Targa High Country 2018 - Day 2

Skies were clear and perfect for Saturday's racing. After making some minor tweaks to the Mustang last night, they proved to be instrumental in making the Shelby GT handle and soak up the bumps confidently without unsettling the car on corners. All stages are fast and flowing and we managed to bring the Shelby close to 260kph (162mph on one stage) so here is how the day went down. Our goal was to chase the third outright position.

Mirimbah was a downhill full competition to start the day. Cold tyres and the downhill off camber corners aren’t a combination welcomed by the Shelby GT, but we were eighth fastest with a 3:41. On Barwite we took third with 3:28, and on Tolmie a 7;07 also placed us third. On Whitfield we were equal first, cleaning the stage in 3:09 with no penalty. On King Valley we also cleaned the stage in 3:13 with no penalty. Powers Lookout brought another third place in 7:05, and on Bridge Creek we were equal third in 3:26.

The Mansfield town stage is not a favourite, nor is it suited for a big Mustang. We almost had to back up around the roundabout, and to be honest I drove it poorly, putting on a show for the crowd rather than fast times. Finishing in 20th position in 2:40 almost cost us our secure third outright placing after all the hard work done to get a lead on our rival competitor, Jeff Morten, in the supercharged Lotus lightweight 'go cart'.

The day was just fantastic and the Shelby GT performed faultlessly. Mary and I just clicked as a team and went as hard as the Shelby would take us. We are very happy to hold our third outright position, however tomorrow is going to be the most challenging day of all with the distance accounting for 40% of the competition miles.

A big thanks once again to all our sponsors and supporters, and to Angryman for the fantastic racing images.

Stay tuned for the final day's action and results,
Craig and Mary.