As the planning continues for a long, sustainable and responsible future for Targa events; a key component of which is the Technical Regulations, much work and time has gone into the latest incarnation of these regulations with not only the 25th Anniversary in mind but in the years that follow. It is worth noting that the opening preamble says the following;
I. Technical Regulations: These regulations are based on the principle that modifications to the automobile or its components other than those specified below are forbidden. For clarity, unless a modification or freedom is clearly outlined in these regulations then it is to be assumed that it is NOT allowed.
There are some key focus areas that needed addressing for the future and these are;
• Safety • Competition Structure• Cost Containment
Technical changes for specific vehicles are actually very few with the vast majority of vehicles not needing to make any changes. To assist you to understand the changes and reasons for them see below a summary list of what is contained within the regulations to come into effect from 1st January 2016.
Safety
• GT Sports Trophy cars will need to have a minimum `bolt in’ Type 2 style Half Cage. This is due to cornering speeds for these vehicles being higher on average than first thought and these will continue to increase in line with better preparation and increased competition in the future.
Competition Structure
There are a number of positive changes to the competition structure on the back of large amounts of feedback in this area. Many competitors have been calling for changes for the 25th Anniversary event that will see all competitions provide an adequate sized field of cars to ensure that ALL winners are recognised as they should be. This combined with the annual review of those competitions with less than 10 cars competing sees the following changes to the competition structure;
• TSD Trophy- Will recognise the leading classic vehicle for the first time under a new ‘Four Step Podium’ system- See below for details
• GT Sports Trophy- Will see the merging of Thoroughbred and Sports Trophy into a single competition due to small numbers in Thoroughbred. The leading Classic vehicle will still be recognised under the ‘Four Step Podium’ system- See below for details
• Classic- Will finally return to a single handicap based competition for all Category 2 to 6 vehicles with the merging of Early and Late Classic like the good old days to celebrate one group of winners at the 25th event. Consistently very small numbers of genuine outright vehicles over the last five years combined with increasing speeds and spiralling costs to be competitive, sees the removal of Classic Outright
• Early Modern- Returns to its original 31st December 2002 cut-off date based on much feedback and will remain as a 1986 to 2002 competition into the future. The Category 7 & 8 structure changes to a new Category 7-2WD and Category 7-4WD structure to provide those with 2WD vehicles greater opportunities to win. The leading 2WD vehicle will stand on the podium under the new ‘Four Step Podium’ system- See below for details
• Modern- Returns to its previous start date of 1st January 2003 and will remain at this date into the future. A cut-off date is to be introduced for the first time, which is 31st December 2011. The Category 9 structure changes to a new Category 8-2WD and Category 8-4WD structure to provide those with 2WD vehicles greater opportunities to win. The leading 2WD vehicle will stand on the podium under the new ‘Four Step Podium’ system- See below for details
FOUR STEP PODIUMS
2016 will see the introduction of the `Four Step Podium’ in four different competitions to ensure that the leading competitors in mechanically disadvantaged cars are better recognised for their great performances.
Four Step Podiums will be introduced into:
• TSD Trophy- 1st, 2nd, 3rd plus the 1st placed Classic Vehicle • GT Sports Trophy- 1st, 2nd, 3rd plus the 1st placed Classic Vehicle • Early Modern- 1st, 2nd, 3rd plus the 1st placed 2WD Vehicle• Modern- 1st, 2nd, 3rd plus the 1st placed 2WD Vehicle
If at any time the leading Classic vehicle (TSD or GT Sports) or leading 2WD vehicle (Early Modern or Modern) finishes in the top three, they will receive both the podium placing and the leading vehicle of their type trophy and only three teams will stand on the podium in this situation and thus further incentivising these competitors to compete against modern cars in TSD and GT Sports and 4WD cars in Early Modern and Modern.
NEW COMPETITIONS
Technological change is all around us and accelerating more every year, making it vital to the future of Targa that we take a long term view to managing speeds and ensure that the world’s newest vehicles can continue to compete well into the future.
Road car technology is about to jump dramatically again and not since the late eighties and early nineties will we see such a quantum leap that will see the latest Targa cars having multiple engines and a number of driving aids that can only see average speeds increase and showroom based cars go even faster than our current crop of modified modern machines without any technical freedoms. So to prepare for this inevitability, we need to move forward with modern cars that are basically as they are sold to the public, which can also be prepared and maintained at highly reduced costs and give their owners peace of mind that they don’t need to keep fitting expensive enhancements to remain competitive.
Of course it is important to recognise our history and the rules that applied during a period of time so we will now have a clear pathway for modern vehicle modifications as the car gets older. In essence, the older the car, the more modified it can be as parts become hard to obtain, to ensure it can continue to compete for many years.
The new competitions will see close racing again where 10th is only minutes behind the winner (not nearly an hour) and where manufacturers can show their cars off without being embarrassed by `Targa Specials’. Targa Tasmania will again be the place where Renault and Ford can race competitively (and did in 2015) against Porsche and McLaren and where Mitsubishi and Subaru can go head to head against Audi, Lamborghini and the almighty GTR as they once did. It will see a return to the days when seven or eight different manufacturers filled the top ten of our Modern competitions and it will include cars that cost less than $60,000 to buy and prepare.
And of course, with more than 90% of manufacturers only making two wheel drive vehicles, we must have a competition with all of these cars in mind to bring the `cavalcade’ back to our modern competitions not seen for more than five years.
Vision and a long term view is needed to mark the 25th Anniversary of Targa Tasmania and this vision will see the introduction of GT2 and GT4 to replace the former Showroom and 4WD Showroom competitions.
• GT2- Replaces Showroom and will be for 2WD vehicles built from 1st January 2009 to the current event. 2WD vehicles built between 2009 and 2011 will retain the choice to compete in either Modern or GT2. Some changes and freedoms have been added to the previous Showroom rules to ensure that both manufacturers and privateer competitors can prepare competitive cars with greatly reduced preparation costs and ensure that cars are competitive, safe and reliable.
• GT4- Replaces 4WD Showroom and will be for 4WD vehicles built from 1st January 2009 to the current event. 4WD vehicles built between 2009 and 2011 will retain the choice to compete in either Modern or GT4. Some changes and freedoms have been added to the previous 4WD Showroom rules to ensure that both manufacturers and privateer competitors can prepare competitive cars with greatly reduced preparation costs and ensure that cars are competitive, safe and reliable.
