2007 Targa Newfoundland Daily Log 
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What is Targa Targa Newfoundland is an international tarmac rally for historic, classic and modern sports cars. Targa consists of 5 legs (days) of competition covering a total of 2,100 kilometers of the challenging, twisty roads including more than 500 kilometers of closed-road, flat-out Targa Stages. Stages are held on open country roads, through small fishing villages and suburban residential roads. The winner of the event is the car that accumulates the lowest number of time penalties. (ie: they are the fastest through the Targa Stages) We had luck on our side in 2006, we managed to score the lowest time penalty and win overall. It was a great achievement and we are looking forward to a top finish again in 2007. You can read about our 2006 event here: 2006 Daily Log Targa Newfoundland 2007 is scheduled for September 8 to 15. For more information visit www.targanewfoundland.com. |
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5 Aug 07
I am just watching the rally cars at the X-Games. The Block-ACP demolition derby was pretty impressive. It looked alot like the Busch race at Montreal yesterday. Maybe the X-Games should invite Gordon and Harvick and let them knock each other off the road.
Our preparations for the 2007 Targa are progressing well. Hopefully we won't sustain as much attrition as these guys. (we have to pay for our own car)
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| Photo: Gordon Sleigh |
We are running the car in the same general configuration as 2006. The car's performance was great last year and we have decided to focus on improving reliability with only a few performance improvements. The engine and transmission have been rebuilt by K&B Auto (Chris Kirby). Chris also added a higher performance clutch and stronger starter.
The new clutch is meant to help us get off the line a little quicker. We have a 60mph first gear which makes launching the car very challenging. If I ease the clutch out too slowly the clutch can overheat and lose drive. If I let the clutch out too aggressively I can break the transmission. The new clutch provides a higher clamping force that we hope will save us some time on the start of every stage. In 2006 we were giving up 2-3 seconds per start (compared to some of the other competitors). If we can cut that down to 1-2 seconds it will be very beneficial.
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| Some Engine Installation Pictures |
We still have quite a bit of work to do before Targa, but we should be in good shape for the event.
Thank you to everyone who is helping us prepare.
Glen Clarke Evan Gamblin
Car #604
Porsche 911
Special Thanks to our 2007 Sponsors:
- The Burnt Squirrel
- K&B Auto
- VimX Ignition
- Calabogie Motorsports Park
- Plaintree Systems
- The Docyards
- Darlington Media Works
- Gamblins and Associates
- RS Designs
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Click here for 2007 Entry List
Pre Event Testing
Our testing program has been progressing well. We have sorted out quite a few installation issues with the car and we should be in pretty good shape for the event. Our final test at Calabogie on 30 August will be used to scrub tires and bed brakes.
Friday September 7th - Test and Tune, Argentia
Twelve teams took part in our school at Argentia. The most interesting entry was 17 year old Justin Mercer from Upper Island Cove. Justin is the 2007 Easter Seals Ambassador. Justin's goal was to drive several Targa stages in his Mazda Canada supplied vehicle. Justin amazed us with his natural car control. Even though he was using hand controls he was able to master threshold braking on gravel. (not sure I could do that) He proved that he was more than capable of taking part in Targa. |
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Justin and his Uncle Winston |
At the end of the school, Adrienne asked me (actually she told me and you tend to obey Adrienne) to get into their car "Woodstock", a very quick 1969 BMW 2002. Roy handed me his laptop and we started to work on his engine map. After a few tweeks the engine came alive and the car kept getting faster. All I could think was "this is not a good idea, helping the competition go faster"
Saturday, September 8th - Registration
Registration
Registration is a great time to catch up with old friends on the event. Targa creates some great friendships with people that you would not normally meet.
This year we are combining our resources with three other teams.
Roy Hopkins/Adrienne Hughes1969 BMW 2002
Jason Byrne/Mark Laitenberger 1995 BMW M3
Peter Gugenti/Scott Smith 2005 Mitsubishi Evo
Glen Clarke/Evan Gamblin 1979 Porsche 911
Lee Vuong of Massive Brakes was our crew chief for the week. He did a great job coordinating fuel stops and maintenance work. We also had a fuel truck to provide fuel to us and 7 other teams. The fuel truck was a bit of an experiment and I would have to say that it had mixed results. We learned from this experiment and I think we can do a much better job with it next year.
