2008 QUIT Targa West Rally News

2008 QUIT Targa West Rally News

Saturday 6 September

Stage 11 - Western Range 1
Car 59 has blown a head gasket and did not start the stage.
Car 28 is stopped on stage after sliding off road.
Car 43 is returning to service.

Competition Modern
Jim Richards (Porsche 911 GT2) has jumped into second, now leading Steven Jones (Nissan Skyline GTR) by 2seconds. However, Kevin Weeks has increased his lead to 22seconds.

Competition Classic
Kim Stewart (Ford Mustang GT350) has completed a fantastic stage jumping into third. Shane Atwell (Porsche 911 RS) and Hans de Corti (Porsche 911 Carrera RS) are fighting for fourth place with only one second separating them.

Challenge Modern
The battle for top spots is on with less than a minute separating the top four cars of Kym Illman (Porsche 997 Turbo), Simon Gunson (Ford F6 Typhoon), Bruce Hawley (Nissan Skyline R34 GTR) and Robert Darrington (Aston Martin Vantage).

Paul Davies (Holden HDT VC Retro) put in a blinder, taking the stage by 2seconds.

Challenge Classic
Colin Marsh won the stage by 15seconds! Andy van Kann (Toyota Levin) has regained the outright lead, taking 5seconds out of Nick Rahimatulla (Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV 105 Series) on the stage.

Stage 10 - Muchae 1
Competition Modern
Kevin Weeks (Lamborghini Superleggera) has increased his lead over the chasing cars of Steven Jones (Nissan Skyline GTR) and Jim Richards (Porsche 911 GT2) at the end of SS10, the first stage of today’s competition.

Competition Classic
Alister McRae is continuing to build on his commanding lead. David Moir (Datsun 240Z) is holding onto second but is facing a renewed fight from Hans de Corti (Porsche 911 Carrera RS) and Laurie Burton (Porsche 928 S).

Challenge Classic
Nick Rahimatulla (Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV 105 Series) and Andy van Kann (Toyota Levin) are tied in first more than two minutes ahead of their nearest rival Martin Eyer (Triumph TR8).

Leg 2 Start
82 Cars have started day two of QUIT Targa West. Today’s event takes crews north to Muchea then through the Chittering Valley to Toodyay.

There’s no stopping Kerry Wade’s co-driver, Alan Stean, he has rejoined the rally co-driving for David Moir as David’s co-driver, Vicki Moir, has taken ill.

Friday 5 September

City of Perth and Kalamunda Shire Excited!
City of Perth and the Shire of Kalamunda have praised the organisers of QUIT Targa West which got underway this morning with a fantastic display in the Murray St Mall.

After further increasing their support of the event in 2008, City of Perth look set to continue their association in 2009, with a council representative saying they can't wait for next year!

The lunch stop in the main street of Kalamunda also received high praise with representatives from the Kalamunda Council voicing their enthusiasm about the event.

One of the major tarmac rallies in Australia, QUIT Targa West is currently running through the Shire of Kalamunda and will continue through the Shires of Chittering and Toodyay over Saturday and Sunday.

City of Perth and the Shire of Kalamunda have praised the organisers of QUIT Targa West which got underway this morning with a fantastic display in the Murray St Mall. After further increasing their support of the event in 2008, City of Perth look set to continue their association in 2009, with a council representative saying they can't wait for next year! The lunch stop in the main street of Kalamunda also received high praise with representatives from the Kalamunda Council voicing their enthusiasm about the event. One of the major tarmac rallies in Australia, QUIT Targa West is currently running through the Shire of Kalamunda and will continue through the Shires of Chittering and Toodyay over Saturday and Sunday.


Weeks takes day one honours...

Kevin Weeks/Rebecca Crunkhorn have taken the Competition Modern honours on day one of QUIT Targa. Weeks, driving a Lamborghini Superleggera, completed the leg in 22:34.0 and holds a seven second lead over his closest rivals, Steven Jones/Rauri Souter-Dawson (Nissan Skyline GTR), who are a further two seconds ahead of Jim Richards/Barry Oliver (Porsche 91 GT2).


Alister McRae, competing in his first QUIT Targa West, has a convincing 1:26.0 lead in the Competition Classic class in his Porsche 911 RS. McRae/Hayes posted an overall time of 23:25 which is only 51.0 seconds behind Kevin Weeks. David Moir/Vicki Moir (Datsun 240Z), Kim Stewart/Frank Zanotti (Ford Mustang GT350) and Hans de Corti/Mark de Corti (Porsche 911 Carrera RS) have a bit of work to do tomorrow if they want to put any pressure on McRae.

A close battle still ensues in the Challenge Modern class between Kym Illman/Antonia Spiers (Porsche 997 Turbo) and Bruce Hawley/Karl Howard (Nissan Skyline R34 GTR) with Illman edging out Hawley by 14.0 seconds at the end of competition today.

Andy van Kann/Brook Martinsen have jumped to a 53.0 second lead in the Challenge Classic class heading into day two of competition. Nick Rahimatulla (Alfa Romeo) had a disappointing last stage, dropping him to second and previous leader Colin Marsh (Ford Escort) missed the final stage of the day. The result for van Kann and Martinsen was one of the standout performances of the day given it was Martinsen’s first attempt at co-driving.

