Porsche was in attendance at the 2011 Targa Tasmania rally and produced a video documentary of three teams—each piloting an iconic 911—as they tore through the island’s most challenging roads. World Rally Champion Walter Röhrl and his co-driver Christian Geistdörfer were arguably the most compelling story.
The last time the duo raced together was exactly 30 years ago at the 1981 San Remo rally where their 911SC suffered a broken driveshaft and denied them a win. For the Targa Tasmania, 64-year-old Röhrl and Geistdörfer were reunited with that same 911SC when the unthinkable happen during the second leg – the same driveshaft broke again.
“Some cars are just never meant to come to the finish line,” said Röhrl. “Is it cursed? Maybe.”
Much luckier was 62-years-young Rex Broadbent and his co-driver Chris Randell. The duo earned the top position in the classic segment with their 1974 Porsche 911 RS, which was painted bright yellow and sported classic chrome 5-spoke rims.
Australian racing legend ‘Gentleman Jim Richards won seventh in the overall class with a The 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS that wore white paint with black matte accents on the hood and lower body panels.
Over 300 vehicles participated in the 20th anniversary of the Targa Tasmania, which is the third round of the Australian Targa Championship. Targa Tasmania was inspired and carries on the traditions from the classic Targa Florio than ran from 1906 to 1974 in the Italian island of Sicily. One tradition is the exclusion of prize money, where winners receive a ‘targa’ (Italian for ‘plate’) trophy instead.
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Source: Porsche, Targa Tasmania
