Why doesn't the US have "Targas"?

[Doug&Julie]

Well, in the TV shows I saw, most of the people interviewed were definitely "amateur" racers. I don't know what level of licensing they had, but they were clearly out there to have a good time more than anything. (..I didn't say they drive slow...just respecting their own limits.) Yes, there were a few that were very hard core, but I got the distinct feeling most could care less if they actually win or not.

Maybe Ryan could set me straight on this?

The neat thing about these rallies is they had something for the competition cars (roll cage, helmet, etc.) and something for the average driver. They had new vehicles and classic vehicles, and all were competing together.

[svandamme]

Originally posted by Doug&Julie
Well, in the TV shows I saw, most of the people interviewed were definitely "amateur" racers. I don't know what level of licensing they had, but they were clearly out there to have a good time more than anything. (..I didn't say they drive slow...just respecting their own limits.) Yes, there were a few that were very hard core, but I got the distinct feeling most could care less if they actually win or not.

maybe not the winning the overal race, but still as fast as possible given the equipment and talent, which means pushing the envelope, not wofting about because they don't care about winning the race... they are all in classes, and each wants to at least not come last

think of it as the type of track racing Jack Olsen does... except not on a track.. same level of commitment to speed

[Doug&Julie]

Originally posted by svandamme
maybe not the winning , but still as fast as possible given the equipment and talent, which means pushing the envelope, not wofting about because they don't care about winning the race... they are all in classes, and each wants to at least not come last

Without a doubt! I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression. I just got the feeling they were there more for the event than for the winning...if that makes better sense.

But no...no wofting...no Sunday drives...

[Tervuren]

Its mainly a lack of local interest, you'd have to have a serious car county with almost 100% enthusiasts population, and the twisty roads to do it on. With no objections from the locals, closing off a road for a race is feasable. Would have to be shorter though.

There are several "old" highways that have been replaced by interstates and newer roads, these are your best bet for closing off.

[svandamme]

check this for Rallying

http://dump.geenstijl.nl/mediabase/7828/63d42afa/index.html

the ending was obviously not part of the plan, but you can clearly see what i mean with pushing the enveloppe, from the looks of it , a classic-historic rally... these aren't even the ones driving modern cars ( which tend to be slightly more competitive)

[Doug&Julie]

Originally posted by svandamme
http://dump.geenstijl.nl/mediabase/7828/63d42afa/index.html

Somebody didn't get the "road closed" sign!!!

[svandamme]

don't know the background,

but some farmers and definately the treehuggers too, do not apreciate rallies going round...
especially the treehuggers have been known to do some nasty sabotage work... this could be something like that... dunno...

[Doug&Julie]

Weird. I would guess a farmer that just needed to get his chores done and disregarded the whole rally "thing" going on around him.

For the record, I'm a treehugger. But I love rallying.

[svandamme]

Originally posted by Doug&Julie

For the record, I'm a treehugger. But I love rallying.

lol , try explaining that to the fanaticals... just make sure you can run fast

[Doug&Julie]

To everything in life there should be a balance.

We should preserve the beautiful trees and the forests that contain them.

...so twice a year we can drive through them really really fast!!!!

[Jim Bremner]

we do have a couple of Targas here in the States...

one in Texas...well it's kinda like U.S.A


and the other that I know of is Aridzona

[Rikao4]

The yellow Thunderbird driven by an older lady was a hoot, aircraftcarrier on a roadcourse. hilarious shunts, lots of older $$$ P's running like they should.
Rika

[Aerkuld]

Originally posted by obrut
"hen I lived in England I was a member of the local car club and did a few road rallies, which I guess is similar in principle to that which you are referring."

nope - completely different animal. closed road, open speed limit, helet, full cage cars, pace notes etc. same rules as WRC - but classic cars.

OK, that is what I would refer to as a tarmac rally, (tarmac = asphalt).
There are events like this in the UK also, the Isle of Mann has a tarmac rally with closed roads for example. I was more thinking about the "accessible to everyone" aspect.
One of the things I like about ralliying in Europe is they race on a mixture of surfaces, often going between dirt, gravel, and tarmac in a single stage. That to me is a real test of a driver.

