Team: Puppy Kitty Racing

Team: Puppy Kitty Racing

Driver: Lydia Thompson

Co-driver: Jake O’Gorman

Car: 2018 Volkswagen Golf R

Division: Targa 2

Country: Canada

Lydia Thompson will drive the car her father had built for Targa. (Photo: Larry Strung)

Daughter fulfills father’s Targa dream

 

The late Wes Thompson of Blenheim, Ontario had this orange pumpkin Golf R built by rally car master builder Dan Sprongl to compete in Targa 2019 but unfortunately didn’t get to run that year. Then the pandemic hit and parked the rally for several more years.

 

However, the car will finally compete this fall with Wes’s daughter Lydia behind the wheel along with co-driver Jake O’Gorman. This will be their second Targa experience as they did the Bambina event in 2019.

Lydia and Jake in action at Targa Bambina 2019 (Photo: Ralph Saulnier)

The pair have also rallied in the Great Race Spring Regional Rally, a time, speed, and distance rally, in a ‘39 Ford Coupe.

 


Jake and Lydia at the Great Race Spring Rally.

Wes, the former chief executive of Thompson’s Ltd., steered the vast family-owned farm products and services business for more than three decades. He had an enduring interest in classic cars and vintage fire trucks and even dipped a toe into rally competition. He died in 2024 at age 65.

 

We’re looking forward to seeing the turbo pumpkin finally in action on the roads of Newfoundland this fall.

 

Follow them on Instagram: (@puppykittyracing) • Instagram photos and videos

 


The Golf R was on display in July at a cars and coffee event in Blenheim, Ontario. (Photo: Larry Strung)

The late Wes Thompson had this VW Golf R built just for Targa but never got to run it in the rally.

 

Read about Wes Thompson: Former business leader Wes Thompson Jr. was a ‘Blenheim boy’ | Chatham Daily News

 

See a gallery showing how Dan Sprongl and Four Star Motorsports transformed the Golf R: https://www.fourstarmotorsports.com/2018-vw-golf-r/e7zjb82e154s5paqynrbefuxh4k52w