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Adam Davis23 Apr 2013
NEWS

TARGA: Spectating at Hellyer Gorge

We track down one of Targa's legendary stages for a unique motorsport viewing experience

It may lack the ease of access and cachet of circuit racing, but tarmac rallying is a motorsport event to be savoured for casual fan and hard-core enthusiast alike.

With this in mind, the motoring.com.au media team, comprising yours truly and Multimedia Production Editor John Wilson, fuelled up the Renault Koleos and departed Launceston ahead of the competing cars to set up ‘on-stage’ at Hellyer Gorge, stage six of eight tests on Leg Three’s route to Strahan.

At 20.88km, the Hellyer Gorge stage takes in a section of the Murchison Highway south of Burnie. It’s revered by tarmac rally competitors as one of the biggest tests of all, mixing tight twists, quick, bumpy sections and the occasional bridge crossing. Heavily shaded sections can also conceal black ice and moss, so the stage is a constant workout for Targa crews.

For spectators used to circuit racing, following a tarmac rally event like this can be daunting. Octagon, Targa Tasmania’s event organisers, dictate that the road hosting the rally stage be closed an hour before the first competition car is due.

Further, there are strict controls on where spectators are allowed to stand on-stage, with the safety of both viewers and competitors paramount…you just have to witness the heyday of Group B rallying back in the 1980s to see what can happen when something goes wrong while spectators are too close.

As a result, the rush to get on-stage before the road closure is quickly dissipated when you realise the next hour is spent twiddling your thumbs…well, unless you are a rallying tragic (like myself).

It’s a chance to get comfortable and let the anticipation build. Being in the north west of Tasmania, the Hellyer Gorge stage also adds fresh air and majestic scenery to the mix.

After coming across some friendly (and local) stage officials, we parked the Koleos down a gravel side road. As soon as we assumed our positions we realised just what a prime location we’d stumbled across.

It wasn’t long until a dancing, genuine Ford Escort RS1600 burst into view. It plunged downhill, the road falling away enough for the car to momentarily disappear from sight. Suddenly, it flicked left and uphill before sweeping into a cresting, cambered right.

A short, fourth-gear straight brought the RS past our vantage point before it took a cut into yet another rising left, showering the roadside with gravel. Our vision of the car lasted perhaps 10 seconds total, but the intensity of its movements and the noise of its screaming Ford BDA engine (which could be heard for a minute after its passing) were enough to burn the scene indelibly into my memory.

For perhaps the next two hours around 200 tarmac rally cars blew past, each showing its own idiosyncrasies over this patch of Hellyer Gorge bitumen.

A Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X would slip, then grip and go; a Holden VL Group A would bark and slither; a Porsche 911 GT3 would skip across the bumps then hunker down on its haunches and simply vanish.

In short, it was the most enticing display of motorsport I have ever experienced. If you like your motorsport, you NEED to see Targa Tasmania live, at least once. And Hellyer Gorge is a wonderful place to do it.

Latest rally news from Targa Tasmania 2013 at motoring.com.au

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Written byAdam Davis
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