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STILLEN Project Vehicles

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Well we had an eventful day today!!!  I wrote last night’s first blog post from the hotel room prior to everyone else arriving.  Conrad and I got there a bit early so we checked in and started getting things organized for the rest of the teams arrival.  Once Steve and Jen arrived we ran down to the town they were in and went straight over to the local Nissan dealership who were kind enough to offer the use of their facilities so we could go over the car after the first days events.

Steve had lost considerable amounts of time because the car was going into limp mode due to high transmission temperatures.  We wanted to inspect everything and see what was going on.  As soon as we dropped the diff fluid, we knew we had found the culprit.  Inside the diff fluid there were clear signs of metal wear.  The fluid had taken on a metallic shimmer.  We inspected the transmission fluid and it looked fine.  For those of you who don’t know, the GT-R rear differential, transmission, and transfer case all share one big assembly.  So, we figured that the differential was getting so hot it was cooking the transmission as well.  The only thing we could do was pull out our spare assembly and install it.

Normally, if we were in a GT-R certified dealership working with the right tools, this would be a 3-5 hour job.  However, this was not a certified GT-R dealer, and we did not have all the tools!  After a lot of swearing, some busted knuckles, and some frustrating moments, we finished the swap….at 5:15 a.m. this morning!!!  We went back to our hotel rooms, got an hour of sleep and packed up to take on today’s adventures.

That was a lot of work and a real pain but boy was it worth it!!!  Steve was pushing hard today and according to early reports finished second in a couple stages.  Had he been able to push harder yesterday like he did today we would be in a much better position!!!  Unfortunately, we’re a little out of luck as it is what it is, but that’s racing!

Attrition is already showing on some of our competitors cars!  Dodson blew up one of their gear boxes yesterday and was having more issues today, keep in mind their transmissions are HEAVILY modified and far from stock.  Proctor cracked three wheels yesterday and arrived to the parking garage this morning with a brand new set on all four cars!  A couple of cars have gone off but fortunately nothing major and everyone has been able to carry on and make the necessary repairs.

While it was awesome to see Steve and Jen pushing hard today and making big strides, it was even more exciting when Leigh Hopper challenged Steve to a bit of a drag race at this afternoon’s extended stay lunch stop on an airport strip.  Normally these stops are only an hour or so, but to avoid the evening traffic crossing the bridge in Auckland the organizers set up a three hour event at Sunny Hills airport in Warkworth.  Leigh challenged Steve to a drag race in the GT R….against his acrobatics helicopter!!!  It was insane!  Leigh is an amazing pilot and was performing some amazing aerial acrobatics, including sliding his helicopter along the grass for a good 100 feet or so.  They raced twice and Steve won the first time but Hopper took the victory the second go around. Check out the video on-board to see the race!  The GT-R’s ECU has been set with a top speed limiter of 200km/hr, which is the maximum speed allowed in the rally.. Leigh’s helicopter doesn’t have such a limiter!

All in all, it was an awesome day!  However, as you can imagine, I’m exhausted!!!  Enjoy the pictures and video, I’m going to bed!

 

All 2011 Targa New Zealand Coverage

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Today was the first  day of actual racing.  It was a great day and Jen and Steve did a fantastic job.  Their still getting to know each other’s styles and figure out what the other one wants to say as well as hear.  It always takes a bit of time to develop that relationship between driver and co-driver.

Team STILLEN Targa Rally Group Photo Including Steve Millen, Jodi Millen, Jen Horsey, Kyle Millen, Conrad Healy, Joe Nagy, and Mark Ungles

Team STILLEN Targa Rally Group Photo Including Steve Millen, Jodi Millen, Jen Horsey, Kyle Millen, Conrad Healy, Joe Nagy, and Mark Ungles

 The car is running well.  We’re ending the night in Whangarei (“wonG uh ray” or “phonG uh ray” if you say it the Maori way).  We’re very excited to be on new roads this year.  It really helps level the playing field.  When the organizers put these events on they have to get the approval from every single person who lives on the roads we’re going to be racing on.  It takes about five months and they see around 9,000 people.  It’s truly impressive and even more impressive that they were able to branch out to new parts of the country!  Peter Martin and the crew at Targa New Zealand have worked hard to put on the best possible event!

