[1]More newcomers looking for MudDogs action
Five former Champions will be returning to action in the second of five rounds of the 2022 Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship this weekend. Fifteen crews were confirmed at Tuesday’s Briefing Meeting to tackle Saturday’s Chefette May Safari, the start list also including a handful of newcomers looking for their first taste of off-road navigational rallying.
Dustin Edwards and Ryan Corbin, Champion Driver and Navigator respectively in 2010, are back in a Toyota Hilux; they had previously been highest-placed Novices in 2007 then, after their title-winning year, they swapped seats, finishing third the following year, then second in 2012, before stepping back and contesting only occasional events. They finished third again in 2017 and runners-up the following year, when Corbin lost the Driver crown to Leslie Alleyne and Edwards the Navigator title to Andrew Croney after tie-break rules were applied.
Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke won the title in 2012, Clarke having been Champion Navigator the previous year, when Armstrong finished second to Alleyne; they had finished third in 2009, then runners-up in 2010. They are also Hilux-mounted and back for the first time since July 2020.
Taking charge of one of the novice navigators on Saturday’s entry list will be Robert Warren, who will be driving his son Tye in a Suzuki Samurai. Having finished third in early days of the off-road championship in 2008, Warren and Darrin White won the Navigator and Driver titles in 2009. He has since made occasional appearances with his brother Ian driving.
Ten-time Champion Alleyne and Chris O’Neal won this year’s opening Safari back in March, giving their POD Store/Maxxis Suzuki Jimny a debut victory, beating Ben Norris and Kirk Watkins in their Jeep Rubicon by a margin of 70, with brothers Gary and George Mendes (G&G Sales and Service Daihatsu Rocky) finishing third. All three crews are back in action this weekend, with another notable entry being that of Philip McConney, the two-time winner of the June Rally taking over the driving seat in the Black Bess Samurai in the absence of Wayne Manning, as Willie Hinds switches back to navigator duties.
Route-setters are Simon Parravicino and Joel Smith, who finished third in Class B in the March Safari in their Samurai, and Joseph Tseu, a regular in the BRC Autocross Championship. In a route that travels from the north to the south of the island, the first crew will leave the start at Chefette Speightstown, St Peter, at 2.00pm on Saturday; there will be a stop-over at Four Roads Fire Station, St John, at around 6.30pm, with the finish at Chefette Six Roads, St Philip, at approximately 11.00pm. The results will be declared at the Prizegiving on Tuesday evening (May 18) at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Club House at Searles, Christ Church.
MudDogs Chairman Ricky Holder, who is navigating in a Jimny for one of the first-timers Kerstin Corbin, is encouraged by how the season has started: “We had a very successful first event in March and we have a few newcomers this time, too. Hopefully, they will enjoy their first experience of our sport and come back for more.”
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship
Round 2 – May 14 – Chefette May Safari
Class A
1 Stephen Mayers/David Reece (Toyota Hilux)
2 Leslie Alleyne/Chris O’Neal (POD Store/Maxxis Suzuki Jimny)
4 Christopher King/Warrick Eastmond (Suzuki Jimny)
6 Gary Mendes/George Mendes (G&G Sales and Service Daihatsu Rocky)
9 Ben Norris/Kirk Watkins (Jeep Rubicon)
10 Dustin Edwards/Ryan Corbin (Toyota Hilux)
11 Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux)
13 Dean Springer/Bridget Garity (Eastern Veterinary Clinic Ford Ranger)
14 Philip McConney/Willie Hinds (Black Bess Group Suzuki Samurai)
15 David Armstrong/Andrew Croney (Toyota Hilux)
Class B
3 Adam Hunte/Samantha Gibbs (Doverwood Projects Nissan Patrol)
5 Max Taylor Smith/Paul Rohoman (Suzuki Jimny)
7 Kristina Pinto/Austin Barber (First Step Security/First Step Maintenance Suzuki Jimny)
8 Robert Warren/Tye Warren (Suzuki Samurai)
12 Kerstin Corbin/Ricky Holder (Suzuki Jimny)
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship: Round 1 – Mar 13, BRC MudDogs March Safari; Round 2 – May 14, Chefette May Safari; Round 3 - Jun 25/26, The 65th Anniversary June Safari; Round 4 - Sep 16, BRC MudDogs September Safari; Round 5 – Nov 19, BRC MudDogs November Safari
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]
