The Targa Bambina approaches

3 May, 2015

The Targa Bambina is just around the corner — held over May 14–17 — and teams will be putting in the last-minute hard yards to ensure their cars are competitive and ready.

Racing begins on May 15, with the Targa Bambina Welcome Function and Charity Auction commencing at 7pm on Thursday, May 14, at the Simunovich Olive Estate in Bombay. The Welcome Function provides a fantastic opportunity to meet the Targa family, sponsors, enjoy a three-course meal, and support the Kids in Cars charity.

Targa NZ raised $25,000 for the Kids in Cars charity last year, and hope to match, if not exceed, that benchmark. Auction items can be donated by contacting the Targa office, or you can purchase a ticket, or make a contribution on the night. The purchase of tickets is open to all of the Targa family and past competitors.

And, of great importance, Targa NZ are still in desperate need of timing teams. Three weeks out from racing, volunteers are needed to avoid having to cancel any stages. If you know of friends, family, or competitors who aren’t competing at this event, who’d be interested, please get in touch with the Targa office.  

Angela’s ashes

In November 2018, Howard Anderson had a dream of finding a 1964 Vauxhall PB Cresta to recreate the car he, his wife, Ruth, and three friends travelled in from London to Invercargill in 1969. The next night’s dream was a nightmare. He dreamed he would find the original Angela but it was a rusted wreck somewhere in Southland.
Howard’s inspiration came from reading about a driver in the 1968 London–Sydney Marathon who was reunited with his Vauxhall Ventora 50 years later. He, Ruth, and her parents had watched the start of the rally from Crystal Palace in South London. The fashion at the time among the rally and race set was to paint bonnets flat black to avoid the sun’s reflections flashing into the driver’s eyes, thus saving them from certain disaster. Howard admired the flat black bonnet on the Ventora so much he had Angela’s bonnet painted dull black.

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