Conrad and I did quite a lot of traveling today and got to see three stages!  Got some great action shots as well as a few “uh oh” moments from some of the competitors.  Steve has been up and down in the standings all day.  The first couple of stages were a bit rocky but later in the day they started making some great times and even beating some of the front runners like Tony Quinn.  It’s still very early in the race though.

Wish us luck and follow along as the rally continues!

Targa New Zealand 2011

Targa New Zealand 2011

Targa New Zealand 2011

Targa New Zealand 2011

Targa New Zealand 2011

 

All 2011 Targa New Zealand Coverage

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Well, we’re back in New Zealand for the Targa Rally.  Today was the first official day of the event and it started with scrutineering in the viaduct in Auckland Harbor.  Last night was pretty exciting as the All Blacks (New Zealand rugby team) won the world cup!  Today was a bit busy in Auckland as they shut down the main streets and had a ticker tape parade for the team.  GO ALL BLACKS!!!!!

Once we got down to the scrutineering location we let Steve and Jen (more on Jen later in this post) do their thing with the organizers of the event.  Mark and Joe (you know them from years past) have to follow up with their crew meeting.  Conrad and I cruised through the park ferme (parking area) to check out some of the competitors cars.  The BS has already started as some of the other GT-R teams are telling us they aren’t running as much power as we know they are….That’s OK…we’re not going to tell them everything we’ve done either!!!

Joe Nagy of Nissan North America tech center joins the team again this year.  This is Joe’s third event with the Team STILLEN Nissan GT-R. He worked with Steve on the initial launch of the GT R at all of the magazine and dealer demonstrations and knows these cars inside and out.  He and I flew into New Zealand on Thursday and spent Thursday and Friday preparing the car.  On Saturday Mark Ungles flew in and joined us while we worked on the tuning and further preparation.  Mark has been with the team since 2006, the first year of the Ford GT.  He brings a lot of knowledge of rallying and great mechanical aptitude.  We spent Saturday and Sunday wrapping up the final adjustments to the car, ride height, tuning (special thanks to Jack at Horsepower Logic) etc.  Overall preparation has been relatively easy.  We added some adjustable rear toe arms as well as changed springs, injectors, and a few other little tweaks.

Jen Horsey is new to the team but not new to racing, especially rally!  Jen has been involved in North American rally racing since 2004.  You may remember her from the X Games in car commentator.  She was also the co-driver in the Evo that decided to do an endo in X Games competition over the jump in 2008…We’ve already told her that she was brought on board for her navigator skills…not acrobatics abilities.

You all know Steve Millen.  Steve is the President and CEO of STILLEN.  Steve was born and raised in New Zealand, competing in rally and hill climb events before progressing into saloon and open wheeled race cars.  After moving to America, racing all over the world, and winning multiple championships Steve still looks forward to coming home every year and competing in the Targa rally.  These events are always a fun time and a great way to see the country and catch up with friends for a week.  Plus it doesn’t hurt to “sight see” at 100+ MPH through back country roads!

Steve’s wife Jodi is kind of the team mom.  Taking care of the service crew as well as making sure Steve and Jen have everything they need.  There is no more important job on the team than making sure the driver and co driver are happy and the service crew is fed and ready at any moment.

Then there is me and Conrad.  I’m Kyle Millen, I’ve been coming on the Targa’s every year since 2006.  I have done some navigator work but after a couple of bad experiences with motion sickness we’ve all agreed I’ll be most useful as the reporter sending updates back to everyone back home!  Conrad Healey has been on every Targa New Zealand Dad has ever done.

