Race returns to full throttle in Leg 3
All 10 stages of Targa Newfoundland’s third leg went off without a hitch on Wednesday.
The same couldn’t be said for an abbreviated second leg on Tuesday. After a brief meet-and-greet session in Appleton, the drivers made their way back to Gander for the final two stages of the day, which where to start at 6 p.m. and 6:45 p.m., respectively.
Targa organizers initially thought they would have close to 90 volunteers, the majority of whom would serve as course marshals. However, only about 60 were available at the start time for the second-last stage.
After a 6:15 p.m. deadline to muster up additional volunteers had passed, Targa made the decision to cancel both evening stages due to safety concerns.
“Driving at dusk with fans on both sides, especially in Gander, is a major safety issue,” explained Targa media spokesperson Darren Sheppard.
“If we don’t have enough people to make sure people are behind the lines or not on the corners, it becomes a double issue.”
Fans who lined Gander streets were instead treated to a parade of vehicles as they made their way back to the Gander Community Centre for a car show.
To ensure the same issue didn’t occur during the evening stage of Wednesday’s Leg 3, Sheppard said Targa was able to re-use volunteer marshals.
“We had enough of our own volunteers pooled from other communities,” he said. “Once they did one community stage, they went to the next.”
Sheppard added volunteer shortages are not expected to be an issue for the rest of the event.
Debut on the Bonavista Peninsula
Wednesday’s leg marked the first time Targa made its way on to the Bonavista Peninsula, with stages run out of communities such as Brooklyn, Trinity, Goose Cove, New Bonaventure, Port Rexton and Lethbridge.
“The welcome was ecstatic,” Sheppard said. “The crowds were big, the competition was great, the scenery was breathtaking and the competitors just loved it.
“Next year, hopefully, we’ll go out towards Bonavista fully, but this was a good test run and we couldn’t be happier.”
Sheppard did agree that racing on unfamiliar roads offered a new chal- lenge to some of the seasoned racers, especially in Trinity, with its “houses almost right on the street with picket fences” and in New Bonaventure, with its “winding turns, hills, dips in the road.”
“On a new road, even for the competitors who have done it a few times, you have to rely on your co-driver. You’ve got to have great communication and today, that was evident as pretty well every competitor had a really good run on those stages.”
Sheppard was also able to release the identity of the drivers who flipped their car in Monday’s first leg as the American father-daughter team of Don and Skye Sawyer. Don Sawyer, who was the driver, was removed from the 2006 Mini Cooper S wreck with the Jaws of Life. Both were sent to hospital for observation and were later released.
With the Mini Cooper a write-off, the team used the family Volkswagen to get back in the race in the Grand Touring division, although officially, they will still be listed among the modern division competitors.
“They can drive without pressure and just have fun,” Sheppard said.
Leg 4 begins in Clarenville this morning, with the cars bound for the Burin Peninsula, where there will be stages in Boat Harbour, Burin, Frenchman’s Cove and Marystown. The race concludes Friday evening in downtown St. John’s.