Targa New Zealand: Targa teams tested

29 October, 2015

Wet weather and winding roads have proven to be the great equalizer during the closed special stages on day three of Targa New Zealand (Wednesday, October 28) as the top 10 competitors shuffle for position on the leaderboard.

Still leading the field, last year’s 20th anniversary winners Glenn Inkster and Spencer Winn (Mitsubishi Evo 8) are in front of five-time former event-winner Tony Quinn and co-driver Naomi Tillett (Nissan GT-R35) at the head of the 60-strong field despite the the tight, slippery back roads of New Zealand’s energy province.    

The 21st annual Targa New Zealand event now heads east to Palmerston North on Thursday, October 29, then on to Havelock North on Friday, October 30, before returning west for the finish at Palmerston North (at The Square) on Saturday ,October 31.

Information on both the main (six-day) 2015 Targa New Zealand and two-day Targa Regional Rally events is available in the latest copy of New Zealand Classic Car magazine.

Results:

Andrew Simms Allcomers 4WD

  1. Glenn Inkster / Spencer Winn (2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) 02:41:50
  2. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett (2008 Nissan GTR) 02:46:28
  3. Brian Green / Fleur Pedersen (2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS) 02:57:53
  4. David Rogers / Aidan Kelly (2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS) 02:59:18
  5. Graeme  Wong / Kim Blatchley (1998 Subaru Impreza Type R) 03:10:21
  6. Jeff McCandless / Marcella Mumm (2010 Subaru WRX STi) 03:11:53

Metalman Classic

  1. Bevan Claridge / Campbell Tannock (1992 Holden Commodore) 02:56:08
  2. Mark and Chris Kirk-Burnnand (1987 BMW M3) 02:56:34
  3. Keith Callinan / Mary Anne Callinan (1977 Ford Escort) 03:03:41
  4. Ashton Wood / Chris Lancaster (1976 Ford Escort RS1800) 03:03:58
  5. Bruce Farley / Glen Warner (1986 BMW 325i) 03:08:42
  6. Andy Mygind / Anthony Baker (1972 Datsun 240Z) 03:11:17

Instra.com Modern 2WD

  1. Martin Dippie / Jona Grant (2007 Porsche GT3 RS) 02:53:51
  2. Steven Kirk-Burnnand / Mick Hay (1994 BMW 318ti) 02:56:12
  3. Grant Aitken / Caroline Cullimore (2013 Toyota 86 RC) 02:58:03
  4. Robert Darrington / David Abetz (2002 BMW M3) 02:58:22
  5. Matt Todd / Dan Reichenbach (2008 BMW M3) 02:59:11
  6. Chris Lewis / Kieran Anstis (2013 Toyota TR86) 02:59:58

Overall

  1. Glenn Inkster / Spencer Winn 02:41:50       
  2. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett +00:04:38
  3. Martin Dippie / Jona Grant+00:12:01
  4. Bevan Claridge / Campbell Tannock +00:14:18
  5. Steven Kirk-Burnnand / Mick Hay 00:14:22
  6. Mark and Chris Kirk-Burnnand 00:14:44
  7.  Brian Green / Fleur Pedersen +00:16:03
  8. Grant Aitken / Caroline Cullimore 00:16:13
  9. Robert Darrington / Dave Abetz 00:16:32
  10. Matt Todd / Dan Reichenbach 00:17:21

Defending Targa New Zealand title-holders Glenn Inkster and Spencer Winn (Mitsubishi Evo 8) continued to extend their lead

Steven Kirk-Burnnand and Mick Hay (BMW Compact 318T1), Bevan Claridge and Campbell Tannock (Holden Commodore), and Grant Aitken and Caroline Cullimore (Toyota 86) move up the class and event standings.

Photo credit: Fast Company / ProShotz

NZ Classic Car magazine, March/April 2025 issue 398, on sale now

An HQ to die for
Mention the acronym HQ and most people in the northern hemisphere will assume this is an abbreviation for Head Quarters. However, for those born before the mid-’80s in Australia and New Zealand, the same two letters only mean one thing – HQ Holden!
Christchurch enthusiast Ed Beattie has a beautiful collection of Holden and Chevrolet cars. He loves the bowtie and its Aussie cousin and has a stable of beautiful, powerful cars. His collection includes everything from a modern GTSR W507 HSV through the decades to a 1960s Camaro muscle car and much in between.
In the last two Holden Nationals (run biennially in 2021 and 2023), Ed won trophies for the Best Monaro and Best Decade with his amazing 1972 Holden Monaro GTS 350 with manual transmission.
Ed is a perfectionist and loves his cars to reflect precisely how they were on ‘Day 1,’ meaning when the dealer released them to the first customer, including any extras the dealer may have added or changed.

You’re the one that I want – 1973 Datsun 240K GT

In the early 1970s, Clark Caldow was a young sales rep travelling the North Island and doing big miles annually. He loved driving. In 1975 the firm he worked for asked Clark what he wanted for his new car, and Clark chose a brand-new Datsun 240K GT. The two-door car arrived, and Clark was smitten, or in his own words, he was “pole vaulting.”
Clark drove it all over the country, racking up thousands of miles. “It had quite a bit of pep with its SOHC 128 hp (96kW) of power mated to a four-speed manual gearbox,” he says. Weighing in at 1240kg meant the power to weight ratio was good for the time and its length at almost 4.5 metres meant it had good street presence.
Clark has been a car enthusiast all his life, and decided around nine years ago to look for one of these coupes. By sheer luck he very quickly found a mint example refurbished by an aircraft engineer, but it was in Perth.