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The 2018 Shannons Targa Rallysprint Series revs into gear on Thursday 2^nd November backed by new sponsor Axis Hire, a Western Australian heavy vehicles and earth moving equipment hire company. 

Axis Hire are also supporting the GT Fabrication Rallysprint in Bunbury in June 2018.

Axis Hire proprietor and GT Fabrication Targa Rallysprint competitor Mark Cates said he felt it was important to support the series.

“I’ve competed in two Rallysprint events in Bunbury and I’ve been so impressed with how well run the events are – I know the organisers do it on a shoe-string. Axis Hire has come on board to help the Rallysprint series become bigger and better,” Mr Cates said.

Cates, the owner of a Ferrari 488 Spider that he raced in the 2016 and 2017 Rallysprint series, has called for more exotic cars owners to get involved.  

“I’ve done track days at Barbagallo but I wanted more. I reckon everyone who owns an exotic car should get their pampered cars out of the garage and onto the track – it’s so much fun!”

Competing in Rallysprint doesn’t require the same time commitment or expense as competing in traditional Targa and rally events, thus making it a great introduction to the sport as well as being a good way for rally competitors to keep their skills sharp during the summer months.

Event Director Ross Tapper said that Rallysprint requires teamwork between driver and co-driver.

“Drivers will need to negotiate obstacles in close vicinity of the road with the help of their co-driver whilst racing the clock, which is quite different to simply racing around on a race track.

“Five of the six events are run on Thursday evenings after work at the Perth Motorplex making it an easy option to enjoy motorsport during the summer,” Mr Tapper said.

Rallysprint events are held once per month from November to March on Thursday evenings at Perth Motorplex on a 3.25km course that is run four times, alternating clockwise and anti clockwise each month.

Drivers may have multiple co-drivers but each will need a CAMS L2S Licence and Car Club membership, available from Targa West Events.

The November Rallysprint Series kicks off the 2018 Quit Targa Cup, which has proved very popular since its inception two years ago.

Entries to the Shannons Targa Rallysprint Series are restricted to 80 cars.

Shannons Targa Rallysprint Series dates:

1.    Thursday 2 November 2017

2.    Thursday 7 December 2017

3.    Thursday 11 January 2018

4.    Thursday 15 February 2018

5.    Thursday 8 March 2018

6.    GT Fabrication Targa Bunbury Sprint 24 June 2018

Regulations and Entry Form available from www.rallysprints.com  

Supporting the Shannons Targa Rallysprint Series alongside Axis Hire is Healthway and the Quit message, Autopro Canning Vale, Perth Motorsport Tyres and STechnic Specialist Subaru Garage.

 

Round 2 Review: A little bit of carnage and an impromptu BBQAfter a very uneventful Round 1 that went pretty much according to the script. Round 2 tore the script up and threw it out the window.

Almost perfect Rallysprint conditions greeted another large field as they assembled at the Perth Motorplex on Thursday 8^th December.  After the obligatory scrutineering, documentation checks and driver’s briefing the action commenced utilising the counter-clockwise course layout with cars starting from the ‘pit’ area.

 

The first run held no surprises with the Troy Wilson / Willie Thompson in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7 throwing down a “catch me if you can time” of 2:24.00, 7 seconds faster than Dennis Heller / Rennae Shaw (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 MR) with Will White / Paul Kreater (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) another second further back.

 

In the 2WD field Simon Gunson / Murray Armenti in their Ford Capri Perana also held an almost 2 second lead over the Triumph TR7 V8 of Mark Dobson / Nigel Jones with Ashley Morris / Greg Dally’s Ford Escort Mk 2 a further 0.8 second back.

 

The second run was again uneventful up until the 2011 VW Golf  GTI of Joseph Ng / Michelle Ng went a little wide coming through the final gate before the flying finish and ended up bouncing off the tyre bundle before leaving a VW Golf sized dent in the fence.  …along with the GTI badge from the front of their car.  After applying two or three rolls of ‘race tape’ they were able to drive the car home and we hope to see them back for Round 3 on 12^th January.

