Editing Targa timing (section)

=== Issues ===
The original objective of targa timing was to speed delivery of rally results, and the rally paperwork set out the amount by which each control's clock was offset.  This always remained the case on the Targa Rusticana, but other organisers soon realised that targa timing could be used to conceal the calculated average speed for a section, since the competitors have no way of knowing by how much each clock has been retarded. This in turn led to a further use of targa timing which in practice was its true advantage to organisers—it allowed them to, untraceably, set very high average speeds for competitive driving. This in turn led to the concept of a "target" or "bogey" time for a section, known only to the organisers—the upshot was that crews basically needed to drive as fast as possible to stay on time. The participants' time cards only showed the recorded targa time, and not the actual time taken, so it was not possible to use it as a permanent record of the speeds driven; no record was left that could incriminate anyone after the event.

For road rallies, targa timing was banned in 1988, along with a number of other rule changes designed to slow such events down—from then on only ordinary "time of day" timing was permitted. Many of the 'old school' competitors lament this change, though organisers have found new ways to keep events fun and challenging for entrants.