CRONEY AND ALLEYNE WIN SAFARI TITLES

Victory in Sunday’s (November 12) tough final round of the 2006 Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Safari Championship made Andrew Croney the season’s Champion Navigator . . . and he has won the title from the Novice class, holding off some seasoned campaigners.
Sunday’s BRC November Safari was not all plain sailing, either, for Croney and his driver for the event, Derek Gill. At the wheel of his new Suzuki Jimny on its maiden safari, Gill had traction problems on some hills and also suffered a cracked windscreen.
Gill and Croney finished the event with a total of 258 penalties and were also the winners of both the morning and afternoon routes; in addition to their winners’ trophies, collected at the Prizegiving on Tuesday evening, they also claimed the Sportsmanship Award, voted on by their fellow competitors, and presented in recognition of their assistance to other competitors facing navigational problems.
Prior to the weekend’s final round, husband and wife crew Leslie and Annalee Alleyne had been leading the driver and navigator standings respectively in the Bridgestone Tyres/Barbados Muffler Centre/Autozone Inc Mitsubishi iO; seventh place on Sunday, however, dropped Annalee to runner-up spot in the Navigator’s Championship, although Leslie still claimed the Driver’s title.
Reigning Champion Driver and Navigator Barry Gale and Neil Barnard finished second in the Gales Hatcheries/Nishikoi Fish Foods Mitsubishi L200 with a total of 360 penalties, just 22 ahead of Peter Bradshaw and Ryan Marshall in their Land Rover Series III. This result capped a season of steady progress for Marshall, who finished 20th in the opening round in April, missed the June Safari, then finished 12th in August.
Fourth overall were Ryan Corbin and Dustin Edwards in their Toyota Hilux; they walked off with the trophies as highest-placed Novice crew, presented by Neptune Tours; the Championship rules allow for a Novice, such as event-winner Andrew Croney to partner a Pro – in such a case, each competitor will collect their due Novice or Pro points toward their Championship total but, in terms of event results, the crew will not be eligible for Novice awards.
Audley Croney and Geoffrey Goddard finished fifth in the Simpson Motors/JCB Excavators/Yokohama Tyres Suzuki Samurai, a result good enough for them to end the season second and third respectively in the driver and navigator standings. The experienced Warren brothers, Ian and Robert, lost four-wheel-drive on the Simpson Motors/GWA Survey Supplies Isuzu Pickup early in route one, missing some controls while repairs were effected – even so, 10th place was enough for Ian to hold on for third place in the Driver’s Championship.
The trophy for the highest-placed female competitor went to Megan Blades, who navigated for Gregory Dickenson in his Toyota Hilux.
The BRC November Safari started from the car park of Advanced Business Systems in the Warrens Industrial Park, St Michael. It visited every parish except St Lucy and covered around 140 kilometres, divided into two routes. Most of the route was set by Willie Hinds, with the final section set by Warren Gollop.

BRC November Safari - Sunday, November 12
2006 Barbados Rally Club Safari Championship, round 4
Results - overall:
1st Derek Gill/Andrew Croney (Suzuki Jimny), 258 penalties
2nd Barry Gale/Neil Barnard (Gales Hatcheries/Nishikoi Fish Foods Mitsubishi L200), 360pens
3rd Peter Bradshaw/Ryan Marshall (Land Rover Series 3), 382pens
4th Ryan Corbin/Dustin Edwards (Toyota Hilux), 394pens
5th Audley Croney/Geoffrey Goddard (Simpson Motors/JCB Excavators/Yokohama Tyres Suzuki Samurai), 420pens
6th Gregory Dickenson/Megan Blades (Toyota Hilux), 464pens
7th Leslie Alleyne/Annalee Alleyne (Bridgestone Tyres/Barbados Muffler Centre/Autozone Inc Mitsubishi iO), 504pens
8th Paul Marshall/Ian Hutson (Mitsubishi L200), 668pens
9th Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Suzuki Samurai), 750pens
10th Ian Warren/Robert Warren (Simpson Motors/GWA Survey Supplies Isuzu Pickup), 1005pens
etc
Novice class
1st Corbin/Edwards, 394pens
2nd Chris Choat Jnr/Mark Jordan (Ontrac Systems/Ace Engineering/Freemotion Range Rover Special), 1020pens (11th o/a)
3rd Anthony King/Dave Sealy (Dynamic Limo/D & N Rental & Taxi Service Toyota Hilux), 1196pens (14th o/a)
etc

2006 Barbados Rally Club Safari Championship, final positions
Navigators
1st Andrew Croney, 230 points
2nd Annalee Alleyne, 226pts
3rd Geoffrey Goddard, 206pts
etc
Drivers
1st Leslie Alleyne, 226pts
2nd Audley Croney, 206pts
3rd Ian Warren, 192pts
etc
Highest-placed Novice Navigator
Andrew Croney, 230pts
Highest-placed Novice Driver
Chris Choat Jnr, 162pts
Highest-placed Female Navigator
Annalee Alleyne, 226pts

For further information, robin@bradfax.com