WINTER GRAVEL RALLY SET FOR BLACK BESS

  Following its successful return after some years’ absence to the Black Bess Plantation in St Peter for the Autumn Gravel Sprint at the beginning of the month, the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) will host the final round of this year’s Virgin Atlantic Driver’s and Class Championships at the same venue on Sunday, October 30.   The BRC Winter Gravel Rally will comprise eight stages, four in one direction, followed by a one-hour lunch break, then four in the opposite direction; competitors are required to arrive for scrutineering before 8.00am. There will be a pace-noting session the day before (October 29) at 9.00am; competitors must gather in the service area, first left after entering Black Bess, before being led through the stage at a controlled speed.   BRC Competition Secretary Neil Corbin said: “Due to the positive response from both drivers and spectators, the Club decided to seek permission to use this location once again to host this rally.  “Since this marks the end of the 2011 season, I would encourage all drivers, marshals and spectators to come out in their numbers and either take part or spectate . . . but definitely make an effort to stay for the ‘Cooler Lime’ that is to be held afterwards on the Southern spectator area to help us celebrate another successful year for the BRC.”   For competitors in the Virgin Atlantic Driver’s and Class Championships, this really is the ‘Last Chance Saloon’; while many classes are now resolved, there are still some battles to be settled. In Modified 7, veterans John Corbin (Toyota Corolla) and Jeremy Sisnett (Ford Fiesta) are separated by just one point, while the outcome of both SuperModified 11 and Modified 6 is still up in the air: in SM11, Logan Watson (BMW M3) leads Calvin Briggs (Ford Escort MkII) by seven points, with Jamal Brathwaite (Mitsubishi Mirage) 12 ahead of Neil Corbin (Toyota Starlet) in M6.   Following the last Black Bess event, Production 4 leader Geoff Noel (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) moved further ahead in the Overall Class Championship, with a total 135; fellow Group N driver Mark Hamilton (Evo IX) and SM10 leader Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift) are now closest to him, tied on 115, with M6 leader Brathwaite fourth on 108, ahead of John Corbin and Watson, tied on 99.   In the four-wheel-drive championship (based on overall results), Roger Skeete’s enforced absence from the Black Bess event, while awaiting parts for his Subaru Impreza WRC, has dropped him to third (still on 92 points), behind the former leader Noel (102) and Hamilton (93). In the two-wheel-drive title chase, Neil Armstrong’s (Starlet) margin has reduced to 10 points over Warren, with Josh Read (Starlet) another 10 behind, in turn just two ahead of Watson.   Entries for the BRC Winter Gravel Rally are open at Motorsport Services, in Haggatt Hall, St Michael, and will close at 12.00pm on Thursday, October 27; there will be a briefing meeting at 7.00pm the same evening at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Clubhouse at Searles, Christ Church, at which the running order will be announced.   SuperModified 11: two class wins at the double-header BRC Autumn Gravel Sprint at Black Bess allowed Logan Watson (BMW M3) to leapfrog from third place into the class lead, while Alex Whitehead’s (M3) absence dropped him first to third; Calvin Briggs (Ford Escort MkII) maintained second place, but could have been a mere three points behind Watson, had Graham Manning (Escort MkII) not made his first appearance of the year, keeping Briggs back in third place on both runs. Either Watson or Briggs can still win the class   SM10: having edged ahead by just three points with a class win in August, Neil Armstrong (Toyota Starlet) chose to sit out the Black Bess event, allowing Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift) to assume the class lead; Cliff Roett (Starlet) is third   SM9: with no entries in the BRC Autumn Gravel Sprint, there is no change   Modified 7: with just one point between the veteran John Corbin (Toyota Corolla) and returnee Jeremy Sisnett (Ford Fiesta), this is the closest year-end battle of all. Early-season points leader Kyle Catwell (Volkswagen Golf) had fought back with a class win in August