Driving for the Les Walkden Rallying team, Longhurst and co-driver, Jahmeil Taylor, will start the event as the second seed in their Subaru Impreza WRX STI.
Fellow Bathurst winner, Jim Richards, will start from position one in his Porsche 911, but following a competitive run in Targa West last month, Longhurst is confident that this weekend’s conditions will suit the LWR Subaru.
“The car was great in WA,” Longhurst said. “We had an unfortunate accident on the last stage of the event, but the set-up was brilliant and the car handled really well.
“The Subaru struggles a little against the new breed of Supercars (from Porsche, Nissan and Lamborghini) as they have about double the horsepower that we have, but we have a great package.”
With wet weather predicted this weekend, the Subaru’s all-wheel drive transmission should come into play and give Longhurst an advantage over his opposition, however he knows that it won’t be easy.
“I always go into an event wanting to win, and the wet weather will be good for the Subaru, but I know we’re in for a tough weekend,” he added.
“Along with Jim (Richards), I’ll also be keen to see how we match up against the Australian Rally Championship regulars, who are competing in the event as well (in a separate category).”
The Tasmanian Tarmac Challenge, formerly known as Rallye Burnie, is based on the north west coast, and uses some classic tarmac rallying stages such as Hellyer Gorge and Savage River. The stages are real driver favourites, and Longhurst is no exception in his praise for the roads.
“The event offers a bit of everything. I actually prefer the Savage River stage as it is a bit more flowing and less technical than the Hellyer Gorge, but they are all really enjoyable to drive,” he said.
The rally covers 176.8 competitive kilometres and features 13 stages.
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