Australia’s most famous tarmac rally has been postponed, as it awaits the findings of a Targa Review Panel investigating the death of a competitor in the 2022 event.
Originally scheduled for April, the Targa Tasmania has been pushed back until October 23.
“It is disappointing to have to postpone our iconic event,” said Targa Australia CEO, Mark Perry.
“But the reality is that we have no alternative given that Motorsport Australia has not yet released the report.”
Along with the Targa Tasmania, the sport of tarmac rallying more broadly is in limbo as it waits for Motorsport Australia to release a report investigating the “conduct of tarmac rallies in Australia”.
“Due to the board of Motorsport Australia not yet being in a position to release the Targa Review Panel’s report, combined with the time it will take to implement any recommendations, Targa has made the difficult decision to postpone Targa Tasmania until later this year,” event organisers said in a media release.
“Motorsport Australia has advised that once the report is released, all recommendations will need to be implemented to the satisfaction of the board, meaning the sport of tarmac rallying will remain suspended in the interim.”
The report was commissioned on the back of Tony Seymour’s death in 2022, one of four to occur at the event in the last two years.
The experienced racer was killed when his Lotus Exige left the road, slid down as embankment, and hit a tree near Mount Roland on the second day of Targa Tasmania in 2022.