We were definitely not in that league, but we were in semi-prepped cars. My Mini had a full cage, harnesses and all that, essentially prepped about the same as some of your guys track cars.

Incidentally, in it's final incarnation my little Mini had a 1380cc engine putting out 90bhp at the front wheels (not much, but just think how small and light it is!). That with a low ratio diff that effectively limited its top speed to 100mph in top gear at 7500rpm made it a pretty quick road and hillclimb car, and a whole lot of fun. I really miss it somedays!

[svandamme]

Originally posted by Aerkuld

One of the things I like about ralliying in Europe is they race on a mixture of surfaces, often going between dirt, gravel, and tarmac in a single stage. That to me is a real test of a driver.

don't forget pavement and cobblestoned, dunnu what you guys call em, but here's what they look like






that's the not so steep side of the hill, went up and down that one last saturday in the 944, wet , trust me , it's a challenge ither way , going up or down...,

this time of year , on the tarmac roads leading to the hill, there's also plenty of mudd from the farmers... should see my 944 now, it's black, with plenty of mud spray upwards...

[obrut]

doug - yes, that is my blue/orange car (now blue/silver)

"It just looks like a lot of fun, mostly because it's not highly competitive and it looks like an event where the priority is having fun and bringing the car home safely, not so much winning the rally. "

the events here cater for all. they have touring classes and competition classes. the competition is fierce in the latter.

some are out having fun but a lot push pretty hard. in november, there were 5 or 6 big shunts every day, people turning up in BIG dollar build cars, people with big service crews, people with fuel teams so they could run minimum fuel for each stage (cf: we start with a full tank in the morning and then a full tank at lunch).

you should try and combine the adelaide rally with an Oz holiday -its the start of summer and i'm sure i could find a crew to take you around and lunch is normally at a winery (no booze for us though... - breath test every day)

here some pics from last month. we came 4th - our best result ever.

[Doug&Julie]

Very cool Ryan! I love your car. It looks like I'll have to wait another year to see you guys on our "SpeedTV". As for a vacation out your way, I'm afraid that's a long way off ...

[J1NX3D]

i've followed your exploits the last few years Obrut- Awesome!!

The Targa NZ is huge here and getting bigger each and every year. Rally is already popular here and the culture is rich from years of club and international level rally which includes Group B in the '80s and WRC.

I pitcrewed for a 924 in the '05 dunlop targa of nz. wasnt in the country to do it again this year. Like Aussie theres the touring and and competitve classes.
Porsche had the biggest turn out with nearly 30 different models. In all, over 170 cars started and 10 days later there were barely 120 left. Cars either crashed out or broke.

its very much a tarmac version of the WRC ( as far as safety and level of competition.) and there are competitiors who follow these around the world.

its used as a huge fundraiser as well and in city centres they often put on demonstrations and rides for charity, and promote road safety.

in NZ our closed road special stages are limited to 200kph. the touring stages between the SS are limited to the posted speed limits and are open to the general public. In '05 they also included special stages at the Pukekohe and Manfield Raceways.

I think last year in the 7 days of the targa we drove 3500km chasing our car to each pitstop- very intense trying to beat a car driving the fun route at up to 200kph while youre limited to 50 or 100kph!

the official site for the nz targa is: www.targa.co.nz

we have Targa Rotorua and/ or Targa Hamilton which are regional before a prelim targa called targa bambina but it looks like theyre canning it for 2007.

an extract from the targanz newsletter re: 2007:

Having said we would give the traditional March one day Targa Bambina a miss for 2007 so that we could spend more time on streamlining technical stuff, we were very tempted to bring forward a new event that we have been planning for 2008, we nearly succumbed but sensibility ruled, so the Seria Campione this year all 5 rounds will count, 2 in the June event and 3 in October.

