In the modern competition, Jason White, in his Lamborghini Gallardo, remains the man to catch with just one day to go, building on his overnight lead across the monster 165 competitive kilometers that took the field from Strahan to Ulverstone and back.
On the morning stages White conceded a little time to Tony Quinn’s Nissan GT-R and Matt Close’s Audi TT RS. But by the afternoon, White was back setting the pace, extending his lead out to two minutes 15 seconds from Quinn, while Close’s hope of Targa glory ended when he crashed out of the event on the long Rianna stage.The 23 year-old Brendan Reeves, driving the factory Mazda RX-8 SP, now sits in third place over four minutes clear of eight-time Targa winner, Jim Richards, in his Porsche GT2 RS.
In Classic Outright, the old master in his 1974 Porsche 911, Rex Broadbent, was out having another field day. While Jon Siddins won two stages before lunch in his 1970 Datsun 240Z, Broadbent was enjoying trouble free motoring. He has an two minute 34 second lead and his sights set on a sixth straight class victory.
Simon Evans in Showroom had also seen his major opposition crash out, with Gavin James ending his run in the Renault on the Mt Roland stage. The Mazda3 MPS driver looks to also have victory within his grasp. Even with 135 kilometres remaining on the run to the finish line at Hobart’s Wrest Point on Sunday, his victory looks assured with a 19-minute buffer.
Weather and road conditions again challenged the field on the longest day in Targa history, but White was able to thrive where many struggled.
“Our day's been great, no worries whatsoever. We took it a bit easy in the fog over Mt Roland, but apart from that we've been pushing on well, so we're really happy with the result so far.
“It all feels good and nothing seems to be giving us any worries with the car, so fingers crossed.
“It's unfortunate that Matt (Close) crashed as he was only five seconds off taking second place from Tony Quinn, but he just got caught out with a road surface change,” White said.
“They're okay, but the car's not real good though, but it's a testament to all the safety devices that we run in the cars.”
Burnie driver, Jamie Vandenberg, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, holds a commanding two minute buffer in Showroom 4WD while Jeff Beable’s 2000 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec N1 is out in front by three minutes 14 seconds in Early Modern.In the handicap classes, Jon Siddins leads Early Classic and Broadbent is the man to beat in Late Classic as well.
Winners are expected at the finish line at Wrest Point around 4pm Sunday.
Targa Tasmania results – end day 4 of 5 (Provisional)
RDA Brakes Modern after Day 4
1. Jason White / John White, 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo, 22m19s
2. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett, 20119 Nissan GTR, +2m15s
3. Brendan Reeves / Rhianon Smyth, 2010 Mazda RX8 SP, +3m58s
4. Jim Richards / Barry Oliver, 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS, +8m12s
5 Lynn Rattray / Tony Jackson, 2008 Subaru WRX STI, +14m25s
6. Michael Pritchard / Tim Stephens, 2004 Porsche 911 GT3, +17m03s
7. Brendan Manion / Travis Dean, 2010 Subaru WRX STI, +17m41s
8. Max Williams / Bruce Bush, 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +17m52s
9. Frank Purdey / Cameron Reeves, 2009 Nissan GTR, +20m19s
10. Toby Gill / Remi Durrenberger, 2009 HSV Maloo, +22m11s
Shannons Classic Outright after Day 4
1. Rex Broadbent / Chris Randell, 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, 35m35s
2. Jon Siddins / Darren Ferguson, 1970 Datsun 240Z, +2m34s
3. John Ireland / Michael Ribot, 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera 3, +14m19s
4. Matthew Cardinaels / Damien Thomlinson, 1972 Datsun 240Z, +16m58s
5. Bernie Wilson / John Wilson, 1971 Ford Capri Perana, +17m21s
Country Club Tasmania Showroom after Day 4
1. Simon Evans / Sue Evans, 2009 Mazda3 MPS, 34m41s
2. Adam Spence / Tracey Button, 2007 BMW 130i, +19m17s
3. Andrew McKay / Hartley Sutcliffe, 2006 Mazda MX5, +32m57s
4. Paul Shacklady / Dennis Neagle, 2007 BMW 130i, +41m20s
5. James Hallett / Stuart Hatton, 2005 HSV Clubsport DTS, +46m54s
Pure Tasmania Early Modern after Day 4
1. Jeff Beable / Nerida Beable, 2000 Nissan Skyline GTR, 39m03s
2. Tim Hendy / Joanne Sibley, 1999 Nissan Skyline GTR, +1m37s
3. Ben Manion / Damien Roach, 1990 Nissan Skyline GTS-T, +2m56s
4. Danny Stutterd / Richard Scoular, 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI, +3m47s
5. Samantha Stevens-Lemish / Daniel Lemish, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI, +3m52s
Shannons Early Classic Handicap after Day 4
1. Jon Siddins / Darren Ferguson, 1970 Datsun 240Z, 26m16s
2. Andrew White / Ashley Yelds, 1961 Volvo 122S, +39s
3. Colin Byrne / Paul Stoopman, 1971 Alfa Remeo GTV 1000, +2m15s
4. Peter Ullrich / Sari Ullrich, 1963 Jensen CV8, +7m45s
5. Ross Steuart / Jill Steuart, 1962 Ford Anglia 105E, +13m52s
Shannons Late Classic Handicap after Day 4
1. Rex Broadbent / Chris Randell, 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, 33m33s
2. Ian Morris / Alex Molocznyk, 1981 Alfa Romeo GTV6, +3m46s
3. John Ireland / Michael Ribot, 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera 3, +4m16s
4. David Gilliver / Nigel Shellshear, 1979 Ferrari 308 GTB, +6m03s
5. Steve McClintock / Jann Skinner, 1981 Mazda RX7, +7m21s
TMR Performance 4WD Showroom after Day 4
1. Jamie Vandenberg / Eddie Maguire, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, 29m10s
2. Dean Evans / Matthew Harriott, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +1m52s
3. Scott Millar / Christopher Dean, 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +9m25s
4. Ben Newman / Crichton Lewis, 2010 Subaru WRX STI, +15m06s
5. John O'Dowd / John McCarthy, Subaru WRX STI, +21m10s
Targa Tasmania Regularity after Day 4
1. Phillip Frith / David Frith, 2010 Porsche Boxter S, 135 points
2. Peter Pisko / Lily Pisko, 2003 Nissan 350Z, +32 points
3. Bill Gill / Kathy Gill, 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera, +35 points
*Provisional
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