Points shake-up on the cards in BRC Double Header
With two points-scoring opportunities on offer, Sunday’s (August 25) Double-Header Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Summer Sprint could be a turning point in the 2024 BRC Driver’s & Class Championships. As the season draws to a close, with November’s Winter Rally the only further round, Sunday’s results will play a major part in the outcome of the chase for the Champion Driver title, also for victory in the 10 contested classes.
Forty-one drivers are listed on the running order published today (Friday), with BCIC RB24 winner and BRC Championship leader Stuart Maloney seeded at number one in his FIA R5 class Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. Two-time Rally Barbados winner Dane Skeete is next up in his Subaru Impreza WRC S12, the only entry in WRC, with Maloney’s brother Mark seeded at three in his Fabia Rally2 evo, one of six FIA R5 entries.
With Jamaica’s Jeffrey Panton (Fabia Rally2 evo), twice the BRC Champion Driver, and Kyle Gregg (Ford Fiesta Rally2) both absent from the entry list, along with island front-runner Josh Read (Fiesta R5), there is sure to be a shake-up in the 4wd Championship and the FIA R5 class. Britain’s Rob Swann, who landed yesterday (Thursday) to compete this weekend, is likely to benefit, along with Mark Maloney.
Stuart Maloney’s hunt for a second BRC Champion Driver title – he beat Chris Hoad to the crown after tie-break rules were invoked in 2021 – also gets a boost this weekend, as Neil Corbin and Kyle Gill, lying equal second and fourth as the leaders of Modified 2 and Clubman 1 respectively, are not entered on Sunday, either. Hoad, sitting just three points behind Maloney and equal second with Corbin, is on the list, however, and seeded at the top of the Clubman 2 class, so remains in contention.
There will certainly be a shuffle in the 2wd Championship standings as well. With Corbin and brothers Barry and Roger Mayers all absent, points leader Rhett Watson (BMW M3) looks set to extend his lead, while fellow SuperModified 2 competitor Andrew Jones (Ford Escort MkII) should easily move up to second in the standings. These two are the top 2wd seeds, starting at nine and 11 respectively.
Close battles are being fought in the classes as well, with the closest in Group B, where Chadane Holder (Toyota Starlet) leads Shareef Walcott (Toyota Corolla) by just one point, while BMW drivers Stuart Garcia and Jonathan Still are separated by two points in Modified 3, so there will be much for fans to engage with on Sunday.
Round six of the BRC Championship will comprise four timed runs on a five-kilometre course starting on the downhill straight approaching the Kendal Duck Pond in St John, passing into St George, on through the Woodland Hairpin and finishing at Ellesmere. There will be four runs in the reverse direction for round seven, with the fastest of each of the four runs counting towards the Championship tally. Competitors will also score points in both directions towards the Motoring Club Barbados Inc (MCBI) 2024 Championship.
The Service Park is at Colleton Plantation Yard, St John, where scrutineering will start at 9.00am and a Briefing Meeting will be held ahead of the 11.00am start. There will be the usual break after the first four runs to allow the stage crews to prepare for the reverse direction, with the event expected to be completed by 5.00pm.
BRC Summer Sprint - Sunday, August 25
2024 BRC Driver’s & Class Championships, rounds 6 & 7
Final running order at August 23:
1 Stuart Maloney (FIA R5 Rock Hard Cement/M-Jet/Bushy Park Barbados/Sign Station Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)
2 Dane Skeete (WRC Automotive Art/CO Williams Sand & Lime/Sol Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
3 Mark Maloney (FIA R5 Imagine/M-Jet/Bushy Park Barbados/Sign Station Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo)
4 Rob Swann – ENG (FIA R5 Cygnet Plant Ltd Export and Sales/GO Rent A Car/R A Swann Ltd Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo)
5 Logan Watson (FIA R5 Cargo BGI/Packaging Centre Ltd/Pressure On/Shell Lubricants/Jack Daniels/Bajan Pure Water/Luxe Caribbean Properties Inc/Boot Camp Central/Hankook/Stihl/C3 Communications/Colour XL Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo)
