The Lamborghini Gallardo driver started the day with a 17 second deficit to the Nissan GT-R of Steve Glenney, but by the end of the day’s second stage he was back in front, and finished the day with a handy 13 second lead.
Adelaide’s Matt Sim is now third in his Nissan GT-R after Matt Close was forced to withdraw with mechanical troubles. Eight-time Targa winner, Jim Richards, is now fourth in his Porsche with ,a real chance of another podium finish.
In Classic Outright, overnight leader, Hobart’s Peter O’Keefe (Holden Torana A9X), was forced out with a broken gearbox, handing the lead to the six-time champion Rex Broadbent.
But the Porsche driver crashed out of the event on the final stage handing the lead to Greg Garwood, also in a Torana.
Jason White’s bid for his fourth Targa Tasmania title looked to be coming unstuck on day two, when his Italian supercar broke its front diff. However, overnight repairs had the car back in four-wheel drive and the Devonport driver set about regaining the lead.
He was fastest on the opening stage of the day, then demolished the opposition on the 37 kilometre Cethana stage, beating Glenney by 21 seconds and moving back into the top position.
The pair traded fastest stage times over the remaining six stages of the day, but White always seemed to have the edge when it mattered.
“Today’s gone well and I don’t think we’ve lost too much time with the troubles we’ve been having,” White said.
“I think sometimes when you have problems like that it causes frustration, which spurs you to drive faster than you normally would.
With only a small lead, Glenney, the Hobart-based South Australian, will still be hopeful of taking his second Targa win. White’s Lamborghini has proven to be vulnerable, and he’ll be banking on the reliability of his own Nissan.
“We struggled this morning with grip,” Glenney explained. “Our tyres are a lot harder compound than what the other boys are running. We had a more enjoyable time this afternoon.”
Garwood now has a very comfortable two minute 36 second lead in Classic Outright over South Australian Triumph driver Craig Haysman.“I’m more relaxed today, probably too much,” Garwood said.
“The car’s been beautiful and the only problems we’ve had have been a few driver errors.”
The leaderboard in the RDA Brakes Showroom changed late in the day when Adam Spence had an off, handing the lead to the Renault Megane RS 250 of, Grant Denyer.
“I've been loving the high speed stuff and as that starts to happen and I get more comfortable, we start setting good times,” Denyer said.
Four-wheel drive Showroom competition pacesetter, Scott Millar, crashed out of the event on the day’s second stage, allowing Launceston’s Ben Newman to move into the lead in his Subaru Impreza WRX.
The Early Modern competition still sees Michael Pritchard leading the field in his Porsche 911 GT3, while Peter Ullrich (1963 Jensen CV8) and Greg Garwood lead the Early and Late Classic Handicaps respectively.
The Chevrolet Corvettes of Neill and Daniel Ford still lead the Showroom Sports class, and Drew Kent is dominating Shannons Classic Florio Handicap in his Ford Falcon GT.
Day four of Targa Tasmania see competitors tackling a further eight stages. After starting the day in Strahan, cars will head north to Burnie for the lunch break, before heading back to the picturesque town for the overnight halt.
Targa Tasmania - provisional results after Day 3
RDA Brakes Modern
1. Jason White/John White, 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale
2. Steve Glenney/Bernie Webb, 2009 Nissan GT-R Spec-V, +13s
3. Matt Sims/Denis Sims, 2013 Nissan GT-R, +3m37s
4. Jim Richards/Barry Oliver, 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS +4m50s
5. Frank Purdey/Cameron Reeves, 2009 Nissan GT-R, +5m10s
6. Ben Searcy/James Maarquet, 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, +7m44s
7. Clinton Arentz/Pete Burrey, 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +9m57s
8. Daniel Traverso/Tim Kulhanek, 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX RS, +10m11s
9. Brendon Winterbourn/Anthony Chudleigh, 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +10m27s
10. Lynn Rattray/Lindon Hills, 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec C, +10m59s
Shannons Classic Outright
1. Greg Garwood/John Allen, 1977 Holden Torana A9X
2. Craig Haysman/Neil Branum, 1981 Triumph TR7 V8, +2m36s
3. Donn Todd/ Dean Tighe. 1971 Ford Perana Capri, +3m47s
4. John Ireland/Michael Ribot, 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera 3, +4m31s
5. Steve McClintock/Jann Skinner, 1985 Mazda RX7, +8m23s
RDA Brakes Showroom 2WD
1. Grant Denyer/Dale Moscatt, 2011 Renault Megane RS 250
2. Bunjamin Noor/Lee Challoner-Miles, 2011 Renault Megane RS 250, +7m24s
3. Nick Strange/Ian Cudmore, 2011 Renault Megane RS 250, +9m47s
RDA Brakes 4WD Showroom
1. Ben Newman/Crichton Lewis, 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX
2. Angus Kennard/Ian Wheeler, 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX, +30s
3. Greg Burrowes/Rhonda Burrowes, 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +12m35s
RDA Brakes Early Modern
1. Michael Pritchard/Gary Mourant, 2003 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
2. Ben Manion/Damian Roach, 1990 Nissan Skyline GTS-t, +14s
3. Jeff Beable/Nerida Beable, 2001, Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec N1, +2m59s
RDA Brakes Showroom Sports
1. Daniel Ford/Nathalie Ford, 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2. Neill Ford/Colin Maher, 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, +1m09s
3. Craig Dean/Emma Quigley, 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, +16m20s
Shannons Early Classic Handicap
1. Peter Ullrich/Sari Ullrich, 1963 Jensen CV8
2. Andrew White/Ashley Yeilds, 1961 Volvo 122S, +4m40s
3. Paul Freestone/Christine Freestone, 1948 Holden 215, +8m17s
Shannons Late Classic Handicap
1. Greg Garwood/John Allen, 1977 Holden Torana A9X
2. Leigh Achterberg/Greg Fitzgerald, 1980 Porsche 944, +23s
3. John Ireland/Michael Ribot, 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera 3, +26s
Shannons Classic Florio Handicap
1. Drew Kent/Ella Kent, 1971 Ford Falcon GT
2. Phillip Blake/John Blake, 1964 Fiat Abarth GT 1600, +38m03s
3. David Currow/Colin Carati, 1965 Steyr Puch TR Europa, +47m45s
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