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Four months after winning the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) 2024 Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship, Simon Parravicino and Andrew Croney start their title defence on Sunday (March 2). The BRC March Safari is the first of five rounds which will test the skills of the Club’s navigational rallying fraternity between now and November.
Ten crews are listed on the running order published after last night’s (Tuesday) Briefing Meeting at Savvy on the Bay, Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown, with the five-strong entry for Class B headed by the reigning Champion Driver and Navigator George Mendes and Leslie Evanson, one of four female navigators in the class.
Campaigning their Realtors Ltd/Serenity Pest Control Jeep Wrangler, Parravicino and Croney won twice last year, in September and November, to overcome an early lead built up by multiple champions Leslie Alleyne and Chris O’Neal. After winning the first three events in their POD Store/Maxxis/Lucky Locks Suzuki Jimny, including a first ever hat-trick of wins in the 67-year history of the June Safari, Alleyne and O’Neal faltered, posting a rare retirement in September, then finishing seventh in November.
Class B was also closely contested, Mendes and Evanson winning in March, April and September in their Suzuki Vitara, while Charles Clarke steered his Mitsubishi Pajero to victory twice, losing the class Champion Driver title to Mendes after tie-break rules were applied, based on the lower number of penalties incurred in shared events. Clarke’s Class B victory in ‘The June’ was shared with navigator Austin Barber, the youngest crew to participate in decades with a combined age of just 33.
The entry list also includes Ben Norris and Kirk Watkins (Jeep Rubicon) and 2023 Class B Champions, father and son crew Stephen and Ben Moore, so a testing day is ahead. Looking forward to the new season, MudDogs Chairman Ricky Holder said: “This is a really strong entry for our opening round, with all the champions from the past few years in action. Route-setter Wayne Clarke tells me the tracks are very overgrown in some areas with grass higher than the vehicle, so I think we will have some good competition.
“I’d like to thank Ace H & B Hardware for hosting the start, also supplying some prizes and, of course, Chefette. They came on board to sponsor one round each year in 2010, then increased their commitment to championship title sponsor in 2014, long-term support for which we are truly grateful.”
Route-setters are Wayne Clarke and David Reece. Starting at 8.00am at Ace H & B Hardware, Warrens, the morning route of 50 kilometres passes through Jackson and Lears in St Michael, then on through areas including Market Hill in St George before reaching the rest stop at around 11.45am at the vendors market to the south side of Six Roads, St Philip. After an hour’s break, the second 45kms route will cross St Philip into St John for the finish at Colleton Plantation, St John at around 3.30 pm.
The results of the BRC MudDogs March Safari will be declared at the Prizegiving which starts at 7.00pm next Tuesday evening (March 4) at Savvy on the Bay, Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown.
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship
Round 1 – March 2 – BRC MudDogs March Safari
Class A
2 Stephen Moore/Ben Moore (Moore & Moore Services/Maxxis Isuzu DMax)
3 Christopher King/Warrick Eastmond (Suzuki Jimny)
8 Simon Parravicino/Andrew Croney (Realtors Ltd/Serenity Pest Control Jeep Wrangler)
9 Leslie Alleyne/Chris O’Neal (POD Store/Maxxis/Lucky Locks/Flying Fish Sportswear Suzuki Jimny)
10 Ben Norris/Kirk Watkins (Jeep Rubicon)
Class B
1 Charles Clarke/Robyn Clarke (F) (Mitsubishi Pajero)
4 Alexander Gill/Chelsea Clarke (F) (Isuzu DMax)
5 Tyrone Chase/Sameisha Williams (F) (Suzuki Vitara)
6 Rebecca Clarke (F)/Austin Barber (Mitsubishi Pajero iO)
7 George Mendes/Leslie Evanson (F) (G&G Sales and Service Suzuki Vitara)
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship: Round 1 – Mar 2, BRC MudDogs March Safari; Round 2 - Apr 12, BRC MudDogs April Safari; * Non-championship Event – May 1; Round 3 - Jun 28/29, Chefette MudDogs June Safari; Round 4 - Sep 14, Savvy on the Bay MudDogs September Safari; Round 5 – Nov 2, KG Enterprises MudDogs November Safari
* provisional date
For media information only. No regulatory value.
For further media information, robin@bradfax.com [2]
Web site: www.barbadosrallyclub.com [3] Facebook: /246Muddogs
