Marcus van Klink and his co-driver Matt Richards (main photo) have won the 2024 Targa NZ after four days of competition and 446 kilometers of special stages travelled. They almost didn’t get to the finish line as on the final stage the Mazda RX8 experienced an electrical fault which put them under pressure.
They were penalized some time but since they had built a lead over two minutes heading into the final stage, they were the winners by just 7.2 seconds.
“Enjoyed another awesome event,” commented van Klink. “It was ours to loose and we almost did, with an electrical problem on the last stage which nearly lost us the win. The car ran faultlessly other than the last two stages otherwise it would have been a perfect weekend”.
The variable weather on the final day added an extra challenge for the drivers with many having to change from dry weather tires to wet weather setups and be a lot more gentle on the throttle and with braking.
Xavier Franklin and his co-driver Jaidyn Gluskie finished in second place overall and first in their class, Modern 2WD. Third overall was Matt Tubbs and co-driver Matt Sayers having eaten into Andrew Oakley’s time throughout the day. The Tubbs/Sayers Audi were also the Production 4WD winners.
The Classic 2WD class was won by the pairing of Bevan Claridge and Campbell Tannock who’s Holden ran well through the entire event. Their final time was eight minutes clear of second placed Stephen Blackley and Daniel Newton in the Escort. Third place in the Classic 2WD was awarded to Anthony and Jo Butler who were driving the exquisite Holden Cheetah.
The winner of the time trials was awarded to Dallis Yates and his co-driver sister Alise Inger who were navigating the MR2 through the stages which was closest to a predefined average speed.
The next event held by the Ultimate Rally Group will be the Silver Fern Rally which is to be held on the 22nd to the 29th of November starting in Christchurch, a marathon seven-day event around the lower South Island finishing in Wanaka.
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