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Targa New Zealand: Metalman Classic front runners out of the hunt

30 October, 2015

 

The father-and-son duo that is Mark and Chris Kirk-Burnnand (BMW M3) are out of the competition after leading the Metalman Classic class. In an interview with Targa Media representative Ross McKay, Mark said, “About 15kms in the engine just went bang. There’s now a hole you could put your foot through in the [engine] block, so we borrowed a trailer off Glenn Inkster and towed the car out. There’s no way we can find and fit another engine in the time we have left so we’ll spend the rest of the event supporting the other Kirk-Burnnand cars and come back ourselves next year.”

Meanwhile, Glenn Inkster and Spencer Winn (Mitsubishi Evo 8) continued to stamp their dominance on the field after the end of a rain-lashed day four (Thursday, October 29), with a lead of eight minutes and four seconds over Tony Quinn and Naomi Tillett (2008 Nissan GTR). 

The 21st annual Targa New Zealand event now heads east to Havelock North via Taihape and the Gentle Annie road on Friday, October 30, before returning west for the finish at Palmerston North (at The Square) on Saturday, October 31.

Friday also sees the start of the two-day Targa Regional Rally event within an event.

Results:

Andrew Simms Allcomer 4WD

  1. Glenn Inkster / Spencer Winn (2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) 04:24:08
  2. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett (2008 Nissan GTR) 04:32:04
  3. Brian Green / Fleur Pedersen (2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS) 04:47:35
  4. David Rogers / Aidan Kelly (2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS) 04:50:18
  5. Graeme Wong / Kim Blatchley (1998 Subaru Impreza Type R) 05:07:38
  6. Jeff McCandless / Marcella Mumm (2010 Subaru WRX ST1) 05:14:10

Metalman Classic 2WD

  1. Bevan Claridge / Campbell Tannock (1992 Holden Commodore) 04:47:34
  2. Keith and Mary Anne Callinan (1977 Ford Escort) 04:57:37
  3. Ashton Wood / Chris Lancaster (1976 Ford Escort RS1800) 05:03:28
  4. Bruce Farley / Glen Warner (1986 BMW 325 325) 05:04:01
  5. Mark and Chris Kirk-Burnnand (1987 BMW M3) 05:06:18
  6. Carl Kirk-Burnnand / Scott Hay (1991 BMW 325i) 05:07:12

Instra.com Modern 2WD

  1. Martin Dippie / Jona Grant (2007 Porsche GT3 RS) 04:40:11
  2. Steven Kirk-Burnnand / Mick Hay (1994 BMW 318ti) 04:43:33
  3. Grant Aitken / Caroline Cullimore (2013 Toyota 86 RC) 04:48:38
  4. Robert Darrington / David Abetz (2002 BMW M3) 04:48:40
  5. Matt Todd / Dan Reichenbach (2008 BMW M3) 04:50:28
  6. Chris Lewis / Kieran Anstis (2013 Toyota TR86) 04:53:40

Overall

  1. Glenn Inkster / Spencer Winn 04:24:08
  2. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett 04:32:04
  3. Martin Dippie / Jona Grant 04:40:11
  4. Steven Kirk-Burnnand / Mick Hay 04:43:33
  5. Bevan Claridge / Campbell Tannock 04:47:24
  6. Brian Green / Fleur Pedersen 04:47:35

Leading the Instra.com Modern 2WD class after four days of Targa New Zealand competition is Dunedin pair Martin Dippie and Jona Grant in a Porsche 911 GT3.

Latest front-runners to retire are Mark and Chris Kirk-Burnnand (BMW M3).

Now with a healthy lead in Metalman Classic are Bevan Claridge and Campbell Tannock (Holden Commodore V8).

And now up to second place in Metalman Classic 2WD is the Australian husband-and-wife pair of Keith and Mary Anne Callinan (Ford Escort RS1800).

Photo credit: Fast Company/ProShotz

 

 

Almost mythical pony

The Shelby came to our shores in 2003. It went from the original New Zealand owner to an owner in Auckland. Malcolm just happened to be in the right place with the right amount of money in 2018 and a deal was done. Since then, plenty of people have tried to buy it off him. The odometer reads 92,300 miles. From the condition of the car that seems to be correct and only the first time around.
Malcolm’s car is an automatic. It has the 1966 dashboard, the back seat, the rear quarter windows and the scoops funnelling air to the rear brakes.
He even has the original bill of sale from October 1965 in California.

Becoming fond of Fords part two – happy times with Escorts

In part one of this Ford-flavoured trip down memory lane I recalled a sad and instructive episode when I learned my shortcomings as a car tuner, something that tainted my appreciation of Mk2 Ford Escort vans in particular. Prior to that I had a couple of other Ford entanglements of slightly more redeeming merit. There were two Mk1 Escorts I had got my hands on: a 1972 1300 XL belonging to my father and a later, end-of-line, English-assembled 1974 1100, which my partner and I bought from Panmure Motors Ford in Auckland in 1980. Both those cars were the high water mark of my relationship with the Ford Motor Co. I liked the Mk1 Escorts. They were nice, nippy, small cars, particularly the 1300, which handled really well, and had a very precise gearbox for the time.
Images of Jim Richards in the Carney Racing Williment-built Twin Cam Escort and Paul Fahey in the Alan Mann–built Escort FVA often loomed in my imagination when I was driving these Mk1 Escorts — not that I was under any illusion of comparable driving skills, but they had to be having just as much fun as I was steering the basic versions of these projectiles.