Dunlop Targa, Day 5: Done and Done!

Saturday started cautiously. It was the last day of the event and a big one. After the beautiful weather the day before, the Hawkes Bay surprised us with uncharacteristically cold and drizzly conditions.

The first stage was cautioned as slippery and I had to keep my nerves at bay, as over-exuberance on the final leg has historically been the downfall of many competitors.

We were having problems with one of our carbs flooding, which made the car very difficult to keep running at low speeds. One more thing to think about wasn't what we needed. The uncertain conditions in the stage made it difficult to build up a comfortable rhythm and I wasn't sure how the new tyres (which we'd swapped the night before) were going to affect the car's balance, having yet to be "scrubbed in." Additional cautions also included a loose black sheep "somewhere" around the 5km mark - we didn't come across it fortunately. We finished within a reasonable time, but it was an unsatisfying drive.

The second stage of the day was much the same, with an unpredictable road surface. I didn't push and we were eventually caught by the Honda Integra Type R behind us. We waved him through but managed to stick with him for the remainder of the stage. Again, not a drive to be wholly satisfied with, but importantly, we kept it on the black stuff!

The quick service couldn't solve our flooding problems, so we were forced to continue as it was. I had to exercise a lot of heel and toe action to keep the car from stalling during the touring stages.

The road dried out as the day progressed and my confidence crept back, making my driving smoother and faster.

The next Service stop was also lunch, so was more generous at around 45min. We needed to take a serious look at the problem carburettor, so Alan and Hans dismantled it, checking for blockages along the way. We soon discovered that the float had a minute leak and had gradually been filling with fuel. The floats are brass and are soldered together - there was no way of knowing for sure where the leak was exactly.

After much deliberation we drilled a tiny hole to allow the fuel to escape, but now the problem was how to seal it. A butane soldering iron was tracked down from a generous service crew, but before we could apply heat we needed to evacuate the trapped petrol. Alan began to shake out the petrol, but it was painfully slow and time was running out, with our carb still in pieces.

Rob wanted to suck it out, which would have been horrible, so we decided to add flame. I applied a lighter to the dripping float and voila, instant flamethrower! Flame shot out of the tiny hole for a good few moments and soon the petrol was evacuated, but not before we set the grass alight! We soldered up the hole and Rob and I strapped ourselves in to the car in preparation for the next stage, which we were almost late for. Alan and Hans reassembled everything and we were ready to go as soon as they were, with the timing of a professional team! The engine fired up and we drove away, carbs functioning beautifully!

The next stage proved how cold it had become with new snow on the nearby Tararua Ranges. We lined up and a hopeful Honda crew chatted about catching us. Inspiration to drive faster maybe - but I was determined just to drive to my limits. We had a fantastic run, buoyed by the fact that the car was finally running like it should, and consequently, no Honda caught us.

But the continued use of full throttle took its toll. The float chamber was flooded again. Our fix had been temporary and our new hole had made things worse. We laboured to the next quick service stop where we quickly brainstormed over what to do. Supplies were scant and the soldering iron had been long since returned to the crew it belonged to. We had the mother of all stages coming up, and could not afford to have problems during it.

Hans remembered an old trick from his enduro riding days - they would repair broken fuel tanks temporarily with soap, since it doesn't react with petrol. I sprinted to the Norsewood public toilets, while Rob tried the 4 square. Only hand lotion - damn! Dad meanwhile, had found soap in the store, but with all kinds of fragrances, oils etc - not what we wanted in our fuel! We rifled through the shelves and found one remaining box of pure soap - bingo! $1.50 later and we had six cakes of the stuff! I sprinted back to the car where Al and Hans already had the carb in pieces. A small piece of the soap was then mixed with spit (!) and rubbed all over the float, which had been mostly emptied of fuel.

Rob and I jumped in the PV while things were put together in record time. Fired it up and away we went! So far so good.

When we next met at another service it was still running beautifully! In the meantime, we'd driven the stage I'd been dreading, SS36, at 44km long. What a stage! It turned out to be the best of the whole event. We were completely on form, flowing from one corner to the next, and bouncing off 6200rpm for the duration. Fantastic! Rob and I were whooping and screaming through the intercom, and we realised that we both loved this car. We caught and passed a Peugeot 106 and soon after saw tantalising glimpses of two seperate v8s ahead of us. We couldn't overcome their massive horsepower advantage though. We were surprised that we never saw the Integra's headlights behind us.

We told Alan and Hans to leave things alone, and that we'd finish the event on soap - only two more stages to go! They'd met up with Penny in the meantime and we sent them off to spectate in the last stage so they'd be in time to catch a glimpse of us in action. By now, the sun was even out.

The last two stages continued where we'd left off and the car, Rob and I were in fine form. We had learned that the Integra hadn't made it, rolling in SS36. I pushed hard but was mindful that we could lose everything here. I couldn't resist though when it came to crowd-lined intersections, braking late and flooring it around the bends - lifting the inside wheel every time!

Before we knew it, it was done, we'd made it! Through the final flying finish and Targa '07 was over. Where we'd end up in the results - we had no idea. But we'd surprised and entertained a hell of a lot of people and had had a blast doing it. The rush certainly didn't wear off during the tour back to Hastings, and would last for long time yet...