This year we added an RV to our team. The RV worked out great and made life much easier for all of us. Catharine (my wife) drove the RV and kept us all fed and hydrated during the week. It was great to come off the stages at the end of the day and have a place to sit down and relax before jumping into the vehicle maintenance work.
Entering the event as defending champions , we received quite a bit of media and competitor attention. Everyone wanted to talk and know how we thought we would do in 2007.
My prediction for 2007 is a great battle between Roy Hopkins, Jud Buchannan, Dick Patterson and us for the overall win. I would also expect some new challengers to step up this year.
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| Targa always attracts a diverse field of competitors. | Sophia Horner inspects our car |
K-Rock Prologue Day
Sunday started off as a nice day, no cloud and a great temperature.
Prologue is a practice/qualifying day that the organizers use to seed the cars for the first day of competition. Outright speed is not important on Sunday but the two stages provide a valuable opportunity to test the car and work out the driving cobwebs.
During our Flat Rock run the car pulled well off the line and up through the first 3 gears but it did not build the straight line speed we were expecting to see. Our speed was topping out around 150kph, about 30kph less than we would expect to see on this stage. About 3km from the end of the stage the ignition cut out and I tried to coast to the finish. Unfortunately it was an up hill run and we came to a stop about 200m from the finish line. Evan deployed the triangles and I worked on diagnosing the problem. The ignition power fuse had blown. I replaced the fuse and tried to restart the engine but could not get it running as the battery voltage had run down.
H-H took us back to the Re-Max Center on the flat bed and I spent the rest of the day going through the car's electrical system. I removed, checked and cleaned all of the grounds. Unfortunately I didn't find any obvious signs of a problem. I changed the battery as a precaution.
We call our car the drama queen because she always seems to give us some grief prior to the start of the event. (2003-electrical, 2004-transmission change, 2005-fouled spark plugs, 2006-odometer) However, once the event starts, the car has always performed flawlessly. I was hoping for the same in 2007.
Leg 1: Goodyear - South Avalon
Monday started off with light rain. Our car works very well in the dry but it struggles for grip in wet conditions. To help maintain our performance I put the wet set up of the car. (disconnect rear sway bars, adjust shock settings, move brake bias to the front and increase cold tire pressure by 12psig)
At first the car drove well and I thought that I had fixed the previous days problems, however, the electrical gremlins soon returned. On our first stage the ignition cut out again but the engine kept running. I found that the engine would run fine if I kept the revs below 4000rpm and only applied light throttle. If I tried a hard acceleration, the ignition would cut out. This was a very annoying problem but the car's incredible cornering ability allowed us to meet our times. We only took one second in Placentia, while cleaning all the other stages.
To help compensate for the lower straight line speeds, we were carrying as much momentum into the turns as possible. There is a big bump in a 180 degree turn in the Placentia stage. When we hit this bump the car went airborne and on landing, the impact knocked the hood off the car. I expected to have quite a bit of fiberglass work to do on Monday night but amazingly the hood was completely undamaged.
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| Photo: Garth Gullekson - Darlington Media Works Comments: From the Peanut Gallery |
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| Duct tape will hold it together Photo: Gordon Sleigh |
At lunch in Gooseberry Cove, I changed the engine ref and synch sensors. This didn't solve the problem but it did help me narrow down the problem.
The run out of Gooseberry Cove looked like a demolition derby parking lot. We passed 6 cars in the ditch. The Manik Subaru team was nose down in the ditch after missing a braking zone. (These guys are quick and fearless, we later learned that the combined age of the crew was 36. I am sad to say that our combined age is almost 3 times this number)
The next 5 cars were parked at various angles on the exit of a wooden bridge. We apporached the bridge very slowly and still the back end kicked out and we had an intersting moment. It was like driving on water covered ice. Later we would learn that Bob and Nadine Saville flipped their 914 end over end on the exit of this bridge. They came through it without injury however, their beautifuylly prepared Porsche was destroyed. (great incar video!)
