Posts tagged "Motorsports"

Key to nationalities (competitor from Barbados unless shown): ENG – England; GUY – Guyana; IRL – Republic of Ireland; JAM – Jamaica; MTQ – Martinique; NED – The Netherlands; NZL – New Zealand; SCO – Scotland; TCI – Turks & Caicos; TRI – Trinidad & Tobago; WAL – Wales
1st Jeffrey Panton – JAM/Michael Fennell Jnr – JAM (WRC-1 Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06), 1h 03m 59.55s
2nd Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (WRC-1 Sol/Flow/Automotive Art Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), + 45.33s
3rd Elfyn Evans – WAL/Craig Parry – WAL (GpA Sol/Intercontinental Shipping Ford Fiesta R5 Evo), + 58.51s
4th Roger Mayers/Sean Corbin (SM2 Chefette/Digicel/Sol/DHL/Illusion Graphics/Hankook WR Starlet), + 02:17.39
5th Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM2 Sprite/Stihl/Gliptone/Hankook/Weetabix/Chutney’s/Urban Kitchen/Cell Hut/Cockspur Toyota Starlet), + 02:28.99
6th Roger Duckworth – ENG/Mark Broomfield – ENG (WRC-2 Intrinsys Subaru Impreza WRC S6), + 02:47.80
7th Kevin Procter – ENG/Philip Hopkins – ENG (WRC-1 Procters Coaches/Swift Signs/Compass Royston/Coach2.com/Corner House Hotel Ford Fiesta), + 03:14.84s
8th Rob Swann – ENG/Aled Edwards – WAL (WRC-1 Elegant Hotels/Blue Sky Luxury/Cygnet Plant Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), + 04:20.39s
9th Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (WRC-2 Esso/Nassco/MotorMac/Pennzoil Toyota Corolla WRC), + 06:20.72
10th Neil Corbin/Matthew Staffner (M1 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions/Emtage Electric/BG Products & Services/Valvoline Toyota Starlet), + 06:46.20
11th Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (SM2 Rubis/Virgin Atlantic/GUNK/Hankook/Sugar Bay Ford Escort MkII), + 06:58.47
12th Jim McKenna – IRL/Arthur Kierans – IRL (SM2 McKenna Rentals/Kes Engineering Ford Escort MkII), + 07:04.45
13th Jamal Brathwaite/Dario Hoyte (M2 Platinum Motors Collision Repair/Valvoline/Automotive Art/Consumers Guarantee Insurance/Sunoco Fuels/JSB Motorsport/Ellesmere Quarries Honda Civic Type-R), + 07:35.96
14th Mark Thompson/Kurt Seabra – GUY (GpN Rock Hard Cement/Stag Beer/Automotive Art/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Valvoline/Slam 101.1FM/Versatile Construction/Glassesco Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), + 08:03.92
15th Andrew Jones/Lindsey Pilkington – ENG (SM2 Lucozade/Caribbean Powder Coating Ford Escort MkII), + 08:48.07
16th Justin Campbell/Juan Watts (SM3 Republic Bank/Five Star Fast Track/Hilton Barbados/Dream Solutions/Castrol/Itstaboo.com/Campbell Racing Team BMW M3), + 09:13.40
17th David Coelho – TRI/James Harris – ENG (GpN Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi/VP Fuels/Total Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), + 09:27.40
18th David St Hill/Ian Grimes (SM3 Solar Wind & Energy Solutions/Liqui Moly/Bimmer Specialist BMW M3), + 09:39.16
