The Need for Speed

Dad and I send greetings from Newfoundland! Our love for car racing has brought us to Targa Newfoundland, a 5 day road race and rally in the eastern most Canadian province of Labrador and Newfoundland on the island of Newfoundland. 

We sat out last year's La Carrera Panamericana and this year have decided to try something new - new car (to us), new country (the frozen north), new type of rally (less all-out speed and more calculations/accuracy on my part).  

The 1954 Ford Victoria of Mexican racing infamy stayed home in the barn. Though the Vicky will always be our #1, her stout build heavy weight aren't the ideal build for the type of racing and tight turns of this race. Plus, hauling or shipping her this far northeast didn't make much sense so dad bought a car in Ottawa - because that makes more sense. Our chariot for Targa Newfoundland is a 2003 Audi A6 Cuatro TT. This Audi last raced Targa in 2013 with Mark McDonald, who is racing this year in a GT 40. 

The class in which we are competing is the the Grand Touring Class. It is not like the race-rally/unlimited speed in La Carrera. This is averaging certain speeds to hit the checkpoints on target. Same idea of not being late/early and not getting lost with the help of a rally computer, route book, a good map and some luck. 

There is another class - the open division - it is the race style of rallying. Our friends Jack Rogers and CJ Strupp are in this class in Jack's blazing fast 1965 Mustang 350 GT. We've had the privilege of racing with Jack & CJ and Steve (crew chief and CJ's husband) & Greg (who also can fix anything, anywhere). You'll remember Steve and Greg saved our asses several times in Mexico - by fabricating a push rod in the parking lot of Queretaro and the next year they sawed off our rattling harmonic balancer on the side of the road in BFE, Mexico. We are fond of the whole team not only for their mechanical propensities but also for their great friendships. I am looking forward to hugging their necks and experiencing Targa Newfoundland with them. 

It took 15 hours of travel and three flights to get here. We arrived mid-day today and got settled. Had a few errands to run, enjoyed a nice dinner in downtown St. John's and visited with some other racers. Tomorrow we have a day of driving school to get accustomed to Newfoundland's roads and the rules of this rally. It will also be nice to get in the car and get comfortable with the setup. 

Had an iceberg beer - brewed with water from an iceberg (!). It was refreshing!