After surviving the wild weather of Leg 1, Dean Herridge started Thursday’s ‘North-East Loop’ in equal fifth place. But his day got off on a wrong note, thanks to a stray rock. Dean explained, “The road was still fairly damp in patches, and we weren’t trying push too hard on cold tyres. But that stage (Sideling) is littered with sharp rocks on the edge of the road, and we had the misfortune to run over one early into the stage. We struggled on as best we could, but the tyre was deflating and eventually disintegrated”.
“I think we lost almost three minutes on the stage and then we had to change a tyre. But we were competitive on the other stages. Our main goal all along was to win the ATC, and there is still a long way to go in this rally. So we’ll start again tomorrow, see if we can make up some time on the crews in front of us, and try and put ourselves in a position where we can capitalise if any of the guys at the front run into problems”.
Adding to the teams woes was the withdrawal of the Brian Green/Fleur Pedersen #987 WRX STi. Although the team worked on the car overnight, the engine was too badly damaged to be repaired in time.
But it was not all bad news, with both Graham Furness and Graham Iddles moving up the leaderboard. “I really enjoyed today”, Graham Furness commented after the final stage. “The twisty sections really seem to suit me. I managed to get into a flow early, and the car handled superbly. The biggest difference from last year is that Cameron and I are starting to work much better together in the car. We’ve made a big improvement the year. It was Cameron’s first Targa last year, and today that experience really started to show. I think we’ve gained around two seconds per kilometre, which is a huge step forward”.
Graham Iddles was also enthusiastic after competing the final stage. “It was my best day of rallying ever!”, exclaimed the two-time ‘Longford Challenge’ champion. “I’m now starting to the trust the (pace) notes and be more committed to them. And as a result our times are improving, and Shane and I working together really well”.
Tomorrow the crews will be tested by eight stages, as they make their way from Launceston to Devenport, returning via Deloraine.
Targa Tasmania 2010 – Leg 2
1 – White / White, Lambourghini Gallardo
2 – Glenney / Webb, Mazda RX-8 SP, +0:31
3 – Vandersee / Reeves, Skelta G-Force, +0:47
4 – Quinn / Tilett, Nissan GT-R, +0:59
5 – Jones / Searcy, Nissan GT-R, +1:19
6 – Close / Close, Audi TTRS, +2:28
7 – Richards / Oliver, Porsche 911 GT-3, +2:52
8 – Alford / Farmer, Nissan GT-R, +3:49
9 – Hendy / Willson, Daytona Couple, +3:53
10 – Vandenberg / Vandenberg , Mitsubishi EVO IX, +3:57
12 – Herridge / Weston, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +4:13
=22 – Furness / Furness, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +8:08
37 – Iddles / Cary, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +11:58
Photos courtesy of Angryman Photography.