6 Roger Hill (FIA R5 Mobil 1/Motormac/Max Mayer/PPG Paints Skoda Fabia R5)
7 Andrew Mallalieu (FIA R5 Terra Caribbean Ford Fiesta R5)
8 Kurt Thompson (M4 Glassesco Hardware/Automotive Art/Valvoline/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Realtors Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
9 Rhett Watson (SM2 Chefette/Frosteez/Finlandia Vodka/Stihl/Gliptone/Bajan Pure Water/Motul Oils/Hankook BMW M3)
10 Mark Thompson (M4 Glassesco Hardware/Automotive Art/Valvoline/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Realtors Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
11 Andrew Jones (SM2 Southern Surf Beach Apartments/Gale’s Agro Products/Go On Energy Bars/Weetabix/Tunnock’s Ford Escort MkII)
12 Kyle Catwell (M4 Valvoline Oils/KFC/Automotive Art/Blue Waters/Stag/Ellesmere Quarries Ltd/BCR Car Rental/Thomas Tours/Chicken Pen Racing Audi TT-R)
14 Justin Campbell (M3 Republic Bank/Automotive Art/CampsAutoServices/Trident Care/Dream Freighting and Equipment/The Laundry Room/Transcend Performance/COT Printing/AEC Components BMW M3)
15 Suleman Esuf (M3 Express Motors/Munch Hut/Fusionz Boutique/Prosales/Versatile Group of Companies/Y Esuf Auto Clinic BMW 1M)
16 Edward Corbin (SM1 Automotive Art/Valvoline/Pro Sales/Hilti/Bearded Hogs BBQ/Weetabix Daihatsu Charmant)
17 Wayne Archer (SM2 Arrow Construction/Arrow Woodworking/Archers Hall Design Center/Total Sourcing and Supply BMW M3)
18 Jonathan Still (M3 Suga Apple Swim/InoGro-Hydroponics/Weddings by Melissa/New York Pizza/Bajan Pure Water/Young Island BMW M3)
19 Tremaine Forde-Catwell (SM1 Mipa Auto Color/Cheese Autoglass Finish Inc/Ingenuity Pro Shop/Rude Boy Daihatsu Charmant)
20 Sean Corbin (M2 Super-S Premium Lubricants/Carters Pitstop/Kikks Slippas/Westlake Tires/First Step Security/Guava Tech/Gunk/Fabblast Barbados/M&M Tuning BMW 318ti Compact)
21 Calvin Briggs (SM2 Bassive/Sirrom Lighting Ford Sierra)
22 Chris Hoad (C2 Subway/Dasani Water/Color XL/Shell Lubricants/Guava Tech BimmaCup)
23 Allan Kinch (C2 Savvy on the Bay/Tranquility Cruises/Yorkshire Agricultural Services BimmaCup)
24 Stuart Garcia (M3 Time Out Car Rentals/Smith’s Engineering Works/Kirba Inc/Four & Twenty Bakery/Guava Tech/Forin BMW Compact) 25 David-Anthony Balgobin (C2 DKK Industrial Supplies/Da-Shem-Rhe Inc BimmaCup)
26 Ross Callender (SM2 Empire Building & Construction/Express Motors/Cheese Auto Glass/Ingenuity Pro Shop/Rent & Run/Mapps/Hilti/Percy King Auto/HEL Performance/The Pub Toyota Starlet)
27 Paul Inniss (SM2 Caribbean LED Lighting Inc/Huntes Auto Spares Inc/Trident Insurance/Caribbean Villa Chefs/JJ Racing Team/Performance Plus/J's A/C Services Honda Civic)
28 Darren Lashley (SM1 Hi-Speed Performance Parts/Prestigious Wheels/Lashley’s Auto Garage/DDK Industrial Supplies/Starboy Performance/Prime Garage 246 Toyota Starlet) 29 Pierre Clarke (M2 SDRR Hydraulics/Performance Plus/Camp’s Auto Service/ACS Maintenance Honda Civic)
30 Chadane Holder (GpB Carnique Transport Inc/Seven Creative Media/City of Bridgetown Credit Union Toyota Starlet)
31 Kevin Wiggins (SM1 Eastside Fresh Fish/MV Dream Chaser/Zak Auto Parts/Dynamic Auto Imports/Johnson Auto Repairs Toyota Starlet)
32 Geoff Noel (M2 Ingco Tools Honda Civic Type-R)
33 Jason Downey (C2 BimmaCup)
34 Shareef Walcott (GpB Melwani’s/Lil Griff Hardware & Building Supplies Toyota Corolla)
35 Savio Walcott (C2 BPWCCUL/Movements Plus/Autobody Plus/WSS/CIF Express/Unique Society/Tyrese Caesar Foundation BimmaCup)
36 Andre Corbin (SM1 Corbin’s Transport & Taxi Service/Parts Plus/Fusionz Boutique/Prestigious Wheels/Rango Upholstery Toyota Corolla)
37 Bradley Weekes (SM2 AIM Motors & Car Rentals BMW M3)
38 Sebastian Thompson (C2 BimmaCup)
39 Wayne Tasker (C1 Signiaglobe Financial Group/Klean-az/Claytons Kola Kick Energy Drink Opel Corsa B)
40 Jason Tull (C1 Jay-T’s/Warmstyle Developments Peugeot 106 Rallye S2)
41 Shawn Brathwaite (C1 Executive Air/Homeomart Barbados Toyota Corolla)
42 Ryan Boyce (GpB Prime Garage 246/Angloco Toyota Corolla)
For media information only. No regulatory value.
For further media information, robin@bradfax.com
Web site: www.barbadosrallyclub.com