White's Lamborghini Gallardo caught fire on the final sprint up Mount Buller at Targa High Country, and despite the car crossing the finish line in flames, he and co-driver, his uncle John White, still managed to win the event.

It was a close call for the Devonport driver, and he knows full well how it all nearly ended in total disaster.

``There was about $20,000 in damage to the car in parts replacement,'' White said.

``The carbon fibre rear diffuser was probably the dearest part to repair, as it was around 6000 euros to replace.

``This car isn't the cheapest thing to go knocking about, but that's the nature of the sport and the car we drive.''

Despite the fire damage, White says it won't affect his preparation for Targa Wrest Point, an event he won by nearly half a minute last year.

He expects his major opposition to come from the Nissan GT-Rs of Tony Quinn and Matt Sims, and the quickly improving Audi TT RS of Matt Close.

Mazda's young star, Brendan Reeves, will also be one to watch in the factory-backed RX-8 SP.

The event is based out of the Wrest Point complex in Hobart, with day one on January 28 offering up seven Targa stages and a tough 122 competitive kilometres.

The biggest challenge drivers will face on day one will be the stages into and out of the Tahune Airwalk, west of Geeveston.

Both these stages are more than 22km in length, and they will be run a second time in the afternoon, making them critical for competitors.

On Sunday, January 29, the remaining competitors face a further seven stages and 86 competitive kilometres to the east of Franklin and Huonville.

The final stage of the event, west of Cygnet, could prove decisive in deciding the Targa Wrest Point champion for 2012.

The final round of the Australian Targa championship is April's week-long Targa Tasmania.