This year’s ’12 Hour’ is set to be bigger and tougher than ever, attracting more international entries keen to beat the locals at Australia’s spiritual home of motorsport.

2011 was Maximum’s debut at ‘The Mountain’ and it was a difficult introduction to endurance production car racing. “I think you’d call it ’character building’”, quipped Maximum’s Dean Herridge. “We approached the race with a reasonable degree of confidence and as our race pace proved we were very competitive in the Production Category.”

“But early into the race a problem developed within the racing fuel cell fitted specially for the event. The car was dropping fuel pressure. Once we worked out where the problem was, and that we couldn’t fix it on the run, all we could do was rig up a temporary fuel pick-up system and use the race to give our drivers experience. I think we won the award for ‘most use of the pit lane’!”.

For 2012 Maximum returns with the same Subaru 2.5L WRX STI, the same driver line-up (Dean, John O’Dowd and Angus Kennard), but a lot more experience. “I think the lessons learned in 2011 will hold us in good stead for this year’s race. It will be our first event for the year, and we’re all really keen for a successful, trouble free weekend”.

The Bathurst 12 Hour is held over the weekend of February 24-26. Spectator and ticketing details can be found at bathurst12hour.com.au, and the final 90 minutes of the event will be televised live on Speed Australia at approximately 4:45pm on Sunday, February 26th.

And head over to www.maximummotorsport.com.au/videos to check out Maximum’s 2011 Bathurst experience.

“It’s been our aim for two years to win the championship”, Dean told the assembled media at the Hobart finish line. “And we thought we’d be a chance in that, but it’s sometimes hard to have our little Subaru battling against the Lambos and the GT-Rs. We thought a concentrated effort on something like the championship would be something that would be achievable.”

After moving into second place on Saturday, Dean was happy to consolidate his position and ensure he and the Maximum Motorsport Subaru WRX STI took the championship title. “Overnight we decided we were happy with second, which is a good solid result, and today’s been all about conserving our spot, and the last 24 hours it’s been all about getting it home and winning the championship.”

The event was won by Tony Quinn in a Nissan GT-R, Matthew Sims took third place in another GT-R, and second place is Dean’s best ever result at Targa Tasmania. “It’s still a thrill to win a championship, and I’m very proud to be second in what was arguably the most competitive Targa field that has ever been assembled”.

Targa Tasmania 2011 – Final Results

1. Quinn/Tillet, Nissan GT-R
2. Herridge/Searcy, Subaru WRX STI, +3:39
3. Sims/Sims, Nissan GT-R, +5:37
4. Sullens/Barkley, Subaru WRX STI, +6:52
5. Vandenberg/Vandenberg, Mazda RX-8 SP, +6:54
21. Iddles/Cary, Subaru WRX STI, +27:55

Photos courtesy of Targa Tasmania.

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Heavy rain had been predicated for the weekend, and it arrived on time. And while other crews run off the road or ran out of luck, Dean Herridge and the Maximum Motorsport WRX STi revelled in the conditions.

Starting the day in fourth place, Herridge moved up to second place and into a good position to win the Australian Tarmac Championship. “It’s been pretty difficult actually”, commented Dean at the end of a long day of rallying. “We’ve had a good run through today, but we’re just trying to keep it smooth. One of the difficulties has been the water just running across the roads, so it’s been unbelievably hard conditions with the rain.”

Starting with the famous Riana stage, Herridge put in a series for fastest stage times during the afternoon rain to move past Matthew Sims into third, and then Matt Close for second place.

At the front, Tony Quinn continues to lead, and even extended his lead during the day.

Tommorow is the final day of Targa Tasmania 2011. The spectacular ‘Strahan’ stage opens the day, then ‘Queenstown’ and the 58km ‘Mt Arrowsmith’ stage, before the crews head toward Hobart for another three stages and the finish line.

