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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

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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

Janspeed recreates the Jaguar sports car

29 September, 2026

Thankfully, a few of these cars made it to New Zealand, the odd one being imported from the UK over the years. However, the 1988 British Racing Green example owned by Bill Slater in Upper Hutt was originally sold as a standard car but converted using the full Janspeed kit by the first owner within a couple of years of buying it.
Bill has owned a few other Jaguars. In fact, after he sold his Jaguar XJ12 in 2018, he found himself pining for another and, when the XJ-S came up for sale, he could not resist it. Having just sold the V12, he was not expecting much from the six-cylinder car other than more reliability and it being cheaper to keep on the road. Naturally, he had heard of the influence Janspeed had on the marque, but it was not until he took the car for a test drive that he became aware of just how superior it was to the car he had just sold. The price of a second-hand Janspeed XJ-S and that of a standard 3.6 XJ-S is quite comparable, making the Janspeed version an incredible bargain, even more so in comparison with other performance classic cars — or even modern cars, for that matter — which cost far more bucks for the bang.

The writing on the wall

25 September, 2026

Deven, a digital content producer in his 20s, says it was the rear-drive Nissan and Toyota drift cars that fired his imagination in his not-so-distant youth and soon had him wanting one of his own. However, like most of us, he had to start in something less glamorous – in his case, a 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. After that, he bought a four-litre V8 1991 Toyota Soarer, a big change from the Mitsubishi.
“It was my daily driver, and it wasn’t that bad to run back when petrol was affordable,” he says.
When he got fed up with filling it up, Deven bought a 1989 Ford Laser sedan, a 1.3-litre five-speed manual, to be his daily driver. It’s in very good condition, bought from a careful older driver, and he still runs it – although he will occasionally also drive the latest in a series of Nissan Laurel sedans. His current one, from 1993, has done the lowest number of kilometres yet, at 183,000. It has the single-cam version of the engine in his Skyline.
“I’ve had four different versions of that car. It was just a car I always liked. It’s really comfortable, quite luxurious. I bought it from a 90-year-old in Hamilton. It’s in mint condition, and everything is standard.”