Spills, chills and thrills at Targa

ST. JOHN'S, NFLD.–The 2009 Targa Newfoundland car rally began with the animals walking two-by-two.

It ended with the animals walking two-by-two.

Sadly, we never found an ark.

Sept. 18 saw the worst weather we had experienced since the hurricane several years ago, and we surely had the most rainy days ever.

When the racing suits and timing sheets were dried, familiar names were at the top of the results table.

Roy Hopkins and Adrienne Hughes from Spencerport, N.Y., drove their 1969 BMW 2002 to a second straight overall title and also won in Class 4 and the Classic Division (for cars older than 1975).

Second overall and also in Classic, plus first in Class 3, was the stunningly beautiful 1965 Porsche 911 of Michael Stoschek of Coburg, Germany, and Philipp Spaeth, originally from Germany but now residing in Lake Orion, Mich.

They were rookies to Targa, but hardly to motorsport, having won the Carrera Panamericana rally three times, as well as many vintage races in Germany.

Third place, again in overall and Classic, was a tie between the 1967 Acadian Canso Sport Coupe owned and driven by Jud Buchanan of Campbellville and co-driven by Pickering's Jim Adams, and the '69 Chevrolet Camaro, driven by Bob Yuille and co-driven by Kirk Alexander, both from Dartmouth, N.S.

Do you think it's odd the top four overall finishers (actually, the top five; fifth was a very pretty Mark 1 Ford Escort from the Turks and Caicos in the hands of Paul Horton and Carol Potter) all came from the Classic Division?

So do I. More on that anon.

The Modern Division was won by the stunning Nissan GT-R, entered by Nissan U.S.A., driven by racing/rallying legend Steve Millen, originally from New Zealand but now living in Costa Mesa, Calif., and co-driven by Road & Track magazine staffer Mike Monticello from Mission Viejo, Calif.

Monticello had never done any rallying before. But Road & Track was a co-sponsor of the entry, and his editor-in-chief assigned him to the task because, he said with a smile on his face, he was the lightest guy on staff and the only one who would fit in the tight racing seat.

The Open Division was won once again by the brutally fast 1983 Audi quattro A2, built to then-current World Rally Championship specs, driven by multi-time Canadian and North American rally champion Frank Sprongl, and co-driven by Rod Hendricksen from Clinton, N.J.

Those of you who followed my blog on Wheels.ca during the week will know I managed to nurse the new 2009 Mini Cooper S JCW Challenge race car to a second-place finish in Open, behind – way behind – Sprongl's terrifying Audi.

Our car, built as a race car, had limited suspension travel – in a rally car, you want more compliance. As my navigator Brian Bourbonniere said, "The suspension couldn't have been stiffer if we gave it a Viagra the size of a hockey puck."

Overall, this year's event had the fewest major "incidents" ever (two cars brought back on blotters; very few "offs" or mechanical failures). But it didn't get off to a great start.

Automotive writer Marc Lachapelle became ride-free this summer when Toyota Canada chose not to run the Lexus GS 450 Hybrid again.

Toyota's loss became Subaru's gain, as it picked Lachapelle to pilot its Impreza WRX STi, a perennial top contender.

Keith Townsend, who has been involved in Targa for a number of years as a driver and official, slotted into the Subaru's right seat. Prior to the event, Lachapelle pointed to Townsend and told me, "This is my secret weapon!"

Lachapelle, though, crashed about four corners into the first Prologue (or warm-up) stage on Sunday. He was knocked out briefly and Townsend suffered a cracked rib.

Subaru's support team leapt into action, repairing the suspension on the course, then bashing out the right-side doors to make the car driveable again.

The team, led by Stewart Hoo, regularly wins the Service Crew award (they got another this year). This time, they went above and beyond as Hoo stepped into the right front seat to navigate for the rest of the event.

He had never done this side of rallying before, but he is a quick study, and with Townsend's coaching and route book preparation each night, the car managed a fourth-place finish in the Modern Division, and 12th overall.

 

 

Targa is an amazing event. As I always say, the police close the roads and tell you to drive faster.

