Keeping in Fast Company

Ben Sale of Other Side Productions drops in with some tales of Targa. 

It was through Alex that I got involved in a way. The fist Targa I actually went to was Targa High Country, her first event too. I also went to Targa Tasmania in 2011. My write up of that event is here.

However, I’ve always been a rally and tarmac rally nut. I was 5 years old when I got my first Targa Tasmania Video tape and ever since then I’ve loved the event, collected the videos and have been generally obsessed. 

For me the main attraction to the event now is the people involved and the friendships you make, more so than just the competition which was my initial attraction. I’ve found that rallying is more than just stage times and pace notes, it’s a story of people. Our focus with these videos has been to tell the stories of these people and help other people discover what the sport is really about.

Beyond capturing the images and story of the Whites Lamborghini on fire we were able to tell a lot more great stories which otherwise wouldn’t get out there into the public domain. These include a crew in a 911 GT3 hitting a kangaroo and working through the night to fix the car, the windscreen washer nozzles on a 147 GTA  being re routed through a cloth to cool the ECU and competitors stopping to hold a baby wombat through to how to make a Porsche fly. 

To me these stories are more interesting than the actual results and are what rallying is actually about. 

Ben is down in Tasmania for the 2012 running of Targa Tasmania. Check out his latest video of the first day of competition here.

Andrew Mckay and Alex Hailstone, on their way to a third place finish in the Showroom Category, Targa Tasmania, 2011.