Mazda happy with day one of Targa Tasmania

With all three team cars having shown they can mix it with the best, it’s fair to say that the Mazda Motorsport team is satisfied with their work so far as they draw a line under Leg One of Targa Tasmania.

As battle commenced on the day’s first stage at Lilydale, an expectant Targa crowd waited to see just who would be the main challengers for this year’s title and they didn’t have to wait long for Steve Glenney in the RX-8 SP to signal his intentions. Glenney showed solid pace throughout the morning but managed to find an extra gear with an equal first at Nook and a stage win at Sheffield as the RX-8 SP finished the day in third place outright just 29 seconds behind the Nissan GT-R of Tony Quinn.

Unsurprisingly, Glenney was happy with how today unfolded. “It was a really good day for us today and the RX-8 SP was solid as a rock. We lost a little bit of time on the open stuff earlier on but through Sheffield where it becomes tight and twisty the little RX-8 SP clawed some time back and we’re not too far from the leaders,” he said.

Mazda Motorsport’s newest recruit, Jamie Vandenberg, also made the competition sit up and take notice as he became more and more comfortable behind the wheel of his RX-8 SP eventually finishing the day fourteenth outright.
With his confidence growing with each passing stage, Vandenberg and his rotary rocket will be one of the teams to watch over the coming days.

A further vital component of Mazda’s triple Targa attack is Brendan Reeves and it was no surprise to see him setting the pace today in the competition’s Showroom category.  Unbeaten on every one of today’s stages, Reeves’ Mazda3 MPS now holds a commanding lead in the Showroom category and will be the one to beat as the race progresses.
“We had some fun today and the MPS did exactly what we asked it to do. We’re now out in front in the Showroom category but expect a tussle all the way to Hobart. But we’ll relax a bit tonight and prepare ourselves for some challenging stages tomorrow,” said Reeves.

Leg Two of Targa Tasmania incorporates a further eight competitive stages out to the east of Launceston.

Source: Mazda Motorsport