What's not to like?

There was even one car there decked out in OPP livery, although I've never seen a Honda Civic coupe cop car.

The event does have its challenges, however. This year, you could add the economy to the list.

The number of entrants was down markedly – 57, as opposed to 91 a few years ago.

An expensive event like this (it can cost anywhere from about 15 grand to "how-much-do-you-have?") is obviously going to be hit by an economic downturn.

Scott Giannou, vice-president of Newfoundland Motorsports Inc., the organizing company, told me the event was still "above water" despite the lower turnout.

The drop in entries was mainly from the United States, which has been hurt the most by the recession. Entries from Newfoundland, other provinces and foreign countries outside the U.S. were actually up.

Rookies made up almost half the field, indicating the appeal of the event hasn't diminished.

A more significant challenge is the handicapping system intended to allow cars from different eras to run on a theoretically level playing field.

Cars from each class are given different bogey times to beat in the closed-road stages. Do so and you "zero" the stage – and avoid penalty points. Lowest total wins.

In the early days of Targa Tasmania (the founding father event) there was no "overall" winner, on the entirely reasonable basis that it is impossible to compare cars from different eras.

Each division – in Tas's case, just Classic and Modern – was given a First Place trophy, and that was that. Sure, the teams compared scores, but officially, the "overall" winner was only for bragging rights.

In Targa Newfoundland, they introduced a third Division some years back, initially called "Panamericana," then "Unlimited," now "Open", to accommodate any pure racing or rally cars that bore little relationship to the production cars upon which they were based.

We moved the Mini Cooper S JCW into Open years ago, partly because there were fewer tough competitors (two wins, a second and a third in five years – not bad), but also to try to embarrass some of the fake production cars that somehow escaped the examination of the scrutineers, or (more to the point) were cleverly designed to meet the letter of the law, if totally violating the spirit of it. (In most of these so-called "classic" cars, the only 1960s part in them is the VIN plate.)

If they are 1968-whatever car, why aren't they forced to run 1968-whatever tires?

They are given easier times to meet because they are old. But if they are new in just about every way, why do they get an advantage?

These cars are just as fast as most of the modern cars. Their positioning attests to that. But because they have easier times to beat, their drivers don't have to drive as hard to zero the stages.

Case in point: On one stage this year, I started 30 seconds behind the "1969" BMW of Hopkins and Hughes.

I caught and passed them. They zeroed the stage. I took a penalty.

Their car is faster than mine. Roy is a better driver than me. But why should I have to work twice as hard?

Over a week, that adds up. We see lots of drivers make mistakes in the last day or two due to fatigue – that's part of the competition.

A better case in point: This year we saw the highest-profile driver ever to enter the event.

New Zealand-born Millen has a long, storied history in track racing and rallying. His 2009 Nissan GT-R may be the hottest, most potent, fastest, best-handling road car you can buy today.

But in the 2009 Targa Newfoundland, Hopkins drove a 1969 BMW 2002 to first place overall, according to the supposedly fair handicapped scoring system.

And as noted earlier, the next four places were also Classic cars.

Millen, in a vehicle entered by Nissan U.S.A. and sponsored by Road & Track magazine, finished sixth.

On one stage, he caught and passed three other very fast Modern cars, including a Porsche 911 GT3 RS and a professionally built factory-entered rally-prepped Subaru WRX STi. And Millen took 19 seconds in penalties.

Nobody will ever convince me a handicapping system that generates results like that is fair.

Now, handicapping is always hard, especially in racing.

The Targa rules committee is preparing new draft regulations for future events that may address some concerns. But if Targa Newfoundland wants the Steve Millens and Nissan U.S.A.s of the world to bring their newest and hottest cars to this event they have to give them a fair chance to win.

Still, Targa Newfoundland is a do-before-you-die event, a Bucket List item for any car enthusiast.

Even if you only come for the fun, the drive and a Targa Trophy plate, you'll have the time of your life.

Third week in September. Mark it down.

Freelance auto writer Jim Kenzie was sponsored by Mini Canada to compete in the Targa Newfoundland.

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