Tasmanian Eddie Maguire sits on top of the leaders board in the race for the modern title at Targa High Country after the first of three days of competition in northeast Victoria.
Maguire, an experienced competitor who has never won a Targa title, leads Queenslander Tim Hendy third in a Nissan Skyline GT-R by 27 seconds, with another Mitsubishi Lancer, that of South Australian, Matt Selley, in third place.
Another from Australia’s island state, Pete Nunn, leads the Classic Outright competition in his 1985 Porsche 944 Turbo, while seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner, Jim Richards, leads the Showroom category in his 2014 Porsche Cayman S.
Day one of Targa High Country saw competitors head from the start at Mt Buller to Euroa and back, via six closed road Targa stages covering 80 kilometres.
In the Modern class, Hobart driver Matt Rickards was the man to catch early, but he rolled his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX on the final stage of the day, handing the lead to his fellow Tasmanian, Maguire.
“The aim for today was to go as fast as we could,” Maguire said. “I’d love to win it, because I didn’t come here to finish second.
“We drove at a steady pace on the easier stages, but pushed hard after lunch when we knew that the times would really count on.”
In Classic Outright, Craig Haysman was expected to dominate in his 1981 Triumph TR7 V8, and while he sits in second place, it’s Launceston’s Nunn who is an 18 second leader in his 1985 Porsche 944 Turbo.
Tim Knappstein has his 1969 Datsun 240Z in third place, just 43 seconds from the lead.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been called the ‘Flying Nunn’, so it’s good to be called that for a reason,” Nunn said at the end of the day.
“We’re here to go as fast as we can without going silly, but the car’s a different spec to what it has been in the past and it’s performing really well.
“Hopefully we can continue at the same pace for the rest of the event, but it’s a long rally and we’ll just keep plugging away and hopefully that puts the pressure on the others to try and keep up.”
Targa favourite, Jim Richards, continues to remain competitive and leads the Mansfield Shire Showroom competition by six seconds in his Porsche. The eight-time Targa Tasmania winner heads Queenslander Neill Ford in a Chevrolet Corvette, and Kym De Britt (Victoria) in a 2003 Holden Astra SRi Turbo.
There’s a Subaru vs Mitsubishi fight in 4WD Showroom as NSW’s Angus Kennard has his Impreza WRX just four seconds ahead of West Australian Stewart Liddle in a Lancer Evo X. Mitsubishis also hold the leading three positions in the Early Modern class, with Paul Dowie ahead of Ben Calder and Steve Bowen.
Ben Newman’s beautiful 2014 Jaguar F-Type Coupe R is a clear leader in Sports Trophy, Keith Brooke leads the Thoroughbred Trophy in his Porsche 911, and Peter Ullrich (1963 Jensen CV8) and Pete Nunn are the leaders in Early and Late Classic handicap respectively.
Paul Dowie and Nicole Bryan, driving 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7RS
Are just three seconds clear of Ben Calder and David Rowe’s 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6 TME, in the tussle for Early Modern honours.
Another Tasmanian combination, Alan and Heather Gluyas have a handy buffer in the TDS class in their 2012 Toyota 86 GTS.
Day two of Targa High Country will see the field head from Mt Buller to Whitfield via four stages, before a lunchbreak at Pizzini’s Winery. A further three stages takes crews back to Mansfield for the exciting stage around the streets of the tourist town, at 3pm.
The day’s eight stages total 73 kilometres of competitive driving.
Results after Day 1:
MODERN
1. Eddie Maguire (TAS) - Steve Glenney (SA), 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
2. Tim Hendy (QLD) - Julie Winton-Monet (VIC), 2003 Nissan Skyline GT-R Z-Tune, +27s
3. Matthew Selley (SA) - Hamish McKendrick (SA), 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9RS, +51s
4. Toby Gill / Sam Tapping, 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +55s
5. Adam Spence (QAT) - Erin Kelly (QLD), 2011 Nissan GTR, +1m00s
CLASSIC OUTRIGHT
1. Peter Nunn (TAS) - Keith Johnstone (TAS), 1985 Porsche 944 Turbo
2. Craig Haysman (SA) - Mary Hughes (TAS), 1981 Triumph TR7 V8, +18s
3. Tim Knappstein (SA) - Dale Knappstein (SA), 1969 Datsun 240Z, +43s
4. Steve McClintock (NSW) - Jann Skinner (NSW), 1985 Mazda RX-7, +1m19s
5. Stewart McAuley (VIC) - Philippe Etienne (VIC), 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera, +2m09s
LATE CLASSIC HANDICAP
1. Peter Nunn (TAS) - Keith Johnstone (TAS), 1985 Porsche 944 Turbo
2. Craig Haysman (SA) - Mary Hughes (TAS), 1981 Triumph TR7 V8, +21s
3. Steve McClintock (NSW) - Jann Skinner (NSW), 1985 Mazda RX-7, +53s
EARLY CLASSIC HANDICAP
1. Peter Ullrich (NSW) - Roger Carter (TAS), 1963 Jensen CV8
2. Tim Knappstein (SA) - Dale Knappstein (SA), 1969 Datsun 240Z, +31s
3. Ross Steuart (VIC) - Jill Steuart (VIC) 1962 Ford Anglia 105e, +1m47s
EARLY MODERN
1. Paul Dowie (QLD) - Nicole Bryan (TAS), 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7RS
2. Ben Calder (SA) - David Rowe (SA), 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6 TME, +3s
3. Steve Bowen (NSW) - Cheryl Dominguez (NSW), 1994 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution II, +21s
MANSFIELD SHIRE SHOWROOM
1. Jim Richards (VIC) - Barry Oliver (TAS), 2014 Porsche Cayman S
2. Neill Ford (QLD) - Colin Maher (QLD), 2010 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, +6s
3. Kym De Britt (VIC) - David Percy (QLD) 2003 Holden Astra SRi Turbo, +14s
MT BULLER 4WD SHOWROOM
1. Angus Kennard (NSW) - Ian Wheeler (TAS), 2009 Subaru Impreza STi
2. Stewart Liddle (WA) - Michael Lloyd (WA), 2009 Mitsubishi RS Lancer Evo X, +4s
3. Ralph Norton (TAS) - Malcolm Norton (TAS), 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +27s
SPORTS TROPHY
1. Ben Newman (TAS) - Crichton Lewis (TAS), 2014 Jaguar F-Type Coupe R
2. Martin Farkas (SA) - Angela Farkas (SA), 2001 BMW M3, +1m11s
3. Shane Navin (NSW) - Graeme Baker (NSW), 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo, +1m47s
RDA BRAKES TSD TROPHY
1. Alan Gluyas (TAS) - Heather Gluyas (TAS), 2012 Toyota 86 GTS, 28 points
2. Christopher Waldock (SA) - Christine Kirby (SA), 2014 Jaguar V8 F-Type Coupe, 94 points
3. Richard Davis (SA) - Bill Best (VIC), 2008 HSV W427, 100 points
THOROUGHBRED TROPHY
1. Keith Brooke (NSW) - Karl Brooke (NSW), 1980 Porsche 911
2. Derek Jones (QLD) - Joel Guest (VIC), 1972 Datsun 240Z, +56s
3. Brett Dillon (NSW) - Geoffrey Corah (NSW), 1968 Porsche 911, +2m13s
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