The Nissan GTR driver started the day with a one minute 33 second buffer, and by day’s end had stretched that lead to two minutes one second over Matt Close, with Matthew Sims a further eight seconds back in third.
The tussle is tighter at the front of the Classics field. Former touring car driver, Andrew Miedecke, holds a 53 second lead in his 1970 Ford Capri Perana, but Launceston's David Cooper has dropped to third place in his 1979 Torana A9X, just two seconds behind Rex Broadbent’s Porsche 911 with two days to go.
Back in the Showroom class, the pressure seems to be off the leader, Brendan Reeves, who has taken his Mazda3 MPS to a five minute break over Mike Sinclair's Skoda Octavia RS.
The Mitsubishi Lancers of Tony Warren and Blaise Paris continue to lead the Showroom 4WD and Early Modern competitions, both having maintained their leads.
The Late Classic class is led by the Porsche 911 of Duane Rodgers, while the Volvo of Paul Batten has moved ahead of Paul Freestone’s Holden in the fight for Early Classic honours.
There is another battle happening out on the roads as well, with competitors eyeing not just the Targa Tasmania crown but also the prestige of being named as the inaugural Australian Targa Champion.
After the opening two rounds - Targa High Country in November and Targa Wrest Point in January - White came into the final round leading Modern with 480 points from Dean Herridge with 420 points, Matt Close on 400 and Kevin Weeks fourth, another 18 points behind.
But with Weeks’ demise with gearbox troubles early on day three, and White having copped a 20 minute penalty on Thursday, it looks like the battle for the top honour might come down to a race between the Audi of Close and the Subaru of Herridge.
Targa Tasmania attracts double points, so with 500 going to the winner, in theory, many can still win. Quinn missed scoring any points at the opening event, Targa High Country, and he sits in 17th place, tied with Jim Richards, on 220 points.
So Herridge and Close know there is one imperative - to keep it all together across the final two days. If both do, the championship becomes a two-horse race, with the winner being the car that finishes highest on the results list come Sunday.
Meanwhile Quinn is content to concentrate on the immediate title on offer.
“We wanted to increase our buffer today, and we’ve done that, but we need to keep pushing on,” Quinn said.
“I was going to put new tyres on the back today, but we didn’t need to, so we’ll have new tyres for tomorrow.
“I’ll just go as hard as I can, but sensibly.”
Victorian Matt Close isn’t hopeful of catching the flying Nissan, and has his eyes on those behind him.
“We’re not looking at it in terms of making up the gap, we’ll just keep on doing what we do,” Close said.
“Quinn’s car is going to be more competent than ours in the wet, so if it rains tomorrow I don’t expect he’ll to be touched. If we can just keep our paws clean and keep out of the clutches of Dean Herridge, we’ll be doing okay.
“That’s really the fight for us because I think Dean’s going to be very competent in the wet, being a rally star. We’ll just try and hang in there.”
“It’s all about consolidating position, looking after the rear tyres and looking after the car so that we’re still there on Sunday.”
Miedecke was the class of the Classics field, increasing his advantage by nearly a minute over the day’s eight stages.
“The car has been excellent and we’ve had a real go in a couple of stages and have been able to open up a bit of a gap,” Miedecke said.
“We’ll try and maintain that, or maybe just increase it slightly. The car is terrific, and we couldn’t ask for more.”
While the Ford driver sets the pace, the battle for second between Broadbent and Cooper will be intriguing as the event continues.
Day four of Targa Tasmania leaves Launceston on Saturday, with crews to complete eight stages, three of which are over 30 kilometres in length, on the run to the overnight halt in Strahan.
