Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2002

The first day of the Targa Newfoundland began poorly. There was some light rain and fog, enough to make the roads a little slippery. As we waited at the start of Stage 1, word came down that Car 0, the course opening car, had gone off a few kilometers into the stage. Another car swept the course and the rally was finally underway a few minutes late.

We -- Scott Giannou and myself in Scott's Porsche 911 Targa -- started 10th on the road. We passed the stricken Car 0 -- a new Jaguar X-type AWD sedan loaned by a local dealership -- and a few turns farther were waved down by the team in a Mustang that started just ahead of us. They were not having a problem, but were slowing traffic for another incident. The Volvo P1800 of Stephen and John McCrory that started a few ahead of us had spun off the side of the road with the front end still sticking out onto the roadway. But before the team could get their warning triangles out, an Austin Healey 100 driven by Michael Salter and Richard Paterson came around the corner and t-boned the Volvo. No one was injured in either incident, but two cars were badly damaged and unable to continue. As the second car upon the scene, we made sure everyone was okay, then proceeded on to the finish to report the incident.

Before the word got to the stage start about the Volvo/Healey crash, the 2000 Honda Civic of local drivers Ken Batstone and Adam Sparkes slid off the road and badly damaged the rear end.

Most teams stopped to assist at the Volvo/Healey incident, so scoring the leg was nearly impossible. Organizers wisely chose to drop it from scoring.

The weather began to clear and the roads to dry, so there were no further incidents blamed on damp tarmac. That does not mean there were not incidents. But those were later in the day so let's move on chronologically.

Everywhere the Targa Newfoundland went, there were people standing along the stages and the transits, taking photos and waving. Many stages started or ran through small towns, and it seemed as if the entire population had taken the day off to watch the rally cars. There were people sitting in lawn chairs in their driveways watching this major motorsports event taking place right in their little town... and they didn't have to pay $50 apiece for tickets... it was FREE!

One of the last minute details that we needed to take care of on the Porsche was to install the probe for the Terratrip. Unfortunately the bracket was flexing a little too much and the distances were inconsistent... long on the transits and short on the stages. Consequently I could only make educated guesses as to where the instructions were executed.

In the long run it didn't rally matter as Targa timing is based on beating a target time, known as the Base Time. When you beat the Base Time, you get a zero. Lateness is 1 point for each second, early is 100 points per minute. The Trophy Times are generally achievable by driving at a quick, but not full-out pace. Except possibly for the Edison Whitside, Targa's resident Chaplain, piloting a 1951 Citroen Traction Avant; he's pedalling that French beastie for all she's got.

The final stage on Tuesday was Osprey Trail West, a 32 km. stage that had to be shortened to 26 km. due to some local misunderstandings over when the rally was to run. There had been delays at the start of most stages, but this one was an additional hour. Still, it did not seem all that long as the teams chatted and joked while waiting for the stage to be cleared.

Just prior to the start of Osprey Trail, Ralph Grant pulled the ex-Heinoen Celica into a service station. The rented Toyota had not run right from the time Grant picked it up. Initially the problem was thought to be finnicky fuel injection, but the indication now was a blown head gasket.

We finally got the word that the stage was ready and we were off to our cars. Our turn came and we took off down the stage. The instruction at 6.16 km was a long hairpin left, with the admonishment "CAUTION! - Tightens". Scott came into it too fast and was not prepared for how much it tightened, and the Porsche drifted toward the guardrail on the outside of the turn. I could see it coming, but knew it would be a light kiss so I barely puckered. The car hit parallel so the damage ran from front to rear, but not enough to stop us. Scott did slow a little for the remainder of the stage, but not much.

The Dent!	Repaired and ready for another day at Targa

We arrived in Clarenville, our overnight stop, and pulled the car into the local hockey arena, our garage for the evening. Within a few minutes one of the local volunteers, Dwayne Eddy, a body shop mechanic, was working his magic. With a pair of hammers and some blocks of wood he had all of the big dents removed within a half hour. Fine finishing would have to wait until another day. Then he set off to make us a new bracket for the odometer probe, something of thicker metal to avoid "flexible kilometers".

As Jean-Georges Marcotte was in charge of scoring (Marcotte handles scoring for many performance rallies in the U.S. and Canada), it wasn't long before scores were posted. So far there are nine teams with a clean sheet ... including us!

But it had been a long, tiring day, and tomorrow looked even longer, so most drivers turned in early. Those who didn't, got Screeched. Screech is a Newfoundland tradition... Screech is a strong rum that goes back to the sailing tradition. Following copious amounts of Screech and a secret ceremony that involves kissing a cod, one may be allowed to become an official Newfoundlander. More on Screech HERE.