2008 Mitsubishi Evo GSR & 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart

by Mark Hacking

Very accurately billed as “the Ultimate North American Motorsport Adventure,” the weeklong, flat-out competition known as Targa Newfoundland is the largest non-professional motorsport event on the continent – and an absolute “must” for those interested in testing their skills and their cars to the limit.

The background: Targa Newfoundland is the only tarmac rally in North America and one of only three in the world, events in New Zealand and Tasmania being the other two. The concept is based on the Targa Florio, a road race run over closed public roads on the island of Sicily, which began in the 1950s.

The competition begins and ends in St. John’s and encompasses some 2200 kilometres of driving across the eastern and central parts of the province. Of that total, 500 kilometres are “Targa” or competitive stages. During the non-competitive or “transit” stages, teams must obey all rules of the road, including speed limits. On the Targa stages, however, that directive changes in a big hurry.

Now entering its seventh year, Targa Newfoundland comprises two separate competitions: the Grand Touring Competition and the Targa Competition.

The Grand Touring Competition is a time, speed and distance (TSD) rally in which teams are given a set time to complete the Targa stages with penalties for being too early or too late – at the finish or at various secret time controls set up along the stage. This competition, therefore, rewards precise timekeeping and driving by the teams at all times.

Teams run in one of two divisions – Grand Touring (vehicles without an average speed display odometer or rally computer) and Grand Touring Equipped (vehicles containing such equipment) – and need no special equipment apart from approved race helmets.

While the brochure describes the Grand Touring Competition as the chance to “experience all the wonders of Targa Newfoundland at a more leisurely pace,” it is by no means leisurely. At some point, competitors in Grand Touring will find themselves driving harder than they expected to if they hope to do well in the final standings.

In contrast, the Targa Competition is a full-on motorsport event for specially prepared vehicles that go as quickly as possible during the Targa stages – provided they never exceed the mandated 200 km/h top speed limit or the 130 km/h average speed limit for any given stage.

While it may sound a bit contradictory for a motorsport event to have a speed limit of any kind, keep in mind that many of the Targa stages take place in coastal towns with posted speed limits as low as 20 km/h. The roads in these towns can be rough and are often littered with huge obstacles, such as houses. In the past, competitors have hit fences, telephone poles, bridges and, on one occasion, the Atlantic Ocean.

The Targa Competition is made up of three major divisions, Classic (all cars built up to 1981), Modern (cars built from 1982 on) and Open (any age car). The Classic and Modern divisions are further divided into categories based on various criteria such as engine displacement and number of modifications, while in the Open division, anything goes.

In this competition, teams are also given target times to complete the competitive stages; those failing to match the times accumulate penalty seconds. The teams with the least amount of penalty time at the end of the week win their respective classes. All Targa cars must run with full roll cages and many are heavily modified racecars.

There you have it: Targa Newfoundland in a nutshell. For more information, be sure to visit www.targanewfoundland.com. Now… get out there and have some fun!

Departing for Newfoundland on Monday, Sept. 8, 2008 Pickering Ontario 7 am.