KEY POINTS:
South Australian Steve Glenney has held his challengers at bay during Targa Tasmania yesterday, and holds a comfortable 37 second buffer with two days remaining.
Glenney took a 40 second lead into the day over Jim Richards' Porsche
911 GT2, and while the margin has narrowed slightly,
he still has a commanding break and is now clearly the man to beat.
Another South Australian, Kevin Weeks, driving a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, has moved up to second place after the eight stages around Tasmania's North West.
Richards slipped one place, but is just two seconds further back and very much in the play as Targa heads west to its next stop in Strahan.
Fine and dry conditions have helped to ensure that the leading competitors in Targa Tasmania enjoyed a drama free day today.
Rex Broadbent, driving his 1974 Porsche 911, increased his lead in the Classic competition and is now nearly two minutes clear of the 1989 Porsche 944 of Gavin James, while Peter Eames dropped valuable time on the day's second stage after spinning his 1974 Porsche 911.
Mazda's domination of the Showroom 2WD class continued with Rick Bates and Alister McRae showing a clean pair of heels in their Mazda3 MPSs.
Their nearest rival, Toyota's Simon Evans, is over five minutes from the lead as he takes a series of celebrity co-drivers around the state.
It's a similar story in the Showroom 4WD class, where Hobart's Tony Warren heads into day four with a lead of three minutes and 40 seconds over Scott Millar. Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IXs make up the leaderboard, with Malcolm Klopp in third place.
The field headed west from Launceston to Devonport and back today, covering 56km of competitive driving over eight Targa Stages.
Modern leader Glenney's only problem for the day came when he couldn't locate his service crew prior to the final stage of the day.
Fortunately for the rally leader, his crew eventually made it to the refuel point, and he arrived at the final stage of the day with seconds to spare.
"We've been able clean three stages of the last four stages, so we haven't lost too much time," Glenney said. "We should go the distance - we've been managing our tyres and they should be right for the rest of the event."
- NZ HERALD STAFF
