LINTON AND WARREN DOWN TO THE WIRE

Posted on October 3rd, 2006.

With one round remaining, just five points separate former Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Champion Adrian Linton and Ian Warren, who have been locked in battle for the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s Championship since the opening round in March. Sixty drivers have competed so far and, while many Groups are already settled, the battle for the Overall Champion’s crown is going down to the wire.
Linton and Warren each won his class at last Sunday’s (October 1) Motoring Club of Barbados Inc event at Sailor Gully, which was also a qualifying round of the BRC Driver’s Championship; the final chance for drivers to score points in the championship will be on the Texaco BRC Gravel Rally on Sunday, October 22.
At the wheel of the Ravensden/Crane & Equipment/Garbage Gobbler/West Coast Garden Centre/Edwin Clarke Furniture Vauxhall Astra GSi, 2002 BRC Champion Linton is the only driver with a maximum score in all seven rounds of the championship, giving him a total of 103. His consistent performances have earned him a unbeatable advantage of 47 points in Modified 7, while Warren enjoys an even greater cushion – 49 points – in Modified 6 with a total of 98.
Indeed, all that currently splits the two is the result of the opening round, the March Gravel Stages; campaigning the Subzero Services/Details Car Valet Inc/McEnearney Quality Collision Repair Centre/Aqua Pur Peugeot 206GTi, Warren found his Group undersubscribed. Merged up to Modified 7, he finished second to Linton, who therefore scored three more points, in addition to pocketing the two route bonus points . . . a total of five.
Drivers are required drop their lowest score at year-end, but even that makes no difference to Linton and Warren – in each case, the lowest score is 10, so the differential between the two remains five. The final round of the championship is a rally, so there will be two additional route bonus points to be won.
Neil Barnard is third overall, with a total of 92 points in the Simpson Motors/Shell Helix/Automotive Art/VISA Suzuki Ignis Sport. He, too, has scored in every round, but suffered last Sunday in the same way as Warren had earlier in the season – the Production classes have not been well-subscribed this year, and he was merged up to Modified 6, where he finished second to Warren. Barnard’s lowest score is eight, so his ‘dropped-score’ total is 84 . . . and that means he is under threat for overall position from Jonathan Still.
Still is just one point behind Barnard, on 83, and the highest-placed driver in the overall standings not to have scored on every round – back in March, the Hitachi Power Tools/Philips Lighting/Warrens Motors/Crane & Equipment/VP Racing BMW M3 ground to a halt with gearbox problems; even so, he remains the leader of the Modified Open Group, which is the most popular with 20 points-scorers this season.
He, in turn, is one point ahead of Modified 8 leader Roger Hill (Mobil 1/Nassco Ltd/Motormac/PPG Toyota Celica GT4), although Hill is another to have scored every time out, so has a dropped-score total of 75. Tied in sixth are Modified 5 leader Brett Clarke (Shell Helix/Automotive Art/Plus Suzuki Swift GTi) and the winner of last Sunday’s event, Paul Bourne, who leads Modified 9 in the Warrens Motors/Plus Subaru Impreza WRC.
Barry Gale (Dentyne Ice/Simpson Motors/Nishikoi Fish Foods Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), Kirk Watkins (Abacus Builders Inc/Planned Maintenance/Aqua Pur Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V) and Mark Hamilton (Consolidated Finance/McEnearney Quality Inc Ford Escort MkII) complete the overall top 10.

Virgin Atlantic Barbados Rally Club Driver’s Championship
Positions after seven rounds

