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The Queensland designed and built Skelta G-Force will be an even better proposition at this year’s Targa Tasmania International tarmac rally on April 17-21, following successful testing of the new Kumho Ecsta tyres in Gatton recently.
Skelta Managing Director and regular driver, Ray Vandersee was left in little doubt Kumho has developed a suitable tyre that will not only provide extra speed and traction but also be up to the grueling test of an intense five days of racing.
Targa Tasmania is considered one of the toughest races of its kind where vehicles are this year required to cover more than 2000 kilometres, including 450 competition kilometres over 42 stages.
During the Skelta’s Targa Tasmania debut last year, Vandersee had the car placed in second position with just two stages remaining, before being unexpectedly halted when complications arose following a stray rock piercing the rubber boot on the rear axle.
“Based on our experiences from last year we wanted to see if there was more to be gained, so in consultation with Australian Kumho distributor John Mills from Fsport, we agree that the Kumho Ecsta tyres are the way to go,” said Vandersee.
“We ran with a much skinnier set of tyres last year and at that time we were still searching for an overall balance in the car, so to have come away with a solid result was very pleasing.
“After trialing the new sized tyre at the Gatton Street Sprints where we claimed the class win, outright sports car championship and came within a whisker of the fastest time, we’re confident the new Kumho’s will give us an edge in Tasmania next month.”
To the uninitiated, tyre selection may appear to be an inconsequential variable in the greater context of such a major motor racing event.
However Vandersee points out that at Targa Tasmania you cannot underestimate the true value of a good set of tyres.
“Last year many of the more fancied all-wheel drive competitors set a hot pace early on but fell by the wayside. In Tasmania a tyre change pretty much puts you out of the running for overall honours as an automatic two minute penalty is added to your overall time,” added Vandersee.
“Each team is allowed just their four starting tyres to complete the event and as we showed last year ours still had plenty of life left in them at the completion of Targa Tasmania.
“The Skelta isn’t hard on tyres and with the medium compound we’ll be running with this year there’ll be some gains to be made.
“Of course a dry event will be to our advantage because the all-wheel drives are bound to again struggle in the latter stages.
“But even if it’s wet the Kumho’s boast reliability and are a true all-rounder so with an even better set up in 2007 there’ll be no reason we can’t put it together and give a good account of ourselves.”
The Australian designed and built Skelta G-Force sports car has been entered into a Nation-wide promotional competition being coordinated by the SBS Channel’s Internationally acclaimed ‘Top Gear’ motoring program.
Fans are asked to log into the site below and vote in support of Queensland’s limited production sports car venture.
Aesthetically the Skelta G-Force is a modern, if not futuristic model and the road registered, racing vehicle has also been masterfully created to provide optimum aerodynamic qualities.
The vehicle draws inspiration from proven competition vehicles including the modern day Formula One car and the Panoz Le Mans sports racer. Some believe the car also bears some resemblance to the English TVR sportsters.
The Australian made Skelta G-Force is set to pack an even mightier punch during 2007, courtesy of a revolutionary lightweight RST V8 engine that will come as an upgrade option on the sports car model.
That’s great news for potential Australian tarmac rally purchasers of the power-packed machine, with the move up into a V8 engine package is sure to make the Skelta G-Force an even more formidable proposition at events such as the highly acclaimed Targa Tasmania.
Sports car circuit racing enthusiasts will also appreciate the supreme performance offered by the 2.4 litre V8 version that produces up to 283kW at 9,800RPM.
But the V8 package won’t be ready for this year’s April 17-21 Targa Tasmania event, with Vandersee and his small Darling Downs based Skelta G-Force Racing team honing in on another genuine assault driving the current model.
Competitors will cover 450 competition kilometres over 43 stages as Targa Tasmania is conducted over five days.
The overall goal from participation in 2007 will be to deliver on the performance potential shown by a gutsy initiation last year.
That experience, coupled with a second outright placing at Targa New Zealand, plus competition at various other hillclimb and sprint events, means Vandersee is in a much stronger position, boasting many more miles behind the wheel of his self designed creation.
Skelta Sports Cars has a stock of comprehensive promotional DVDs that outline the original concepts, engineering and overall performance capabilities of this unique Australian made sports car.
The DVDs are available for immediate distribution to interested parties free of charge.
Potential purchasers and enthusiasts of Queensland’s Skelta G-Force, that retails for around $134 000, are asked to book their DVD directly through Vandersee via email at
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A postal address must be advised.
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