The rally finished in Wellington on 30 October after winding its way down the country for six days.
In New Zealand's biggest motorsport roadshow Richard Skilton was part of a four-man team that placed first in the team competition. He also placed first in the early modern car class and 16th overall. “We do it because it is a challenge and an excellent way of legally driving at top performance speeds,” says Mr Skilton. The rally finished in Wellington on 30 October after winding its way down the country for six days. With a third placing in the index’s performance, the rally was an overall success for Mr Skilton. Wellington hosted a number of stages including; Shelly Bay, Moonshine Road, Makara to Ohariu. But Mr Skilton’s favourite was the Paekakariki Hill Road. “It took only nine minutes to reach Greys Road in Pauatahanui, the road rises really steeply from the bottom. “It’s great racing at illegal speeds over normal roads, going as fast as you like, that’s as good as it gets,” he says. Cars in the rally have a 200km/h speed limit cap, and on Paekakariki Hill cars reached that. Team members included Ron Scanlon from Avalon, and two Australian drivers, Gary Morgan and Tony Quinn. Mr Skilton and Mr Quinn have raced in the Targa Tasmania together before. Working at Abel Consulting Engineers in Johnsonville, his passion for technical matters helped keep the 1989 Subaru Legacy RS on the road. Suspension and drive train are the most altered aspects of his car, which allow for high speed cornering. The Taranaki leg of the rally was especially hair-raising with one stretch holding multiple jumps. “You go down this long straight and get air off the jump, that was pretty impressive,” Mr Skilton says. Snow and ice on the roads in one stage proved treacherous for some drivers, and around one third of the 100 entries do not make it through the rally. The Subaru had issues with its “broken up” gearbox and breaks. “The rest of the car went really well,” he says. The economic benefits of the Targa are calculated to be close to $1 million a day with spectators, support crew and competitors making heavy use of hotels, motels and restaurants.
