CLARKE EASES AHEAD IN VIRGIN ATLANTIC POINTS

With six of 10 rounds run in the 2012 Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Driver’s and Class Championships, Modified 7 leader Daryl Clarke (Honda Civic) has increased his lead in the Overall title chase, thanks to a perfect score over the two weekends of Sol Go Further King of the Hill and Sol Rally Barbados 2012.   Meanwhile, the BRC is enjoying increased competitor numbers – 63 local drivers have participated in Virgin Atlantic Championship events so far this season, an increase of 11 per cent over last year’s total at the same point of 57.   Class wins in all three events – each day of Sol RB12 was a separate round – plus three bonus points as fastest in M7 on the Power Stage makes Clarke’s total 108. He is five ahead of Neil Corbin (Toyota Starlet) and Geoff Noel (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), the leaders of M6 and Production 4, who are tied for second, with SuperModified 11 leader Logan Watson (BMW M3) a further three points behind in fourth.   The four-wheel-drive points have been shuffled: Paul Bourne (Ford Focus WRC07) has jumped into first place - after his miserable weekend at King of the Hill, he finished second among the local competitors on the Saturday of Sol RB12 and winner on Sunday, so now leads Sean Gill (Suzuki SX4 WRC) by six points, with Noel and Roger Skeete (Subaru Impreza WRC S12) third and fourth.   The two-wheel-drive title chase could not be closer: Neil Armstrong (Starlet) and Watson each have 75 points, the former’s perfect record as top 2wd launching him into contention despite missing the first two rounds. Clarke is third, ahead of early leader Stuart Maloney (Peugeot 306 Maxi). SuperModified 11: Maloney’s advantage of six points after three rounds was cut to four at King of the Hill, when Watson’s last-run charge gave him the class win. The BMW driver’s two wins the following weekend, when Maloney didn’t score, made for a lead of 39 points. Also in BMWs, Alex Whitehead and Bryan Gill are within 12 points of Maloney SM10: Armstrong’s perfect score of class wins since his first BRC outing at the Valvolvine Shakedown Stages gives him a 21-point lead over Ralph White (Starlet), who is enjoying an excellent season, while Ian Warren’s (Suzuki Swift) engine woes on Sol RB12 leave him third, only one point ahead of Josh Read (Starlet) SM9: thanks to good early-season form, Allan Maynard still leads the Starlets at the sharp end of this competitive class. Three wins have brought Carlos Edwards to within three points of him, however, and the positions would switch if you applied the dropped-score rule now. Roger Mayers is now third, two points ahead of Clifford Cox, who has slipped from second M7: Clarke is unbeaten this year, his most recent successes pushing his advantage over Kyle Catwell (Volkswagen Golf) up to 42, with Sean Field (Peugeot 306 GTi6) another 12 points behind, neither scoring at King of the Hill M6 & M5 merged: Corbin has been beaten only once, by Jamal Brathwaite (Mitsubishi Mirage) at the Shakedown Stages, so leads by 47 points – that’s the biggest margin of all – with Brathwaite second, two points ahead of Wayne Archer (Peugeot 206) P2: Fabien Clarke (Suzuki Swift Sport) is alone in this class, but enjoys pitching himself against the field Clubman: a comfortable lead of 43 points reflects the fact that Jeremy Croney (Peugeot 206) has not missed an event; having only been in action since King of the Hill, Shannon Kirton (Nissan 120Y) is second, her total including three points for a satisfying win on the Power Stage, with David Brewster (Peugeot 205GTi) third, having switched from M7 Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship Provisional positions after round 6: Modified 8-WRC: 1st Paul Bourne (Chefette/LIME/Slam 101/MQI/Banks/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07), 90pts; 2nd Sean Gill (Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Monster