White, joined by his uncle and co-driver John White in the all-conquering Lamborghini, showed a love for the roads around the Huon Valley to put himself in the box seat for a fourth straight Targa Wrest Point title tomorrow.
Close, who teams with his wife Casey in an Audi TT RS Plus, kept the pressure on White on the morning stages, but across the afternoon White moved in to another gear and pushed out his margin on each of the final three stages.
Queenslander Tony Quinn had to settle for third place after the opening seven stages.
While his Nissan GT-R could not mach the speed set by White, he and co-driver Naomi Tillett are within four seconds of Close and are ready to pounce should either falter tomorrow.
Matthew Cardinaels was brilliant all day in his 1972 Datsun 240Z to clearly lead the Classic competition. He finished one minute 17 seconds ahead of Launceston’s Greg Garwood in his 1976 Holden Torana A9X.
One of the most impressive drives from the day came from Hobart’s Matthew Rickards in 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3. Not only did he dominate his Early Modern class, his time of the Esperance Coast stage was actually quicker than White’s, and he was the second fastest of all comers across the day.
White, who failed to finish at Targa High Country, knows that with another seven stages remaining, victory is far from certain. Even on a day he dominated, he had issues with the Lamborghini that caused him concern.
“We had a good start to the day, but then we had a gearbox mechanism problem and we couldn't get any gears, so we had to get under the bonnet and try to fix the problem," White said.
"We managed to make it through the stage alright and then on the Esperance Coast stage we got stuck in fourth gear for the whole way.
"Despite this we had a great day, although I tore off a $4000 side mirror on the way out the Airwalk stage. I didn't even see the culprit, so I'm not sure if it was a guide post, a sapling or a bit of armco."
In the other classes, Indonesian driver Bunjamin Noor leads Showroom in a Renault Megane RS 250, Queenslander Scott Millar in his Lancer Evo X heads Showroom 4WD from Launceston’s Ben Newman in a Subaru WRX STI, and Neill Ford leads Showroom Sports in his Chevrolet Corvette Z06.
Geoff Duggan is the Early Classic Handicap leader in his trusty 1969 Datsun 2000 Sports, while Cardinaels also holds first place in Late Classic Handicap. Phillip Frith dominated Regularity.
The event continues across Sunday with a further 100 competitive kilometres south around Cygnet, before finishing back at Wrest Point around 2pm in the afternoon.
Results after day 1 of 2Â - Targa Wrest Point (Provisional)
MODERN
1. Jason White / John White, Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Stadale
2. Matt Close / Casey Close, Audi TT RS, +44s
3. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett, Nissan GT-R, +48s
4. Peter Rullo / Simon Iseppi, Nissan GT-R, +1m50s
5. Jim Richards / Barry Oliver, Porsche 911 GT2 RS, +2m09s
6. Stewart Liddle / Michael Lloyd, Subaru Impreza WRX, +4m02s
7. Clinton Arentz / Pete Burrey, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +4m32s
8. Toby Gill / Paul Hibberd, HSV Maloo, +5m07s
9. Chris Crowe / Gavin Smith, HSV GTS, +6m08s
10. Kym Illman / Kathryn Lehmann, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, +7m18s
CLASSIC OUTRIGHT
1. Matthew Cardinaels / Jason Page, Datsun 240Z
2. Greg Garwood / Daniel Willson, Holden Torana A9X, +1m17s
3. Donn Todd / Dean Tighe, Ford Capri Perana, +1m47s
4. Nick Ellis / Travis Lacey, Porsche 911 Carrera 3, +2m10s
5. Roger Paterson / Richard Geue, Porsche 911 Carrera RS, +2m34s
EARLY MODERN
1. Matthew Rickards / Damian Grimwood, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII RS
2. Michael Pritchard / Gary Mourant, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, +1m39s
3. Sam Button / Nathan Walker, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III, +1m54s
EARLY CLASSIC HANDICAP
1. Geoff Duggan / Leon Duggan, Datsun 2000 Sports
2. Peter Killick / Todd Leary, Ford Cortina Mk1, +1m51s
3. Mick Williams / Debra Horsham, Datsun 240Z, +3m27s
LATE CLASSIC HANDICAP
1. Matthew Cardinaels / Jason Page, Datsun 240Z
2. Nick Ellis / Travis Lacey, Porsche 911 Carrera 3, +1m53s
3. Robert Gambino / Tony Best, Ferrari 308 GTB, +2m20s
SHOWROOM
1. Bunjamin Noor / Lee Challoner-Miles, Renault Megane RS 250
2. Mark Mackay / Dennis Neagle, Mazda MX5, +55s
3. James Hallett / Alice McKenzie, HSV Clubsport DTS, +1m13s
SHOWROOM 4WD
1. Scott Millar / Chris Dean, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
2. Ben Newman / Crichton, Subaru Impreza WRX STI, +46s
3. Ralph Norton / Alex Norton, Subaru Impreza WRX STI, +3m45s
SHOWROOM SPORTS
1. Neill Ford / Nathalie Ford, Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2. Craig Dean / Emma Quigley, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, +18s
REGULARITY
1. Phillip Frith / David Frith, Porsche Boxter S, 50 points
2. Andrew Clingeleffer / David Rust, Ford FPV GT, 86 points
3. Peter Pisko / Lily Pisko, Nissan 350Z Track, 176 points
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