SKEETE WINS AUTOMOTIVE ART SHAKEDOWN STAGES

Posted on April 25th, 2010.

Roger Skeete continued his winning ways on tarmac with a decisive victory in Sunday’s (April 25) Automotive Art Shakedown Stages, which provided a dramatic preview for next month’s Sol Rally Barbados. Among the stars of the day was Josh Read, an impressive fifth overall among five two-wheel-drive cars to finish in the top 10.
Co-driven in the Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Michelin/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12 by Louis Venezia, Skeete won by nearly 30 seconds; afterwards, he said: “The day was good, the car is working perfectly and I was not being overly aggressive – I was not aiming to be a hero.”
After the day’s first Dark Hole stage had been cancelled for safety reasons, Skeete was fastest by 1.5secs on the first Orange Hill, then went on to top the time sheets on all but one stage – the penultimate run through Orange Hill, where he was third.
The Trinidad-Jamaica pairing of John Powell and Michael March (Shell Helix Impreza WRC S12) were fastest, Powell among competitors affected by the European flight disruptions, missing the right springs for bumpy tarmac; a fifth-gear spin on the final Orange Hill stage of the morning had also cost time, and some damage to the car. Even so, he finished third, saying: “I think should be competitive for Rally Barbados as at least we were able to beat Roger on one stage.”
Roger Hill and Graham Gittens (Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC) were the other crew to beat Skeete, and they went on to finish second, around 50secs up on Powell; Hill was another happy with his day’s work: “We’re still adjusting the suspension, and the car got better throughout the day as the set-up changed.”
Although his day started well – in the top three on the first four stages - Paul Bourne (Banks/Chefette/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Ford Focus WRC07) dropped down the order in the afternoon; Bourne said “I’m talking it cool, slow and easy, nothing heroic”, but the Focus developed problems with the launch control and what had looked like a secure third place for he and co-driver Allan Kinch two stages from home became sixth.
Ahead of him at close of play were the two highest-placed two-wheel-drive cars. Read and Mark Jordan (Automotive Art/Baram Services Toyota Starlet) had set the early pace, faster on the opening test than Ian and Robert Warren (Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), the driver admitting to using that first stage to regain his confidence after his accident in Trinidad.
Thereafter, they swapped times, Warren ‘winning’ five, Read ‘four’, Read fulfilling his ambition for the day of “mixing it with Cliff Roett and Ian Warren. I don’t think I could have driven much harder.” After early problems, Roett was not part on the battle.
Warren and Read respectively won SuperModified 10 and 9, with victory in SM11 going to Owen Cumberbatch and Kelly-Ann Sandiford, who finished ninth overall in their BMW M3; it was a mixed day for the Cumberbatch clan, as brother Sammy failed to finish, while their father St Elmo crashed heavily in Orange Hill in the afternoon – both driver and co-driver Dwayne Forde were uninjured.
Other two-wheel-drive crews who impressed included Jeremy Gonsalves and Natasha Farnum (All Terrain Plus/Makita/Star Products/Quik Start Auto Suzuki Swift GTi) - but for a 30-second penalty incurred at the start of the day, they would have finished eighth overall, with a number of top 10 stage times – brothers Logan and Rhett Watson, who did finish eighth in The Unknown Entity/Corbz Workz Ford Escort MkI, and Daryl Clarke and Russell Brancker, who rounded out the top 10 in the Ellco Rentals/Mum’s Pasta Products/Area 5 Auto Works/Paintless Dent Removal Mitsubishi Mirage.

The Automotive Art Shakedown Stages (April 25), Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 23) and Sol Rally Barbados (May 29/30) 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.

Automotive Art Shakedown Stages, April 25
Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s & Class Championships, round 4
Provisional results - overall:
1st Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (M8-WRC Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Michelin/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 18m 59.27s
2nd Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 19m 29.15s
3rd John Powell - TDAD/Michael March - JAM (M8-WRC Shell Helix Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 20m 21.45s
4th Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 20m 25.97s
5th Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM9 Automotive Art/Baram Services Toyota Starlet), 20m 28.33s
6th Paul Bourne/Allan Kinch (M8-WRC Banks/Chefette/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Ford Focus WRC07), 20m 36.35s
7th Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (P4 Autolink/Weetabix/redlinefuels.com/Bella Beauty Supply/Metal Craft Works Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 20m 46.99s
8th Logan Watson/Rhett Watson (SM10 The Unknown Entity/Corbz Workz Ford Escort MkI), 21m 23.44s
9th Owen Cumberbatch/Kelly-Ann Sandiford (SM11 BMW M3), 21m 28.71s
10th Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (SM10 Ellco Rentals/Mum’s Pasta Products/Area 5 Auto Works/Paintless Dent Removal Mitsubishi Mirage), 21m 29.25s
etc
Modified 8-WRC 1st Skeete/Venezia; 2nd Hill/Gittens; 3rd Powell/March; etc
M8-A 1st Michael Worme/Jason King (Cot Media Group/Dingolay/Speedline Performance Auto/Slowboy Racing Subaru Impreza STi), 22m 47.37s
Production 4 1st Gale/Edghill; 2nd Dean Serrao/James Betts (Amalgamated Security Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
SuperModified 11 1st Cumberbatch/Sandiford; 2nd Brian Gill/Avinash Chatrani (Aqua Pur/Electric Avenue BMW M3), 21m 55.01s; 3rd Nick Gill/Sue Rogers (SM11 SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares/Hilti Tools Mazda 3); etc
SM10 1st Warren/Warren; 2nd Watson/Watson; 3rd Clarke/Brancker
SM9 1st Read/Jordan; 2nd Jeremy Gonsalves/Natasha Farnum (All Terrain Plus/Makita/Star Products/Quik Start Auto Suzuki Swift GTi), 21m 51.52s
M7 1st Greg Cozier/Jamie Marsh (Citgo Oils/Hyundai Trucks Ford Escort RS2000), 21m 34.98s; 2nd Ron Greaves/Dario Hoyte (Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/McCarthy’s Garage/Williams Tool & Equipment Ltd Honda Civic Type-R), 22m 24.40s; 3rd Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (Gale’s Hatcheries/VP Racing/Nassco Toyota Corolla RunX), 22m 34.56s; etc
M6 1st Edward Corbin/Rodney Clarke (Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant), 21m 31.14s; 2nd Paul Horton - TCI/Juan Watts (Sky Rally Sport/H Racing/Horizon Construction Suzuki Honda Civic), 24m 25.25s
M5 1st Sean Cox/Adam Cox (Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 24m 02.30s; 2nd Wayne Manning/Willie Hinds (Citgo Oils/Black Bess Quarries Peugeot 205), 24m 25.09s
P2 1st Fabien Clarke/Arlington Hoyte (Barbados Business Listings/Crimson Jade/RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair/Big P Customs Brokers/De Fx-Bar Suzuki Ignis Sport), 47m 32.55s