Defending CAMS Australian Targa champion, Jason White, is ready for his latest challenge, Supaloc Targa Adelaide, after completing an extensive reconnaissance on the course around the Adelaide Hills.
Jason White flying on his way to victory at Targa Tasmania in 2012
It’s the first time that White will have competed in the South Australian event, and while his flame-throwing Lamborghini is ready, the Tasmanian has been spending long hours preparing himself for the coming event, which gets underway at the Wayvlle Showgrounds with the Intercontinental night stage, before heading to the hills for four days of rally action.
A new event for a driver produces new challenges, the biggest of which is writing the course pacenotes – a comprehensive description of the stages that allows the driver to travel over the course at a much higher speed than normal, but also with a lot more safety, given that he knows what lies ahead or around the next corner.
“It’s a very time consuming process and it’s the first time I’ve actually sat down and written my own notes from scratch.
“We normally use Jamie Vandenberg’s notes and then take them and change them to suit us, but this time we’ve written our own notes in their entirety. But it’s all part of the challenge and all part of the hard work that you do to make sure you can figure in the results in these sorts of events.”
The stages differ greatly to the other events in the championship in Tasmania and Victoria, but it is a challenge White is relishing.
“They look like very enjoyable stages and I’m really looking forward to driving them.
If there’s one certainly in motorsport, it’s that nothing stays the same, and technology is always surging forward at a great rate. Yet for White and his Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale, there has been little change.
The team have given the car a tidy up and made a few changes to some important electrical components, but other than that, the car will appear in pretty much the same specification that it did at the previous event.
Tyres though, are another matter, and White is still contemplating his choice of compound, given the road conditions and the likely weather during the event.
“We nearly got through the whole of Targa Tasmania on one set of tyres, and there’s not a lot of tight and twisty stuff in South Australia, so that may mean we go for a slightly softer compound of tyre.
“Other than that though, the car’s sitting here ready to go and I can’t wait.
“I’m probably looking forward to this event more than I’ve looked forward to any event for quite a while. It’s certainly a new challenge, and I’m hoping all the guys have a trouble-free run and we can put on a great show.”