 

Aside from the usual gaggle of Mitsubishi Lance Evo’s and Subaru WRX’s there was an interesting mix of modern entrants including a couple of BRZ/86’s, a selection of Ford Fiesta, Focus and Falcons, even a Holden Crewman Ute.

 

On the classic front there was Simon Gunson / Murray Armenti in the 1971 Ford Capri Perana, a few Mark 2 Ford Escorts and two Datsun 240Zs of Simon Lingford / Avril Curtis and Bruce Lake / Peter Hall (who finished the night split by less than 2 second). The immaculate black BMW M3 of Phil Peak / Sam Hackett was joined by Scott Lockhart / Tim Hughes in a white version bearing the same livery…along with a couple of extra cylinders and a heat generating turbo, but more on that later.  The German marques were also represented by a number of Porsche’s including Wade and Alex Anderson’s fantastic silver 911 making its first appearance.

 

Back to the action, whilst the third run was fairly straightforward for most of the field, aside from a couple of chicane penalties, dramas were staring to unfold at the pointy end of the field.  Wilson/Thompson out braked themselves at the end of the drag strip and dropped roughly 2.5 seconds, but despite this they were still 5 seconds faster than Heller / Shaw and White / Kreater leaving Wilson / Thompson looking like a certainty for the outright win…until Wilson’s Evo started making death rattle type noises on the way back to the pit area.  After consultation he opted not to risk a potentially catastrophic failure and sat out his final run leaving the others to duke it out for the win.

White / Kreater started their final run of the night needing to make up approx. 4 seconds if they were to pip Heller / Shaw at the post.  More rattles, this time from the gearbox of White’s car told the tale of a broken input shaft and a time of 2:49.25 not a match for Heller / Shaw’s 2:28.79.  Finishing in second was Neil Herbert / Juan Barraza, 16 seconds behind in their 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX followed by a consistently fast Paul Brockbank / Matt James-Wallace in another Mitsubishi Lancer Evo only 0.8 seconds behind second.  Brockbank is now hoping to emulate his tarmac success but on the gravel at the Perth Motorplex during next Wednesday’s Round 2 of the Summer Autocross Series.

 

After the action at the front there was more drama when Geoff Weir / Paul Weir were a little fast coming off the ‘goat track’, got two wheels into the dirt and left another dent in the fence, this time a Subaru Impreza WRX sized dent, while Graeme Mackay / Deeann Flood left a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo sized ‘divot’ in the sand trap at the end of the drag strip.  In his post race interview Mackay did place the blame squarely at Will White’s feet, saying that he had contracted White to provide him feedback on correct driving lines and car control tips during reconnaissance. In reply White quipped “it’s not my fault Macka’s ability expired under brakes” J

 

Scott Lockhart / Tim Hughes could have used a bit of sand as well to put out a small engine fire in the pit area after their final run.  The impromptu BBQ, caused by a hot turbo melting some plastic in the engine bay, was quickly extinguished without any significant damage.  A column of smoke certainly gets everyones interest but I am sure Scott would have preferred to not be the centre of attention for that reason.

 

Whilst there is often a dramatic difference in times between their first and final runs, the award for consistency goes to Jeff Mizan / Wayne Henderson in their 1997 Subaru Impreza WRX STI with only a 0.27 second difference between their slowest and faster runs.  Interesting Run 2 and 3 was only 0.03 different.

