TARGA THROUGH TIME

The original conception of Targa came from John Large and his brilliant friend Rhonda.

They called a group of motoring enthusiasts, including Lyn Archer and others, including myself, to a meeting at the old RACT building in Macquarie Street, to talk about a round Tasmania rally for old sports cars on our magnificent Tasmanian roads, which would be closed to other traffic.

Note that the emphasis was on sports cars.

With the help of all Car Clubs and lots of volunteers, it happened.

The rally was for sports cars so that whilst the Porsche 911 was allowed, modern classics like the WRX Turbo were not.

The first three Targas stuck to this requirement and were magnificent.

The cars were given a time-consistent with the age and ability of the car, and the object was to travel under this time for each type.

I owned a ’67 Jaguar ‘E’ series 1 which was perfect for the Rally.

The oldest car in the first rally was a 1908 chain driven MAB, with a 27 litre engine and there were lots of MGs, Austin Healeys, Jaguars, Jensens, Porches and just about any sports car you could name, and a few you could not.

The sections were touring, at normal road speeds, and Targa where you hoped to be under the time set for your vehicle. But of course, human beings what they are, some wanted to be ‘the fastest’, where the object was actually to complete and finish the rally without crashing.

The fact a lot of famous names, World Champions, in the car racing world such as Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss, Peter Brock and others crashed and so failed to finish, was interesting.

Originally, no modifications were allowed, but after three Targas, I was advised that I would need to fit a racing roll cage in the ‘E’ Type.

The roll cage would involve serious work on the car and as it was an original Jaguar mk1 ‘E’ and even though it would travel at 240 km/h, I declined so that ended my Targa entries. However, we were successful for three years so were among the small group to win the first ‘Gold Plates’.

Needless to say the rules have changed and some cars are now real racing cars.

Stan Tilley Battery Point