NOVICE CREW WIN REGIONAL FIRE & SECURITY SAFARI

Following this year’s established form for the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Mud Dogs Safari Championship, last Sunday’s (September 5) Regional Fire & Security September Safari produced the fourth different winners in as many events, as Novice crew Ben Norris and Darnley Rayside claimed their first overall victory in the Electric Avenue/Pitbull Energy Drink/Ace Engineering Land Rover Discovery.
Although they failed to win either of the two routes, finishing second on both, their total penalties of 390 gave them victory by a margin of 87 over the most experienced veterans in the event, Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux); when they won this year’s Shelbury Construction June Safari, Clarke became the first competitor to win the island’s longest-standing event five times, while it was the crew’s third victory together . . . but they were not quite a match for Norris and Rayside on Sunday.
And the winners were not the only Novices to shine on the day: Simon Parravicino and Christian Duncan (Toyota Hilux) drove an impressive second route, to win with 256 penalties, but the weight of penalties from their first route placed them 12th overall.
The Prizegiving was held at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association Clubhouse at Searles, Christ Church on Monday (September 5), where the trophies were presented by the general manager of Regional Fire & Security, Derek Curry; during the evening’s formalities, he took the opportunity to confirm his company’s continued support for the Mud Dogs into 2011.
Starting from the RF&S premises at Belle, St Michael, on Sunday morning, the first route headed via the Pool Plantation to the stopover at Chapel Plantation, St Philip; early leaders were Damian Brooker and Derek Edwards (Joe Brooker's Building/SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares Toyota Hilux), who completed the first route with a healthy total of just 18 penalties.
Norris and Rayside were already showing good form, with 100 penalties, while Dustin Edwards and Ryan Corbin (Blockman/Corbin’s Catering Services/Mahogany Ridge/Crane & Equipment/SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares Toyota Hilux) were third on 132. At this stage, Audley and Jeremy Croney (CC Motorsports Suzuki Samurai), were fourth on 142, with Armstrong/Clarke fifth on 162.
While the two Novice crews of Parravicino/Duncan (256 penalties) and Norris/Rayside (290) held the upper hand on route two, a different crew of experienced veterans finished third – Colin Goodman and Robin Hinds (Suzuki Samurai) chalked up 292, with Ricky Holder/Paul Marshall (Mitsubishi L200) fourth on 294 and Armstrong/Clarke again fifth on 315.
On a day when a consistent performance was important, Norris and Rayside delivered the goods, Norris claiming his third Novice Class win of the season – two with Rayside, while the first had come with Rhett Watson as Navigator – while Armstrong and Clarke finished just 16 penalties ahead of Brooker/Edwards.
Route setters Dominic Brooker and Stephen Dear were helped by Peter Bradshaw, the whole team enjoying praise from competitors at the Prizegiving. Mud Dogs Chairman Leslie Alleyne said afterwards: “A lot of praise was given to the first-time route setters for the organisation and attention to detail. It was a very muddy event, which made it all the more enjoyable while trying to navigate the tricky routes.
“The tone is now set for a thrilling end to the championship. I could not ask for a more exciting finish, and I think that the competitive spirit is going to be extremely high come October.”

Regional Fire & Security September Safari – September 5
Mud Dogs BRC Safari Championship, round 4
Results
1st Ben Norris/Darnley Rayside (Electric Avenue/Pitbull Energy Drink/Ace Engineering Land Rover Discovery), 390 penalties
2nd Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), 477pens
3rd Damian Brooker/Derek Edwards (Joe Brooker's Building/SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares Toyota Hilux), 493pens
4th Dustin Edwards/Ryan Corbin (Blockman/Corbin’s Catering Services/Mahogany Ridge/Crane & Equipment/SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares Toyota Hilux), 510pens
5th Ricky Holder/Paul Marshall (Mitsubishi L200), 531pens
6th Audley Croney/Jeremy Croney (CC Motorsports Suzuki Samurai), 662pens
7th Gregory Dickenson/Brian Fernandes (Toyota Hilux), 842pens
8th Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai), 904pens
9th Colin Goodman/Robin Hinds (Suzuki Samurai), 906pens
10th Michael Ward/Willie Hinds (Country Notions Maintenance/Jammin Catamaran Cruises/Brown Bell Graphics Suzuki Samurai), 912pens
etc
Route 1 – 1st Brooker/Edwards, 18pens; 2nd Norris/Rayside, 100pens; 3rd Edwards/Corbin, 132pens; etc
Route 2 – 1st Simon Parravicino/Christian Duncan (Toyota Hilux), 256pens; 2nd Norris/Rayside, 290pens; 3rd Goodman/Hinds, 292pens; etc

Novice class
1st Norris/Rayside
2nd Sinkler/Murrell
3rd Parravicino/Duncan, 1084pens – 12th o/a
4th Nicholas Pinto/Jamal Brathwaite (Suzuki Samurai), 1278pens – 13th o/a
5th Anthony King/Dave Sealy (Lee’s Tyre Services/Dynamic Limousine Toyota Hilux), 1514pens – 14th o/a
6th Dave Gibson/Anderson Williams (Suzuki Samurai), 2033pens – 16th o/a
etc
Route 1 – 1st Norris/Rayside, 100pens; 2nd Sinkler/Murrell, 254pens; 3rd King/Sealy, 402pens; etc
Route 2 – 1st Parravicino/Duncan, 256pens; 2nd Norris/Rayside, 290pens; 3rd Pinto/Brathwaite, 514pens; etc

For further media information, robin@bradfax.com