LOCAL knowledge has come to the fore on the second day of Targa Tasmania, with North-West drivers filling the first three positions.
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The trifecta is led by four-time champion Jason White and his uncle John in their new Lamborghini Gallardo Squadra Corse, who have opened up an 18 second gap after eight stages around the Meander Valley, Kentish and Latrobe areas yesterday.
The Whites made their move on overnight leader Eddie Maguire on the 14.62km Sheffield stage, and slowly extended it as the day went on.
Maguire, from Burnie, was certainly no slouch in his less-powerful Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, ending the day in second spot.
Defending champion Jamie Vandenberg is ready to pounce in third spot should issues arise with White or Maguire, 53 seconds behind the leader.
Despite constant mechanical battles with his Italian supercar, White said he has no complaints about leading the pack.
"We changed the gearbox overnight and put the old one back in, but I'm struggling to get it back into second gear today," he explained.
"Anytime you can be in front Targa is a good thing - no lead is big enough or good enough, but with the issues we're having, we're happy to be there."
One to watch later in the week is 2008 champion Steve Glenney in his Nissan GT-R V Spec, who won seven of the eight stages, but was hampered by losing 1min38sec on the opening stage at Westwood.
He currently sits in sixth spot, 2min26sec off the pace.
After winning yesterday's George Town street stage by nine seconds, Tony Quinn showed that his McLaren is clearly the class of the Showroom field.
He consistently set the fastest stage times throughout the day, putting a 90 second gap between he and Jim Richards' Porsche Cayman.
"The event's just started and it's a long way to go. I've done many of them and won outright twice," Quinn said.
"We're surrounded by a good bunch of drivers and there will be a heap of stories at the end of the week. I think if I can do a good job for McLaren, I'll be happy."
Craig Dean's Ford Mustang lies third, 10 seconds behind Richards, after TV star Grant Denyer dropped five minutes, putting him out of contention - at least for the time being.
Launceston's Pete Nunn extended his Classic Outright lead to over a minute, with his Porsche 944 Turbo running perfectly and setting up a strong lead.
Craig Haysman (1981 Triumph TR7 V8), despite never having had great success at Targa Tasmania, is second, well clear of Peter Ullrich's 1963 Jensen CV8.
Nunn's speed also sees him leading the Late Classic Handicap class, while Peter Ullrich is nearly two minutes clear of his nearest rival in Early Classic Handicap. Tim Hendy (Nissan Skyline) has a 21 second lead over Adam Kaplan's BMW in Early Modern.
Other class leaders after day two are Barrie Smith (Audi TT RS) in 4WD Showroom, Jeff Beable (Nissan Skyling) in Sports Trophy, Bob Fisher (Triumph TR4) in Thoroughbred Trophy, and Wayne Clarke continues to lead the Vintage class in his 1938 Dodge Speedster Special.
Day three of Targa Tasmania heads to the East Coast with a lunch stop in St Helens. A further eight stages will be tackled, with the day's finale around the streets of Longford.
RESULTS
Overall standings after day 2 of 6
Showroom: 1. Tony Quinn-Naomi Tillett, 2014 McLaren 650S
2. Jim Richards-Barry Oliver, 2014 Porsche Cayman S, +1m30s
3. Craig Dean-Jenny Cole, 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, +1m40s
4. Neill Ford-Colin Maher, 2010 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, +3m00s
5. Andrew Robinson-Thomas Browell, 2013 Mini Cooper, +5m05s
Modern: 1. Jason White-John White, 2013 Lamborghini Gallardo Squadra Corse
2. Eddie Maguire-Michael Potter, 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, +48s
3. Jamie Vandenberg-Dennis Sims, 2013 Nissan GT-R, +53s
4. Ben Searcy-Mitchell Lukasz, 2007 Mitsubishi Evo IX, +1m48s
5. Toby Gill-Matthew Rickards, 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X RS, +2m24s