AUS: Targa Tasmania day four summary

WHITE AND RICHARDS BATTLE FOR TARGA TASMANIA WIN

Heading into the final day of competition in the 2005 Targa Tasmania tarmac rally, Nissan Skyline driver, and local favourite to win, Jason White maintains a lead over former champion, Jim Richards.

Partnered by navigator John White, Hobart-based Jason completed the fourth leg of the event, over ten stages between Hobart and Burnie with a total penalty time of 12-mins 45-seconds. The uncle-nephew team now holds a 4-second advantage of over Porsche powered rival Richards.

They are followed by Queenslander Tony Quinn, and Tasmania's Greg Garwood, both driving Porsches. The top four are separated by 31-seconds. In a Subaru Impreza WRX, veteran circuit racer Tony Longhurst slipped to 11th place, while golfer Stuart Appleby picked up his pace to finish twelfth.

The battle for top spot heated up on the third last stage of the 110.29km leg, when Richards caught up to obtain a 1-second lead over the Tasmanians. Despite some early mechanical issues, the Whites charged ahead, taking advantage of the wet conditions in their 4WD turbo-charged Nissan.

"I'm surprised we're still in front," said White. "We had a hydraulic problem with our centre diff in Cethana and Jim (Richards) caught us. It's going to be hard to defend any lead we've got unless it rains tomorrow."

Although satisfied with the performance of his 2WD Porsche in today's conditions, Richards is concerned about the impending wet weather and the continuing speed of the 'White Hot' Tasmanian duo.

"We're closer than we were last night to the lead, so we're happy," said Richards.

"If the weather tomorrow is like today, we won't stand a chance unless they (the Whites) have a problem. We've had a trouble free run today and it's been their (White and Quinn's) problems that have kept us in contention."

Driving a 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera, Bill Pye and navigator Grant Geelan still hold the lead in the Shannons Classic Competition. The Victorian duo of Michael Conway and Simon Gardiner still follow closely in a 1977 Ford Escort MK2 RS2000, with Datsun team Graham Copeland and Jon Siddins rounding out the top three.

Two cameraman suffered minor surface injuries when a competition vehicle veered off the Natone stage today during competition. Immediate medical assessment cleared all parties involved of serious injuries, with none requiring any further medical attention.

Four-time Historic winner John Lawson was forced out of top contention today after experiencing extensive clutch problems with his 1926 AC Amilcar on the Colebrook stage.

Tomorrow's fifth and final leg comprises nine stages, with a competitive distance of 146.37km.

<pre> PROVISIONAL END OF DAY RESULTS

DRIVETRAVEL.COM MODERN COMPETITION

POS CREWS                                       MODEL                                   PENALTY TIME
1   John White, TAS, Jason White, TAS           Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II           00:12:45
2   Jim Richards, VIC, Barry Oliver, TAS        Porsche 911 GT3 CS                      00:12:49
3   Tony Quinn, QLD, Keith Wenn, QLD            Porsche 911 Turbo                       00:13:03
4   Greg Garwood, TAS, John Allen, QLD          Porsche 911 Turbo                       00:13:16
5   Warwick Rooklyn, NSW, Linda Long, NSW       Mitsubishi Evolution Lancer VII         00:15:29
6   Rex Broadbent, VIC, Michael Goedheer, VIC   Daytona Coupe                           00:19:15
7   Kevin Weeks,SA, Jahmeil Taylor SA           Porsche 911 GT2                         00:20:26
8   Scott Juniper,QLD, Dan Bowden, QLD          Porsche 911 Turbo                       00:20:30
9   Jeff Beable, VIC, Nerida Beable, VIC        Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II           00:21:01
10  Ric Shaw, NSW, James Parish, NSW            Mazda RX7 Series 8 RS                   00:22:10
11  Tony Longhurst, NSW, Michael De Vere, QLD   Subaru Impreza WRX Sti                  00:22:18
12  Stuart Appleby, VIC, Peter Burrey, NSW      Lamborghini Gallardo                    00:23:14

SHANNONS CLASSIC COMPETITION

POS CREWS                                       MODEL                           PENALTY TIME
1   Bill Pye,NSW, Grant Geelan,NSW              Porsche 911 Carrera             00:13:10
2   Michael Conway,VIC, Simon Gardiner,VIC      Ford Escort MK2 RS2000          00:14:12
3   Graham Copeland, QLD, Jon Siddins, QLD      Datsun 240Z                     00:16:39
4   Ian Morris, VIC, Alex Molocznyk, QLD        Alfa Romeo GTV6                 00:17:17
5   Geoff Taylor, VIC, Lee Harper, VIC          Porsche 911 Carrera             00:17:24

HISTORIC COMPETITION

POS CREWS                                       MODEL                           PENALTY TIME
1   Graham Kent,TAS, Pat Kent,TAS               1936 Ford Coupe                 00:37:48
2   John Felder,VIC, Mark Burns,VIC             1930 Oakland 8-101              00:38:51
3   John Lawson,VIC, Paul Lawson,VIC            1926 AC Amilcar Grand Sport

TOURING CLASSIC COMPETITION

POS CREWS                                       MODEL                           PENALTY TIME
1   Steve Bruce,WA, Terri Bruce,WA              Morris Mini Cooper S            00:18:50
2   James Powell-Davies,TAS, Nick McShane,TAS   BMW Alpina                      00:19:09
3   Duncan Matheson,NSW, Bronwyn Matheson, NSW  Porsche 912                     00:22:58

-www.targa.org.au