Motorsport: Teams rev up for rally milestone

Targa North Island is coming to Rotorua later this month. Pictured is local driver Mike Lowe in his Team Enzed 1964 Fiat Abarth 1000. Photo/Supplied

Local driver Mike Lowe will be among the competitors lining up for this month's Targa North Island which will be based in Rotorua.

The new Targa North Island has taken over from Targa Rotorua this year.

The three-day event begins in Auckland on Friday, May 16, travelling to Whitianga and winding through the roads of the Waikato to finish in Rotorua on Sunday, May 18.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the rally.

Of all the cars competing this month, only one has started and finished all previous Targa New Zealand rallies - the Team Enzed 1964 Fiat Abarth 1000 driven by Lowe, from Rotorua.

With 2014 being such an important year for Targa, Lowe and his team have put out a challenge to the other classic and historic rally cars.

"We have donated a trophy and prize money for the first under-1400cc class home in this year's Targa NZ - of course we hope it will be us," said Lowe.

"We've managed to scare off other smaller capacity opponents like Minis and Imps over the years, so bring it on guys."

The Targa North Island event has attracted more than 80 entries including 2013 Targa New Zealand winners Martin Dippie and Jona Grant (Porsche GT3), from Dunedin, and last year's Targa Rotorua winners Leigh Hopper and Simon Kirkpatrick (Subaru WRX) from Orewa.

The final day is spent in and around Rotorua and will be based at the Village Green.

The field will head south for the Ngakuru and Waikete Valley stages, west for Manawahe then back to the city via the top-of-the-lake Hamurana stage and final Paradise Valley stage.