PONY PRESS #7 - Sunday 30/04/06

Brilliant 14th Demonstrates New Mustang's Performance

The final day of Targa Tasmania 2006 saw running in both wet and dry conditions, along with a few surprises. "We had a lot of fun, and got wet," Craig said, "Well, it rained and the car got wet!" The day started out dry for the first half dozen stages, before the wet roads appeared during the last 6km of the Mt Arrowsmith stage. "The roads became unbelievably slippery on the Arrowsmith stage. I reckon they were as slippery as when it has snowed there in the past, and we had to tread gingerly just to stay on the road, let alone worrying about the time," Craig explained.

During the earlier Strahan stage, Craig and Ben threw the Mustang into a four-wheel drift around one of the bends they know well, only to be confronted with a Mini facing them! Fortunately, they avoided him and continued on their merry way. They only other real drama for the day was when they passed a Nissan GTR lying on its roof on the edge of the road. Trying to take note of exactly where it was so as to notify the organisers, Ben momentarily lost his place in the pace notes. Craig laughed, "The next few corners were a little hairy as Ben got his bearings again and figured out exactly where we were!"

The wet weather continued for the remainder of the stages, and Craig and Ben brought the Mustang home in pristine condition. Their overall finishing position of 14th was tremendously rewarding for all concerned. "Unbelievable!" Craig enthused, "Considering the car was in a million pieces only a few days before Targa, it's amazing. I can't thank all the guys enough who worked so hard to get us here, as well as all our sponsors, family and friends, and I certainly can't fault Ben's brilliant navigating. There's not that many kids that can freely tell their dad where to go!" Craig said, "Without the support of everyone we simply could not do this. The result makes it all worthwhile, especially considering we were really learning the car and feeling our way as we went. It really does show how good the new Mustang is. We have also learnt a lot more about the car which we can apply to the vehicles we sell, so our customers are winners, too."

The day's results were as follows...
36. Hellyer Gorge - 1min 7 sec - =15th
37. Mount Black - 38sec - =46th
38. Rosebery - 3sec - =30th
39. Strahan - 27sec - 19th
40. Queenstown - 49sec - =25th
41. Mt Arrowsmith - 55sec - 11th
42. Tarraleah
43. Ellendale - 0 penalty - =1st
44. New Norfolk - 0 penalty - =1st

Overall, Craig and Ben finished in 14th position out of 123 starters in Modern Class. Total time penalty is 21min 17sec, which is 11min 38sec behind the overall winner, Jim Richards and Barry Oliver in their Porsche.