The MultiVital Clubman takes on Targa Tasmania 2000
Prologue and Day 1
One thing about we at Greenridge and our involvement in the natural health industry, we have never been afraid to take on the big guys. The same could be said for our exploits in Tasmania in early May.
Lined up against 300+ other competitors including some of Australia’s (and the world’s) best professional racing drivers in equipment from some of the world’s finest sports and GT car manufacturers, the little 1.6 litre homebuilt MultiVital VanDemon Westfield clubman ran with the leading pack and raised a few eyebrows amongst the establishment.
Racing through the streets
of Georgetown on the prologue.
Targa Tasmania in 2000 was a full six day plus prologue enduro. The event circumnavigated the state covering a total of 2500km with 500+ km of competitive Targa stages, all conducted on the most challenging winding & mountainous bitumen roads the state has to offer. For those unfamiliar with this event, target times are set for each Targa stage that are, in the main, impossible to achieve. The time taken to complete the stage over this target (base) time is considered penalty time. The competitor with the lowest total penalty time at the end of the event is the winner.
After scrambling to complete the car in five months we ran fairly strongly in the 1999 event. In 2000 we wanted to make an impression. Close ratio gears, 4.4:1 LSD, heavier springs, bigger ventilated front brakes and a lightened flywheel were the main improvements since last year. Two members of the Westfield club were a big help also. Reinhold Sholz produced some fibreglass side pods which a) clean up the air flow and make the cabin much more liveable, b) provide better weather protection, c) provide some side impact protection and d) provide additional ‘bits and pieces’ luggage carrying space. (wet weather gear, first aid kit, safety triangles) Due to lack of preparation time I hadn’t got round to making a front anti-sway bar so Des Edwards kindly loaned his.
Day 1. Cornering hard at
Moriarty and over the rail line at Lilydale
Imagine our thrill to learn, at the end of the first day, that we were eighth fastest for the day. The fact that we were 1 second behind last year’s second placegetter and 13 seconds ahead of last year’s third placegetter indicates not only the increased intensity of competition but also the blistering pace we were able to set in the MultiVital Westfield clubman.