Leg 4 – Clarke and Proudfoot still leading with nine more stages to the finish

Team Subaru Targa had a very good Fourth Leg on Thursday. Our goal is to be safe first and foremost, and then turn in the best possible stage times. Happy to report that we have given our guys no work beyond the normal checks all through Thursday, with the single exception of a thorough look at the Targa STI’s rear axle assembly after our second run through the tight, short and twisty stage in Fortune.

Stewart also called for very small changes to the rear suspension settings that made a gigantic difference in stability. The STI had proven a bit scary while traversing the generally fast Garnish stage at speeds of close to 200 km/h (never over, by rule) on very bumpy pavement.

• Also: Subaru Rally Team Canada at Targa Newfoundland 2009
• Also: Pre-Targa hoopla, registration and last-minute fixes

By the end of Leg 4, after the dust had settled on the hairy Marystown city stage, Glen Clarke and Andy Proudfoot were still leading the rally with only 4 seconds of penalties in Glen’s Porsche 911 Carrera, followed by the German team of Michael Stoschek Philipp Spaeth in an older Porsche 911, at 9 seconds.

In Grand Touring, Ferdinand and Christoph Trauttmansdorff are still penalty-free after four hard days in their red 1990 BMW 325i. Christoph, always with a wide smile, must be one heck of a math student and his dad obviously knows what to do with a steering wheel and a few pedals.

It’s still dark outside and raining but it’s time to get ready for Leg 5. Let’s just hope we all make it to the finish on the harbour at St. John’s at the end of this day.