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Greg Crick and the giant-killing Honda Australia Finance Integra Type R - finished 7^th outright and took class honours in this year's Targa Tasmania.

Crick, winner of Targa Tasmania in 1992 and 1993, and co-driver Guy Dunstan consistently moved up the placings in their 1.8-litre DOHC VTEC Integra throughout the six-day event, breaking into the top 10 on Day Five.

With Crick at the wheel, the Honda Australia Finance Integra Type R regularly outpaced cars with more than double the power and capacity. The Integra Type R finished the highest-placed front-wheel drive in the event.

Yesterday - the last day of Targa - Crick matched the time of Targa's 2^nd outright finisher Peter Fitzgerald in a Porsche 911, to set the equal second fastest time on the 8km Mt Black stage. Only the Porsche 911 GT3 of Targa's outright winner Jim Richards was quicker. Crick was also third fastest behind Richards and Fitzgerald on the 17.43 km Rosebury stage.

Crick - who has competed in Targa Tasmania three times in a Honda NSX - said the front-wheel drive was an asset on the demanding Targa course.

"This was my toughest Targa ever. To finish as high as we did took effort but the Integra Type R was more than up to the job," he said.

"After getting used to the Integra's dynamics in the early stages, I found front-wheel drive to be better, faster and safer than rear-wheel drive. Our result proves just how good a front-wheel drive car can be.

"For a sub $40,000 car to be able to compete with a Porsche, which has three times the wheel width and twice the capacity is just phenomenal.

"Honda has done a great job to develop the Integra to this level. It's handling and reliability meant the Type R was competitive in all conditions," he said.

Crick's toughest competition came from Australian Formula Two rally champion Rick Bates in a Toyota Celica. Crick and Bates swapped times throughout the event until Bates succumbed to the pressure on Day Six's Queenstown stage, when he left the road, hitting a bank and damaging the Celica's suspension.

Fellow Honda Australia Finance Integra Type R driver Bob Jennings finished Targa Tasmania 23^rd, making the Type Rs the only front-wheel drive cars in the top 25.

Jennings put in a consistent performance throughout the event, and excelled in the wet conditions during the last two days. Jennings and co-driver Will Logan jumped 10 places from 33^rd on Saturday despite the slippery conditions and torrential rain.

The Sydney Morning Herald motoring writer thoroughly enjoyed the challenge presented by the unstable weather.

"Driving the Integra Type R in the wet is just as much fun as driving the Type R in the dry - it handled beautifully in all conditions," he said.

"There isn't just one factor that stood out during the event - the Integra Type R's cornering ability, reliability and handling were ideal for the Targa Tasmania roads."

Targa Tasmania began on Tuesday 9 May and finished yesterday in Hobart. More than 245 teams finished the event, which encompassed 54 stages and more than 500 competitive kilometres.