Another good day for us at Targa Newfoundland in the MINI Challenge car.
As far as I know…
My navigator Brian Bourbonniere seemed happy, so that’s good.
And we ran all day near the back of the pack with all the (other!) really fast cars, so that’s good too.
That’d be cars like Roy Hopkins/Adrienne Hughes’s 1969 BMW 2002. Bob Yuille/Kirk Alexander’s 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. Jud Buchanan/Jim Adams’s 1967 Canso Sport Coupe. Glenn Clark/Andy Proudfoot’s 1976 Porsche 911.
I never thought I’d be so thankful for emission controls. Because none of these cars have any. And do they ever stink.
Especially Clark’s Porsche. I don’t know what he’s running for fuel in that thing, but the exhaust would singe your eyebrows from ten paces.
Interesting too to see the support crews.
Some teams seem to have enough people to invade Normandy. Guys to refuel the car at the end of each stage. Car up on jacks at every service location, checking for loose bits.
There’s one rig here, a huge tractor with a double sleeper cab, and a massive trailer. I don’t even know what team it is, but he must be carrying two spares for every part in the car.
Other teams run on a relative shoestring. Ours, for instance - we run out of the back of a luxury SUV. (Oops sorry, AAV – the BMW X5 “All-Activity Vehicle).
Our intrepid team manager Rob Dexter and mechanic Mark Krajnak do triple, maybe quadruple duty, keeping us ready to run.
As my navigator Bourbonniere noted, “That’s the difference between running a modern car like ours, and a classic car. They just need more attention.”
***
We have been warned by the organizers to stick to the speed limit while on transit stages. After all, we could hardly be more conspicuous, with our loud exhausts and decals all over our cars. If the local civilians see us speeding they would - quite rightly - get quite cranky.
We’re doing reasonably well on this score, I think. Personally, I’m being positively anal about it, while some of my fellow competitors stretch things out a little.
The local civilians?
They seem majorly cheesed off. They go ripping by us at 30 - 40 over!
Sorry for obeying the law, folks…
Jim:
Welcome back to Newfoundland and especially to Marystown where you will be today, Thursday September 17th, 2009.
Enjoy watching you and the gang on Motoring 2009 via Internet. Hope you are enjoying the Targa event so far and don't do a 'repeat' of last year!
Take care.....
Edward Walsh
Marystown, NL
Posted by: Edward Walsh | September 17, 2009 at 02:21 AM
Jim - sounds like the Targa has lost a bit of the "shine" if so why and what could be done to recapture it - more truly amateur competitors? Look forward to your thoughts - Chris Rose (I confess to being a truly amateur competitor....)
Posted by: Chris Rose | September 17, 2009 at 08:28 PM