Targa Tasmania冠军得主！

JAMES BRESNEHAN

May 04, 2009 10:36am

QUEENSLAND millionaire Tony Quinn was like the cat that ate the cream last night after winning Targa Tasmania.

Years of Targa heartache were wiped away when 51-year-old Quinn drove his awesome Nissan GT-R supercar over the finish line at Wrest Point Casino.


The likeable former Scotsman -- who has broken down, crashed out or come oh-so-close 10 times -- and navigator Natalie Tillett recorded the biggest winning margin in Targa history.

The celebratory champagne tasted so much sweeter from the top of the podium of the five-day and 2100km tarmac rally.

Quinn was a popular winner among his fellow competitors.

"It has been amazing the amount of support and well-wishers I've had all week. I have appreciated it very much," Quinn said.

"I've always been bridesmaid to Jim Richards or the Whites or somebody else, so we're very pleased to finally win it."

Quinn's 23-year-old son Klark (2006 mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) almost made it a family affair. He was a mere 18 seconds away from a place on the podium.

Tasmanians rounded out the top placings.

Former Targa champions Jason White and his uncle John finished second, a massive six minutes behind Quinn.

Their wounded all-wheel-drive Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera limped from Strahan to Hobart on the final day as a two-wheel-drive, thanks to a broken front differential.

Third place went to Burnie brothers Jamie and Simon Vandenberg in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV.

Overnight leader Kevin Weeks, of South Australia, was airlifted to hospital early yesterday after a high-speed crash on the Queenstown stage.

His Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera smashed head-on into trees. Weeks suffered two broken ribs and was badly knocked around by the impact.

Event director Mark Perry said: "Kevin has non-life-threatening injuries. He's stable and will have precautionary scans tomorrow. He'll be OK."

The same cannot be said for his severely damaged Lamborghini, which also caught fire in Targa three years ago.

Victorian Rex Broadbent claimed a hat-trick in Targa's Classic category, winning it despite not even appearing on the leaderboard on day one.

"After the first day, I was embarrassed about being 50 seconds behind the leader," Broadbent said.

"We lowered our expectations significantly. But we still worked hard and virtually snatched it from oblivion."

Tasmanians had plenty to celebrate in the Showroom class.

Greg Johnston of Launceston, with his co-driver Mike Stoneman, of Burnie, were runaway winners in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX.

The pair finished 3min 26sec clear of last year's winners, Tony Warren and Natasha Deneise, who were also in a Mitsubishi Lancer.



RESULTS


MODERN

1. Tony Quinn (Qld), Naomi Tillett (SA), 2008 Nissan GT-R.

2. Jason White (Tas), John White (Tas), 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, +6min00s.

3. Jamie Vandenberg (Tas), Simon Vandenberg (Tas), 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX, +6:10s.

4. Klark Quinn (Qld), Toni Feaver (WA), 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, +6:28s.

5. Dean Herridge (WA), Glen Weston (Qld), 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, +9:41s.



CLASSIC

1. Rex Broadbent, Michael Goedheer, Porsche 911 Carrera RS.

2. Bill Pye (NSW), Grant Geelan (NSW), Porsche 911 RS, +1:54s.

3. Ben Wooster (Qld), Tim Kulhanek (Qld), Nissan Skyline GTS-T, +2:12s.SHOWROOM

1. Greg Johnston (Tas), Mike Stoneman (Tas), 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX.

2. Tony Warren (Tas), Natasha Deniese (Vic), 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX, +3:26s.

3. Brendan Reeves (Vic), Rhianon Smyth (Vic), 2007 Mazda 3 MPS, +6:12s.



EARLY CLASSIC

1. Paul Batten (NSW), Mike Batten (NSW), 1961 Volvo PV544.

2. Peter Ullrich (NSW), Sari Ullrich (NSW), 1963 Jensen CV8, +9:46.

3. Andrew White (NT), Ashley Yelds (US), 1961 Volvo 122S, +13:54.



EARLY MODERN

1. Ric Shaw (NSW), James Parish (NSW), 1997 Mazda RX7.

2. Jeff Beable (Vic), Nerida Beable (Vic), 2000 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec, +3:33.

3. Matt Walsh (Vic), Patrick Bourke (NSW), 1994 BMW M3, +7:52.


新闻来源：http://www.themercury.com.au/art ... _tasmania-news.html