Lexus hybrid rallies to an impressive sixth-place finish at TARGA Newfoundland 2008
For the second straight year, Team Lexus proved its hybrid technology is up to extreme road rallying by finishing 6th overall in the 2,200-kilometre TARGA Newfoundland 2008 that wrapped up on the weekend. This betters the team's performance in last year's event, the first for the rally-prepped Lexus GS 450h performance luxury hybrid sedan, in which Team Lexus placed 18th.
"It was a great second TARGA for our team and a fantastic result," Lexus driver Marc Lachapelle said of his second appearance behind the wheel of the GS 450h. Noting that he and co-driver Alan Ockwell crossed the finish line in total silence, running the GS 450h on electric power only, Lachapelle added, "For us, it was the best proof that you can run hard for six days, make it to the finish and still be as environmentally friendly and quiet as possible, in a modern car."
"On behalf of everyone at Lexus of Canada, I would like to congratulate Marc, Alan and the Lexus technical team for proving, once again, that Lexus Hybrid Drive delivers many performance advantages over regular automobiles. Nowhere is this more apparent than under extreme driving conditions such as those found throughout the week-long TARGA Newfoundland road rally," noted Tony Wearing, Managing Director of Lexus in Canada. "For a second straight year, we have put the GS 450h against the best offerings from other manufacturers and an international field of competitors, and demonstrated - before a global audience of motorsports fans - that the world's only lineup of luxury hybrid vehicles is in a class by itself."
TARGA Newfoundland 2008 - the seventh annual running of this internationally-recognized event - pushed drivers and vehicles to their limits during a six-day competition over 2,200 kilometres of challenging roads through the central and eastern portion of the island. As in previous years, the course consisted of a mix of public road stages on which all rules of the road apply, as well as several closed-road TARGA speed sections (representing approximately 20 per cent of the course), over which drivers were given free reign to push their machines to the limits. In the evenings, the Lexus GS 450h joined the other entries on display for local rally fans.