Vandersee, who designed the Skelta G-Force, finished fourth in the 2008 Targa Tasmania, and with a newly released car ready for this year’s event, he is hopeful of a strong showing.
In the lead up to Targa, the Skelta Sports Car team filled all three podium places in the Sports Car Championship Challenge at the annual Gatton Sprints – with all three drivers in the new G-Force S/C.
“The event was a great shakedown for the tarmac classic and gave us enormous confidence in the car's ability for the upcoming rally,†Vandersee said.
“The drivers taking part at Gatton are all competing in Tasmania next month, and I'm very pleased with the pace each has managed to demonstrate.â€
Vandersee will be contesting his ninth Targa Tasmania (co-driven by Alan Stean), while Guy Bedington will line up for his 10th Targa. Bedington (with co-driver Dennis Neagle) is a previous podium finisher in the event.
The third Skelta will be driven by Marcus Nuutinen, a newcomer to tarmac rallying. Nuutinen (with co-driver Gerard McConkey) recently purchased a new Skelta G-Force S/C to compete in tarmac rallies, sprints and hillclimb events throughout the year.
Hot on the heels of a second outright at the recent Willowbank Tarmac Rally Challenge, and the third at Gatton, Vandersee believes that Nuutinen will be a front runner at Targa.
The unique Skelta G-Force S/C is powered by a Honda 2-litre, supercharged engine, coupled to a Honda 6-speed close ratio gearbox. With an overall weight of just 780 kilograms and 230 kiloWatts of power, it has an amazing power-to-weight ratio of 440 brake horsepower per tonne.
It has a carbon fibre and composite body, and a chrome moly steel spaceframe chassis that weighs just 80 kilograms.
The imposing shape of the Skelta means that it is a real eye catcher. And if past form is anything to go by, then the Skelta Sports Car team will be right amongst the pacesetters when Targa Tasmania gets underway on April 28.
Targa Tasmania 2009, the 18th running of the world-renowned event, has once again attracted the biggest field of competitors for any event in Australia. Over 250 cars will start the rally, making it Tasmania’s biggest sporting event.
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