1995 Targa Florio Team Final Report

The NZ Leyland P76 Owners Club Targa Florio Team began assembling at Pukekohe on Labour Day, Monday 23 October, for documentation and scrutineering. My navigator Rob Jones arrived the night before from Wellington and the Crew Chief Ed Tubman drove up from Pukekohe for the day. All went well apart from a slightly loose fire extinguisher bottle that required another check the next day.

Tuesday 24 October, saw the team completed with the arrival of Brent Purcell from Hamilton. The fire bottle bracket, suitably tightened passed its recheck and the tyres were marked before the driver's brief after lunch. This was the time for last minute checks and head scratching by the service team. A small leak from the water pump bearing was fixed by Ed and Brent during the driver's brief by replacing the complete assembly. It was great to see our oldest club member Noel White at the race track. Noel drove up in his lovely original Bold As Brass (Yellow) P76 to wish us good luck.

After the drivers' brief the complete field moved to the start position for the prologue. This was the first time many competitors had to use their tulip diagrams to navigate with. For Rob and me it was a brand-new experience. Provided we turned in the proper direction at the first tulip the rest seemed to follow okay. The prologue was a special stage once around Pukekohe Circuit in the reverse direction to the normal race track, behind the control bus, through the pits and back onto the track via the pit entry. Once more around the track in reverse direction but this time finishing at the end of the old club circuit. There was a very strange looking chicane about 300 metres from the Castrol corner end of the main straight. Tape and tyres seemed to stretch completely across the track making it difficult to see whether it was a right or a left hand chicane. The prologue was used to sort out the starting order(Fastest at the back).

After the prologue the entire field moved in a convoy through Pukekohe to the War Memorial Hall. The Franklin District Council had organised a Mayoral reception with free drinks and eats. After a few words from the Mayor and the Patron of the Rally we left the reception and checked into the Pukekohe Motel to shower and change for dinner. We were all tense with anticipation for the days to come. At the Hotel across the road where we had dinner we ran into the Honda Civic team from Christchurch in the bar. They seemed very relaxed, almost hysterically relaxed that first night.

Day one, Wednesday 25 October we were up early and out of our Motel by 7.30am. We found a bakery for breakfast and turned up so early at the start that we were second only to Adrian. He was to become very well known to competitors and service crews alike over the next week. A veteran of Targa Tasmania and many other rallies Adrian was chief microphone man. He was responsible for getting the competitors and service vehicles to the right parking areas at the right times and in the right order. We had a good chance to dust off all our old Australian jokes for Adrian's benefit.

Division one(Morning start to Midday = One division. Midday to afternoon finish = another division), saw the rally head northeast of Waiuku for the first three special stages. Stage one had us learning the finer points of the rules when we came upon the little Fiat Abarth with its nose buried in a fence. We stopped to check if they were okay before we realised that they were not holding up a red cross but a Zedca(Accident triangle). We found out later that the preceding Pontiac Trans-Am Firebird had broken the oil filter off on a brow and dumped seven or eight litres of oil on the road.

Stage three was one of the longest special stages at just over 30kms. It was a long windy, mostly down hill stage and ended uneventfully for us at Otaua. Others were not so lucky. We saw the sad sight of the XK140 with its nose up against a very large power pole. No Red Cross showing, drive on! The XK140 team did a great job on their car for they were back in the rally next morning.

Lunch at Otaua passed quietly for our service crew. Clean the windscreen and top up the gas was all that was required. Division two was a close call for us as Rob had difficulty finding our way to the start of the next special stage. We made it with a minute to spare. That afternoon we covered four more special stages as we worked our way south toward Te Rapa(Hamilton).

Special stage five sticks in my mind as a very exciting stage. It was about this stage that we realised that a tulip diagram showing straight for 6kms bore little resemblance to the actual road ahead. In that six kilometre stage there were many tight bends, bridges and brows. The start of special stage five was impressive. The road ran directly between the Meremere coal bucket pylons for .55kms before a sharp right hander. That is a little over a quarter mile and I know the big Leyland does a 96mph (154kph) quarter mile. I think from memory the warning sign read 45kph.

