LOCAL CREWS CHASE POINTS AT SOL RALLY BARBADOS

For local competitors chasing points in the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Driver’s and Class Championships, Flow King of the Hill and Sol Rally Barbados are always the two most important weekends of the year. More so than usual in 2017, however, with the total number of rounds reduced from eight to seven, adding extra emphasis to the already pressure-cooker atmosphere of the upcoming events.

  Thanks to a very strong entry in last month’s (April 23) Automotive Art Shakedown Stages, approaching 30 drivers have already scored points, local numbers boosted by four regional drivers, who have registered for the BRC Championship and will be arriving in the island for every round: David Coelho, from Trinidad & Tobago, Stan Hartling and Paul Horton, representing the Turks & Caicos Islands, and Jamaica’s Jeff Panton.

  With only one round run and a healthy number of fully-subscribed classes, five drivers currently jointly lead the chase for the coveted Champion Driver title – in alphabetical order, they are reigning Champion Daryl Clarke, Derek Edwards, Panton, Dane Skeete and Rhett Watson, who won the title in 2014 & ‘15. Panton and Skeete also respectively lead the 4wd and 2wd Championships.

  With nearly 50 local entries, however, a major shake-up is on the cards. At Flow KotH (May 28), the speed event scale gives 15 points for a class win, while Sol RB17 (June 2-4) represents two Championship rounds – Friday and Saturday are round four, Sunday round five - with 20 points for a class win, giving a maximum possible score of 55 points over the two weekends.

  While overall and class awards for Sol RB17 will be presented only to those crews which complete all the scheduled stages, the ‘two-thirds’ rule still applies for local competitors. Points can therefore be scored in the Championship on Friday/Saturday and then Sunday, providing two-thirds of the stages run have been completed each time. Overseas competitors are ignored as far as Championship points are concerned, although local crews still enjoy the once-a-year chance to gauge their competitiveness against the visitors.

Sol Rally Barbados (June 2-4) and Flow King of the Hill (May 28) are organised and promoted by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrates its 60th Anniversary in 2017; title sponsors are the Sol Group and Flow. Marketing partners are Simpson Motors, Automotive Art and Banks; official partners are Accra Beach Hotel & Spa, the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, Geest Line and the Tourism Development Corporation; associate sponsors are Chefette and Stoute’s Car Rental.

BRC Class Championship Positions after round 1:

WRC: 1st Jeffrey Panton – JAM (Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06), 20 points; 2nd Roger Skeete (Sol/Flow/Automotive Art/Simpson Motors/WTI Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), 17pts; 3rd Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/MaxMeyer/MotorMac/Pennzoil Toyota Corolla WRC), 15pts Group A: 1st David Coelho – TRI (Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 17pts Group N: 1st Mark Thompson (Automotive Art/Stag Beer/Glassesco/NKM/Bio Beauty/SLAM 101.1FM Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 17pts; 2nd Andrew Mallalieu (Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10), 15pts SuperModified 3: 1st Rhett Watson (Chefette/Power King Batteries/Gliptone/Stihl/Gunk/The Unknown Entity in support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3), 20pts; 2nd Logan Watson (Subzero Services Ltd/McEnearney Quality Inc/Sign Depot/The Unknown Entity in support of The Little Pink Gift Foundation BMW M3), 17pts; 3rd Andrew Jones (Lucozade/Caribbean Powder Coating/AP Jones Pharmacy/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII), 15pts; etc

SM2: 1st Dane Skeete (Sol/Flow/Automotive Art/Williams Trading Inc Peugeot 306 Maxi), 20pts; 2nd Barry Mayers (Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics Ford Fiesta), 17pts; 3rd Stuart McChlery (Lubriguard/Gunk Ford Escort MkI), 15pts

SM1: 1st Neil Corbin (Nassco/H Jason Jones/Emtage Electric/BG Products & Services/Auto Solutions/Valvoline/Sun General Insurance/Maxmeyer Paints Toyota Starlet), 17pts Modified 2: 1st Daryl Clarke (Flow/Automotive Art/Amir’s Chicken/MQI Collision Repair/Valvoline/eCarib Classifieds Honda Civic), 20pts; 2nd Kurt Thompson (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa Honda Civic), 17pts; 3rd Paul Horton - TCI (Turks Head Brewery/Java Island/Sky Motorsports/H Racing Citroen DS 3 R3 MAX), 15pts

M1: 1st Edward Corbin (Automotive Art/Hilti Daihatsu Charmant), 17pts; 2nd Paul Inniss (Durex Barbados/Brydens Insurance/East Point Grill/Auto Derm/Hugh Autobody/K-Tech Auto/Chicken Stop/Tint Plus/Caribbean Villa Chefs/JJ Racing Team Honda Civic), 15pts Historic 2: 1st Wayne Archer (Archers Hall Design Centre/RW Water/Arrow Woodworking/Arrow Construction/D & A Mechanical Services BMW 325), 17pts; 2nd John Corbin (Automotive Art/Pro Sales Toyota Corolla), 15pts Clubman 2: 1st Derek Edwards (D & A Mechanical Services/Arrow Construction BMW 318ti Compact), 20pts; 2nd Stuart Garcia (Intelligent Defence Systems/Smiths Engineering Works/Four & Twenty Bakery/Tropical Sunset/Zaccios BMW 318ti Compact), 17pts; 3rd Greg Cozier (Motorsport Tool Kits BMW 318ti Compact), 15pts

C1: 1st Trevor Mapp (Sign Station/JSB Motorsport/Chicken Pen Racing/AS Autostop/Valvoline Mitsubishi Colt Mivec RS), 17pts

BRC 4wd Championship: 1st Panton, 20pts; 2nd R Skeete, 17pts; 3rd Hill, 15pts; 4th Coelho, 14pts; 5th M Thompson, 13pts; 6th Mallalieu, 12pts BRC 2wd Championship: 1st D Skeete, 20pts; 2nd R Watson, 17pts; 3rd B Mayers, 15pts; 4th L Watson, 14pts; 5th Jones, 13pts; 6th N Corbin, 12pts; 7th Justin Campbell (Republic Bank/Five Star Fast Track/Hilton Barbados Resort/Dream Solutions/Automotive Art/Hilti/#RAY/Campbell Racing Team BMW M3), 11pts; 8th Clarke, 10pts; 9th K Thompson, 9pts; 10th Horton, 8pts; etc