Targa Tasmania 2011 – Leg 4 Results (Unofficial)

1. Quinn/Tillet, Nissan GT-R
2. Herridge/Searcy, Subaru WRX STI, +2.55
3. Sims/Sims, Nissan GT-R, +4.30
4. Sullens/Barkley, Subaru WRX STI, +6.52
5. Evan/Feaver, Lancer EVO X, +7:03

Photos courtesy of Targa Tasmania.

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Today the crews rallied on stages to the north-west of Launceston, including the long and tricky Mt Roland and Paloona stages. And the day again provided plenty of drama. The series defending champion Jason White decided to continue, even though the 20 minute plenty he incurred yesterday effectively ended any chance of winning the event. But while one Lamborghini continued, another retired. Kevin Weeks was still in the hunt for victory when gearbox failure forced his retirement.

That leaves Tony Quinn in the lead with a comfortable margin. But behind him there is a great battle brewing between Matt Close in the Audi TTRS and Dean Herridge in the Maximum Motorsport Subaru WRX STI.

With Jason White still 18 minutes off the lead, the series title looks to be a fight between Herridge (currently on 420 points) and Close (400 points). At the end of the days seven stages, Close managed to jump up to second outright and 27 seconds clear of fourth-placed Herridge.

But tomorrow is the start of the critical final two days of Targa Tasmania. The teams will pack up and travel from Launceston to Strahan on the west coast, and then head east on Sunday to the finish line in Hobart. The final two days feature the long and testing Hellyer Gorge and Queenstown stages, and with rain predicated there is every chance the leaderboard will be rearranged.

Targa Tasmania 2011 – Leg 3 Results (Unofficial)

1. Quinn/Tillet, Nissan GT-R
2. Close/Close, Audi TTRS, +2.01
3. Sims/Sims, Nissan GT-R, +2.09
4. Herridge/Searcy, Subaru WRX STI, +2.28
5. Evan/Feaver, Lancer EVO X, +3.51
27. Iddles/Cary, Subaru WRX STI, +13.02

Photos courtesy of Angryman Photography.

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White ran over a rock on The Sideling stage this morning which extensive damage to the underside of his Lamborghini Gallado. He subsequently incurred a 20 minute penalty when he ran out of ‘late time’ while make running repairs to the car.

White’s misfortune has thrown the door open for both the Targa victory, and the Australian Tarmac Championship title. Continuing his good form, Tony Quinn continues to lead, with Matt Close and Mathew Sims battling for the minor places.

For Dean Herridge and the Maximum Motorsport Subaru, it’s been another ‘clean’ day of rallying. “We’ve had no issues in the morning stages. We did lose 4th gear on ‘Elephant Pass’, so we just slowed for ‘Rossarden’ and ‘Longford’. The boys have replaced the ‘box’ now, and apart from that the car has been perfect. If we can keep this up we’ll be well placed to challenge the cars ahead of us on the final two days.”

“Inside the car, it’s been great”, continued Dean. “This is the first time Ben (Searcy) and I have competed together, and it’s working really well. We know we’ve got a bit of an advantage in the wet weather, but we’re more than holding our own in the dry. So we’ve very happy with our position at this stage of the event.”
Another eight stages await the crews tomorrow, as they work their way up to Devenport, returning via the long Mount Roland and Deloraine stages.

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“We’ve had an untroubled run today”, commented Dean. “We’re not too far from the lead and we’re not asking a lot of the car at the moment, so I’m pretty happy.”

Likewise Graham Iddles, in the #985 Maximum Motorsport Subaru, also had a trouble-free day and completed special stage eight in 31st place.

“I was really happy with our effort today. It was a really consistent performance today, and that’s what I’m trying to achieve. We’re trying to complete each stage as cleanly as possible, keep the car straight, and make sure we’re in good shape for the rest of the event.”

Tomorrow is another Launceston-based day, with the crews heading north-each in the morning for the first of eight stages which conclude with the Longford town stage, the scene of the infamous ‘Longford Challenge’.

