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millwatermotors Targa Rallying has been misunderstood by many and Eddie is keen to emphasise the professionally managed sport that it is, and especially the enduring comradeship that competitive driving brings. Targa Rallying is carried out in special stages on closed public roads, with a maximum 200kph limit being rigidly imposed. Cars are monitored via GPS and speeders are quicly removed from the sport after just three infringements. Eddie’s car retains the original 3-litre flat 6 air-cooled Porsche engine, fuel injected and naturally aspirated, but with a number of significant improvements carried out in 2015. These include new electrics and a modified transmission that provides the shortened gear ratios better suited to rallying. Extensive use of fibreglass panels mean the car is now 110kg lighter, thereby greatly improving the power:weight ratio.
Eddie Grooten, Managing Director of Dad’s Pies, is almost as passionate about his classic 1978 racing Porsche 911 as he is about his quality products. Over some excellent coffee, we talked at length about his car and his love for the motorsport of Targa Rallying. Eddie grew up in Eindhoven in The Netherlands, where he began rallying in a Datsun 1800 at the Eindhoven-Liege-Eindhoven and the Scheveningen-Liege-Scheveningen Rallies. Within six months of moving to New Zealand in 1981, Eddie had started his food business in a small bakehouse in Red Beach and, by focussing on using only the best ingredients and giving best value, this has become the global brand that we know today. We spent some time with and taking about his classic 911, which proudly bears the company branding and also the name of his co-driver son Ben. The car had been prepared for its next outing and was on the trailer, ready for its imminent next session of racing, but nontheless very impressive. Eddie has owned the 911 since 2007, just two years after the start of Targa Rallying in NZ, when there were over 220 cars involved. Nowadays, the numbers are around half of that.
With these improvements, Eddie is now so satisfied with his car that he sees no need to move on to anything else. The driving characteristics of the classic 911 are so different to those of a modern car that Eddie feels much happier, more in control and connected to the road than he would in a new Porsche. The love for his car is very evident when you meet Eddie and I have rarely met anyone whose eyes light up quite so brightly when talking cars. ‘Team Dad’s Pies’ has had a number of successes in the 911, but it is the love for the sport and the many friendships that have developed that motivate Eddie Grooten. If you ever get the chance to witness or, even better, take part in a Traga Rally, jump at it!
