The organizers of Targa Tasmania, have rocked the motorsport establishment by switching their permit under which the event will run from CAMS to AASA (the Australian Auto Sport Alliance).
Now in its 17th year, Targa Tasmania has always been regarded as one of CAMS’ showcase events and has received recognition and accolades right around the world, however it is believed that CAMS’ refusal to accede to what were considered reasonable requests aimed at improving the safety and overall running of the event was the catalyst for the change.
While competitors in the April 15 – 20 event will notice little or no difference, Octagon Australia, who manage and run the four-day tarmac event, promise that some aspects of the event which were of concern to competitors, will be eliminated under the new AASA control.
The defection from CAMS has been rumoured in tarmac motorsport circles for some months. The change has the full support of the Tasmanian Government, the Traffic Accident Authority and Tourism Tasmania who have approved the change of controlling body after protracted discussions and negotiations.
While the change will be a slap in the face for CAMS who believed that they and they alone were the sole administrators of motorsport under the FIA in Australia, more importantly will be their loss of revenue from the permit fee, rumoured to be in the vicinity of $300,000. Important, too, is the realization that AASA, regarded by CAMS until this point as being irrelevant and not to be taken seriously, are now a real alternative licensing body for many different forms of motorsport in Australia, initially with motor racing and now with rallying.
High level discussions were taking place about CAMS involvement in the event as we went to press.
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