112_0702_04ztarga_newfoundland_2006_mini_cooper_jcwcorner.jpg

Ron Kiino from Motortrend wrote about his experience during the last Targa Newfoundland in a JCW Rally Car.

>According to the tourism Web site for Newfoundland and Labrador, the Black Spruce “is the most common tree in the province. It is the favored tree in the pulp and paper industry and is widely used for lumber, wharf piers, and firewood.” And, as I discovered on the first day of the 2006 Targa Newfoundland rally race, it also can deftly cleft the chin of an overzealous Mini Cooper S.

>112_0702_01ztarga_newfoundland_2006_mini_cooper_jcwrear_profile.jpgAbout three kilometers into the first stage, we entered a tricky sequence featuring a downhill right, a gravel-covered bridge, and an uphill left. Ten seconds earlier Jared had relayed “Caution!” for the upcoming turn. Traveling at about 100 mph, with the whine of the supercharger and wind encapsulating my helmet and what felt like liters of adrenaline jolting through my veins, caution registered like a non-voter. I attempted to slow down entering the uphill left, but, unfortunately, the gravel under the Hankook Ventus race tires wasn’t obliging. As I turned in, the rear end broke loose, at which point I overcorrected right, leading us straight off the road and into the aforementioned “Provincial Tree of Newfoundland and Labrador.”

[ To drive and survive in a 2006 Mini Cooper S JCW rally car ] Motortrend.com

Related:

[ Back to Back wins for MINI at Targa Newfoundland ] Motoringfile