Launceston, Tasmania -- Sunday, May 7: With the Prologue just twelve
hours away, the Girlz Kick Butt team of Teresa Davenport
and Cheri Huntoon have already put several hundred Tasmanian
miles under their little blue Saab Sonett, preparing pace notes
for the stages they will be driving this week. Running down the
west coast of the Apple Isle, the pair encountered splendid sunny
weather---and more than a few wallabies, wombats, and other fur-bearing
road hazards after dark! But they were able to return to Launceston
for the scrutineering of the 300 cars that comprise the Targa
Tasmania 2000 field without hitting any flora or fauna.
The 1968 Saab Sonett II V4 gets more than its share of glances
and starts many conversations---the car was never exported to
Australia, and only about 10,000 were made in any of its model
designations from 1967 to 1974---but the field has plenty of
other exotics, from brand-new Porsche GT3s to special one-off
Porsche factory specials flown in from the museum in Stuttgart.
Rally legend Walter Rohrl is on hand to drive one of the vintage
Porsches.
The Prologue is the only event scheduled for Monday, with
the actual rally stages commencing on Tuesday. The Prologue is
a special stage run through the streets of Georgetown; it is
used to establish the starting order for the rest of the week.
During the Prologue, drivers run flat-out to post their fastest
time. Then on Tuesday the field hits the highways with the slowest
cars starting first, the faster cars behind them at thirty-second
intervals---so the fastest Prologue sprinter is the last to start
from Launceston Tuesday morning.
Targa Tasmania is a closed-course stage rally, with various
sections of public road blocked off as the rally passes through;
there are fifty of these special stages. In between these full-chat
sections, the cars proceed with the normal Tasmanian traffic
over open roads---Touring sections---to reach the next special
stage.
The special closed stages provide the most excitement for
spectator and driver/navigator crews alike, for all fifty stages
must be completed within allowed time limits in order for competitors
to take home a Targa trophy. Since the faster cars are always
overtaking and passing the slower ones, the crowds are treated
to a splendid array of machinery, from vintage tin (think Essex
and Bentley) to modern iron (think fully-rally-prepared Porsches,
Mazdas, and even Lexus), in a context they won't see anywhere
else in the world.
Because the #443 blue Saab is one of three all-woman teams,
this year the organizers have revived the Coup des Dames, the
traditional trophy awarded to the top-finishing all-woman crew.
In addition to their race for that honor, Davenport and Huntoon
are concentrating on taking home that all-important Targa trophy
for finishing within limit on every stage. But there is also
competition within their age category---the car, not the women!---as
well as a race against cars of similar performance. Among their
direct competitors are several MiniCoopers, a Lancia, and a Lotus
Elan. "Weather may be a factor," says Davenport. "We
chose Yokohama Intermediate tires because they have great grip
in the wet, and we do expect at least a little rain. The Lotus
tends to get a little loose in the wet, but may have an edge
if it stays dry. The Minis are great in really tight sections,
but the Sonett may have some leg on it in the longer open stretches.
And the Lancia certainly has a brilliant rally history that can't
be discounted."
Reprinted with permission of the author.
