Most details, maps, etc. can be found on the event website:
http://www.targasouthwest.com.au/Is a unique event as it is actually run as a “practice” session so there is no official results. This helps to keep the permit/insurance fees down and therefore also the entry fees. A bunch of competitors are conspiring to collate times so I should get some idea of comparative times within the next week.
The event is run over 3 days. Day 1 on Friday is an optional charity run/shakedown using the start of the Pump Hill stage from day 3, which we used to reccy all the stages and tune our pacenotes.
Day 2 (Saturday) is the main day covering 14 stages.
The rally started in Pemberton and the first 4 stages are 2 runs up and down the Big Brook Dam road outside of the town. It’s a 4.9km stage which starts with fast open roads pass fields before you turn left and start up the hill through the forest where it gets to be a lot more technical and tight. These stages always seems to claim a car or two. I had a moment of SS3 were I was distracted by a Subaru driver waving his OK board and almost collected him as I understeered into a ditch. On the last downhill run it rained at the top/start of the stage so we transitioned from tight wet roads to fast dry roads at the bottom.
We then move out to the Gloucester Road stages. This stage is run twice west, then turned around and run twice east. It’s a 16km stage and is very fast. It was on this stage I was topping out in 5th (I have never seen the shift light come on in 5th before). On our second run it rained heavily, and then for the reverse runs you had to watch the road as it was still quite wet under the trees.
The Rally then moved to Manjimup. We had 6 stages alternating between the 4.3Km Kurandra stage and the 3Km Manjimup town stage. Kuranda starts on a very narrow single lane farm track before opening out onto a fast main road which was pretty rough and potholed. The Manjimup town stage was great fun effectively racing through country suburban streets. Most of the roads were wide enough but we had a few minor back roads with some nasty curbs and drains on the corner apex’s. The spectator point was a combination of two right 90’s into a hairpin left. I stuffed the handbrake turn on the first run but nailed it on the 2nd and 3rd run which was fun.
Day 2 (Sunday) was all within Pemberton township.
We had 4 runs around the Pemberton town 3.4Km, inter-spaced with 3 runs along Pump Hill road. Pump Hill road was a nice stage with a tight start, a still wet section over a concrete bridge prior to opening up to a very fast finish. Pemberton town was basically a series of square lefts/rights around the township with lots of threatening box curbs, one of which I hit on my last run.
Over-all we covered 130Km of competitive (closed road) driving, with another 215Km of liaison driving between stages/towns. My car consumed a surprising 95ltrs of 98ron fuel. The event finished midday Sunday and we had a few awards (I got a couple of bottles of local wine for best looking Escort).
The curb has cost me a rim and a front leg, the insert appears to have survived so should be a cheap enough fix. I also have cracks at the base of the a-pillars which seems to be internal corrosion which has broken through with the shock of the curb impact. Again will be fiddly to fix (screen out etc.) but won’t be too expensive as I can do it all myself.
Posted: Thu May 21, 2015 2:35 pm