In the Classic Outright competition, Weeks took his 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS to a 43 second buffer over fellow South Australian Matt Selley, and West Australian, Tolley Challis, also in 1974 Porsches, who are tied for second in the CAMS Australian Targa Championship round.
Despite the age of his car, Weeks is also the fastest of any car in the field, leading the Supaloc Overall competition by 16 seconds from Targa Tasmania titleholder Tony Quinn, who is behind the wheel of a 1990 Nissan Skyline GTR that falls outside of the Classic Outright competition regulations.
After starting at the Adelaide Showgrounds on Thursday morning, competitors headed into the Adelaide Hills to complete four closed road stages, before a lunch break in Gumeracha.
A further four stages completed the day, included the 17.64 kilometre Castambul test, the longest of the event.
Weeks was third quickest on yesterday’s short prologue stage at Menglers Hill, but quickly asserted his dominance in fine and sunny conditions.
“I started off pretty ordinary this morning,” Weeks said. “I asked the crew to soften the car off last night, but I learnt my lesson and had them stiffen the suspension up at the break, and then the car was excellent.
“The really fast twisty stuff never suits us and I’m never comfortable on the gorge, but tomorrow should suit us better and we’re looking to a good start on the Mount Lofty stage, which I always feel confident on.”
Gravel rally specialists Selley and Challis are locked together in second place in the Classic competition, with neither giving an inch in what is proving to be a real Porsche domination at the top of the leaderboard.
"We had some clutch slipping problems from the Checker Hill stage onwards, so we drove three stages with the car not performing as it should," Selley said.
"For some reason the clutch came out of adjustment, and the team didn't have the tools to fix it until we finished the day.
"I'm really looking forward to tomorrow though. We can't match Kevin's pace, but we'll do our best to keep up with Tolley and see how we go.
"The car feels strong and I really like tomorrow's stages."
Tomorrow crews head to the south and south west of Adelaide for eight stages over a distance of 51 competitive kilometres. The day includes an ascent up Mt Lofty, and the iconic Willunga Hill stage where a big crowd of spectators is expected to witness some of Australia’s fastest classic cars in action.
Supaloc Classic Targa Adelaide
Results after Day 1
Shannons Classic Outright
1. Kevin Weeks (SA) / Toni Feaver (WA), 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS
=2. Matt Selley (SA) / Claire Ryan (SA), 1974 Porsche 911 RS, +43s
=2. Tolley Challis (WA) / Greg Flood (WA), 1974 Porsche 911 RS, +43s
4. Donn Todd (QLD) / Dean Tighe (QLD), 1971 Ford Capri Perana, +1m09s
5. Nick Streckeisen (SA) / Mike Dale (SA), 1985 Porsche 944 Turbo, +1m43s
Supaloc Overall
1. Kevin Weeks (SA) / Toni Feaver (WA), 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS
2. Tony Quinn (QLD) / Adam Tillett (QLD), 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R, +16s
=4. Matt Selley (SA) / Claire Ryan (SA), 1974 Porsche 911 RS, +43s
=4. Tolley Challis (WA) / Greg Flood (WA), 1974 Porsche 911 RS, +43s
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