Paul Stokell has claimed his maiden Targa Tasmania crown, along with navigator Kate Catford
At his ninth attempt, Paul Stokell has finally conquered Targa Tasmania, scoring maiden victories alongside his South Australian navigator Kate Catford.
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GIANT-killer Paul Stokell ticked off a major item on his to-do list by claiming his maiden Targa Tasmania crown yesterday aboard his pocket-rocket Lotus Exige 350.
The hometown hero and his South Australian navigator Kate Catford went into the final day of competition around Hobart with a 2m 16s lead and crossed the finish line at MAC2 with a 2m 51s victory.
NSW driver Angus Kennard and his Tasmanian navigator Ian Wheeler finished second outright in their fire-breathing Nissan GTR, which was also good enough to win the GT4 Class by a massive 5m 47s.
Melbourne-based Tasmanian Matt Close held on for third outright in his Porsche GT3, 4m 24s behind Stokell.
It was a dream come true for Tasmanian Stokell, 51, who now lives in Queensland, and the first time the event has been won by a Lotus.
“I’m absolutely stoked,” he said.
“It’s a big bucket list moment for me, so finally ticking it off the list is fantastic.
“And being a local, Targa Tasmania has always been something pretty special to me.
“This is my ninth attempt, and I’ve had slim chances to win it in the past, and finally the weather conditions suited us and away we went.”
Stokell had a plan to drive conservatively on the final six stages through Tinderbox, Pelverata, Gardners Bay, Oyster Cove, Cygnet and Longley – but he had to be reminded.
“When we started today I knew we didn’t have to do anything silly, just focus on getting it done,” he said.
“The roads were very slippery down there – conditions were wet, dry, wet, dry all morning so it was very tricky but we just had to keep it on the road.
“We won the first stage and we pushed on a little bit.
“After that I thought, ‘nah, this is silly’ and I backed off, cruised home and the others did the same so we ended up with a bigger gap that when we started.
“We had moments all week, it’s never ending. We had a few scares along the way but we didn’t have any major dramas.”
It was Catford’s fifth Targa Tasmania, and her best result after coming second outright with Queenslander Tony Quinn in 2014.
“I’m stoked. This has also been a long-time dream for me so I’m pinching myself that we’ve actually done it,” she said.
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It is the first year Stokell and Catford have teamed for Targa and she gave the paring a big thumbs up.
“It’s awesome. I’ve had a great week,” she said.
“It’s always a challenging week in Targa. Anything and everything can happen but we worked well as a team and got the result so it’s really exciting.”
Western Australians Michael and Daniel Bray (1975 Holden Torana) took the spoils in Classic GT with a 2min49s win, and ACT team Guy and John Lilleyman (2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) scored a big win Early Modern by 9min37s.
NSW driver Nik Prieston (Fiat 131 Abarth Rallye) won the Classic title, and South Australian Kristian Downing (Subaru WRX STI) won the Rookie Rallye.
james.bresnehan@news.com.au
FINAL RESULTS AFTER DAY 6 of 6 (PROVISIONAL)
Outright
1 Paul Stokell/Kate Catford (Lotus Exige 350)
2 Angus Kennard/Ian Wheeler (Nissan GTR R35) +2min51s
3 Matt Close/Cameron Reeves (Porsche GT3 RS +4min24s
4 Jeff Morton/Daymon Nicoli (2017 Lotus Exige) +6min01s
5 John Ireland/Janet Binns (Dodge Viper ACR Extreme) +6min16s
6 Paul Dowie/James Marquet (Audi TT RS) +8min38s
6 Eddie Macguire/Michael Potter (Dodge Viper ACR) +8.38s
Dutton Garage GT2
1 Paul Stokell/Kate Catford (Lotus Exige 350)
2 Matt Close/Cameron Reeves (Porsche GT3 RS) +4min24s
3 Jeff Morton/Daymon Nicoli (2017 Lotus Exige) +6min01s
Classic Throttle Shop GT4
1 Angus Kennard/Ian Wheeler (Nissan GTR R35)
2 Paul Dowie/ James Marquet (Audi TT RS) +5min47s
3 Ben Newman/Andy Sarandis (Subaru Impreza WRX STI) +6min29s
Shannons Classic GT
1 Michael Bray/Daniel Bray (1975 Holden Torana)
2 Jon Siddins/Gina Siddins (1970 Datsun 240Z) +2min49s
1 Mick Downey/Nicholas Browne (1979 Holden Commodore VB) +10.14s
Shannons Classic
1 Nik Prieston/Dylan Braithwaite (1975 Fiat 131 Abarth Rallye)
2 Peter Gluskie/Samantha Winter (1985 BMW E30 325i) +2min40s
3 Peter Ulrich/Sari Ulrich (1964 Studebaker Avanti) +4min13s
Dutton Garage Early Modern
1 Guy Lilleyman/John Lilleyman (2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
2 Adam Kaplan/Aleshia Penney (2004 BMW M3 CSL) +9min37s
3 Peter Roberts/Suzanne Atkins (1992 Nissan Skyline GTS) +13min39s
Country Club GT Sports Trophy
1 Steven Sher/Fergal Murphy (Lotus Exige)
2 Mitchell Ringuet/Darryl Ringuet (2017 Lotus Sport 350) +41s
3 Tony Seymour/Sandra Seymour (Lotus Exige Sport 350) +1.53s
Shannons Thoroughbred Trophy
1 Tyson Cowie/Celise Cowie (Ford Escort Mk1)
2 David Currow/Kit O’Donnell (1969 Fiat 124) +44min15s
3 Jim Kelly/Evan Kelly (1984 Audi quattro) +1hr22s.10s
Budget TSD Trophy
1 Darryl Marshall/Peter Marshall (2002 Ford Falcon Pursuit Ute) 31 pts
2 Peter Taylor/Tristan Taylor (2013 Lotus Elise S) 35 pts
3 Steve Brumby/Heather Brumby (1999 Alfa Romeo GTV) 99 pts
Spirit of Tasmania Rookie Rallye
1 Kristian Downing/Richard Woodman (Subaru WRX STI)
2 John Ralph/Mark Brooks (Subaru WRX STI) +10min17s
3 Darryl Carr/Sharon Carr (Ford Mustang Roush 727) +10mins25s
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