In a drama-filled final leg, Tony Quinn has scored the outright win at the 2009 Targa Tasmania, driving his R35 Nissan GT-R to victory just under six minutes ahead of his nearest rival.

Quinn managed to quickly outrun previous race leader Kevin Weeks in the first stage. Things then went pear-shaped for Weeks, crashing his Lamborghini [...]

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Targa king Jim Richards has retired from the Targa Tasmania for the first time in his 16 years of contesting the event after hitting an embankment yesterday, damaging his suspension and holing the radiator.

With Richards out of the picture, the battle at the pointy end of the Modern class is now a three-way duel between [...]

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After setting the fastest time in the prologue, Kiwi Jim Richards has emerged as the leading contender in the Modern category of this year’s Targa Tasmania.

Richards, driving a Porsche 911 GT2, was nearly a second-and-a-half faster than his nearest rival, Victorian Matt Close, around the 4.5 kilometre course in Georgetown on Tasmania’s North Coast.  Holding [...]

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It’s that time of year again: the weather is turning colder, the football season is in full swing, F1 is heating up and, for one week, the island of Tasmania is alive with the sounds of screaming engines and tyres. Yes fans, it is Targa Tasmania time.

For those who haven’t heard, Targa Tasmania is now [...]

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The 2009 Targa Tasmania will mark the worldwide tarmac rally debut of Lotus’ performance orientated Exige Cup 260.

Piloted by motoring scribe Dean Evans, the car will race largely in showroom trim, with the only addition being a roll cage.

Other factory installed features include fully adjustable suspension and AP Racing brakes.

Weighing a total of 890kg - [...]

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If you’re one of the many RX-8 fans dreaming of a factory-supported turbo version sitting in your driveway, the answer is at hand: become a Targa Tasmania driver.

Along with two new Mazda3 MPS hot hatches, Mazda Australia is entering a turbo-charged RX-8 GT in the Targa Tasmania, and giving it the title RX-8 SP.

Targa Tasmania [...]

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Eric Bana has announced that he’s working on a documentary-style feature film that explores people’s passions for their hobbies and interests. Love the Beast will not be exclusively car-oriented, but will focus heavily on passions of the automotive kind. Given Bana’s 25-year love affair with his own Ford XB GT Coupe, the Targa contestant will feature prominently in the [...]

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Mazda’s decision to enter the 190kw 6 MPS-powered 3 MPS into the Targa Tasmania is proving to have been a good one, with drivers Rick Bates and Alister McCrae shutting the gate on the competition today. As is always the case with my horrible RWD bias, I was anticipating a catastrophic end to the FWD [...]

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Simon Evans—two-time Australian rally champ steerer for Toyota—has locked up the TRD Aurion’s first victory, and right there in the car’s first ever racing appearance anywhere in the world; the George Town Prologue on the opening day of the Targa Tasmania tarmac rally.

Along with his co-driver and wife Sue, Evans and the TRD Aurion [...]

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Mazda will be fielding two Mazda3 MPS rally cars at the country’s pre-eminent tarmac endurance event, held from April 15-20. Professional rally drivers Rick Bates and Alister McRae will spearhead the company’s eighth Targa campaign.

Built under the watchful eye of Mazda Motorsport chief Allan Horsley, the 190kW Mazda3 MPS front-wheel-drive hatches will contest the event’s [...]

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If your partial to a bet then the new R35 GT-R has to be odds on favourite for an outright win at this years Targa Tasmania but thats no excuse for ignoring the rest of the field. Tucked away in their is Mazda’s little hottie, the Mazda3 MPS and this year they have managed to [...]

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It hasn’t taken long for the R35 GT-R to find its way to Oz, with a number being imported for motorsport purposes. These private imports will never be eligible for road registration but they are set to liven up the local motorsport scene.

The car pictured (another one is on the way) is going to [...]

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