Targa Newfoundland 2002 – the journey begins for Bald Head Racing

May 2002

(click for image sans doggie)
No speed limits. Curvy two-lane roads. No oncoming traffic. Police keeping the road clear for you. The company of 250 other teams, driving sports and GT cars built from 1900 to today. That's what attracted Bald Head Racing to the Targa Newfoundland – to be run for the first time over 2250km in 6 days in September, 2002. While most of that distance will be in "touring stages," with speed limits to be obeyed, five-hundred of those kilometers will be "targa stages." A targa stage has a base time and a targa time. Complete the stage within the base time and get no penalty time. Complete the stage within targa time and remain eligible for a targa plate or targa trophy. A targa stage has no speed limits and is run on curvy (bumpy, narrow, etc.) two-lane roads. This concept has proved hugely successful with the Targa Tasmania (http://www.targa.org.au). As soon as the word was out, Bald Head Racing inquired about the Targa Newfoundland (http://www.targanewfoundland.com).

Borrowing heavily from the famed Targa Tasmania, the first Targa Newfoundland will have four events:

Historic, for 1900-1946 cars;
Classic, 1947-1976;
Modern, 1977-2002; and
Trials, 1900-2002 cars.

The Trials is a touring event, speed limits to be obeyed at all times, and cars and drivers need no special safety equipment. At $2585CA (+HST), the Trials entry is half that of the Modern event, which is the most expensive. $5085CA (+HST) gets you special license plates, insurance ($85), a couple jackets, t-shirts, and lapel pins, scrutineering, tickets to banquets and parties, access to shuttle buses and luggage trucks, and breakfast, lunch, and a car wash every day. $1500 deposit required, or, if you pay in full early, pay $4585.

Cars running the modern event are further broken down into four model-year groups, each with four displacement breakdowns, giving 16 categories. The Bald Head Racing 944S2 fit into Category 7B, 1982-1990 cars with 2501cc to 3500cc engine displacements.

This seemed like a very good class for the car. The 944's production run, 1982-1991, encompasses the age limits. The S2 is the best normally-aspirated 944, and the 944 is one the best sport/GT cars of that era, being awarded "Best-handling car in the world" by Car and Driver magazine. Cars in class could include various BMW's, Ferrari 328/348's, Porsche 911 SC's and Carrera's, normally-aspirated Nissan 300ZX's, some Toyota Supra's, Diamond-Star Eclipse/Laser/Talon AWD turbo's, Saab turbo's, Ford Taurus SHO's, and, depending on displacement equivalency, gen i and ii Mazda RX-7 turbo's. In the rain the Diamond-Star's would be hard to beat, but otherwise, the 944S2 is a good car for this Targa class.

However, the Targa Newfoundland doesn't take just anyone – or any car. There are "desirable, acceptable, marginal, and inappropriate" classes of vehicles. Closed cars need full rollcages; cabriolets, a roll bar. Driver and co-driver need to supply full competition histories, give full details about what makes you/your co-driver/your car desirable, and wait. Of the 250 or so spots available, three to five of them might be given to this class. As the first such race in North America, there will be a lot of desirable cars and high-profile owners/drivers wanting to enter.

Bald Head Racing has applied and is waiting for provisional acceptance. Stay tuned. Applications close May 31, 2002.

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