Prologue for Targa Tasmania 2011 is complete, with Dean Herridge and new co-driver Ben Searcy completing the 5.26km stage, which winds through the streets of Georgetown, eight seconds off the time of the fastest car, the Lamborghini Galado of defending ATC champion Jason White.

“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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