“We didn’t really get a great run at qualifying and we were a little further down the grid than the car deserved. But we knew that our race pace would be respectable”, a relaxed Dean commented before the start.

In mixed weather conditions the team had a strong start and after the three hour mark, found themselves running smoothly and on the lead lap. This was soon to change when the team had some trouble with a brake pad change during a pitstop, the time lost causing them to fall a lap behind the leaders.

With the unpredictable weather continuing, including a fallen tree on the circuit, the fight-back started and by the eighth hour the #44 Subaru was seventh place outright, with Dean in the car and chasing down Evo X of Peter Hill, Eric Bana and Tim Leahey.

But on lap 130, Dean’s race came to dramatic end. A problem with Hill’s Mitsubishi left it stranded in the middle of the track, between The Cutting and Reid Park.

At the time, Dean was on the tail of the eventual winner, the BMW of John Bowe, Garry Holt and Paul Morris. With caution flags waving, both Dean and John Bowe slowed. But while Bowe managed to swerve to the right of the stranded car, Dean was unsighted and slammed into the rear of the Mitsubishi. The damage to both cars was extensive, putting them out of the race.

“Firstly, I am just glad that everyone was OK”, Dean said a few days after the accident. “I was advised by the team that there was a car in trouble, but in a different part of the circuit. Coming up the hill, out of The Cutting, it’s a 4th gear, 100km/h plus section of track. I guess the extra split-second of vision that John had, was the difference between him managing to swerve and just miss Peter’s car, and me driving into the back of it.”

“Thank goodness for the HANS devices; I woke up on Monday with a few sore muscles in my back and neck. But considering the force of the impact, I’m feeling fine”.

“I am just sorry for both teams involved, because it was going really well up to that point. Our car was very competitive and we had done a good job to move up the order. I have to thank Barton for a great job during his stints and particularly Jim and his team who have been great all weekend. Jim’s passion and motivation is incredible and he has vowed to come back bigger and better in the future”.

The race was won by the #20 BMW of Bowe, Holt and Morris, just ahead of the Wall/Wall/Symonds Evo X, with the Seton/Crompton/King Mitsubishi taking third place.

Final Results – 2010 Bathurst 12 Hour

1. G.Holt/P.Morris/J.Bowe, BMW 335i, 202 laps
2. D.Wall/D.Wall/T.Symonds, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10, 202 laps
3. N.Crompton/G.Seton/M.King, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, 201 laps
4. N.Pretty/C.McConville/A.Jones, Holden Commodore R8 Sportwagon, 201 laps
5. P.Conroy/A.Robson/M.Brame, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10, 197 laps

Photos courtesy of Achilles Zsolti – www.racetrackphoto.com

Forza Motorsport 3 was released in October and sold one million copies worldwide in the first week of release. It was too much of a tempation for the dedicated team at Autoart Tuning, who set their skills to work, faithfully reproducing the #426 Maximum Motorsport WRX STi that debuted at last years Targa Wrest Point.

We’re always looking for something different”, commented Autoart tuner Nathan Elcoate (aka TGM Overlord). “I came across Dean’s catchy livery in middle of last year, before Forza Motorsport 3 was available, and knew we had to do it.”

“Our painter, ‘Rugged Ronnie’, is a Tasmanian. So doing a Targa car was right up his alley! Within a week he’d faithfully reproduced the stunning livery, complete with hand-made decals and logos. The car looks spectacular, and it has received great reviews.”

“Then myself and our tuner ‘OzzyPrid3′, we’re both Queenslanders, set about giving this STi the ‘go to match the show’. The tuning engine in Forza Motorsport 3 allows for almost infinite tuning and adjustment. Everything from engine and suspension upgrades, to tweaking rebound pressures, brake balance, downforce, diff lock, toe settings, and more. The tuning process took a further week to complete, and it was tested on many of the race and rally tracks in the game.”

“It was then sent to our race and test driver, ‘Catty32′ in Sydney, to see what the car was capable of. And he didn’t disappoint. The ‘Dean Herridge Subaru STi’ by Autoart hit Top 10 times on the Leaderboards on the ‘Point to Point’ and ‘Tarmac Rally’ tracks. In fact on one track, Ralli Di Positano, ‘Catty32′ placed the car at #9 on the International Leaderboards in it’s class!”