We’re ready to go, the car is running great!  Steve and Jen are working on the route books and how they want to call the instructions.  Jodi is getting the crew sorted with everything they need.  I need to get to work to make sure all the cameras and what not are ready.  Check back tomorrow for the first update of actual racing news!  By the way….the first day is allllll new stages!  Needless to say we’re very excited!

Here’s a quick video of the STILLEN GT-R, lots more to come as the Rally begins!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uswbSqzSs4

If you missed the previous years coverage, here’s a compilation video of some of the NZ courses from 2010, and links to previous years coverage:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcg-wGjyZGY

2010 Recap: http://blog.stillen.com/2010/11/targa-new-zealand-rally-2010-recap-and-wrap-up/

2008 Recap: http://blog.stillen.com/2008/11/2008-dunlop-targa-rally-new-zealand-wrap-up/

 

All 2011 Targa New Zealand Coverage

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Meet Paul and Robyn Mullen of Australia, who are taking a neat trip on the historic Route 66 from California to Chicago.  The Mullen’s are recently married, and taking their honeymoon on the road, after purchasing the Ford Mustang we built and hitting the pavement hard on a multi-state US trip!

Paul Mullen and Steve Millen have known each other for years and years, with Paul heading up Black Magic Media, a television production company which has handled coverage on numerous New Zealand Targa Rallies Steve has raced in.

Paul and Robyn are doing an excellent job in capturing their trip, blogging daily about the quirks and interesting things they have discovered along the way, with plenty of pictures as well.  Neat to see the Mustang stretch it’s legs, and get to see it pictured along all of the cool roadside attractions on the nostalgic-ridden Route 66.

This 2007 Mustang features a variety of upgrades, from the Magnuson intercooled supercharger system, AP Racing front and rear big brake kit, STILLEN polyurethane body kit, custom paint and full audio installation, wheels and tires, and Eibach upgraded suspension. Just shows how a properly set up vehicle can have huge increased power, performance and handling, and still be qualified for long trips and remain comfortable and fun to drive.

We encourage you to follow along in their journey, it looks like a blast!

http://route66mullanstyle.blogspot.com/

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Every year towards the end of October, teams from around the world gather together in Auckland, New Zealand to start the 5 day Dunlop Targa Rally.  The Targa Rally is a grueling test of man and machine that takes place over closed country roads that would normally be open to the public.  The roads get closed down for just a few hours, just long enough to funnel 100+ “rally” cars through.  Competitors arrive in all types of vehicles, from a Ferrari F430 World Challenge race car, a Maserati and a few Porsche GT3 super cars to WRC-prepared Subaru and Mitsubishi rally cars, and even the older classic cars come out in force, like the old Mark 1 Escort’s and even a Datsun 240Z with a supercharged LS2 engine and sequential gearbox.  2010 however was the year of Godzilla.

In the 2010 running of the New Zealand Dunlop Targa Rally there were four Nissan R35 GT-R’s competing in the actual race, and one GT-R competing in the Targa “Tour”, an event which takes place on the same closed roads and along the exact same route as the actual rally, the only difference being the Tour drivers are limited to a much lower top speed and do not compete for any sort of winner’s prize.  The four GT-R’s this year were piloted by some of the most experienced Targa Rally competitors, including Tony Quinn.  Tony has won 3 Targa’s now and competes in Australia and New Zealand with his GT-R in numerous different Targa’s each year.  Steve Millen took the STILLEN-prepared GT-R to the event for the first time.  Clark Proctor and Harry Dodson are the local New Zealand drivers and both came out with heavily modified GT-R’s of their own.  The stage was set for a great battle all week long.