During service at the Gander arena, I found a grounding problem between the Motec ECU and the engine block. I changed the wire and all our electrical gremlins disappeared. The engine was running cleanly again and we were well placed to challenge for the lead.
Leg 2: Thrifty Car Rental - Exploits
Tuesday was a challenging day from a driving contions point of view. The day started out wet but dry spells were expected through out the day. The Glenwood stage was very wet and slippery. We had a good run through the stage and only took a few penalty points.
The Lewisporte stage was were things started to get interesting. The stage was dry but the sky looked like it would start raining at any minute. After some thought, I elected to keep the wet set up on the car knowing that the 30km long Leading Tickles stage was coming up and I definitely didn't want to have a dry set up in the rain for that stage. Charging into the first few corners, I was suprised at how little stopping ability the car had. At first I thought that I had too much front bias so I dialed a bit to the rear. After a few more corners I realized that the problem was actually tire pressure. I run 28psig cold in the dry and 40psig cold in the wet. The extra tire pressure was reducing the size of our contact patch which was reducing our braking ability. Once I figured this out I was able to adjust my driving style to compensate.
The other intersting thing about the wet set up is the car's reluctance to turn in on dry pavement. You really have to adjust your braking distance and trail brake hard into the corner to get the car to rotate. At the apex, the car's body roll becomes dominant and you get slight oversteer as the springs bottom out. Fun, but not fast.
The Leading Tickles stage was dry and again we started with the wet set up. We were lined up to be the first Targa car off the line, directly behind the touring cars. I didn't think this would be a problem as there is a 5 minute gap between the two groups. I talked to the final touring car to let them know that there was an outside chance that we might catch them on the stage.
Once we we got into the stage it was apparent that our straight line speed had not improved. We were limited to 140kph but we could get up to 160kph down hill. The car pulled well in the first 3 gears but would not accelerate in 4th or 5th gears. It was a very baffling problem as the car would normally cruise easily at 200kph along many parts of the stage. I suspected fuel mixture or a sticking brake caliper. (after the stage we checked both but found no clues. The engine's lambda readings looked perfect and the brakes did not appear to be dragging)
We were able to maintain our momentum on the stage by carrying maximum speed into the corners. About 3/4 of the way to the finish we caught the BMW Z4 touring car and they let us through very quickly and efficiently. We then passed 3 more touring cars in the next couple corners. Coming into the finish line we passed two touring cars. I don't think the lead car saw us coming and I put two wheels into the left ditch to get by. Just a little excitement for the finish line marshals trying to dodge cars and get the correct times recorded for 3 teams. Unfortunately we took 6 seconds on this stage, one that we should have easily cleaned.
At the lunch stop I put the dry set up back onto the car. This would help us carry more speed into the corners.
Just as we reached the starting line, a light rain started. Fortunately it ended quickly and didn't affect our run through the stage.
On the way out of leading tickles we hit a bit bump on the inside of a down hill left hand corner at about 150kph. The car jumped about 30 degrees sideways and we were looking right at a rock cut. My subconcious reflexes must have kicked in and staightened the car because we saved it and I have no idea how. (The Oldford Acura spun on this same corner without hitting anything) A real short soiling experience.
We had a great run through the remaining stages. We could compete well on stages that only needed 1st-3rd gear but we were struggling on the high speed runs.
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| Pushing Hard in Gander Photo: Gordon Sleigh |
Oops - some late night work ahead Photo: Gordon Sleigh |
Leg 3: Telegram/Transcontinental - Kittiwake
More Rain! This was the second year in a row that we were getting the tail end of a Hurricane on the Kittiwake coast. Did I tell you how much I hate Targa stages in the rain.
The first three stages were very difficult. Heavy rains and high winds made the runs very challenging. We run very wide tires to improve dry grip but these tires tend to hydroplane easily in the wet.
