Inkster and Winn aim for another Targa victory
Defending and now three-time Targa NZ title holders Glenn Inkster and Spencer Winn deservedly hold favourite status heading into this year’s five-day Targa New Zealand tarmac motor rally.
The rally starts at Hampton Downs next Tuesday and ends at Wellington’s Taranaki Wharf on Saturday, October 28.
In between are 641.56km of (28) closed special stages and 1167.07km of touring sections, with overnight stops in Hamilton (Tuesday and Wednesday), New Plymouth (Thursday) and Palmerston North (Friday).
Separately scored two-day regional rally and tour events will also run concurrently, starting in New Plymouth on Friday, October 27 and finishing in Wellington on Saturday, October 28.
On Friday the rally will drive from New Plymouth to Palmerston North and drivers will park in The Square, then head to Masterton in the morning.
They have attracted an additional eight competition entries plus nine tour starters bringing the total event entry over the five days to over 100 cars.
Having now won the past three Targa events Inkster and his codriving boss (he owns electrical utilities wholesaler Transnet and lighting specialist Ecolight) Winn are again odds-on favourites for both the Allcomers 4WD class, as well as the event overall in the much modified Mitsubishi Evo 8 Inkster describes as ‘part rally car, part Supercar.’
Since switching his primary focus from gravel to tarmac, Inkster served a lengthy apprenticeship under five-time former winner Tony Quinn before taking over from the master in 2014.
Quinn has returned twice since, but has been forced to forego this year’s because of a final day date clash with the penultimate round of the Australian GT Series at his Hampton Downs circuit.
Inkster and Winn face no lack of competition this year.
The winner of the 2013 event, and podium finishers (second last year, third in 2015) for the past two years, Martin Dippie and co-driver Jona Grant from Dunedin, are back in Dippie’s latest Porsche GT3 RS and again look set to dominate the Production 2WD class and vie for overall honours.
Multiple two-day Rotorua event winner Leigh Hopper and codriver Michael Goudie (Subaru WRX Impreza) also head a posse of no less than six 4WD Turbo cars just as quick as Inkster’s in the Allcomers 4WD class.
Included in that group are the Mitsubishi Evos of Auckland pair Jason Gill and Mark Robinson, 2004 NZ Rally champion Chris West and co-driver Chris Cobham, Dave Rogers and co-driver Aidan Kelly as well as Brian Green and co-driver Fleur Pedersen in a locally-built Evo-engined Mitsubishi Mirage, and the Subaru WRX of Nic de Waal and co-driver Shane Reynolds.
It’s hard to look beyond the name Kirk-burnnand in the Classic 2WD class, with son Mark and father Chris from Wellington (BMW M3) heading a three-strong ‘clan’ entry alongside Chris’ Auckland-based brother Barry and his co-driver Dave O’carroll (BMW M3), and Barry’s BMW 325i-driving son Carl and mate Scott Hay.
Barry’s other son Steven completes the picture in the BMW 318i Compact he built and runs in the Allcomers 2WD category with his co-driver, Mike Hay.