Strategy is a big part of these Targa rallies.  When preparing for a Targa rally the key thing to plan on is rain.  Pretty much every Targa NZ Rally sees at least one or two days of rain.  In the 2009 Targa Rally they actually experienced hail and snow on the last day of competition!  In 2008, the organizers had to close the final stage as hurricane force winds were blowing the ocean waves across the road.  The reason rain is so important to the rally is because the competitors are limited to six tires for the entire week, including the four you start with.  This means if you get a blow out or wear out your tires too early, you can only count on two spares.  If you take a seventh tire you get a 3 minute penalty, and for your 8th tire and on, you get a one minute penalty each.  The final stages are run in Wellington, New Zealand, one of the most modern cities in all of New Zealand and is actually the country’s capital.  It is also known as “windy Wellington” as the weather is often adverse.

When preparing for the Targa Rally Steve and the crew analyzed the weather forecasts and it appeared the weather would remain dry for the first couple of days, but would turn towards the end of the week when we got to Wellington.. Perfect!  Just what we wanted to see!  Keeping this in mind Steve took the first day relatively easy, letting Clark Proctor and Tony Quinn battle it out for the lead.  Knowing that the harder they pushed the more tire they were going to be scrubbing, the entire team felt confident in the strategy and were looking forward to the wet days when the other teams had scrubbed off their tread!  Glenn Inkster, a local tarmac rally champion, stuck his nose in the fight with his heavily modified Mitsubishi Evo, but it appeared he wouldn’t have any tires left after watching him drift through turns and slide his car all around the roads.

On day 2 Proctor retired from the rally after sliding off the road and damaging the rear of the car in the second stage.  In the same stage, he also blew the engine and his week was done.  Steve meanwhile decided to pick up the pace and start giving chase.  Applying more pressure to Quinn and Inkster and even setting some fast times for some stages.

As day 3 approached, so did the weather!  The STILLEN team was excited and we knew the times were going to tighten up.  Steve felt even more comfortable with the car as he also noticed the Dunlop tires did not seem to be wearing heavily so he pushed on harder and again, laid down some fast times and won a couple of stages on the day!  A real battle for second place was starting to shape up between Millen and Inkster for second place as they both slowly but steadily began chopping time out of Quinn’s lead.

By the end of day 4 the team was ecstatic!  The car had been working great and the tires were holding up well!  The best news though came at the end of day 4.  Driving down to Wellington you couldn’t help but think about tire strategy as the heavy fog came rolling in and the air got cold.  Quick inspections of Inksters and Quinn’s cars showed nearly no tread left on both cars with plenty to spare on Millen’s!  The team went to bed that night thinking the leaders would either need to take time penalties for new tires or try to drive their cars on essentially slick tires through Wellington’s notoriously harsh weather which would allow Millen the opportunity to make up the time in the rain!  All weather reports were pointing to rain and the team was very excited to wake up in the morning.

The next morning we all jumped out of bed and ran to our windows to open the blinds and hope to see grey skies and rain pouring down.  Shock!  Nothing but clear skies and white clouds!  Could this be the first year that the Targa Rally competed all week on dry roads?  On day 2 there was a 30 minute shower in the morning that lightly dampened the roads but not enough to be considered an impact on performance.  It turned out that yes, this was going to be the first year that the Targa Rally ran dry!  So, Steve knew it was up to him to strap in and do his best to push as hard as he could, even though now Inkster’s and Quinn’s tires were actually better suited to the conditions since they were essentially slicks.  Steve pushed as hard as he could and again managed to set some fast times but was unable to overcome the time deficit.  After a week of hard racing, 2,000+ miles, and over 5 and a half hours of accumulated stage times, Steve finished 3 minutes and 30 seconds behind Tony Quinn and only a minute behind Glenn Inkster.

