Team Redback Racing Season 2013/14 Wrap Up

Team Redback Racing 2013/14 Season Wrap Up

The big question as the two car Redback Racing Team started a very wet Targa Adelaide back in August was could we score one and two in the 2013/14 Australian Targa Championship. We are excited to report that not only did the two car team get one and two but interestingly, a mid season driver change saw them also clinch third.

We started our quest in the picturesque Adelaide Hills. Targa Adelaide although a long running event, saw both crews competing here for this first time and the conditions thrown at us were challenging to say the least. The roads were wet, windy and slippery (with one stage aptly named the Corkscrew). Driver, Bunjamin Noor and co-driver, Lee Challoner-Miles were pushing hard and had a couple of near misses in the tricky competition sections where they luckily avoided any serious damage to the car. Some crews weren’t so lucky with many crashing out of the event. Some would say it was carnage out there. Fortunately both Redback Racing crews survived the four day event with driver, Adam Spence and co-driver, Erin Kelly claiming first place and maximum championship points with team mates Noor and Challoner-Miles coming a close second.

Next, we made our way to Mount Buller in the heart of the breathtaking Victorian High Country. Being November, you would expect the snow to be long gone however at an altitude of 1,804 metres the conditions on the mountain were freezing with snow still falling and the fireplaces in the alpine lodges burning bright. Thankfully, it was a little warmer once we had raced down the mountain and enjoyed the roads of the Victorian High Country in the lovely sunshine. One of the favourite events of the championship sees us race up the iconic Mount Buller stage. This year, we saw 4 seasons in the 18km climb. The sunshine and dry conditions at the bottom of the mountain gave the crews confidence to push hard however conditions quickly changed to rain, to sleet then to snow catching some out and ending their event. The team of Spence and Kelly won their second showroom win in a row and their second victory at Targa High Country. It was also very exciting to see the team of Noor and Challoner-Miles step up to the second step of the podium for the first time at this event but also for the second time this season.

In February, we competed at Targa Wrest Point in the rolling hills and mountain roads to the south of Hobart, Tasmania and the scenic Huon Valley.  We welcomed a new driver to the Redback Racing Team, Andrew Bollom (former Redback Racing Service Crew Manager and competitor), replacing Noor who disappointingly couldn’t commit to the remainder of the season. This event last year saw Adam and Erin lose their wheel on the Airwalk stage putting them out of contention however this year, nuts were checked and then checked again with no chance of history repeating. Both teams thrived in the perfect conditions again, finishing one and two with Spence and Kelly on the top step and Bollom and Challoner-Miles second, making it a hat trick of one and twos for the team.

The last and most grueling event of the championship was the world famous Targa Tasmania, the ultimate tarmac rally. The six day marathon event sees crews travel from Launceston to Strahan then down to Hobart. It is a true test of man and machine. Unfortunately on day one Spence and Kelly came off the road and had to be recovered by their service crew. As a result they incurred a hefty time penalty of 40 minutes meaning their hopes of a clean sweep were dashed. The car suffered some mechanical damage however was still able to be driven meaning they could get to the end in Hobart to score championship points, albeit in third place. Bollom and Challoner-Miles very nearly suffered the same fate on the very same corner with a hair raising moment however kept it on the road and drove their way to Hobart, holding first place for the duration of the event. Bollom and Challoner-Miles set an impressive top 20 outright result, a testament to driver, co-driver and the Renault Megane.

We had moments of joy and sheer frustration over the season however we knew it was never going to be easy. Like a well-oiled machine, drivers, co-drivers and service crew worked hard in their roles, each with their own strengths, and came together to rise above the challenges they were faced. The hard work and determination paid off and we were ultimately successful.

