BARNARD AND GALE DEFEND ‘JUNE’ TITLE

Posted on June 24th, 2009.

Seven previous winners are among more than 30 entries for the Shelbury Construction June Safari this weekend (June 27/28), the 53rd running of the oldest motor sport event in the Caribbean with a continuous history. The second round of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Mud Dogs Safari Championship will start from Heymans Factory, St Peter, at 2:01pm on Saturday.
Champion Navigator and Driver in 2005, Neil Barnard and Barry Gale (Gale’s Agro Products/Redlinefuels.com Mitsubishi L200) will have their work cut out to repeat their victory of last year, when Barnard claimed a third-generation victory, joining father, David, and grandfather, Trevor Gale, on ‘The June’s’ roll of honour.
Five of the top six crews from 2008 compete again, among them Dominic Brooker and Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux), who finished third and highest-placed Novice crew. They went on to finish second in the Novice Championship last year and have started their first Pro season well, with victory in the ARMAG March Safari.
Fourth in June last year, Dustin Edwards and Ryan Corbin (Blockman/SDRR Hydraulics/Crane & Equipments Toyota Hilux) have switched seats for 2009, Edwards now the driver, while fifth-placed Sean Dowding and Kirk Watkins (Isuzu D-max) and sixth-placed Kirk and Tricia King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai) will again be aiming for strong finishes. All these crews figure in the top 10 of the respective Navigator and Driver Championship standings, so a weekend of hard-fought competition is ahead.
The most successful crew entered in terms of ‘The June’ is that of Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux); as well as winning the event twice together (2000 & ‘01), Clarke had already claimed two earlier wins, as navigator to Don Hunte (1991 & ’93). The list of former winners is completed by Peter Bradshaw and Robert Warren, who won in 2002, when the result was tied – Bradshaw was driver to Derek Gill and Warren navigator for brother Ian – and John Sealy, who is rare in the event’s history, having won as both navigator (1967) and driver (1978).
Perhaps the most encouraging feature of the weekend’s entry is the significant rise in the number of Novice crews, with no fewer than 10 pairs listed who have either not seen action this year, or are entirely new to the Championship. Of those who did contest the ARMAG March Safari, the leading novice driver is currently Adrian Sinkler, entered with Andre Murrell, while leading navigator is Gary Mendes, who sits with Luke Gittens.
The Shelbury Construction June Safari will feature three routes, two on Saturday, one on Sunday. The first crew is scheduled to leave the start at Heymans Factory, St Peter at 2:01pm on Saturday, with the first route concluding with a dinner stop at Chefette in Speightstown at around 7:00pm. The second route will finish at Andrews Factory Yard in St Joseph at around midnight.
In a minor change to the schedule, the first crew will now re-start at 7:31am on Sunday from Automotive Art, Welches – half-an-hour earlier than previously published - to face a further four hours or so of competition before the finish at Kendal Sporting at approximately noon. The route is primarily Tulip, with a couple of sections of BRC (80 per cent Tulip, 20 per cent BRC), and there is no BRC in Route two.

Shelbury Construction June Safari – June 27/28
Mud Dogs BRC Safari Championship, round 2
Running order - Pro class
2 Audley Croney/Geoffrey Goddard (JCB Excavators Suzuki Samurai)
4 Sean Dowding/Kirk Watkins (Isuzu D-Max)
7 Kirk King/Tricia King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai)
12 Paul Farmer/Peter Bradshaw (Hankook Tyres/Starfish Designs Isuzu LS)
13 Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux)
14 Damian Brooker/Derek Edwards (Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux)
15 Paul Marshall/Courtney Holder (Mitsubishi L200)
16 Mike Ward/Willie Hinds (Niccolls & Edghill Construction/EZ Sign Shop Suzuki Samurai)
17 Darrin White/Robert Warren (Flyin’ Fish Nissan Frontier)
18 Brett Barber/Warren Gollop (Mitsubishi Pajero)
19 Wayne Manning/Yosuf Patel (Black Bess Quarry/Citgo Oils Toyota Hilux)
20 Dustin Edwards/Ryan Corbin (Blockman/SDRR Hydraulics/Crane & Equipments Toyota Hilux)
21 Greg Cozier/Antonio Da Silva (Toyota Hilux)
23 Dominic Brooker/Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux)
24 Edson Arthur/Renata Roett (Toyota Hilux)
26 Barry Gale/Neil Barnard (Gale’s Agro Products/Redlinefuels.com Mitsubishi L200)
27 Nicolas Lorde/Warrick Eastmond (Niccolls & Edghill Construction Suzuki Vitara)
29 John Sealy/Gregory Dickenson (Land Rover Defender)
Novice class
1 Kemar Drakes/Russell Williams (Suzuki Samurai)
3 Luke Gittens/Gary Mendes (LG Trading/K&N Equipment/Lunatics Inc Suzuki Samurai)
5 Bryan Collymore/Adrian Jackman (Owlies Trucking/Williams Tools & Equipment Suzuki Samurai)
6 Hadley Green/Adrian Crane (Automotive Art/Hunte’s Auto Spares Toyota Hilux)
8 Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai)
9 Jamar Burrowes/Robert Burrowes (Berty’s Transport Land Rover Defender)
10 Feroze Rafikh/Kamal Smith (Phoenix Construction & Maintenance Jeep CJ7)
11 Dean Springer/Steve Singh (Eastern Veterinary Clinic Suzuki Sidekick)
22 David Brewster/Damien Bradshaw (Marks Auto Parts/Champion Auto Wrecker Serice Suzuki Samurai)
25 Peter Phillips/Junior Phillips (Phillips Freighting & Farming Services Suzuki Fox)
28 Anthony King/Dave Sealy (Dynamic Limousine/D & N Rental & Taxi Service/Maxxis Tire/Lee’s Tyre Shop Toyota Hilux)
* 30 Phil Harewood/Chris Gibson (CKE Security/C & H Tractor Services Suzuki Samurai)
31 David St Hill/Ian Grimes (Mitsubishi Pajero)
* entry pending approval