‘TEAM BARBADOS’ TONES UP FOR TRINIDAD

The leading lights of ‘Team Barbados’ will be on show this Sunday (March 14), as six of the nine Barbados Rally Club (BRC) crews entered for Rally Trinidad at month-end will be using the BRC Spring Gravel Rally as a final shakedown before shipping their cars . . . the only problem is, so is the leader of the opposition!
Most pundits are tipping the battle between Paul ‘Surfer’ Bourne (Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Ford Focus WRC07) and Trinidad-based Jamaican John ‘Pentti’ Powell (Subaru Impreza WRC S12) to be the highlight of RT10 and local fans will enjoy a dress rehearsal this weekend; Bourne beat Powell, who is contesting a full season in Barbados this year, on both parts of the BRC Spring Gravel Sprint last month, and Sunday’s event is awaited with great anticipation.
Twelve stages, at Searles and Guinea, are scheduled for this third round of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s and Class Championships, which is slated for a 9.00am start from Ocean Park, Christ Church; the official service area for the Searles stages will be Ocean Park, that for the Guinea stages will be Kendal Plantation.
Others out on Sunday who are representing the island in RT10 (March 27/28) are Dean Serrao (Subaru Impreza WRC S9) and potential two-wheel-drive front-runners, Mark Hamilton (Valvoline Oil/PowerMaster Batteries/Kumho Batteries/Consolidated Finance Ford Escort MkII) and Ian Warren, making his first appearance for the season in the Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift; also in action, although driving his Group A Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI as Zero Car, will be Neil Armstrong.
With the BRC Spring Gravel Sprint counting as a double-header and each claiming a class win, the island’s two leading Group N (Production 4) contenders start Sunday’s event on equal points, so another hard-fought battle is on the cards between the ex-Mark Higgins Evo IX of Barry Gale, and the similar car of Geoff Noel.
Competitors who have not passed Annual Tech scrutineering are required to arrive at Ocean Park no later than 7.00am; those who have already passed are required to arrive no later than 8.00am. The finish, expected to be at approximately 4.00pm will be at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Clubhouse at Searles.
Also included to represent Barbados in the nearly 40-strong entry for RT10 – a record in recent times – are Harold Morley in his Group N NET2VU Subaru Impreza N14 and 3W’s team-mates Stuart White and Ryan Wood in their Toyota Starlets.

BRC Spring Gravel Rally, March 14
Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s & Class Championships, round 3
Running order:
1 Paul Bourne/Stuart Maloney (M8-WRC Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Ford Focus WRC07)
2 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC)
3 Dean Serrao/Michael Worme (M8-WRC Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
4 John Powell – TDAD/Ryan Wood (M8-WRC Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
5 Geoffrey Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (P4 Globe Finance Inc/Mix 96.9/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Dewalt Tools/Automotive Art/Ezone Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
6 Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (P4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
7 Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift)
8 Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (SM11 Valvoline Oil/PowerMaster Batteries/Kumho Batteries/Consolidated Finance Ford Escort MkII)
9 Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (SM9 Ellco Rentals/Mom’s Pasta Products/Area 5 Auto Works/Paintless Dent Removal Mitsubishi Mirage)
10 Jeremy Gonsalves/James Betts (SM9 All Terrain Plus/Champion Auto Wrecker/Quik Start Auto/Star Products/Black Bess Opel Corsa)
11 Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (M7 Gale’s Hatcheries/Redline Fuels/Nassco/ENEOS Lubricants Toyota Corolla RunX)
12 Edward Corbin/Rodney Clarke (M6 Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage Daihatsu Charmant)
13 Jamal Brathwaite/Kyle Catwell (M6 AM Electrical Solutions/Ellesmere Quarries Ltd/Chicken Pen Racing/D2 Racing Suspension/Codgi’s Customs Brokers Mitsubishi Mirage RS)
14 Sean Cox/Adam Cox (M6 Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift)
15 Wayne Manning/Willie Hinds (M5 Peugeot 205)
16 Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (P2 Williams Trading Inc Peugeot 106)

Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s Championship, after round 2
1st Bourne, 30 points
2nd Powell, 24pts
3rd equal Serrao & Hill, 19pts
5th equal Noel & B Gale, 15pts
7th Harold Morley (P4 NET2VU Subaru Impreza N14), 12pts
8th Allan Kinch (P4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 10pts
9th Hamilton, 7pts
10th Jonathan Still (SM11 Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Castrol Racing Oils/Crane & Equipments BMW M3) & Brett Clarke (M8-WRC Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 4pts
etc

Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship, after round 2
Modified 8-WRC 1st Bourne, 30pts; 2nd Powell, 24pts; 3rd equal Serrao & Hill, 19pts; etc
Production 4 1st equal Noel and B Gale, 27pts; 3rd Morley, 20pts; etc
SuperModified 11 1st Hamilton, 24pts; 2nd Still, 20pts
SM9 1st D Clarke, 20pts
M7 1st F Gale, 27pts; 2nd Kyle Catwell (Mitsubishi Mirage RS)
M6 1st Corbin, 24pts; 2nd Brathwaite, 10pts
P2 1st Skeete, 20pts

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