Targa Tasmania 2011 – Leg 3

Photos courtesy of www.angrymanphotography.com.auThe battle for Targa Tasmania 2011 and the Australian Tarmac Championship is heating up, and Dean Herridge is right in the mix to win the series, and possibly the event.

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.

Photos courtesy of www.angrymanphotography.com.auWith 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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Targa Tasmania – Day 2

Targa Tasmania 2011It’s been another day of high drama at Targa Tasmania. The warn sunny weather has seen great spectator crowds, but things have not been so sunny for defending champion Jason White with a stray rock cost him the chance of victory.

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.

Targa Tasmania 2011For 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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Targa Tasmania 2011 – Leg 1

Targa Tasmania 2011It’s been an opening day filled with drama at Targa Tasmania 2011. But Dean Herridge, Ben Searcy and the Maximum Motorsport WRX STI have completed the day without a problem and currently sit in sixth position and just 49 seconds from the lead.

“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.

Targa Tasmania 2011“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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Targa Tasmania – Prologue

Targa Tasmania 2011Prologue 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.”

Targa Tasmania 2011Along 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 Here We Come

Targa Tasmania 2011It’s been ‘all hands on desk’ over the last few weeks, but the Maximum Motorsport Subarus are on their way to Targa Tasmania.

“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.”

Targa Tasmania 2011“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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Sign up to our newsletter before April 10, and you’ll go into the draw to win one of three great Maximum Motorsport prizes. Sign-up for the newsletter at www.maximummotorsport.com.au/newsletter.

Win this Fantastic Subaru STI Gear

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Targa Tasmania and the addition of Subaru STI apparel to the Maximum Motorsport shop, sign-up for the Dean Herridge / Maximum Motorsport newsletter before April 11 and you’ll go in the running to win one of the following prizes:

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.