White wins second Targa Tasmania title

White wins second Targa Tasmania title
Sunday, May 2, 2010

After six gruelling days of competition, local driver Jason White has triumphed in the modern section to add a second Targa Tasmania title to his collection.

Driving his Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Strada, White and his co-driving uncle, John White, led from start to finish to claim a 63 second win ahead of Queenslander Ray Vandersee in a Skelta G-Force, and Tony Quinn in a Nissan GT-R.

The Classic Outright competition was won convincingly by Victorian, Rex Broadbent, who produced a near faultless drive in a 1974 Porsche 911 RS.

Melbourne driver, Paul Batten, secured the Classic Handicap title with a superb performance in his 1961 Volvo PV544 across the 504 competitive kilometres.

Tasmanian Tony Warren was the dominant force in the Showroom competition droving his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX to a one minute and 45 second victory – his second in three years. Second place went to the Mazda3 MPS of Brendan Reeves, with Dean Evans third in a Lancer Evo X, nine seconds further back.

After previously winning Targa Tasmania in 2005 in a Nissan GT-R, Jason White's victory comes after many years of trying in the Italian supercar. Recent changes to the Lamborghini's specification have made the car faster than ever, and he was untouchable over the course of the event.

"When John announced a month ago that we were going to change the car to the new model, I had mixed emotions about it all," White said.

"We were all pretty excited about it, but I was quite scared knowing the amount of work and man hours that would be needed. We were delighted just to get it to the start line, but I was shaking in my boots knowing that I hadn't seen any these roads since last year.

"To get it this far has been extremely satisfying. To be involved in building the car and then to have a result like this is amazing.

"We've got our name on the trophy twice now, but others have got it there eight times, so we're not going to rest at this. There’s a record out there that we’d like to chase after."

Broadbent was rarely challenged as he charged to back-to-back Classic wins. Despite only entering the event at the eleventh-hour, his Porsche 911 never missed a beat to take a clear victory.

"It's been survival of the fittest, but I'm still pretty happy and have enjoyed it enormously," Broadbent commented.

"My co-driver and good friend, Chris (Randell), has been totally professional and didn't put a foot wrong, and it makes a big difference to the driver. I've always said that navigators are 80 per cent of the team, but I reckon it might event by 85 per cent this time."

Tony Warren led from the start in the Showroom competition. His blistering speed early in the event had his rivals expecting the Lancer Evo IX to run out of tyres, but a polished drive over the final days ensured he took the step to the top of the podium.

"It's a great feeling to not only win the Showroom competition, but to take out the Australian Tarmac Championship as well, which was my main goal," Warren said.

"Today we pushed harder than we thought we would to maintain our lead, but the car was superb and Natasha’s (Deniese) navigating was fantastic. We didn't miss a beat, so it's been great.

"This car is prepared in my workshop by my mate Gary Cox and I, and his preparation has been magnificent."

Victorian Andrew Richmond won the Early Modern in his Nissan Skyline GT-R, while Tasmanian Wayne Clark's 1938 Dodge Speedster Special completed the course to win the Vintage category.

The fans could forget the crowd pleasing Skoda Octavia RS Wagon drivern by Mike Sinclair and Co Driven by Justin Hunt. This essentially standard family wagon thrilled the crowds throughout the event.

Targa Tasmania – final provisional results

PURE TASMANIA MODERN COMPETITION
1. Jason White (TAS) / John White (TAS), 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Strada
2. Ray Vandersee (QLD) / Cameron Reeves (QLD), 2009 Skelta G-Force S/C Spec A, +1m03s
3. Tony Quinn (QLD) / Naomi Tillett (SA), 2009 Nissan GT-R, +2m30s
4. Steve Jones (WA) / Ben Searcy (WA), 2008 Nissan GT-R, +2m54s
5. Jamie Vandenberg (TAS) / Simon Vandenberg (TAS), 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, +4m03s
6. Jim Richards (VIC) / Barry Oliver (TAS), 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, +4m38s
7. Dean Herridge (WA) / Glen Weston (QLD), 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +5m41s
8. Tony Alford (QLD) / Karl Farmer (QLD), 2007 Nissan GT-R, +10m37s

SHANNONS CLASSIC OUTRIGHT
1. Rex Broadbent (VIC) / Chris Randell (VIC), 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS
2. Barry Faux (ACT) / Therezia Mihajlovic (ACT), 1979 Mazda RX-7, +11m52s
3. George Pethard Jnr (NSW) / Adrian Johnstone (NSW), 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 3, +12m58s

SHANNONS CLASSIC HANDICAP
1. Paul Batten (VIC) / Mike Batten (NSW), 1961 Volvo PV544
2. Peter Ullrich (NSW) / Sari Ullrich (NSW), 1963 Jensen CV8, +10m50s
3. John Ireland (NSW) / Michael Ribot (NSW), 1977 Porsche 911 RS, +18m30s

PURE TASMANIA SHOWROOM COMPETITION
1. Tony Warren (TAS) / Natasha Deniese (VIC), 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX
2. Brendan Reeves (VIC) / Rhianon Smyth (VIC), 2009 Mazda3 MPS, +1m45s
3. Dean Evans (NSW) / Simone Bachmann (VIC), 2008 TMR Evolution X Club Spec, +1m54s
4. Scott Millar (QLD) / Christopher Dean (QLD), 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, +13m45s
5. Andrew Lane (VIC) / Craig Lawrence (VIC), 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, +20m13s

PURE TASMANIA EARLY MODERN
1. Andrew Richmond (VIC) / Chris Thomson (VIC), 2001 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II N1
2. Brendan Manion (TAS) / Travis Dean, 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec N1, +5m18s
3. Jeff Beable (VIC)/ Nerida Beable (VIC), 2000 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec N1, +5m20s
4. Paul Dowie (VIC) / Nicole Bryan (TAS), 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII, +6m05s
5. Samantha Stevens (NSW) / Claire Ryan (SA), 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6, +6m 11s

SHANNONS VINTAGE RALLYE
1. Wayne Clark (TAS) / Roger Richardson (TAS), 1938 Dodge Speedster Special
2. John Felder (VIC) / Craig De Somerville (VIC), 1930 Oakland 8-101, +56m22s
3. John Lawson (VIC) / Paul Lawson (VIC), Delage D6 70 Le Mans

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