Mazda Motorsport drivers, Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth, have had a heartbreaking end to Targa Tasmania with a mechanical problem forcing their retirement on the final day of the five day event.
Reeves and Smyth had driven a smart rally in their Mazda RX8 SP and were sitting in third outright position and were the leading 2WD car in the gruelling event. After withstanding the pressure from fellow competitors in 4WD cars on the rally's many wet stages, Reeves clawed back valuable time on the dry stages of Day 4 to hold a comfortable third place with just one day of competition to go. Reeves' driving talents shone through with two fastest and two second-fastest stage times on the day - not bad when the competition includes a Lamborghini Gallardo and a Nissan GT-R!
Setting off from Strahan this morning, Reeves was quick out of the blocks on the opening stage, but at the beginning of the second stage boost problems struck and he was forced to retire from the event mid way through the stage.
It was a devasting blow to the 23 year old Victorian and his co-driving sister who had once again impressed all with their speed and talent in what where very difficult conditions for 2WD vehicles.
"It's a really disappointing way to end the event," Reeves said. "The team have done a great job all week and we were in a great position to finish on the podium, but these things happen."
Targa Tasmania was won by Jasona nd John White in a Lamborghini Gallardo.
Reeves and Smyth's next event is the Acropolis Rally in Greece which starts on May 25. The event is round two of the World Rally Championship (WRC) Academy, a six-event series in Europe for drivers under the age of 24. Reeves and Smyth finished second in the opening round in March and are looking to improve on that result in Greece.
Visit Brendan Reeves' website for photos, videos and interviews from Targa Tasmania 2012.
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