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Leslie Alleyne and Chris Oneal fought back from fourth place at the lunch break to win Sunday’s (October 16) Nassco October Safari. It rounded off a remarkable season for former Champion Alleyne, who won three events in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) WTI MudDogs Safari Championship as Driver and one as Navigator, an achievement unlikely to be matched any time soon.
Coming in to the final round, there was all to play for between Alleyne and the strong driver/navigator pairing of Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke, winners of the one event this season which did not result in a victory for Alleyne. With Alleyne’s vehicle side-lined, Armstrong offered a replacement, so they could enjoy their year-long rivalry to the end.
Alleyne said: “It was a brilliant event, and all thanks to Chris for his sportsmanship in lending me a vehicle. This was my first time competing in a Toyota and it was exciting to drive. My Navi did everything he was meant to do, and did it phenomenally. Conditions were less demanding than the last Safari - there was mud, but it was manageable, and made it all the more enjoyable.”
It was the second time in four years that Alleyne had beaten Barry Gale on the final event of the year. In 2008, Alleyne claimed the Drivers title by outwitting fellow-driver Gale (and Navigator Neil Barnard) on the last route of a hotly-contested season . . . this time round, Gale was the route-setter of a Safari described by many crews as “the best Safari of the season”.
Afterwards, Alleyne said: “Barry did a great job.” For his part, the route-setter had this to say: “I had a sleepless Saturday night: had I drawn the diagrams correctly? Would this or that trick confuse everyone, so they all got lost and hate the rally? Thankfully, my fears were unfounded . . . and someone even nominated me to set all five Safaris next year. Now, that would require some significant negotiation with my family . . . oh, and I might need somewhere new to live!”
The ‘tricks’ were in evidence from the start in the pits at the Bushy Park racetrack in St Philip, where some crews lapped the circuit more than once, as they couldn’t find their way out. By the lunchtime halt at Chefette, Charles Rowe Bridge, St George, Armstrong and Clarke had the upper hand in their Toyota Hilux. Their advantage was slim, though, 17 penalties ahead of Biddy and Brett Barber in their Mitsubishi Pajero, with Adrian Sinkler/Adrian Murrell (Suzuki Samurai) third, another nine penalties behind, with Alleyne and Oneal fourth, 46 penalties behind fellow title-contenders Armstrong and Clarke.
In the afternoon route, which carried crews back to the finish at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Clubhouse, Searles, Christ Church, Alleyne/Oneal came into their own, comfortably the best crew of the route, ahead of an impressive performance by Gregory Dickenson and Rorie McConney (Toyota Hilux).
Third place in the afternoon would place mother and son Barber second at the day’s end, for the second time this year, while Armstrong and Clarke finished third; with Sinckler and Murrell fourth, and only 51 penalties behind the winners, it proved to be one of the closest finishes of the season.
In the Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship, the competition was just as tight, but not involving the established front-runners: Matthew Durant and Trina Griffith (Suzuki Jimny) led at the lunch halt, by more than 140 penalties from Aswad Bannister and Nyere Jones (Toyota Hilux).
Championship contenders Dane McConney/Hadley Green (Toyota Hilux) and Alexander Kellman/Gary Mendes (Isuzu D-Max) were respectively fourth and fifth; while McConney and Green won the afternoon route, with Kellman and Mendes slipping to sixth, a third-place finish was good enough for Durant and Griffith to claim their first novice win.
Afterwards, Durant noted: “It was well set, the tricks were good, but not designed to get you lost . . . it was fun to drive and enjoyable. Getting out of Bushy Park was a challenge, but it was an excellent trick!”
Reflecting on the season finale, MudDogs Chairman Warren Gollop said: “From all reports, this was the perfect combination of driving challenges, navigational tests and the odd trick. Everyone was competing to the bitter end - it was closely fought, and it was an historic moment to watch Leslie Alleyne have the perfect season.
“For a rally which Barry Gale said would not be tricky, he opened up with a shot of steel: some teams were in Bushy Park for over 20 minutes doing laps of the circuit, not least Edson Arthur, who was having a ball on the rain-slicked surface.
“We could not do what we do without our sponsors, and I must again thank Chefette Restaurants for feeding our marshals and competitors on the Safari and WTI for the wonderful bespoke trophies. Nassco presented many additional prizes as well, along with buffalo wings for everyone at Monday’s prize giving: there were attractive gift boxes containing keyrings, note pads, pens and so forth, while the top three received vouchers for product and service from Nassco.”
Nassco October Safari – October 16
2011 WTI MudDogs Safari Championship, round 5
Results
1st Leslie Alleyne/Chris Oneal (Tappard Toyota Hilux), 213 penalties
2nd Biddy Barber/Brett Barber (JE Security/Biddy's Visitor Information/Auto Solutions/Lubriguard Mitsubishi Pajero), 254pens
3rd Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), 257pens
4th Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai), 264pens
5th Ryan Corbin/Dustin Edwards (Corbin's Catering Services/Mahogany Ridge/Crane & Equipment/SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares Toyota Hilux), 394pens
6th Audley Croney/Jeremy Croney (CC Motorsports Suzuki Samurai), 647pens
7th Michael Ward/Willie Hinds (Country Notions/Maxxis Suzuki Samurai), 673pens
8th Gregory Dickenson/Rorie McConney (Toyota Hilux), 692pens
9th Edson Arthur/Renata Roett (Toyota Hilux), 828pens
10th Judy-Ann Bradshaw/Peter Bradshaw (Land Rover Defender), 883pens
Route 1 – 1st Armstrong/Clarke, 110pens; 2nd Barber/Barber, 127pens; 3rd Sinckler/Murrell, 136pens;
Route 2 – 1st Alleyne/Oneal, 57pens; 2nd Dickenson/McConney, 117pens; 3rd Barber/Barber, 127pens;
2011 Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship, round 5
1st Matthew Durant/Trina Griffith (Suzuki Jimny), 1176pens – 13th overall
2nd Theo Waithe/Curtis Grazette (Atlantis Seafood Inc/Betta Computers Suzuki Samurai), 1364pens – 14th o/a
3rd Hadley Green/Dane McConney (Hunte Auto Spares/Automotive Art/Scorpion Toyota Hilux), 1440pens – 15th o/a
4th Richard Hinkson/Rasheed Mapp (Suzuki Samurai), 2792pens – 16th o/a
5th Alexander Kellman/Gary Mendes (Isuzu D-Max), 3061pens – 18th o/a
6th Aswad Bannister/Nyere Jones (Toyota Hilux), 3187pens – 19th o/a
Route 1 – 1st Durant/Griffith, 577pens; 2nd Waithe/Grazette, 719pens; 3rd Bannister/Jones, 837pens;
Route 2 – 1st Green/McConney, 315pens; 2nd Hinkson/Mapp, 437pens; 3rd Durant/Griffith, 599pens;
For further media information, robin@bradfax.com
Web sites: www.barbadosrallyclub.com [6], www.muddogsbarbados.com
