ALLEYNE AND O’NEAL WIN MARCH SAFARI

Three-time Champion Driver Leslie Alleyne and Chris O’Neal in the Simpson Motors/Rimula Lubricants/Spirax Lubricants/Sol Isuzu D-Max won last Saturday’s (March 16) opening round of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Chefette MudDogs Safari and Safari Novice Championships.   In the absence of reigning Champions Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke, who missed the event as driver Armstrong had a back injury, they faced a strong challenge from the experienced Audley and Jeremy Croney (Arthur’s Electrical/CC Motorsports Suzuki Vitara), who achieved the rare feat of incurring zero penalties on Route 1.   Alleyne and O’Neal fought back after the Dinner Stop, however, having started 25 penalty points behind; they collected just 293 penalties on Route 2, compared with 600 for the Croneys, giving them a winning margin of 282. Champion Driver and Navigator of 2007, Mark Western and Robin Hinds in the Kar Parts Store/GWS Nissan Patrol, finished third, a further 355 penalties adrift.   In the Chefette Novice Safari Championship, an unusually low entry of only three crews nevertheless produced some excitement. By the mid-point of the event, Damien Johnson/Corey Williams (Western Union Suzuki Samurai) and Joshua Plaza/Rashid Nakhuda (Boston Jerk Pit/Auto Solutions Suzuki Samurai) were tied in seventh place, equal on 425 penalties. The second route decided the matter, however, albeit by a narrow margin of 90 penalties in favour of Johnson/Williams.   Route 1 in the eastern parishes of the island started at Chefette Six Roads, St Philip, with the Dinner Stop at the Country View Bar, St George, with crews then heading west towards the Finish at Chefette Warrens. Route-setter Gary Mendes was given a fulsome vote of praise during the Prizegiving at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Club House at Searles, Christ Church on Monday (March 18).   Recalling his first Prizegiving since becoming MudDogs Chairman at the BRC’s recent AGM, Darnley Rayside said: “Gary did an exceptional job given the short notice, also having to re-do half the route while suffering from a fever. The crowd at the Prizegiving was the best I have seen for years and Audley Croney got up and thanked Gary for what he did, and said he hoped that he will set one in the future.”   In addition to the regular trophies for the top three Overall and in the Novice Class, the trophy for highest-placed female went to Trina Griffith, navigating for Warrick Eastmond in his Daihatsu Feroza. Novice winners Johnson and Williams also won the first driver challenge, while the second went to John Pinto and Nicholas Branson in the Amsoil Suzuki Jimny – each crew won a pair of MudDogs hats.   Pinto/Branson also won one of two Fun Prizes, for making the most errors on the BRC section in Route 1, as Rayside explained: “The prize was a plastic magnifying sheet, and Johnny would have won another for Route 2 as well, so we decided to give the second Fun Prize to the crew who got the most TVs (seven out of 16). This went to Wayne Manning and Willie Hinds.”   Rayside concluded: “It was great to see such a turn out and I hope it will continue. Although we only had 14 entries, I believe in the end everyone had fun. We are all looking forward to the Chefette April Safari, which is promising to be very challenging - but fun - according to route setters Jason Downey and Noel Edwards.” March Safari, March 16 Results Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship, round 1 1st Leslie Alleyne/Chris O’Neal (Simpson Motors/Rimula Lubricants/Spirax Lubricants/Sol Isuzu D-Max), 318 penalties 2nd Audley Croney/Jeremy Croney (Arthur’s Electrical/CC Motorsports Suzuki Vitara), 600pens 3rd Mark Western/Robin Hinds (Kar Parts Store/GWS Nissan Patrol), 955pens 4th Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai), 1004pens 5th Gregory Dickenson/Rorie McConney (Toyota Hilux), 1030pens 6th Dominic Straker/Ben Norris (Land Rover Discovery), 1145pens 7th Wayne Manning/Willie Hinds (AMAT Trading Suzuki Samurai), 1299pens 8th Damien Johnson/Corey Williams (Western Union Suzuki Samurai), 1353pens 9th Joshua Plaza/Rashid Nakhuda (Boston Jerk Pit/Auto Solutions Suzuki Samurai), 1443pens 10th Noel Edwards/Jason Downey (Esso Barbarees Hill/GWS Nissan Patrol), 1525pens etc Route 1 – 1st Croney/Croney, 0pens; 2nd Alleyne/O’Neal, 25pens; 3rd Sinckler/Murrell, 125pens; etc Route 2 – 1st Alleyne/O’Neal, 293pens; 2nd Western/Hinds, 555pens; 3rd Straker/Norris, 595pens; etc Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship, round 1 1st Johnson/Williams, 1353pens – 8th overall 2nd Plaza/Nakhuda, 1443pens – 9th o/a 3rd Nicholas Pinto/Jamal Brathwaite (Jeep Grand Cherokee), 4225pens – 13th o/a Route 1 – 1st equal Johnson/Williams & Plaza/Nakhuda, 425pens; 3rd Pinto/Brathwaite, 675pens Route 2 – 1st Johnson/Williams, 928pens; 2nd Plaza/Nakhuda, 1018pens; 3rd Pinto/Brathwaite, 3550pens Forthcoming events Round 2 - April 13 – Chefette April Safari May Day MudFest - May 1 Round 3 - June 29/30 – Sol Go Further June Safari Round 4 - September 15 - BRC MudDogs September Safari Round 5 - November 10 - Nassco November Safari For media information only. No regulatory value. For further media information, robin@bradfax.com Web sites: www.barbadosrallyclub.com, www.muddogsbarbados.com