‘LAST LAP’ FOR VIRGIN ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP

As competitors in the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Driver’s and Class Championships prepare for the ‘last lap’ of the 2011 season, very few can afford to rest on their laurels, with intense battles in more than half of the Club’s 11 classifications far from being settled.

 

Only two drivers have scored in all seven rounds to date, Production 4 front-runners Geoff Noel and Andrew Mallalieu; Noel retains his early advantage in the Overall Class Championship battle (based on class points standings), with 122 points, while Mallalieu is second on 97.

 

Roger Skeete and Neil Armstrong, respective leaders of Modified 8-WRC and SuperModified 10, are joint third on 92 points, with Mark Hamilton (P4) fifth on 91. Conor Roach (P2), Dane Skeete (M6) and Armstrong’s class rival Ian Warren are tied for sixth place on 89, with Josh Read (SM9) ninth on 86 and Paul Bourne (M8-WRC) and Jamal Brathwaite (M6) equal 10th on 84.

 

If the dropped score rule were to be applied now, while Noel would remain at the top of the table on 107 points, Mallalieu would drop to tie with Read.

 

In the four-wheel-drive championship (based on overall results), Roger Skeete has assumed the lead with 92 points, demoting Noel (87), who is also now under pressure from Paul Bourne (84) and Sean Gill (82).

 

In the two-wheel-drive title chase, Armstrong’s margin has increased to 20 points margin over Read, who is in turn 20 ahead of Warren, with Logan Watson and Alex Whitehead tied for fourth place, two points behind.

 

SuperModified 11: Alex Whitehead’s (BMW M3) first class win of the season, in the BRC Summer Nights Tarmac Stages in August, has moved him to the top of the class; a spread of seven points includes Calvin Briggs (Ford Escort MkII) and Logan Watson (M3), each of whom has lead the standings earlier in the season

 

SM10: tied on points after Sol RB11, Neil Armstrong (Toyota Starlet) has edged ahead of Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift) by just three points with a class win in August – as neither has to drop a score, this is a straight fight until year-end; Cliff Roett (Starlet) is third

 

SM9: four class wins in five events give Josh Read (Starlet) a comfortable 43-point lead over Brett Clarke (Citroen C2 S1600); only two others have finished more than one event, Allan Maynard (Starlet) lying third

 

Modified 7: having lost out at Sol RB11, early-season points leader Kyle Catwell (Volkswagen Golf) fought back with a class win in August in a borrowed Toyota Starlet; he has closed to within four points of veteran John Corbin (Toyota Corolla), with returnee Jeremy Sisnett (Ford Fiesta) only one point behind

 

M6 & M5 merged: another class with its third points leader of the season - a second consecutive class win in August has propelled Dane Skeete (Peugeot 206) to the top of the pile, just five ahead of reigning champion Jamal Brathwaite (Mitsubishi Mirage); mid-season leader Neil Corbin (Starlet) has slipped to third, while first-round double-header winner Jason Cozier (Peugeot 205GTi) has only been seen once since

 

Production 3: Sean Field (Peugeot 306) has ploughed a lone furrow in this class, but enjoys mixing it with the higher classes, usually finishing overall within the top two-thirds of the entry

 

P2 & P1 merged: five straight class wins have given Conor Roach (Peugeot 106) a significant advantage over Fabien Clarke (Suzuki Ignis Sport) and Paul Inniss (Honda Civic), who are separated by just two points

Clubman: three class wins from four events give Shannon Kirton (Datsun 160J) a 45-point lead over Jeremy Croney (Peugeot 206)

 

Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship

Positions after round 7:

 

Modified 8-WRC: 1st Roger Skeete (Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 92 points; 2nd Paul Bourne (Banks/Chefette/MQI/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07), 84pts; 3rd Sean Gill (Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC), 80pts; 

 

Modified 8-A: 1st Avinash Chatrani (Electric Avenue/EA Mobile/Hankook/Solder Seal Gunk/Niagra Water/Lubrigold Synthetic Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 85pts; 2nd Graeme Finlayson (www.racedandrallied.com Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS), 45pts

 

Production 4: 1st Geoffrey Noel (Globe Finance/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Mix 96.9/Automotive Art/Cargo Solution International/CIAC Airconditioners Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 122pts; 2nd Andrew Mallalieu (Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10), 97pts; 3rd Mark Hamilton (First Caribbean International Bank/Consumer Guarantee Insurance/PowerMaster/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 91pts; 

 

SuperModified 11: 1st Alex Whitehead (FG Wilson Generators/AM Electrical Solutions/Sign Station BMW 328i), 76pts; 2nd Calvin Briggs (Rocklyn Hardware Supplies/Sign Guyz Graphics/Sammy Lee Towing and Recovery/Freekz Customz Ford Escort MkII), 70pts; 3rd Logan Watson (The Unknown Entity BMW M3), 69pts; 

 

SM10: 1st Neil Armstrong (Lubriguard Oils/Hankook Tyres/Nassco Toyota Starlet), 92pts; 2nd Ian Warren (Chefette/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 89pts; 3rd Cliff Roett (Carters & Co/Lucky Horseshoe/Paulo’s Churasco Do Brasil/Roett’s Garage Toyota Starlet), 44pts; 

 

SM9: 1st Josh Read (Automotive Art/Baram Services/Weetabix Toyota Starlet), 86pts; 2nd Brett Clarke (Citroen C2 S1600), 44pts; 3rd, Allan Maynard (Marshal Trading/Roberts Manufacturing/Pine Hill Dairy/Lubriguard/El Tigre Catamaran Cruises/Williams Equipment Toyota Starlet), 25pts; 

 

M7: 1st John Corbin (Toyota Corolla), 77pts; 2nd Kyle Catwell (Carib Beer/Freekz Customz/Ellesmere Quarries/Cutters Of Barbados Volkswagen Golf GTI), 73pts; 3rd Jeremy Sisnett (Ford Fiesta), 72pts; 

 

M6 & M5 merged: 1st Dane Skeete (Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Peugeot 206), 89pts; 2nd Jamal Brathwaite (FG Wilson Generators/AM Electrical Solutions/Carib Beer/Meridian Windows and Doors/Chicken Pen Racing/AutoPlus Motors Inc/D2 Suspension/Kumho/Valvoline/Ellesmere Quarries Mitsubishi Mirage RS), 84pts; 3rd Neil Corbin (Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet), 72pts; 

 

P3: 1st Sean Field (Field Insurance Brokers/Castrol Oil/Ackee Tree/AM Realty Services/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306), 78pts

 

P2: 1st Conor Roach (Peugeot 106 Rallye), 89pts; 2nd Fabien Clarke (Barbados Business Listings/Crimson Jade Consulting/RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair/Simple Trucking Suzuki Ignis Sport), 60pts; 3rd Paul Inniss (Bartex Concrete Works/Palmart/Newton’s Building Services Honda Civic), 58pts

Clubman: 1st Shannon Kirton (Diamonds International/Ullyett’s Machine Shop/Fingerprint Designs Datsun 160J), 58pts; 2nd Jeremy Croney (Quality Tyre/Lubriguard Peugeot 206), 13pts

 

BRC 4wd Championship: 1st R Skeete, 92pts; 2nd Noel, 87pts; 3rd Bourne, 84pts; 4th S Gill, 82pts; 5th Hamilton, 65pts; 6th Mallalieu, 61pts; 

BRC 2wd Championship: 1st Armstrong, 92pts; 2nd Read, 72pts; 3rd Warren, 52pts; 4th equal L Watson & Whitehead, 50pts; 6th D Skeete, 40pts; 

 

For further media information: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com

web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com