2006 Targa Newfoundland - really

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Many of you know what the Targa Newfoundland is. For those of you that don't, it's a week-long competitive adventure at the end of the Earth (well, the end of North America) that is well and truly the adventure of a lifetime. I really, really want to do it, and I have a bunch of guys that are similarly interested and committed.

What is the Targa? Well....

You've heard of the Mille Miglia? The Targa Florio? The Mille Miglia was the 1000km race around Italy, last run in the late '50s. Imagine racing on PUBLIC ROADS, at insane speeds, with the public cheering them on at every step along the way. The Targa Florio was the same, except it was a LAP of Sicily. Can you imagine what that'd be like today?

Well, that's the Targa Newfoundland.

Thanks in part to government sponsorship and promoting tourism and the hard work of a bunch of crazed enthusiasts, we have a modern day race through the roads and hills and coastline of Newfoundland. A week of competition, consisting of a 2200 km long journey at speed in September on the paved roads of island of Newfoundland. It have been growing in entries, public awareness and general fun each year. The vehicles and crews compete on public roads in TRANSIT sections which follow all of the rules of the road, and SPEED sections which are held on roads closed to the general public. The SPEED sections represent about 25% of the total course.

There are three different classes: the Grand Touring class is not about speed but precision - it's a traditional Time-Speed-Distance rally, where the goal is to match a given time as closely as possible, traveling the same route as other competitors. For those who just want to spectate and enjoy the drive, you can run in the Targa Tour class. You'll get to take part in the event, follow the scenic route, and enjoy the camaraderie, but without any competition.

Then there is the big daddy - the Targa Competition class, with 40 separate close road stages, is designed for the serious entrant who wants speed and competition. Roll cage, safety harnesses, and an approved competition license are required. All Targa entrants are categorized based on the age of the vehicle, the level of modifications, and engine displacement. This handicapping system levels the playing field allowing any prepared vehicle to be eligible for the same awards. Each car is released at a set time, and it has to finish before the minimum time for its category, with penalties assessed if you fail to do that.

Basically, you have a driver and a navigator. The navigator shouts out instructions from the route book. The driver drives as fast as possible, while keeping the car on the road - literally, as there are more than a few places where it's possible to pull a "Dukes of Hazzard" jump. Stages are from town to town around Newfoundland, some are curvy seaside roads, others are through towns and suburbs. Every evening, the cars are parked in auditoriums or arenas, indoors. The locals can pay a small fee to come inside to watch while you service the cars - all the drivers are treated like rock stars. And the locals stand alongside the road to watch as the cars fly by. The roads are closed for the event, with streets marked off with tape, but can you imagine? Driving through a suburb, past driveways, with throngs of people standing and watching as you fly through a corner. HOW COOL IS THAT?!? FOR A WHOLE FRIGGIN' WEEK?!?!?

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Some of you have heard me talk about the Targa Newfoundland for a couple of years now. I've described it as the adventure of a lifetime, and one that I desperately want to enjoy this year. As we head into March, the march of time is accelerating, and the time for preparations and planning is rushing away. So I am officially kicking off this effort today. If you have ANY interest whatsoever, ping me. If we can get 3-4 teams from New England interested, we can hire a transporter together and make the schlepp up and back much easier (we can just fly into St. John's).

WHAT KIND OF VEHICLE? An interesting question. And one that's a lot of fun to bench race discuss during the winter. A stock Mini Cooper JCW won the Unlimited Division last year. Yeah, the UNLIMITED division. My personal take is that a purpose-built monster Rally car may be the fastest thing for any given stage, but over the course of a week, we might be better off sticking with a mostly STOCK car, as reliability COUNTS (a lot more than during a road race). FWIW, prior winners include Bill Arnold's BMW Bavaria (which was basically an old Bavaria body stuffed around a modern M3) - a very smart play, given the rules. The rules have been changed for this year. But let's not kid ourselves - we're not going to win this the first time out. We're not even necessarily going to finish really well (though it's quite possible if we stick with the "mostly stock" philosophy). Think about what you really want to run.

