Photo CourteSy tArGA newfoundLAnd sTan harTling (Turks & CaiCos)


#888 Co-driver: Andy Proudfoot (newfoundland) Car: 2006 Lotus exige Class: targa team: turks & Caicos Motoring team


I by J. wally nesbitt


t’s true. you can take the boy out of the Atlantic provinces, but you can never quite get all of the atlantic provinces out of the boy. A true


‘bluenoser’, born and raised in halifax, nova Scotia, in 1997 Stan hartling liquidated all of his Canadian business assets and headed south to explore the property development opportunities in the paradise of the turks and Caicos Islands. “It was a combination of the warm weather and


the financial benefits that encouraged me to move,” explained hartling. “the area was just starting to open up and I figured that the options were pretty good. I had originally planned to stay for five years, but now it’s been 16. I guess it’s home now.” Since his introduction to the Islands, hartling has


built, and recently sold, the five-star hartling house villa, located on beachfront property just outside of the capital city of Provinciales. he has also devel- oped a pair of luxury resorts, and has plans for be- ginning construction on a third. “there goes the rest of my hair,” he laughed. And while his multiple business ventures keep


him frantically on the run year-round, since 2008 hartling has scheduled time to return to the Atlantic provinces to participate in the world famous targa newfoundland event. “I’ve always been a motorhead, which I blame on


my father. but I never really had the time or the re- sources to get involved when I lived in Canada. when I got to the Islands, I eventually got into a cou-


28www.tArGAnewfoundLAnd.CoM


ple of racing schools and most recently, did some timed rally racing with the barbados rally Club.” hartling’s introduction to the targa newfound-


land came via television coverage on the now de- funct Speedvision channel. with his interest piqued, in 2008 he became a member of the targa frater- nity, racing a modified honda in the week long, cross-country rally. “My racing background was in track schools, so


the thought of running targa intrigued me, there are so few spots in the world where you can run a race like this,” said hartling. “My first race was just for learning what was involved, but we were so well received, we’ve been coming back ever since.” In 2009, hartling stepped up his equipment to a


bMw M3, a car that he still owns, but rule changes gave him “the perfect excuse to build the Lotus.” “we’ve done a lot of work on it, it’s completely


over-modified now, which almost guarantees it will be unreliable,” joked hartling. “And it runs on e85 alcohol, just like its owner!” In its targa debut, hartling piloted the Lotus


exige to a runner-up result, but in the 2011 race the motor blew up early in the week. “believe it or not, we discovered that the Lotus


had the same engine block as a Pontiac. And would- n’t you know it, we found one in a newfoundland junkyard. everybody jumped on board to help us, one fellow even delivered the motor to us in the middle of the night, and we had to force $20 on him to cover his gas costs. “we worked through the night and got the motor


fired five minutes before we were scheduled to be flagged away. we didn’t even have time to replace all the bodywork. everything, even the taillights, were duct taped together. what a sight that was!” Although business commitments kept hartling from competing in the 2012 targa newfoundland,


the Caribbean-based crew returns with three cars in the targa division this year. team leader Stan hartling, with co-driver Andy


Proudfoot, will be in the supercharged Lotus, while Stan’s son Sam will pilot the bMw M3 alongside Paul Abbott. Also running under the hartling banner will be toronto’s Scott robbins and Stewart tym- chuk aboard a uK-born, Sierra Cosworth rally Car. “no one can believe the spirit of the targa,” said


hartling. “every community pitches in and the peo- ple volunteer wherever they can. And to see the looks on the faces of the children when they see the cars and ask for an autograph, makes it so very special. for the competitors, the targa is a race, but for the fans, this is entertainment. And part of our responsibility is to put on a good show.” In an effort to give back to the various, involved


newfoundland communities, hartling has donated a week-long stay at his top-rated Caribbean regent Palms resort to the charity auction, with all pro- ceeds going to the Autism Society of newfoundland and Labrador. “we’re going into people’s communities, and we


want them to know how grateful we are for their tol- erance of this race. we’ve seen the work that the Autism Society has done throughout the province, and we’re happy to be able to offer something back through the charity auction.” Although he admittedly looks forward to making


the podium, hartling admitted it’s the joy of open- road competition, the fun, the camaraderie and the “buzz of excitement” that surrounds the event every year that he enjoys the most. “It’s great to come as a targa ‘veteran’ and to be


able to offer the same hospitality, the same wel- come, that we received the first time we showed up. And personally, it’s probably the only time I ever get to shut the phone off and just focus on having fun!” •


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32