Team: Maxi Mini Rally Team

Driver: Randy Pobst

Co-driver: Paul Abbott

Car: 2013 MINI GP

Division: Targa 1

Country: Canada

The Rocket is back to race the Rock for round three

Randy Pobst and Paul Abbott won Targa 1 last fall and will team up again this year. (Photo: Ralph Saulnier) )

Professional racing legend Randy “The Rocket” Pobst from Georgia has twice claimed the Targa 1 title with different co-drivers and different cars. Can he make it three in a row this fall?

Pobst won the Targa 1 division title in 2023 with Craig MacMullen and John Hume Sr. in Team Hume Media’s 2013 MINI John Cooper Works GP. In 2024, he teamed up with Paul Abbott from St. John’s, NL in Paul’s 1989 Porsche 911 Targa to win the division again. This fall, he’s back with co-driver Paul in the MINI GP of Team Hume Media.

Pobst and Abbott receive their trophy from Nancy Dowden and Leah Dalton. (Photo: Ralph Saulnier)

“This event requires high precision and a good navigator/partner in a quick, reliable, and agile car,” he said. “We’ve got the package with Paul Abbott and the Hume Media MINI GP I drove in 2023.”

As for Abbott, this will be his fifth Targa and second time navigating for Randy. He’s achieved class wins three times before as a driver and co-driver, including last year’s victory with Randy. What draws him back to Targa? “It’s a unique motorsport experience and apparently addictive! Every year leading up to September, I can’t help but think about it and my friends. Targa is my ‘home track’ and I like to showcase what we have to offer here.”

Pobst has raced at every major track in North America, but Targa is something special to him. “It’s the thrill of racing on the open roads in a beautiful place, and the length and variety of the stages all week.”

This time around, the pair will race a MINI GP. (Photo: Ralph Saulnier)

Over his illustrious racing career, Randy was a factory driver with Porsche, Audi, Mazda, and Volvo. A member of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Hall of Fame, he’s won over 90 pro road races, including the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona (twice), four World Challenge GT Championships, two IMSA driver’s championships and two North American Touring Car championships. He also set the modified electric production record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in a 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid and recently challenged the hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in a Hyundai IONIQ 6.

Paul and Randy in Paul’s classic 1989 Porsche 911 Targa. (Photo: Larry Strung)

Co-driver Paul has competed in Targa four times including twice as a driver, winning Class 8 Modern in 2009, and as a co-driver in Open Class and in Targa 1 with Randy last year. Paul is a past autocross champion in Vinland Motorsport, a motorsports club in Newfoundland, and an active member of the Porsche Club of America, Acadia Region. He first saw Targa in 2002 when it raced past his driveway in Flatrock, Newfoundland & Labrador. Later he volunteered and then competed in the rally.

Paul is confident they’ll do well again this year. “The MINI should have a really good chance even against the large field although there is some stiff competition in that class. It will be interesting to watch.”

Pobst is thrilled to come back to Targa Newfoundland and encourages other motorsports enthusiasts to enter. “Driving enthusiasts, Targa offers a unique way to experience the driving thrills you love, in a real world environment like nothing else. Drive fast, drive smart! It’s an amazing adventure you’re not going to find anywhere else.”

Read more about Randy on his website randypobst.com and follow him on FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/randy.pobst.