19th Damien Hagan – IRL/Paul Kelly – IRL (SM2 JG Kelly Supplies/Hagan Auto Repairs/Scabits Ford Escort MkII), + 10:00.93
20th Kurt Thompson/Adam Straker (M2 Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Beacon Insurance/R A Mapp/Slam 101.1FM/Versatile Construction Honda Civic), + 10:38.11
21st Paul Horton – TCI/Dwayne Forde (M2 Java Island/H Racing/Sky Motorsports Ford Escort MkI), + 11:21.14
22nd Edward Corbin/Johnathan Alleyne (SM1 Automotive Art/Pro Sales/KlarkOdio/Hilti Daihatsu Charmant), + 11:21.46
23rd Martin Donnelly – IRL/Brian Doherty – IRL (WRC-2 Eire Concrete Toyota Corolla WRC), + 11:43.14
24th Martin Stockdale – ENG/Mark Swallow – ENG (SM3 Divi Southwinds Beach Resort/Drive-a-Matic/Canems Engine Management/Quarry Motors BMW 1M Coupe), + 11:52.22
25th Kenny Hall – SCO/Fenny Wesselink – NED (M1 The Sporting Pig Sports Bar & Restaurant/Halltune Garage Ford Puma S1600), + 13:24.54
26th Pascal Calvel – MTQ/Miguel Azerot – MTQ (M1 ABC Depannage/SODIVA/Pro ROC/Tilo Citroen C2 R2 Max), + 13:28.12
27th Raymond Clough – ENG/Stephen Bell (H2 Saint-Gobain Weber Ford Escort MkI), + 13:57.88
28th Enda McCormack – IRL/Kieran McElhinney – IRL (SM2 McCormack Contracting Ford Escort MkII), + 14:01.88
29th Harold Morley – ENG/Shiva Maharaj – TRI (GpN ONTRAC/Red Square/10 Saints/Cost-u-Less/bajanloveshop.com Subaru Impreza WRX STi R4), + 14:59.23
30th Wayne Archer/Derek Edwards (M1 Archers Hall Design Centre/RW Water Peugeot 206), + 15:29.22
31st Jonathan Ince/David Armstrong (SM3 Brake Pro Inc/Ocean Fisheries Ltd BMW M3), + 15:43.29
32nd Jermin Pope/Adam Cox (C1 Glassesco/Good time Snacks/NKM/UFO/Niccolls & Edghill Construction/Bio Beauty Day Spa/Tile Express/Slam 101.1FM Honda Civic), + 16:00.73
33rd Stuart Austin – ENG/Jason Tull (GpA Austin Powell Ltd Subaru Impreza N12), + 16:08.63
34th Stuart Tomlinson – ENG/Nick Taylor – ENG (SM2 Tomlinson’s/Atlas Copco UK Ford Escort MkII), +16:57.52
35th Hugh Peat – ENG/Stephen Peat – ENG (SM2 All in/Wemix Concrete BMW M3 Compact), + 17:04.47
36th Dick Mauger – ENG/Andrew Smith – NZL (SM2 Major Farm Services Ford Escort MkII), + 17:42.83
37th Will Parry – WAL/Gareth Parry – WAL (SM2 Tsalta Motorsport/Gary’s Plant Hire/Hydro Customs/E & M Motors/TDW Forestry/MEM Ford Escort MkII), + 17:47.31
38th Sean Kukula – ENG/Emma Arthur – ENG (H2 Competitionsupplies.com/Lifeline Fire & Safety Systems/WOSP Performance/TRS Motorsport Equipment/Cobra Seats/DMD Motorsport Engineering/Tilton Engineering Ford Escort MkII), + 18:30.42
39th Paul Inniss/Selena Kirton (C2 Durex Barbados/Caribbean Villa Chefs/Hugh Auto Body/Drive-A-Matic Car Rentals/Sun General Insurance/JJ Racing Team/East Point Grill/Terasu Restaurant/The Chicken Shop Inc/Rallymaxx Honda Civic), + 20:16.48
40th Gary Thomas – WAL/Linda Thomas – WAL (SM2 Tsalta Motorsport Ford Escort MkII), + 20:26.43
