Targa’s confirmed 2015 dates — check them out now

13 November, 2014

Targa New Zealand has announced the first details of their 2015 events, following the unprecedented interest in the successful 20th anniversary Targa event in the South Island completed on November 2.  

The first is a one-day Targa Sprint on March 7, followed by a three-day Targa Bambina held between May 15 and 17, and the 21st Targa New Zealand event will be held between October 26 and 31.

Though all three will be in the North Island, the success of the organization’s first foray into the South Island this year means a return in the future is a distinct possibility.

“The feedback from competitors to councils would certainly encourage us to head back down south at some stage,” says Targa event director Peter Martin. With such positive feedback, he says it was important to announce the 2015 event dates as soon as possible.

Martin has also been upfront this year by listing separately the medical levy every competitor has to pay.

“The safety of our competitors is of utmost importance to us — and wherever we go, St John goes. This incurs a cost, which we have listed separately this year to make sure everyone knows exactly what it is.” There is now just the one common fee across all three competition classes.

 

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2025 issue 399, on sale now

Who would have thought it would become such a worldwide motorsport star when Ford introduced the humble Escort in 1967?
Its popularity, particularly in Mark 1 form, is now of iconic status. Our cover story for this issue is on a 1968 Ford Escort Mark 1, Alan Mann Racing Tribute. We talked with the owner of this very special Escort, finished in tribute also to the owner’s father.
“Most children love speed, and motorsport typically comes courtesy of a parent, and Elliott is no different. His engineer father, Mark, had a love for motorcycles and going fast; however, when children came along, he swapped two wheels for four, in the form of two Ford Escorts.
Little did Mark know it at the time, but the humble Escort was about to weave its way into the family fabric once and for all.
After emigrating from London to New Zealand, Elliott recalled one evening when he was 14 being invited to tag along by his father, helping a friend convert an Escort road car into a racing car. This was the pivotal moment when Elliott remembers the motorsport bug taking over. He knew he had to have his own one.”