Hankook Tarmac Evo 4th At Targa... Almost

Proof comes in the speed for Hankook and Evans, but not the result.

MELBOURNE – April 12, 2011: The Hankook Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X of Dean Evans and Toni Feaver were robbed of a 4th place finish during the six-day 2011 Targa Tasmania last week, when their car developed a sudden electrical problem just five stages from the event finish.

Placed an impressive 4th outright in the 335 car 20th Anniversary Targa Tasmania line-up, the toughest field ever assembled including seven past event champions, the Sydney motoring journalist and Perth aircraft mechanic had worked their way up from 12th on prologue, to 11th, 8th, 5th over the first three days, and up to 4th outright for the final day.

In an event where many of the top competitors suffered problems, from the two Lamborghini Gallardos suffering technical problems, the problematic turbocharged Mazda RX-8 SP of Steve Glenney fighting gremlins and then crashing, the second-placed Audi TTRS spinning off the road, to Jim Richards’ Porsche GT2 RS blowing a turbo pipe, the Evans/Feaver Evo X had run faultlessly throughout the event, holding off the likes of two-time Targa winner Tony Sullens (STi), touring car driver Tony Longhurst (STi) and Targa Wrest Point winner Greg Garwood in an ex-Jim Richards Porsche GT2.

Cruelly, however, 20km in to the final day’s first stage, the 33km of Strahan, the Evo X developed a major electrical engine miss that wouldn’t allow the car to drive over 80km/h. The car limped to the finish, where TMR Performance mechanics attempted to diagnose the problems. Being one of the last cars in the field (cars run slowest to fastest and 30 sec intervals), the sweep car soon passed the stricken Evo X and with time already lost, the Hankook crew had no choice but to retire form the event and farewell their hard fought fourth place.

“We were set up for an awesome result,” said Evans. “We had high hopes – we were using the 2008/2009 Bathurst 12 Hour-winning Evo X, so we knew it was reliable. We chose a tyre compound strategy that was totally unique and it was really paying off. To be fighting with the likes of Jim, Dean Herridge and multiple past winners of Targa was hugely satisfying and humbling, and we were determined to not put a scratch on it, and not put a tyre wrong.”

Consistently fast, the Evans/Feaver Evo X saw a top speed of 230km/h on the Cethana stage, and showcased the Hankook tyres supremely well. “I know some people may have reservations about this relative newcomer to Australian motorsport, but Hankook is a serious company making a seriously good tyre that I have full personal confidence in. Its support aside, I honestly think they contributed to us being so high up the order.

“Of course it’s disappointing, but motorsport has a way of kicking you in the groin just when you think everything’s going OK. And to be in front of the remaining factory-built Mazda RX-8 SP when we went out, along with a number of previous Targa winners, it was particularly rewarding. It would have been nice to go away with a result, but we can’t be too upset – I think we proved our point.”

Running a manual five-speed gearbox, the Evolution X RS model was chosen to offer a cost-effective all-around performance package to deal with Targa’s varying surfaces. Compared to the Evo X MR SST that Evans finished 10th in at the 2010 Targa Tasmania, this new Evo was 150kg lighter, and 10 percent more powerful on E85 fuel, making a machine more than capable of battling it out at the top.

“It was my first time in the car and with a new navigator, but we all worked well together. But there was just no warning,” explained Evans. “One minute we were going fine, and the next it was like someone flicked a run-crap switch. The next day TMR changed just about every sensor and mechanical part on the car, and still couldn’t find the fault. They’ll get it back to the TMR workshop and we’ll update what the problem was in the next Tarmac magazine,” added Evans.

Tarmac magazine issue #11 is now on sale, with the official Targa Tasmania 2011 programme, featuring all the important names and cars of the 20th anniversary event. Now three years young, Tarmac magazine has hit a niche in performance motoring that showcases production cars and the diversity that made Australian motorsport popular 25 years ago.

The Hankook Evo X will return for a number of tarmac events later in 2011, with the full Targa Tasmania report featured in Tarmac #12.