Just you, the car and the road…

AN OPPORTUNITY to drive six stages of the Targa Tasmania Tarmac Rally presented itself recently via the Mazda MX-5 Club of Victoria and Tasmania who organised a long weekend of MX-5 love featuring a taste of motorsport at Symmons Plains and Baskerville racetracks capped off by driving six Targa stages led by last year’s winning co-driver.

What’s not to like?

We were up for three days of driving bliss enhanced by our wheels for the occasion – the latest iteration of Mazda’s MX-5 ND in this case a GT RS (Roadster $52,290 + ORC) complete with BBS alloys, Brembo brakes, Bilstein dampers, DSC Track Mode, improved steering feel and what Mazda calls an asymmetrical differential to moderate rear-wheel lock-up on entering a corner and wheel spin on the way out.

The ND series MX-5 has been around for 12 years now and speculation about an NE is rampant but unrequited.

A 2024 upgrade brought minor improvements and styling changes centred on the head-and-taillights and tech stuff while the 2.0-litre petrol engine remains good for a handy 135kW/205Nm output, the former at 7000rpm and totally sufficient to propel the 1070kg sportscar with real purpose across all driving applications.

Ours was a manual (of course) in white duco with a black cloth top, black leather upholstery, Bose audio and heated seats that proved handy on the chilly Tassie mornings.

There’s plenty more creature comforts in the diminutive roadster that still looks cool after 12 years in this case all the better for its shiny black BBS wheels covering red Brembo callipers. Did I mention the sound generator…? Well, it has one for some reason but we paid no attention because the roof was off most of the time, even in the rain.

Our host for the highly anticipated Targa Tassie stages drive was Ian Wheeler, the mild-mannered co-driver to last year’s outright winning driver Angus Kennard in a 2015 Nissan GT-R.

He laid down the law at a pre-drive briefing emphasising it wasn’t a race and we would not be exceeding the speed limits as about 25 MX-5s of varying age and covering all four generations lined up outside Wrest Point Casino in Hobart for the start.

Off we went in somewhat inclement weather most of us with the roof off guided over the two-way radio by Ian’s wife Kate who provided interesting instruction and banter (including precise stage start and stop points) as we headed out burbling through the back blocks of southern Tasmania on what was quickly revealed as fairly tricky, tight driving conditions.

The one day spin covered some delectable driver’s roads (stages) selected by Ian that included Stage 1: Bonnet Hill 3.5km, Stage 2: Oyster Cove 12.21km, Stage 3: Cygnet 11.4km, Stage 4: Esperance 15.73km, Stage 5: Dover 15.73km winding up with Stage 6: Longley 12.06km which brought us back into Hobart through the foothills of Mt Wellington (with snow at the edges of the road).

From the get-go, it dawned as almost incomprehensible that fast cars are driven on these roads at warp speed (200km/h+) because even our leisurely clip demanded utmost concentration to stay on track and avoid bumps, moss (yes), polished tar, wet spots, cow poo…. and road kill.

In between the stages, we meandered through umpteen cute little villages that seemed straight out of the 1950s and marvelled at spectacular almost fluoro green scenery punctuated by craggy cliffs and mountain bluffs…it was “heaven-on-a-stick”.

But the real fun started outside of town as each stage held its own distinct appeal forcing us to fully engage with the drive at hand coping with everything thrown up ranging from snaking switchbacks through the expected hairpins and short straights, up steep hills, and down deep valleys all in close proximity to various vegetations including large trees.

And that is of course not forgetting water run offs and all manner of other impediments to actually going ridiculously fast (for the Targa drivers).

But our MX-5 made light work of it tempting us to increase the pace which we resisted in the interests of safety and to remain within the law, holding back for the closed circuit motorsport experience the next day.

Our ND was an ideal companion for the demands of the drive thanks to its supple suspension that is more GT oriented than track hard, the sharp steering responses, taut chassis, grippy Bridgestone Potenza RE005 rubber and strong brakes.

Though the ambience on such a drive in an open top sportscar is almost irresistible we still cranked up the Bose audio on occasion for a spot of aural accompaniment (ZZ Top) as well as selecting three dots on the seat heaters. 

All of the above combined to deliver a huge dollop of driver engagement and pleasure over the course of the day, heightened by a curried scallop lunch at the Grand Hotel Huonville half way around.

We couldn’t pick a favourite stage although the dry parts allowed more opportunity for driver involvement rather than the wet… obviously.

It was a choice time of the year for such an event, not too cold but importantly for a convertible, not too hot and when it rained, we just keep on driving to channel the drops over the top.

Over the three day Tassie Tarmac Tracks event, the ND averaged 7.8 litres per 100km which included everything from city driving to freeways, to tight country roads, and fast track driving.

Additionally, we took it on some unrelated country drives where the supple suspension came into its own as did the high level of grip and level of control afforded by such a finely honed car.

The ND-series MX-5 might be an oldie, but in this instance, is the ideal vehicle to fully appreciate the driving pleasures afforded enthusiasts in Tasmania.

Switch off the intrusive ADAS, limber up the left (clutch) foot and left (gear change) arm and it’s just you, the car and the road – real driving.

Now where’s that 2027 Spirit of Tasmania schedule…