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TARGA NEWFOUNDLAND:  Final Results
Written by: Peter Guagenti   
09/14/2007 - 07:00 PM
Charlotte, NC
 
Close friends and overall Targa Newfoundland winners Bill Arnold and Roy Hopkins celebrate the end of the Targa Newfoundland in 2004. » More Photos

2007 brought lots of excitement, tight battles, and more than a few surprises.

The veteran team of Roy Hopkins and Adrienne Hughes managed to take the overall and Classic division win in their 1969 BMW 2002. Previously winners of the Modern division and always a threat to win overall, Roy and Adrienne's victory is vindication for the past few years where the Christos Targa trophy was close but challenges got in their way.

"I'm still a little numb," driver Roy Hopkins told the press after his victory. "I don't know how we did so well. Honestly, some of it was luck." Luck certainly played a large part, but there is no discounting the team's talent, experience, and Roy's mechanical abilities as he worked tirelessly every evening to make sure the car stayed in perfect shape for the rough Newfoundland stages. With just over 1 minute in accumulated penalties, and not a single mechanical fault or off-road excursion, Hopkins and Hughes showed that all of those things played an important part in bringing this win together.

Roy Hopkins is one driver from of a group of One Lap and Targa Newfoundland regulars that includes previous overall winner Glen Clarke and Bill Arnold, so this victory is very fitting. With all three of these drivers and close friends sharing space on the list of winners on the Christos Targa perpetual trophy, there is now a permanent record of this lasting friendship and more than 5 years of shared experiences.

Rounding out the top 3 overall were more Classic division cars. Finishing under a minute behind the BMW 2002 in 2nd place was the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro of Canadians Michael MacKenzie and Kirk Alexander, with 3rd place being won by a regular top 5 team, Jud Buchanan and Jim Adams in their 1967 Acadian Canso (sold as a Chevy II in the U.S.).

The highest-ranking modern car was the factory-entered 2004 Mazda RX-8 Jeff McKague and Mike Gayowski, who finished 7th overall. Jeff is an
experienced driver at Targa and a tremendous talent behind the wheel, accumulating 2 minutes and 56 seconds in penalties for the duration of the event.
The overall winning BMW 2002 of Roy Hopkins and Adrienne Hughes » More Photos

Lexus, BMW Mini, and Subaru also entered factory teams. Being the only Hybrid-class entry meant a straightforward win for the team of Marc Lachapelle and Jean-Francois Drolet in their Lexus GS450h. Despite being the only car in their class, the team pushed hard in hopes of a high ranking in the classifications, and were rewarded with a 19th overall placement. The factory-entered Subaru– basically a full Open-class pro rally car piloted by pro rally regulars the Paynter brothers – secured the Unlimited division win by 37 seconds over the privateer Subaru WRX of the father and son team of Tony and Ryan Kloosterman.

Of the 57 cars entered in the Targa competition, 9 were a total DNF and 4 more cars managed to repair their crash or mechanical damage to finish the last stage of the event be classified overall. This is a relatively low attrition rate for a rally, and is an indication of just how important finishing the Targa Newfoundland is for the crews involved.

Most of the crews will be back for next year, including our 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution, and we hope you'll continue to ride along.

Full coverage of the Targa Newfoundland 2007 begins on Speed TV in early 2008, with the 2008 running of the event to be held September 13 through September 20th.

READ THE INTRO HERE
THE MAZDA TEAM HERE
READ LEG 1 STORY HERE
READ LEG 2 STORY HERE
READ LEG 3 STORY HERE
READ LEG 3 STORY HERE