Revving up history

THANK you for printing the letter from Stan Tilley regarding the formation and subsequent amendments to Targa Tasmania. I too, suffered his anxiety. Initially competing as a navigator, the following year, I wanted to be behind the wheel of my own car, but the organisers had instigated the rule that all cars had to be fitted with roll cages. Like Stan, I didn’t want to have to cut up my car, including the beautiful leather upholstery, so tore up my entry form before it was completed. Eventually I competed in another way, as a volunteer, the starter of the Ridgeway Stage for many years.

His mentioning that the rules to allow more modifications reminds me of the demise of Touring Cars, where they had to be virtually stock standard with a few modifications. I remember when Allan Moffat complained that the suspensions of the Falcons were too weak for the grip of the new racing tyres, so serious suspension modifications were allowed, and look at the V8 Supercars now — nothing like a Touring Car.