It's Targa Newfoundland time!

In past years, I've done a full play-by-play of the event. But I'm not going to this year, partly because I don't have a lot of sources. But here's a rundown.

First, the big news. There are 30 entries. 34 if you count the "Fast Tour" non-competition cars. I think Targa had some difficulties with their registrar this year, but it's about half of what I've seen over the past 5 years. There has to be a point where the event simply can't continue - the fixed costs don't really change. So if this is on your bucket list, I'd recommend putting 2014 on the calendar.

Along with those numbers, there's been a lot of attrition. My sources tell me two cars went off during the school including a roll. There were two mechanicals and one off during the Prologue, which is basically seeding. And today, there were five incidents in the first two stages. Looking at the results, I see seven cars were assigned times for stages, which means they failed to finish it before the course closing car came through. That typically means an off or a mechanical failure.

So, after one day of racing, we have two cars still in contention in Classic: an excellent old Escort and a Mustang. There's 10 seconds between them. The other two cars in the category (!) are way back after the big penalties.

In Modern, Jim Kenzie and Brian Bourbonneire are always a threat. But they fell afoul of something on stage 2, picking up a bunch of penalties. There are seven (of 12) cars still in contention here. My money's on Matt Oldford, but I want to see Stan Hartling bring his Lotus Exige in on top.

Open usually has a pretty wide range, as it's got both purpose-built cars and ones that simply don't fit anywhere else. Three cars remain in contention here, and I think it's going to be a Subaru vs Subaru shoot-out.

In Ground Touring, the scores are usually less dramatic. This is a game of chess, and the margins are big today. So it's not surprising that four of the seven cars are penalty-free. One of the others is an MGB that's running without a rally computer and is literally in a class of its own, and the remaining car doesn't appear to have finished a single stage.

There's also the Fast Tour group, which is basically a chance to run amok on a closed rally stage without all that pesky timing or safety gear. They're supposed to be running behind a pace car, but they do tend to play pretty fast. There's a V8 Miata running in this group, a friend of mine.

Pictures!
The Mustang from Classic, in the rainy Prologue stage of Torbay.

Oppo!

If you don't get a score for a stage, it could be because the scoring team didn't get there...

After a roll on the school stage, the Las Vegas-based Escort rolls up to the starting line.

Keith Tanner wrote: If you don't get a score for a stage, it could be because the scoring team didn't get there...

Seems like a Lotus might not be the best choice if getting there on time is important. :)

How much is it to ferry across? And do you take a tow vehicle + trailer + car or just the car?

Just curious really, on the wrong side of the coast for now, maybe in the future.

The cost to ferry across depends on which ferry you take and how much you're taking with you. I don't have the numbers handy, but for our 50' rig with 4 people it was a pretty big number. As for what you bring with you, almost everyone trailers the car. You need a support vehicle during the race to carry things like tools and tires. Some teams will gang up for that - in 2008, we carried spares for a classic Alfa that was running in Grand Touring.

Sounds like one of the offs yesterday was a fairly significant one, with both occupants heading for the hospital (stitches only, I hear) and the car written off. So far today, it looks like everyone's settled down and is keeping it on the black stuff.

I love checking out the race from the comfort of my living room chair. Keep me updated, please!

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Keith, Sometime could you do a little primer (or direct us to a source) on this event for those of us that don't know much about it but might want to do it? Things like how the car needs to be prepared (for me it would be my '65 Mustang or my 88 CRX-si), costs and other factors that we need to take into account, any licensing for drivers, etc... This event has always intrigued me, not just because of the event itself, but also the scenery. I'm also looking for something my wife and I could do together, but it would depend on what's required both in time, effort and cost.

Wow, sounds like a sad year for the event itself (on top of the people whose races arent going well, whose cars are ruined, who may be in the hospital with injuries and bills).

I've always wanted to run this event, but circumstances like this can kill an event even with the best of intentions.. i may have to accelerate my schedule.

