Motorsport: Targa cars spending two days of rally in Taranaki

There is something for every motoring fan in the 25th Targa Rally, which is coming through Taranaki this week. Photos by Owen de Mooy, Proshotz Photography.

Targa is coming to Taranaki for two nights this week.

Fans of all ages will be able to take advantage of plenty of opportunities to see the cars up close, says Helen Cameron, who is a competitor relations officer with Targa this year.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the motorsport event, 76 cars of all shapes and sizes, modern and classic leave Taupō on Tuesday October 29 and head south.

The 1800km race will include 800km of special stages, as drivers aim to finish the event in Palmerston North on November 2.

Over its 25 year history, Targa has brought together a diverse collection of cars and drivers from around the country and the world.

Vintage sports cars, Kiwi-developed specials, Italian exotics and state-of-the-art 4WD machines have all competed.

Targa New Zealand evolved from smaller Targa rallies that were run throughout the year in different locations nationally, all based on the original road race that was held in Italy in 1906.

The second leg of this year's event starts in New Plymouth on Wednesday morning.

Cars will leave the Ocean View Parade Wharf at 8.20am, completing two stages at Inglewood and Kaimata with a breakfast break at 9.30am.

They will then be in Stratford at 10.45am, parked at the Stratford War Memorial Hall carpark.

The cars then head out to Whangamomona for lunch. The route takes drivers along the only State Highway in New Zealand to be closed for a rally, meaning anyone wanting to join the Targa drivers in Whangamomona for lunch needs to be headed there by 10.15 am.

Cars will rally back along the same route, returning to Stratford at 3.50pm, staying in the town until 5.10pm when they head back to New Plymouth to Parc Ferme for the night.

Leg three of the event leaves New Plymouth again at 8.20am on Thursday 31 where drivers will complete four stages in the morning east of New Plymouth.

A 20-minute stop at Ōkato begins at 10.25am at the Coastal Taranaki School before arriving back at the Stratford War Memorial Hall call park at 11.55am for lunch provided by Stratford High School.

Drivers will complete two more stages in Douglas and Eltham before arriving at the TSB Hub Car Park in Hāwera for a 20 minute stop with the first cars due at 2.20pm.

Two more stages south of Patea then take place before cars arrive in Whanganui for the night.

The rally continues south to end in Palmerston North on Saturday, November 2.

More detailed info is at TARGA website: www.targa.nz