First MudDogs win for Parravicino in “fantastic” event

 Simon Parravicino and Andrew Croney won Sunday’s (September 15) Super S September Safari, an event described as “fantastic” by first-time winner Parravicino. Recent weather patterns had created ideal conditions for the 4x4 off-road fraternity to enjoy the penultimate round of the Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship.
  With results declared at yesterday evening’s (Wednesday) Prizegiving at Savvy on the Bay, Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown, Parravicino and Croney incurred 810 penalties in their Jeep Wrangler to win by just over 600 points from Ben Norris and Kirk Watkins (Jeep Rubicon), returning for the first time since March. Class B winners George Mendes and Leslie Evanson (Suzuki Vitara) finished third overall for the second time this year.
  A delighted Parravicino said: “It was a fantastic rally. As my first overall win, it was very exciting to not only have won but to also have taken first in both routes. I owe it all to Andrew’s years of knowledge and navigational skill - he kept us on track throughout the day. The route setters did a fantastic job keeping us off the tarmac for about 85 per cent of the rally which was great with all the rain.”
  Having competed in the early 2010s, Parravicino returned to the sport in 2022, initially as a navigator, before teaming up with Croney last year; they finished second at year-end, with three second places to their credit, then lost this year’s June Safari by one of the smallest-ever margins – just four penalty points – to Leslie Alleyne and Chris O’Neal.
  Croney added: “I’m happy to finally get the win with Simon, after coming close many times, often with very small margins. It has been over two years since my last one and it feels good to be on the top step again. The conditions were perfect, with lots of mud and water to keep the entire day interesting.”
  For Alleyne, there was too much water – more than 4ft of it in fact - in which his Suzuki Jimny drowned, a very rare retirement for the multiple champion; his water-borne exploits were rewarded at the Prizegiving with a set of inflatable armbands, some DampRid moisture remover . . . and a rubber duck! His navigator was Austin Barber, whose grandmother ‘Biddy’ Barber passed away earlier this month; ‘Rally Granny’ was much in people’s minds on Sunday, including Alleyne’s, whose late mother Joan was Biddy’s early navigator decades ago.
  Parravicino said: “It was a sad rally without Biddy present, as she is one of the main people that cemented my love for this sport when I first competed many years ago.”
  Route-setters were Ben and Stephen Moore, the son and father team who won last year’s Class B Championship. Route 1 started at 8.00am from the premises of sponsor KG Enterprises in Belle Plantation Yard, St Michael, heading through St George and into St Thomas and the Driver Challenges and lunch halt at the Vaucluse Raceway (VRW). The afternoon route carried crews north into St Andrew and St Joseph, before returning through St George to the finish back at VRW, a total distance of around 110 kilometres.
  Of the route, Parravicino added: “The second route cart roads which took us through Blackmans, Bawdens, Andrew’s and Fisher Pond were a lot of action, but the first route had some great spots as well. We took on some challenging areas, which did test the Jeep’s power but the van performed well. I must say thanks to the sponsor KG Enterprises, a long-time supporter of the MudDogs who played a part in our win by giving us a pair of new wiper blades at the start line.”
  Although one crew failed to start, there was still a healthy entry of seven in Class B, who fought an interesting battle. George Mendes and Leslie Evanson (Suzuki Vitara), one of six female competitors in the class, won the first route by a comfortable margin of more than 300 points; despite dropping to fifth on route two, the margins were much narrower, so they still won the class, repeating their April finish of third overall.
  Four members of one family created a piece of history by filling the top three places in route two: while Wayne Clarke, one of the sport’s most decorated navigators, was helping as a marshal, wife Robyn won the route, navigating for son Charles in a Mitsubishi Pajero. Daughter Chelsea and Alexander Gill (Isuzu DMax) were second, as they had been on the earlier route, while her sister Rebecca (driving Nynoka King in a Pajero iO) finished third.
  Tyrone Chase and Sameisha Williams (Vitara) had been third on the morning route, but slipped back in the afternoon, while the consistent Abdullah and Bilal Patel (Mitsubishi L200) finished fourth on each route and at the day’s end. Nadcarnie Cyrus and Salim Edward drove their Land Rover Defender to fifth in class on their first-ever Safari.

Super S MudDogs September Safari – September 15
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship, round 4
Results

1st Simon Parravicino/Andrew Croney (Realtors Ltd/Serenity Pest Control Jeep Wrangler), 810 penalties
2nd Ben Norris/Kirk Watkins (Jeep Rubicon), 1413pens
3rd George Mendes/Leslie Evanson (F) (G & G Sales and Service Suzuki Vitara), 1918pens
4th Alexander Gill/Chelsea Clarke (F) (Isuzu DMax), 1937pens
5th Gary Mendes/Johnathan King (G&G Sales and Service Daihatsu Rocky), 2210pens
6th Charles Clarke/Robyn Clarke (F) (Lubriguard/Gunk/First Step Security Mitsubishi Pajero), 2934pens
7th Abdullah Patel/Bilal Patel (Patel’s Motoring Mitsubishi L200), 2934pens
8th Nadcarnie Cyrus/Salim Edward (Land Rover Defender), 3582pens
9th Tyrone Chase/Sameisha Williams (F) (Executive Autocentre/E-Travel Service Suzuki Vitara), 3768pens
10th Rebecca Clarke (F)/Nynoka King (F) (Mitsubishi Pajero iO), 4094pens
etc

Route 1: 1st Parravicino/Croney, 258pens; 2nd Norris/Watkins, 588pens; 3rd Mendes/Evanson (F), 860pens; 4th Gill/C Clarke (F), 1171pens; 5th Mendes/J King, 1528pens; etc
Route 2: 1st Parravicino/Croney, 552pens; 2nd C Clarke/R Clarke (F), 590pens; 3rd Mendes/J King, 682pens; 4th Gill/C Clarke (F), 766pens; 5th Norris/Watkins, 825pens; etc

Class B
1st Mendes/Evanson (F); 2nd Gill/C Clarke (F); 3rd C Clarke/R Clarke (F); 4th A Patel/B Patel; 5th Cyrus/Edward; etc
Route 1: 1st Mendes/Evanson (F), 860 pens; 2nd Gill/C Clarke (F), 1171pens; 3rd Chase/Williams (F), 1840pens; 4th A Patel/B Patel, 2150pens; 5th Cyrus/Edward, 2214pens; etc
Route 2: 1st C Clarke/R Clarke (F), 590pens; 2nd Gill/C Clarke (F), 766pens; 3rd R Clarke (F)/N King (F), 948pens; 4th A Patel/B Patel, 1004pens; 5th Mendes/Evanson (F), 1058pens; etc

Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship – remaining rounds: Round 5 – Nov 9, Savvy on the Bay MudDogs November Safari

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Web sites: www.barbadosrallyclub.com, www.muddogsbarbados.com