NOVEMBER SAFARI TO SETTLE CHAMPIONSHIP

Competition in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) 50th Anniversary season is about to draw to a close, with navigators and drivers preparing to contest the final round of the 2007 BRC Safari Championship; with just a handful of points spread across the leading crews, the outcome of the Championship will depend on success or failure in the November Safari (Sunday, November 11).
Reigning Champion Andrew Croney leads the Navigator standings by just six points from Robin Hinds, with Neil Barnard a further six points adrift; their respective Drivers are the leading trio in that Championship table, Derek Gill six points ahead of Mark Western and 12 ahead of Barry Gale. Having competed with more than one navigator this year, however, Paul Marshall is but another four points behind Gale, so a four-way battle is in prospect.
Although they have yet to win a Championship round in 2007, Croney and Gill’s performance has been consistent – early leaders of the Toyo Tires February Safari in their Suzuki Jimny, they slipped back to end the day second, then claimed fifth place in both the Esso Courtesy Garage 50th Anniversary June Safari and the September event in the replacement Mitsubishi Pajero. They have amassed 162 points each.
The second- and third-placed crews have both been responsible for setting an event this year, something which Croney and Gill did for the 2006 June Rally; naturally, this means the route-setters do not take part, but they are rewarded with a points score equal to their best in the other events.
Hinds and Western (Yardman/Kar Parts Store Suzuki Samurai) finished fourth in February and seventh in September, so adding in the points equivalent to another fourth-placed finish gives them totals of 156; Champion Navigator and Driver of 2005, Barnard and Gale (Mitsubishi L200) finished fifth and eighth in February and June respectively, so collected another fifth-place tally for setting the September event, making their totals 150. Of course, a finish in the Championship finale higher than their existing best result would accrue additional points, too, so the situation is by no means clear-cut and the battle on November 11 promises to be a tense one.
Both the fourth-placed navigator and driver have seen action alongside different partners during the year; Jeremy Croney has collected 136 points navigating for Justin Cuke, Hadley Green and Doug Armstrong, while Paul Marshall’s tally of 146 in the Driver standings has come from outings at the wheel of his Mitsubishi L200 with Ian Hutson, Ricky Holder and Courtney Holder.
Fifth are the leading Novice Navigator and Driver Dustin Edwards and Ryan Corbin (Toyota HiLux), who have now opened up an advantage of 22 points over their closest challengers for the Novice awards, Kreigg Yearwood and Sean Mottley (Suzuki Vitara). Prior to the September event, there was a gap of just two points between these crews, each have finished leading Novice crew once, but Edwards and Corbin not only won the Novice Award, but also the September Safari overall, to significantly increase their advantage.
The route setter for the November Safari is Leslie Alleyne, with assistance from Biddy Barber. The event will start from Vaucluse, St Thomas at 8.00 am, with a stopover at approximately 11.30am at a location yet to be confirmed. The finish is scheduled for the BCTSA Clubhouse, Searles, Christchurch at around 4.30pm.
BRC navigational committee member Lindsay Farmer adds: “There will be two routes, using Tulip, a little BRC and some straight-line navigation methods, as you see it. Weather permitting, there should be lots of mud, and Leslie has promised competitors some exciting challenges. We’re hoping for a good entry to round off our 50th Anniversary season, as we once again go back to the navigational rallying roots of the Club.” The briefing meeting will be held at 7.00pm on Tuesday, November 6, at the BCTSA Clubhouse.

2007 BRC Safari Championship
Provisional positions – after round 3

Navigators - overall
1st Andrew Croney (Insurance Solutions Inc Mitsubishi Pajero), 162 points
2nd Robin Hinds (Yardman/Kar Parts Store Suzuki Samurai), 156pts*
3rd Neil Barnard (Mitsubishi L200), 150pts*
4th Jeremy Croney (Hunte's Auto Spares/Stingray Car Rentals Toyota Hilux), 136pts
5th Dustin Edwards (Corbin's Catering/Sweet Temptations Toyota Hilux), 134pts
6th Warren Gollop (Armag/Hankook Tyres Toyota Land Cruiser), 116pts
7th Willie Hinds (Niccolls & Edghill Construction Jeep Wrangler), 115pts
8th equal Lisa Roett (Land Rover Defender) & Kreigg Yearwood (Suzuki Vitara), 112pts
10th Robert Warren (Simpson Motors Isuzu Pickup & McEnearney Quality Inc Ford Ranger), 100pts
etc
Navigators - novice
1st Dustin Edwards (Corbin's Catering/Sweet Temptations Toyota Hilux), 134pts
2nd Kreigg Yearwood (Suzuki Vitara), 112pts
3rd Tricia King (Suzuki Samurai), 62pts (14th overall)
etc

Drivers - overall
1st Derek Gill (Insurance Solutions Inc Mitsubishi Pajero), 162pts
2nd Mark Western (Yardman/Kar Parts Store Suzuki Samurai), 156pts*
3rd Barry Gale (Mitsubishi L200), 150pts*
4th Paul Marshall (Mitsubishi L200), 146pts
5th equal Ryan Corbin (Corbin's Catering/Sweet Temptations Toyota Hilux) & Doug Armstrong (Armag/Hankook Tyres Toyota Land Cruiser), 134pts
7th Mike Ward (Niccolls & Edghill Construction Jeep Wrangler), 115pts
8th equal Sean Mottley (Suzuki Vitara) & John Sealy (Land Rover Defender), 112pts
10th Kirk King (Suzuki Samurai), 88pts*
etc
Drivers - novice
1st Ryan Corbin (Corbin's Catering/Sweet Temptations Toyota Hilux), 134pts
2nd Sean Mottley (Suzuki Vitara), 112pts
3rd Kirk King (Suzuki Samurai), 88pts*
etc

For further information, robin@bradfax.com