St. John’s, Newfoundland - Targa Newfoundland, one of the longest running tarmac rallies on the planet, will hit a major milestone this September. Teams competing this fall will cover the 1000th stage since Targa began 23 years ago in 2002. 

 

Robert Giannou, Targa co-founder and owner, says that will happen on the Eastport Peninsula portion of the rally. 

 

“This is a fantastic milestone in a province not known for motorsports,” says Giannou. “It represents a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of joy in Newfoundland communities. It’s a remarkable achievement. I’m not sure any other rally in North America has achieved 1000 stages and we have one of the best – if not the best – safety record over 23 years.” 

 

Targa co-founder and longtime competitor Doug Mepham says it’s a noteworthy achievement for the legendary rally. 

 

“When we started the first event in 2002, we were just focused on one stage — the first one! We figured if we got the first stage completed, we’d move on to the second one. It was literally one foot in front of the other,” says Mepham. “Remarkably, as I recall, we got all of the scheduled stages completed that first year. That was a minor miracle in itself. No one could have possibly dreamed of a thousand stages or running them for more than 20 years.” 

 

Jim Kenzie, Targa co-founder, past winner, and well known automotive journalist, adds: “I doubt Doug or I even considered how long it would last. Even the Targas in Tasmania (the original) and New Zealand have had some ‘issues’ recently. Targa Newfoundland’s record is one everyone involved can be proud of.” 

 

Targa Newfoundland is one of only three internationally recognized Targa motorsports events in the world. Since 2002, Targa Newfoundland, the ultimate tarmac rally in North America, has attracted professional and amateur racers from around the globe. 

 

Among the many notable competitors are accomplished racers Randy Pobst, Steve Millen, and Andrew Comrie-Picard; Murray Smith, racing promoter, driver and car collector; celebrities such as actors Robb Wells and John Paul Tremblay, better known as the “Trailer Park Boys”; automotive executive Ralph Gilles, Chief Design Officer at Stellantis (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, etc.), who led the design team that created the 2013 SRT Dodge Viper; and hundreds of racing and car enthusiasts from all over the globe. 

 

“The big attraction to Targa is that every corner and every stage is an adventure,” says Giannou. “As Jim Kenzie has said, It’s the most fun you can have in a car with your clothes on.” 

 

The 2025 event runs Sept. 11-18, 2025. More than 20 teams from across Canada and United States are already registered for the rally. Competitors will cover over 2000 km (about 1240 miles) across the island of Newfoundland including hundreds of kilometres of closed stages on public roads. The 1000th stage milestone will take place on Tuesday, September 16 somewhere along the Eastport Peninsula. Information on all of the stages is posted on the Targa website. 

 

 

About Targa Newfoundland

Owned and operated by Newfoundland International Motorsports Limited, Targa Newfoundland hits the twisty, challenging roads of Newfoundland (a.k.a. the Rock) September 11-18, 2025. Targa Newfoundland is the ultimate tarmac rally and the only internationally recognized targa event in North America. Since 2002, we've attracted hundreds of rally and motorsports enthusiasts from around the globe and showed them the best that Newfoundland and Labrador has to offer.

 

The eight-day Targa Duemila tarmac rally covers about 2000 km across this ruggedly beautiful island. That includes about 500 km of closed courses on real public roads through towns, outports, and the scenic countryside along the coastline. Targa Rotoura is a six-day event and Targa Tour is a motorsport adventure for those who just want to have fun in their cars without the competition.