Inkster leads as Quinn crashes new Lamborghini

Tarmac rally ace Glenn Inkster and co-driver Spencer Winn lead the 20th anniversary Targa South Island after a frantic first timed day, winning all six stages to power into an early lead.
 

Glenn Inkster leads Targa NZ after day one.For most of the day Inkster and Winn fought a high stakes four-way battle for overall and Instra-com Allcomers class honours with fellow Aucklanders Jason Gill and Mark Robinson, (Mitsubishi Evo 9) and Leigh Hopper and Simon Kirkpatrick (Subaru WRX), and five-time event winner Tony Quinn and his co-driver Naomi Tillet in Quinn's new Lamborghini Huracan.
 
Within sight of the finish line of the fifth of six of today's stages however, Quinn lost control of the Lamborghini and crashed. Neither he nor Tillett were injured, but the pair were forced to miss the sixth stage (there was also a seventh but it was cancelled due to the condition of the road) dropping them down to 13th in class and leaving a question mark over their continuing in the event.
 
By winning all six stages Inkster and Winn arrived at the first overall stop of the event in Dunedin this evening with a lead of just over a minute and three quarters in class from Gill and Robinson but just under a minute and a half overall from the first day leader of the Instra.com modern 2WD class, US-based Kiwi husband and wife pair Gavin and Amy Riches in their Porsche GT3, who are second overall.
 
"It's a good start," Inkster said ,"but we just have to keep going."
 
Auckland all-rounder Clark Proctor and his former event champion co-driver Sue O'Neill topped the Instra.com modern 2WD class on the first and second stages west of Timaru in the morning in Proctor's hybrid Nissan V6-turbo-engined Ford Escort, but the Riches won the next four from Proctor and O'Neill with last year's Targa event winners Martin Dippie and Jona Grant from Dunedin in their Porsche GT3 ending up third for the day.
 
The big story, meanwhile, in the Metalman Classic 2WD class was the speed and finesse of father and son pair Greg and Michael Goudie from Auckland in Goudie's recently completed Mk 1 Ford Escort RS 1600.
 
Tony Quinn went off the road in his new Lamborghini.For the first time in many year's defending class title holder Barry Kirk-Burnnand and co-driver Dave O'Carroll found themselves disputing 10th place as Goudie and fellow Aucklanders Neil Tolich and Cully Paterson went Ford against Ford with the Goudie's in Tolich's Ford Capri Perana V8 for first and second.
 
The Goudies won their class in three stages, Tolich and Paterson two, with the other going to Wellington-based son-and-father pair Mark and Chris Kirk-Burnnand making up for a slow start to the event thanks to throwing a fan belt on the first stage.
 
In the overall class standings, the Fords of Goudie and Tolich, and the BMW M3 of the Kirk-Burnnands was split by the Ford Mustang of former motorcycle ace Jason Easton and his co-driver Campbell Ward
 
All told, just on 200 entrants will contest 807kms over 34 closed special stages linked by 1828km of open road transport stages.
 
The event continues with more stage in North Otago and South Canterbury tomorrow before heading south to Invercargill on Thursday and Cromwell on Friday before a final day in and around Queenstown on Saturday.
 
Instra.com Allcomers 4WD
1. Glenn Inkster/Spencer Winn (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) 00:50:36
2. Jason Gill/Mark  Robinson (2005 Mitsubishi Evo9GT) 00:52:06
3. Leigh Hopper/Simon Kirkpatrick (1995 Subaru Impreza WRX Sti) 00:52:08
4. Todd Bawden/Rhys Bawden (1998 Mitsubishi Evo6) 00:53:45
5. Harry Dodson/Glenn Cupit (2007 Nissan GT-R35) 00:54:09
6. Nicholas  De Waal/Guy Hodgson (2002 Subaru Impreza WRX) 00:54:09
13. Tony Quinn/Naomi Tillett (2014 Lamborghini Huracan 00:59:10
 
Instra.com Modern 2WD
1. Gavin Riches/Amy Riches (2011 Porsche GT3) 00:51:55
2. Clark Proctor/Sue O'Neill (1973 Ford Escort MK1) 00:53:02
3. Martin Dippie/Jona Grant (2007 Porsche  GT3 RS) 00:55:04
4. Deane Buist/Andrew Bulman (1975 Ford Escort) 00:55:42
5. Steven Kirk-Burnnand/Mick Hay (1997 BMW  E36 Compact) 00:55:45
6. Ross Graham/Kevin Brookes (1977 Holden Torana) 00:56:20
 
Metalman Classic
1. Greg Goudie/Michael Goudie (1969 Ford  Escort Mk1 RS1600) 00:56:28
2. Neil Tolich/Cully Paterson (1970 Capri Perana V8) 00:56:42
3. Jason Easton/Campbell Ward (1966 Ford Mustang Notchback) 00:57:26
4. Mark Kirk-Burnnand/Chris Kirk-Burnnand (1987 BMW M3) 00:57:51
5. Carl Kirk-Burnnand/Scott Hay (1991 BMW 325i) 00:57:54
6. Bruce Farley/Tim Eddington (1986 BMW 325i) 00:58:07

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