Whites extend their at the top of Targa

Starting the day with a five second lead, the Devonport duo guided their 2016 Dodge Viper to a 16 second advantage over his rivals.

The pair are eyeing a seventh victory in the tarmac rally .

Victory in 2018 would see the duo move to just one less than Targa Tasmania record-holders Jim Richards and Barry Oliver.

After what was a challenging day with six special stages in the Devonport and Kentish areas, the Whites set the Paloona stage alight, pulling 10 seconds to build help build the buffer that they hold going into Wednesday. 

Trading places was the order of the day for second and third placings on Tuesday. 

North-West Coast product Matt Close and Cameron Reeves eventually holding down second outright in their Porsche GT3 RS.

The pair had an epic battle with Steve Glenney and Andy Sarandis who go into the third day just four seconds behind Close. They also lead the GT4 class.

There were some strong performances from fourth-placed Angus Kennard and Ian Wheeler in the 2015 Nissan GT-R R35.

“We had an exciting stage at Paloona,” Jason White said on Tuesday.

“I hit the brakes on the first corner and had a drink bottle submarine down in between the brake pedals.

“It was a distraction for the first few kilometres. It made me crabby, but the crabbiness fed through the steering wheel and into the wheels and it ended up being a very good time.

“We’ll have to start conserving tyres soon, the only trouble is that it’s too much fun.”

In other classes, the Shannons Classic GT has seen the 1975 Holden Torana of Michael Bray and Daniel Bray in an intense battle with the 1970 Datsun 240Z of Jon and Gina Siddons, with just six seconds separating the two cars.’

Graham Copeland and Josh Herbert have a clear two-minute buffer in the Classic handicap in their 1941 GMC Jimmy Special.

In the Rookie GT, Jeff Morton and Steve Fisher hold the upper hand following the completion of Day 2. The pairing guided their 2017 Lotus Exige to a 27 second lead after nine stages over Anthony Moss and Julie Hunter in their 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.

The Country Club GT Sports Trophy is led by Duursma and Richard Wodhams in a Lotus Exige SV6 at the end of Day 2 at Targa Tasmania. Duursma set the pace across the day and has opened up a handy 43 second lead over the Subaru Impreza WRX STI of Kristian Downing and Clayton Webber.  The TSD Trophy is led by Brian and Justin Marshal in a VW Polo GTi.