Round 4 proved to be an action packed event on and off the track.  Congratulations to our Outright and Class Winners

 

Outright

1^st        Dennis HELLER / Rennae SHAW                       2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 MR        9:58.74

2^nd        Neil HERBERT / Juan BARRAZA                      1998 Subaru Impreza WRX                  10:14.63

3^rd        Paul BROCKBANK / Matt JAMES-WALLACE    2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6              10:15.43

 

Class 1 – Targa Cup 2WD up to 2000cc1^st        Cameron STUBBER / James HANNAH              2014 Toyota 86                        11:48.81

2^nd        Steven CLEMENTS / Jacek SZYMENDERSKI  2014 Subaru BRZ                    12:24.32

 

Class 2 – Targa Cup 2WD over 2000cc

1^st        Simon GUNSON / Murray ARMENTI                 1971 Ford Capri Perana        10:22.44

2^nd        Mark DOBSON / Nigel JONES                          1975 Triumph TR7 V8           10:39.32

3^rd        Simon LINGFORD / Avril CURTIS                     1973 Datsun 240Z                 10:58.01

 

Class 3 – Targa Cup 4WD up to 3500cc

1^st        Paul BROCKBANK / Matt JAMES-WALLACE   2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6                10:15.43

2^nd        Will WHITE / Paul KREATER                            2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9                10:23.22

3^rd        Mick STEELE / Nadine WHITE                         1995 Subaru Impreza WRX STI RA        10:28.58

 

Class 4 – Targa Cup 4WD over 3500cc

1^st        Matthew HERON / Alfredo MAZZA                    1989 Nissan Skyline R32 GTR            11:18.34

2^nd        Kagan DUCKER / Travis MORRIS                    1995 Nissan R33 Skyline GTR

 

Class 5 – Gravel 2WD or 4WD

1^st        Doug TOSTEVIN / Jess FORWARD                  2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec C        10:54.78

2^nd        Chris BOWLEY / James PRITCHARD              2007 Ford Fiesta ST                                       12:30.74

3^rd        Paula COLE / Nigel JONES                              1994 Subaru Impreza WRX                            14:30.64

 

Class 6 – Open Rallysprint up to 2000cc

1^st        Foky FOK / Corwin LAU                                    2003 Honda Integra                10:38.48

2^nd       Neil LENIHAN / Dave BURKE                           1979 Ford Escort                    12:25.86

Class 7 – Open Rallysprint over 2000cc

1^st        Ashley MORRIS / Greg DALLY                         1975 Ford Escort                    10:32.89

2^nd        Brendan ANESBURY / Adam DOVE                1974 Porsche 911 RS            10:51.46

3^rd        Rod WILLIS / Ian DURY                                    1990 Mazda MX5                   10:55.16

 

Class 8 – Open Rallysprint 4WD

1^st        Dennis HELLER / Rennae SHAW                     2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 MR        9:58.74

2^nd        Neil HERBERT / Juan BARRAZA                    1998 Subaru Impreza WRX                  10:14.63

3^rd        Matt PALMER / Ben TUCK                               2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7               10:17.16

Full Results are available by clicking here.

 

Wishing all our competitors, officials and spectators and Happy Christmas and a Safe and Prosperous New Year, see you all at Round 3 of the Shannons Targa Rallysprint series is on 12 January 2017.

Photos: CMR Photographic

Targa West Events wishes to thank Alister McRae and Trisector for their support of the McRae Motorsport Rallysprint Series from its inception seven years ago.

The championship will be now known as the Shannons Targa Rally Sprint Series in recognition of new sponsor, Shannons Insurance.

Shannons Insurance Business Development Manager for WA Graham Powell said, “We’re proud of our continued association with grass roots motorsport and growing our partnership with Targa West Events.”

Shannons Insurance also supports Quit Targa West, Quit Targa South West and the GT Fabrication Bunbury Targa Sprint.

Event Director Ross Tapper said that Rallysprint was a great way to enjoy competitive motorsport without the time commitment and expense required in the traditional rally format.

“Five of the six events are run on Thursday evenings after work at the Perth Motorplex making it an easy option to enjoy motorsport during the summer. The July event is a warm up for Quit Targa West and for others wishing to have some fun,” Mr Tapper said.

“Rallysprint is fast, fun and great for those new to rallying as well as those more experienced who want to keep their skills honed. Rallysprint requires team work between driver and co-driver and the ability to drive with obstacles in close vicinity of the road, neither of which can be practised on a race track.”

