WHAT THEY SAID | DAY TWO
Our field reporter caught up with some of the competitors at the finish of the final stage of Day 2.
Ed Maguire (Dutton Garage Overall and GTO): “Jason (White)’s accident today was very unfortunate, but we’ve also had a few dramas of our own today.
We had a wheel-speed sensor fail on the first transport stage, so we had no ABS for The Sideling, and in this weather and this car, it’s quite un-drive-able in those conditions.
We got that rectified straight after and we’ve been cruising through a bit today in the wet.
Today has been the worst tarmac conditions I’ve ever driven in and I reckon all that gravel rally experience has come into play today.”
Trevor Macleod (Dutton Garage Early Modern 4): “The weather today has been kind to us, so we’ve been having fun in it.
We’ve got a definite advantage in the wet and I’ve been picking up speed as we go along.
Steve (co-driver Glenney) has been tweaking the car early on and got the setting right, so we’re really happy with it.
It’s great to have someone like Steve alongside. It gets you up to speed fairly quickly.
We’ve done a couple of other events together, but this is our first TARGA Tasmania as a team.
It’s great to be back at Targa Tasmania after no event last year and that it’s been dry has helped ensure the first day isn’t too stressful.
Tony Quinn (Dutton Garage GTO): “We’ve been doing those roads for years, but it was very wet today and a very tricky situation for everyone. The conditions suit all-wheel-drive cars like ours, but the tyre technology these days is pretty good, so the advantage we’ve had in the past is not as significant.
There’s still a long way to go, so anything can happen.
Adam Kaplan (Dutton Garage Early Modern 2): “I’m pretty happy with our efforts today. It’s been really good today.
There’s some experienced drivers behind us so there’s plenty of competition in our class.
The roads have been quite slippery, but it’s been fun.
There were a few sprinkles of rain, but it didn’t worry us at all.
The car’s going really well and we haven’t changed a thing from last time, apart from new stickers on the back.
Jon Siddins (Shannons Classic GT): “While I don’t mind the wet, we’ve been very cautious because it’s been very slippery – worse than normal.
We’ll just cruise along and get home. It’s been very greasy today.
Ashley Yelds (Shannons Classic Handicap): “It’s been pretty hairy for us today.
We had an electrical problem even before we got to the first stage, so we’re hoping drier conditions later in the wee. We’ll just go as hard as we can and bank as many seconds as we can.
It’s been going our way at the moment, but gee it’s hard work.
We can maintain our lead in the wet, but in the dry there’s some fast powerful cars that will just eat us up.”
Peter Nunn (Classic Throttle Shop GT Production): “Ben (Newman) has done a great job in the wet today. We’ve just had no grip and we’ve been battling a bit to keep it on the road.
We’ve struggled to get any temperature in our tyres to have a crack, so I need it dry.
Ben Newman (Classic Throttle Shop GT Production): “Today has suited us, as I don’t think I can run with Nunny (Peter Nunn) in the dry.
We had a bit of an advantage with the Subaru in the wet today.
I hope it stays like this, but Nunny’s a great competitor and a good driver, so wet or dry, we’ll have some fun.”
Tony Seymour (Spirit of Tasmania Rookie Rallye): “I wasn’t expecting to be in front with the margin I’ve got, but very pleased. It was very slippery and wet today and we were just trying to get through the day and not push too hard.
I think if we continue to think like that for the rest of the event, we might just get to the end in front.
Peter Marshall (Budget TSD): “We only have a narrow points lead, but this far out, you’d think if we continue to do what we’ve been doing, the others will have to keep up with us.
The stages today were very slippery and we got taily a few times, Darryl’s done a great job driving to keep this thing on the road.”
Chris Waldock (Budget TSD): “We made a bad mistake with timing in the second-last stage, but we think we can make it back up. The wet roads haven’t bothered us at all – this car is awesome in the wet.
Jack Waldron (Shannons Thoroughbred Trophy): “We’ve just been plodding along doing the best we can, but the conditions have been treacherous. There’s no point in overdoing it in those conditions, so we’ve backed off a little and enjoyed every moment of it.
Having a one-minute lead in the wet is much better than having a one-minute lead in the dry because it’s so much harder to make up.
Matthew Gibbens (Spirit of Tasmania GT Sports Trophy): “It’s been very exciting for us today in our first day in the wet, so we started a bit cautiously and we’ve gone quicker as the day went on.
The car has handled the wet well, but we’ve still had to be careful with exit speeds out of corners and also under brakes.
We’re just getting used to what it feels like in the wet and taking it one step at a time.
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