The last special stage was a short blast around the old Te Rapa air force base before heading for the motor show and parking in one of the big storage sheds. There was a good turnout from local motoring enthusiasts. Kevin Underwood a club member from Hamilton turned up to show some support. After fixing a broken tailpipe rubber strap and rotating all the wheels we had a few beers at the community centre before going back to Ed's place for the evening. The rally rules allow for only six tyres. At the start and finish of every day the tyre referees went around marking the competitor's tyres. Everything after day one seemed to be going very well. We had no idea where we were in the total field or in our class as the provisional results weren't available until morning.

Day two and we were up at 6.00am. After breakfast and a short drive to Te Rapa we lined up with our new start number 31. A quick read of the provisional results from day one had us somewhere in the middle of the field. Our start number however had dropped from 41 to 31. We had no idea why we appeared to have lost 10 places. Division three saw us head out of Hamilton via State Highway 3 bypass and a long touring stage to Te Awamutu. Two short special stages SS 9 and 9b, joined by a very short touring stage had Rob stumped. After we retraced our steps back to the finish of SS 9, we found the start of SS 9b just around the corner! That cost us nine minutes of lateness penalty and a round of beers for Rob.

From Te Awamutu we toured down to Otorohanga, past Waitomo caves to the start of SS 10. This was a very twisty stage and with the skinnier rubber and dry conditions it was hard work keeping us out of Kawhia harbour. There were many very large and long skid marks and the odd bent fence post or two along the way. We had one minor double ninety-degree skid but made the stage pretty close to the minimum time.

Half way through SS 11 we had our first off. A fast right hander, over the brow of a slight rise and a tightening right hander with negative camber, lovely! . As the weight came off the wheels over the rise I knew I had lost it and concentrated on staying on the road and stopping. We slid left ninety degrees, right ninety degrees and then left one hundred and eighty degrees. By now we were going backwards off the seal along the side of a low grass-covered bank much to the amusement of the locals at the Honikiwi Garage. When we stopped, I could see we could not drive out of our predicament. So Rob took off out of the car and ran up the road(Yes in the correct direction) and placed our Zedca back before the corner.

I climbed out of the P76 and walked disconsolately up the hill to the garage. The Garage owner's father greeted me with these words of advice. " You're not the first one to come off on that corner." While we waited for the rest of that stage to finish, I tried to contact our service crew by cell phone but of course we were out of a service area. The guys at the Honikiwi garage proved to be miracle workers. They sensed immediately our desire to get back into the rally and dropped what they were doing to help us.

And what were they doing on that sunny Thursday morning? They were dropping a P76 motor and gearbox into a Jaguar XJS! Of all the spots to have come off in the central north island I picked a place outside a garage that new first hand what a Leyland P76 was. Once the Leyland was pulled back onto the road we saw that the chassis rail on the right-hand side was twisted. No problem for the boys at the Honikiwi garage. Over the pit she went out came the portapower and sledge hammer. About this stage our service team of Ed and Brent arrived and flew into action. It took about two and a half hours to straighten out the chassis and stitch it up. While we were there they also re-metaled a pushrod for us that was starting to get noisy. When they had finished, I jumped in and took the car for a quick spin(Metaphorically speaking). The steering geometry was perfect and the car felt good again.

We paid the boys at the garage($110 parts and labour and set off to regain the field at Taupo. We arrived at Taupo just as the field was settling into the Taupo motor show. The rumor machine had been working overtime. We were supposed to be out of the rally and in Kawhia harbour! Unknown to us two of Division four's three stages had been canceled. That meant that we had only missed one SS. The Team was out of the running for a Targa plate but we were back in the race with a chance to catch up in our class and to finish. It was my turn to shout when we hit Taupo so I did the decent thing and took the team out for dinner on me.

Day three, Friday 27 October, we were up and out of the Chelmswood Manor Motel by 6.00am. No time to check the provisional results we were off on the short touring stage to the Taupo race track. Five laps and finish on the sixth was SS15b. Rob had five pieces of tape stuck to the glove box ready to remind him how many laps to go. As we went round the sweeper for the first time, I saw thick smoke billowing from behind the car and thought " Oh Shit! " We continued until we finished that stage and stopped for a rapid road side service. Phew! The tappet cover gasket was torn from the repairs to the pushrod the day before and oil had been leaking onto the exhaust manifold as I threw the car into the left-hand turns. We didn't have a spare tappet gasket but Mr. Gasket Goo had us on our way in a matter of minutes.

SS16 was more than 120 km away just outside Taumaranui. The route took us down State Highway 1 to Turangi then across to Taumaranui round the southern end of Lake Taupo. Right after that stage we came upon a little country school where the kids were out in force. They had drinks and a sausage sizzle organised. We stopped and immediately were mobbed by the children for our autographs. SS 16 was the worst SS with loose gravel, large pot holes and other road works. The exhaust took a severe panel beating on that section. Some very low clearance cars such as the Austin Healy 3000 and the Frasers must have found it hard going.

Lunch was at Taumaranui and a chance to try to work out where we were in the rally. We didn't feature at all, so no help there. Division six was very busy with six special stages on the way back to Rotorua. SS 21 also sticks in my mind as it was the service crew's turn to make a mistake. We had stopped for gas from the service car(Our fuel gauge had stopped working after the off the day before) in the forest section of the highway near Atiamuri. After filling the car Ed and Brent had driven off saying they would see us in Rotorua as they wanted to check out their auto trans. As they disappeared in the distance, I jumped in the car only to find that Ed had taken off with the keys in his pocket!

Again the cell phone was in a no service area. Suddenly we were looking like another lateness penalty. Fortunately Brent realised we were not following them and turned back. We just made the Upper Atiamuri stages with a minute to spare. Phew! Of all the special stages I enjoyed SS 21 and SS22 the most. The road surface was excellent and the general layout of the road was fast and twisty without any dangerous humps. Magic.

We made the motor show in Rotorua on time and had only the wheels to rotate and an exhaust strap to weld. The provisional results showed that we were somewhere in the middle of the field and fifth in our class. We were going well and the car was performing faultlessly. With the diff. I had selected for the rally(3.5:1) I was rev limited to 192kph at 6000rpm. Very few of the special stages so far had us running out of revs. The three speed Borg Warner auto trans. was working perfectly. We had a good Friday night out in Rotorua and a few beers.

Day four, Saturday 28 October, we woke early again but this time to the sound of rain. Well I had Planned on rain at some point in the rally and had chosen wet weather tyres rather than race tyres(Slicks). With the Targa Florio theme, and original alloys we were limited in tyre profile and width(225x60x14ZR). Now the rain would help even things out or at least I hoped it would. The first special stage was through the Gardens at Kurau park. We took it steadily without any mishaps. By the time we got to SS 24 and 25 round the back of Lake Rotorua the rain was pouring down. Visibility was low to medium in cloud and mist. Lovely stuff. Instrument flying weather!

The Bridgestone RE-71's were great in these conditions. Just as I was starting to get really into the wet and Rob was tightening his straps even tighter we started to get a severe front wheel shimmy at speed. It began happening on the touring stage around Lake Rotoiti. I thought maybe one of the front struts had collapsed or that some chassis stitching had come undone. We stopped and I had a look but couldn't see any thing. We had missed our service crew at the rendezvous point and so had to get through SS26 & SS27 without their help. SS26 & SS 27 were windy sections of road round the back of Lake Rotoma toward Matata. Again we were in a no service area on the cell phone!

The shimmy was getting worse but fortunately these two special stages were not straight speed sections. I could dampen out the shimmy with a stab on the brakes. On SS 27 we passed the Saker(Running on two cylinders or so he said afterwards) and almost caught the McLaren. Ed and Brent joined us on the touring stage just out of Edgecumbe. The front left lower ball joint nut had come loose. A quick tighten and a double nut for good measure and we were on to SS28 just out of Taneatua.

SS28 was the fastest straight line stage and I had to sit on the rev limiter in top at 192kph for a portion of the stage. Lunch was at Whakatane and Roger Critchely and his wife turned up to give us some moral support. By now our start position varied a lot depending on who made a stage and who did not. The marshals wanted to keep the rally to the master schedule and were starting cars in the sequence that they had arrived. One of the two red Ferrari Testarossa's was starting just in front of us on SS 29 and the road was still wet. More of this shortly.

