VIRGIN ATLANTIC FINALE AT BLACK BESS

  For competitors in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Driver’s and Class Championships, the BRC Winter Gravel Rally at the Black Bess Plantation in St Peter on Sunday (October 30) is the final showdown. While the entry is unusually short on quantity, some quality competition is anticipated in those classes yet to be resolved.   The entry is headed by Trevor Manning, who won the Autumn Gravel Sprint at the beginning of this month, when the BRC returned to the iconic loose-surface venue for the first time since 2006; his co-driver in the FG Wilson/AutoLink/Garbage Master/Paints Plus/Hankook Ford Escort WRC will be regular partner of recent years Derek Edwards.   While nearly all of the island’s other Modified 8-WRC competitors are sidelined for one reason or another – Roger Skeete’s crew, for instance, have been unable to complete the rebuild of his damaged Subaru Impreza in time – Manning will face off for the first time against the Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC of Sean Gill. For Gill and co-driver Michael Cummins, Sunday’s event will provide further useful gravel seat time ahead of Rally Jamaica, which runs off over the first weekend of December.   In the classes, the key battles to watch are these: in Modified 7, veterans John Corbin (Toyota Corolla) and Jeremy Sisnett (Ford Fiesta) - he returned to competition at the start of this season - are separated by just one point; in Modified 6, reigning Champion Jamal Brathwaite (FG Wilson/AM Electrical Solutions/Carib Beer/Freekz Customz/Chicken Pen Racing/AutoPlus Motors/Kumho/Valvoline/Ellesmere Quarries Mitsubishi Mirage) is 12 points ahead of Neil Corbin (Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions/Castrol Toyota Starlet).   In SuperModified 11, Logan Watson looks set to claim the title in his first season with the ex-Jonathan Still BMW M3, in the absence of an entry from his closest challenger Calvin Briggs . . . but it was Watson who might not have been able to make it to the event in the first place.   From his current base in Canada, Watson said: “I wasn't sure if I would be able to make this last event due to an exam, but I was able to get the exam moved to this Thursday, instead of next Monday. So I will be able to attend the rally . . . and hopefully keep the lead and win the class championship.   “I was thrilled when I heard the news that I could do the exam early, as this is the first year with the BMW and a possible championship win in the class, as well as possible high placing in the two-wheel-drive and overall championship is more than I could have hoped for.”   In the two-wheel-drive title chase, Neil Armstrong’s total of 92 points cannot be beaten, but Watson could get within striking distance of that target, and therefore finish second, as neither the current second- or third-placed drivers, Ian Warren and Josh Read, are entered for Sunday’s event.   In the four-wheel-drive championship (these are based on overall, not class, results), Roger Skeete’s enforced absence from the last Black Bess event, dropped him to third (still on 92 points), behind Group N leader Geoff Noel (102) and fellow Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX driver Mark Hamilton (93). Gill is fifth on 82 points, so stands to benefit if those ahead of him hit trouble.   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 tomorrow (Saturday) 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 Winter Gravel Rally Virgin Atlantic BRC Class & Driver’s Championships, round 10 Provisional running order: 1 Trevor Manning/Derek Edwards (M8-WRC FG Wilson/AutoLink/Garbage Master/Paints Plus/Hankook Ford Escort WRC) 2 Sean Gill/Michael Cummins (M8-WRC Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC) 3 Geoffrey Noel/Graham Gittens (P4 Globe Finance/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Dewalt/Automotive Art/Cargo Solution International/CIAC Airconditioners Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 4 Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (P4 First Caribbean International Bank/Consumer Guarantee Insurance/PowerMaster/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 5 Andrew Mallalieu/Jeremy Foster (P4 Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10) 6 Logan Watson/Rhett Watson (SM11 The Unknown Entity BMW M3) 7 Jamal Brathwaite (M6 FG Wilson/AM Electrical Solutions/Carib Beer/Freekz Customz/Chicken Pen Racing/AutoPlus Motors/Kumho/Valvoline/Ellesmere Quarries Mitsubishi Mirage RS) 8 Ryan Wood/Brian Gibson (SM11 BMW M3) 9 Neil Corbin/Ryan Corbin (M6 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions/Castrol Toyota Starlet) 10 Nigel Reece/David Reece (SM10 Subzero Services/TGM Air Conditioners/Structural Systems/Ullyett’s Machine Shop Ford Escort MkI) 11 Rhett Watson/Sean Corbin (SM11 The Unknown Entity/Corbs Workz BMW M3) 12 Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (M7 Gale’s Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Fuels Toyota Corolla RunX) 14 Jeremy Sisnett/Justin Sisnett (M7 Ford Fiesta) 15 John Corbin/tba (M7 Toyota Corolla) 16 Jeremy Croney/Mario Clermont (Club Sign Station/Gunk/Hankook Peugeot 206)   For further media information: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com