TARMAC: Targa Newfoundland 2007 stages
New, revived Targa Newfoundland stages will challenge competitors ST. JOHN'S (Aug. 1, 2007) -- Six new or returning competitive Targa stages will make the route of the 2007 Targa Newfoundland the most challenging in the event's six-year ...
New, revived Targa Newfoundland stages will challenge competitors
ST. JOHN'S (Aug. 1, 2007) -- Six new or returning competitive Targa stages will make the route of the 2007 Targa Newfoundland the most challenging in the event's six-year history.
That's the view of Ross Wood, the man in charge of setting the route for the 6th annual international rally for historic, classic and modern sporting cars, and the one individual who can honestly say he knows the roads of eastern and central Newfoundland like the back of his hand.
The 2007 course includes four completely new Targa stages and two returning stages that bring to 37 the number of closed-road competitive sections that have helped earn Targa Newfoundland its reputation as "the ultimate motorsports adventure."
The first competitive stage for 2007 is both new and historic, Wood says. A short stage on the site of the former U.S. military base at Argentia is "a fun, friendly warm-up for competitors," says the General Course Manager and Clerk of the Course, and marks a return of motorsports to the location. When it was an active air base, Argentia frequently played host to local and national road races held on its runways and aprons.
Also on the first day is a dramatic new 29-kilometre stage Wood describes as "exciting, challenging and scenic -- all at once." Run as Northwest Brook in one direction and Gooseberry Cove in the other, the stage will be used twice. "There's really nothing quite like it in the event," says Wood, who has helped create the course for Targa since its inception in 2002.
Another new stage at Adeytown/Deep Bight is also part of a busy first day for competitors.
On Day Three, the event welcomes back two competitive Targa stages from past years. With new pavement, the Main Point/Davidsville Stage and Frederickton/Carmanville Stage promise to challenge competitors.
Day Four sees the addition of an excellent stage at Mooring Cove in the Burin Peninsula to the busy schedule.
Other route changes include the addition of the stage at Torbay to the Prologue Day schedule.
"Any time we go to places where we haven't been before, it's good for both the event and the communities involved," Wood says. Wood stays in touch with the communities along the route and is responsible for integrating new, challenging roads into the event each year as well as the minute-by-minute operation of the rally once it starts.
"The quality of stages goes up every year, but we've definitely taken a big step this year," Wood advises. "There's more of just about everything that makes Targa exciting for fans and a challenge for competitors."
Targa Newfoundland is one of three internationally recognized Targa motorsports events in the world and is listed on the Federation International de l'Automobile (FIA) international calendar.
The 6th annual Targa Newfoundland will start and end in St. John's and will cover more than 2,000 kilometres of the challenging, twisty roads of the central and eastern portion of the island of Newfoundland over six days, including up to 400 kilometres of closed-road, flat-out Targa Stages. The event starts with registration and technical inspection in St. John's on Saturday, September 8 and concludes back in the city on Friday, September 14, 2007.
Competitors have come from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Holland, the Bahamas and the U.K. for the first five editions of Targa Newfoundland. Entries continue to arrive daily for the 2007 event. Targa Newfoundland is owned and organized by Newfoundland International Motorsports.
-credit: www.targanewfoundland.com
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