FOUR-WAY BATTLE FOR RALLY CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

Reigning Champion Panton tied with Corbin, Cozier and Mayers

For the second straight year, a dominant run of four WRC class wins has given Jamaica’s Jeffrey Panton a maximum score in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Champion Driver title chase. This year, however, he owns only a quarter-share of the Championship lead, as Edward Corbin, Greg Cozier and Barry Mayers are also unbeaten in Modified 1, Historic 2 and SuperModified 2 respectively, so jointly lead the standings.

  Each has tallied 75 points from the first four rounds, with a potential maximum of 58 available in the remaining three, the double-header SuperSprint in October, followed by the November Winter Rally; with no ‘dropped score’ rule for the second year and an enhanced points structure for the final round, the pressure is on for all concerned.

  Reigning Champion Driver, and the first from overseas to have won the Club’s top accolade, Panton (Ford Focus WRC06) leads Britain’s Rob Swann (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) by 11 points in WRC, while Mayers has a slightly more comfortable margin of 13 points over Dane Skeete (Peugeot 306 Maxi) in SM2; Corbin (Daihatsu Charmant) and Cozier (Ford Escort RS) are even better placed in their respective classes, Cozier leading the Historics by 15 points, Corbin ahead in M1 with a cushion of 19.

  Just two points behind these four is 2014 & ‘15 Champion Driver Rhett Watson (BMW M3), who has 11 points over his closest challenger in SM3, last year’s class Champion Andrew Jones (Ford Escort MkII), while SM1 leader Jeremy Gonsalves (Opel Corsa) completes the top six in the overall standings with 70 points. Currently leading Group A, Avinash Chatrani (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI) is the only driver from the four-wheel-drive classes other than Panton in the top 10, seventh on 68 points.

  Clubman 2 leader Stuart Garcia (BMW 318ti Compact), who finished third overall last year, is eighth on 66 points, one ahead of a trio of drivers tied on 65 for ninth place: Jamal Brathwaite (Honda Civic Type-R) leads M2, after his decision to soldier on after losing 15 minutes to an electrical issue on the second stage on Saturday morning of Sol RB18 paid dividends; his father, Trevor Mapp (Mitsubishi Colt Mivec RS) leads Clubman 1, while Jonathan Still (BMW M3) is ahead in Group B.

  Panton also leads the BRC 4wd Championship by 11 points from Swann, with Roger Hill (Toyota Corolla WRC) a further nine behind. In the 2wd Championship, Mayers has a much narrower margin of four points over Watson, with Jones another 15 points adrift.

BRC Class Championship Positions after round 4:

WRC: 1st Jeffrey Panton – JAM (Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06), 75 points; 2nd Rob Swann - ENG (Elegant Hotels/Blue Sky Luxury/Cygnet Plant Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), 64pts; 3rd Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/MaxMeyer/MotorMac/Pennzoil/Energizer/Refresh your Car/California Scents Toyota Corolla WRC), 55pts; etc 

Group A: 1st Avinash Chatrani (Lenovo/PowerBass/Genius Lynk/iShop/Copacabana/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 68pts; 2nd Andrew Mallalieu (Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza), 59pts; 3rd David Coelho – T&T (Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 47pts; etc 

Group N: 1st George Sherman - USA (Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 56pts 

SuperModified 3: 1st Rhett Watson (Chefette/Stihl/Gliptone/Leafy Organics/Gunk/Hankook/Bajan Pure Water/It’s Barbados/Power King Batteries, in support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3), 73pts; 2nd Andrew Jones (Lucozade/Caribbean Powder Coating/Southern Surf Beach Apartments/AP Jones Pharmacy Ford Escort MkII), 62pts; 3rd Logan Watson (Leafy Organics/Sign Depot/Subzero Services/Luxe Caribbean Properties/It’s Barbados/Hankook/Cargo BGI/Stihl/The Unknown Entity BMW M3), 60pts; etc

SM2: 1st Barry Mayers (Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/Hankook/DHL/Illusion Graphics Ford Fiesta), 75pts; 2nd Dane Skeete (Sol/Automotive Art Peugeot 306 Maxi), 62pts; 3rd Kurt Thompson (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Slam 101.1FM/Berger Paints Honda Civic), 38pts; etc