41st Marcel Freling – ENG/Karen Robinson – ENG (M All Seasons Resort Barbados/Mel Hudson Motors/Nankang Tyres/True Budget Accommodation/Visiontek.co.uk/Roverbreakers MG ZR), + 21:18.29
42nd John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (H2 Automotive Art/Pro Sales/KlarkOdio/Hilti Toyota Corolla), + 22:23.05
43rd Peter Gallagher – IRL/Rene Forde (C1 Dublin Crystal Peugeot 206XSi), + 22:48.43
44th Howard Paterson – ENG/Ruth Paterson – ENG (M Rallydrive Driver Tuition/Little Bristol Beach Bar Speightstown Skoda Fabia), + 24:48.54
45th Trevor Mapp/Allister Nurse (C1 JSB Motorsport/A S Autostop/Chicken Pen Racing/Valvoline Mitsubishi Colt Mivec RS), + 25:33.37
46th Kevin-Jon Manning/Chazelle Cumberbatch (C1 KY/Flat 4s Barbados/Sunshade Tinting Studio/Pinder IT Peugeot 106 Rallye), + 27:28.48
47th Fabien Clarke/Arlington Hoyte (C1 RCR Tours/King Auto Repair/Barbados Business Listings/Bovell Auto Repair Suzuki Ignis Sport), + 28.26.89
48th Shelly Taunt – ENG/Julie Murphy – ENG (GpN Infinity on the Beach/Jantech Auto Services/Combined Scaffolding/Guest & Flore Bricklayers/ASF Signs/Julie Murphy’s Driving School/710 Oil/Jim Griffiths Car & Body Repairs Subaru Impreza N10), + 29:04.79
49th Russell Roberts – ENG/Barry Simpson – ENG (H1 Peugeot 205GTi), + 30:48.97
50th Steve Finch – ENG/Stanley Graham – ENG (SM2 Ford Escort MkII), + 39:40.19
 
Highest-placed non-national 4wd: Panton – JAM/Fennell Jnr – JAM (1st overall)
Highest-placed non-national rwd: J McKenna – IRL/Kierans – IRL (12th overall)
Highest-placed non-national fwd: Hall – SCO/Wesselink – NED (25th overall) Highest-placed female driver: Shelly Taunt – ENG (48th overall)
Highest-placed female co-driver: Lindsey Pilkington – ENG (15th overall, co-driver for Andrew Jones)
Starters: 81 (40 Barbados, 36 International, 5 Regional) Overall finishers: 53 (24 Barbados, 25 International, 4 Regional)
 
Overall Two-wheel-drive: 1st R Mayers/S Corbin;
2nd Read/Jordan;
3rd N Corbin/Staffner;
4th Armstrong/Ward;
5th J McKenna – IRL/Kierans – IRL;
6th Brathwaite/Hoyte;
7th Jones/Pilkington – ENG;
8th Campbell/Watts;
9th St Hill/Grimes;
10th Hagan – IRL/Kelly – IRL
 
Overall Historic:
1st Clough – ENG/Bell;
2nd Kukula – ENG/Arthur – ENG;
3rd J Corbin/Proverbs;
4th Roberts – ENG/Simpson – ENG
 
Sunday Cup:
1st Barry Mayers/Ben Norris (SM2 Chefette/Digicel/Sol/DHL/Hankook/Quality Tyre/Illusion Graphics Ford Fiesta), 27m 32.35s;
2nd Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (M2 Roberts Manufacturing/Amir’s Chicken/Valvoline/MQI Collision Repair Honda Civic), + 41.41;
3rd Barry McKenna – IRL/Leon Jordan – IRL (SM2 ECD NY Inc Ford Escort MkII), + 59.55;
4th Mark Kinch/Andrew Peirce (SM3 Jolly Roger/Boom Energy Drink/Pirate’s Cove/Cran Plus Water BMW M3), + 59.66;
5th Gareth Richards – WAL/Aled Lloyd Jones – WAL (SM2 Tsalta Motorsport Ford Escort MkII), + 3:15.02;
6th Simon May – ENG/Melissa Wheeler – ENG (H2 ASM Automotive Engineers/Farnborough District Motor Club Ford Escort MkII), + 4:13.58s;
