Should Targa Tasmania be scrapped? Debate rages again after another race tragedy

[Casper]

Deleted

[Casper]

I will have another go now. The first part of this video which came out today tells it from a competitor view point and how grim the TT can really be. The second part deals with a bu**ered McLaren engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B25M...EPerformanceUK

[Kingair]

Jungle drums are beating that the event, if it run’s next year will be with ten or twenty selected drivers and signposted speed limits observed.

[GreenMachine]

Sounds like a lot of fun. Not.

Unless they are talking about that for the bulk of the field, and a few people at the pointy end of selected class/es compete at full noise.

[275 GTB-4]

Motorsport is Dangerous?

[Casper]

Originally Posted by 275 GTB-4

Motorsport is Dangerous?

Never let a motorsport event or anything else get between a politician and re-election.

[Kingair]

Auto Action listing the dates for the next five years of Targa Tasmania.

Competitors are already booking accommodation for 2023.

[Kingair]

Local radio news reporting Targa has been given the green light for 2023, with the event starting in Hobart.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by Kingair

Local radio news reporting Targa has been given the green light for 2023, with the event starting in Hobart.

My understanding is that the dates have been announced, start point announced and overnight stops announced but the actual stages, routes, what type of event (touring, competitive etc) haven't been confirmed yet and that opening of entries has been delayed.

Good signs but what the event will look like is not yet known.

[bludvl_x19]

https://motorsport.org.au/media/news...w-panel-report

The report has finally come out, and its not a good read for those who were looking for it to go back to the way it was. It will be interesting to see how things do shake out in the next 12 months after the "hard reset."

[GreenMachine]

Indeed. Interesting times for those looking to compete, and for those who were making a bit out of the events, especially the ferry, the accommodation sector and the like.

This might be the last roll of the dice, if the fatalities don't stop - and not just in Tassie.

[mountainstar]

There will always be risks involved.

There is probably some stuff that can be changed for the better but risk will remain.

Just like in places like Melbourne, they dropped speed limits on the roads even more and the fatalities went up.

So with Targa if they get too crazy with it and you spend your whole time driving a stage worrying about breaking this rule or that, you end up not focusing on your driving and go into a tree and explode into flames.

I've seen it with another sport I compete in, they added so many damn rules, that one it became no fun and not enjoyable and two, you couldn't compete without worrying about doing this or that.

[GreenMachine]

I don't have the answers as to how we get there, but the result has to be no more TT fatalities. Having your fun should not involve some else dying (of course it will never be you ...).

Risk is fine, but risk of dying needs to be managed towards elimination. For whatever reasons, TT has used up the public capacity to accept that risk. Not to mention the insurance company's appetite for risk.

(Note - 'you' is the non-specific form of the word.)

[PVDA]

Sadly our sport can bite occasionally and fatalities do happen, I was at the Australian Motocross Championship round at Wonthaggi at the weekend and we had a fatal crash there, the first in nearly 13 years for the Championship.

I have been involved in 10 fatalities in my 38 years of marshalling, I've seen medics work miracles on injured racers but occasionally the worst can and does happen.

[NaBUru38]

What's the difference between "Targa style tarmac rallies" and regular tarmac rallies like Monte Carlo Rally, Tour de Corse and Rally Islas Canarias? The Wikipedia articles don't explain it.

[chavez]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

What's the difference between "Targa style tarmac rallies" and regular tarmac rallies like Monte Carlo Rally, Tour de Corse and Rally Islas Canarias? The Wikipedia articles don't explain it.

Very broadly speaking....

Driver and Navigator Skill & Experience

Level of Car Preparation

Suitability of Vehicles

Limited or No Practice

Choice of Stage Routes

[E.B]

Originally Posted by chavez

Very broadly speaking....

Driver and Navigator Skill & Experience

Level of Car Preparation

Suitability of Vehicles

Limited or No Practice

Choice of Stage Routes

Also the eligibility of the cars is, or was when devised, based on more road going based criteria from a list of eligible cars. The cars are split into classes from outright contenders down. Purpose built stage rally cars dont fit the criteria. This is from the outright section of the entry info/criteria for competitors wishing to take part

Vehicles must have been commercially available in any number as a road registerable vehicle when manufactured or be a vehicle approved by TARGA Australia. Vehicles must be compliant for normal road registration and road usage including any modifications that have been made to the vehicle. A Safety Cage structure is not mandatory but is highly recommended.

This page linked below gives detail on the specifics of the categories covered and has links to the list of eligible cars.(in the GTP/GTO section)
https://targa.com.au/motorsport-aust...e-competition/

Other info on that website. History is on this link
https://targa.com.au/targa-tasmania-competition/

Also the Targa Tasmania and associated events are for trophies only, no prize money.

I think originally back in 1992 it was more a Classic car event with the more sophisticated cars being introduced more recently.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by chavez

Level of Car Preparation

Suitability of Vehicles

Got it. I had a look at the report, and see that the lack of top speed is significant. WRC cars do 200 km/h because of short gearboxes and final drive ration.

Originally Posted by chavez

Choice of Stage Routes

Can you elaborate?

[chavez]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Got it. I had a look at the report, and see that the lack of top speed is significant. WRC cars do 200 km/h because of short gearboxes and final drive ration.


Can you elaborate?

Often routes have higher top speeds than might be expected from a traditional rally.

[GreenMachine]

Would speed limiters be an option, or would that just encourage pushing the limits harder in the twisties?
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I think maybe I have answered my own question - but at the impact velocities would be lower ...

[V8 Fireworks]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

Would speed limiters be an option, or would that just encourage pushing the limits harder in the twisties?

Or just air restrictors like in WRC? I think the air restrictor in Rally1 is 36mm, which successfully caps the power output.

[PVDA]

Originally Posted by chavez

Limited or No Practice

Allowing Practice runs would encourage them to drive even faster on competitive stages.

Maybe it needs to be a blind rally with no pace notes to encourage driving to the visibility and weather conditions.

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by PVDA

Allowing Practice runs would encourage them to drive even faster on competitive stages.

Maybe it needs to be a blind rally with no pace notes to encourage driving to the visibility and weather conditions.

and, maybe a man with a red flag could walk the course in front of competitors?

[Kingair]

Targa Tasmania and Great Barrier Reef Targa are cancelled for this year.

ABC and Speedcafe reporting no events for 2023.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Kingair

Targa Tasmania and Great Barrier Reef Targa are cancelled for this year.

ABC and Speedcafe reporting no events for 2023.

Unfortunately inaction has consequences

No winners on any side