SM1: 1st Jeremy Gonsalves (Sign Depot/Valvoline/Star Products/John Hardman Engineering/Guava Tech/Roscoe’s Machine Shop Opel Corsa), 70pts; 2nd Winston Thompson (Ellesmere Quarries/BCR Car Rental/SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares/Ullyett’s Machine Shop/Seawell Automotive Center Toyota Starlet), 54pts; 3rd Neil Corbin (Nassco Limited/H Jason Jones/General Electric/Emtage Electric/California Scents/Refresh your Car/Energizer/Auto Solutions/Valvoline Toyota Starlet), 50pts; etc 

Modified 2: 1st Jamal Brathwaite (Valvoline/Automotive Art/Consumers Guarantee Insurance/Caribbean Auto Glass/Stylez Auto Spa/Pirelli Honda Civic Type-R), 65pts; 2nd Paul Horton - TCI (Arbikie Highland Estate/Java Island/Sky Motorsports/H Racing Citroen DS 3 R3 MAX), 50pts; 3rd Norman Catwell (Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/BCR Car Rentals/John Hardman Engineering/SB Motorsport Engineering/Jenvey/Seawell Automotive Center Volkswagen Golf GTI), 34pts

M1: 1st Edward Corbin (Valvoline/Hilti/Express Imports/Cargo BGI Daihatsu Charmant), 75pts; 2nd Paul Inniss (Brydens Insurance/East Point Grill/Going Places Travel/Cockspur/Caribbean Villa Chefs/Chef Byer Catering/Castrol/JJ Racing Team/Hugh Autobody/Brunswick Barbados/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals/Autoderm Honda Civic), 56pts; 3rd Benjamin Hartling – CDN (The Hartling Group Citroen C2 R2 MAX), 55pts; etc 

Historic 2: 1st Greg Cozier (Barbados Historic Rally Carnival/Geest Line Ford Escort RS), 75pts; 2nd John Corbin (Valvoline/Hilti Toyota Corolla), 60pts; 3rd Wayne Archer (RW Water/Arrow Construction/Arrow Woodworking/Archers Hall Design Centre/D & A Air Conditioning BMW 325), 49pts 

Clubman 2: 1st Stuart Garcia (Four & Twenty Bakery/Intelligent Defence Systems/Smith’s Engineering Works/Zaccios/Kirba Inc BMW 318ti Compact), 66pts; 2nd Allan Kinch (Jolly Roger/Pirates Cove/Guava Tech/Printmax BMW 318ti Compact), 47pts; 3rd Eric Allamby (Brake Pro/Power Bass/Lenovo/Maxxis/Gunk BMW 318ti Compact), 30pts; etc

C1: 1st Trevor Mapp (Sign Station/JSB Motorsport/Chicken Pen Racing/Valvoline Mitsubishi Colt Mivec RS), 65pts; 2nd Jermin Pope (Glassesco/Good Time Snacks/PEG/C A Autobody/Uniform Factory Outlet/Niccolls & Edghill/NKM/Bio Beauty/Industries Job Honda Civic), 50pts; 3rd Randy Reid (Dynamic Auto Part/School Boy Sounds/Chef in the Box/Zak’s Auto Parts Toyota Starlet), 42pts; etc

GpB: 1st Jonathan Still (Sharkey’s Bar/Castrol/Suga Apple Swimwear/Pelican Market Suppliers Inc/IWPC Inc/Markham Construction BMW M3), 65pts; 2nd Geoffrey Ullyett (Ullyett’s Machine Shop/Proj Rx/Radcomm/Rally and Competition Equipment/Goodyear BMW M3), 52pts; 3rd Calvin Briggs (Lucas Oils/Massy Realty Ford Sierra), 40pts; etc

BRC 4wd Championship: 1st Panton, 75pts; 2nd Swann, 64pts; 3rd Hill, 55pts; 4th Chatrani, 48pts; 5th Mallalieu, 44pts; 6th Coelho, 34pts; 7th Sherman 27pts; 8th Mark Thompson (GpA Glassesco Hardware/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty Day Spa/Automotive Art/SLAM 101.1FM/Berger Paints Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 21pts; 9th Roger Skeete (WRC Sol/Automotive Art/Simpson Motors/Flow Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), 11pts 

BRC 2wd Championship: 1st B Mayers, 69pts; 2nd R Watson, 65pts; 3rd Jones, 50pts; 4th L Watson, 48pts; 5th D Skeete, 45pts; 6th E Corbin, 36pts; 7th Gonsalves, 30pts; 8th Cozier, 27pts; 9th Daryl Clarke (SM2 Automotive Art/Flow/Amir’s Chicken/MQI Collision Repair/eCarib Classifieds Honda Civic), 24pts; 10th N Corbin, 18pts; etc