Coronial inquest into deaths of four Targa Tasmania race competitors delayed

A formal inquest into the deaths of four rally drivers who were killed in Targa Tasmania crashes during 2021 and 2022, which was due to begin in Hobart on Monday, has been delayed.

A formal inquest into the deaths of four rally drivers who were killed in Targa Tasmania crashes during 2021 and 2022, which was due to begin in Hobart on Monday, has been delayed.

Coroner Simon Cooper had set down a four-day hearing to examine circumstances surrounding the deaths of Vincent Navin, Leigh Mundy, Dennis Neagle, and Anthony Seymour.

The scene of fatal Targa Tasmania crash in Lower Wattle Grove, Wattle Grove Road. Picture: Zak Simmonds

But on what was meant to be the opening day of the coronial inquest, the court informed parties the hearing had been delayed due to illness of key personnel.

The inquest is now set to begin on Tuesday.

In the 2021 edition of the race, veteran driver Mr Navin died on the West Coast during the event’s Mt Arrowsmith stage, when his 1979 Mazda RX-7 plunged 10m off the road and landed in Double Barrel Creek.

The 68-year-old became the third fatality in Targa’s then-29-year history, however tragedy struck again just the very next day when 68-year-old Hobart man Leigh Mundy, 68, and his Queensland co-driver Dennis Neagle, 59, died after their Porsche GT3 RS hit a tree at Cygnet.

The rest of the 2021 event was then downgraded to touring only, with Motorsport Australia announcing it would review the deaths and establish an investigatory tribunal.

In 2022, despite Targa implementing all 17 recommendations from a review into the 2021 race, another rally driver died just two days into the event.

Brisbane driver Anthony Seymour, 59, was killed when his car left the road on the Mount Roland stage and crashed down a bank.

Last year, Targa Tasmania announced it would not go ahead in 2023 or 2024, but would return in April 2025 subject to all the findings of the coronial inquest being released.