ARMAG MARCH SAFARI MAKES RALLY CLUB HISTORY

Barbados Rally Club (BRC) history was made last Saturday (March 5), when all three crews which finished on the podium of the ARMAG March Safari, opening round of the BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship, included female competitors. Winners Leslie and Anna-Lee Alleyne led home Brett and Biddy Barber, with reigning Ladies Champion Renata Roett navigating Edson Arthur to third.   The Alleynes were Champion Driver and Navigator in 2008 – a season when they also started their campaign with victory in the March Safari – but have competed rarely since, while Leslie concentrated on developing the Club’s Mud Dogs arm as Chairman of the Navigational Sub-committee; with that position now taken up by Warren Gollop, the husband and wife crew are glad to be back in harness.    Leslie said: “Its good to be back – we were a bit rusty at first and took a while at the beginning to get back into things. Once we got into the minds of the route-setters, though, all was well. I’m hoping to compete an all the events, although Anna-Lee may not always be with me.”   Their margin of victory in the Autozone Inc/Valvoline Mitsubishi Pajero – 221 penalties - was a significant one, particularly bearing in mind that there was a spread of less than 60 penalties across the next five finishers. The Alleynes were ahead at the stopover at Chapel Plantation, St Philip, and maintained their advantage to the finish at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Club House at Searles, Christ Church.   Gregory Dickenson and Peter Bradshaw were second after the first route in their Toyota Hilux, but slipped to sixth by the end of the day after a less successful run in the evening; Brett Barber and his mother Biddy were third on route one in the JE Security/Biddy's Visitor Information Mitsubishi Pajero.   As the event ran into the night, the Alleynes once again topped the results sheets on route two, 25 penalties clear of Nicolas Lorde, with reigning Chamion Novice Navigator Andre Murrell alongside him in the Niccolls & Edghill Construction/COMFEET/WOW Camp/NLEC Inc Suzuki Vitara. Tied in third place were Arthur/Roett and Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux) – Armstrong and Clarke were also involved in a tie in the overall results, joint fourth with Sean Dowding and Kirk Watkins (Axis Inc/Aerotec Services Inc/Huzier Ltd/Mahindra Motorsports Mahindra Pik-Up).   Among the seven novice crews which started, Hadley Green and Dane McConney started well in their Toyota Hilux, eighth after the first route; although they were 11th overall and third-placed novice crew on route two, their early lead was sufficient for them to hold on and claim the first novice trophies of the season.   The first route included a Challenge at Pool Plantation, which novice crew Anthony King and Dave Sealy tackled first in the modified Qwik Liner/Lee's Tyre Shop/Dynamic Limousine Toyota Hilux. They had some issues, which affected them later in the rally - causing them not to complete the second route – but were determined not to be towed. King said: “We just dove in there, there was no real plan or anything defined. We just worked our way through. It worked the truck really hard, but we would not give up.” Route two included a regularity test at Edgcumbe Plantation, which proved popular with competitors.   The season’s first Safari was set by a quartet of regular Mud Dogs competitors - reigning Novice Champion Driver Ben Norris and his navigator for most of last year, Darnley Rayside, Jeremy Croney and Audley Croney.   The Prizegiving for the ARMAG March Safari was held at the BCTSA Club House on Monday, March 7, where ARMAG boss Doug Armstrong presented the trophies.   ARMAG March Safari – March 5 Mud Dogs BRC Safari Championship, round 1 Results 1st Leslie Alleyne/Anna-Lee Alleyne (Autozone Inc/Valvoline Mitsubishi Pajero), 124 penalties 2nd Biddy Barber/Brett Barber (JE Security/Biddy's Visitor Information Mitsubishi Pajero), 345pens 3rd Edson Arthur/Renata Roett (Toyota Hilux), 354pens 4th equal Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux) and Sean Dowding/Kirk Watkins (Axis Inc/Aerotec Services Inc/Huzier Ltd/Mahindra Motorsports Mahindra Pik-Up), 403pens 6th Gregory Dickenson/Peter Bradshaw (Toyota Hilux), 404pens 7th Michael Ward/Willie Hinds (Country Notions Maintenance Suzuki Samurai), 472pens 8th Dustin Edwards/Ryan Corbin (Blockman/SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares/Crane & Equipment/Mahogany Ridge/Corbin's Catering Toyota Hilux), 503pens 9th Hadley Green/Dane McConney (Hunte Auto Spares/Automotive Art Toyota Hilux), 594pens 10th Mark Western/Robin Hinds (Yardman/Kar Parts Store/Gomez and Western Services Nissan Patrol), 641pens etc Route 1 – 1st Alleyne/Alleyne, 74pens; 2nd Dickenson/Bradshaw, 144pens; 3rd Barber/Barber, 170pens; etc Route 2 – 1st Alleyne/Alleyne, 50pens; 2nd Nicolas Lorde/Andre Murrell (Niccolls & Edghill Construction/COMFEET/WOW Camp/NLEC Inc Suzuki Vitara), 75pens; 3rd Arthur/Roett and Armstrong/Clarke, 85pens; etc   Novice class 1st Green/McConney, 594pens - 9th overall 2nd Simon Parravicino/Christian Duncan (Sweet Temptations Toyota Hilux), 662pens - 11th o/a 3rd Dominic Straker/Jamal Brathwaite (Toyota Surf), 1064pens – 14th o/a 4th Anthony King/Dave Sealy (Qwik Liner/Lee's Tyre Shop/Dynamic Limousine Toyota Hilux), 1937pens – 15th o/a 5th Richard Hinkson/Rasheed Mapp (Suzuki Samurai), 2196pens – 16th o/a 6th Sean Field/Jen Reader (Field Insurance Brokers/Ackee Tree/AM Realty Inc Mazda B2500), 2507pens – 17th o/a etc Route 1 – 1st Green/McConney, 299pens; 2nd Parravicino/Duncan, 427pens; 3rd King/Sealy, 667pens; etc Route 2 – 1st Parravicino/Duncan, 235pens; 2nd Straker/Brathwaite, 275pens; 3rd Green/McConney, 295pens; etc   BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship Qualifying rounds: Mar 5 - ARMAG March Safari Apr 16 - Mud Dogs April Safari May 1 - Mud Dogs May Day MudFest Jun 25/26 - Mud Dogs June Safari Sep 11 - Mud Dogs September Safari Oct 16 - Mud Dogs October Safari Nov 6 - Mud Dogs MudFest   For further media information, robin@bradfax.com