Targa revved-up by Mitsubishi

His car is worth only a fraction of the state-of-the-art Porsche GT2 twin-turbo of runner-up Jim Richards.

But Glenney was on fire aboard his 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer, which had been upgraded to Evo 9 specifications.

The thoroughbred horse breeder and trainer took over the outright lead on The Sideling stage on Thursday morning and never relinquished it, giving Mitsubishi an historic first win in the 17-year-old tarmac rally.

Glenney held a 57s lead over eight times champion Richards and his Tasmanian navigator Barry Oliver going into day five, the final day, yesterday.

By the time the Modern category field had cleared the monster hauls across Strahan and Mt Arrowsmith, and the winding ascent out of Queenstown, Glenney had established a 1m18s buffer.

Then came the cork-screw drop into Tarraleah gorge and out the other side, and Risdon Brook on the outskirts of Hobart, and by the time the field got to the Domain stage Glenney was 1m31s ahead and only had to finish the 1.36km Hobart stage to claim his first Targa Tasmania trophy.

Third was West Australian rally specialist Dean Herridge in a Subaru WRX STi, 2m28s behind Glenney, followed by Queenslander Ray Vandersee in his self-designed and built Skelta G-Force.

Tasmanian Jason White, who damaged his car in a crash on Friday, got back in the rally on Sunday but withdrew at Strahan with a broken gearbox.

Glenney's performance was even more meritorious given his four-wheel-drive Lancer was suited to wet conditions but the event was the first ever rain-free Targa.

“The event was very tough and we probably competed under conditions which didn't suit our car, which has made the win all the more pleasing,” he said.

“I would love to come back and defend the Targa title next year and look forward to it.”

After dominating the first four days of the 2WD Showroom competition, Rick Bates' Mazda3 MPS dropped out of contention because of a broken fan belt on the Mt Arrowsmith stage.

But its twin, driven by his Scottish teammate Alister McRae, won the title by a whopping 26m35s over Phil Buggee (Vic).

Tasmanian Tony Warren had an all-the-way win in the 4WD Showroom class, having set up his win with a super day three.

Victorian Rex Broadbent claimed back-to-back Classic titles, but made it two in a row only with the generosity of a rival driver.

Peter Eames, of Victoria, gave him a tyre, which came with a two-minute penalty from officials, but Broadbent still got home by 1m25s.

“The generosity of Peter Eames was a gesture of fantastic sportsmanship,” Broadbent said.

“We weren't hanging around this morning and we really had to go for it as we were starting the day 24 seconds behind.

“We didn't know if we were making or losing time on the others early on, so had to drive at 10/10ths for a few stages. It all worked out which is just fantastic.”

Final results

Modern

1. Steve Glenney (SA) , Bernie Webb, (ACT) , 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, 7m35s

2. Jim Richards (VIC), Barry Oliver, (TAS), 2008 Porsche 911 GT2, 9:06

3. Dean Herridge (WA), Glenn Macneall (WA), 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX Sti, 9:53

4. Ray Vandersee (QLD), Jahmeil Taylor (SA), 2004 Skelta G-Force, 9:57

5. Jamie Vandenberg ( TAS), Simon Vandenberg (TAS), 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, 10:20

6. Greg Garwood (TAS), John Allen (QLD), 2004 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 10:25

7. Matt Close (VIC), Casey Close (VIC), 2000 Porsche 911 Turbo, 11:31

8. Klark Quinn (QLD), Natasha Deniese (VIC), 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX Sti, 11:49

9. Tony Quinn (QLD), Keith Wenn (TAS), 2006 Porsche 911 Turbo, 11:53

10. Tony Longhurst (NSW), Jameil Taylor (SA), 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX Sti, 13:07Classic Outright

1. Rex Broadbent (VIC), John Lillyman (VIC), 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, 17m22s

2. Gavin James (VIC), Neil McLeod, (VIC), 1989 Porsche 944 S2 , 18:46

3. Peter Eames (VIC), Will Logan (TAS), 1974 Porsche Carrera RS, 18:51

4. Steve Coad (VIC), Rachael Coad (VIC), 1971 Holden Monaro GTS; Jon Siddins (QLD), Darren Ferguson (QLD), 1970 Datsun 1600, 21:24

6. Gary Tierney (VIC), David Carra (VIC), 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, 22:12

7. David Morton (NSW), Malcolm McDonald (NSW), 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo, 23:12

8. John Ireland (NSW), Michael Ribot (NSW), 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera, 23:42

9. Rob Sherrard (QLD), / Roberts (TAS), 1981 Porsche 930, 25:36

10. Barry Faux (ACT), Therezia Mihajlovic (ACT), 1979 Mazda RX7, 28:58Showroom 2WD

1. Alister McRae (SCO), Iain Stewart (QLD), 2007 Mazda3 MPS, 20m0s

2. Philip Buggee (VIC), Paul Freame (VIC), 2006 FIAT Punto Sport, 46:35

3. John Dunkley (NSW), Jon Parker (NSW), 2006 Peugeot 206 Gti 180, 1h3m0sShowroom 4WD

1. Tony Warren (TAS), Rhonda Burrowes, (NSW), 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, 19m30s

2. Scott Millar (QLD), Christopher Dean (QLD), 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, 27:59

3. Malcolm Klopp (SA), Damien Pearce (SA), 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, 31:42