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Chefette Restaurants has been confirmed as title sponsor of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) MudDogs Safari & Safari Novice Championships for the fourth year, continuing its enthusiastic backing for the series, which began with the awarding of Novice trophies in 2010. Competitors are now making preparations for the new season, which kicks off with Sunday’s (March 6) March Safari.
Four months since the Nassco November Safari sealed the Champion Navigator and Driver titles for Chris O’Neal and Leslie Alleyne respectively for a record third year in a row, the MudDogs – the BRC’s off-road division – are preparing to do battle once again for the prized Sextant Challenge Trophy and the Peter Farmer Memorial Trophy.
Alleyne and O’Neal begin their title defence on Sunday in the Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max, one of 13 crews confirmed at last night’s (Tuesday) Briefing Meeting at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Club House at Searles, Christ Church.
Route-setters for the season-opener are Nicholas Branson, Andrew Pinto and Mark Western; the first crew will leave the start at the BCTSA Club House at 8.01am on Sunday, to tackle two routes in the south-east corner of the island, with the lunch halt at the Armag Shop in St Phillip and the finish at Wells House in the same parish.
Ahead of the new season, BRC MudDogs Sub-committee Chairman Ricky Holder said: “As the MudDogs get ready for the new season starting on Sunday, I must thank Chefette Restaurants for their continued support of the Championship and the enthusiasm with which they cater for our competitors and marshals; it really does make such a big difference to what we do.
“We are looking forward to an exciting start to the year, although the long period of dry weather has left us with no Driver Challenges for this event. The entry is not as big as we had hoped for, as we have a few of our competitors out for medical reasons, but I am pleased to see that we are starting the season with three competitive crews in the Chefette Novice Championship. Hopefully, that will encourage more to join in.”
Sunday’s event is the first of five between now and November, which qualify for the 2016 Championship, with Chefette also the title sponsor of round two, which has moved from its traditional April date into May. As before, crews are required to compete in four out of the five Safaris to be eligible for year-end Championship points; if they compete in all five Safaris, then their best four scores will count.
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship
& Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship
Round 1 - March 6 - March Safari
Pro Class
1 Michael Ward/Warrick Eastmond (Regional Fire & Security Suzuki Jimny)
2 Adrian Sinkler/Kerry Rene (Suzuki Samurai)
3 George Mendes/Renata Roett (G & G Sales & Services Inc Mitsubishi L200 Sportero)
4 Leslie Alleyne/Chris O’Neal (Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max)
5 Wayne Manning/Willie Hinds (AS Auto Stop Suzuki Samurai)
9 Damien Johnson/Brandon Johnson (Western Union Suzuki Samurai)
10 Dean Springer/Bridget Garity (Eastern Veterinary Clinic Ford Ranger)
11 Nicholas Lorde/Brett Barber (Konstruk Caribbean Inc/Comfeet/Sam Lorde’s Enterprises/First Step Rentals Mitsubishi L200 Sportero)
12 Nicholas Pinto/Derek Gill (Jeep Grand Cherokee)
13 Ben Norris/Kirk Watkins (Birdies Restaurant Ford Ranger)
Novice Class
6 Richard Hinkson/Kevin-Jon Maninng (Goodyear Tyres Suzuki Samurai)
7 Christopher Haywood/Justin Corbin (Courtesy Garage & Rent a Car/ZNA/Tropical Battery/Windforce Tyres ZNA Rich)
8 Derek Pinto/Adam Hunte (Impulse Services Inc Toyota Hilux)
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship
& Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship
Round 1 - March 6 - BRC MudDogs March Safari
* MudFest - May 1
Round 2 - May 14 – Chefette May Safari
Round 3 - June 25/26 – BRC MudDogs June Safari
Round 4 - September 18 - BRC MudDogs September Safari
Round 5 - November 13 - BRC MudDogs November Safari
* non-championship event
For media information only. No regulatory value.
For further media information, robin@bradfax.com
Web sites: www.barbadosrallyclub.com [2], www.muddogsbarbados.com
