Driving his 2016 Dodge Viper ACR Extreme, White has withheld a strong attack from 2016 winner Matt Close in his Porsche GT3 RS to hold a 55-second lead.

Michael Pritchard’s Dodge Viper remains third, but within striking distance.

The fourth day of Targa Tasmania saw crews leave the overnight halt in Burnie and head down the West Coast to Strahan, with a lunch break in Stanley.

There were seven stages with a total competitive distance of 89.10 kilometres, the longest being the challenging 21km of Hellyer Gorge.

White’s considerable advantage means he should only need to conserve his lead, rather than drive on the limit to set stage-winning times.

“We still need damp roads. We tried not to use the tyres up too much through Hellyer Gorge as it’s not that kind to our tyres, but we’ll pick and choose the bits where we can go fast and make up some time,” White said.

Tim Hendy has had another fantastic day in his Porsche GT4 to sit in fourth place, equal to the second with GT4 leader Angus Kennard in a Nissan GTR.

The top three in the overall competition are also the leaders in the GT2 category, while Kennard’s stellar drive sees him leading Josh Hilton (Nissan GTR) and Crichton Lewis (Subaru WRX) in the GT4.

The classic GT category Datsun 240Z of Jon and Gina Siddins continues to lead its class and sit ninth overall.

Peter Ullrich looks to have the handicapped classics within his grasp. His 1963 Jensen CV8 lies four minutes and 37 seconds clear of Richard Woodward’s 1969 Holden Monaro GTS.

Adam Kaplan’s 2004 BMW M3 CSL increased his early modern lead by nearly a minute, with Jon Mitchell (Subaru) and Guy Lilleyman (Mitsubishi Lancer) his closest challengers.

Jeff Morton’s 2017 Lotus Exige appears uncatchable in GT sports trophy, holding a four-minute lead, while Darryl Marshall has led the TSD Trophy since the first day in his Ford Falcon Ute.

The penultimate day of the event will see competitors embark on the gruelling 33km stage climbing out of Strahan followed by the week-long event’s longest stage, the notorious 53km of Mt Arrowsmith, before crews head to Hobart for the overnight halt.

The race ends on Saturday.