Targa Tasmania is a tarmac-based

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

event held on the island state of

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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, annually since 1992. The event takes its name from the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

, a former motoring event held on the island of

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. The competition concept is drawn directly from the best features of the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

, the

Coupe des Alpes The Alpine Rally, also known by its official name Coupe des Alpes, was a rally competition based in Marseille and held from 1932 to 1971. In the 1950s and the 1960s, it was among the most prestigious rallies in the world and featured an internat ...

and the

Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was the French round of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season until 2008, was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 2011 to 2012, an ...

Rally format

The rally started as a five-day event, but has been run as a six-day event for anniversaries in 2001, 2006 and 2016. The layout of the 2016 event was: * Leg 1 Launceston - George Town - Launceston * Leg 2 Launceston - St Helens - Launceston * Leg 3 Launceston -

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

- Launceston * Leg 4 Launceston -

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

- Strahan * Leg 5 Strahan -

New Norfolk New Norfolk is a town on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2011, 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543. Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Hi ...

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

* Leg 6 Hobart - Hobart In 2008 the course was substantially revised, a number of well liked stages from previous years are now used (Riana), and a number of all new stages were introduced (Mt Claude and Rossarden). Leg 3 was dropped by shortening the Leg 2 East Coast day ending back in Launceston (rather than Hobart). Leg 3 is another loop north out of Launceston (running through Devonport on this day). Leg 4 now runs from Launceston through the lunch stop at Burnie to the evening end at Strahan. It remains the longest tarmac rally in Australia with no repeated stages. Although a couple of stages will share the same piece of road in opposite directions on consecutive days. The Targa is one of several Tarmac Rally events to be held in Australia. It also has had international connections with Targa New Zealand and Targa Newfoundland which have evolved since the inception of Targa Tasmania.

List of past winners

In 2016 the premier category changed from Modern to Showroom GT2.

Showroom GT4 Competition

Showroom GT2 Competition

Modern Competition

Classic Competition

Trophies Awarded

A Targa Trophy is awarded to the driver and co-driver/navigator of each crew that completes all stages within the specified time for their class of vehicle. In subsequent years, the trophy may be upgraded as follows: * Golden Targa Trophy - 3 consecutive regular trophies * Platinum Targa Trophy - having achieved ''Gold'' then gaining another 3 consecutive regular trophies * Diamond Targa Trophy - having achieved ''Platinum'' then gaining another 3 consecutive regular trophies * Gold Diamond Targa Trophy - having achieved ''Diamond'' then gaining another 3 consecutive regular trophies * Platinum Diamond Targa Trophy - having achieved ''Gold Diamond'' then gaining another 3 consecutive regular trophies Once achieving ''Platinum Gold'', the competitor is inducted into the Targa Hall of Fame Legends In 2019, Geoff Taylor (aged 73+) was the only competitor to have competed in all events. In addition, each year the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy is awarded to the competitor who exhibits tenacity to overcome adversity while completing the event. It was first awarded in 1993.

Notable competitors

Notable past and current competitors have included

Andrew Miedecke Miedecke Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team that is competing in Australian GT. It has previously competed in touring car racing between 1987 and 1989, and an earlier form of the team also competed in open wheel racing between 1981 ...

Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing even ...

Bob Wollek Bob Wollek (4 November 1943 – 16 March 2001), nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on 16 March 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation afte ...

Denny Hulme Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992), commonly known as Denny Hulme, was a New Zealand racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his ...

, Dick Johnson,

Glenn Ridge Glenn Daryl Ridge (born 21 November 1955 in Adelaide, South Australia) is an Australian television and radio presenter, and the owner and managing director of the Q Media Group, a production company making television specials and documentaries. ...

Greg Crick Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name * Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canad ...

Gregg Hansford Gregory John "Gregg" Hansford (8 April 1952 – 5 March 1995) was an Australian professional motorcycle and touring car racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1978 to 1981 and in Australian tour ...

Sir Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a Ro ...

, Jim Richards,

Jochen Mass Jochen Richard Mass (born 30 September 1946) is a German former racing driver. Life and career Born in Dorfen, Bavaria 50 km (31 mi) from Munich, Mass participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 Jul ...

Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a five-t ...

Michael Doohan Michael Sydney Doohan (born 4 June 1965) is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion, who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. Biography Originally from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Doohan attended S ...

Murray Walker Graeme Murray Walker (10 October 1923 – 13 March 2021) was an English motorsport commentator and journalist. He provided television commentary of live Formula One coverage for the BBC between 1976 and 1996, and for ITV between 1997 and 2001 ...

Neal Bates Neal Bates (born 19 March 1965) is an Australian rally and racing car driver. Throughout his career Bates has been associated with Toyota in the Australian Rally Championship and for 19 years his Neal Bates Motorsport outfit ran Toyota's official ...

Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...

, Peter Fitzgerald,

Roger Clark Roger Albert Clark, MBE (5 August 1939 – 12 January 1998) was a British rally driver during the 1960s and '70s, and the first competitor from his country to win a World Rally Championship (WRC) event when he triumphed at the 1976 RAC Rally. ...

Rusty French Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell. Rusty may also refer to: People *Rusty Anderson (born 1959 ...

Sandro Munari Sandro Munari (born 27 March 1940), also nicknamed 'Il Drago' (The Dragon) is a former motor racing and rally driver from Italy. Career Sandro Munari was born in Cavarzere, in the Veneto region. He began rallying in 1965 and won the Italian Ral ...

Sir Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

Alister McRae Alister McRae (born 20 December 1970) is a British rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Col ...

Walter Röhrl Walter Röhrl (; born 7 March 1947) is a German rally and auto racing driver, with victories for Fiat, Opel, Lancia and Audi as well as Porsche, Ford and BMW. Röhrl has scored 14 victories over his career, with his notable achievements including ...

and

Eric Bana Eric Banadinović, (born 9 August 1968), known professionally as Eric Bana (), is an Australian actor and comedian. He began his career in the sketch comedy series '' Full Frontal'' before gaining notice in the comedy drama '' The Castle'' (19 ...

. The first person with a

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...

to compete in the rally was Australian wheelchair rugby player

Nazim Erdem Nazim Erdem, (born 1 August 1970) is an Australian wheelchair rugby Paralympic gold and silver medalist. He has won two gold and two silver medals at five Paralympics from 2000 to 2016. Personal Nazim Erdem was born on 1 August 1970 in the T ...

References

# http://www.targatasmania.com.au/Results/Pas

# http://www.targatasmania.com.au

External links

Targa Tasmania website

Team RedBackRacing website

CAR703 – Rallying for Oncology Research
{{Primary sources, date=January 2007 Motorsport competitions in Australia Rally competitions in Australia Motorsport in Tasmania Recurring sporting events established in 1992