Energy Drink Suzuki SX4 WRC), 78 points; 3rd Roger Skeete (Sol/Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Simpson Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 74pts; etc Modified 8-A: 1st Avinash Chatrani (Electric Avenue/Hankook/Solder Seal Gunk/Niagra Water/Sign Station Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 85pts; 2nd Graeme Finlayson (www.racedandrallied.com Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III), 37pts Production 4: 1st Geoffrey Noel (Globe Finance/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Cargo Solutions International/Mix 96.9FM/CIAC Air Conditioners Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 103pts; 2nd Mark Hamilton (CIBC-FCIB/Simpson Motors/MAXI Malta/PowerMaster/Boston Seasoning/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 58pts; 3rd Andrew Mallalieu (Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10), 50pts SuperModified 11: 1st Logan Watson (Oreo/Chips Ahoy!/Club Social/Formula1 High Performance Auto Care Products/Liquid Wrench/Sign Depot/The Unknown Entity/In support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3), 100pts; 2nd Stuart Maloney (Automotive Art/Sign Station/Valvoline Peugeot 306 Maxi), 61pts; 3rd Alex Whitehead (AM Electrical Solutions/Sign Station BMW 328i), 54pts; etc SM10: 1st Neil Armstrong (Chefette/Lubriguard/Hankook Tyres/Nassco/Redline Fuels/ARMAG Rentals Toyota Starlet), 78pts; 2nd Ralph White (Barbados Villa Services/Island Safari/Amsoil Toyota Starlet), 57pts; 3rd Ian Warren (Automotive Art/Simpson Motors/Degree Suzuki Swift), 47pts; etc SM9: 1st Allan Maynard (Marshal Trading/Roberts Manufacturing Toyota Starlet), 84pts; 2nd Carlos Edwards (Courts I-Finance/Enermax Toyota Starlet), 81pts; 3rd Roger Mayers (Chefette/Digicel/Delaware Dispensary/Illusion Graphics/Barbados Today WR Starlet), 63pts; etc M7: 1st Daryl Clarke (Ellco Rentals/Mom's Pasta Products/MQI/Roberts Manufacturing Honda Civic), 108pts; 2nd Kyle Catwell (Chicken Pen Racing/Kumho/Valvoline/Mackeson/Ellesmere Quarries Volkswagen Golf GTI), 66pts; 3rd Sean Field (Field Insurance Brokers/Castrol/Ackee Tree Restaurant/AM Realty Services/Landscapes in Harmony/Beacon Insurance Peugeot 306 GTi6), 54pts; etc M6 & M5 merged: 1st Neil Corbin (Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions/Castrol Toyota Starlet), 103pts; 2nd Jamal Brathwaite (Valvoline/Mackeson/Kumho/Ellesmere Quarries/Codgi’s Customs Brokers/Chicken Pen Racing/AutoPlus Motors Mitsubishi Mirage RS), 56pts; 3rd Wayne Archer (Peugeot 206), 54pts; etc P2: 1st Fabien Clarke (Barbados Business Listings/RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair/Simple Trucking Suzuki Ignis Sport), 59pts Clubman: 1st Jeremy Croney (Clubman ReMax Lifestyles/Sweet Temptations/Sign Station/Gunk Peugeot 206), 93pts; 2nd Shannon Kirton (Ullyett’s Machine Shop/Gomez & Western Services/Field Insurance Brokers/Cartique/Gatorade/Fritolay/Fingerprint Designs Datsun 120Y), 50pts; 3rd David Brewster (SRG Engineering/Castrol/Innovative Security Solutions/Gittens & Co/USG Armstrong/Ceiling & Floor Peugeot 205GTi), 11pts BRC 4wd Championship: 1st Bourne, 84pts; 2nd Gill, 78pts; 3rd Noel, 67pts; 4th Skeete, 59pts; 5th Roger Hill (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 57pts; 6th Chatrani, 55pts; 7th Dean Serrao (M8-WRC Sugar Ultra Lounge/Rush Restaurant Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 39pts; 8th Mallalieu, 29pts; 9th Finlayson, 21pts; 10th Hamilton, 15pts BRC 2wd Championship: 1st equal Armstrong & Watson, 75pts; 3rd Clarke, 55pts; 4th Maloney, 50pts; 5th Mayers, 46pts; 6th Warren, 41pts; 7th Josh Read (SM10 Stihl/Gliptone/Hankook/EZone/Weetabix/SDRR/Royal Purple Toyota Starlet), 40pts; 8th N Corbin, 34pts; 9th R White, 29pts; 10th equal Sammy Cumberbatch (SM11 LIME/F Taylor Associates/Castrol BMW M3) & Catwell, 21pts; etc For further media information: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com web site: www.barbadosrallyclub.com