Targa Tasmania 2017: Nichols Rivulet Stage

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This absolutely fabulous 1970 Datsun 240Z, crewed by Jon and Gina Siddins, is a giant-killer in every sense of the word, having not only taken out first place in the Classic GT class of Targa Tasmania 2017 but also an awesome ninth place overall!  And that's awesome in the real sense of the word - inspiring genuine awe - and not the throw away line of a teenager who's been momentarily distracted by a Snap-chat pic.

To put the Siddins' achievement into perspective, they have driven their forty-seven year old, six-cylinder, two-wheel drive Datsun in one of the world's toughest and best tarmac rallies and beaten a massive field of vehicles from some of the greatest manufacturers ever - including exotics like Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus, Audi, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin - as well as coming out well ahead of an impressive fleet of contemporary V8s, turbo-charged all-wheel-drives and other high-tech, super-performance entries.  The overall winners - Jason and John White, driving a 2016 Dodge Viper - only beat Team Siddins by 11 minutes, 45 seconds over six days of competition, and eight place - Angus Kennard and Ian Wheeler in a 2015 Nissan GTR -  bested them by a mere 40 seconds!

Well done, Jon and Gina!  You're the winners of the hitherto never heard of and not even slightly prestigious U M P H Legends of Targa 2017 award.  And that's legends in the true sense of the word and not the response of a teenager for whom you've just held open a door ("Thanks, mate.  You're a legend.")!

Here's a link to Peter Whitten's official Targa article, outlining the full final results (https://targa.com.au/tc/news_details.asp?asset_id=29767), as well as a piece from the ABC's Edith Bevan (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-29/jon-siddins-in-datsun-240z-targa-tasmania-2017/8482786) with a picture of Jon and Gina.  Please enjoy them and the following photos from UMPH.    





























































































U M P H

 (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au)

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