More freedoms, more choice and a winding back of the clock by 10 years are the take aways from the new technical regulations for theCAMS Australian Targa Championship.It was an era that saw Targa go from one event to four, across three states, and competition entries passing 300 at Targa Tasmania for the first and only time. The world is changing rapidly and organic generational changes has seen many choose not to take an active part in motor sport. It has also become increasingly difficult to find parts for ever-aging classic cars and as their values have increased, less and less of them are taking part in the tough world of Targa competition.
Targa Australia announced their new regulations last week, via an email to competitors, printed below:
"Technology has also moved at a rapid rate, which has been good and bad for Targa. Good in the sense that we now have a number of ways to manage stage speeds and safety, which in turn removes much of the need to nobble a cars potential performance in order to achieve our requirements. Bad in the sense that new and exciting GT cars are becoming increasingly difficult to prepare and successfully run in Targa due to the myriad of on board computers managing everything the car does and removing the ability to drive it as it was intended.There is no doubt that we are faced with a number of challenges as we move towards the 30th Anniversary running of Targa Tasmania in 2021, and it is because of this that we have put in hundreds of hours, over many months, in putting together a set of technical regulations that will pleasantly surprise many of our loyal customers along with re-engaging with those that have stopped competing. They will also make it much easier for new competitors to get involved along with competitors from other motor sport categories to simply enter their car with little or no modifications and be ready for Targa competition.The new technical regulations clearly say one thing; Targa is open for business, so get ready for some exciting innovations from 2020.
GT ELECTRIC
One of these innovations will be the introduction of a GT Electric (GTE) competition, which will first be held in 2021, as part of the 30th Anniversary Targa Tasmania event. It is a great way to showcase our amazing history whilst putting on display what the future will look like for the Ultimate Tarmac Rally. With a number of manufacturers already committed to an involvement, and over a year to prepare cars, it promises to be an exciting addition to the Targa landscape in future years and ensure that the Cavalcade of Motoring Historycontinues well into the future.There are so many innovations and positive changes in the new Technical Regulations, and a completely new and cleaner format is being used, so we have decided to not use the grey highlighting to show the changes. Please ensure that you read the regulations in full to get a good grasp on the changes. Index links have also been added to make finding the specific rules that you’re looking for a lot easier.Whilst it is impossible to list all the changes here, we wanted to highlight the key items to you; so here is a summary of the topline changes coming from 2020;
COMPETITION STRUCTURE
Classic & Classic GT- The run/on rule has been removed and replaced with a clear and fair cut-off date of December 31st 1989. Only 2WD cars will be allowed in Classic with eligible 4WD cars being placed in Classic GT.
Early Modern- This will finally be split into a 2WD & 4WD structure with the names becoming Early Modern 2 & Early Modern 4. The cut-off date has been moved to 31st December 2009.
GT2 & GT4- Previously split based on the driving wheels, this will be brought back together and split on the basis of Outright (GTO) and Production (GTP), where GTP cars will also be eligible to place & win the GTO competition along with having their own full competition.
Whilst the start date for entry into GTO & GTP is now January 1st 2010, cars built before this date that form a part of a model range, which continued after this date are also eligible, giving owners of these cars the option of competing in Early Modern, or the GT competitions.
Thoroughbred Trophy- Will become a handicap based competition to align it more closely with the traditional Classic competition.
MAJOR TECHNICAL RULE CHANGES
CLASSIC
MS rules will be merged with LMS rules to form a two tiered specification structure (SS & LMS), and thus not precluding any competitor currently competing in an MS car from continuing to compete in their car of choice in the Classic competition
Alternate manual gearboxes may be fitted, provided the number of gears and H pattern is retained
Differentials will be free
CLASSIC GT
Sequential gearboxes will be allowed
Late model replacement engines (with fuel injection), gearboxes & differentials will be allowed
18 x 9 inch wheels will be allowed
Capacity restrictions on Porsches will be removed
Capacity limits will be applied as follows for replacement engines
8 cylinder- 6.2 litres
6 cylinder- 4.0 litres
4 cylinder- 2.6 litres
EARLY MODERN 2 & EARLY MODERN 4
Minimum production numbers removed to open the competitions up to more cars
SS, LMS & MS specifications merged into single set of allowable modifications, which apply to ALL cars, making them much easier to understand
Front & rear brakes (including booster) and associated parts, pedals and pedal placement will be free
GT OUTRIGHT & GT PRODUCTION
Minimum production numbers removed to open the competitions up to more cars
Minimum weights have been reset back to factory kerb weight plus 160kg, reducing the weight in many of the cars
Wiring harness/es (loom) will be free
Spoilers, skirts and under trays may be replaced with optional parts fitted to other models (derivatives) of the same vehicle providing they are factory made parts, not replica or aftermarket components. i.e: Nismo spoilers etc may be fitted to a standard R35 GTR etc.
18 inch wheels will be allowed for all vehicles regardless of factory fitted size, provided they remain the standard factory width
Front & rear brakes (including booster) and associated parts, pedals and pedal placement will be free
Brake rotor material will be free
Radiators will be free
Battery location will be free
Fuel tanks may be replaced
Centre consoles may be removed
In the next few weeks, the new Sporting Regulations will also be released and you can expect to see the same positive approach to these rules to make them easier to understand for both current and new competitors.If you have any questions, thoughts, input or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact our Event Manager- Competitions, Megan Creese at megan@targa.com.au for a very prompt reply to your email.We are very excited about the future of our Targa competitions and we can’t wait to see what 2020 and beyond will bring."
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