Overall, it was a fantastic week and the car performed flawlessly!  Steve took advantage of the awesome power and handling of the GT-R and pushed it to the limits.  Unfortunately, the weather did not play into the tire strategy and the result was a 3rd place finish.  Had the weather worked as it normally does on the Targa Rallies, we probably would have won the rally.  With the time penalties the other teams would have taken for tires the strategy may have worked perfectly and the team would be celebrating a win.  However, at the end of the day, the prize is the same.  Targa Rallies were started in Italy and the Italian word “Targa” translates to “plate.”  So, the top three finisher’s receive plates indicating their final position.  There is no prize money, just a great week spent with great people enjoying some amazing cars as you tour through a beautiful country.  Just like most endurance racing, simply finishing every stage is the real prize!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcg-wGjyZGY&hd=1

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Racing Day 5 Wrap Up!

I am in my hotel room writing this before Steve and Phillip get into the wharf for the final destination.  They have both done an amazing job and the entire team is very proud of the effort and hard work put in by all!  Steve pulled out some pretty miraculous skills this week and showed that he hasn’t lost his edge.  Steve competes in very few of these rallies and really doesn’t get much time to get back into the racing lifestyle anymore, so it took a day or two for him to feel fully comfortable with the car, but I’ll tell you once he was in the zone he was a machine!  The in-car video footage and the photos tell the story better than I ever could!

The car has performed flawlessly all week and Mark and Joe have done a great job maintaining the car and making sure Steve and Phillip have exactly what they needed all week.  Jodi and Vivian (Phillip’s wife) have been great team moms and looked after the service crew and the drivers better than anyone could have asked for.  We are all very happy to come home with the drivers and car all together in one piece and with a very strong finish!  I am pretty sure this is Steve’s best finish in a Targa Rally and the competition is fierce!  Tony Quinn is a great driver and has a lot of Targa experience with his GT-R having competed in three New Zealand Targa’s as well as others in Australia.  Glenn Inkster is a very talented driver and will surely make a name for himself in the Rally scene.  Watching him flick his Evo through turns is a thing of beauty!

Finally, what is with this weather?  It was sunny and dry pretty much all week.  It’s been chilly but I have never even heard of a Targa rally being pretty much dry for the entire week!  Heck, last year it was hailing and snowing in Wellington!!!  In 2008 they had to cancel a stage because the waves from the ocean were coming up over the stage road!

Well, I’m off to meet Steve and Phillip and join the festivities!  Thanks for following along this week!  We’ll definitely have a ton of photos and in-car video footage and a final recap!

Follow all of the coverage of the 2010 Dunlop Targa New Zealand Rally

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Wellington is a lot like it normally is…Cold…Windy…and a high probability of rain!  Not a huge surprise yet very welcomed!  We are holding strong in third place and Steve drove hard today and won a couple stages chipping away time at Quinn and Inkster.  Inkster fought hard and also had a great showing and we are expecting tomorrow to bring an awesome battle!  All three vehicles are running strong and working hard!

Steve Millen STILLEN R35 GT-R Targa NZ 2010 Day 5
Click here for larger version

Last night I was walking through the parking lot and noticed a car on a trailer covered by a tarp.  Usually this can only mean one thing so we went up and checked it out.  Sure enough, the car had a big off and won’t be returning to the rally.


It was kind of funny because the driver and co-driver initially asked if they could work on the car and possibly get it back in the race…looking at these pictures, you can see they were pretty optimistic at first and then realized shortly there after that their rally was done!

Clark Proctor has decided to hang around on the Targa rally and is following around on a borrowed Harley.  His automotive luck isn’t shining this week as I walked through one stage and saw the Harley…along with a trail of oil coming from the oil tank leading to the chain guard, frame, and other areas of the bike.

Dodson had a pretty impressive turn around today.  Coming up surprisingly and winning a stage!  This was especially impressive considering he celebrated his 50th birthday last night!

Some of the two day Wellington cars have joined the rally and are pushing hard!  We’re looking forward to seeing what they can do!  Some of the cars that have shown up are VERY impressive and well sorted out.