in a borrowed Toyota Starlet, but his absence from Black Bess means he can no longer challenge for the class win   M6 & M5 merged: after a second consecutive class win in August had propelled Dane Skeete (Peugeot 206) to the top of the class, his return to study abroad has dropped him to third; reigning champion Jamal Brathwaite (Mitsubishi Mirage) has become the fourth driver to lead the standings this year, now with mid-season leader points leader Neil Corbin (Starlet), 12 points behind, the only man who could prevent back-to-back titles   Production 3: with no entries in the BRC Autumn Gravel Sprint, there is no change   P2 & P1 merged: with no entries in the BRC Autumn Gravel Sprint, there is no change   Clubman: with no entries in the BRC Autumn Gravel Sprint, there is no change   Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship Positions after round 9:   Modified 8-WRC: 1st Roger Skeete (Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 92 points; 2nd Paul Bourne (Banks/Chefette/MQI/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07), 84pts; 3rd Sean Gill (Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC), 80pts; etc   Modified 8-A: 1st Avinash Chatrani (Electric Avenue/EA Mobile/Hankook/Solder Seal Gunk/Niagra Water/Lubrigold Synthetic Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 85pts; 2nd Graeme Finlayson (www.racedandrallied.com Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS), 45pts   Production 4: 1st Geoffrey Noel (Globe Finance/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Mix 96.9/Automotive Art/Cargo Solution International/CIAC Airconditioners Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 135pts; 2nd Mark Hamilton (First Caribbean International Bank/Consumer Guarantee Insurance/PowerMaster/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 115pts; 3rd Andrew Mallalieu (Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10), 97pts; etc   SuperModified 11: 1st Logan Watson (The Unknown Entity BMW M3), 99pts; 2nd Calvin Briggs (Rocklyn Hardware Supplies/Sign Guyz Graphics/Sammy Lee Towing and Recovery/Freekz Customz Ford Escort MkII), 92pts; 3rd Alex Whitehead (FG Wilson Generators/AM Electrical Solutions/Sign Station BMW 328i), 76pts; etc   SM10: 1st Ian Warren (Chefette/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 115pts; 2nd Neil Armstrong (Lubriguard Oils/Hankook Tyres/Nassco Toyota Starlet), 92pts; 3rd Cliff Roett (Carters & Co/Lucky Horseshoe/Paulo’s Churasco Do Brasil/Roett’s Garage Toyota Starlet), 44pts; etc   SM9: 1st Josh Read (Automotive Art/Baram Services/Weetabix Toyota Starlet), 86pts; 2nd Brett Clarke (Citroen C2 S1600), 44pts; 3rd, Allan Maynard (Marshal Trading/Roberts Manufacturing/Pine Hill Dairy/Lubriguard/El Tigre Catamaran Cruises/Williams Equipment Toyota Starlet), 25pts; etc   M7: 1st John Corbin (Toyota Corolla), 99pts; 2nd Jeremy Sisnett (Ford Fiesta), 98pts; 3rd Kyle Catwell (Carib Beer/Freekz Customz/Ellesmere Quarries/Cutters Of Barbados Volkswagen Golf GTI), 73pts; etc   M6 & M5 merged: 1st Jamal Brathwaite (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), 108pts; 2nd Neil Corbin (Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet), 96pts; 3rd Dane Skeete (Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Peugeot 206), 89pts; etc   P3: 1st Sean Field (Field Insurance Brokers/Castrol Oil/Ackee Tree/AM Realty Services/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306), 78pts   P2: 1st Conor Roach (Peugeot 106 Rallye), 89pts; 2nd Fabien Clarke (Barbados Business Listings/Crimson Jade Consulting/RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair/Simple Trucking Suzuki Ignis Sport), 60pts; 3rd Paul Inniss (Bartex Concrete Works/Palmart/Newton’s Building Services Honda Civic), 58pts   Clubman: 1st Shannon Kirton (Diamonds International/Ullyett’s Machine Shop/Fingerprint Designs Datsun 160J), 58pts; 2nd Jeremy Croney (Quality Tyre/Lubriguard Peugeot 206), 13pts   BRC 4wd Championship: 1st Noel, 102pts; 2nd Hamilton, 93pts; 3rd R Skeete, 92pts; 4th Bourne, 84pts; 5th S Gill, 82pts; 6th Mallalieu, 61pts; etc BRC 2wd Championship: 1st Armstrong, 92pts; 2nd Warren, 82pts; 3rd Read, 72pts; 4th L Watson, 70pts; 5th Brathwaite, 55pts; 6th Whitehead, 50pts; etc   For further media information: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com