In reply to bravenrace:

May I suggest?

http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=5687&parentid=0&stocknumber=98-10910

Keith - any chance for a return in 2014?

Excellent suggestion, Ian

I don't think the offs are going to stop the event - looks like all the cars have rejoined the race other than the one big wreck. That's part of this sort of racing. But the low attendance numbers have me worried. Here's what I said about numbers last year:

younger me said: Actually, it looks like a fairly small field this year overall. Classic has 7 cars: 5 911s, a proper Escort RS1600 from the UK and a 1965 Mustang. There are 9 in Open, with none of the top 3 from last year. Modern shows 17 cars, with at least 3 previous winners. GT has 10 cars, all much higher performance than usual and a lot of new cars - even a FRS and a Fiat 500 Abarth. However, the Vivid Racing 911 Turbo isn't listed, so it may not be a complete list at this point. By comparison, 2011 saw 28 Modern cars, 12 Open, 9 Classic and 12 GT. 2008 had 80 cars entered, of which 66 rolled up to the start line.

I've done writeups in the past on what's involved in taking part, try some of these threads:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/targa-newfoundland-2009-is-on/14027/page1/
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/targa-newfoundland-2010/26366/page1/

Here's probably the best rundown, the first post.
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/targa-newfoundland-2012/54321/page1/

The amount of prep depends on what division you run in. Fast Tour and Grand Touring are open to pretty much anything that's road-legal. Rental cars have been used. Speeds are faster than posted limits, but not necessarily by a huge amount. I think the max overall speed for GT is 130 kmh and it's supposed to be the same for Fast Tour, but the organizers seem to be willing to play a bit loose with the FT guys and let them rip. That will likely end in tears someday, as if a floating Enzo wasn't enough.

Targa division is rally. You'll need a cage and full safety gear because you're going to be going fast enough for there to be real consequences. The regulations will give you the full rundown, of course.

Costs are significant. Entry fees are in the $5k range, depending on how early you sign up. Then you'll need food and lodging for everyone in your crew for a week. Add in fuel for the event and your transport to and from, and you'll want a budget of $10,000 not counting the car. Sounds high, but it IS a week long event and you'll spend that much at Thunderhill over 25 hours I'll bet.

Licensing is pretty easy. You can simply show up and take the school before the event, that's considered acceptable. Janel and I picked up our NASA rally licenses beforehand. I think they'll take NASA/SCCA road race licenses as well. I think they're mostly just making sure you're not a complete whack job.

One thing about the event organizers is that they look for ways to make it possible for you to compete, instead of ways to keep you out. It's quite refreshing, especially when compared to something like the SCCA and protests about illegal leather steering wheels.

I don't know if I'll be back for 2014. I think Janel's done with it, but I have a couple of folks who are dumb enough to volunteer for the codriver's seat. It all depends on if I want to dedicate the time to it - it's a pretty major undertaking for me. Chasing sponsorship, preparing the car - and then I'm away from home for nearly a month for the event itself. I've got a pretty understanding employer, but that's not all it takes.

A few sources for possible info:

http://thestecks.wordpress.com/ (her dad and brother are running an LS3 Miata, she's quite entertaining)

Hume Media, http://targa2013.humemediainc.com/road/. They've got four cars in the race this year.

Official video reports. They started doing this last year and it was a bit of a failure. Let's hope the network problems are sorted out this time. Finding big data pipes in rural Newfoundland is not easy.
http://www.targanewfoundlandnews.com/

Just got an update from my V8 Miata friend. He says the iconic Gander stages were canceled because the police felt they were unsafe due to a lack of volunteers. That's a real shame, as they're a complete riot. Basically a five minute romp through a subdivision. Twice.

He also reports they hit 205 kmh in the Fast Tour group. That's just begging for a problem, these are street cars with street car safety equipment. The organizers know the Fast Tour cars are popular with spectators so they just let them romp. Even the Targa division cars with full safety gear are penalized for cracking 200 kmh. Heck, I think WRC cars are too.

