SKEETE WINS SUMMER NIGHTS TARMAC STAGES

Roger Skeete and Louis Venezia in the One World Group/Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S12 won the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Summer Nights Tarmac Stages on Saturday (August 6). In an action-packed rain-affected event, which was led by three different crews, accidents or mechanical dramas claimed more than one-third of the 27 starters.   Sean Gill and Michael Cummins (Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC) were on the pace from the start, winning the first run of the 4.2-kilometre stage from Pool to Society; they were just under one-quarter of a second faster than Paul Bourne and Ronald Plant in the Banks/Chefette/MQI/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07, with Skeete a further eight-tenths adrift.   Bourne fought back on stage two, half-a-second faster than Gill, to move into the lead, with Skeete still in third place. Afterwards, Bourne said: We started OK and were leading after the first three stages, which is an unfamiliar feeling. I then made two driver errors in stages four and five which caused me to slip back.”   Skeete took full advantage of Bourne’s errors, fastest on the remaining two daylight stages to assume the lead by the dinner halt; he was fastest on the three night-time stages, too, claiming victory by just over nine seconds. The winner noted: “We took a cautious start to the rally and stepped up over time. After the rain, we went on to wets, which were in much better condition than the slicks we had on before.”   Despite his errors, Bourne held on for second place, with Gill coming home a satisfied third: “We were swapping times with Skeete and Bourne and, in the night, we were just about a second off them. The lights were going off and on intermittently, so to be safe I eased a bit. Overall, though, I am happy with the performance of the car.”   Among the evening’s casualties was the final entry in Modified 8-WRC, Roger Hill and Graham Gittens in the Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC, which has developed a problem with its differentials, which makes the car unpredictable to drive. As Hill explained: “We turned in too sharply at the 90 by Colleton Plantation to compensate for the problem and the car sustained some damage from the inside kerb. We felt the change in the car, then when we went for the brakes for the next corner, the front right wheel came loose as the lugs broke which left me scrambling as the car lost control.”   Right behind Gill in the overall finishing order was the battle for supremacy in two-wheel-drive, separated at the finish by less than one second. Neil Armstrong and Barry Ward (Lubriguard Oils/Hankook Tyres/Nassco Toyota Starlet) lost more than eight seconds with an ‘off’ on stage one, but fought back to claim a narrow victory: “We had a good day despite the mishap - I overcooked it on the very first corner of stage one and had an off. The stage in the wet was very tricky, but I didn’t mind and it worked for the best.”   Class and two-wheel-drive opponents Ian and Robert Warren (Chefette/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift) did not have it easy, either, as Ian explained: “Today was good despite some ups and downs. I had the car in neutral at the start of one stage and lost some time, then I was red-flagged after Roger Hill’s incident, and in the night the lamp pod came loose.”   Geoffrey Noel and Kreigg Yearwood (Globe Finance/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Mix 96.9/Automotive Art/Cargo Solution International/CIAC Airconditioners Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) were the only Group N crew to finish in the overall results, sixth. Seventh overall, winning SuperModified 9, were Josh Read and Mark Jordan (Automotive Art/Baram Services/Weetabix Toyota Starlet), another crew not without their problems: “In the first run after the break the windshield was totally fogged and I couldn’t see more than 15 feet ahead. On the next run, with some Automotive Art FogX applied, we took 25 secs off that time.”   The top 10 was completed by M6 winners Dane Skeete and Tyler Mayhew (One World Group/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Peugeot 206), and the surviving SM11 crews, Alex Whitehead and Brian Hurley (FG Wilson Generators/AM Electrical Solutions/Sign Station BMW 328i) beating Andrew Jones and Graham Manning (A P Jones Pharmacy/Rally & Competition Equipment/Precision Automotive/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII) to the class win. BRC Summer Nights Tarmac Stages Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship, round 7 Results: 1st Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (M8-WRC One World Group/Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 16m 56.96s 2nd Paul Bourne/Ronald Plant (M8-WRC Banks/Chefette/MQI/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07), 17m 06.24s 3rd Sean Gill/Michael Cummins (M8-WRC Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC), 17m 16.06s 4th Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (SM10 Lubriguard Oils/Hankook Tyres/Nassco Toyota Starlet), 18m 13.87s 5th Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Chefette/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 18m 14.80s 6th Geoffrey Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (P4 Globe Finance/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Mix 96.9/Automotive Art/Cargo Solution International/CIAC Airconditioners Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 18m 34.80s 7th Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM9 Automotive Art/Baram Services/Weetabix Toyota Starlet), 19m 26.79s 8th Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (M6 One World Group/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Peugeot 206), 19m 37.15s 9th Alex Whitehead/Brian Hurley (SM11 FG Wilson Generators/AM Electrical Solutions/Sign Station BMW 328i), 19m 42.33s 10th Andrew Jones/Graham Manning (SM11 A P Jones Pharmacy/Rally & Competition Equipment/Precision Automotive/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII), 19m 55.74s Modified 8-WRC: 1st R Skeete/Venezia; 2nd Bourne/Plant; 3rd Gill/Cummins M8-A: 1st Avinash Chatrani/Julian Goddard (Electric Avenue/EA Mobile/Hankook/Solder Seal Gunk/Niagra Water/Lubrigold Synthetic Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 22m 15.65s Production 4: 1st Noel/Yearwood; 2nd Andrew Mallalieu/Rob Swann - ENG (Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10), 21m 45.08s SuperModified 11: 1st Whitehead/Hurley; 2nd Jones/Manning; 3rd Logan Watson/Jeremy Foster (The Unknown Entity BMW M3), 20m 36.95s SM10: 1st Armstrong/Ward; 2nd Warren/Warren; 3rd Ralph White/Joe Troulan (Barbados Villa Services/Island Safari Toyota Starlet), 20m 39.49s SM9: 1st Read/Jordan M7: 1st Kyle Catwell/Winston Thompson (Chicken Pen Racing/Carib Beer/Freekz Customz/Ellesmere Quarries/Cutters Of Barbados Volkswagen Golf GTI), 21m 16.56s; 2nd John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (Toyota Corolla), 21m 28.72s; 3rd Jeremy Sisnett/Justin Sisnett (M7 Ford Fiesta), 21m 49.60s; etc M6: 1st D Skeete/Mayhew; 2nd Jamal Brathwaite/Dario Hoyte (FG Wilson Generators/AM Electrical Solutions/Carib Beer/Meridian Windows and Doors/Chicken Pen Racing/AutoPlus Motors Inc/D2 Suspension/Kumho/Valvoline/Ellesmere Quarries Mitsubishi Mirage RS), 23m 37.51s P3: 1st Sean Field/Mayan McKenzie (P3 Field Insurance Brokers/Castrol Oil/Ackee Tree/AM Realty Services/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306), 21m 19.47s P2: 1st Conor Roach/Damien Moore (Peugeot 106 Rallye), 21m 44.29s; 2nd Paul Inniss/Kerry Downes (Bartex Concrete Works/Palmart/Newton’s Building Services Honda Civic), 23m 39.26s For further media information: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com web sites: www.barbadosrallyclub.com; www.rallybarbados.bb