OzRacingWrap

Tony Quinn and Naomi Tillet are Targa New Zealand’s winningest team after posting their third straight win at this year’s event, which finished yesterday at Havelock North, Hastings.

It was also Quinn’s fourth win all-up (the other one was in 2003, navigated by Keith Wenn), and gave his V.I.P. Petfoods team the trans-Tasman double, having won Australia’s premier tarmac rally, Targa Tasmania, in April.

The Scottish-born Queenslander and his South Australian navigator finished the 650km tarmac rally one minute 11 seconds ahead of Kiwis Glenn Inkster and Spencer Winn after a hard-fought battle.

The result was in doubt right up to the end, as Inkster staged a late charge during the last day.

His superior pace came after he opted to fit two extra new tyres the day before, but the minute penalty he incurred as a result proved too much to overcome.

Without the penalty, the gap at the end of the the five-day rally was just 11 seconds.

Quinn conserved his eight-tyre allocation throughout the North Island-based event, which was held in predominantly wet conditions.

He held his nerve as Inkster sliced 1.5 minutes from his lead over the final seven stages.

“That was the hardest Targa New Zealand I’ve ever done!” said the relieved petfood magnate at the finish in Havelock North, Hastings.

“Glenn’s a talented young gravel rally driver, and he’s getting better on tarmac. This time he didn’t let up for a single stage.

“I had to keep my head and drive sensibly all the way – which is unusual for me!

“It’s easier to chase the leader than be the leader, but now that I find myself leading more often I’m gradually becoming accustomed to handling the pressure!”

Quinn did confess to one driving error that came close to putting his 350kW GT-R out of the event.

“On the second-last day I overshot a corner and bounced across a ditch,” he said.

“The radiator was hanging off, and the exhaust was a bit bent, but I managed to get back on the road to finish the stage.

“The great thing about rallying in New Zealand is that it rains a lot, so most of what’s on the side of the road is fairly soft.

“If you have an ‘off’ you can usually continue - unlike in Australia, where everything is so dry that if you make a mistake you tend to hit something hard!”

Tillet echoed her driver’s sentiments, adding that she and Quinn won because they stuck to their original game plan.

“It was the hardest rally we’ve ever done,” she said. “Every stage needed 110 percent concentration.

“Tony and I were fairly confident that Glenn would have to fit new tyres at some point, because he’s a gravel rally driver and he drives the same way – very hard – on bitumen.

“He did really well to get as close as he did, but on the other hand he wouldn’t have been able to go as fast if he hadn’t put on two new tyres.

“We knew from past experience that our tyres would last the distance, so it was just a matter of pacing ourselves and not letting the pressure get to us.”

Tillet also revealed the V.I.P. Petfoods team’s ‘secret weapon’: a Billy Joel CD!

While Quinn was charging along the closed public roads at speeds approaching 200km/h, she slipped the CD into the GT-R’s sound system and cranked up the volume!

“Sometimes there were three or four kilometres between route instructions, so we had fun rocking along to Billy!” Tillet laughed.

Quinn and Tillett’s next event is Targa High Country next weekend in Victoria, where they will debut a 2011-spec GT-R.

RESULTS

1. Tony Quinn-Naomi Tillet (V.I.P. Petfoods / Nissan GT-R 35)                             5hr 22min. 47sec.

2. Glenn Inkster-Spencer Winn (Transnet / Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6)                    5hr 23min. 58sec.

3. Glenn Smith-Andy Lowe (Taranaki By Products / Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X)     5hr 29min. 00sec.