Autoart’s ‘Dean Herridge Subaru STi’ is available from the Tuning Marketplace in Forza Motorsport 3. To drive Dean’s Impreza, you’ll need an Xbox 360 console, Forza Motorsport 3, and an Xbox ‘Gold’ membership (available from game stores or Microsoft directly) to access the Tuning Marketplace.

And to see the car in action, check-out the video of ‘digital Dean’ competing in Forza Motorsport 3.

UPDATE: Autoart have now updated their car to the 2010 livery. Check out the results here:

[Show as slideshow]

It was three years ago that Dean teamed with Cody Crocker and Chris Atkinson to finish 2nd outright in a factory run Subaru. This year he returns in the Jim Hunter Motorsport Impreza WRX STi, partnering with Jim Hunter and Barton Mawler

“I really enjoyed the experience in ‘07″, said Dean. “This year it’s going to be a little different. A different team and a different car, but I’m really looking forward to going back to Bathurst. I’m going there purely as a driver, so in one way there will be less pressure. I’ll be able to focus just on my role as a driver, and I really want to do well for the team.

“With three rallies during December and January, I’ve not been able to have a drive of the car yet. So I’ll get my first drive during Friday practice; get myself acquainted with the car, and reacquainted with the track and having other cars racing around me. Bathurst is such an iconic track. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m really looking forward to it”.

The Bathurst 12 Hour runs over the weekend of February 12-14, with first practice on Friday morning and the main event starting at 6:30am on Sunday morning.

Approximately 45 cars are expected to grid-up for the enduro, with touring cars drivers like Jason Bright, Cameron McConville, Allan Simonsen, and Paul Morris, touring car greats Jim Bowe, Glenn Seton and Neil Crompton, tarmac rally regulars Tony and Clark Quinn, and even Hollywood star Eric Bana.

Photos courtesy of Vern Norrgard and Subaru Australia.

An error with the day one stage times for the Jason and John White Lamborghini was corrected overnight, meaning Dean and co-driver Chris Murphy started leg two with a nine second lead over the local crew. But White threw caution to the wind on the fast downhill sections of the morning stages, and got back past the Maximum Motorsport Subaru to take victory. Dean and Chris finished second, 48 seconds ahead of third placed Steve Jones.

“We were out-gunned today”, Dean said upon return to Hobart. “Although we tried our best, realistically we were not going to be able to match the speed of the Lamborghini. We did a great job yesterday to beat them and win three of the six leg one stages. The car performed really well all weekend. We were driving it on the limit the entire event and it didn’t miss a beat. We’re now equal second in the championship, and I’m looking forward to coming back here in April for Targa Tasmania which will be the ‘grand final’ of the series”.

The result moves Dean up to 450 points in the Australian Tarmac Championship standings, equal second with Steve Jones, and just 50 points adrift of Jason White.

Targa Wrest Point 2010

1. Jason White / John White, 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera Type R
2. Dean Herridge / Chris Murphy, 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX, +24s
3. Steve Jones / Ben Searcy, 2008 Nissan GT-R, +1m12s
4. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett, 2008 Nissan GT-R, +1m23s
5. Jim Richards / Barry Oliver, 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 C2, +2m49s

Photo courtesy of targawrestpoint.com.au

With victories on two of the first three stages, Herridge and co-driver Chris Murphy took the early lead, were never out of the top three fastest cars all day, and sit in second outright at the end of the the first day.

“It was a surprise, based on last year’s times from this event”,” said Dean. ““We had a real crack. Hopefully later in the event, when some of the stages suit our car a bit better, we can hold the others guys off that are behind us. Our speed is probably a combination of the car being sorted and us knowing the stages a little better than last year”.

It was a very pleasing days work for the Maximum Motorsport team, the Impreza WRX STi holding off challenges from the Nissan GT-Rs of Steve Jones and Tony Quinn, and the Porsche 911 GT2 of Jim Richards. It was only during the afternoon stages that Jason and John White’s Lamborghini Gallardo was able to pass the Herridge Impreza, to lead the event by 26 seconds at the end of the leg.

