Fantastic start for Brendan at Targa Wrest Point

Brendan has finished Leg 1 of Targa Wrest Point in third place after a superb driving performance today. In his first competitive outing in the Mazda Motorsport RX8, Brendan consistently set top four stage times, with a stage win and two second fastest stage times in the process. After seven stages, and 122 kilometres of competitive driving, Brendan and Rhianon are just 25 seconds behind the leading crew, Matt and Casey Close, in an Audi TTRS, and 17 seconds adrift of the Lamborghini Gallardo team of Jason and John White.

 

"We had a fantastic day today," Brendan said. "The car has been great to drive - the team have done a great job preparing it for the event, and I am loving driving it!

"I'm still learning a lot about the RX8 and fine tuning my techniques. Learning when to push and when not to was just part of my learning curve today.

"It was a pretty hot day today so we backed off a little in the last two stages to conserve the tyres a bit for tomorrow."

Leg 2 of Targa Wrest Point consists of another seven stages which are a mix of old stages and some run in reverse to previous years. Brendan and Rhianon will focus on their own performance rather than that of their competitors, choosing to run their own race and learn more about the car. They are aiming for a top three finish, and based on today's performance, it is highly likely.

To cap off a great day, Brendan and Rhianon's brother, Nathan, sits in fifth outright in his first outing in his Subaru WRX STi.

See photos from Targa Wrest Point in Brendan's Photo Gallery.