The five-day test gets starts at the Adelaide Showgrounds with a special night stage, then heads to the hills for a further 29 stages before ending back in the city on Sunday afternoon.
Adelaide is as close to the perfect place to run a tarmac rally as any place on earth - a cosmopolitan city with major tourism infrastructure, a vibrant and engaged population, home to major media outlets and surrounded by magnificent, testing roads in brilliant countryside, all within 30 minutes access from the heart of the city itself.
While the city has a history of hosting tarmac rally events, this year, event organiser Octagon is seeking to raise the bar even higher with a number of initiatives to make Supaloc Targa Adelaide a must-do for rally driver and motorsport fan alike.
The introduction of modern cars is a big plus for the spectacle of the event. Over 10 million dollars of cars will be in action across the five days, including some of finest European performance cars, including models from Lamborghini, Porsche and Audi, and the best from Japan, with the Nissan GT-R expected to shine.
A big attraction of the 2012 event is the addition of the Intercontinental Adelaide Targa Night Stage on Wednesday, bringing night time car racing to the heart of city, allowing motorsport fans to see a spectacular show of modern and classic cars on a technically challenging three kilometre stage.
The stage will officially start the event and the night also includes a Targa Expo inside the Goyder Pavilion, providing the whole family with a great night out, giving everyone free ‘pit access’ after the stage.
Championship director, Mark Perry, is expecting plenty of interest from the people of Adelaide
“This is something new for a Targa event and it is the first time that a major CAMS national championship will get underway, under lights, in the heart of Adelaide, potentially years before the city sees a night V8 race,” Perry said.
Supaloc Targa Adelaide then continues across four days on the roads in the hills around Adelaide, before finishing back in the heart of the city in Gouger St on Sunday lunchtime.
Perry believes it is vital to give motorsport fans access to the cars and the drivers.
“As well as the night stage and the street finish on Sunday, there is the Norwood Parade Targafest Street Party from 6.30 to 9.30 on Friday night.
“It will be a very relaxed night where people of all ages can enjoy all that The Parade has to offer and see all the cars that will all be parked there.
“The changes we have made this year are designed to further build Supaloc Targa Adelaide as a major sporting event for South Australia.”
Supaloc Targa Adelaide is the opening round of the four-event CAMS Australian Targa Championship.
Round two takes place out of Mt Buller in Victoria from November 9 to 11. The final two rounds are in Tasmania, with the Targa Wrest Point being held on February 2 and 3, and the final round, Targa Tasmania, getting underway on April 16.
Both Supaloc Targa Adelaide and Targa Tasmania receive extra weighting for the championship points tally.
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