Porsche dealer plays key part in Targa South Island

The three Porsche Caymans which will be flying the Continental Cars' Porsche flag in the 20th anniversary Targa South Island event later this month. Photo credit: Continental Cars

Auckland Porsche dealer Continental Cars is playing a key part in this year's 20th anniversary Targa South Island tarmac motor rally, providing a pair of Porsche Cayman S coupes to be used in the Targa Tour.

One will be used by Tour leader Greg Paul, the other by company Porsche sales manager Luke Fisher and service manager Dean Huston.

The allied but non-competitive Targa Tour has become an increasingly popular part of the annual Targa New Zealand event.

Though entrants get to drive the same, closed, public roads as competitors in the main event, they do so at a pace closer to normal road speeds, in a group behind a leader - who sets and monitors that pace depending on road and weather conditions - and with mid-point and tail-end charlie cars to keep the momentum flowing.

Because you can use your everyday sports or classic car the Tour has become an increasingly popular option for people interested in 'doing the Targa.'

Some use it as a 'toe-in-the-water' exercise before taking the plunge and entering the main event, while others are happy to return every year to satisify their 'need for speed' in a controlled environment.

Luke Fisher says it is certainly very popular with our customers; next week a transporter leaves Continetal Cars in Auckland's Great South Road with eight Porsches associated with the dealership, everything from the latest 911 991 GT3 to a 911 Turbo S and mid-engined Cayman R,

The Cayman R belongs to long-time Continental Cars' customer Brent McCarty who with wife Yvonne are again part of the Targa Tour.

All three Caymans will run the same distinctive look, based around the factory race team (as seen at Le Mans this year) Porsche Intelligent Performance' livery.

Fisher says that Continental Cars is involved in this year's Targa South Island event for a number of reasons. The main one, however, is 'because so many of our clients were going to do it."

"Really," he says, "it was just a fantastic opportunity for us to show our support. If you look at it, a Porsche is the perfect car for an event like the Targa Tour, and the Tour is the perfect way to enjoy your Porsche."

The 20th anniversary Targa South Island event starts at Christchurch's Addington Raceway on Monday October 27 before a prologue stage in the Port Hills and afternoon at Mike Pero Motorsport Park.

On Tuesday the field heads south for stages in mid-Canterbury, before the first of two overnight stays in Dunedin where the cars will be housed in the Forsyth Barr stadium.

After a day full of stages in the North Otago hinterland (and lunch and service stop in Oamaru's historical precinct) on Wednesday the field returns to Dunedin before heading south on Thursday to Invercargill - and a day's end stage at Teretonga Park.

Friday October 31 is then spent completing stages through Eastern Southland then West and Central Otago before finishing at Cromwell's Highlands Motorsport Park.

Competitors then spend the final day (Saturday November 01) in the Lakes County with stages to and from Glenorchy and across the Crown Range before the official finish in downtown Queenstown and prizegiving function the next day.

All told, competitors and those in the Targa Tour will contest 807kms over 34 closed special stages linked by 1828km of open road transport stages.