Tasmania is known for its vast and striking landscape and has a population of only a little over half a million people. But once a year this peaceful and serene state is given a loud and roaring voice. The Targa Tasmania is known internationally for having some of the greatest tight and technical roads in the world, all set within the luscious Tasmanian countryside.
A wide variety of vehicles populate the event, from high tech Supercars to modern performance warriors. However there is no category that has the intrigue and respect that the Classic and Vintage classes bring to the competition. The three classes, Vintage, Classic and the prestigious Classic GT, feature some of the motoring world’s most desirable cars from years gone by.
This year’s line-up featured some of Europe’s best including the 1960 Aston Martin DB4 driven by Paul Freestone that placed third overall in the Classic Category, behind Peter Ullrich’s 1963 Jensen V8 and the class winner’s, Leigh Achterbergand Greg Fitzgerald, 1984 Porsche 944. A notable mention was the humble Ford Falcon XE driven by Charlie Hughes, showing that a once common passenger car could hold it with the big players, managing to finish fourth.
The Classic GT class was dominated by brands from the land of the rising sun, with Jon Siddins 1970 Datsun 240z (affectionately known as the “The Dirty Rotten Datsun”) taking out first place. It was a 1985 Mazda RX–7 driven by Barry Faux coming home second. The saving grace for the European vehicle establishment was the beautiful British 1981 Triumph TR7 V8, driven by Cameron Wearing, finishing in a solid third place for the event.
There were enough Torana’s, Monaro’s and Falcon’s to keep any suburban hero happy and with cars like the Ferrari 308 GTB and plethora of Porches, even those with expensive tastes were left satisfied.
With the 25th Targa Tasmania behind us, we can reflect and know that the next 25 years will be even better!
