BAJANNAV LEADS THE WAY TO SOL RALLY BARBADOS

The Barbados Rally Club (BRC), organiser of Sol Rally Barbados (June 1/2), is making every effort to ensure that its blue riband event does not impact negatively on anyone in the island, be they resident, competitor, spectator or tourist . . . and particularly those who may not be motor sport fans.

 

For the third year, the Club has worked in association with AccuNav Ltd to provide gps support – using John Mann’s BajanNav, the gps map of Barbados – to create comprehensive files of information for everyone involved. And, with details of the location for the previous weekend’s Scotiabank King of the Hill (May 26) confirmed today, the first information will shortly appear on the BajanNav web site.

 

There are two types of mapping available - first, special POI (Point-of-Interest) overlay files for BajanNav on the Garmin Sat Nav, one for competitors, the other for spectators. The competitors’ file will assist with transit between special stages, while the spectators’ file will show the locations of those stages, together with suggested viewing points.

 

In addition, AccuNav will publish rally routes on-line as interactive maps, where users can see a view of the island, showing the location of each stage, then zoom in to view detailed spectator information. Simply go to www.BajanNav.com for more information about how to download BajanNav and the spectators' file, and access on-line maps.

 

The new location for the final shakedown before Sol RB13 is from Fairfield Factory to Luke Hill in the northernmost parish of St Lucy; there will be one practice run and three timed official runs. Car Zero’s start time is set at 9.45am from the Service Park at Greenland, St Andrew, where the day will conclude with a Prize-giving. The BRC's VIP Pavilion will be sited on the hairpin near Mount Gay, with tickets on sale later this week.

 

BajanNav is the map of Barbados produced by businessman and retired RAF pilot John Mann MBE and his family company, AccuNav. First published as a free digital map for the Garmin Sat Nav, BajanNav is now also available for Android and Windows devices, and as an on-line interactive map at Bariffle.com.

 

Of this year’s offering, Mann says: “Not only is this useful to participants: in 2012, over 20,000 people viewed AccuNav’s on-line map when we suggested that this was a good way of avoiding being held up by the rally, if you were neither competitor or spectator!”

 

Sol RB Chairman Barry Gale noted: “The Barbados Rally Club works hard to balance the value that we know our event brings to the island against the discomfort that those who are not motor sport fans might experience. Working with John Mann gives us another means of helping to keep that inconvenience to the minimum.”

 

 

Lotus blossoms for a trip to the Caribbean

 

Island rally fans are in for a treat when Stuart Deeley from Nantwich in the north of England reveals his unusual MouseMatt-sponsored Group B Lotus 62 ahead of Sol Rally Barbados 2013 (June 1/2). While many are familiar with the Lotus name – Stuart Williams holds the Bushy Park lap record in his Elise – it is unlikely that any will have seen a Lotus 62. Deeley’s car is a replica of the rare wide-bodied sports GT car, which raced in the late 1960s/early ‘70s.

 

Deeley competed in Barbados for the first time last year, having learned of the event from Hardman, and travelled out in 2007. Driving the Micra in which Hardman will compete this year, Deeley and co-driver Alistair Dodd finished 35th overall, winning Modified 5 at their first attempt.

 

Of his return for Sol RB13, Deeley says: “We hope to climb up the leader board this time round, with the greater power available, also a little more local knowledge. I am coming to Barbados aiming to show this unusual machine to it’s best advantage . . . which is screaming down the open roads on the island.”

 

Deeley is a three-time Association of North West Car Clubs (ANWCC) Stage Champion, most recently in 2011 in the Lotus, while 23-year-old Dodd won three ANWCC titles in the same year, including Junior Co-Driver. Dodd, who is a semi-professional co-driver, has also been a significant contributor to the development of the Formula 1000 rally category in the UK, co–founded with father Tristan.

 

Built six years ago by Hardman from an accident-damaged early-‘70s Lotus Europa, the ‘62’ is powered by a 2.5-litre John Hardman Duratec, driving through a six-speed Hewland FTR box. As Deeley explains: “The power available makes up for the occasional limited visibility . . . although it would help if I could ask the organisers to trim the cane a bit – if it’s 40 inches above ground I can't see over!”

 

Sol Rally Barbados (June 1/2) and Scotiabank King of the Hill (May 26) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB13 is the 24th running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the sixth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

 

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

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