The 2021/2022 Motorsport Australia Targa Championship has arrived with this week’s Targa Great Barrier Reef welcoming almost double the number of crews compared to the 2020 edition. 
 
Held across multiple North Queensland regions, the popular tarmac rally will see 130 crews spread across multiple classes complete a mixture of 17 new and old challenging stages over three days of non-stop action. 
 
While there are many similarities to previous editions of the event, event organisers have made some changes this year to add to the entertainment and accommodate the event finishing on Father’s Day. 
 
Some of the new additions include a brand-new Cavalcade route which takes place in Cairns on day one, the course running through the beautiful Kuranda Range on Saturday, crews heading to Innisfail for TARGAtown on Sunday before wrapping up in Fogarty Park where the community will celebrate another running of the event and Father’s Day.
 
From a competitor perspective, there will be plenty of crews vying for the outright victory including last year’s TARGA Great Barrier Reef winner Tony Quinn, 2021 TARGA Tasmania runner-up Angus Kennard and RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) star Luke Anear.
 
Click here to view the entry list.
 
Another driver who will be giving themselves every opportunity for a big result in his GT Sports Trophy 2019 Lotus Exige 410 Sport is Wayne Udy.
 
Udy surprised many at last year’s event after stringing together a spectacular drive which saw him secure a runner-up finish behind only Quinn and the Whitsundays based driver is hoping to produce a similar performance this weekend.
 
“There was a lot of pressure on us last year to perform and we proved we could do it,” Udy explained.
 
“So, this year I’m going out to have a lot more fun. This year the pressure is off a little bit.”
 
“We are definitely going to aim to be up there in the overall standings again.
 
“We have only driven the Lotus twice since last year. It’s been sitting in the shed. I bought the car new, and it’s only got 3500km on it so with the low mileage it should be pretty reliable.”


Starting with the busiest day on Friday, the event will see crews take on 76 competitive kilometres across six stages in and around Cairns and Atherton. 
 
A further six stages and 64 competitive kilometres between Cairns and Ravenshoe await competitors on Saturday, before wrapping up with the shortest day on Sunday – five stages and 62 competitive kilometres around Innisfail. 
 
Click here to view the course guide. 
 
While competitors will be the big winners for the event, spectators will have it pretty good too with plenty of opportunities across the weekend to see the $12 million parade of classic and modern race cars contest the picturesque roads of Northern Queensland.
 
Some of the key highlights for fans include the Ceremonial Start at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino around 8am AEST on Friday, the TARGA Cavalcade on Friday afternoon in Cairns, the Kuranda Range Stage on Saturday morning and Sunday's Official finish at TARGAfest.


There is also plenty of entertainment for the whole family to enjoy outside of the racing including the Innisfail TARGA Town Car Show on Sunday midmorning to early afternoon.
 
Click here for all spectator information. 
 
Live updates of the event will be provided via TARGA’s social media channels, as well as through rallyresults. 
 
The 2021 TARGA Great Barrier Reef takes place in Cairns and its surrounds on 3-5 September.