Two actors, best known for playing bad boys, will get behind a great cause when the 9th annual Targa Newfoundland begins Sept. 12.
Trailer Park Boys principals J. P. Tremblay and Robb Wells will line up for the start of the week lone competition.
Tremblay and Wells, who play the characters ‘Julian’ and ‘Ricky’ in the wildly popular television series, will drive a 2010 Porsche Cayman S with Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador identification.
The team is entered in the competitive ‘Grand Touring’ competition.
It is the first time the two actors have entered Targa Newfoundland, and their first motorsport adventure.
The Autism Society is the official charitable partner of Targa and the focus of the event’s fund-raising efforts with competitors, fans, sponsors and the communities in the Targa family.
Fans of the Canadian comedy series shouldn’t expect to find Julian and Ricky in the new Porsche. Tremblay and Wells will not be ‘in character’ for the week-long rally, as it makes its way through the towns, villages and small communities that dot the 2,200-kilometre route.
Wells indicated “To me it's about finally fulfilling a 15-year-old dream of JP’s and mine to compete in – and finish – a rally race. At least one of those dreams will come true in Newfoundland, two if JP can keep the car on the road.
“It’s such a beautiful province and the people there are the kindest and friendliest in the world. It’s the perfect place to host the only event of its kind in North America.”
Wells admitted they are a little short of rally experience, but believes they can overcome that with help.
“We really don’t have a lot of experience with racing yet. We’ve both driven cars on local race tracks a few times, and we may have run from the cops once or twice and got a hell of a lot of speeding tickets, but that’s it.”
The team will attend the Targa school prior to the start of the event, and be tutored by veteran Porsche driving instructor Rick Bye. As an entry in the Grand Touring competition, the car is not permitted to reach the high speeds regularly seen by cars in the Targa class.
Both of Wells’ parents are from Newfoundland and he still has family scattered across the island. Their push for the Autism Society is particularly apt: Wells has a cousin who has the condition.
The 9th annual Targa Newfoundland will start in St. John’s Saturday, Sept. 11 and end back in the capital Saturday, Sept. 18. The competition will cover more than 2,000 kilometres of the challenging, twisty roads of the central and eastern portion of Newfoundland, including up to 450 kilometres of closed-road, flat-out Targa stages.
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