Speaking of which, Mark, Joe, and I had dinner tonight and drew up a few ideas of what we can improve on for next year.  It should be very exciting and I think some of our ideas will be pretty surprising!

1 more day of racing!

Modern Class Results after Day 4 – October 29, 2010

# Driver/Co Driver Vehicle Class Total Event
997 Tony Quinn/Naomi Tillett Nissan R35 GT-R 9 04:39:14
945 Glenn Inkster/Spencer Winn Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 9 04:42:48
975 Steve Millen/Philip Adamson Nissan Stillen GT-R 9 04:43:27
926 Jason Gill/Jody Somervell Mitsubishi EVO9 GT 9 04:44:59
998 Harry Dodson/Glenn Cupit Nissan GT-R35 9 04:46:26
917 Glenn Smith/Andy Lowe Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 9 04:56:21
947 Brian Green/Fleur Pedersen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS 9 04:59:13
944 Rick Giddy/Joel Giddy Subaru WRX STI 9 05:02:35
670 Gary Murphy/Terry Rouse BMW M3 6 05:03:05
820 Richard  Mehrtens/Stephen Howard MercedesBenz CLK63 AMG Black 8 05:03:18

 

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We have made it to New Plymouth and I am writing this update from a Beaurepairs Service Center.  Tonight we went through the car for a mid-week check up, went through the oil change, checked brake wear, tires, etc.  Also the guys are having to fix the front lip after a local at one of the lunch stops guided Steve straight into the curb when he was trying to get into the parking area for lunch.  They had stacked up some blocks of wood to get over the curb and with three guys watching they guided him straight into the curb and pushed the front lip back!  Mark and Joe have had a pretty easy week though compared to Newfoundland so I guess it’s good to keep them up for a night.  All is good on the car and the teams spirits are high.

Steve Millen STILLEN R35 GT-R Targa New Zealand Manfield Race Track

We came to the service center to rotate the tires on the rims.  Today was another hot day and we saw some pretty serious tire wear occurring and we want to stay ahead of it as tire consumption is a big part of the strategy on the Targa rallies.  On the Targa we’re only allowed six tires, including the four we start with.  We figured we would be wearing out fronts more than rears as that was the case in Newfoundland however with the warm weather and lack of rain Steve is able to really toss the car around and because of that, rear tire wear has become the focus.  Fortunately the fronts are wearing perfectly so we’re crossing our fingers that we’ll be able to make it all week on the fronts!

Today was actually a pretty big shake up day.  We learned this morning that Inkster, currently listed in second place, is the champion of the Taranaki tarmac rally series.  Which more than likely played into his favor as the last two days were spent racing in guess where…the Taranaki’s!  Fortunately we drove out of that region today and into a more level playing field and Steve and Phillip were able to steadily chop away at their times and make some serious gains!  Now they’re only one second behind Inkster.

The big shake up came on Stage 2.  Conrad and I were standing on a pretty famous corner where the cars come through a short straight away, come to a hair pin left hand turn and accelerate up a mild incline.  It is very slippery (mossy road surface) in this area and usually catches a few people out.  This year all of the competitor’s went through cleanly however we noticed Proctor’s rear lower valance hanging off and rear fascia about ready to come up off completely.  It was pretty clear that he had an event somewhere along the stage.

Then, as Conrad and I were walking back to the car we saw a huge cloud of smoke coming up the motorway.  It turned out to be Proctor again.  Unfortunately he had blown the engine on that stage and his rally has ended early.  We’re disappointed to report that as he is always a joy to watch and really hangs the car out there.  We’re looking forward to seeing Clark and the Metalman crew back in 2011.

The last stage of the day was run at Manfield Race Rrack.  Steve and Tony Quinn set identical times around the track of 8:18.  It was a struggle for both drivers as they were on the track with slower traffic at times that were absolutely holding them up.  No worries though, we’re looking forward to the next two days and we’re hoping to take some time off Quinn and see how things lie in the end.


