FORM BOOK OPENS FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

  Two former winners of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event started their preparations for Sol Rally Barbados 2013 in perfect fashion at the weekend. Victories for Jamaica’s Jeff Panton in Trinidad and local ace Paul Bourne in Barbados have kick started two months of debate across the region on the prospects for Sol RB13 (June 1/2).   Fans at Rally Trinidad (March 22-24), the first of the Caribbean’s ‘Big Three’ for 2013, enjoyed a battle between Panton (Total Ford Focus WRC06) and Neil Armstrong of Barbados in the Monster/Sol/Chefette/Digicel/Virgin Atlantic/Gunk/Hankook Tyres/Redline Fuels/Simpson Finance/Simpson Motors Suzuki SX4 WRC.   Although on his WRC debut, having claimed two-wheel-drive honours in Sol RB for the past two years, Armstrong achieved his first WRC stage win, and finished second to Panton over two days of high-speed loose-surface stages. During the event, Armstrong said: “We are trying to keep it relaxed and take it one stage at a time. There is so much to learn. We are having a blast, though!"   In Barbados, Bourne (Chefette/Banks/LIME/MQI/Castrol Focus WRC07) was fastest in both directions in Sunday’s (March 24) double-header ‘Spring Blaze’ tarmac sprint, organised by the Motoring Club of Barbados Inc, and also the opening rounds of the BRC’s Virgin Atlantic Championship.   Rally Barbados winner in 2003 and ’07, Bourne said: “I’ve been busy since November, so I really had to make a mental effort to switch back into motor sport mode. I felt good in the car, however, and wanted to go for the win in both directions, since I didn’t accomplish that last year.”   His closest challenger was Roger Skeete (Sol/Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 12-time winner of the BRC’s premier event, who was faster in the afternoon practice and first official run. He noted the importance of early-season events as preparation for Sol RB13: “We started cautious, given how things went at last year’s opening event. Also we are trying a few new things on the car, new bump and rebound settings, along with some different tyres.”   The stand-out performance of the day came from two-wheel-drive winner Josh Read, fastest on every run and third overall, winning SuperModified 10 in the Stihl/Gliptone/Hankook/SDRR/Weetabix/Royal Purple/EZone Toyota Starlet. A top 10 finisher in Sol RB for the past two years, Read said: “We are running a new Autronic ECU, which Dennis Heath really put some effort into tuning. We rebuilt the suspension and re-wired the car in the off-season and must now pull the differential for a check on that. It’s disappointing not to have Neil Armstrong in two-wheel-drive this year, but if I can’t get at him in the Starlet I’ll aim for the SX-4.”   Read’s most consistent challenger was Ian Warren (Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift), another regular top 10 runner in Sol RB. Happy with his day’s work, he said: “I’ve been smiling ear to ear. Today was a full day of testing, we changed settings on every run, barring the final one of the day. I don’t mind being behind Josh today, but this will be a very competitive year.”     European crews start final countdown to shipping date   With six weeks before the Geest Line freighter Agulhas Stream leaves Portsmouth in the UK carrying up to 30 cars entered for Sol Rally Barbados 2013 (June 1/2), European crews are making their final preparations. The confirmed sailing date in early May has focussed the minds of those still preparing their cars or needing extra test mileage.   At Rob Smith Rallying, which is re-building the historic Triumph TR7 V8 in which Rob and Ross Weir will make their second attack on the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international, company boss Smith told rallybarbados.net: “The car is currently in the paint shop, so we’ll send you a pic when it comes out! We’re flat out trying everything possible to have it ready!”   Martin Stockdale, who will make his 13th appearance in the BRC’s premier event this year, is using the Alan Healy Memorial Stages Rally (April 7) as a final shakedown before shipping his BMW M3 Compact. A single-venue tarmac rally at the Cadwell Park race circuit in Lincolnshire, it will also give Stockdale a chance to meet up with old friends.   The entry also includes the 2012 winner, Roger Duckworth (Subaru Impreza WRC S6), who has contested Sol RB as a prize-winner for the past two years, and Rob Swann in his Impreza. Swann said: “I’m really looking forward to Cadwell Park for some more tarmac, before the car ships . . . and it will be fun competing against Barbados regulars like Duckworth and Stockdale. We all have a lot in common, and a lot to talk about.”   Sol Rally Barbados (June 1/2) and Scotiabank King of the Hill (May 26) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB13 is the 24th running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the sixth 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.net; www.barbadosrallyclub.com