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NEWS
TARGA: Tasmania race to evolve in 2015
Organisers herald route changes and new regulations allowing cars to compete without roll cages fittedAlways wanted to compete in Targa Tasmania but couldn't because your car wasn't fitted with a roll cage? From 2015 you can.
New owner of the event, Mark Perry, and his event management team have created the Sports Trophy class, which allows for modern cars built after 1986 to be entered into Australia's pre-eminent tarmac rally without needing a roll cage. While the regulations have been loosened and stipulate that a roll cage is not mandatory, they do "highly recommend" the life-saving protective feature.
In other news, the route will change for next year, reincorporating the southern loop stages in the Huon Valley. These stages were part of the Targa Tasmania route for the first 16 years of the annual event. The change of route will be a welcome return to the original format in the 2015 and 2016 events, the latter event marking the 25th anniversary of 'Targa Tassie'.
Next year's event will also differ in starting on a Monday (April 27) and finishing on the following Saturday (May 2). And the route will comprise six days of competitive stages, for only the third time in Targa Tasmania history – and the first occasion since 2001.
For 2015 the route will start from the Country Club in Launceston and take in three Tamar Valley stages before concluding the day with the George Town Prologue.
The route will continue the next day (Tuesday, April 28) via the northern loop stages from Launceston, building up to Wednesday's east coast loop to St Helens. From Launceston the rally moves on to Burnie and Strahan (for the Thursday night stop), before tackling the Mt Arrowsmith stage on the way to Hobart on Friday. The event will finish on Saturday, back in Hobart, after competitors have completed the Oyster Cove, Woodbridge, Cygnet and Longley stages.
"We really want to make the 25th Targa huge, and we want to be able to use as many traditional Targa stages as possible," said Mark Perry, as quoted in a press release.
"These are the first major course changes since 2008 when we moved the event to the north of the state.
"We are very excited to finally bring the southern loop back to Targa Tasmania and to be able to do that while not dramatically increasing the travelling distance is fantastic news.
"It is important that we keep the event fresh and it is time to return Targa Tasmania to Hobart with the 25th Anniversary not too far away.
"The north of the state still gets plenty, but this allows us to re-engage with the south, and it is important that Targa Tasmania spreads its economic impact as widely as possible as well."
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Written byCarsales Staff
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