I have added some photos of the Delrin skid blocks we use on the bottom of the GT-R.  We design these blocks to be sacrificial pieces that take the abuse rather than damaging the factory under trays or cross members.  Judging by the blocks, you can’t say Steve and Phillip aren’t trying!


I keep thinking the same thing every time I am standing on the rally roads.  This is probably the coolest event in the world.  Every type of car is on display here from Fiat Abarth’s to FOUR GT-R’s, a Ford GT in the Targa tour, old Porsche’s as well as new.  Evo’s and Subaru’s literally flying through the roads and letting loose.  You don’t get anything like this anywhere in the world.  Heck, there is even a Maserati and a Ferrari F430 Challenge!

The Targa New Zealand rally is awesome and needs to be on every car enthusiasts “bucket list”.

Modern Class Results after Day 3 – October 28, 2010

# Driver/Co Driver Vehicle Class Total Event
997 Tony Quinn/Naomi Tillett Nissan R35 GT-R 9 03:27:29
945 Glenn Inkster/Spencer Winn Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 9 03:31:58
975 Steve Millen/Philip Adamson Nissan Stillen GT-R 9 03:31:59
926 Jason Gill/Jody Somervell Mitsubishi EVO9 GT 9 03:32:56
998 Harry Dodson/Glenn Cupit Nissan GT-R35 9 03:35:23
840 Martin Dippie/Greg Ball Porsche GT3 RS 8 03:38:55
917 Glenn Smith/Andy Lowe Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 9 03:39:56
947 Brian Green/Fleur Pedersen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS 9 03:43:41
775 Barry Hare/Nigel Parr BMW mini Cooper 7 03:45:08
670 Gary Murphy/Terry Rouse BMW M3 6 03:45:22

 

Follow all of the coverage of the 2010 Dunlop Targa New Zealand Rally

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We are in our second night at Palmerston North and have some good news!  Steve is really enjoying the car and having a great time.  He pushed hard today and caught some ground on Proctor in the Metalman car but unfortunately another car caught more ground and squeaked ahead of us by a few seconds.  So, currently we’re running 4th overall but making gains on the competition.

Steve Millen STILLEN R35 GT-R Targa New Zealand Day 3

Something I did not include in yesterdays update is the great sportsmanship on this rally.  People work hard to help each other and teams competing against each other have been known to lend a hand and help their competitors to get them back on the road a little sooner.  Last night both Proctor and Dodson developed leaky CV boots so our teams headed over and gave a few pointers on how to get it done.  You may remember from our Newfoundland recaps, Mark and Joe both have quite a fair amount of experience when dealing with leaky CV boots on a targa rally!

Today was another beautiful day.  Great weather and great stages.  There were only four stages today but they were pretty massive!  One stage was raced on the forgotten highway to Whangamamana (phong a mama nah.)  It is a small little town that has a 40 kilometer highway leading in and only one other small road leading out.  For the targa they shut down the main “forgotten” highway and let the cars have at it.  It is a great stage and one that I remember vividly as it is where I earned my nickname of “Ralph McPukin”.  Phillip appears to have a stomach more suited to navigator duties and was able to keep his breakfast under control.

Before Stages 3 and 4 the guys raced through a pretty famous stage that has a series of three jumps.  Most of the cars take it fairly carefully through here as it the jumps have been known to rip out oil pans, damage suspensions, and unsettle cars enough to launch them into nearby farmers paddocks.  The big surprise of the jumps was the Ferrari F430 challenge car leaping for the sky and getting some good air!  Steve took it easy through this area as he did not want to hurt the car.

Quinn showed why he has won races as he flew his GT-R off the jumps!

Overall, today was a great day and the team is very excited for the rest of the week.  Steve and Phillip are doing a great job maintaining the tires and the Dunlop’s are wearing very well!  We have confirmed that last year Quinn took 8 tires and those final two tires can cost you a lot in time!  So, with that in mind, our goal is to keep to the 6 tire plan and not be forced to take any time penalties with additional tires.

