CELTIC CROWD-PLEASERS CROSS THE CARIBBEAN

  Fresh from their recent exploits on Rally Jamaica, Celtic crowd favourites Glenn Campbell (Northern Ireland) and Allan McKay (Scotland) have confirmed that they will be returning for the 2012 running of the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international, Sol Rally Barbados (June 9/10).   They are among more than 30 entries already received on-line via the event’s official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb. Almost half are from overseas, and entries are arriving earlier than for Sol RB11, for which the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC) had received only 19 by the same time last year.   Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale said: “With exactly five months to go until entries close on May 14th next year, we are already nearly one-third of the way to our entry cap of 100 starters . . . to say I’m astonished would be an understatement, bearing in mind the difficult times people are facing all over the world.   “Five of the 12 international crews are new to the event, but it is always good to welcome back old friends, such as Glenn and Allan, who look set to be doing more rallying in the Caribbean than they do back home! The camaraderie among competitors and the lasting friendships that develop with fans in the island are among the key drivers to the success of the event, and these two guys exemplify that – long may it continue!”   Campbell will be paying his fourth visit to Sol Rally Barbados, returning with the Nissan Micra Kit Car in which he finished 30th overall last year; co-driven by Neill Finlay, this was his best result to date, and he missed out on the Modified 5 class win by just nine seconds to the Suzuki Swift Gti of local brothers Sean and Adam Cox.   Having previously said “if I only ever do one rally a year, it will be in Barbados”, Campbell (along with McKay) grew rather more adventurous this year and tackled Rally Jamaica, which celebrated its 20th Anniversary over the first weekend of December. Unlike Sol Rally Barbados, it is a gravel event, and a particularly tough one.   Co-driven by Joseph Gallagher, he placed 11th – just 13 of the 26 starters were classified as overall finishers – and was among only six of the 15 two-wheel-drive cars that started the event to complete all 21 stages run, a significant achievement on his first visit. Unopposed in class JA1, he also took home some trophies.   McKay’s priority tends toward entertaining the crowd, something he does with great style in his unique Ford Anglia WRC – in this instance, the acronym stands for Well Run Car! With co-driver Mo Downey, the two-day event started well, the Anglia second in class JA3 on the opening stage, just three seconds behind local ace Bobby Marshall, but suspension damage on stage two dropped them from the overall running. They returned for Sunday’s second leg, however, finishing 13th overall and JA3 class-winners for Leg 2.   Sol RB12 will be McKay’s third visit to Barbados – having retired with damaged steering in 2010, he finished 29th overall and fourth in SuperModified 10 this year with Stewart Davidson co-driving.   Sol Rally Barbados regulations posted on official web site   The Additional Supplementary Regulations (ASRs) for Sol Rally Barbados 2012 have been posted to the official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb; the pdf download can be found under the ‘competitor’ tab under ‘regulations’.   While the ASRs are broadly similar to last year’s, there are one or two key changes: + class awards will only be presented to competitors classified as overall finishers, although local competitors will continue to score BRC Championship points based on the traditional ‘two-thirds rule’ + each competitor classified as an overall finisher will receive a recognition award, while there are new awards for the top five historic cars overall, as well as class awards + in addition to the web site updates, printed results will be available to competitors from a ‘Results table’ as they arrive at the service park   Sol RB Chairman Barry Gale explains: “We recognise that amateur competitors have many options when it comes to ‘rally holidays’ so we listen carefully to all constructive criticisms. Our goal continues to be an event that is Barbadian in character, but which runs on regulations that are familiar to most of our visitors, many of whom offered valuable insights in both 2010 and 2011.”   Sol Rally Barbados and Shell V-Power King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB12 is the 23rd running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the fifth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.   For further media information: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com