7th Allan Mackay – SCO/Andrew Croney (SM2 Beatson’s Building Supplies Ford Anglia WRC), + 4:29.29;
8th Shareef Walcott/Jan-Yves Hinds (SM1 Melwani’s/Novus Tech/Castrol/Caribbean Pleasures/Mianect Toyota Corolla), + 4:43.21;
9th Allan Kinch/Allan Maynard (C2 Jolly Roger/Boom Energy Drink/Pirate’s Cove/Cran Plus Water BMW 318ti), + 4:49.38;
10th Simon Nutter – ENG/Robert Nutter – ENG (M Silverblue Tours Skoda Fabia), + 8:03.37
 
Class results
WRC-1: 1st Panton – JAM/Fennell Jnr – JAM, 1h 03m 59.55s; 2nd Skeete/Venezia, + 45.33s; 3rd Procter – ENG/Hopkins – ENG, + 03:14.84s; etc
WRC-2: 1st Duckworth – ENG/Broomfield – ENG, 1:06:47.35; 2nd Hill/Gittens, + 03:32.92; 3rd Donnelly – IRL/McElhinney – IRL, + 08:55.34 Group A: 1st Evans – WAL/Parry – WAL, 1:04:58.06; 2nd Austin – ENG/Tull, + 15:10.12
GpN: 1st M Thompson/Seabra – GUY, 1:12:03.47; 2nd Coelho – TRI/Harris – ENG, + 01:23.48; 3rd Morley – ENG/Maharaj – TRI, + 06:55.31; etc SuperModified 3: 1st Campbell/Watts, 1:13:12.95; 2nd St Hill/Grimes, + 00:25.76; 3rd Stockdale – ENG/Swallow – ENG, + 02:38.82; etc
SM2: 1st R Mayers/S Corbin, 1:06:16.94; 2nd Read/Jordan, + 11.60s; 3rd Armstrong/Ward, + 04:41.08; etc
SM1: 1st E Corbin/Alleyne, 1:15:21.01
Modified 2: 1st Brathwaite/Hoyte, 1:11:35.51; 2nd K Thompson/Straker, + 03:02.15; 3rd Horton – TCI/Forde, + 03:45.18
M1: 1st N Corbin/Jordan, 1:10:45.75; 2nd Hall – SCO/Wesselink – NED, + 06:38.34; 3rd, Calvel – MTQ/Miguel Azerot – MTQ, + 06:41.92
M: 1st Freling – ENG/Robinson – ENG, 1:25:17.84; 2nd Paterson – ENG/Paterson – ENG, + 03:30.25 Historic 2: 1st Clough – ENG/Bell, 1:17:57.43; 2nd Kukula – ENG/Arthur – ENG, + 04:32.54; 3rd J Corbin/Proverbs, + 08:25.17
H1: 1st Roberts – ENG/Simpson – ENG, 1:34:48.52 Clubman 2: 1st Inniss/Kirton, 1:24:16.03
C1: 1st Pope/Cox, 1:20:00.28; 2nd Gallagher – IRL/Forde, + 06:47.70; 3rd, Mapp/Nurse, + 09:32.64; etc
GpB2: 1st Andrew Costin-Hurley – ENG/Rob Brook – ENG (True Colour Racing/Earl’s Performance Hoses Ford Puma Evo), 1:15:56.53
GpB1: 1st Chris Ullyett/Tammy Lashley (Ullyett’s Machine Shop/Proj-Rx Inc BMW M3), 1:16:08.72; 2nd Pete Rayner – ENG/Maria Rayner – ENG (Perry Road Autos Ford Escort MkII), + 15:13.51

Jean-Joseph and Britain’s Roger Duckworth were also confirmed as participants, when the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) released the provisional entry list of 91 crews today (Monday) during a Media Briefing at the Accra Beach Hotel & Spa in Rockley.
Double European Rally Champion Jean-Joseph returns with co-driver Jack Boyere in the John Powell-owned Ford Focus WRC08, in which they finished second in Sol RB15, 2secs behind Jamaica’s Jeff Panton (Focus WRC06). While he is retired from regular competition, Jean-Joseph is still heavily involved in the sport, as gravel crew for Volkswagen Motorsport and triple World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier.