Overall:
1st Adrian Linton (M7 Ravensden/Crane & Equipment/Garbage Gobbler/West Coast Garden Centre/Edwin Clarke Furniture Vauxhall Astra GSi), 103 points
2nd Ian Warren (M6 Subzero Services/Details Car Valet Inc/McEnearney Quality Collision Repair Centre/Aqua Pur Peugeot 206GTi), 98pts
3rd Neil Barnard (P2 Simpson Motors/Shell Helix/Automotive Art/VISA Suzuki Ignis Sport), 92pts
4th Jonathan Still (MO Hitachi Power Tools/Philips Lighting/Warrens Motors/Crane & Equipment/VP Racing BMW M3), 83pts
5th Roger Hill (M8 Mobil 1/Nassco Ltd/Motormac/PPG Toyota Celica GT4), 82pts
6th Brett Clarke (M5 Shell Helix/Automotive Art/Plus Suzuki Swift GTi) & Paul Bourne (M9 Warrens Motors/Plus Subaru Impreza WRC), 79pts
8th Barry Gale (M8 Dentyne Ice/Simpson Motors/Nishikoi Fish Foods Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 69pts
9th Kirk Watkins (M8 Abacus Builders Inc/Planned Maintenance/Aqua Pur Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V), 66pts
10th Mark Hamilton (MO Consolidated Finance/McEnearney Quality Inc Ford Escort MkII), 65pts
etc

Modified 9
1st Bourne, 79pts; 2nd Harold Morley (Warrens Motors/Sunbeach Communications Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 36pts; 3rd Trevor Manning (Simpson Motors/Shell Helix/Automotive Art/VISA/Garbage Master Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII), 35pts; etc
Modified 8
1st Hill, 82pts; 2nd Gale 69pts; 3rd Watkins, 66pts; etc
Production 4
1st Ryan Hutchinson (Auto Airtronic Services/Simple Green Toyota Celica GT4), 15pts; 2nd Neil Armstrong (Mitubishi Lancer Evo VI), 7pts
Modified Open
1st Still, 83pts; 2nd Hamilton, 65pts; 3rd Josh Read (Automotive Art/Baram Services/Forever Flowers/D Blades Trophies Ltd Toyota Starlet), 61pts; etc
Modified 7
1st Linton, 103pts; 2nd Freddie Gale (Gale’s Hatcheries/NASSCO/Nitrous Formula Octane Booster/Nishikoi Fish Foods Toyota Corolla RunX), 56pts; 3rd Rhett Watson (The Unknown Entity/New Media Advertising/Makita Power Tools/NF Nitrous Booster/Kumho Tyres Ford Escort MkI), 41pts; etc
Modified 6
1st Warren, 98pts; 2nd Shareef Walcott (Corbin’s Garage/Klark-Odio Toyota Corolla), 49pts; 3rd Daryl Clarke (Mum’s Pasta Products Mitsubishi Colt Mivec), 24pts; etc
Modified 5
1st Clarke, 79pts; 2nd Jeremy Gonsalves (Kendal Sporting/QuikStart Auto/Champion Auto Wrecker/Yamaha/Star Products/Makita/Yusuf Auto Clinic/All Terrain Plus Suzuki Forsa GTi), 27pts; 3rd James Betts (Star Products/Champion Auto/QuikStart Auto/Kendal Sporting/L & N Workshop/Van Betts Marble Man/Hankook Tyres/All Terrain Plus/Undercover Awnings Opel Corsa GSi), 25pts; etc
Production 3
1st Tristan Gibbs (Rent-a-Tool/Scorpion Liners/Boyss Ltd/Algae X/Corrosion Block/Surfside Gym Toyota Starlet Turbo), 27pts; 2nd Ryan Corbin (Caribtrans/Suntraders Peugeot 106), 25pts; 3rd Derek Roach (MINI Cooper), 12pts
Production 2
1st Barnard, 92pts; 2nd Andre Snobel (Toyota Starlet), 8pts
Production 1
1st Danny Williams (TransTech/All Connect/Sunbury Plantation/KDs Beach Bar & Grill Peugeot 106), 31pts; 2nd Carlos Humphrey (Castrol/Bridgestone/Business Interiors International/Nomis Ltd/Regional Fire & Safety/Promotech Inc/Secure RM Toyota Starlet), 27pts; 3rd Gary Mendes (Slam Condoms/Dupont Paints/G & G Sales & Service Inc/Friendly Signs/ACT Sandblasting/Muffler Centre/Fast Lane Model Car Racing Toyota Starlet), 25pts