Women in Motorsport’s contribution to BCIC RB24

A record number of 24 female participants are listed on the provisional entry list for BCIC Rally Barbados 2024 (May 31-June 2) . . . but they are just the tip of the iceberg. Adding in female volunteer marshals and officials, crew members and media personnel carries the number of Women in Motorsport (WiM) working on the Caribbean’s biggest annual motorsport International well into three figures.
  And these are statistics that delight Leslie Evanson, one of the leaders of WiM in the island, and reigning champion co-driver in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Modified 1 class, sitting alongside Jamaica’s Horatio Brown. Evanson said: “It has been fantastic to witness the growth in the number of female competitors over the past few years and we definitely look forward to seeing this trend continue in the years to come.’
  There are two female drivers, as Britain’s Cheryl Spencer returns to compete for the ninth time with husband and co-driver Barry. Spencer, who has recorded five overall finishes in her previous visits – 35th in 2014 is her best result - has retired early over the past two years with mechanical issues, so has invested time and effort in improving the reliability of her Vauxhall Astra GSi. Ever keen to promote the event and the island, she was featured on her local BBC Television News in the UK two weeks ago and has formed island partnerships with companies such as the Dover Beach Hotel, Marco Polo Bar and Grill, Socialites, Harlequin Restaurant and Stoutes Car Rentals.
  Spencer faces former equestrian now BimmaCup driver Natya Soodeen, competing in her fourth Rally Barbados, with 36th last year her only overall finish. As well as female mechanics in her crew, Soodeen has a female co-driver in Sameisha Williams, one of 12 from the island this year, three of whom are appearing for the first time.
  The overseas entry includes 10 female co-drivers, with three newcomers on the list, Rachael Chandler, who thought she was flying out to help her new husband Michael as service crew for his father Mark, only to find herself co-driving for Nigel Worswick; Charlotte McGlashan, who will be celebrating her 17th birthday co-driving for stepfather Mark Chandler, and Pauline Nash, who will sit with Nik Elsmore: they finished third on the Wyedean Stages last year, her first return to competition after a major crash with another driver on the 2019 Wyedean which cracked a bone in her back.
  As Evanson is keen to emphasise, the opportunities for females to become involved in motor sport do not just mean being in the car – around one-third of the 170 course marshals for BCIC RB24 are women, while officials include Financial Director Jeanne Crawford, Special Events Director Maria Ramsay, Secretary of the Meeting Michelle King and Rally Control personnel Nicolette Campbell and Giselle Layne.
  Evanson adds: “I also want to remind people that Women in Motorsport isn't just about competitors, it's also about women in all aspects of motorsports from officials, stewards, marshals, timing officials, just to name some of the areas you could work in. I would definitely encourage anyone who is interested in getting more involved to contact us either via social media or just stop by our tent at The Auto & Rally Show and have a chat with us and find out how you can get more involved.”
  The 100-plus cars entered for First Citizens King of the Hill (KotH) and BCIC RB24 will be displayed at The Auto & Rally Show at Bushy Park Barbados on Saturday, May 25, from 1.00pm. The following day’s KotH is the final shakedown and seeding event for BCIC RB24, which will start at Bushy Park on the following Friday (May 31) with two floodlit stages, either side of a stage at Featherbed Lane in St John. Nine stages will run on Saturday in the south-east of the island, with Sunday's running in the north.

BCIC Rally Barbados (May 31-June 2) is a tarmac rally with around 20 special stages run on the island’s intricate network of public roads, under road closure orders granted by the Ministry of Transport, Works & Water Resources; the previous Sunday’s (May 26) First Citizens King of the Hill sprint, run under a similar arrangement, features four timed runs on a roughly four-kilometre stage, the results of which are used to seed the running order for the main event.

For media information only. No regulatory value.

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