UPDATE:  Video of cars jumping a section and interview with Kyle Millen from Taranaki Daily News

Wish us luck as we push on!  Here’s some additional photos from the day:

Modern Class Results after Day 2 – October 27, 2010

# Driver/Co Driver Vehicle Class Total Event
997 Tony Quinn/Naomi Tillett Nissan R35 GT-R 9 02:36:21
957 Clark Proctor/Tony Callaghan Nissan GT-R35 9 02:38:25
945 Glenn Inkster/Spencer Winn Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 9 02:39:57
975 Steve Millen/Philip Adamson Nissan Stillen GT-R 9 02:40:11
926 Jason Gill/Jody Somervell Mitsubishi EVO9 GT 9 02:40:49
998 Harry Dodson/Glenn Cupit Nissan GT-R35 9 02:43:18
917 Glenn Smith/Andy Lowe Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 9 02:43:24
944 Rick Giddy/Joel Giddy Subaru WRX STI 9 02:44:55
840 Martin Dippie/Greg Ball Porsche GT3 RS 8 02:45:06
947 Brian Green/Fleur Pedersen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS 9 02:48:35

 

Follow all of the coverage of the 2010 Dunlop Targa New Zealand Rally

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I am writing this from the hotel in New Plymouth.  The good news is, the STILLEN GT-R is running very well and Steve and Phillip are doing very well and working great together!  Steve took it kind of careful today as he wanted to see how the tires were going to fair.  These Dunlops are looking great and are showing hardly any wear.  We are very excited to see how they work through the week!


(For a larger version, click here)

Today was unusually tough as the weather was uncharacteristically warm..  The roads were hot and we really expected the tires to start wearing heavily.  However, The GT-R is running strong and working very well! We’re getting some great in-car footage that I am very excited to bring home and post up soon!

There have been a few off road excursions made by a few cars today.  Most cars were pulled out of trouble and will be back tomorrow, but we’re not so sure about one competitor in the Mazda 3 MPS.  It had a pretty serious off and rolled.  Fortunately the driver and co-driver made it out without injury.  I have been traveling with Conrad Healy today as we went from stage to stage getting photos and what not.  Here’s just a couple photos from today’s events, and as you see above, including Steve going a little wide through an acute right turn. More photos to come soon..

Modern Class Results for Day 1 – October 26, 2010

# Driver/Co Driver Vehicle Class Total Time
997 Tony Quinn/Naomi Tillett Nissan R35 GT-R 9 01:29:04
957 Clark Proctor/Tony Callaghan Nissan GT-R35 9 01:29:05
975 Steve Millen/Philip Adamson Nissan Stillen GT-R 9 01:31:16
945 Glenn Inkster/Spencer Winn Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 9 01:31:17
926 Jason Gill/Jody Somervell Mitsubishi EVO9 GT 9 01:31:47
917 Glenn Smith/Andy Lowe Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 9 01:32:02
998 Harry Dodson/Glenn Cupit Nissan GT-R35 9 01:33:16
716 Mark Whyte/Tracey Lance Toyota Alteza 7 01:33:24
944 Rick Giddy/Joel Giddy Subaru WRX STI 9 01:34:10
840 Martin Dippie/Greg Ball Porsche GT3 RS 8 01:34:18

 

Follow all of the coverage of the 2010 Dunlop Targa New Zealand Rally

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Founded in 1986, STILLEN is recognized as one of the premier tuners in the world. With Engineers and a full R&D department on location, STILLEN has long been engineering big brake kits with Brembo and AP Racing, developing superchargers with Magnuson, Edelbrock, Whipple, Vortech, and under the leadership of championship race car driver Steve Millen, trusted by thousands of enthusiasts, manufacturing STILLEN branded products and upgrades, as well as wholesale distribution and retail partners.
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