The Greenspond stage was damp but the rain had stopped. Greenspond is one of my favourite stages and we attacked it with everything we had. The full wet set up in the damp caught me out a few times and I was a bit late on my turn in points. At the top of the hill near the church, I slid past the turn in point and went 4 wheels off onto someones lawn. (not this sequence of pictures) I didn't lift and the car snapped back onto the road and we lost very little time. I guess we brought quite a bit of mud onto the road as Roy Hopkins (overall leader) slid wide on the very same corner and took out someones garbage can. |
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| Photos: Gordon Sleigh |
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| Gord Ross demonstrates how to get into and out of a Greenspond
ditch in his surprisingly quick Volvo P1800. The ditch was not injured
during the filming of this sequence. Photos: Gordon Sleigh |
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We had great runs through Eastport and Clarrenville to end the day.
Leg 4: Rogers Yahoo - Heritage
Sun at last.
Starting Leg 4 we were tied in 11th place with Jud Buchanan at 52 seconds in penalty points. Not bad considering our lack of straight line speed. Neither Jud nor I are used to being this far back in the field but this year's competition was very strong. The leader board was very intersting. Many new teams were up front and doing very well. We felt pretty good about our chances of getting back into the top 5 as Thursday and Friday provide the most difficult stages in the event. The overall win was probably out of reach as Roy Hopkins was driving very well and he is not prone to mistakes. Our goal was to beat Jud. Jud is a great competitor and we have a very friendly rivalry. Bragging rights are very important on this event and we didn't want to give the rights to Jud for a year.
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| Roy Hopkins flies in "Woodstock" | Jud Buchanan - Acadian Canso |
Very early into the first stage I knew we were in trouble. Our top speed had dropped to 130kph and I had to bonzai the corners to maintain our average. We made our time on the way in but dropped 6 seconds on the way out.
We had the makings of a great run in the Marystown stage. We were on time and the car was performing beautifully. We came off the bridge in second gear and the car immediately lost power. I looked in the mirror and saw lots of smoke coming out of the left cylinder bank. My first thought was to back off and nurse it to the finish but sensibility kicked in and I quickly shut it off and coasted to a stop in a safe location.
Giving up is a very hard thing for me to do. If the car has at least one wheel and enough power to move I feel that it is my duty to get to the finish line, however, there was no way that we could continue without risking the total destruction of our rather expensive race engine. This was the first competitive stage that we had failed to complete in 5 years of competition at Targa. We were out.
H-H took us back to the arena on the flatbed one last time. I visited the bar.
| We didn't make it to the finish line but a little overnight redecalling of the leader's car ensured that at least some of our great sponsors made it to the top spot. |  |
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Leg 5: Steelback - South Avalon
As the teams left Marystown to begin the final day of competition, it was very difficult for us to stay behind and sit out what was going to be a very competitive finish.
Lee took the Porsche in the truck and trailer to follow the event. Evan went to Upper Island Cove to navigate for Justin and I stayed behind with Catharine to drive the motorhome to St. John's. Although it was an enjoyable drive, I would have prefered to be sliding the 911 through the tight town stages of UIC, Brigus and Torbay.
We went to the finish line to greet the cars.
The final results were:
1st: Roy Hopkins and Adrienne Hughes
2nd: Jud Buchanan and Jim Adams
3rd: Dirk Bolger and Terry Milne
It was very nice to see Roy and Adrienne win overall. They are tremendous competitors and really deserved the result. Roy and Adrienne's win has completed the cycle of a group of winning friends. Bill Arnold (3 time Targa winner), Tammy Hull (2004 winner with Bill), Roy and Adrienne (2007 winner) and myself (2006 winner) have been great friends for many years. We have competed against each other in Targa and the One Lap of America. We enjoy beating each other in competition but we also enjoy a very strong friendship. Bragging rights are important but we always help each other get to the finish line. 3 time Targa winner Bill Arnold sat out the 2007 event but expects to return in 2008. That's good because I plan to whip all their butts next year! |
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| Photo: Garth Gullekson - Darlington Media Works |
Thanks to everyone who supported us in 2007. We will be back stronger than ever in 2008:
- The Burnt Squirrel
- K&B Auto
- VimX Ignition
- Calabogie Motorsports Park
- Plaintree Systems
- The Docyards
- Darlington Media Works
- Gamblins and Associates
- RS Designs
- Race DV
- Greg, Collette and Sophia Horner
- Andrew
- Lee Vuong - Massive Brakes
- Kris Lelliott
- Argentia Port Authority
Successful Targa School Graduates
Although we did not finish the event, it was very gratifying to see the results of the teams that took part in our Targa School. We take pride in the knowledge that the school helped, even just a little bit. Congratulations to all these teams and their great achievements.
