Thankfully time has come to put Covid19 behind us and blow out the cobwebs. Following the postponement of the scheduled May event and ensuing uncertainty,

Targa motor rally is thrilled to be coming back to its favourite Hawkes Bay stamping ground with Two days of high adrenalin motorsport in the first week of July. Drivers and their support teams are just itching to get behind the wheel and get their blood pumping again. The rally will start at Porters Hotel, Martin Square Havelock North on Saturday, July 4 and finish at the same place on Sunday July 5. 

Leg one starts on Saturday morning outside the Porters Hotel at 07.45. There are 5 big stages on Saturday with three of them 30 kms or more. The cars will be back at Martin Place for lunch at 11.40 and then again for their final service at 16.10 before parking up at Porters Hotel for the night.

Terry May who is competing in a BMW 330 when asked about being excited to return to racing said…

“Absolutely I did the Hamilton Targa in March just before lockdown, but I’m really excited Hawks bay Targa it has fantastic roads, with stages up to 25-45 km long”

First car away on Sunday morning at 08.15 from outside Porters Hotel. Sunday brings another 5 big stages with the longest being Ormandville at over 40km.

Lunch is in Dannevirke at 12.25 and the final stage is the famous Middle road stage with the cars finishing outside Porters Hotel at 3.45pm.

Again, amongst the field of around 50 competing cars there are a bunch of local drivers including Robert Webster, Terry May, Stuart Richmond, Ivan Knauf and Nathan Apatu.

Details of cars and drivers will be continually updated on the Targa web site.

But if you are looking for likely winners. The classic field will be a three way fight between Anton Talbot, Mark McCaughan and Bruce Farley.

In the modern competition is will be the pace of Leigh Hopper, up against the reliability of David Rogers combating the guile and cunning of Martin Dippie in the Mitre 10 Trade Porsche.

When asked about getting back into motorsport since lockdown, Robert Webster who is driving a Mini Cooper S said…

“Yea I’m a bit rusty, but its good to get back to racing, Hawks Bay is pretty good for getting a turnout of people, a lot of people are happy (the event) is going through”

Facebook is also an excellent place to keep abreast of the event. With a year that has so far brought a drought and virus pandemic, the return of Targa rally should surely bring some welcome relief. As you can imagine, there’s quite a large entourage. 

Together with their technical support crews and families, Targa generates a large number of visitors. In an event like this, apart from local volunteers and marshals, there will be over one thousand people involved. They all need to be fed and accommodated along the way.

Local schools, accommodation and hospitality suppliers along with communities who get involved with catering for the event will no doubt welcome Targa’s return. 

Fortunately, the nature of Targa means social distancing is relatively easy to achieve. Naturally, spectators will need to practice the required social distancing as prescribed by the Ministry for Health. However, there should be plenty of space on those wonderful Hawkes Bay back country roads, for everyone to enjoy spectating the thrills and spills of Targa Rallying. 

Targa Hawkes Bay

locals helping with the event