Targa Newfoundland

Targa Newfoundland, the only tarmac-based car rally in North America, began in 2002 in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and races over scenic coastal roads and through towns and outports. The event covers about 2000 km over a seven-day period in September of each year on eastern and central parts of the island of Newfoundland. The 24th Annual Targa Newfoundland rally will be held September 12-19, 2024. The event allows the owners of historic, classic and modern sporting motor vehicles to drive them the way they were designed to be driven in a rally competition. In the event, each team of driver and co-driver competes against itself on a handicap basis as well as against other vehicles. Timed stages are run on public roads, which are closed to other traffic during this time. Some stages, such as Gander and Brigus, race through towns and outports.

Targa Newfoundland is divided into four divisions:


 * Fast Tour, a non-competitive event which allows the owners of classic and exotic cars to drive them the way they were meant to be driven, within the limits prescribed by the event, without the stress of competition;
 * Grand Touring, a time-speed-distance rally (TSD Rally) emphasizing precision in maintaining the average speed set by the organizers;
 * Targa 1 and 2, competitive events where the objective is to meet or slightly better the stage times set by the organizers for the age, displacement and modification level of the vehicle. Targa 1 is for cars without roll cages while Targa 2 is for cars with roll cages. Every competitor who completes all stages within the established trophy times wins a Targa plate.

There are also trophies for overall placing in the Touring and Targa events, and for placing within the various categories within the Targa event, as well as trophies for national and marque teams, and for the best-placed novice team.

The Targa Newfoundland is made possible though the efforts of 2,200+ volunteers and members of 70+ Newfoundland communities.

Event format
Targa Newfoundland begins and ends in the city of St. John's. This is the format for the 2024 event:


 * Skills Review and Practice Session – mandatory for 1st time entrants (September 12) – St. John's
 * Stage Review – mandatory for all participants (September 13) – St. John's
 * Prologue and Leg 1 (September 14) – St. John's, Southern Shore, Bay Bulls, and Witless Bay
 * Leg 2 (September 15) – Placentia Bay – Southwest Avalon Peninsula: St. John’s, Placentia Bay, Cape Shore, St. Bride’s, Fox Harbour, Ship Harbour, Long Harbour, Gander
 * Leg 3 (September 16) – Notre Dame Bay – North Central Newfoundland: Glenwood, Bobby’s Cove, Pleasantview, Point Leamington, Leading Tickles, Glovers Harbour, Appleton
 * Leg 4 (September 17) – Bonavista Bay – Eastport Peninsula: Bonavista Bay, Eastport, Happy Adventure, Salvage, Burnside, Port Blandford
 * Leg 5 (September 18) – Trinity Bay and Random Island: Weybridge, Hickman’s Harbour, Lower Lance Cove and Petley
 * Leg 6 (September 19) – Conception Bay Central: Conception Harbour, Colliers, Marysvale, Turk's Gut, Georgetown, Brigus
 * Free time and Awards Ceremony Banquet (September 20) – St. John's

2023 Targa Newfoundland Results
Targa Newfoundland paused from 2019 through 2022 and returned in 2023. Targa Divisions were renamed in 2023 and the results are reflected below.

Overall Deumila - Targa 2 (cars with roll cages)
1st Place: #276 Dave Wallingford and Leanne Junnila, 2017 Ford Fiesta

2nd Place: #205 Jim Turner and Mark Russo, 1995 BMW 325

Overall Deumila - Targa 1 (cars without roll cages)
1st Place Manual 2WD: #133 John Hume Sr., Randy Pobst, and Craig MacMullen, 2013 MINI Cooper GP

2nd Place Manual 2WD: #135 Justin Crant and Erin Crant, 2009 BMW 135i

3rd Place Manual AWD: #132 Sam Marshall and Rick Marshall, 2016 Subaru WRX

4th Place Manual AWD: #178 Steve Davies and Wayne Lorenzen, 2017 Porsche 911 C4

Overall Duemila Targa – Grand Touring
1st Place: #333 Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D’Souza, 2023 Mercedes-Benz AMG GLA 45

2nd Place: #380 Martin Pond and Christopher Seiwald, 1980 Mercury Zephyr

Event History
After competing in the Targa Tasmania in Australia in 2001, Canadian automotive journalist Jim Kenzie and public relations executive Doug Mepham were inspired to bring the excitement of that rally event closer to home. As Jim wrote in Toronto Star Wheels, “We got talking and thought: Island; welcoming population; needs tourism dollars. How about Targa Newfoundland?”

Kenzie wrote about the idea and Mepham sent the article to Robert Giannou, a businessman and racing enthusiast who had promoted Formula Atlantic races in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador in the early 1970s. Giannou got the support of the provincial government and put the organization in place. A year-and-a-half later, Targa Newfoundland was born. Targa ran for the first time in 2002 and there have been 23 runnings of the famous road rally since then.

Robert Giannou was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame Class of 2022 as a competitor, builder and significant contributor. Robert joined an elite group of more than 290 members who have been recognized for their contributions to motorsports in Canada.

Giannou joined the St. John’s Motor Club in 1958, where he began organizing rally, solo and hillclimb events in 1962. Giannou also raced himself, winning titles in club karting and rallying, hillclimb and B Sedan. He brought the club into the Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC) ranks and negotiated with the U.S. Embassy in Newfoundland to use two of their properties for events, including runways at Naval Station Argentia, where he eventually brought the Molyslip Endurance Series.

Giannou has held various roles with CASC over the years, including Race Director Atlantic Region and Assistant National Race Director, most notably starting Targa Newfoundland in 2002.

Without Robert’s vision and guidance, we wouldn’t have such an exceptional event today that challenges drivers, cars, and teams, and brings communities across the island of Newfoundland together for the love of motorsport. In 2010, he worked with Janet Brake to create a safety protocol that made Targa Newfoundland the safest of the three main Targa events, with incident rates reduced from 17% to 1.5%.