A short note on Targa 2016 and Ted Davis - by Rufus Pullar

Last year while crewing for Stephen and Ginetta during Targa Tasmania 2015 Ted Davis and I had several discussions about returning in 2016 to help them achieve their goal of Gold Targa Plates for successfully finishing three Targas in a row.

Shortly after returning to Brisbane Ted discovered that he had cancer. Although he wanted to return to Tasmania for Targa in 2016, Ted died last year.

Stephen Ginetta and I were determined to achieve Gold Targa Trophies as a mark of respect for Ted. Stephen gracefully allowed me to ask a good friend of mine, Danny Meneguzzo, a successful racer in his own right, who has built and prepared his own cars for 40 years, to be part of the team.

 Leonie Davis retained part of Ted’s ashes and scattered them in Moreton Bay, and  we all decided that Ted should be placed in several locations around Tasmania during Targa Tasmania.

We had four plastic containers of Ted bound up securely with duct tape in case he tried to escape, and the containers came down to Tasmania with me in my carry on luggage. The lady at the scanner at the airport had a good long look at the containers in my bag, and a look at me, and decided not to ask the question.

 Ted didn’t like being driven too quickly, and definitely didn’t want to be in a race car. I had only ever managed to trick him into it once and that didn’t go down too well. Stephen and Ginetta had already decided that Ted should experience the Targa in the race car. One container was carefully placed behind Stephen’s seat under the watchful eye of TR Teddy.

 Graham Copeland, Josh Herbert and their crew John Lengton and Josh’s Dad Peter Herbert approached me in Launceston and asked if Ted could do the event in the 1936 Desoto Speedster Special as well. Ted completed Targa Tasmania 2016 in two cars simultaneously.

 Graham Copeland had a major mechanical drama during the Prologue in Georgetown, directly under Ted’s position in the car, and we all knew Ted had caused the drama. Copeland insisted that Ted would behave for the rest of the event, and that proved to be correct.

 Ted was very well behaved in the TR but I suspect his container may have spread positive vibes! Regardless, there was already a lot of Ted’s DNA in Stephens car to ensure a positive result.

 Ted’s ashes were distributed  in the Tamar River in Launceston, Macquarie Harbour at Strahan , the Derwent River at Wrest Point Casino after the Presentation Dinner, and in Constitution Dock in Hobart. There was a plan for a small portion of Ted to be placed in the fountain at Wrest Point Casino, but I made the mistake of telling Leonie and she told Ginetta, so that didn’t happen.

 Anything else that happened during the event seems unimportant as Stephen and Ginetta achieved their Gold Targa Trophies in honour of Ted.

 Now we need to go back to see if we can get Ted Platinum Plates.