Targa Newfoundland 2009

[Sailor Bob]

Just thought I'ld make a plug for the local boys. There has been a Targa event here past seven years and each year draws some interesting competitors - several porsches (obviously), some Suberu s and several other interesting vehicle types. This year there is a GTR being raced by team Stillen as well as at least one 1972 240.
The event kicks off annually at about this time of year and the show starts today with all the cars on display at the St John's curling club. Thats where I will be this afternoon.
The address is http://www.targanewfoundland.com/ for anyone interested.

[TimG]

We ran my 240Z in this year's Targa Newfoundland.
We clipped a hedge on day three and sheared off the plastic rad drain plug - try finding a metric bolt in a Newfoundland fishing village! We lost so much time getting it fixed that we could not end up in the points. Had a great time and finished second in class, and was also the second place Nissan, after Steve Millen's GTR.
some Youtube links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmtZYtPL2mM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUiSSK5iIhU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1AS96ta5hU


Tim Gorham

[TimG]

A spectator's shot of my 240Z during the 2009 Targa Newfoundland

[Bruce Palmer]

Boy is this timely. A different venue from a rally but spomething for you up east to follow up on perhaps. www.loringtimingassociation.com covers a young effort for land speed runs a the old Loring Air force Base at Limestone Maine. It's like a bazillion acres of 9 foot thick concrete that was poured for a heavy bomber base and has since shut.

This place is amazing how many cold war dollars it sucked up over the years only to become a weed farm now. Flew in and out of there back in the 60s to pick up supplies when I was stationed in Canada for a year. Concrete for just about as far a one could see.... Gotta be some Datsun records laying around on the ground out there. You guys just need to go get 'em....

If that link doesn't work, just do search .

Didn't mean to hijack your thread richard.

[Carl Beck]

Hi TimG:
Thanks for posting the links - great vid's. Your Z looked great, sorry you had a problem. Nonetheless it had to be a ball .... Hats Off to you...

FWIW,
Carl B.

[26th-Z]

This is the Nissan entry; Stillen GT-R at the ZCCA national convention last week.

[Bruce Palmer]

You finished second to them? That's all you need to say. Let everyone else figure out the details.....

[TexasRider260Z]

Tim:

Way to go on the Targa. Nice looking Z too. Were you running in the Targa or the Touring class?

Right now I am working on the same for the 2011 Targa. I am beating around which car and class as I have a unworked on but nice 260 and a donor 1981ZX that could be made up for the race. I even thought about renting a touring car and trying to run the 2010.

I would sure appreciate any comments and setup you wish to share as I am early in the game at the minute.

Heck I even looked at going back to a new Ford diesel truck F250 to haul the car and trailer all the way up there. Yikes --- a new 250 King Ranch was $55,000 - that would blow my car and travel budget !

[260DET]

This targa has some sort of handicap arrangement for the results does'nt it. So the fastest car may not show up as a winner. Pretty strange concept if you don't mind me saying so, seems much more realistic to have various classes according to year model and, perhaps, specification. Then base the results on that without any tweaking.

From what I can work out the Millen R35 was the actual fastest car but it did not 'win' the event. Weird.

[TexasRider260Z]

This targa has some sort of handicap arrangement for the results does'nt it. So the fastest car may not show up as a winner. Pretty strange concept if you don't mind me saying so, seems much more realistic to have various classes according to year model and, perhaps, specification. Then base the results on that without any tweaking.

From what I can work out the Millen R35 was the actual fastest car but it did not 'win' the event. Weird.

The format is both. They do indeed have various classes according to vintage and size. The stages are handicapped to a time factor with the Modern Open cars being the fastest (having less Goal Time to achieve).
It is a pretty cool format in that a privateer can compete with a full on support team as in reality you compete and compare your time to all cars in the field and then you primarily have to compete with yourself as well as you are competing against the Goal Time for the stage. It does slightly favor a well developed but older vintage car. How many cars could win otherwise - 3, 5 maybe 10 at the most.

I tell you something else it is likely that if they opened up and did not have the speed restrictions etc then there might not be any Targa here as you know what will happen when there are increases in accident incidence.

[conedodger]

A guy I know from the Porsche world rolled a Porsche 914-6 at the Targa 2 years ago. It was basically end-over-end and most would have walked away from the carcass and gotten a lift home. They hammered it back out and were back in the race. The car is now fixed and at least outwardly looks great...

[TexasRider260Z]

A guy I know from the Porsche world rolled a Porsche 914-6 at the Targa 2 years ago. It was basically end-over-end and most would have walked away from the carcass and gotten a lift home. They hammered it back out and were back in the race. The car is now fixed and at least outwardly looks great...

I am going to have check and doublecheck the roll cage for my car . Heck it could be worse like some of those drops into the sea there - dont want to go there.

Reminds me of riding motorcylces in the Alps with my wife on back, twisties, very narrow roads, and plunges off the mountain. My wife would ask me "Did you see that...." "Errrr... No Sweetie I was focused on the ROAD!" If I looked away we might Evel Knievel a few thousand feet 2 Up.

[TimG]

Yes the current handicapping format favours slightly built slightly older cars, and the roads favour rear wheel drive limited slip set ups with lots of acceleration - 3.9 or 4.11 rear ends. Its easy to go fast on the straight sections, but most of the stages are more like an autocross on really rough pavement. The rain did not help...
The rules are expected to change in 2011, and rumour has it that modern cars will be given more attainable time margins, thus encouraging more factory/team participation.

[TimG]

Tim:

Way to go on the Targa. Nice looking Z too. Were you running in the Targa or the Touring class?

Right now I am working on the same for the 2011 Targa. I am beating around which car and class as I have a unworked on but nice 260 and a donor 1981ZX that could be made up for the race. I even thought about renting a touring car and trying to run the 2010.

I would sure appreciate any comments and setup you wish to share as I am early in the game at the minute.

Heck I even looked at going back to a new Ford diesel truck F250 to haul the car and trailer all the way up there. Yikes --- a new 250 King Ranch was $55,000 - that would blow my car and travel budget !

It was a spur of the moment decision to sign up. We ran in the Targa Classic Modern Large class as I have a 3.0 litre L28 with triple carbs, race cam and MSD. Biggest single prep expense was getting a rollcage installed. Flat towed it up and back behind an H3 to save gas. It was only my co-driver and I, with my wife driving the H3 support vehicle. We arrived 2 days early to sort out the suspension - good thing too, we ended up raising the ride height at least 2 inches.
As there was a mandatory car show each evening, and with nightly repairs and overhauls plus studying the route book for the next day, we were lucky to get 5 hours sleep a night. Will try to get a self funded mechanic next time...

[TexasRider260Z]

Thank you Tim. I dont have a rule book or anything in here yet but I am leaving my options open other than of course I would prefer to run with the Z. May have to make it a 370 Z or something.

Yeah with the show, parc farme and work, and the road book and notes a man might have to go back to work to rest! Great that you got to participate and run though.