Final championship point scores

PositionDriverCo-driverVehiclePoints
1Adam SpenceErin Kelly2013 Renault Megane RS265231
2Andrew BollomLee Challoner-Miles2011 Renault Megane RS250160
3Bunjamin NoorLee Challoner-Miles2011 Renault Megane RS250125

 

Justin Hocevar, Managing Director Renault Australia, said: “I’d like to personally extend my congratulations on behalf of Renault Australia to Adam Spence and the team at Red Back Racing.  It has been thrilling to see the dynamic Renault Sport Megane dominant throughout the championship and this sensational effort has been rewarded with a convincing series win.”

As a team, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our many sponsors, supporters, family and friends. You are what make this journey such a thrilling and special one to be a part of and couldn’t do it without you.

As for our plans for next season – watch this space. You won’t be disappointed!

TT14_Day5_19 20140505_104733 Targa Wrest Point 2014 Press_release_03042014_1

Targa Tasmania 2014 – Day Five The Finish Line

Targa Tasmania 2014 – Day Five The Finish Line

After 5 days of Tarmac Rallying throughout Tasmania, the team crossed the finish line on Sunday afternoon. The showroom category finished with Andrew and Lee coming in 1st place, Adam and Erin in 3rd and a Mini cooper works finishing in 2nd place.

Day 5 had very similar conditions to that of day 4 with rain on all but the last stage making it a very challenging last day to the event. The Megane’s handled the conditions very well including the grueling Mount Arrowsmith stage which is nearly 60km’s long, especially in such wet conditions, the cars and teams did really well not to join the numerous other competitors whom encountered accidents or mechanical failure.

Andrew and Lee also were able to finish the race in the top 20 outright which is a fantastic result when looking at the cars in and around that position.

The championship gala dinner is on Monday night, we will put up another post after that to wrap up the 2013/2014 championship and include some more photos in our gallery section in the website, but here’s a few pictures from the final day of Targa Tasmamia 2014 until that time.

 

TT14_Day5_7TT14_Day5_20 TT14_Day5_18 TT14_Day5_17 TT14_Day5_16

TT14_Day5_8

 

TT14_Day5_14 TT14_Day5_11 TT14_Day5_10 TT14_Day5_9 TT14_Day5_12 TT14_Day5_13 TT14_Day5_15 TT14_Day5_4 TT14_Day5_5 TT14_Day5_6 TT14_Day5_3 TT14_Day5_2 TT14_Day5_1

 

Targa Tasmania 2014 – Day Four

Targa Tasmania 2014 – Day Four

Day 4 was a challenging day for all of the Targa field, the conditions were cold, wet and very slippery. The test proved to be more and more difficult for some with more than 30 cars failing to complete all of the day’s stages. The two car team of Redback Racing survived the conditions with Andrew and Lee continuing to dominate the Showroom class. Adam and Erin, after suffering a significant time penalty on day one after an off are in third place. Tomorrow is the last day of the gruelling 5 day event where crews drive the 60km Mount Arrowsmith stage after having left the west coast of Tasmania en route to Hobart.

Targa Tasmania 2014 – Day Three

Targa Tasmania 2014 – Day Three

Day three of Targa Tasmania saw the team drive from Launceston up to the North Coast passed Devonport, then down the West coast to finish at Strahan, going through the Rinadena stage where Adam and Erin unfortunately finished their Targa Tasmania 2013. This year the day went well for both cars with Andrew and Lee increasing their lead in the Showroom catergory – their times would place them 4th in 4 wheel drive showroom and 7th in early modern, which is fantastic result thus far comparing the differences between the cars competing in these categories. Adam and Erin also had a good run through day three making up time on the 2nd placed Mini in the showroom category.

Both cars got through the day with little difficulty, Adam and Erin had a close encounter on a corner with the inside dirt bank, with Andrew and Lee also being chased by other competitors due to water pouring out of their car, thankfully it was only the windscreen washer bottle that had leaked (see photos).

The team will use Strahan as their base for two days with the teams again heading north up to Burnie tomorrow with some long and difficult stages which will again test their skills.

