The Targa organizers have released the factors for 2010! This is topical to the magazine, as (ahem) there's an article about the Targa Newfoundland in the latest issue I understand 
Some background on how the event runs. Each stage is given a base time. Say it's 10 minutes. If you finish the stage in 10 minutes or less, you "zeroed" it. If it takes you longer, then you pick up penalties. The base times get shorter as the event goes on, and nobody finishes without penalties. Easy enough, right?
But there's a twist. Each class has a factor - basically, a handicap. This is done to allow all cars to compete on an even footing. Slower cars get a higher factor. The newest cars with the biggest engines get a factor of 1.000. An older car with a smaller engine and lower modification level might have a factor of 1.100. In this case, the slower car would have 11 minutes to finish the stage without accruing penalties. That's the target time for the stage.
At the end of the race, the car with the fewest penalties wins. Voila. And that's how a BMW 2002 can beat a race-prepped GT-R with Steve Millen behind the wheel (and an overwhelmed journalist in the passenger's seat).
The problem is that it's really hard to handicap the cars well. The older cars benefit from decades of honing in competition - a Mk1 Escort built in 2009 is a much faster car than it was when it was new. The newer cars are getting dramatically faster as electronics play a greater and greater role. And some other cars get caught in the middle.
For 2010, the event's been split in half. The classic cars (30 years old or older) still run the same system as before. There's a new preparation level for the really modified vintage cars that are basically brand new analogue cars under a vintage skin.
But it's the Modern cars that have the big change. Factors have been abolished. It's now down to sheer speed. Got a 1982 Golf GTi? Well, you're up against Steve Millen in a GT-R (and an overwhelmed journalist in the passenger's seat) on an equal footing. The organizers promise an award for the fastest car in each class (1982-1990, 1991-1997, 1998-2004, 2005-present, Hybrid) but there's no split anymore on engine displacement or modification level. There's also an Open class for the real freaks, also on an even footing.
So now it doesn't matter that my 1994 Miata has a 1999 cylinder head, which would put it into Level 3 instead of Level 2 prep level. It's running against anything built from 1991-97 regardless of engine size, factory-fit forced induction, etc. In other words, it's time to go bonkers with the spec sheet and stuff in a V8. There might be some fireworks this year.
The biggest losers in this change are going to be the small cars, particularly those who are novices. Back to how the race works. Every stage has a target time (as we've seen) but also has a "trophy time". This trophy time is something like 40% slower than the target time. If you beat the trophy time on every stage, you win a Targa plate. It's a measure of consistency. If you break, have an off, get lost or otherwise make a whoopsie, you won't get a Targa plate. It's a perfect goal for the novice team - well, after the goal of finishing.
The problem for the small cars now is that the trophy times are based on much more aggressive times. The trophy time for the GT-R is now the same as for the 1982 GTi. Who's going to have to work harder to get that Targa plate? It's unfortunate, as I think that's going to hit the grassroots racers hardest. Still, other than a complex system that's based on the fastest car in a given class, I'm having trouble coming up with a good alternative.
http://www.targanewfoundland.com/news/entry/competition-factors-2010-2014/
http://www.targanewfoundland.com/static/uploads/2010_Factors.pdf
