Targa Tasmania has been a staple in the Tasmanian tourism and motorsport calendar approaching 30 years.

The event bringing together car enthusiasts, professional drivers, volunteers, and fans will continue but changes must be made.

 It was of little surprise that the first three recommendations from the Motorsport Australia Targa Tasmania 2021 Investigative Tribunal Report and Findings focused on speed reduction.

The Rally that found its start, “To conduct a unique, competitive international motor rally as Tasmania’s ultimate tourist attraction”, has now become a race with technologically advanced and high-powered motor vehicles taking to stages like V8’s on Bathurst’s Mount Panorama. However, there remains a major difference: not all Targa Tasmanian drivers in the competitive race do it for a living.

The three deaths in this year’s race were a tragedy with families left devastated following the loss of loved ones who were engaging in their passion for motorsport.

Shane Navin, Leigh Mundy, and Dennis Neagle were passionate road racers, and the thoughts of all Tasmanians remain with their family and friends.

Sadly, we have become somewhat accustomed to deaths on our roads with many people impacted because Tasmania is a uniquely tightknit community, and we are often well known to each other.

It seems that not a week goes by where there is not a crash involving someone we know or fatalities that we hope we don’t know even though our collective hearts pour out for the grief, sorrow, and ongoing sadness of fellow community members.

The ten-year average for fatalities from motor vehicle crashes to 2020 in Tasmania was 32.1 with 2016 and 2020 the highest in the period registering 36 deaths in each of those years.

Arriving at the scene or surviving a serious motor vehicle crash is life changing. The still and silent aftermath that charges your senses is utterly devastating with the impact of a significant mass colliding with another at high-speed frightening in its consequence.

The tribunal headed by Australian Institute of Motorsport Safety (AIMSS) Chair Garry Connelly AM, made 23 recommendations which have all been accepted by the governing body including the organisers of the rally, Targa Australia, and Motorsport Australia.

Key recommendations included: avoiding sections of roads where 200km/h can be achieved, ensuring the use of chicanes and restricted speed or time zones are not the only mechanisms to slow drivers down, and an overall maximum average limit of 132kmph on each stage the third suggestion.  

Motor racing is dangerous, but I assume it is that exhilaration derived from danger and speed and performance that drives enthusiasts.

I have taken an interest in motor sport for most of life derived from my late father’s enthusiasm for motorcycles, particularly his BSA Gold Star.

That early influence ensured that local legend Malcolm Campbell along with Wayne Gardner, Michael Doohan and the Americans, Wayne Rainey, and Kevin Schwantz, were followed with fervor.

But it went further than superbike and 500cc World Champions, it was the most dangerous motorcycle race in the world that captured our imagination.

The Isle of Man, a self-governing Crown possession, is found in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The island is about 48km by 16km with half of the landmass used for agriculture.

And much like Tasmania, the Isle of Man relies on tourism, particularly during two weeks in June, to stimulate the economy.

The Tourist Trophy (iomtt) motorcycle race was first held in 1907 and has continued ever since apart from breaks for the World Wars, and the COVID pandemic which saw the race cancelled in 2020 and 2021.

The current average speed record for a lap of the 60.72km course, set in 2018 on a BMW S 1000cc RR superbike, is a staggering 217.989km/h on country roads with relatively few protective barriers.

Tragically, since the inception of the Isle of Man TT and various other categories 260 riders along with 15 others (marshals and spectators and riders during unofficial practice), including eight Australians, have died as result of their injuries.

By comparison, five people have lost their lives in the 29-year history of the Targa Tasmania, the Ultimate Tarmac Rally, albeit far better protected by the sophisticated design and safety features of cars.

Motorsport is not for the faint hearted. For many, it remains an expensive yet highly rewarding pastime while for others it is their profession. And while changes must occur to ensure the safety of competitors in an event which is as synonymous with our Island State as National Parks, completely removing all dangers is impossible, rather, the acceptance of all 23 safety recommendations and their implementation will ensure the ongoing success and safety of the event.