rally news from Targa Tasmania 2013 at motoring.com.au
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