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Sport

2 September, 2020

TARGA to touchdown

ONE of the country’s biggest high octane, corner splitting races will once again be gracing the roads of the Far North with the TARGA Great Barrier Reef Race commencing this Friday.

By Rhys Thomas

The TARGA Great Barrier Reef race will return to the roads of the Far North this weekend PHOTO CREDIT: Angryman Photography
The TARGA Great Barrier Reef race will return to the roads of the Far North this weekend PHOTO CREDIT: Angryman Photography

Being held from this Friday, September 4 to Sunday, September 6 the race will see adrenaline chasing drivers from all over the country placed on local roads over the weekend with several legs of the race making their way onto the Tablelands.

The first leg of the race will feature some Tableland landmarks including a stage through Lake Eacham and up through the Gillies Range.

Leg three will feature most of the Tablelands with the drivers going from Kuranda up through Malanda and the Upper Barron.

TARGA Australia CEO Mark Perry is very excited for this year’s event and said that the event will feature a lot of local talent on show.

“The field is made up of a lot of local talent this year which is actually great to see so many Queenslanders supporting the event,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of locals stepping up into the full competition and purchasing new cars for this event so they are bound to be crowd pleasers.

“We love coming to Tropical North Queensland because it truly isn’t like any of our other events, every day feels like a holiday.”

Some competitors have successfully applied for exemptions and undergone their mandatory isolation which shows the lengths people will go to for this event.

With Covid restrictions in place the initial showcase of the cars at the Cairns Esplanade has been cancelled, however eager families will get to see them drive past their houses in a 27km Cairns route starting in Edmonton.

Spectators are asked to ensure they are remaining Covid safe by practising social distancing, maintaining good hygiene and wearing masks if possible.

Below is a list of all the road closures on the Tablelands for the weekend.

In the first leg of the race on Friday the Gillies Highway between Appaloose Street and Boar Pocket Road will be closed between 8:36am and 2:36pm to allow the drivers to make their way up the range and onto the Tablelands.

Following the Gillies closure will be Wrights Creek, Gadgarra Road and Winfield Road during the Eacham stage.

On Sunday the Kuranda Highway between Canopys Edge Boulevard and Black Mountain Road will be closed for the first leg from 6:46am to 11:16am, followed by the second leg which will close Claringbold, East Barron, Cook, Stonehouse and Andrikson Roads from 8:06am to 11:06am.

The third leg will take place in Malanda with Merragallan Road and Laundry Road closed between 8:28am and 11:58am before moving into Milla Milla.

The Old Palmerston Highway between Malanda Road and Maalan Road, Maalan Road then back out onto the Old Palmerston Highway until the Kennedy Highway will be closed from 8:59am to 1:59pm.

The last leg will see road closures from 12:27pm to 4:57pm for Claringbold, East Barron, Cook, Stonehouse and Andrickson Roads

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