Targa 2017 News. Welcome to the ninth edition of the 2017 Targa Tasmania blogs and the fifth of our race-day updates!

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1 Edition 9 28 April 2017 Welcome to the ninth edition of the 2017 Targa Tasmania blogs and the fifth of our race-day updates! Thanks to Suzie Bull at VAA for finding awesome accommodation on our fourth night! Franklin Manor in Strahan is fabulous and we would recommend it to anyone staying in this beautiful part of the world! Unfortunately, John had to stay in Queenstown at the not-so-salubrious Queenstown Motor Lodge (still, very serviceable accommodation). We learned from last year that John needed to get on the road before closures for the targa stage between Queenstown and New Norfolk. Targa field ready to leave Strahan Ready to race from Strahan to Queenstown drizzly but a mild 11 degrees Peaceful view towards Strahan Village on the walk to parc ferme from Franklin Manor in Risby Cove, Strahan

2 Strahan Village on the damp walk to the VAA/China Value race car Two hours later we had completed Strahan and Queenstown targa stages and were on the bridge at Lake Burbury ready for the Arrowsmith stage. VAA client, Tassal, has thousands of salmon growing out in Macquarie Harbour-bigger than Sydney Harbour Parked on the bridge on Lake Burbury ready to enter the Mt Arrowsmith race stage

3 Beautiful views around Lake Burbury About 25 cars ahead of us means about 15 minutes of waiting time Beaches and mountains backdrop the bridge on Lake Burbury Cloudy but largely dry for Mt Arrowsmith stage

4 We then saw some real pace in the 52km Mt Arrowsmith stage before moving on to the Tarraleah stage a fast downhill to the Hydro Tas power station before a tight and twisty climb back up to the highway. Shameless selfie on the bridge at Lake Burbury relaxed and ready to call the pace notes for the Mt Arrowsmith stage the longest and fastest of the 35 stages Shortly after this photo was taken the green Mazda RX7 ran into the back of the Toyota on the Tarraleah stage. No damage to the Toyota but you should see the Mazda! Bert brilliantly steered the Toyota through some very slippery corners in the Strahan and Queenstown stages. At the end of the notorious Queenstown targa stage there was oil on the road. Knowing that in advance we passed through without incident. Locals out in force at New Norfolk for Day 5 lunch Skyline on left has had clutch replaced, Monaro on right needs a new alternator. Toyota rocks! After New Norfolk we were into Molesworth and Grasstree Hill targa stages. The weather was dry even sunny and we managed some good times. We are now in Hobart with the car in Princes Wharf for the Targafest. Apart from a couple of minor faux pas the navigation today was uneventful and Bert is getting more confident with the beginner s calls!

5 John has serviced the car replacing engine oil and filter and checking all other fluids. There is (almost) absolutely nothing wrong with the car after 30 race stages over the five days a great testament to the preparation that John and Bert put in before leaving Perth. What some may not consider is that the fuel map (computer program) needs to be modified for Tasmania to take account of lower temperatures and humidity (relative to the car s home of Perth, WA). Optimum operation of spark plugs, turbo and power output are all dependant on the right fuel map in the highly-tuned turbocharged race motor. Obviously the fuel mapping can t be done dynamically (i.e. while the car is on the road in Tasmania) so it was mapped before leaving Perth. This worked well with only a minor issue on cold start (over-fuelling). This issue is quickly overcome as the motor reaches an 80 degree engine temperature. Only a centre bearing on the tailshaft is causing a bit of noise on the driveline but is unlikely to cause any issues on the last day (we have only 5 special stages of about 10kms each with around 100km of transport stages). Remember: this car is now 24 years old and has seen a lot of gravel rally service before Bert restored it and converted the suspensions, brakes and motor to road rally specification. Weather is predicted to be wet for the final 5 stages on Day 6 of Targa Tasmania (early morning showers, 17 degree maximum). We are so close to completing this tough endurance event the tension is palpable! Looking forward to sharing more of the team s story with you soon! Don t forget to follow us on Facebook at vzm Motorsport. The last stage of the day was at Grasstree Hill and you can see all the results on the RallySafe tab of the Targa Tasmania website. Here are the Grasstree results from 3pm this afternoon: