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Targa High Country 2011
Solid Result for Neil Buckby Subaru
The Neil Buckby Subaru Team of Ben Newman and Crichton Lewis had a strong result at last week’s Targa High Country, held in and around Mt Buller and Mansfield in rural Victoria.
The Launceston Subaru dealers finished fourth in the 4WD showroom competition, coming home in front of a large contingent of Mitsubishi Evolition rally cars and beating home many exotic European sports cars, in the outright competition.
Day one was a street stage around the township of Mansfeild on Friday afternoon, similar to the George Town prologue that kicks off Targa Tasmania, with Newman and Lewis setting a safe consistent lap to get a good spot in the starting order for day two.
Day two headed towards Wangaratta with the Team taking a little while to settle into the high speeds. After the lunch stop, they started to lift the pace, putting in some solid times to keep to the heels of the leading cars. The day finished with a stage up Mt Buller where Newman and Lewis pushed hard to set a great time up the mountain.
Day Three was the longest and most challenging day. The roads were more technical and were mixed with high speed sections but the Team were able to set solid consistent stage times. The day was made more challenging by the changing grip levels where the alpine Tarmac was breaking up in the heat, and made worse by 160 rally cars tearing up the surface. By the final three stages of the day, the Neil Buckby Subaru Team had started to push the pace again. Some small suspension tweaks had made the car more drivable and the Team pushed hard on the return run up Mt Buller to set solid stage times again.
The Team of Ben Newman, Crichton Lewis and service crew, David McPharlin, Brendan Brown and Peter Nunn were thrilled to get the car home considering the challenging roads and surface conditions. They now look towards the next events, Targa Wrest Point in Janauary and the iconic Targa Tasmania in Late April.
CLASSIC TASMANIA RALLY 25th-27th February 2011
The Neil Buckby Motorsport Team headed into the Classic Tasmania Rally more relaxed after surviving a steep learning curve at Targa Wrest Point. The rally was held on the North West Coast of Tasmania and covers some famous landmarks including Hellyer Gorge and Savage River.
DAY 1
Right from the start, the Neil Buckby Motors Team of Newman and Lewis were more than competitive, ending Day One leading the Showroom Class, and lying seventh overall.
DAY 2
Day Two continued in the same successful way with the Neil Buckby Motors Team winning most stages in the Showroom Class and by the days end leading this class by over a minute. The highlight of Day Two was a magnificent second run over Hellyer Gorge, beating the nearest showroom competitor by seventeen seconds. The Team was thoroughly enjoying the event and the learning experience along the way.
Day 3
Day Three did not go to plan. The first stage of the day, the Calder – Yolla Stage, the Neil Buckby Motorsport Team left the road approximately 1 kilometre into the stage. The combination of an 8 left at high speed, into a down hill 6 right with a crest in between, caught driver Ben Newman out by not being able to slow the car over the crest between a fast and slow corner. The Subaru slid off the road and down a steep bank, through some fences and came to rest in some blackberry bushes on its side.
While the car was not comprehensively damaged, the damage was enough to bring the event to an abrupt end for the team. Both Newman and Lewis came out unscathed except for heavily jarred backs.
This unfortunate set back for Targa 2011 has not dampened the Team’s enthusiasm as they now prepare for up and coming rallies which include Targa High Country Victoria in November 2011, Targa Wrest Point 2012, Classic Tasmania 2012 and Targa Tasmania 2012.
Targa Wrest Point 29th-30th January 2011
After 6 months of research, building and preparing, the Neil Buckby Motorsport Team of Ben Newman (driver) and Crichton Lewis (Navigator) were extremely nervous ahead of their competition debut.
Targa Wrest Point is a lead-up event held prior to the world renowned Targa Tasmania. Targa Wrest Point is held on roads south of Hobart including areas such as Tahune, Cygnet, Dover etc.
DAY 1
Day One of the rally proved to be a huge learning curve for the inexperienced driver and navigator pairing, taking the morning to come to terms with the extreme speeds required to be competitive in a modern Tarmac Rally vehicle. The highlight of Day One was the final stage of the day, Longley. The team really started to hit its straps, (showing potential!!) feeling confident in the car and with their own ability. They turned up the intensity to return a third fastest on the stage which was only a few seconds off first place, and matching some very experienced competitors.
DAY 2
Day Two started with the amazing Pelverata Stage. Newman and Lewis, after the strong showing in the previous afternoon stage, decided to push reasonably hard and again come up with a top three time. Throughout the day, the team was consistently competitive, swapping positions with much more experienced competition, with the Cygnet Stage a highlight of the afternoon.
A decision was made on the last few stages of the day to conserve a strong forth position, having dropped quite a lot of time on the morning of Day One. The gap between forth to third was too great to try and reach.
The Neil Buckby Motorsport Team was rapt to come home forth in their maiden event, beating many experienced drivers.
Motorsport
Neil Buckby Motors is pleased to announce its intention to enter Tasmania's Iconic Targa Tasmania Tarmac Rally, Neil Buckby Motors has managed to secure a limited edition Subaru Impreza STI Spec C, and plans to compete in Targa and similar motorsport events in the state.
The car is the big brother of the already potent Subaru WRX, however the Spec C is specifically built by Subaru Technica Inernational (STI) for the purpose of motorsport, with many modifications to make the car faster and safer.
The car will be campaigned by Neil Buckby Motors' Ben Newman and Crichton Lewis, both novices to motorsport, but combined with the performance of Subaru's legendary flat four turbo engine and Subaru's acclaimed All-Wheel-Drive, the Neil Buckby Motors Team expects to be competitive from the start.
Stay Tuned for updates on this exciting foray into motorsport by the Neil Buckby Motors Team.
Below is an press release from Subaru explaining some modifications to the Subaru Impreza Spec C.
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