Part of me wants to do it in the 355 Challenge, JUST to do it in a Ferrari, even though I know the car is terribly unsuited for this sort of thing, is liable to break down, be really expensive to fix, will slam into the ground numerous times, will get slaughtered by everything else, but still be waaaaaaay cool. Then I think that, well, maybe a WRX/EVO thing would be best. Aha! A 996, or better yet, a 996tt!! Maybe a cheap C5 Corvette? Maybe a 1990 964 (to fit the rules classification standards, and still have ABS)? Maybe an E30 M3? E36 M3? An indestructible Supra, with about 1000lbs. stripped out of it? Steal a couple of Lotus Elises (yeah, let's see if Mark Starr and Huntingridge wants to bring a brace of Loti...)? Talk a few Ferraristi into it? BWAHAHAHAH!

Prior competitors have noted: "The event features great people (the Newfoundlanders are the friendliest people you will ever meet), fantastic scenery, and the most intense driving we've done. It's as close as 'us common folk' will get to do a FIA style rally. Expense - easily $10k cost with entry, transportation, expenses, wear and tear on car. Car prep cost of course more depending on what you bring. Focus - About 8 hours in car each day. You need to be able to concentrate when it counts and communicate well with co-driver. Experience - Drivers schools, racing of course help with car control, but having some 'local club rally' experience really helps the communication. Being able to 'read the road' very important, as well as adjusting to constantly changing grip - lots of corners have gravel at apexes. There are going to be some specific Targa Schools available this year. Car - Too old means car is fragile. Too new means the base times are just about impossible to obtain. We had good success with our 1989 BMW M3 in stock class 7. Great handling and reasonable power will beat reasonable handling and great power. The event is won and lost on tight, in-town stages. Road race suspension will not work well - too low and stiff."

And don't forget - this is a TWO person competition. The navigator is as important as the driver, if not MORE so. So let me know if you're interested in participating, even if "only" as a navigator, as we may have more drivers than navigators.

So, I'll get to a few specific questions.

1. Does anyone have a detailed line-item budget for this that you can send along? I think $10k (for both driver and navigator, excluding the cost of the car itself) is probably a good ballpark number, but I'd love to have some visibility on details.


2. Any thoughts on a a C5 Corvette (Z06 or non z-06)? Buy a decent C5 at auction, install safety gear, run the event, strip out gear, sell the sucker, not lose too much money. Whaddaya think? Same thinking process applied to an WRX STi, an Evo, a 996, a 996tt, a 993, a 964, a Boxster S, an M3 (e30, e36)? Really, any feedback would be appreciated.


3. If it turns out to be a Porsche 996/996tt, does anyone know if the factory Tequipment bolt-in roll cage will comply with the Targa requirements? I think it does, but reading the roll cage appendix in the rules gives me a headache - does anyone know with any degree of certainty?


A few good sites:

Targa Newfoundland - entire course via Google Earth: http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php/Cat/0/Number/231680/an/0/page/0/gonew/1#UNREAD


Jim Kenzie's (winner in the Mini Cooper) daily log:
www.mini.ca/en/More_MINI/Targa_Newfoundland/default.aspx (click on journal) http://en.autos.sympatico.msn.ca/advice/standardart.aspx?contentid=4022876&src=home&pos=editlead


Eddie Alterman's amusing story about doing it in a Charger SRT-8: http://www.mph-online.com/mag/features/0051


An often-hilarious blog about the event, from a young guy who did it on the cheap: http://www.whistlehog.com/blog/


The official site:
(this is a wealth of info, including the .pdf regulations and forms) www.targanewfoundland.com

Club participant's view: http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/ontariojaguar/Newsletter/targa.htm
His site, with daily log and course notes: www.openroadmotorsports.com

Seriously, if anyone has any interest, ping me!

Vty,

--Dennis

 

Yes, the rules give "preferential" treatment to older cars, so vintage racers do have an "advantage", but I think that's relatively fair. I think the rules got rejiggered again this year to reduce the ability to shoehorn a modern rally car under an older skin. We'll see, but should be fun in any event.

Re rollcage, I've seen many Exige race cars with full cages.

Re being close to FIA style rally, you're right (I just copied that phrase directly from the TN website). But I think the intent of TN is different; it's less of a flying FIA rally and more in the classic, Mille Miglia vein.

If anyone is interested, mini.ca has videos from last year (as well as google video):

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=targa+newfoundland

Oh, and I agree, a 996tt is the way to go!!!

vty,

--Dennis