For immediate release Awards, champagne, and a marriage proposal - Targa Newfoundland, Day 5 St. John’s (September 20, 2013) - The final day of competition in Targa Newfoundland was what most expected in the motorsport community. Competitors pushing themselves and their cars to the limits, an incident that took out a competitor, and division winners that came down to the final stage were all part of the last day of competition in the 12th annual Targa Newfoundland. The day started off chilly and overcast for the competitors as they pulled into Bay L’Argent for the first stage. Volunteers and teams could feel the tension as all knew this was the last day to make moves on the scoring charts. The first stage into Bay L’Argent was quite entertaining. A fairly long stage close to 15 km’s long, it provides for many chances of passing other competitors along the way. Several competitors were passed during the stage. This improved the times of those doing the passing. The length of the stage also allowed for competitors to test their skills and see how their cars would handle during this critical last day of stages. The pressure to improve positioning did cause a competitor to go off course during the Harbour Mile stage. The Porsche 944 of Bartleet/Picco was heavily damaged after it went off course and down a steep embankment while trying to maneuver around a sharp turn on the stage. Both driver and co-driver were not hurt in the incident. However, their chances of winning the Grand Touring division were erased with the incident. The cars then left the Burin Peninsula for the Baccalieu trail area of the island. Brigus was the first stop along this route. The gorgeous heritage homes and the lush vegetation of the area is quite stunning. Having Targa Newfoundland show up in the community does make for an interesting time. A large number of fans did come out to witness the Brigus stage and watch the cars “get air” as they crossed the bridge in the community. Many professional and amateur photographers set their camera views on the bridge to get the perfect action shot. It was then onward to Carbonear and Freshwater for an almost continuous stage through both communities, then finishing up by going through Carbonear one last time. Overall, even though the stage was delayed several minutes due to tapping and safety issues that needed to be resolved, the stages were a great success. After it was onward to the Keg, where a champagne shower was waiting for all the division winners. All competitors came out to congratulate each other on completing Targa Newfoundland. Everyone received their participate medals, while the formal awards will be given out Saturday night during the Award Reception. The winner of the Classic division was Gill/Didcock from the United Kingdom. They were able to beat second place by almost 16 minutes. They were thrilled with the win and look forward to taking the division trophy back to the United Kingdom. The Modern winner was Aweida/Aweida from Colorado, United Stages. This is the first rookie team to ever win a Targa Newfoundland competition division. They were thrilled at winning the division and thanked their support crew for all their hard work in maintaining the car in excellent working condition. In Open division, Davenport/Benson won with an almost 5 minute lead over second place. And in Grand Touring, the team of Riddell/DeLange won to maintain Team Hume’s dominance in the division for the couple of years. This division had several lead changes throughout the competition and came down to the last stage in order to decide a winner. In a very special moment for those involved, Skye Sawyer, the co-driver of the Sawyer/Sawyer entry in the Targa class that had a serious crash on Monday, got engaged Thursday night to her long-time boyfriend. Everyone in the paddock and with Targa Newfoundland couldn’t be more happy for the young couple, especially after the rollercoaster ride of emotions that the week has brought the Sawyer family. Results of all the divisions can be seen at targanewfoundland/results/ A video summary of each day’s action is available each evening at targanewfoundlandnews/ Owned and operated by Newfoundland International Motorsports Limited, Targa Newfoundland is one of three internationally recognized Targa motorsports events in the world. The 2013 competition starts in St. John’s on September 14 and concludes back in the capital on September 21. The 12th annual rally will cover more than 2,000 kilometres of the challenging, twisty roads of the central and eastern portion of Newfoundland, including up to 450 kilometres of closed-road, flat-out Targa stages. # # # Contact: Media and photos: Darren Sheppard 1 709 722 2413 registrar@targanewfoundland Website: targanewfoundland
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 02:17:46 +0000
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