Price and Willson combine their love in Targa experience

Meeting through a Mini club, the engaged couple are competing in their first Targa as a duo but Willson is an experienced veteran, having competed in 14 Targa events and over 150 gravel and tarmac rallies around Australia.

Competing in the speed-limited GT Sports Trophy category at this year's Targa Tasmania, the Huon Valley couple bought the car, a 2002 Mini Cooper S, as a road car but transformed it into a machine fit to tackle the state's winding roads.

"We built it from a road car that we picked up over Christmas," 37-year-old Willson said.

"We added a roll cage, rebuilt the engine and apart from that, it's pretty much a standard car just with all the necessary safety features for these events."

As well as competing in a variety of events under the Targa banner, the more-experienced member of the duo has competed in a vast array of cars in his time ranging from a 1970's Ford Capri to multiple Subaru WRX's.

This year, Willson hands over the reigns to his future wife as the 22-year-old competes in her maiden Targa Tasmania voyage in the couple's Mini JCW GP1.

Despite the couple settling on their love of Minis for the time being, it hasn't always been this way, with Willson's first Targa ride a world away from the Mini experience.

"My first one was in a 1964 Ford Galaxie, which was 19-feet long and weighed 1900 kilos which was a bit different to a Mini," he said.

A relative newcomer to the sport of competitive racing, Price won both the Lufra and Ledgerwood hill climbs last year and came fourth in Barrington.

"The Lufra really got me motivated to do this as I've always wanted to do it," Price said.

"When I saw a Mini GP, which is the special car I've got, I thought 'I won't use that, it's too rare'. But we got something that isn't as rare and decided to enter."

Competing under the Huon Valley Rally Team banner for the 2019 event, Price gained the love of motorsport from her father Karl.

With the limited edition Mini GP satisfying the car lover within Price, it won't take something as rare to please the young driver when it come to her maiden Targa.

"I'm just looking forward to finishing really," she said.

"Not just that, but getting a Targa plate at the end and do every stage."

For the Huon Valley duo, the decision to enter Targa together was a no-brainer due to their competitive natures.

"We always take everything to the next level," Price said.

"It's a competition to catch things at home. It's a competition to race to the car. It's a competition while racing, to paint right and to do anything.

"We are restoring our own house as well so Daniel has a lot of old Minis and an E-type around the place.

"It's all a race, whatever it is, getting a seat belt done up, getting to the letter box, anything.

"Someone's always better than the other so we just decided to be the perfect pair as Daniel has all the experience and I've always wanted to do Targa, so we coupled it together to make something awesome and special."

After the first three stages in the 2019 installment of Targa Tasmania: Howell, Kayena and George Town, Price and Willson sit in 10th place of the GT Sports Trophy, 2:28 behind overall category leaders, Mitchell and Darryl Ringuet in their 2017 Lotus Exige Sport 350.