But the fight for victory is far from over. During the day the Italian car broke a spark plug, bent a valve and ingested pieces in the process. While it is still running, the Whites will have to nurse it during the final day on nine of its ten cylinders.

Tomorrow the field will wind their way south of Hobart for another seven stages, before returning for the ceremonial finish at Wrest Point Casino in the afternoon.

Modern results after Day One

1. Jason White / John White, 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera Type R
2. Dean Herridge / Chris Murphy, 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX, +26s
3. Steve Jones / Ben Searcy, 2008 Nissan GT-R, +38s
4. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett, 2008 Nissan GT-R, +1m:06s
5. Jim Richards / Barry Oliver, 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 C2, +1:20

Photos courtesy of targawrestpoint.com.au

Tasmania’s ‘little Targa’ once again takes in roads to the south of Hobart, with 210kms of competitive stages set down during Saturday and Sunday. Last year’s Targa Wrest Point was the debut outing for the tarmac-spec Maximum Motorsport Impreza WRX STi, with the new car showing plenty of speed on the final afternoon, edging past Jim Richards’ Porsche to claim 5th place.

Now a part of the Australian Tarmac Championship, Targa Wrest Point has again attracted leading drivers Tony Quinn, Kevin Weeks and Jason White, along with Richards and Dean, to tackle the tricky Tasmanian roads.

Live updates will be available at www.targawrestpoint.com.au, and we’ll have full coverage of Dean’s progress right here at www.deanherridge.com.

But in the meantime, check out the action from opening leg of Targa Wrest Point 2009.

Photos courtesy of www.targawrestpoint.com.au and James Griffiths.

The pair pushed hard all day in the SRTC Impreza WRX STi, but were unable to match the speed of Jari Ketomaa, David Higgins and Jussi Valimaki, who shared the podium positions.

“We did as best we could today, but we didn’t quite have the right setup for this event”, said Dean at the end of a demanding Chinese rally season. “After the problems of yesterday, the target for today was to make it to the finish line, and we’ve done that. However it’s been a good season and we’ve had plenty of positives to take out of it.”

“We started off with a stumble; there was the DNF in Nanjing, and then I was quarantined in Beijing. But since then we’ve come away with some solid results, and the win in Longyou was a great reward for the team. All the guys in Subaru Rally Team China have worked really hard this year to develop the car, and they can be really proud of their efforts and the results we’ve achived this year”.

Dean and Chris now fly back to Australia for a short but well-earned Christmas break with their families, the 2010 season beginning at the end of January with the second round of the Australian Tarmac Championship, Targa Wrest Point.

Rally Shaowu – Unofficial Results

Jari Ketomaa, Subaru Impreza WRX STi
David Higgins, Mitsubishi EVO 9, +1:09.2
Jussi Valimaki, Mitsubishi EVO 9, +1:23.8
Dean Herridge, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +3:45.7
Han Han, Mitsubishi EVO 9, +4:58.7

Photos courtesy of www.plopcrew.net and www.fasc.org.cn.

It’s the second time the CRC field has travelled to Shaowu, situated in the Fujian Province, approximately 400kms inland from China’s eastern coast and almost half-way between Shanghai and Subaru Rally Team China’s base in Shenzen.

“We’ve struggled today”, said Dean who started the event as first car on the road. “We had a diff issue during the middle loop of stages, and the boys did an incredible job to change the gearbox without running over time. We’re still struggling to find a good feeling in the car. But that said, we’re still running so there’s always the chance to improve tomorrow”.

Meanwhile the other international competitors have had their own problems. Juha Salo was fighting Jari Ketomma for the lead during the early stages, but crashed out of the event on stage 4 while in second place. And Jussi Valimaki was lucky just to make it to the start line. The Finn crashed his Mitsubishi into a rock wall during pre-event testing, the impact breaking the ribs of co-driver Marko Sallinen.

At the head of the field Jari Ketomaa continues to lead, Salo’s retirement elevating David Higgins into second place, Valimaki into third, with Dean fourth and well ahead of the first Chinese driver Cao Dong Liu.