We started one minute later and were about 9km into the stage when I saw a local farmer waving his shirt at us as I was lining up a fast left-hand blind corner. Rob shouted to me over the intercom to slow down and I buttoned off as we entered the corner. I immediately saw what the farmer was trying to warn us about. There in the middle of the road was a large concrete power pole complete with Tee pieces and wires. I swerved around the Tee and pulled up just past it. To my right against the fence was the Ferrari with its occupants still inside.

Rob leaped out of the car and headed back up to the corner with the Zedca. I got out and went over to the Testarossa. The driver was yelling at me to be careful of the power wires that were still live. When the next car came around the corner(Fiat Abarth) I flagged them down and gave them the trip meter reading and asked them to a cell phone the emergency number to get the power cut off. They headed off and by now the Ferrari team was out of their car and helping Rob slow down following traffic. We recovered the Zedca and drove on to continue the next special stage. It was very sad to see such a lovely car lying broken beside the road.

After SS 31 we toured into Te Puke for afternoon tea. From there to Tauranga was a touring stage and we arrived at the motor show via a car wash at Mt Maunganui. The service crew rotated the wheels and changed the disc pads. Otherwise, the car was 100 per cent. A good crowd of motoring enthusiasts turned up during the afternoon and evening. Kevin and Heather Rowe came out with the family to see us and the car. We left the motor show early evening and went round to Steve Learmonths where we stayed for the night. Thanks Steve.

Day five began at 7.55am on Sunday 29 October. We left Tauranga central and started SS 32. This was a short special speed stage around the waterfront motor way. The organisers had removed two concrete centre dividers and the stage ran each way between the U turns. This was the first shot at the new brake pads and there was nobody home at the first U turn. By the time we had got to the second U turn the brakes began to work and we were cooking with gas.

Division nine covered several special stages north of Tauranga on our way to Waihi. SS 35 was in behind Waihi along the gorge. It was fast and exciting with several one lane bridges. Lunch was at Paeroa and by now I was sensing that we would finish the rally in one piece. I am not sure if the rest of the team shared my feelings.

After lunch we began Division 10. This stage saw us cross the Hauraki plains to Patetonga. There we had SS 38 in behind Maramarua before touring through Meremere and Pokeno back to Pukekohe for the epilogue. We arrived back at Pukekohe at 3.16pm and lined up for the epilogue. A lot had happened in the past five days. We had covered nearly 2000kms, of which 408kms were special stages. Apart from the chassis damage in the ditch the car had performed perfectly. This had not been a Sunday afternoon drive. The Leyland had been given death for five days and it took it well.

As we launched into SS 39, the epilogue, I had time to reflect on how much effort and planning had gone into the Team's preparation. The raffle, the endless letters requesting sponsorship and the obtaining of licences and certificates for the driver, navigator and car all seemed far away as we roared down the back straight of Pukekohe. The police had set up a speed camera about 200 metres from the chicane which was about 200 metres from Castrol corner. We were clocked at 173kms or 5,500rpm in top. I have the photo to prove it.

We rounded the circuit for the last lap and pulled up at the event finish line to receive our finishers' medals. We did not know at that stage where we had finished but we knew there was less than a minute between third and fifth. As it turned out we were fourth in our class and 59th overall. It was great to see some club members come out to Pukekohe to watch the finish and be part of the experience. Noel White was there again as were Jim and Nanette Lawson and Dave Timms.

This was a rally run like the classic rallies of the past. Nobody knew in advance where we going and there were no pace notes or route experience. As you crested the brow of a rise at 180kph you had no idea whether the road went straight ahead or turned sharp right or left. This was the ultimate driving experience! I would like to thank all the club members who supported us, our sponsors, the team members, their wives and families and the organisers of Targa New Zealand. I think this rally will grow from strength to strength as more people become aware of what a superb event it is. I wish Mike and Sue John all the best in their quest for major sponsorship over the coming year. We will be back.