Pre-season open practice for the 2012 Targa Series is now complete. 23 sim-racers came out to the Oulton Park Circuit to do a shakedown of their equipment and become a little bit more familiar with the speed differential between the C1, C2, and C3 cars. This will be the inaugural season of the Targa Series, based around the 2011 “Targa Virginia” event. The series features three classes C1 (Riley Mk XX), C2 (Ford GT) and C3 (Cadillac CTS-V) and a selection of tough circuits. Each round of the championship is run individually as its own event, and drivers can choose to race in just one or multiple events.

Targa Series drivers came to grips with their cars -- and each other -- at Oulton Park.

Richard Gallatin topped the open test session in the C1 category with a 129.097, six tenths over second place Patrick Bolster. Bolster is returning from his third place finish in the 2011 Targa Virginia and seems to be a strong contender for the online racing championship.

Familiar faces from last year’s Targa Virginia dotted the rest of the session, with experience Ford GT drivers Corey Davis and Jasper Groeneweg gained in last season’s race paying-off.  Davis topped the C2 time sheets a little over four tenths quicker than second place Groeneweg. Shawn Maier also made an appearance in the Ford GT hoping to have a successful season and avoid blowing his engine once again.

2011 Targa Virginia driver Valerio Chietti showed he is skilled in many different cars, setting the quickest time in his C3 Cadillac CTS-V category. His time of 137.720 was just a few hundredths quicker than that of second quickest C3 competitor Duncan Reed.

The Ford GT (C2) and Riley MkXX (C1) represent two of the three classes in the Targa Series.

Overall the practice session was a nice slow-paced test that allowed drivers to chat with one another in anticipation of the season ahead.

To learn more about the Targa Series and for information about how to join visit http://gplaps.wordpress.com.

The series kicks off at Pocono Raceway’s International Course with the Pennsylvanian 150 July 15th at 2:00pm EST on GlacierTV.

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