LAST RUN DECIDES CLOSE-FOUGHT SPEED EVENT

Just 3.5 seconds covered the top four in a close-fought finish to the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) first event of the new season, Saturday’s (Feb 14) night-time Tarmac Hill Sprint from Mapps in St Philip to Stewart Hill. While it is rare for the BRC to run a speed event in darkness, the format appealed to spectators, many hundreds of whom lined the 4.5-kilometre course for their first taste of action in 2004.
Roger Mayers (McEnearney Quality Inc Ford Focus WRC) set the pace in the practice run, which started shortly after darkness fell; with a time of 2min 03secs, he was 2secs up on Roger Skeete (Havoline/Michelin/McEnearney Quality Ford Escort WRC), these two comfortably quicker than the rest.
Mayers hit trouble on the first of three timed runs, however, when a front axle broke; with a time 25secs adrift of the front-runners, there was work to do. Mayers said: “It was something we knew could happen, as we’re waiting on parts from England, so we were prepared.” Even so, the M & M crew would have to work fast to get the Focus out in time for another run.
Reigning Modified 9 champion Paul Bourne (Banks/Havoline/Williams Industries/Pirelli Subaru Impreza WRC) was now fastest, his time of 2m 02s almost exactly 1sec quicker than Skeete; Trevor Manning (Sunbeach/Pirelli/Thorogood Footwear/Simpson Motors Rally Team Mitsubishi Evo V) had improved by more than 3secs since the practice run, but still trailed by 4secs on his first run in Modified 9.
With the Mayers crew repairing the Focus at a nearby garage, the order remained the same on the second timed run, Bourne, Skeete and Manning all getting faster; for Manning, who cut a massive 3.5secs off his time to bring him within striking distance of the leading pair, it was a fine achievement on a course which favoured the more powerful cars of Bourne and Skeete, thanks to the importance of top speed at the end of the straights.
As Bourne, Skeete and Manning lined up for the final run, Mayers came into view. Bourne improved again to 2m 00.153s, but Skeete’s car cut out, leaving him with his second run time of 2min 02.902sec. Mayers knew what he had to do, and an impressive run resulted in the only sub-2 minute time of the evening (1m 59.731s), for a winning margin of just four-tenths of a second. Although Manning found another second, his final time 2m 03.294s, he would finish fourth.
There is some consolation for Bourne, Manning and Skeete, however, as Mayers has elected not to register for the BRC Drivers Championship this year, so is not eligible for points.
But the evening’s sport was not just about the battle for overall honours; there were Groups to be won and lost, personal battles to be enjoyed. Harold Morley gave his new Subaru Impreza WRC its Barbados debut, enjoying a close battle with Jonathan Still (Nescafe/Philips Lighting/Castrol/Crane & Equipment BMW M3) which kept both drivers – and the large crowd – entertained.
Morley was quicker in the practice run, but Still turned the tables in the timed runs, seven-tenths quicker in the first, then half-a-second up in the second . . . and he might have stayed ahead. In the final run, however, the BMW’s differential mounting broke, causing Still to pull off, while a mighty effort from Morley dropped his time sufficiently to beat Still to fifth overall by just 15/100ths of a second.
Mikie Hassell (Crane & Equipment/Details Car Valet/Citgo Oils Subaru Impreza WRX) finished seventh and Production 4 winner. He benefited from the new rule whereby competitors can gain bonus points by working as an official at an event in which they are not competing; these bonus points-scorers are still registered as ‘competitors’ in their Group, for the purposes of the minimum number of starters – three – so the presence of Barry Gale and Geoffrey Noel on the officials list left Hassell free to collect maximum points, despite being the only runner.
Still’s BMW was the top two-wheel-drive finisher, and he claimed Modified Open honours; Cliff Roett retired on the practice run with an engine failure, so second in MO fell to Derek Roach (Mini Cooper S), with Lindsay Farmer third, despite damaging his Toyota Starlet Turbo on the second run.
Eighth overall, Neil Armstrong (Bridgestone/Nassco Toyota Starlet) was delighted to claim Modified 6 honours, particularly as he beat the much-fancied Suzuki Ignis of reigning BRC Overall Champion Sean Gill by almost 1sec. Having headed Armstrong in practice and the first two timed runs, Gill was complaining of a slipping clutch in the Ignis in the final run. Kirk Watkins (Toyota Corolla) finished Group third, despite running off into a ditch on the final run, with Neil Barnard (Opel Corsa) fourth, merged up to M6 from his normal place one Group lower.
Edward Corbin, runner-up to Gill in the 2003 overall championship, started his Modified 7 title defence with a win and 10th overall; he was never headed by his Group rivals, John Corbin and Simon Gilmore, who finished second and third in that order, after each had experienced problems, Corbin with a blown head gasket and Gilmore with failed power steering.

Provisional results follow:
For further information, robin@bradfax.com
BRC web site: www.rallyclub.com

BRC Drivers Championship 2004 – round 1
Event – Tarmac Hill Sprint, Mapps to Stewart Hill, February 14, 2004

Overall
1 * Roger Mayers (McEnearney Quality Inc Ford Focus WRC), 1m 59.731s
2 Paul Bourne (Banks/Havoline/Williams Industries/Pirelli Subaru Impreza WRC), 2m 00.153s
3 Roger Skeete (Havoline/Michelin/McEnearney Quality Ford Escort WRC), 2m 02.902s
4 Trevor Manning (Sunbeach/Pirelli/Thorogood Footwear/Simpson Motors Rally Team Mitsubishi Evo V), 2m 03.294s
5 Harold Morley (Sunbeach Communications Inc Subaru Impreza WRC), 2m 11.940s
6 Jonathan Still (Nescafe/Philips Lighting/Castrol/Crane & Equipment BMW M3), 2m 12.096s
7 Mikie Hassell (Crane & Equipment/Details Car Valet/Citgo Oils Subaru Impreza WRX), 2m 13.540s
8 Neil Armstrong (Bridgestone/Nassco Toyota Starlet), 2m 15.027s
9 Sean Gill (Sunbeach/Pirelli/Simpson Motors Rally Team Suzuki Ignis), 2m 15.957s
10 Edward Corbin (Automotive Art/Corbins Garage/Klark-Odio), 2m 19.430s
etc
* not eligible for points
Class winners:
Modified 9 Mayers Production 4 Hassell Open Modified & Production 3 merged Still Modified 7 Corbin Modified 6 & 5 merged Armstrong