Tasmanian Jason White has won his second Targa High Country title, steering his Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera to a two minute and 14 second victory after two days and 200 kilometres of stages in Victoria's north east.
The reigning CAMS Australian Targa Champion took maximum points in round two of the series, finishing well clear of Victorian Matt Close (Audi TT RS Plus), and WA's Ben Searcy in a Nissan GT-R.
Port Macquarie motorsport identity, Andrew Miedecke, took a hard-fought Classic Outright win in his 1970 Ford Capri Perana, while Subaru driver, Angus Kennard, won the 4WD Showroom competition after holding off a fast finishing Clinton Arentz in a Mitsubishi.
The fourth running of Targa High Country started in Mansfield on Friday evening with a street stage around the centre of the township. From there competitors faced 16 closed road tarmac stages over two days, culminating in the podium finish on Mt Buller on Sunday afternoon.
After finishing second in round one of the championship, Jason White was determined to get back on the winner's list, but it looked in doubt on day one when he trailed Targa Adelaide winner Steve Glenney. However, in treacherous conditions, Glenney crashed his Nissan GT-R on the final stage of the first day, giving White a handy buffer.
On day two's stages he was able to control his pace and preserve his car enough to become the only multiple winner of the event.
"We're really happy to get the win here, although we were a little bit nervous when we got to the top of the final stage as there was nothing but smoke coming out the back of the car, but it was just some coolant coming out of the header tank," White said.
"We had a handy lead, but I just couldn't resist the chance to go up Mt Buller flat out on the last stage, so we held nothing back.
"The car's been good all weekend and we haven't any dramas with it whatsoever.
"It's good to be leading the championship at the moment, but all these Targa events are worth winning on their own merit."
Matt Close finally put a string of recent bad luck behind him with second place in his Audi, while a new car did wonders for Ben Searcy as he finished an impressive third overall. Targa legend Jim Richards brought his Porsche home in fourth, just ahead Tasmania Jamie Vandenberg in a Nissan.
The Classic Outright battle wasn't over until the final stage, when Andrew Miedecke (1970 Ford Capri Perana) came back from an overnight deficit of 43 seconds to pip Craig Haysman's 1981 Triumph TR7 V8 after an enthralling battle.
"It was a really hard fought day," Miedecke admitted. "We were 40 odd seconds behind at the start of the day and we made progress, but Craig (Haysman) would fight back.
"There was only two seconds between us at the bottom of the mountain, and I've got to tell you, I just had a real crack. We had one moment that cost us a second or so, but the rest of the stage was pretty good.
"We lost some time yesterday with some throttle issues, and then we lost some time in the wet yesterday afternoon, so we had to work hard today.
"I'm a Tasmanian really, so I'm looking forward to the rest of the championship. I've got this beautifully little car now, so I'll have to go and use it."
Another nail biting finish saw Angus Kennard secure victory in the 4WD Showroom class in his brand new Subaru WRX. Kennard temporarily lost the lead, but survived an intense final day contest with the Mitsubishi Lancer of Clinton Arentz. Round one winner, Ben Newman, was third in a Subaru.
"We had a good day, despite a couple of issues with the intercom, but overall it's been great," Kennard said. "The new car has gone perfectly and I couldn't be happier."
Tim Hendy (Nissan Skyline GT-R) took a narrow 10 second victory in Early Modern, Adam Spence drove his Renault Megane to a victory of six and a half minutes in Showroom, and Michael Minshall (Audi TT RS) and Craig Dean (Ford Mustang) won the Showroom Sports and Modern Muscle Car classes respectively.
The handicap classes also provided plenty of close racing. Peter Ullrich won the Early Classic section by 40 seconds in his 1963 Jensen CV8, while Matthew Cardinaels took out the Late Classic competition by over one and a half minutes.
Reigning national champions, Philip and David Frith, again teamed perfectly to win the Regularity competition in the Porsche Boxster S.
The third round of the CAMS Australian Targa Championship is the Hobart-based Targa Wrest Point, to be held on the first weekend in February.
2013 Targa High Country - provisional results
MODERN
1. Jason White / John White, 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
2. Matt Close / Gary Mourant, 2010 Audi TT RS Plus, +2m14s
3. Ben Searcy / Todd Payne, 2006 Nissan GT-R R35, +3m40s
4. Jim Richards / Barry Oliver, 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS, +4m31s
5. Jamie Vandenberg / Dennis Sims, 2009 Nissan GT-R, +7m04s
6. Frank Purdey / Cameron Reeves, 2009 Nissan GT-R, +7m51s
CLASSIC OUTRIGHT
1. Andrew Miedecke / Daniell Wilson, 1970 Ford Capri Perana
2. Craig Haysman / Neil Branum, 1981 Triumph TR7 V8, +12s
3. Matthew Cardinaels / Jason Page, 1972 Datsun 240Z, +2m33s
4. Roger Paterson / Richard Geue, 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, +4m52s
5. Peter Ullrich / Sari Ullrich, 1963 Jensen CV8, +6m00s
EARLY CLASSIC HANDICAP
1. Peter Ullrich / Sari Ullrich, 1963 Jensen CV8
2. Andrew Miedecke / Daniell Wilson, 1970 Ford Capri Perana, +40s
3. Colin Byrne / Paul Stoopman, 1971 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000, +4m33s
LATE CLASSIC HANDICAP
1. Matthew Cardinaels / Jason Page, 1972 Datsun 240Z
2. Paul Stuart / Mike Herrod, 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, +1m43s
3. Craig Haysman / Neil Branum, 1981 Triumph TR7 V8, +1m57s
EARLY MODERN
1. Tim Hendy / Joanne Sibley, 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R
2. Eddie Maguire / Jobe Sims, 1998 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5, +10s
3. Brett Morse / Rodney Ng, 1994 BMW M3-R, +3m13s
SHOWROOM
1, Adam Spence / Erin Kelly, 2013 Renault Megane RS 265
2. Bunjamin Noor / Lee Challoner-Miles, 2011 Renault Megane RS 250, +6m30s
3. James Hallett / Alice McKenzie, 2005 Holden HSV Clubsport DTS, +8m36s
4WD SHOWROOM
1, Angus Kennard / Ian Wheeler, 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX
2. Clinton Arentz / Pete Burrey, 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, +19s
3. Ben Newman / Crichton Lewis, 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX, +53s
SHOWROOM SPORTS
1. Michael Minshall / Kirrilee Gentleman, 2011 Audi TT RS
MODERN MUSCLE CARS
1. Craig Dean / Emma Quigley, 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
2. Daniel Ford / Nathalie Ford, 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, +51s
3. Neill Ford / Colin Maher, 2011 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, +3m38s
REGULARITY
1. Frith / Frith, Porsche Boxter S, 55pts
2. Sobbel / Tayloe, BMW MS CSL, 67pts
3. Hope / Hope, Porsche 944 Turbo, 94pts
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