Porsche 911 GT3 RS breaks Mt Buller Targa record

At the wheel of a 2017 Porsche GT3 RS, and with co-driver Cameron Reeves beside him, Matt Close has won this year’s Targa High Country.

And in the process, Close took out an impressive record, managing to make it through the Mt Buller stage in a blistering nine minutes and 25 seconds.

The onboard video of the Mt Buller run posted by Close after the whole weekend was up showed some flat-out and fearless driving, with a few moments that would have shaken most. But Close kept at it and ultimately came out on top.

Winning by a margin of 6m20s overall, Close beat the likes of Peter Nunn’s Porsche GTS, a Lancer Evo VI steered by Ben Calder, and Paul Dowie and his Audi TT RS Plus.

Targa quotes Close as having said this after finding out he had won overall.

“It’s great to get back to back wins,” Close said.

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring revealed

“We had a great final day, although we drove pretty safely and made sure we kept everything under control.

“Some of the stages today were very slippery, so it would have been easy to put the car off the road, so we were mindful of not doing that.”

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Photo by: Targa Tasmania 

Close adds that he was going to try and beat his own record which he set on day one when he returned to Buller on the last day of driving.

“We were hopeful of trying to set a new stage record up Mt Buller, but the road and tyre conditions weren’t as good as they were on Friday, so we just made sure we got to the end.

“Now we’ll focus our efforts on getting ready for Targa Tasmania next year, and trying to win that one as well.”