[1]November Safari to run from day into night
Little more than three months since the start of the 2020 season, crews are making ready for the final round of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship. The November Safari will run from day into night on Saturday (November 14), the third event in a season curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic.
This season’s two earlier Safaris have each added new names to the list of navigational event winners: in July, Chris King claimed his first victory in the delayed Shelbury Construction ‘June Rally’, with navigator Warrick Eastmond clocking up a second, while Willie Hinds and Wayne Manning logged their first win in the Championship in the Chefette Summer Safari in September.
King and Eastmond, the current championship leaders, are the route-setters for this weekend’s final round, which will start in the parking lot outside Motorsport Services, Haggatt Hall, St Michael, at 2.01pm on Saturday. The dinner halt will be at the Vaucluse Raceway in St Thomas at around 6.45pm, with the finish scheduled for 12.30am on the apron of the new Sol Charnocks facility opposite the Grantley Adams International Airport. In an event covering around 135 kilometres islandwide, crews will also be tested by two Driver Challenges, one either side of the dinner halt at the Vaucluse Raceway.
David Armstrong and Andrew Croney (Nassco Toyota Hilux) will be the first crew away, leading a quality entry, including Ben Norris and Kirk Watkins (Toyota Land Cruiser), who won last year, when the event ran a month earlier, in October. Now they have claimed their first win, Hinds and Manning will doubtless be looking to continue their success, so a competitive finale is on the cards. Once again, Covid-19 protocols will be adhered to, with temperature checks, masks and gloves in use for competitors and volunteers.
The entry, published after Tuesday’s (November 10) Briefing Meeting at the Carib Beach Bar in Worthing, Christ Church, also includes a number of familiar names not recently seen in regular MudDogs action. Novice Champion driver in 2014 and winner of the 2015 Nassco November Safari, Damien Johnson will partner Derek Edwards in a Suzuki Samurai; they will switch seats from their regular duties in rally and speed events, where Johnson is co-driver in their BMW M3; Edwards also has a good pedigree in navigational events, having finished third in the MudDogs Championship in 2010.
Noel Edwards, whose last full season was in 2015 with Jason Downey, also returns; driving a Ford Ranger, his Navigator will be the rising young star of the navigational community, third-generation competitor Austin Barber. The 13-year-old, who sat with Mike Ward in July then ‘Rally Granny’ Biddy Barber in September, is looking forward to gaining further experience.
A close fight is also expected in Class B, where the points are tied going in to the final round, with all the leading players on Saturday’s running order: of the Drivers, Abdullah Patel and John Pinto are joint leaders, with Shaquille Jemmott just two points behind, while Bilal Patel and Kristina Pinto lead the Navigator standings, with Shanica Toppin also just two points adrift.
MudDogs Chairman Ricky Holder said: “The end of the season has come very quickly, and we are grateful to Chefette for continuing their support of the Championship in this very challenging year and all those individual sponsors who provided prizes, including R L Seale & Co this weekend. It is good to see some competitors returning for this final event, which I think will be a great way to round off the year. The recent weather patterns mean we can stick with the ‘Mud’ in MudDogs, so I wish everyone a safe and successful event.”
The Prizegiving is slated for 7.00pm next Tuesday (November 17) at the Carib Beach Bar, once results are declared.
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship
Round 3 – November 14 – MudDogs November Safari
Class A
1 David Armstrong/Andrew Croney (Nassco Toyota Hilux)
5 Ben Norris/Kirk Watkins (Toyota Land Cruiser)
6 Gary Mendes/George Mendes (G & G Sales and Service/Neil’s Bistro/Blvck Diamond Kustomz/Dream Auto Kustomz/Wyndham Auto Services and off road Fabrications/Big Guys Pudding and Souse/Barbados Muffler Center/Lunatics Inc Daihatsu Rocky)
8 Stephen Mayers/David Reece (Toyota Hilux)
10 Damien Johnson/Derek Edwards (DreTuned Suzuki Samurai)
11 Willie Hinds/Wayne Manning (Suzuki Samurai)
Class B
2 John Pinto/Adam Hunte (GMC Sonoma)
3 Shaquille Jemmott/Shanica Toppin (DreamAuto Kustomz/Blvck Diamond Kustomz Suzuki Escudo)
4 Abdullah Patel/Bilal Patel (Patels Equipment & Hardware/NiLight LED Lights/Aquarius Faucets Mitsubishi L200)
7 Noel Edwards/Austin Barber (Ford Ranger)
9 Sam Ramsay/Kristina Pinto (Suzuki Samurai)
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship
Points after round 2
Overall (Driver): 1st Chris King (Nissan Frontier), 114 points; 2nd Armstrong, 112pts; 3rd Hinds, 110pts; 4th Mayers, 108pts; 5th Norris, 104pts; 6th Dean Springer (Eastern Veterinary Clinic Ford Ranger), 100pts; etc
(Navigator): 1st Warrick Eastmond (Nissan Frontier), 114 points; 2nd Croney, 112pts; 3rd Manning, 110pts; 4th Reece, 108pts; 5th Watkins, 104pts; 6th Bridget Garity (Eastern Veterinary Clinic Ford Ranger), 100pts; etc
Class B (Driver): equal 1st A Patel & J Pinto, 116pts; 3rd Jemmott, 114pts
Class B (Navigator): equal 1st B Patel & K Pinto, 116pts; 3rd Toppin, 114pts; 4th Barber, 57pts
For media information only. No regulatory value.
For further media information, robin@bradfax.com [2]
Web sites: www.barbadosrallyclub.com [3], www.muddogsbarbados.com [4]
