Day 3

Clear skies and fair weather for six special stages: heading towards the south through Taranaki before an overnight in Wanganui.

As always, the official results can be found at the website www.targa.co.nz – which had so much traffic that it exceeded capability and a new server was added!

Gallery for Day 3, thanks to Ground Sky Photography and Nick Little.

Start of Targa NZ

Prologue

According to tradition, Targa's start with a Prologue. (Not to be confused with Day 1... Prologue is the day before Day 1). Prologue helps the organizers cover Documentation, Scrutineering and Briefings for Drivers, Co-Drivers and Service Crews. For competitors, this is the shakedown day, without the overt recognition of points.

But it is not without competition: in fact, it is full excitement and the only time the Classic and Moderns mix. It is also coordinated with Full Throttle Weekend, a popular event which includes gravel rally through to gymkhana motorsport in the city.

According to Targa New Zealand, "For 15 years Targa has had the support of the Cities, Councils and District Councils and this was an opportunity to show them what Targa is about first hand."

Approximate map of route of entire Targa NZ...http://tinyurl.com/targanz09

Day 1

Car launching at 30 second intervals... and covering eight Special Stages from Pukekohe East to Taupo. By the end of Day 1, two BMW M3's are leading the Classic Division, and a Nissan GT-R followed by an Escort/Nissan mashup. Note: there is also a more relaxed touring division, which is the perfect way to get into Targa. Day 1 included Special Stages at some event tracks: Pukekohe Park Raceway and Hampton Downs.

Gallery for Day 1, thanks to Ground Sky Photography and Nick Little.

Day 2

With mixed rain and sun, Dunlop Targa NZ continued with eight Special Stages from Taupo across to Te Kuiti and then down to New Plymouth. Top two in each division remain the same.

Gallery for Day 2, again thanks to the professional photographers at Ground Sky Photography:

Link to official site for Targa New Zealand.

Team "Targa Canada West" & NZ: Broken Hand & Heart

Targa New Zealand's 15^th anniversary event launches in just a few days.  The TCW entry of Kelly Silverthorn and Duane Bentley was foiled in the final days (Kelly's broken hand), with our entry now carried over to the 2010 NZ edition.  The blog from Targa NZ 2009 seemed too good an idea to allow to lapse, so we are working with multiple contacts to see what we can bring to the TCW website daily from October 25 to November 1.

Hello Targa fans. It's true TCW founder Dr. Kelly Silverthorn and Marketing & Sponsorship Director Duane Bentley are competing in the Dunlop Targa New Zealand beginning on October 25, 2009. Both competitors are going to be alternating daily blogs during the event, giving fans the insiders perspective on this great endurance competition.

In addition to their daily blogs both competitors are going to post gallery images from event side. Getting close to the Targa motorsports action in New Zealand is another great way to prepare for the exciting sports car event in BC just 8 months away.

So bookmark www.targacanadawest.com for daily doses of Targa blogging from the TCW event team competing in NZ starting October 25!