RESULTS – Day Three 2011 Targa Tasmania (Provisional)
Pure Tasmania Modern Results after Day 3
1. Tony Quinn (QLD) / Naomi Tillett (SA), 2009 Nissan GT-R
2. Matt Close (VIC) / Casey Close (VIC), 2010 Audi TT RS, +2 min 01 secs
3. Matthew Sims (SA) / Dennis Sims (SA), 2009 Nissan GT-R, +2m09s
4. Dean Herridge (WA) / Ben Searcy (WA), 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, +2m28s
5. Dean Evans (NSW) / Toni Feaver (WA), 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +3m51s
Shannons Classic Outright Results after Day 3
1. Andrew Miedecke (NSW) / Daniel Willson (TAS), 1970 Ford Perana
2. Rex Broadbent (VIC) / Chris Randell (VIC), 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, +53s
3. David Cooper (TAS) / Jason Dann (TAS), 1977 Holden Torana A9X, +55s
4. Nic Ellis (VIC) / Travis Lacey (VIC), 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, 3m00s
5. Jon Siddins (QLD) / Darren Ferguson (VIC), 1970 Datsun 240Z, +3m31s
Shannons Late Classic Handicap Results after Day 3
1. Duane Rodgers (VIC) / Paul Rodgers (NZ), 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera
2. Barry Faux (ACT) / Therezia Mihajlovic (ACT), 1979 Mazda RX7, +28s
3. Nic Ellis (VIC) / Travis Lacey (VIC), 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, +53s
4. Jon Siddins (QLD) / Darren Ferguson (VIC), 1970 Datsun 240Z, +1m00s
5. Peter Ullrich (NSW) / Sari Ullrich (NSW), 1963 Jensen CV8, +1m36s
Shannons Early Classic Handicap Results after Day 3
1. Paul Batten (VIC) / Mike Batten (NSW), 1961 Volvo PV544
2. Paul Freestone (VIC) / Christine Freestone (VIC), 1948 Holden, +5s
3. Scott Kent (TAS) / Wayne Kent (TAS), 1965 Ford Mustang, +45s
4. Jack Waldron (VIC) / Vin Gregory (VIC), 1955 FIAT Abarth 750, +1m49s
5. Andrew White (NT) / Ashley Yelds (USA), 1961 Volvo 122S, +2m01s
Pure Tasmania Early Modern Results after Day 3
1. Blaise Paris (WA) / Raechel Krause (WA), 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
2. Andrew Richmond (VIC) / Matt James-Wallace (WA) , 2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R V Spec II N1, +35s
3. Paul Dowie (VIC) / Nicole Bryan (TAS), 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, +1m30s
4. David Ayers (TAS) / Robbie Bolton, 1997 Nismo 400R, +1m46s
5. Richard Perini / Chris Perini, 2000 Porsche 911 GT3, +3m20s
Pure Tasmania Showroom Results after Day 3
1. Brendan Reeves (VIC) / Rhianon Smyth (VIC), 2009 Mazda3 MPS
2. Michael Sinclair (VIC) / Bill Hayes (WA), 2009 Skoda Octavia RS, +5m06s
3. Adam Dodd (NSW) / Lee Challoner-Miles (NSW), 2006 Mazda MX5, +10m07s
4. Andrew Mckay (VIC) / Alex Hailstone (NSW), 2006 Mazda MX5, +11m46s
5. Kelly Silverthorn (Canada) / Duane Bentley (Canada), 2007 Mazda MX5, +14m57s
TMR Performance 4WD Showroom Results after Day 3
1. Tony Warren (Tas) / Greg Boyle (NSW) , 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
2. Matthew Heskin (Vic) / Aleksandar Velkovski (Vic), 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS, +1m04s
3. Scott Millar (Qld) / Christopher Dean (Qld), 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X +1m22s
4. Ralph Norton (Tas) / Malcolm Norton (Tas), 2010 Subaru WRX STI, +6m33s
5. Greg Burrowes (Qld) / Rhonda Bu rrowes (Qld), 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +7m40s
Shannons Vintage Rallye after Day 3
1. John Lawson / Andrew Lawson, 1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Mille Miglia Spyder
2. Wayne Clark / Roger Richardson, 1938 Dodge Speedster Special, +2m25
3. Martin Wilson / Kevin Pitt, 1934 Jaguar SS Special, +6m32s
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