Two weekends of thrilling motoring action

Summer in the mountains is only weeks away and Mt Buller is set to host Targa Australia over two big weekends in November, providing spectators with exciting tarmac rally racing, an exclusive field of sports cars and distinguished competitors.

In conjunction with Targa Australia, Mt Buller will launch a brand new event in 2015. Held from 31 October to 1 November, Targa Experience is a new concept to the Targa series. The event will offer all Targa competitors the opportunity to learn more about getting the most out of their chosen sport in the bid to enable them to compete safely. Open to all Targa competitors, from beginners to advanced, the Experience format will provide a competition with the running of a 7.5km Targa Stage on the final climb to the Mt Buller Village. This section of road is the windiest and steepest section of the acclaimed Mt Buller stage, which will give a unique Targa experience to all new competitors who attend. 

Targa High Country will return to Mt Buller the following weekend, for its sixth year running. From 6-8 November, visitors will see over 200 participants tackle the multi-stage event around Mansfield, Euroa, Mt Buller, Eildon and the King Valley.  The international tarmac rally will kick off with a full day of racing on Friday 6 November, starting from Mt Buller and taking in the Merton, Harry’s Creek, Violet Town and Galls Gap stages. Participants will then travel out to Euroa before returning back along the same stages (in the reverse direction) to Mt Buller, covering six stages in total.

Saturday will see cars take off from Mt Buller for the downhill stage, followed by a street stage in Mansfield in the afternoon including Targa Fest, a static display of the competition vehicles held down the main street of town. On the Sunday the tour will head to Jamieson, finishing the day with a racing climb up Mt Buller, for the medal presentation ceremony with champagne flowing in the Mt Buller Village Square. 

Download the course map here.

Acclaimed to be one of the biggest events on the summer calendar, the team from Targa Australia brings non-stop action and entertainment to the region across two fantastic weekends.

Event Director, Mark Perry, says this year’s Targa High Country is going to be even bigger and better than ever. “Targa High Country has really become a core event in the tarmac rally series, where the country’s fastest rally teams and their multi-million dollar machinery tackle a 1000m ascent over 18 kilometres of the most breathtaking road from the base of the mountain at Mirimbah, past the iconic Clock Tower and into the Mt Buller Village. We have the biggest field ever assembled for the event this with 205 entries, easily making the 2015 Targa High Country the largest rally held in Australia this year.

“We’re really excited to see participants rise to the challenge and attend the Targa Experience for the first time, enabling them to then go test out their new found skills and tackle Targa High Country”.

Marketing Director for Mt Buller Mt Stirling Resort Management, Amber Gardner, said Mt Buller offers spectators and competitors a fantastic base for Targa High Country. “With Targa Experience and Targa High Country kicking off a full program of events and activities on offer this summer, spectators and competitors will enjoy two fantastic weekends here at Mt Buller. The resort has an advantage with the event starting and finishing in the heart of the Village. We can’t wait to the see cars scream through the main t-intersection as they race towards the finish line. Spectators can then get up close and personal with race participants and their cars during the display after the race.”

The Mt Buller Village offers drivers and spectators the ideal base for the Targa High Country event, with the action of the final stage providing plenty of entertainment, along with live music, dining, a VIP viewing area, and a collection of vintage of modern cars on display.

For further information on Targa High Country and the Mansfield-Mt Buller region, visit www.targa.com.au.

Accommodation can be booked through High Country Reservations at www.mansfield-mtbuller.com.au or by calling 1800 BULLER. Targa Experience and Targa High Country are two events on Mt Buller’s comprehensive summer events and activities program – for further information visit mtbuller.com.au.

Media contact:

Kate Monahan

Marketing & Media Officer

Mt Buller Mt Stirling Resort Management

T: 03 5777 6077

M: 0411 330 383

E: kate.monahan@mtbuller.com.au