Former gravel rally ace Inkster (Pukekohe) was more relieved than anything else at the finish line in Queenstown, having finally won the event after five years trying.
He and co-driver Spencer Winn's Targa South Island victory was convincing. The pair held the lead over six days and finished 8min 10sec ahead of fellow Mitsubishi Evo pair Todd and Rhys Bawden.
''Monday and Tuesday seem such a long time ago now and to be honest, we've been pretty tame and safe all event,'' Inkster said.
He picked two Otago stages of the 26 contested as his favourites - both of which were repeated. They were Saturday's double run over the Crown Range and Thursday's blasts through George King Memorial Drive southwest of Dunedin.
''I love doing stages twice - the second time is always a little more faster,'' Inkster said.
Of the 26 stages, Inkster won their class - allcomers 4WD - in 20.
Five-time former winner Tony Quinn and co-driver Naomi Tillett won three in Quinn's new Lamborghini Huracan but only contested three of the event's six days thanks to a high-speed crash at the end of the second day.
Having won the 20th anniversary Targa Tasmania event in Australia, Highlands Motorsport Park owner Quinn had his heart set on getting the double here this year. Though disappointed that did not happen, Quinn was philosophical.
''It's what Targa is - full of stories, dilemmas and stuff that happens,'' Quinn said.
''It's a very low car so you can't see over the brows. Whether it's the right car for the Targa, I'm not sure. I may be better with another car and keep this one for the track.''
Expat Kiwi Gavin Riches and American wife Amy were the quickest combination in their Porsche GT3 Cup Car in the modern 2WD class, claiming class honours in 23 of the 26 stages.
A holed exhaust and subsequent engine bay fire in the Catlins stage at the third leg's end on Thursday saw them tumble down the class and overall standings. Only a superhuman effort by the couple on the final two legs saw them rise back from 14th to fourth in class.
Modern 2WD class winners Dippie and co-driver Jona Grant, in their Porsche GT3 RS, finished with a margin of almost 5min ahead of Christchurch rally pair Dean Buist and Andrew Bulman in a Ford Escort RS1800. Along with class victory, Dippie and Grant enjoyed the distinction of being the first resident South Island pair home.
Although they had ''one moment on the Crown Range [on Saturday] where we gave ourselves a wee fright,'' the car ran faultlessly during the week, Dippie said.
He rated the Catlins stage as his highlight and enjoyed the overall calibre of the six-day tarmac racing experience.
''The pace and the driving this year has been fantastic. It is up a notch. It's been a very good event,'' Dippie said.
In the classic 2WD class, son and father Mark and Chris Kirk-Burnnand, of Wellington, took the honours, crossing the finish line in their BMW M3 over two-and-a-half minutes in front of provisional second place-getters Rob Ryan and Paul Burborough.
This year's Targa South Island consisted of 768.7km of closed special stages and 1888km of transport stages linking them. The event attracted more than 120 entries across three competitive classes and close to 80 in the concurrent but non-competitive Targa Tour.