Targa Tasmania 2011 – Leg 1 Results (Unofficial)

1. Quinn/Tillet, Nissan GT-R, 1:04
2. White/White, Lamborghini Gallado, +0.05
3. Glenney/Webb, Mazda RX8 SP, +0.22
4. Sims/Sims, Nissan GT-R, +0.37
5. Herridge/Searcy, Subaru WRX STI, +0.43
6. Close/Close, Audi TTRS, +0.44
7. Richards/Oliver, Porsche GT2 RS, +0.47
8. Weeks/Moscatt, Lamborghini Gallado, +1.06

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“We were fourth fastest, which is around where we want to be. The Prologue results sets the starting order for tomorrow, which means we will be around the crews that we need to be keeping an eye on. There’s a bit of an advantage by not being the right at the back. Both of our Maximum Motorsport Subarus WRX STIs completed the stage without a problem. The real stages start tomorrow and there’s a few twisty and technical stages, which tend to suit our Subarus. We’d probably be happier if we had a bit of rain. The dry conditions will probably suit the larger cars a bit more than us. But there’s five days of rallying to complete, and there’s rain predicated for the weekend. This is an endurance event. You need a car that’s both quick and reliable, and that’s been one of the hallmarks of our cars.”

Along with Dean and Ben, Maximum Motorsport regular Graham Iddles and Shane Cary return for their fourth Targa Tasmania. “Unlike Dean, I’m pretty happy to have dry weather! Last year was really tricky in the rain, and the dry conditions suit me personally. We always say our goal is to make it to the finish, and that target hasn’t changed. Shane and I have been improving as a team every year, and we’re looking to improve again this time.”

Leg One of Targa Tasmania 2011 starts early tomorrow morning, as the crews start an anti-clockwise loop of eight stages to the north of Launceston.

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“Targa is now our biggest event of the season”, commented Dean Herridge. “There’s a huge amount of effort put into, not just the preparation of the cars, but also the logisitics and planning. We’ve got plenty of experience with now, but there’s always something the pops up to provide a bit of a challenge.”

This year there will be two Maximum Motorsport WRX STIs competing at the 20th running of Targa Tasmania.

Regulars Graham Iddles and Shane Cary return for their fourth Targa Tasmania, while Dean will drive the #993 WRX STI with new co-driver Ben Searcy. “It’s great having Ben join us this year. He’s competed as both a driver and co-driver at Targa, and last year he partnered with Steve Jones. So he’s a guy with plenty of experience and I think we’ll work well together.”

“We’re not running as many cars this year and, as a team, we’ve only got two cars to think about. That gives us more time to focus on the job at hand, and with it being the 20th anniversary of the event, I’m really determined to challenge the Lamboghinis, Porsches and GTRs. We always compete to win, and we always put in 110%. But this year we’ll go even harder, try and put as much pressure on the larger cars, and hopefully come away with a good result.”

The Maximum Subarus arrive in Tasmania on Saturday, ahead of the Georgetown Prologue on Tuesday and the first days competition on Wednesday.

LAST CHANCE TO WIN SUBARU STI PRIZES

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1st Prize – Subaru STI Competitor Jacket

The ultimate heavy jacket, with concealed hood and STI trims. Value: $150.00.

2nd Prize – Subaru STI Polaris Fleece Jacket

Medium-weight polar fleece racing jacket with STI logos on the chest, right sleeve and yoke. Value: $100.00.

3rd Prize – Subaru STI Fusion Polo Shirt

The premier STI polo shirt, featuring STI branded trims and logos on the chest and arms. Value: $50.00.

To receive the Dean Herridge / Maximum Motorsport Newsletter, and have a chance to win one of these great prizes, just go to http://www.maximummotorsport.com.au/newsletter, fill out the form and we’ll email the next edition it to you as soon as it becomes available.

As well as talking about Targa and tarmac rallying, the interview also touches on Dean’s early career, transitioning from gravel to tarmac, modifying his driving style and competing against Lamborghinis. Plus you get a detailed looked inside Dean’s Maximum Motorsport Subaru, and find out who owns the pink sock.

Tarmac Magazine is available from newsagents throughout Australia, or online at www.tarmac-mag.com.au.