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Targa Tasmania
Australia's Most Scenic Road Rally
As reported in the June issue of
Vintage Metal
, there was a VSCC of WA presence on the
recent Targa Tasmania. Here is the story of two of two VSCC members, Mark Duder, who
completed the rally in his Renault Alpine A110, and Paul Bartlett, who competed in his Ford
Escort, but failed to finish.
Our trip included towing the Alpine across to Melbourne and back which was about
7500km behind our motorhome so at least the accommodation was taken care of. It was
surprising how many people on the way across wanted a chat at the petrol stops.
As a first timer at Targa it was exciting but at the same time a little daunting when we got
there.
Scrutineering went well once the Rallysafe computer was installed and we were then sent to
the Silverdome for parc ferme. Wow. So many cars and so many models to look at.
Day one saw us with an early start
but only 4 stages to ease us into the
event with Georgetown being a
round the houses stage with plenty
of spectators to finish the day. That
stage nearly saw us out of the event
when a WRX decided to overtake as
we were committed to the slot in
front of the main building causing
us to brake really hard. Hey part of
the game I guess.
On day 2 it started in earnest
heading east of Launceston. Names
Mark and the Alpine near Queenstown
The Alpine in Hellyer Gorge