ROGER MAYERS IS CAR ZERO FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Sol Rally Barbados entry updates

Former Rally Barbados winner Roger Mayers is eagerly looking forward to his new role as Zero Car driver for Sunday’s (October 25) Flow King of the Hill and Sol Rally Barbados 2020 the following weekend. Contacted by the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) last week to see if he was available, Mayers says: “The morning after I’d agreed to do it, I woke up with a big grin on my face. This is going to be fun!”

  With regular co-driver Sean Corbin on the notes, he will drive one of GuavaTech’s stable of BimmaCup cars in Frosteez, Hankook and Rubis livery. Mayers is currently without a useable rally car after he stripped down some major components of his giant-killing WR Starlet and sent them to the UK as moulds for replacements to be built, expecting the coronavirus to result in a much longer stoppage.

  He says: “When Covid first hit the island back in March and then we had Lockdown, a few of us were pretty sure motor sport would be off for the year. So it seemed like a great opportunity to do some major works . . . but here we are, Rally Barbados is happening and I have a rally car which can’t be used. I planned to mechanic for Barry’s Fiesta, but when this chance came up I jumped at it. I’m excited.”

  After finishing fifth in Flow KotH last year, Mayers was seeded at five for Sol RB19, the highest start number for a 2wd car since seeding based on KotH was introduced in 2008, but this will be the first time he has run at the front of the field in the island’s premier event since he and co-driver Max Ferri won RB05 in his Ford Focus WRC. That same year, brother Barry set the record for the best 2wd finish (fourth) since the event was last won by a 2wd car in 1997 in his Starlet, a record equalled by Roger in 2016.

  Both brothers switched to circuit racing in 2006, the Focus going on to win the 2011 Caribbean Motor Racing Championship in Roger’s hands, also the final 4wd record holder at Old Bushy Park. They returned to rallying in 2010, sharing a SuperModified 11 BMW M3, which Mayers admits was a very different animal to the BimmaCup he’ll be driving over the next two weekends: “The BimmaCup is significantly slower, but it will definitely be no less sideways! I’ve driven it for about 30ft or so around one corner, but still managed to get it sideways . . . and we are looking for some extras. It has AC, which is great, but we’re aiming to get some of those horns they have on the ZR vans, with a button down by Corbin’s foot, so fans will know we’re coming – the job of the Zero Car is to alert spectators that action is about to start and we’re going to take that job seriously!”

Sol Rally Barbados entry updates

Since the publication last week of the Provisional Entry List and Special Stage Schedule for Sol Rally Barbados 2020, there have been a number of changes, summarised here:

+ the Start from Sol Charnocks on Saturday morning has been brought forward to 10.00am, but all other published times remain the same
+ Automotive Art, which has supported Barbados Rally Club events for many years, has stepped forward to sponsor one venue each day: Saturday’s Automotive Art Halton to Drax Hall is the longest stage of the weekend at 8.10 kilometres, while Automotive Art Mt Brevitor to Four Hills runs to 4.40kms on Sunday. There will be live commentary all day at the Kendal Duck Pond and on Sunday morning at the Sailor Gully Esses
+ in FIA R5, Stuart Maloney will no longer have nephew Justin on the notes, as Kristian Yearwood replaces him
+ Jonathan Still has moved his BMW M3 in to SuperModified 2 and also has a new co-driver in Andrew Croney. Crowd favourite ‘Stillo’ has competed in Group B since returning to motor sport in 2017 after a long break which followed his three consecutive Rally Barbados SM11 class victories in 2007 to ’09, twice finishing in the top 10
+ Kurt Thompson and co-driver Adam Straker have replaced their SM2 Honda Civic with Thompson’s father Peter’s BMW M3 Compact, which they will campaign in Modified 3
+ Harold Morley and his son Nick have different co-drivers: Stephen Bell moves out of Nick’s BimmaCup to sit in his father’s Historic Porsche 911RS, replaced by Trinidad & Tobago’s Josh Plaza
+ three-time class winner Jamal Brathwaite and co-driver Dario Hoyte are now confirmed in the Honda Civic Type-R in which they finished third in Modified 2 last year
+ Jermin Pope has now confirmed Aaron Kirton as the co-driver in his Civic. They finished third in the Sunday Cup last year, the first season the car ran in M1, following a hat-trick of Clubman 1 victories in Sol RB in 2016 to ‘18

Sol Rally Barbados and Flow King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2017; Sol RB20 marks the 13th year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

For media information only. No regulatory value.

For further media information: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com
web sites: www.rallybarbados.net; www.barbadosrallyclub.com