History of THE DUNLOP TARGA TARMAC CLASSIC Road Race

This tarmac event is unique in New Zealand motor sport and since its inception in 1995, has now grown from a seventy four-car entry to around 200 entries since 2004. and from one event a year to a series with the first two rounds being based in Rotorua in June.

The word Targa means plate in Italian and is derived from the prize which was awarded in 1906 to the winner of the first Targa, know as the Targa Florio. This event was held in Sicily and ran from 1906 until 1973 through some of the most spectacular mountain roads and villages of the island.

The French marque Bugatti reigned supreme during the 1920’s, then the Italians, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari took control until the Porsches arrived in Sicily. The indestructible German cars won ten events from 1959 to its finale in 1973. Almost every Grand Prix driver of those years competed in the world famous race.

In 1992 the Targa Tasmania was first held and the Australian event has also grown into an international class event.

The New Zealand event was started in Papakura in 1995 by Mike & Sue John with a large group of volunteers. Some of those volunteers are now employed full time in Targa’s Papakura office with the event being the largest closed road Motorsport event in Australasia.

Targa is based around ten categories, and broken into two competitions, Classic and Modern. It is now New Zealand’s largest competitive rally spanning vehicle eras from the 1950’s to today. The competition covers most of the North Island with closed Special tarmac Stages where the cars compete against the clock.

Local community involvement is part and parcel of the event with groups providing for lunches, fundraising activities such as barbecues, car washes, and hospitality areas. The main charity is Cure Kids.

Over 2500 beds are booked daily and over 1500 volunteers will be used during the course of the event. 500 plates are presented as trophies to the competitors, there is no prize money.

The Dunlop Targa brings over 7.5 million dollars into the local economy, and features each night on TV News during the six days of the event as well as a 60 minutes feature programme on TV1 and Sky TV.

In Australia, Channel seven will feature the one-hour special on the event and speed channel in the USA likewise.

The print media coverage is vast with monthly Updates and Official Programme in the Classic Driver magazine as well as on the Targa NZ web site www.targa.co.nz

The naming rights sponsor, South Pacific Tyres, under the Dunlop brand, have been with the event since its inception. Over 1000 tyres will be consumed by the competing cars during the event. There are associate sponsors such as Narva Automotive Electrical lighting, Pit Stop under car Specialists, Cornerstone Group Ltd, Metalman Pays top $$ for scrap, Honda Riders Club, Team Talk Radio Network, Genuine Vehicle Imports, TVD vehicle tracking/results I.T. company, Meguiars car polishes, Nulon high performance engine oils and additives

The attraction of this unique event is the ability for people from all walks of life to compete even in a standard vehicle. Given reasonable reliability and a good standard of driving ability it is possible to be as competitive as the man with the unlimited chequebook in each category.

Youth are not forgotten about with the event targeting young drivers through a series of initiatives to assist these at risk drivers to compete in a controlled manner rather than them testing their ‘skills’ in an open road situation.

Why do competitors compete in the Dunlop Targa? it’s the highest Motorsport pinnacle in New Zealand, scaling its height brings with it a true sense of satisfaction and accomplishment – that’s what Dunlop Targa NZ is all about; personal achievement