The Perth Motorplex course, which is run four times, is 3.25km in length, making the total competitive distance 13km. The course swaps between being run clockwise and anticlockwise.

Drivers may have multiple co-drivers but each will need a CAMS L2S Licence and Car Club membership, available from Targa West Events.

It’s just one month until the start of the 2017 Quit Targa Cup, which proved very popular in its inaugural year last year.

Entries to the Shannons Targa Rallysprint Series are restricted to 80 cars.

Shannons Targa Rallysprint Series dates:

Thursday 10 November 2016
Thursday 8 December 2016
Thursday 12 January 2017
Thursday 16 February 2017
Thursday 9 March 2017

“We’ve made it possible for competitors to enter all events now, which reduces administration and also allows them to set their schedules to contend the 2017 Quit Targa Cup,” Mr Tapper said.

Supplementary Regulations available for download here and online Entry Form available here.

The Shannons Targa Rallysprint Series is proudly supported by:

Entries are now open, click here to go to the Online Entry form.  The number of entries is limited to only 80, so get your entry in fast.

Mark Greenham successfully defended his McRae Motorsport Rallysprint title, after winning the last heat of the series at Perth Motorplex.Greenham went into the final round of the series with just a one point lead over rival Will White.

But the championship battle was short lived.

White crashed his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX MR in the first stage putting him out of action for the rest of the night.

Knowing that he needed to post some fast times to finish ahead of Greenham, the Dardanup business man was using the full capacity of his 2.3-litre stroker engine.

But coming into the first corner into the keyhole he missed his braking point and ran into one of the three concrete barriers.

While he was able to keep damage to a minimum, it was bad enough to put him out of contention for the 2014 championship title.

Greenham, who has been the driver to beat for the past two seasons, went on to win the heat and retain his crown.

With either his brother, Andrew or sister, Sarah, in the co-driver’s seat he finished the five-race series with two wins and three seconds to finish with a score of 47 out of a possible 50.

Greenham said the competition was a lot tougher this year.

“We were pushed a lot harder this year. I think everyone keeps improving and there were more powerful cars competing.

“Paul Lowry looked like he was going to be the one to beat after winning the first round but then for various reasons he was not able to compete in the rest of the series and guys like Will White with his new car pushed us pretty hard.”

Greenham is now hoping to compete in the Killarnée Targa South West in May but said he was hoping to attract some more sponsorship to help offset the cost.

Jamie Lister, in his 2000 Subaru Impreza WRX STi finished second overall in heat five and jumped into second place overall for the series with 39 points, finishing three ahead of White who did not add to his tally of 36 from the first four heats.

The remarkable thing about Lister’s performance is that he competes in Class III (Tarmac 4WD up to 3.5-litre) while Greenham and White both drive cars with bigger, more powerful engines.

Despite the handicap, Lister was able to finish in the top four overall in each of the five rounds.

His performance also secured him the Class III title with three firsts and two seconds.

Troy Wilson, who won the two heats where Lister finished second, recorded the second fastest time of the night in his first run but could not maintain that pace due to a gearbox problem and finished the night in fifth place overall. He also finished the series in fifth place overall with Dennis Heller (driving a 2004 Mitsubishi Evo VIII MR) in fourth place.

In Class I (Tarmac 2WD up to 2.0-litre) Duane Jourbert completed a perfect series with five consecutive wins in his 1983 Toyota Sprinter AE86.

The clean sweep had him finishing an incredible 27 points ahead of Daniel Webb (2003 Ford Focus ST170) and Paul Helm (1970 Ford Escort MkI RS2000) who both finished the series with 33 points.

The Class II (Tarmac 2WD over 2.0-litre) title was won by Glen Renshaw (2008 Holden VE SSV Ute) while Scott McKenzie (1994 Subaru Impreza WRX) won the Class V (Gravel 2WD and 4WD) title with a perfect score of 50 points from his five rounds.

