‘MICEY’ MANNING IS BACK FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

  Trevor ‘Micey’ Manning is back! A former winner of the island’s premier event, popular with fans for his flamboyant driving style, he will compete in Sol Rally Barbados for the first time since 2009 . . . he replaces the injured Logan Watson in his BMW M3, nick-named ‘Crackers’, a rear-wheel-drive car that ideally suits Manning’s persona.   With co-driver Derek Edwards, Manning will also contest Scotiabank King of the Hill (May 26) and at least one other event in preparation for the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International on June 1/2; the arrangement was agreed at the weekend, Manning all smiles after his first brief test in the car yesterday (Tuesday): “I think it will be an exciting challenge and I’m looking forward to getting Micey back on the stages.”   The Ritz/Club Social/Armstrong Agencies/Power King Batteries/Unknown Entity/Hankook Tyres/SpringBoard Marketing Platforms M3 is one of two being run in support of the Little Pink Gift Foundation. Watson’s brother Rhett has taken over the two-door car campaigned by Logan last year – that one’s nick-named ‘Cookies’, with principal sponsors Oreo and Chips Ahoy! – for a concerted Championship campaign, while Logan was set on a different course.   Still recuperating in Canada, reigning Barbados Rally Club (BRC) 2wd Champion Logan said: “This year, the car was to be going sideways and driven very flamboyantly, so ‘Crackers’ was a name to suit. I was lying in bed all bandaged up, thinking of what to do as I wouldn't be able to drive, so the sponsors and, more important, the Little Pink Gift Foundation would get less coverage than they were supposed to.  “So I came up with the idea of speaking to Micey. Trevor is an A class driver and one who would definitely be able to go along with our theme of ‘Crackers’ and have the crowd screaming for more with the sideways driving.”   Brother Rhett agrees: “Trev will not only bring value to the team and the charity but also to the events he competes in. Micey was one of the most flamboyant drivers when I was growing up watching rallies . . . and I think the sponsors and fans will be extremely excited when they learn Micey is driving the car.”   On first acquaintance, Manning said: “I’ve already complained to Rhett that there was too much grip, and I couldn’t get the back out too much. But we were on some pretty grippy tarmac, so that didn’t help. I think it’s going to be exciting, and Derek and I are certainly looking forward to it.” As before Sean Lashley will be crew chief – as Micey remarked: “I walk with my team.”   There will be an official team launch in aid of the Little Pink Gift Foundation at the Carlton Supermarket car park, Black Rock, St Michael on Friday (April 26) at 5.00pm, with Rhett, Micey, ‘Cookies’ and Crackers’ all scheduled to appear, and Logan hoping that he will get the all-clear to fly back in time. The cars are now visible in supermarkets around the island, on ingenious end cap displays for the products identified on the cars - Chips Ahoy!, Oreo, Ritz, Club Social; five per cent of all sales of these selected products will be donated to the Little Pink Gift Foundation.   Eleven times a top 10 finisher in the island’s premier event, Manning won in 1999 in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V, having tied for third (Evo III) with Jamaica’s Doug Gore the previous year. He has a further four further podium finishes to his credit - second in 2000 and ’01 (Evo V), third in ’04 and ’06 (Evo VIII) - as well as class wins in 1996 (Lancer Turbo) and 2002 (Evo V).     Verbaas makes ready for cross-Channel trip   Dutch Mini enthusiast Frans Verbaas – his family have more than 20 examples between them – is making final preparations for his 10th Anniversary visit to Sol Rally Barbados; with all the International cars due at Portsmouth on the English south coast within the next 10 days, Verbaas faces an additional journey from his base the Netherlands as the only competitor from mainland Europe.   The four-time Dutch Rally Champion (1998 to 2001) is bringing his distinctive self-built Group B Mini, dubbed ‘The Clockwork Orange’ by Britain’s popular Mini Magazine, for the fifth time. Created to mark the 50th Anniversary of the iconic marque in 2009, it is built around much of the running gear from the Opel Astra Kit Car in which he first contested Rally Barbados in 2003.   Last year, he claimed his second Group B win – the first had come in 2010 – with Carina van Westen his co-driver in Barbados for the first time; she was a late stand-in for Kees Hagman, who had been injured just a few weeks before. Now fully recovered, Hagman will return to compete with Verbaas, seeking a third class win.   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