Rally Shaowu – Leg 1 Unofficial Results

Jari Ketomaa, Subaru Impreza WRX STi
David Higgins, Mitsubishi EVO 9, +43.2
Jussi Valimaki, Mitsubishi EVO 9, +1:21.0
Dean Herridge, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +2:07.7
Cao Dong Liu, Mitsubishi EVO 9, +2:55.1

Photos courtesy of www.plopcrew.net and www.fasc.org.cn.

Mt Buller is the first round of the 2010 Australian Tarmac Championship, and third place was great way for Herridge to start the series.

“We’re really pleased with the result and the way the car performed over the weekend”, Herridge commented at the end of the final timed stage. “Among the top six place getters there are some real exotic cars. So to claim a podium is a real tribute to both the team and Subaru Impreza WRX STi”.

The event was won by Jason White in a Lamborghini Gallardo, while second place was taken by Steve Jones in a Nissan Skyline GTR R.

“At various points of the weekend we managed to better the times of both Jason and Steve. The car performed really well all weekend, and this result is a great start to the Tarmac Championship. We’ve come away with a good points haul, and it gives us a lot of confidence leading into next months Targa Wrest Point event”.

Mt Buller saw more than 100 crews tackle ten passes of the tricky 16km mountain road, with the teams best nine runs deciding the overall places. And this result means Herridge has now claimed two Mt Buller podiums from two starts, on his Mt Buller debut in 2006 Dean also finished third, that time behind Jim Richards and Tony Quinn when he piloted a Subaru Australia Impreza WRX Sti.

“It is a great feeling to come back after a couple of years and still produce a result like this. Mount Buller is a very unique event and with the road surface constantly changing depending on the weather, you have to make sure that you are concentrating for every corner of every run”.

With Mt Buller completed, Dean’s attentions now turn to the final round of the Chinese Rally Championship in Shaowu, contested on gravel roads 600km south-west of Shanghai and beginning on December 18.

(Check out the photo gallery for photos of Mt Buller and other events)

Results – Mt Buller Sprint 2009

1. White/White, 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo, 1:17:09.1
2. Jones/Searcy, 2008 Nissan Skyline GTR R, 1:17:26.9
3. Herridge/Murphy, 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, 1:18:54.2
4. Vandersee/Allen, 2009 Skelta G-Force, 1:19:06.4
5. Hendy/Willson, 2005 Daytona Coupe, 1:19:09.0
6. Ford/Ford, 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z0, 1:19:13.4

Australian Tarmac Championship Points Table

1. White, 250
2. Jones, 230
3. Herridge, 220
4. Vandersee, 210
5. Hendy, 200

With the new championship encompassing Targa Tasmania and Targa Wrest Point, the decision to contest the title was an easy one. “We’re already planning to run at ‘Wrest Point’ and ‘Targa Tas’ in 2010″, said Dean. “So it makes a lot of sense to add Mt Buller to the calendar and give ourselves a chance of taking the overall title”.

The Tarmac Championship, which has been recently created, takes in the Mt Buller Sprint, Targa Wrest Point in January, the Lake Mountain Sprint in March, and culminates with Targa Tasmania at the end of April.

“Mt Buller was actually the first tarmac event I ever contested. That was back in ‘06 with Subaru Australia, and we managed to grab third behind Jim Richards and Tony Quinn. So we’ve got some experience there. I’m really excited to return to Mt Buller. The competition is tough in all the Targa events, and it’s not going to be easy to win. That said, we’re going to give it our best shot, and give ourselves the best possible chance to win the championship”.

The Mt Buller Sprint begins on Friday 4th of December, with the final run over the 16km, 130+ corner, stage completing on Sunday 6th.

2010 Australian Tarmac Championship

Round 1: Mt. Buller Sprint – December 4 to 6 , 2009
Round 2: Targa Wrest Point – January 30 & 31, 2010
Round 3: Lake Mountain Sprint – March 20 & 21, 2010
Round 4: Targa Tasmania – April 27 to May 2, 2010

Targa West 2009 photos courtesy of Chris Parker.