GILL PREPARES FOR JAMAICA WITH BLACK BESS WIN

Sean Gill and the Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Monster Energy Drink Suzuki SX4 WRC were the class of the field when competitors in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) 2012 Virgin Atlantic Championship gathered at the popular Black Bess course in St Peter on Sunday (September 23) for the BRC Autumn Gravel Sprint.   The double-header, rounds eight and nine of the Championship – there is just one more qualifying round next month – was run in conditions more suited to the off-roaders of the BRC’s MudDogs division, such was the havoc wrought by the rain which had started well before sunrise and continued on and off throughout the day.   More than three seconds faster than the field on both the uphill easterly run in the morning and the downhill afternoon run, Gill beat Paul Bourne (Chefette/LIME/Slam 101/MQI/Banks/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07) into second place twice, Bourne returning to the loose for the first time in two years. Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC) and Dean Serrao (Sugar Ultra Lounge/Rush Restaurant Subaru Impreza WRC S9) finished third in the morning and afternoon respectively.   Gill said: “The car worked reliably after its engine rebuild and allowed me to have a pretty good lead up to Rally Jamaica. The water on the stage was the most challenging part, as it really took a lot more to drive the car today compared to last year.” Bourne echoed Gill’s comments about the water, adding: “It took me some time to settle in for the morning runs, but I felt much more comfortable in the car the afternoon.”   Despite the conditions, all 22 cars on the provisional entry list turned out, although not all ended the day unscathed. After some disappointments this season, Mark Hamilton returned to form, winning Production 4 on both runs, finishing fourth and fifth overall, while fellow Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX driver Geoff Noel, the reigning Champion Driver, damaged his suspension on a rock.   Points leader in the Champion Driver title chase before the weekend, Daryl Clarke (Honda Civic), did not have a good day, sharing class wins with Edward Corbin (Toyota Corolla RunX) . . . but the spirit of camaraderie in Modified 7 came through in his post-event remarks: “The event was not that good but it was still fun. The car did not like the water on the course as it cut out costing me time, but I still wasn’t too far off Edward. In the last morning run, aiming to overhaul him, I broke my axles on the way up the hill. For the afternoon I got the car fixed and then let Edward do a run in my car after his car broke down. We both had to call it a day when the axles broke again.”   Fastest two-wheel-drive up the hill was one of Clarke’s challengers for the Champion Driver title, Logan Watson (BMW M3), who won his class in both runs, helping his Championship hopes. Afterwards, he said: “I had a good day, as I got close to the group N cars. The mission was to score as many points as possible to seal off the 2WD Championship and to try and reel in Daryl in the Drivers’ Championship.”   In the afternoon, Watson was pipped to the 2wd victory by six-tenths of a second by a delighted Jamal Brathwaite, who has suffered a number of issues this year with his Mitsubishi Mirage RS. Brathwaite shared the Modified 6 class wins with Neil Corbin (Toyota Starlet), another contender in the Champion Driver title chase, which will not be resolved before the final event of the season. BRC Autumn Gravel Sprint Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship, round 8 Provisional results: 1st Sean Gill (M8-WRC Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Monster Energy Drink Suzuki SX4 WRC), 1m 48.17s 2nd Paul Bourne (M8-WRC Chefette/LIME/Slam 101/MQI/Banks/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07), 1m 51.23s 3rd Roger Hill (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 1m 55.85s 4th Mark Hamilton (P4 CIBC-FCIB/Simpson Motors/MAXI Malta/PowerMaster/Boston Seasoning/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 1m 55.97s 5th Geoffrey Noel (P4 Globe Finance/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Cargo Solutions International/Mix 96.9FM/CIAC Air Conditioners Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 1m 56.90s 6th Dean Serrao (M8-WRC Sugar Ultra Lounge/Rush Restaurant Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 1m 58.88s 7th Andrew Mallalieu (P4 Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10), 2m 01.58s 8th Logan Watson (SM11 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), 2m 03.92s 9th Neil Corbin (M6 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions/Castrol Toyota Starlet), 2m 05.88s 10th Edward Corbin (M7 Valvoline/Automotive Art/Prosales Toyota Corolla RunX), 2m 10.76s Modified 8-WRC: 1st Gill; 2nd Bourne; 3rd Hill; etc Production 4: 1st Hamilton; 2nd Noel; 3rd Mallalieu SuperModified 11: 1st L Watson; 2nd Calvin Briggs (barbadostoday.bb/Sammy Lee Towing and Recovery/Erie Tyre Services Ford Escort MkII), 2m 30.63s; 3rd Rhett 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), 3m 10.70s; etc SM9: 1st Carlos Edwards (Courts I-Finance/Enermax Toyota Starlet), 2m 14.16s; 2nd Karl Waterman (Toyota Starlet), 2m 27.04s M7: 1st E Corbin; 2nd Daryl Clarke (Ellco Rentals/Mom's Pasta Products/MQI/Roberts Manufacturing Honda Civic), 2m 11.24s; 3rd Freddie Gale (Gale’s Hatcheries/Nassco/Redline Fuels/VP Racing Fuels Toyota Corolla RunX), 2m 14.08s M6: 1st N Corbin; 2nd Jamal Brathwaite (Valvoline/Mackeson/Kumho/Ellesmere Quarries/Codgi’s Customs Brokers/Chicken Pen Racing/AutoPlus Motors Mitsubishi Mirage RS), 2m 17.04s; 3rd Wayne Archer (Peugeot 206), 2m 17.75s; etc Clubman: 1st Jeremy Croney (ReMax Lifestyles/Sweet Temptations/Sign Station/Gunk Peugeot 206), 2m 17.52s; 2nd Shannon Kirton (Ullyett’s Machine Shop/Gomez & Western Services/Field Insurance Brokers/Cartique/Gatorade/Fritolay/Fingerprint Designs Datsun 120Y), 2m 33.55s Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship, round 9 Provisional results: 1st Gill, 1m 54.40s 2nd Bourne, 1m 57.70s 3rd Serrao, 1m 58.24s 4th Hill, 2m 01.45s 5th Hamilton, 2m 04.07s 6th Mallalieu, 2m 09.66s 7th Brathwaite, 2m 13.35s 8th L Watson, 2m 13.94s 9th N Corbin, 2m 19.57s 10th Clarke, 2m 23.02s M8-WRC: 1st Gill; 2nd Bourne; 3rd Serrao; etc P4: 1st Hamilton; 2nd Mallalieu SM11: 1st L Watson; 2nd Briggs, 2m 43.24s; 3rd Sean Corbin (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), 3m 17.67s M7: 1st Clarke, 2m 23.02s; 2nd E Corbin, 2m 49.00s M6: 1st Brathwaite; 2nd N Corbin; 3rd Archer, 2m 29.39s; etc Clubman: 1st Croney, 2m 25.78s; 2nd Kirton, 2m 54.60s For further media information: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com web sites: www.barbadosrallyclub.com; www.rallybarbados.bb