Stokell and Catford take top honours in Tassie

Saturday 04 May, 2019

Photo: Angryman Photography

Reigning CAMS Australian Targa Championship champion Paul Stokell has claimed a sensational victory in 2019 Targa Tasmania, after putting an incredibly consistent performance throughout the week.

Driving beside CAMS Australian Rally Championship (ARC) co-driver Kate Catford for the six-day event, Stokell found his championship winning 2018 form to live out his dream of winning the iconic tarmac rally.

After a sluggish start to the event, the 51-year-old was a handed a lifeline on day two when seven-time Targa Tasmania champions Jason and John White were demoted to the middle of the field, while outright leader Steve Glenney and Dennis Sims suffered a serious crash on day three putting them out of the running.

Click here to read the first-half review.

Following the two front-runners’ misfortunes, Stokell and Catford continued their charge up the standings with then-leaders Matt Close and co-driver Cameron Reeves for the whole of the fourth day.

After pressing the leaders for much of the day, Stokell and Catford eventually steered their Lotus Exige Sport 350 past the Porsche GT3 RS of Close and Reeves and never surrendered the lead for the remaining two days.

While Close and Reeves eventually dropped down to third outright at the expense of GT4 class winners Angus Kennard and Ian Wheeler, Stokell was thrilled to add the prestigious title to his circuit dominated trophy cabinet.

“I’ve always called Targa Tasmania the hardest event I’ve ever done,” Stokell said.

“It’s the most challenging and the most individual thing because you are out there on your own.

“The conditions we had - we went from icy roads that were so slippery that you could hardly stay on them to high grip, high-speed stuff and you’ve got to adapt pretty quickly.

“To win a circuit racing championship you can never take it away but this means a lot.”

Like Stokell, Catford also had an outright Targa Tasmania victory on her bucket-list, making their victory in extremely difficult conditions all the more sweeter.

“This is very special and it has long been a dream of mine,” Catford said.

“Sometimes you think it’s an unrealistic dream so I’m really excited to win Targa Tasmania.

“In the wet conditions it took a lot of focus to get through safely. Paul really drew on all his experience in the wet.”

It was a weekend of celebration for the Championship’s 2018 winners with Michael and Daniel Bray picking up a fortunate victory in the Shannons Classic GTs to continue their domination of the class in 2019.

Like Stokell, the Brays took some time to settle in but eventually took the class’ top spot when Mick Downey and Nicholas Browne were handed a 15-minute penalty sending them to third.

“It’s been pretty intense from the start to the finish with no let-up,” Bray said.

“The rules made it a bit challenging with the Downey crash at Strahan yesterday and there’s a few grey areas but we know where it’s at and we accept it.”

Click here to read what all the class winners had to say post-event.The third round of the CAMS Australian Targa Championship moves to the North of Queensland for the second Targa Great Barrier Reef in Cairns on 30 August - 1 September.