Reigning Targa Tasmania champion Matt Close has extraordinarily claimed that defending his GT2 title is not a high priority.
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The sensational admission has come on the eve of taking hold of a brand new car that promises to handle Tasmania’s unique road conditions even better than last year.
“It’s just something we won’t go in and focus on,” Close said about winning the 2017 Targa Tasmania.
“I was saying to one of the guys the other day that our dream was just to win one.
“I guess after you do that you sit back and think if another one comes along, that’s fine. But it’s not what motivates us from now on.
“It’s really just a bit of a monkey off your back and you just sit back and enjoy it.”
The Victorian will get behind the wheel of his latest Porsche that he has put 500kms on the road, half of that distance on Saturday in a track run at Symmons Plains.
Close said the car’s only adjustments were just fine tuning a few things on the suspension, confident that he and returning navigator Cameron Reeves will again perform strongly.
“This year we’re in a very special car that I feel like I am winning when I sit on the seat to be honest,” he said.
“It’s just a beautiful thing and a great car to drive to be honest. So we’re just going to enjoy the roads and see where we are.
“We’ll be competitive without being stupid.”
Close said testing over the past three weeks has given some insight, but admits it is not the same as competition.
“It’s not massively quicker in a straight line, but it’s just got a lot more grip,” he said.
“Symmons Plains is all I’ve got to gauge it on.
“But it’s the wider bodies and the turbo bodies have a bigger footprint on the track.”