So, what's going on? Not racing, that's what's going on. Almost every division is basically sewn up, the only thing left to do is get home.

Classic Division is down to two cars that are still running. One Mustang crashed (reading between the lines of the official press release) and one blowed up. The team driving the 911 has taken part in a dozen Targas, but has never been at the pointy end of the pack. The Ford Escort is nearly 9 minutes ahead, which means it's pretty much a lock.

Modern is better, but it still shows the leader ahead by 1:11. That car is one of the Miller Mustangs, I think. Looks like it took the wrong exit from pit lane, it's more road racer than rally car. I think the roads in Newfoundland are improving (thanks to constant removal by hurricanes) so the cars can be more aggressively set up. Besides: wing.
Looks like the Lotus Exige might have taken a little detour based on a picture of a shattered front clamshell. Current status of Modern: 8 out of 11 still putting down times.

Open has seen the typical carnage. Five cars finished the most recent stage. Several Subarus have done the Subaru thing and eaten their own engines. Davenport is in the lead with a 2:03 lead over an old Corolla - those guys ran for the first time in 2011 and were 5 minutes off the pace, so they've stepped up their game. Or the pack has slowed. The Corolla team was supposed to be driving an Evo, but engine problems forced them into a backup car.

For the AE86 fanbois...

Grand Touring - ah, here's the race. 6 out of 7 are still running (the 7th crashed heavily on the prologue, which should take a bit of explanation on the part of the driver) and there's a dead tie for second, 6 seconds out of the first place spot. So this one may go down to the wire. Also, in the Grand Touring Unequipped class (yes, GTU), the sole entrant is still holding on so we will see an MGB take a win!

This father/daughter team had a pretty big off on the first day, writing off their MINI. They ended up taking a short trip to the hospital, but it wasn't too serious. They've rejoined the Fast Tour group driving their support vehicle, the family Accord.

I really, really hope that this year's attendance is an anomaly. It's such a fantastic event...and I haven't managed to get there yet.

I went as a spectator once, and REALLY want to do it again. The racers, the Newfoundland people, the cars, the roads, the racing, the Rock itself ... I had a blast.

One thing I forgot to mention: one of the stages was delayed a day or two ago because there was a moose on the course. Welcome to Newfoundland!

Sounds like a number of the retirements yesterday were mechanical - one of the old Escorts (the one that rolled at the school) and a factory Kia.

There were 23 cars scheduled to start the stages this morning not counting the 4-5 Fast Tour cars. Since they leave every 30 seconds with a 3 minute buffer between Grand Touring and Targa, that means they get through the whole field in under 15 minutes. On a short stage such as Brigus, that means it's less than 20 minutes between the time the first car starts and the last one finishes. In 2011, there were 57 cars starting the last day. Interestingly, there's been twice as much attrition as there was in 2011 in terms of percentages.

I certainly hope this is an anomaly. There were problems with registration and general communication over the past year. There were a lot of upset competitors at the end of 2011 due to a number of factors involving how the competition was being run, and this is likely the reason some of the high-profile names are missing now. I guess we'll find out next year - but if this is on your bucket list, it's time to take a serious look at getting there in 2014. That'll help keep the event alive.

To acknowledge the GTU leader, here it is!

Is it bad that I recognized this corner when I saw the pic? I have a tendency to remember courses

Sounds like a great event for someone who doesn't have the dollars to run La Carrera. It'd be a crying shame if it didn't stick around.

Well, it's all over. The fat lady has sung. No surprises on the last day, although one of the Grand Touring folks managed to roll a 944 into the drink. All those who were sitting comfortably in first stayed in first - except for Grand Touring. There was a lot of back and forth there on the last day, looks like they were trading the #1 spot right up to the last couple of stages.

Some guys run this AND La Carrera. Different kind of race.

Keith Tanner wrote: Oppo!

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