 

Troy Wilson’s love for speed has seen him compete in a number of motorsport events including Targa West, Bathurst, Carrera Cup and V8 Utes.The former West Coast Eagle has competed in the past two rounds of the McRae Motorsport Rallysprint Series at Perth Motorplex in Kwinana.

And the big, flamboyant former forward has steered his re-worked 2001 Mitsubishi Evo VII, to class wins in both.

And with one round remaining he could snare a top five finish in the overall championship.

Wilson said the Evo, which he drove in his three Targa races, had been sitting in the shed for a few years in need of some attention.

“I only do what my budget allows,” Wilson said. “I have only just got it back out of the garage after strapping on a bigger turbo and rebuilding the gearbox.

“The work has added an extra 200hp and made it a completely different car. It has better top-end acceleration than my Carrera car.”

While Wilson has enjoyed some success he said he was only competing in the series for a bit of fun and, hopefully, without breaking the car.

Meanwhile, the fight for the outright championship has developed into one of the most intriguing battles in the history of the Rallysprints.

On a perfect night for racing defending champion, Mark Greenham, regained his place at the top of the overall leaderboard after fending off Will White by the narrowest of margins.

At the conclusion of the four stages less than half a second separated the pair.

But that was enough to enable Greenham, driving his 2001 Mitsubishi Evo VII, to leapfrog White and go into the final heat of the championship, which will be contested at the same venue on Thursday, March 6, with a one point advantage.

It is also the first time that White has had to settle for second place since buying his Evo IX MR from the Jones Racing team in the lead up to round two.

While the battle for the outright championship has become a race of two, Duane Joubert, driving his 1983 Toyota Sprinter AE86 secured a class title for the second year in succession.

And it is the second successive year that he will go into the last round of the series with a perfect score card.

Last year, he stumbled at the line finishing second in the last round of the series but he has been winning by comfortable margins this year and is well placed to finish the season undefeated.

With only two weeks until the final round, competitors need to ensure they get their entries in early.

For more information about the McRae Motorsport Rallysprint series, or how to become involved, go to www.rallysprints.com.au.

Duane Joubert continued his perfect form with a third consecutive class win in the delayed third round of the McRae Motorsport Rallysprint Series at Perth Motorplex last week. With his mother, Sue, in the co-driver seat the in-form driver steered his 1983 Toyota Sprinter AE86 around the 3.25km course in 2:39.500, more than 30 seconds quicker than his closest rival.This season Joubert, who keeps his 30-year-old car in immaculate showroom condition, has been in outstanding form in the Tarmac 2WD up to 2000cc class winning each of his three events by comfortable margins.  And it continues his excellent form from last season when he missed completing the clean-sweep when he was pushed into second place by Colin Youd, in his 1990 Westfield SE, in the last round. It was a sweet moment for Youd who had finished second behind Joubert in the previous four heats.

Meanwhile, with just two heats remaining in the 2013-14 season, competition at the head of the outright leaderboard is intensifying.

Since making the decision to buy a new, more powerful, car (a Mitsubishi Evo 9 MR) Will White has won both of his rounds in the Tarmac 4WD over 3500cc class and moved to equal first place overall with Mark Greenham, who has finished second-fastest overall in his Mitsubishi Evo 7 in each of the first three heats. With only two heats remaining competition between these two rivals is sure to escalate.

And just to keep things interesting, Jamie Lister who competes in a less powerful Subaru WRX STi is just four points adrift and still in contention to take out the overall championship despite racing in the Tarmac 4WD under 3500cc class.

Rounds three and four of the series were both moved after the forced evacuation of the Perth Motorplex last month because of the Kwinana bush fires. This means that competitors now only have two weeks, instead of the normal month, to get their cars ready for the next round of sprints.

Round Four of the McRae Motorsport Rallysprint will be held at Perth Motorplex in Kwinana, on Thursday, February 20, starting at 6.30pm.

Anybody wanting to know more about the Rallysprint series should visit www.rallysprints.com.au.