Mazda Motorsport recorded a successful end to its Targa Wrest Point campaign with a class win and an outright second position in Hobart.
The final day didn't start off as planned with the Mazda3 MPS of Reeves and Vandenberg suffering a temporary electrical setback on the first of today's stages dropping them from the overnight lead to seventh in the Showroom category.
This setback only encouraged Reeves to push harder and the Mazda3 MPS didn't miss a beat for the rest of the day as it was fastest on every remaining stage on its way to securing the Showroom title over a minute ahead of the Astra SRi Turbo of De Britt and Percy.
Brendan Reeves was clearly thrilled with the result. "The issues on today's first stage certainly threw the cat amongst the pigeons but even after losing that time, we were optimistic that the MPS had what it takes to grab back the lead. And we weren't disappointed. To win so many stages and come away with the Showroom title really speaks volumes for the quality of this car," he said.
While Jason White's Lamborghini eventually came away with the Targa Wrest Point title, it was the RX-8 SP of Glenney and Webb that really tore up the tarmac winning four of today's eight stages on the way to securing second outright just 29 seconds behind White.
Speaking at the finish, Steve Glenney was content with his weekend's work while looking ahead at what else the RX-8 SP can achieve. "We've definitely had our share of bad luck in our last couple of outings so we're pleased to have secured a spot on the podium this weekend. It just shows what this car is capable of when everything comes together and we're excited about continuing our quest for a maiden win in the RX-8 SP."
A proud Mazda Motorsport boss, Allan Horsley commented on the team's performance over the weekend. "To have secured a class win and second outright really points to the quality of both Brendan and Steve. But it's been a real team effort this weekend to ensure that everything was in place to give us the best chance of victory. We came up just short in the Modern category but the signs are good and we'll continue working hard to try and put ourselves ahead of the competition."