In the three years since WRC-2 (for cars built before 2004) was introduced to island regulations, double UK National Champion Duckworth has won the class twice in his ex-Juha Kankkunen Subaru Impreza WRC S6 – fifth overall both times – with Kevin Procter (ex-Markko Martin S7) the winner last year, eighth overall.
Sol RB16 will start with two Friday evening stages on the unique Race Of Champions Parallel Track at Bushy Park Barbados and finish with a RallySprint SuperSpecial at the Vaucluse Raceway for the first time since 2007; after 23 stages across the island, Sunday’s SuperSpecial will give drivers the chance to let their hair down head-to-head, safe in the knowledge that the times are not included in the results . . . although they will be required to take the SuperSpecial start to be considered overall finishers.
Title sponsor since 2008, Sol was represented today by General Manager (Barbados), Ezra Prescod: “Every year, the event expands and continues to attract the finest local, regional and international drivers, as well as visitors and supporters from across the globe. We want to take this opportunity to welcome all of our new visitors and to also welcome back our ‘Rally Nation’ of die-hard supporters.”
Corporate Communications Manager of Flow, Alan Harris, agreed: “Flow is especially pleased to be strengthening its support of local rallying, and as the excitement steadily builds, we are also very proud to be the title sponsor of Flow King of the Hill, an event that continues to provide motorsport fans with the perfect warm-up for Sol Rally Barbados. Year after year, the profile of rallying continues to be raised and we now look forward to yet another outstanding edition of Caribbean’s largest annual motorsport International.”
Sol Rally Barbados (June 3-5) and Flow King of the Hill (May 29) are organised and promoted by the Barbados Rally Club, which will celebrate its 60th Anniversary in 2017; title sponsors are the Sol Group and Flow. Marketing partners are Simpson Motors, Automotive Art and Banks; official partners are Accra Beach Hotel & Spa, the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, Geest Line and the Tourism Development Corporation; associate sponsors are Chefette and Stoute’s Car Rental.

Jamaica’s Jeffrey Panton, winner of Sol Rally Barbados 2015, and local rallying legend Roger Skeete, who has won 13 times in the event’s 26-year history, were both confirmed today (April 8) for this year’s edition of the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International, which will run from Friday to Sunday, June 3-5.
They join Britain’s Rob Swann, who finished second on the occasion of Skeete’s most recent victory in 2014, on the list of potential front-runners in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) blue riband event. The previous weekend (May 28/29) offers local enthusiasts their first chance to see overseas crews up close, then in action, at Scrutineering and King of the Hill, the results of which provide the basis for seeding Sol RB16.
Panton’s victory last year was his second, having previously become the first regional winner in a Toyota Celica GT4 in 1998; with co-driver Mike Fennell Jnr alongside in the Rubis/Total/Sandals Barbados Ford Focus WRC06, he went on to win Rally Jamaica 2015, reinforcing his reputation as the region’s most successful driver.
Twice the Caribbean Rally Champion (1996 & ’98), Panton is unique in having won regional rallying’s ‘Big Three’, on tarmac in Barbados (1998, 2015), and on the loose in Jamaica (nine times between 1994 and 2015) and Trinidad & Tobago (2011 & ‘13); he has also finished on the podium in all three for two straight seasons (2012 & ‘13).
All of that, however, paled into insignificance at Sol RB15, when Panton said: “It was by far the most difficult rally to win that I have ever competed in. The pace was absolutely on the limit from start to end and to win against such a quality field means a lot. This has definitely gone down in my history book as the most accomplished result.”
For 2016, however, Panton may face an even tougher challenge, as his car has been back in the UK for a refresh: “We haven’t been in the car since Rally Jamaica and won’t be competing until King of the Hill, so we will have a lot of catching up to do!”