Targa Rotorua, June 8th to 10th, We have had a relook and some exciting new changes bringing the total closed stages up to 300kms! There will be a Prologue stage late Friday afternoon that will set the scene for the next 2 days. The Rotorua event will be two rounds of the Seria Campione. The points system for the Seria Campione will show the calculation for the age of the vehicle unless you would all like to the competition broken into three competitions; Classic, Modern, and Contemporary?


Many missed Targa Rotorua last year thinking it wouldn’t have the appeal of Tauranga, they lived to regret it, it was a fantastic event with 2007’s being even better, 2 runs through Manawahe, how could you manage that? Well we have! To get a bite, twice, at New Zealand’s best varied stage has to be something to be cherished, and then there are so many more stages, at least four over 30ks each.

Dunlop Targa NZ, October 22nd to 27th; It would be so easy to rest on our laurels, but that is not Dennis’ or my way, we are always looking for more challenges and exciting new roads.

The start on Labour Monday,22nd, in Papakura will be a busy compact day for Documentation, scrutineering, drivers briefing, Shakedown stage and Prologue. Not spread over the 2 days as in previous years .

With a fresh route in mind, spare a thought for us last Thursday when in the most horrendous storm Dennis and I were checking the roads along the west coast around Kawhia to Awakino. We experienced flash floods, slips, cattle over the road, mud slides and horizontal rain in this beautiful remote part of the country and decided we are going to use this, the roads are just fantastic, remote though, what about service crews, arrgh we will think of something!

Two nights in New Plymouth, 23rd & 24th, instead of one and whilst we have to live with a long day on the first day, day two will be short enough to enjoy some of New Plymouth’s hospitality.

The third day, 25th, will be to Feilding or Palmerston North (subject to change) then to Hastings, 26th & 27th for the last two days of competition with Prizegiving breakfast, 28th, (probably no auction as Cure Kids are sure they can raise enough money with their Targa on line auction).

The majority of stages are either changed or are new with still around 700kms of closed.

Here is something to whined a few up! In one stage which has several long straights we will be bringing cars to a compulsory, marshalled, stop! I can hear it now ” won’t that be dangerous, what if someone hits me from behind, what if someone doesn’t realize it is a stop, what if someone’s brakes don’t work or if someone stalls???” good eh!

a quote from the lastest newsletter:

"If Motorsport were a woman, she would be a hard woman to be in love with. She is a glamorous super model with a smiling face and a cold hard streak buried just below the surface. She delivers thrills, excitement and adrenalin, but you just can't trust her. You never know when she will deliver a crippling kick to the crotch and run off with another guy laughing"

[J1NX3D]

pictures of the 924 i crewed for

[tcar]

Originally posted by pmajka
What do you mean we dont have targas....??

what about the austrailian targa is different?

A Targa is a type of race taking place on public roads. Most famous - the Targa Florio in Sicily.

Porsche celebrated victories in the TF by naming it's new cabrio with rollbar body style the *Targa* in the late 60's. Porsche won more races in the 60's than everyone else combined.


Uhhh, the Australian Porsche Targa is right hand drive.

[svandamme]

Originally posted by tcar
A Targa is a type of race taking place on public roads. Most famous - the Targa Florio in Sicily.

no offence, but that's a load of bullcrap

a Targa is not a type of Race
a Rally is

they just happen to name the individual Rally's with fancy names, and Targa this , Targa that just happens to be popular...
based on the Targa Florio race from back in the days..

( which technically has little to do with modern day rally's other then that it is on public roads, Rally's these days are multiple stages, not one giant closed of track that is driven for multiple laps like TF used to be ...)


another hint is
it's not WTC World Targa Championship
it's WRC World Rally Championship...

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Rallying (international) or rally racing (US) is a form of motor competition that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars. This motorsport is distinguished by running not on a circuit, but instead in a point-to-point format in which participants and their co-drivers drive between set control points (stages), leaving at regular intervals from one or more start points. Rallies may be won by pure speed within the stages or alternatively by driving to a predetermined ideal journey time within the stages.