TT14_Day3_7 TT14_Day3_8 TT14_Day3_9 TT14_Day3_10 TT14_Day3_6 TT14_Day3_2 TT13_Day3_3

 

 

Targa Tasmania 2014 – Day Two

Targa Tasmania 2014 – Day Two

Today the roads of Targa Tasmania were all dry and unlike the drama’s of yesterday the service crew had a relatively quite day.  The morning stages were a little slippery with the temperatures on the first few stages not going over 5 degrees celsius.

The final stages finished with the world famous Sidling stage which is one of the best tarmac rally stages in the world.

The team of Andrew and Lee now have a commanding lead in the category and Adam and Erin are trying to both nurse their car home after the damage yesterday as well as try their best at trying to bridge the gap to second position.

Tomorrow the circus which is Targa Tasmania will move from its base in Launceston to Strahan on the state’s West Coast where the crews will most likely have to compete in the first wet stages of the event.

TT14_Day2_4 TT14_Day2_5 TT14_Day2_2 TT14_Day2_3

Targa Tasmania – Day One

Targa Tasmania – Day One

The team from Redbackracing headed West today to the Central Western tablelands of Tasmania. Both cars were performing very well through the initial two stages. Moving into the longer more technical stages both Renaults were heading up the category with only seconds separating the times of the two cars.

At the sixth stage of the day – Merseylea, the two teams had interesting moments. With car 933 of Andrew and Lee entering the stage first they were aware of their sister car following the into the stage, they pushed the car through the stage and were twice on the wrong side of the edge. Once getting airborne at high speed (see the below video) and later into the stage coming off the tarmac into the gravel and grass. Having been through this the car still completed the stage. However car 922 of Adam and Erin entered the stage chasing after car 933, they too were pushing hard and on the same corner where Andrew and Lee left the tarmac, Adam and Erin did the exact same feat on the same corner however going a little further off course subsequently getting stuck.

As always the redbackracing service crew were on hand to get the car out and make minor repairs to get Adam and Erin back into the race for the last two stages of the day.

With Andrew and Lee in first place for Targa showroom and Adam and Erin still in a good position that they can build on over the next four days its going to continue to be an amazing event and live up its name as The Ultimate Tarmac Rally.

Click here to watch the Video : AB_LCM_Merseylea

 

TT14_Day1_1

 

TT14_Day1_2

 

Targa Tasmania Prologue – Day Zero

Targa Tasmania Prologue – Day Zero

Targa Tasmania 2014 got under way today with 2 prologue stages in Kayena and Georgetown, North of Launceston. With the sun shining but cool temperatures the teams were glad to get the campaign underway.

Car 933 of Andrew Bollom and Lee Challoner-Miles finished both stages on top with car 922 of Adam Spence and Erin Kelly 6.2 seconds behind in second place. The prologue times are used to set the start time for Day one of the rally and not used for the total rally time.

The course heads North tomorrow towards Devonport with 8 action packed stages.

 

Prologue_2

Targa Tasmania Pre Race Track Day

Targa Tasmania Pre Race Track Day

Today we had the great opportunity to take our sponsors and guests out on Tasmania’s finest race track – Symmons Plains.

Targa Tasmania starts tomorrow (6th May) with 2 prologue events at Kayena and George Town, having some time in the car to perform a shakedown today before heading out on Tasmania’s roads gave the team a great chance to test and tweak the teams two Renault Megane’s.

Watch this space tomorrow for the first update from the “Ultimate Tarmac Rally”

20140505_104601

 

 

20140505_140343

Recce Time TT14!

Redback Racing Targa Tasmania Recce

Over the past two days the two Redback teams have been busy refining their pace notes ready for Targa Tasmania in just under 10 days time. Both crews have been been using the Hema HN7 sat navs to navigate the fastest way around the Tasmanian West Coast and have been very impressed with their performance. Tomorrow they will make their way to Hobart going over the leg 5 stages which includes the 60km Mount Arrowsmith stage.

TT14_Recce_2

 

TT14_Recce_3

 

TT14_Recce_4