After the drama of a puncture during yesterday’s first stage, Dean Herridge was looking forward to a trouble-free run. And that’s exactly what happened, the #993 Subaru WRX STi moving up the placings as the day progressed.
“It’s been a good day”, a relaxed Herridge commented. “We’ve not had any issues today. I was a little concerned on the way to Devonport. There was a bit of rain around, and that’s the last thing we want to see with the tyre choice we’ve made. But the rain held off and we had a good run. We’re now up to seventh. There’s a bit of a gap to Jim Richards, but we’ll just keep on chipping away and see what happens”.
“This event always throws up a few surprises. We’ve already seen a number of high-profile teams retire, and there’s still a long way to go before the finish.”
Both Graham Iddles and Graham Furness put in solid performances during Leg 3, improving as the event progresses. “We’ve had a solid day”, Iddles remarked after stage 24. “We’ve improved more than a second per kilometer over last year, so I’m really happy with that. We’re just looking to maintain a consistent pace and make it to the finish. If we can do that, and get some more experience under our belts, then we should continue to improve”.
For the previous three days, Graham Furness has swapped times with the Subaru Impreza of Paul Thomas. And it was a battle that continued today. “We’re having our own private race! Last night we were equal 22nd, but today he snuck ahead by a second. Our aim was to get into top 20 (stage times), and we’ve done that now. So we’ll start again tomorrow and see if we can take back a second or two”.
Tomorrow, the teams leave Launceston for the final time, heading north-west to Ulverston for lunch, then turning south for the long trip to Strahan. The day includes three stages of more than 30 kilometres in length, including Cethana, Riana, and the challenging Hellyer Gorge stage.
Targa Tasmania 2010 – Leg 3
1 – White / White, Lambourghini Gallardo
2 – Vandersee / Reeves, Skelta G-Force, +1:00
3 – Quinn / Tilett, Nissan GT-R, +1:27
4 – Jones / Searcy, Nissan GT-R, +1:37
5 – Vandenberg / Vandenberg , Mitsubishi EVO IX, +3:41
6 – Richards / Oliver, Porsche 911 GT-3, +3:51
7 – Herridge / Weston, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +5:08
8 – Alford / Farmer, Nissan GT-R, +5:24
9 – Hendy / Willson, Daytona Couple, +5:37
10 – Bartter / Wheeler, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +6:15
23 – Furness / Furness, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +11:20
35 – Iddles / Cary, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +16:53
