ALL TO PLAY FOR IN DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP

There's a thrilling finale in prospect for competitors in the 2007 Virgin Atlantic Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Driver’s Championship; just three points cover the top five in the standings ahead of the final round, the Texaco Gravel Rally on Sunday (October 21), where competition is expected to be intense.
With seven rounds run, Josh Read is the third leader of the Championship this year, having edged ahead following the Motoring Club of Barbados Inc's Plus Rally of the Sun & Stars last month; driving the Automotive Art Toyota Starlet, he has led the SuperModified 9 Group since the start of the year with a perfect record of Group wins. His total is currently 96 points, reduced to 86 once he drops his lowest score, as all drivers are required to do.
Read gained the advantage from Production 2 leader Neil Barnard (First Caribbean VISA/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art Suzuki Ignis Sport), who has slipped to joint fourth in the table; in the events since Rally Barbados, the smaller-capacity Production classes have been under-subscribed, resulting in the Ignis being merged to a higher Group, in which high-scoring results are more of a challenge.
Barnard is now tied in fourth place with Paul Bourne, the other Championship leader this season; driving the BF Goodrich/Plus Subaru Impreza WRC, Bourne claimed perfect scores in Modified 8-WRC in the first three events of the season to edge ahead in the title chase. His 100 per cent record was halted on Rally Barbados, however, when he fell behind John Powell and Roger Skeete on day one and picked up only one route bonus point each day; he has now accumulated 93 points, falling to 83 with the dropped score.
Group wins and the maximum four route bonus points on Rally Barbados moved both Jonathan Still and Ian Warren ahead of Bourne, to lie second and third in the standings to Read. SuperModified 11 leader Still (Red Bull/Hitachi Power Tools/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipment BMW M3) drops eight from his total of 93 to sit one point behind Read on 85.
Driving the MQI Collision Repair Centre/Subzero Services Ltd/Details Car Valet Inc Peugeot 206, meanwhile, M6 leader Warren is one further point behind on 84, dropping from his total of 93 the nine points he scored for finishing Group fourth in the season’s opening event, the March Gravel Stages.
While these five drivers cannot influence one another's year-end total directly, as all are in different Groups, the final round promises to bring the best out in all competitors as they strive for maximum points.
Sunday's final round is slated to start at 8.45am from Searles Factory Yard; entries close at 4.00pm tomorrow (at McEnearney Quality Inc) and the briefing meeting will take place at the BCTSA Clubhouse at 7.00pm.

Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s Championship
Positions after round 7 of 8

Overall - total after lowest score has been dropped (cumulative in brackets)
1st Josh Read (SM9 Automotive Art Toyota Starlet), 86points (96pts)
2nd Jonathan Still (SM11 Red Bull/Hitachi Power Tools/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipment BMW M3), 85pts (93pts)
3rd Ian Warren (M6 MQI Collision Repair Centre/Subzero Services Ltd/Details Car Valet Inc Peugeot 206), 84pts (93pts)
4th Paul Bourne (M8-WRC BF Goodrich/Plus Subaru Impreza WRC), 83pts (93pts)
5th Neil Barnard (P2 First Caribbean VISA/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art Suzuki Ignis Sport), 83pts (89pts)
6th Adrian Linton (M7 Ravensden/Crane & Equipment/Garbage Gobbler/West Coast Garden Centre/Edwin Clarke Furniture Vauxhall Astra GSi), 73pts
7th Neil Armstrong (P4 Shell Helix/Hankook/Soldier Seal Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 69pts
8th Sean Gill (SM10 First Caribbean VISA/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift), 66pts
9th Stuart White (SM9 Flyin’ Fish/Cloudbase Embroidery/Catch Chocolate/Budex Couriers/Crane & Equipment Toyota Starlet), 64pts (71pts)
10th Kirk Watkins (M8-A Abacus Builders Inc/Hankook Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V), 63pts
etc

Groups
Modified 8-WRC 1st Bourne, 83pts (93pts); 2nd John Powell - JAM (Stag/Intercontinental Shipping/Trinidad Mooring and Launch Services Toyota Corolla WRC), 48pts; 3rd Roger Skeete (Havoline/Michelin/FB Batteries Ford Escort WRC), 38pts; etc
M8-A 1st Watkins, 63pts; 2nd Barry Gale (Simpson Motors/Dentyne Ice/VP Racing/Nitrous Formula/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 54pts; 3rd Roger Hill (Mobil 1/Nassco/Motormac Toyota Celica GT4), 37pts
Production 4 1st Armstrong, 69pts; 2nd Geoffrey Noel (Ezone/Globe Finance/Weisers/Café Blue/Sign Stop/Summa Graphix/Essco/Autozone/Automotive Art/Sunbeach/Sentry Insurance Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 50pts; 3rd Ryan Hutchinson (Auto Airtronic Services/Simple Green Toyota Celica GT4), 10pts
SuperModified 11 1st Still, 85pts (93pts); 2nd Andrew Jones (A P Jones Pharmacy/McEnearney Quality Inc Ford Escort MkII), 42pts; 3rd Nicholas Gill (Castrol Syntec/Hennessy/Vita Malt/Lysol/Listerine/McEnearney Quality Inc/Mazda Genuine Parts Mazda 3), 40pts; etc
SM10 1st Gill, 66pts; 2nd Mark Hamilton (Consolidated Finance/McEnearney Quality Inc Ford Escort MkII), 58pts; 3rd Ralph White (Island Safari/Going Places/Drive-a-Matic Toyota Starlet), 28pts; etc
SM9 1st Read, 86pts (96pts); 2nd White, 64pts (71pts); 3rd David Williams (Bacassa/Caribpak/Castrol/Ibox/SRG/Roxy Supermarket/Dynamic Limo Toyota Starlet), 41pts; etc
M7 1st Linton, 73pts; 2nd Freddie Gale (Gale’s Hatcheries/NASSCO/Castrol/VP Racing/Barbados Industries Toyota Corolla RunX), 57pts; 3rd Greg Cozier (Citgo/Hyundai Commercial & Industrial Ford Escort RS2000), 42pts; etc
M6 1st Warren, 84pts (93pts); 2nd Josh Delmas (Weetabix/Go Motorsport Toyota Corolla GTi), 51pts; 3rd Daryl Clarke (Mom’s Pasta Products/246 Tuning/Area 5 Auto Works Mitsubishi Mirage), 49pts; etc
M5 1st Rhett Watson (Datsun), 6pts
P2 1st Barnard, 83pts (89pts); 2nd Ryan Corbin (Caribtrans/Suntraders Peugeot 106), 13pts

For further information, robin@bradfax.com