Targa Teams (Targa School Graduates and Instructors)
| Roy Hopkins - Adrienne Hughes | 1st overall | School Instructors |
| Jim Adams (Jud's navigator) | 2nd overall | 2006 Mosport School |
| Dirk Bolger - Terry Milne | 3rd overall |
2007 Mosport and Argentia Schools |
| Gord Ross - Dan Coomber | 4th overall | 2005 Mosport School |
| Jeff McKague - Mike Gayowski | 6th overall 1st Modern Div |
2006 and 2007 Schools Jeff instructs |
| Tony and Ryan Kloosterman | 11th overall 2nd Open Div |
2005 Mosport School Tony instructs |
| Butch Gordon - Sam Petrella | 12th overall | 2007 Mosport School |
| Jason Byrne - Mark Laitenberger | 13th overall | 2006 Argentia School Mark instructs |
| Harold Seagle - Stan Pendergraft | 14th overall | 2006 Argentia School |
| Lance Webb | 15th overall | 2007 Mosport School |
| Joe and Mellisa Butler | 16th overall | 2007 Argentia School |
| Steven Levesque | 19th overall | 2007 Mosport School |
| Paul Racine - Rob Martin | 26th overall | 2006 Mosport School |
| Richard Burton - Dean Hopkins | 27th overall | 2007 Mosport School |
| Mathew and Brian Oldford | 30th overall | 2007 Argentia School |
| Jacob and Mike Gooch | 37th overall | 2006 Mosport School |
| Ashfin Montezari | 40th overall | 2007 Mosport School |
| Ken Pavri - John Burnett | 43rd overall | 2006 Mosport School |
| Jim Turner | 45th overall | 2005 Mosport School |
Touring Teams (Targa School Graduates)
| Michael and Cathy Martin | 3rd overall 1st in Touring Equipped |
2007 Mosport School |
| Herb Setz - Ivan Cop | 5th overall 3rd Touring Unequipped |
2007 Argentia School |
| Jim and Mark Hauser | 6th overall 3rd Touring Equipped |
2007 Mosport School |
| Bob Worobec - Jason Troup | 7th overall | 2007 Argentia School |
| Sandra Lamaitre | 8th overall | 2007 Mosport School |
| Stephan Leblanc - Scott Healy | 16th overall | 2006 Argentia School |
Justin Mercer - Targa School Graduate and Targa Competitor
Justin Mercer is a very special graduate of our Targa School. Justin suffers from Cerebral Palsy and on the outside, his handicap appears to be very limiting. When Justin arrived in Placentia for our classroom sessions, my first impression was that there was no way he would be able to master the driving skills necessary to safely complete a Targa stage. Boy did he prove me wrong. Not only did Justin complete our school, but with Evan navigating, he sucessfully drove both Prologue stages and two very competitive stages on Day 5: Upper Island Cove and Spaniards Bay. Justin clearly demonstrated what a person can acheive when they have the motivation to succeed. By the end of the event I no longer saw Justin's disability. I only saw his true ability and desire to succeed. Justin is a great Easter Seals Ambassador and he is a true inspiration for anyone who aspires to their dreams. Both Evan and I wish Justin the best of luck and hope to see him competing in a future Targa. |
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| Photos: Garth Gulekson - Darlington Media Works |