Andy van Kann, who auctioned off the co-drivers seat in his Toyota Levin for Camp Quality, will be joined by a new co-driver Jamie Marquet tomorrow. Both Martinsen and Marquet are involved with Camp Quality through family and personal experiences with cancer.


Results Update SS07 - Canning Mills
Competition Modern
Kevin Weeks has increased his lead over tarmac legend Jim Richards with the gap between his Lamborghini Superleggera and Richard's Porsche 911 GT2 now out to 10seconds. Klark Quinn (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) sits in third position only one second in front of Tony Longhurst (Subaru Impreza WRX), both drivers are facing a close battle with youngster Steven Jones (Nissan Skyline GTR) a further 2seconds behind.

Competition Classic
Alister McRae (Porsche 911 RS) has a handy one minute leave over Burton (Porsche 928 S), Moir (Datsun 240Z) and Stewart (Ford Mustang GT350) who are jostling for seond place with only 5 seconds separating them.

Challenge Modern
Illman (Porsche 997), Hawley (Nissan Skyline) and Gunson (Ford F6 Typhoon) were neck and neck for the first three stages today, but a slow time for Gunson on SS04 has seen him trail behind the other two. At the end of SS07 Illman is holding out Hawley by a slim 5 seconds with Darrington sneaking up on them a further 21seconds behind.

Challenge Classic
Marsh (Ford Escort), Rahimatulla (Alfa Romeo) & van Kann (Toyota Levin) have been swapping positions throughout the day for honours in the Challenge Classic class. At the end of SS07 Marsh is leading the class with Rahimatulla 34seconds behind.


Emergency Crews tested on SS03 & SS06 - Zig Zag
There were two incidents on day one of QUIT Targa West. The incidents occurred on stages 3 & 6, the scenic Zig Zag Rd in Perth's hills, early in the rally. Experienced champion race driver Kerry Wade (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) driving Ross Dunkerton's 2006 QTW winning car, had an incident at speed. Both Kerry and co-driver Alan Stean are reported to be ok owing to stringent safety regulations required by Confederation of Australian Motorsport to be installed in their vehicle.

Well known Perth motoring journalist Bill Buys (Proton Satria GTi) with his son Robert also had an incident on the second running of the same stage. Both Bill and Robert have been taken to hospital for observation. The Clerk of Course, Ross Tapper, will issue an update on their condition as available.

Both cars were attended by medical crews within minutes of the respective incidents. To allow the emergency response teams to do their job safely, competition was halted on both of these stages. Competitors who were unable to record a competition time for these stages will be allocated a derived time by the organisers.

QUIT Targa West uses medical teams who are considered amongst the best trained emergency response teams in the world, specialising in trauma incidents. The Clerk of Course reiterated that the event does not compromise on safety and is extremely pleased with the response times and performances of the emergency medical crews.

SS01 - Barbagallo Raceway
Alister McRae (Porsche 911 RS) posted a great time in the Competition Classic class sitting in equal fourth outright along with Quinn and Jones. He leads the Competition Classic class by 9 seconds, ahead of Shane Atwell (911 RS) and Michael Miller (Holden VH SS Commodore).

After the completion of the opening stage of QUIT Targa West the following competitors are leading the Challenge classes:

Challenge Modern



Kym Illman/Antonia Spiers


Porsche 997 Turbo


2:51.0

Simon Gunson/Murray Armenti


Ford F6 Typhoon


2:57.0

Robert Darrington/David Abetz


Aston Martin Vantage


3:00.0


Challenge Classic




Colin Marsh/Suzanne Marsh


Ford Escort


3:00.0

Andrew Van Kann/Brook Martinsen


Toyota Levin


3:02.0

Nick Rahimtulla/Peter Murray


Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV 105 Series


3:03.0
Ceremonial Start
It has not been the perfect start to the event for Tony Quinn and his co-driver Naomi Tillett with their Porsche 911 GT3 suffering from some electrical gremlins before it had even had the chance to cross the start line. Some quick work seems to have rectified the problem but we'll be keeping an eye out on their progress throughout the morning stages.

Competitors have now headed to Barbagallo Raceway, Western Australia's biggest raceway, which is providing the perfect stage for crews to warm up before heading out for the first road stage of the event.



Thursday 4 September

Prologue completed...
The QUIT Targa West Prologue has been run and won at the Perth Motorplex this afternoon with cars completing two laps around the 3.47km circuit to determine the starting order of the rally which gets underway tomorrow morning.

2007 Class winners, Jim Richards and Barry Oliver will be defending their title in the Competition Modern Category, whilst Hans and Mark de Corti will have some strong competition from Alister McRae and Bill Hays in the Competition Classic Category. The Challenge Classic Category will be a close call with Tony Clarke looking to fend off competition from Andy Van Kann and co-drivers Brook Martinsen and James Marquet.

After the completion of both laps the following competitors are topping the time sheets:

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