Targa GBR 2018 - Day 1
Craig and Mary have escaped the cold Melbourne weather to compete in the inaugural Targa Great Barrier Reef. Based in Cairns in North Queensland, the event will make its way through unique Tropical North Queensland landscapes such as sugar cane and banana plantations throughout the region. Held from Friday 31st August through to Sunday 2nd September, over 200 competitors will take to 18 stages totalling over 900km. The SHELBY GT Mustang will be campaigned in the GT2 competition by Craig, with Mary Hughes once again calling the notes.
The excitement was building as Mary and I left the Parc Ferme to head out to the official start. Craig happened to be recruited to take the Manager of Cairns Casino Hotel for a fast stint in the Shelby on the first stage shakedown.
The shakedown stage is like driving through town... really non eventful but a good way to introduce the newcomers to the day's racing and take away the nerves. The first stage of competition is a cracker - Gillies Range. This stage was one of the busiest stages we have ever done - tight and twisty 17km uphill. We certainly were short of spit by the end, as it was hard work. The Shelby GT had a tad too much understeer present, which made it challenging. Mary and I were fourth fastest in the stage, so it was off to the showgrounds for morning tea where the food was laid on. Fruit, salad, and drinks (non-alcoholic of course!).
Some suspension adjustments to the front Shockworks suspension, ready for the reverse of the Gillies range, called Little Mulgrave. A downhill blast after the adjustments did the trick and the Shelby turned in perfectly. We were third fastest and it was a real buzz.
The third stage of the day Lake Morris, another uphill run with no room for error, narrow and with lots of kerbs all the way up to the top. Again, the food laid on for us. The barramundi was just superb and the Rotary Club did a great coffee. The last stage Copper Lode Reverse, was down the hill again. Mary and I attacked this stage with vengeance to try and make up some time and on a sharp corner managed to take a spin on a tight corner, saving the Shelby from a disaster but losing some of the precious time we were trying to make up. Even though the day's stages were far from being ideal for a high powered Shelby, we managed to hold our fourth outright position, and were happy to make it to the finish of the day. 29 degree temperatures and high humidity also play a part in the endurance of the Mustang's power and set up, but all in all it was a great day.
A big thanks to Angryman Photograohy for the great actions shots - they always do an amazing job of capturing the excitement of these Targa events in a creative way.
Keep up with all the action on the Mustang Motorsport Targa Facebook page
