Driver: Ryan Burrill
Co-driver: Mike Reese
Car: 2003 Subaru WRX
Division: Targa 2
Country: Canada and USA
Nova Scotia based rally team trade dirt for tarmac for first Targa appearance
Two Nova Scotia based ralliers – Ryan Burrill and Mike Reese – are Targa bound this September.
Ryan, who hails from Shelburne, Nova Scotia, is an emergency room doctor in Liverpool but his passion outside of the hospital is motorsports. He’s a road racer, rallier, and performance driving instructor. When he’s not practicing medicine, you’ll find the racing doctor behind the wheel of his own race-prepped Miata or Porsche GT4 at a track or driving his Subaru WRX rally car on dirt roads at speeds that blur the trees.
The lifelong racing fan also provides medical services at Formula One, IndyCar and Canadian Superbike motorcycle races. “I wanted to incorporate my love of racing into my job,” he said.
Dr. Burrill was on Targa Newfoundland’s medical team for the past two seasons. That infected him with the Targa bug and this time he’s competing in Targa 2 with co-driver Mike Reese.
What attracted him to Targa?
“I grew up watching Targa on videos so it was something I wanted to do, and it is as insane as I thought it would be. On the logistical side of things, I’m not sure how they continue to pull this off year after year,” said Ryan.
Mike, who’s originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, now calls Wolfville, Nova Scotia home where he works as a realtor. Mike moved to Boston for university and graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor’s degree in Guitar Performance. He continued to achieve success in the music industry as a performer, audio engineer, producer, instrument salesman, and instructor since graduating in 2012. Mike is also a passionate car enthusiast who enjoys road and rally racing. In his spare time you will often find him working on his race car or helping others with car trouble.
They recently competed in the tough Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs in Quebec. Afterwards, Mike was elated. “We finished! Our first rally finish in a long time. Ryan Burrill drove the wheels off this thing, and I kept the notes clean, correct, and dialled in. Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs with Canadian Rally Championship did not disappoint, and is by far one of the best motorsports events I’ve ever been a part of.”
We hope you feel the same way about Targa Newfoundland after the week is over. We promise it’ll be a time!
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