JACKMAN RETURNS FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Nearly 10 years since he last competed on home soil, Bajan Dwane Jackman is returning from Canada for Sol Rally Barbados 2010 (May 29/30), which marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) International All-Stage Rally. And he’ll be driving what he thinks should be “quite the package” for the Caribbean’s biggest annual international motor sport event.
With co-driver Michaela Guscott, he is entered in a Mark II Volkswagen Golf, which has recently undergone a major rebuild by Jackman Racing and Blitzkreig AutoWerks, a competition and performance car specialist based – as are Jackman and Guscott - in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Jackman first competed as a co-driver, in a Ford Escort initially driven by Christopher Choat and later by Tony Pile, with whom he finished second in Modified 7 in the BRC’s International All-Stage Rally in 2001 . . . sandwiched between winners John Corbin/Rodney Clarke (Toyota Corolla) and Adrian and Jonathan Linton (Vauxhall Astra).
He also tried his hand at driving, including outings at Bushy Park and the Vaucluse Raceway, before moving to Canada in 2001; he revived his rallying interests in 2007 - on his debut in the Pacific Forest Rally, he finished third in class, 14th overall, despite an early front suspension failure that had dropped him down the order.
The following season, competing in the Western Canada Rally Championship, despite rolling the Golf in the 2008 Mountain Trials, he still managed to the event finish highest-placed Novice; this was the first of a number of difficult rallies, however, after which he decided to rethink the spec of the Golf and regroup.
Jackman says: “With new support from Blitzkreig Autowerks, the Jackman Racing Golf has been reborn better than ever, as a full kit car. It is powered by a 2-litre 16-valve engine, pushing 160bhp to the front wheels, with full MoTeC engine management system and throttle bodies; it has also undergone suspension and brake modifications, lightening with composite materials.
“I’m also grateful to Bonaventure Fisheries for their exceptional backing, and to Coache Collision and Proper Design, whose bodywork, paint and design expertise have given the Golf a completely new look; I think the revamped car should be quite the package for Rally Barbados.”

Entries open for Automotive Art Shakedown Stages

The countdown to Sol Rally Barbados 2010, the Caribbean’s biggest annual international motor sport event, steps up a gear in just under two weeks’ time (Sunday, April 25) when the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) stages the Automotive Art Shakedown Stages, entries for which are now open.
Slated for a 9.00am start from Automotive Art’s premises at Welches, St Michael, following scrutineering from 7.30am, the event will be contested over 12 stages; Black Bess Quarry in St Peter will be the base for service between each loop of two stages, also the venue for the lunch halt, the finish – approximately 4.00pm - and a post-event social for competitors, marshals, officials and spectators.
Entries are now open at Motorsport Services, Haggatt Hall, St Michael, and will close at 4.00pm on Friday (April 16); the entry list will be confirmed and the running order published at the Briefing Meeting, which starts at 7.00pm on Thursday, April 22 – the venue for the Briefing Meeting is yet to be confirmed.
Round four of the BRC Virgin Atlantic Driver’s and Class Championships, the Automotive Art Shakedown Stages is a key element in the build-up to Sol RB10 for a number of reasons:
+ it is the first chance for the year for competitors to enjoy a full day’s sport on tarmac
+ first-time competitors intending to compete in Sol RB10 must enter this event in order to be eligible, so a number crews may be contesting a BRC event for the very first time
+ it provides an opportunity for the organising team to check out all systems
Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale said: “This is an important event for all of those involved in running Sol Rally Barbados - in every aspect, it is a dry run for our premier event, because it allows the officials to practice, and therefore fully understand, their roles for Sol RB10. I am expecting a solid entry of around 50 cars, much as we had last year, so I think competitor and spectator alike will have an excellent day out.”

Sol Rally Barbados (May 29/30) and Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 23) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB2010 marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Club’s International All-Stage Rally.

For further information:
e-mail - robin@bradfax.com