It is not that much different for either Skeete or Swann, however. The former has not rallied his Sol/Flow/Automotive Art/Electronics on Edge Subaru Impreza WRC S12B since Sol RB15, so will first see action in the Sunoco Shakedown Stages on April 24. His opposition in the 10-stage event will include Swann, competing for the first time in a sister car, having replaced his Impreza S11 with an S12B. With no chance for testing before his car was shipped across the Atlantic, it will be a real shakedown for Swann.
Skeete’s record-breaking story started in the first year of the International All-Stage Rally, from which Sol RB has evolved. That 1990 victory came in a Peugeot 205GTi, the first of a hat-trick of wins; he won twice more in the same car, within the first six years of the event, adding win number six in a Peugeot 306 S16 in 1997. A second hat-trick came between 2000 and 2002 in Ford Escorts, with another win in 2004, before a lean patch – by Skeete’s very high standards – was ended in 2010, with the first of three wins in the S12B, with co-driver Louis Venezia, who sits with him again this year.
Jamaica’s Jeffrey Panton, winner of Sol Rally Barbados 2015, and local rallying legend Roger Skeete, who has won 13 times in the event’s 26-year history, were both confirmed today (April 8) for this year’s edition of the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International, which will run from Friday to Sunday, June 3-5.
They join Britain’s Rob Swann, who finished second on the occasion of Skeete’s most recent victory in 2014, on the list of potential front-runners in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) blue riband event. The previous weekend (May 28/29) offers local enthusiasts their first chance to see overseas crews up close, then in action, at Scrutineering and King of the Hill, the results of which provide the basis for seeding Sol RB16.
Panton’s victory last year was his second, having previously become the first regional winner in a Toyota Celica GT4 in 1998; with co-driver Mike Fennell Jnr alongside in the Rubis/Total/Sandals Barbados Ford Focus WRC06, he went on to win Rally Jamaica 2015, reinforcing his reputation as the region’s most successful driver.
Twice the Caribbean Rally Champion (1996 & ’98), Panton is unique in having won regional rallying’s ‘Big Three’, on tarmac in Barbados (1998, 2015), and on the loose in Jamaica (nine times between 1994 and 2015) and Trinidad & Tobago (2011 & ‘13); he has also finished on the podium in all three for two straight seasons (2012 & ‘13).
All of that, however, paled into insignificance at Sol RB15, when Panton said: “It was by far the most difficult rally to win that I have ever competed in. The pace was absolutely on the limit from start to end and to win against such a quality field means a lot. This has definitely gone down in my history book as the most accomplished result.”
For 2016, however, Panton may face an even tougher challenge, as his car has been back in the UK for a refresh: “We haven’t been in the car since Rally Jamaica and won’t be competing until King of the Hill, so we will have a lot of catching up to do!”
It is not that much different for either Skeete or Swann, however. The former has not rallied his Sol/Flow/Automotive Art/Electronics on Edge Subaru Impreza WRC S12B since Sol RB15, so will first see action in the Sunoco Shakedown Stages on April 24. His opposition in the 10-stage event will include Swann, competing for the first time in a sister car, having replaced his Impreza S11 with an S12B. With no chance for testing before his car was shipped across the Atlantic, it will be a real shakedown for Swann.
Skeete’s record-breaking story started in the first year of the International All-Stage Rally, from which Sol RB has evolved. That 1990 victory came in a Peugeot 205GTi, the first of a hat-trick of wins; he won twice more in the same car, within the first six years of the event, adding win number six in a Peugeot 306 S16 in 1997. A second hat-trick came between 2000 and 2002 in Ford Escorts, with another win in 2004, before a lean patch – by Skeete’s very high standards – was ended in 2010, with the first of three wins in the S12B, with co-driver Louis Venezia, who sits with him again this year.

With three months to go before their cars are due to be shipped from Portsmouth, rally teams across the United Kingdom are making preparations for their annual trip to the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International, Sol Rally Barbados 2016. Among more than 30 repeat visitors already entered, drivers Kenny Hall, Joe McQuillan and Simon Wallis and their co-drivers will have notched up more than 50 visits between them when they arrive this year.
The Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event, Sol RB16 will run from Friday to Sunday, June 3 to 5, with Scrutineering and the King of the Hill ‘shakedown’ event the previous weekend, May 28 and 29. More than 70 entries have now been posted on the official web site, www.rallybarbados.net, almost three-quarters from overseas.
In Country Antrim, Northern Ireland, farmer Joe McQuillan’s Masserene Park Farms Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX has been undergoing some restorative work. With Scottish co-driver Sean Donnelly, ‘The Big Man’ enjoyed his best results last year on his fourth trip to Barbados, winning Group A on LIME King of the Hill, then finishing 12th overall on Sol RB15, narrowly losing the class to Rupert Lomax after a great battle over the weekend.
The five-time Mid Antrim Champion, who will be joined for a second year by Donnelly, told rallybarbados.net this week: “We’re looking forward to Rally Barbados. Once again, the Evo has been under major rebuild due to having a small off in Scotland last July. I’ve been out in a Subaru, but the Evo is really the car for me. Finishing 12th last year and winning the class at King of the Hill was a long time coming. This year, it will be full attack from the start, if the car behaves itself. I hope for a similar drive to 2015, possibly even quicker . . . hopefully the ‘luck of the Irish’ will play a part!”
Around 200 miles to the east, in the Scottish Borders, Kenny Hall has been working on his Ford Puma in readiness for his 14th visit to rally in the island; with family holidays added in, he has visited Barbados well over 20 times since his first trip in 2002. Co-driver Fenny Wesselink from the Netherlands, who is on her 11th trip to compete, also slotted in a family holiday in Barbados last October.
After three class wins in an Opel Corsa, the four-time Scottish class champion has not enjoyed the same success since he debuted his ex-works Ford Puma in 2010, when a wrong-slot in the Simpson Motors Super Special cost him an almost certain class victory. Problems have intervened since then, even last year when he finished third in Modified 6, only for the gearbox to shatter on the very last stage. He limped to the start of the Bushy Park Super Special, however, so did earn an overall classification.
This week he reported: “My flights have been booked since last year, and we’re looking forward to coming back. I’ve just rebuilt the gearbox and we put the engine in at the weekend; it’s not running yet, but I hope all goes to plan.”
Another 350 miles further south, in Cambridgeshire, computer specialist Simon Wallis is making ready his Cambridge Compilers Group N Subaru Impreza N10, last seen in Barbados in 2014. Sol RB16 will be Wallis’s 10th trip, the fourth in the N10 and his second with co-driver, Peter Horsman.
Wallis says: “Many of my most memorable rallies have taken place on islands: two trips to Mull, four to the Isle of Man and this year will be my 10th to Sol Rally Barbados.” Since his last visit, Wallis has ticked another iconic island rally off his checklist, Paperclix Rally Jersey – in October 2014, he finished fifth in the 4wd class, a creditable result for a first visit to an island where the narrow lanes often claim victims: “We were fortunate to get away with a single puncture, after hitting an unseen rock.”
After running as high as third before he lost fifth gear one stage from home, he claimed his career-best result as a driver two months later, fifth in the 2014 Rockingham Sunday Stages. Last August, after finishing second in Group N on the Tyneside Stages, things went wrong the Patriot Stages the following month: “The clutch bell-housing broke with a bang loud enough to startle the driver; the rally was over – a day to forget. Subaru specialists Autosportif Engineering have just repaired and refitted the Hewland gearbox, so we’re ready to go again.”
Sol Rally Barbados is a tarmac rally, with around 22 special stages run on the island’s intricate network of public roads, under road closure orders granted by the Ministry of Transport & Works; Sol RB16 and the previous Sunday’s King of the Hill ‘shakedown’ event, are organised and promoted by the Barbados Rally Club, which will celebrate its 60th Anniversary in 2017. Sol RB16 marks the ninth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest oil company.