The concept of the Australian Targa Championship directly derives from the most memorable period of the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia, Coupe des Alpes or Tour de Corse. Except that it is not a historic retrospective, but well and truly a modern competition on roads that are among the world's most exciting. The championship comprises four events, beginning with the Supaloc Targa Adelaide in August, followed in November by the Targa High Country in Victoria, then in February the Targa Wrest Point in Hobart before the last round, the Targa Tasmania, in April. The series is participated in by sports cars and GTs.
RedBack Racing, supported technically by Motul, successfully entered the all new Megane RS 250 for the Targa High Country, where the team managed to place two cars in the top-four. Adam Spence and Erin Kelly's Megane dominated the event that took place at Mt Buller, clinching fifteen specials of the rally's sixteen. The team's second car, in the hands of Indonesian Bunjamin Noor and Anglo-Australian Lee Challoner-Miles experienced a slight problem in the first lap but returned to the race and finished 4th, two tiny seconds from the 3rd.
This more than encouraging result made team manager, Adam Spence, say: 'I've always believed that the Renault Megane RS 250 was the fastest car in the Australian under 100,000 $ market [80,000 € approx.]. But we didn't imagine it was so good!'
Results
01// Spence/Kelly, Renault Megane RS 250 - Motul
02// James/James, Renault Megane RS 250
03// Crimp/Van der Mey, Ford Focus RS
04// Noor/Challoner-Miles, Renault Megane RS 250 - Motul
Photo credits: Redback racing
