WHITE STILL LEADS TARGA TASMANIA AFTER ANZAC DAY ACTION

Jason and John White’s Dodge Viper in the George Town stage – Photo: Angryman Photography

After a hectic opening day that took the Targa Tasmania field from Launceston to St Helens and back, day two of the epic rally was the event’s shortest, with just a quick sprint around the streets of George Town in the state’s north.

ANZAC Day action saw cars tackle the 4.79 kilometre stage in front of big crowds, drawn to the Public Holiday action showcasing millions of dollars of machines strutting their stuff.

Overall leaders, Jason and John White, opened the day with a slender 16 second lead over the fellow Dodge Viper combination of Michael Pritchard and Gary Mourant.

Matt Close, sitting in third, was the fastest of the top contenders on the George Town stage in his latest Porsche GT3, beating White by three seconds.

But White goes into Day 3 with a 17 second buffer over Pritchard, but keenly aware that Close is gaining confidence in his new car.

“It’s still early days, but we’re really happy with where we are,” Close said.

On the dry I’m massively comfortable with the car – it’s not too different to last year’s car, but just with a bit more grip, so if it’s dry, we’re happy to go hard at it.”

White is hoping for some wet roads for a while which he believes can help him preserve his tyres.

“A lot’s going to do with the weather,” White said. “We love driving on these tyres in the dry, but they don’t just have a lot of life. The car is good in the wet, so we won’t be disappointed with more rain.”

The GT2 class cars dominating the Overall leader board, with Paul Stokell and Jenny Cole in a Lotus Exige rounding out the top four.

Jon Siddins was hugely impressive again, with the third fastest drive of the day in his 1970 Datsun 240Z, and moved up to fifth overall against the hotshot modern cars. He leads Classic GT by one minute 44 seconds from Mick Downey and Jarrod Van Den Akker who are in a 1977 Holden Torana.

Ben Manion sits in sixth and leads the GT4 class by thirteen seconds over his class rival Trevor Macleod in a battle between the two Subaru WRXs. Steve Glenney and co-driver Michael Potter, who had to withdraw from Day One with a mechanical issue, showed what might have been, setting the equal fastest time in George Town.

In Shannons Classic, Peter and Sari Ullrich in their 1963 Jensen CV8 have a one minute 40 second led over Richard Woodward and Neil Gibson in their 1969 Holden Monaro GTS with David Gilliver and Nigel Shellshear just another second back in their 1979 Ferrari 308.

Other competition leaders remain unchanged after the George Town action, with Adam Kaplan and Aleshia Penney in a 2004 BMW M3 CSL leading in Duttons Garage Early Modern and Jeff Morton and Dennis Neagle in a 2017 Lotus Exige already one minute 28 seconds clear in Country Club GT Sports Trophy. Darryl and Peter Marshall in a crowd-pleasing 2002 Ford Falcon Ute have a 34-point buffer in the TSD Trophy class.

Day three of Targa Tasmania takes the field West to Burnie, with eight stages across 139 competitive kilometres, including two giant tests, the 38 kilometre Cethana and 36 kilometre Riana stages.

2017 Targa Tasmania, provisional results after Day 2

OVERALL
1. Jason White / John White, 2016 Dodge Viper ACR Extreme
2. Michael Pritchard / Gary Mourant, 2016 Dodge Viper ACR, +17s
3. Matt Close / Cameron Reeves, 2015 Porsche GT3, +34s
4. Paul Stokell / Jenny Cole, Lotus Exige, +1m15s
5. Jon Siddins / Gina Siddins, 1970 Datsun 240Z, +1m22s
6. Ben Manion / Bernie Webb, 2010 Subaru WRX STI, +1m35s
7. Trevor Macleod / Scott Hunter, Subaru WRX STI, +1m48s
8. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett, Porsche GT3, +2m00s
9. Adam Kaplan/Aleshia Penney, 2004 BMW M3 CSL, +2m02s
10. Angus Kennard / Ian Wheeler, 2015 Nissan GTR, +2m04s

WREST POINT GT2
1. Jason White / John White, 2016 Dodge Viper ACR Extreme
2. Michael Pritchard / Gary Mourant, 2016 Dodge Viper ACR, +17s
3. Matt Close / Cameron Reeves, 2015 Porsche GT3, +34s

RDA BRAKES GT4
1. Ben Manion / Bernie Webb, 2010 Subaru WRX STI
2. Trevor Macleod / Scott Hunter, 2010 Subaru WRX STI, +13s
3. Angus Kennard / Ian Wheeler, 2015 Nissan GTR, +29s

SHANNONS CLASSIC
1. Peter Ullrich / Sari Ullrich, 1963 Jensen CV8
2. Richard Woodward / Neil Gibson, 1969 Holden Monaro GTS, +2m04s
3. David Gilliver / Nigel Shellshear, 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS, +2m05s

SHANNONS CLASSIC GT
1. Jon Siddins / Gina Siddins, 1970 Datsun 240Z,
2. Mick Downey / Jarrod Van Den Akker, 1977 Holden Torana, +1m44s
3. Michael Bray / Daniel Bray, 1975 Holden Torana, +2m23s

DUTTONS GARAGE EARLY MODERN
1. Adam Kaplan / Aleshia Penney, 2004 BMW M3 CSL
2. Jon Mitchell / Joshua Sutclife, 2006 Subaru S204, +1m14s
3. Guy Lilleyman / John Lilleyman, 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, +1m56s

COUNTRY CLUB GT SPORTS TROPHY
1. Jeff Morton / Dennis Neagle, 2017 Lotus Exige,
2. Jeff Beable / Nerida Beable, 2000 Nissan Skyline, +1m28s
3. Richard Woodman / Marcus Towle, 2004 Subaru WRX, +1m30s

TSD TROPHY
1. Darryl Marshall / Peter Marshall, 2002 Ford Falcon Ute Pursuit 250, 19 points
2. Christopher Waldock / Christine Kirby, 2016 Jaguar F-Type SVR AWD, 53 points
3. Peter Lucas / Angela Coradine, 1984 Porsche Carrera, 64 points

Click here to catch up with all the action from Day 1 of Targa Tasmania.