Mazda Australia today confirmed famed World Rally Championship (WRC) competitor Alister McRae and Mazda resident driver Rick Bates will spearhead the company’s 2008 Targa Tasmania campaign.

McRae’s motor racing pedigree is world-class: he has contested over 75 WRC events and is a former British Rally Champion. McRae is the third WRC competitor to test his mettle against the 17-year-old tarmac endurance rally, which this year will be held from April 15-20.

McRae and Bates will each be equipped with the latest performance car from Mazda, the Mazda3 MPS. This performance hot hatch is based on Mazda’s best-selling model in Australia and comes with a turbocharged engine which belts out 190kW and 360Nm.

Mazda Motorsport’s eighth entry into Targa Tasmania follows on from the company’s stunning result in 2007 in which Rick Bates finished a brilliant tenth outright in a near-standard Mazda3 MPS.

Mazda’s two-car team will be competing in the event’s new Showroom competition, which is designed to put near-standard vehicles on an equal billing with highly-modified racing and rally cars.

McRae: I’m ready for the challenge
The Perth-based Scotsman is charged about his first Targa drive, and is under no illusion of the challenge that lies ahead.

“Having competed all over the world in rallying at all levels, it’s great to have a new challenge, and doing it with Mazda will be great fun,” says McRae.