What they said | day three

We gathered some quotes and insider knowledge from a number of our competitors.

EDDIE MAGUIRE (Dutton Garage Overall and GTO): “We’ve been taking it pretty easy today. We’ve just got to get to the finish by conserving our lead.

If we can gain a bit of time in a safe manner, then we will, but it’s still about conserving tyres for us.

We had a very easy run over Cethana this morning because it’s hard on tyres, but we had a bit of a go in Oldina, but we’re not taking any risks.”

TREVOR McLEOD (Dutton Garage Early Modern 4): “Eddie’s going very well and we might struggle to make up the gap. I’m just driving to my abilities and not going overboard.

We’re not concerned about who’s in front of us and who’s behind – we’re just playing our own game.”

TONY QUINN (Dutton Garage GTO): “I’ve just been taking it as it comes and driving theroad.

Everybody’s been adjusting tyre pressures and suspension settings.

I haven’t touched the car at all.

I learnt from the great Jim Richards to just fill up the car in the morning and at lunch and keep it on the road in between.

I honestly don’t think a few clicks on the suspension or a bit of an adjustment makes that noticeable of a difference.

Every stage is different.”

DARRYL MARSHALL (Budget TSD Trophy): “This is our equal best day at Targa Tasmania.

We’ve had a one-point day before and we were hoping to lose zero today, but we didn’t get it quite right in Cethana this morning.

Today was just one of those days we really like with long stages and easier stages.
It was great to get some dry weather after yesterday.

The dry weather really helps, especially with the ute.”

JACK WALDRON (Shannons Thoroughbred Trophy): “Everything’s working fairly well.

They’ve been wet days and the other guys have probably slowed down a little, whereas this car’s easy to drive in the wet conditions.

The last few days have been really good for us and I’ve enjoyed it.”

MATTHEW GIBBENS (Spirit of Tasmani GT Sports Trophy): “We’re getting more used to the wet conditions, but we were really pleased to see the dry conditions in the early stages this morning.

The car’s handling exceptionally well in both the dry and the wet, so I’m happy with that and we’re working better as a team, so we’re feeling more confident as the event goes on.”

ANTHONY SEYMOUR (Spirit of Tasmania Rookie Rallye): “We’re very lucky to still be in front and very happy to still be in front. The conditions were treacherous yesterday, but today it’s been okay.

We haven’t had any dramas and any moments yet, so that’s a good thing.”

JON SIDDINS (Shannons Classic GT): “We’ve got a bit of a lead now, so we could afford to cruise through the last stage today.

Our plan for the rest of the week is now to defend the lead and not try too much to extend it.

As Jack Brabham used to say, ‘you’ve only got to win by one second’.”

ADAM KAPLAN (Dutton Garage Early Modern 2): “We’re happy with our progress so far.

We’re not pushing too hard and we have a nice lead for now. We’ll just push on when it feels good and slow down when it doesn’t. We just look at the conditions at the start of each stage and just decide whether it’s a time to go hard or not.

It’s not about winning for us, it’s about having fun – and beating the Porsches.”

ASHLEY YELDS (Shannons Classic Handicap): “The lead we have today is just brilliant – we didn’t expect to be that far in front.

We thought it was going to be dry today, so we had to push really hard on the dry stages this morning, because this class is such an even and competitive competition.

We’re not content with the lead we’ve got and there’s still a lot of work to do.”

PETER NUNN (Classic Throttle Shop GT Production): “ Today was a mixed bag after Day One suited us and Day Two suited Ben (Newman). He did well through Cethana and then we had a good run through Oldina.

I expect to lose a bit of time to him when it’s wet, so the weather could play a part.

We’re just pushing when we feel good and backing off when we don’t.”

BEN NEWMAN (Classic Throttle Shop GT Production): “We were happy to be quickest over Cethana, and we built up a nice buffer, but we had a brake issue on Oldina, so we lost 30 seconds.

We put some new pads on and we didn’t bed them in properly, so they glazed up and caused a huge vibration and didn’t stop the car too well.

We’ve put the original pads back in, so we’ll see what happens.

That’s the ups and downs of Targa Tasmania – we’d like a bigger gap in case it dries out.”

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