ROACH AND WATSON SHARE VIRGIN ATLANTIC LEAD

Conor Roach and Rhett Watson have eased ahead in the hunt for the coveted Champion Driver title in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Championship, despite not having everything their own way in their respective classes at Scotiabank King of the Hill (May 26) and Sol Rally Barbados 2013 (June 1/2).   Meanwhile, the BRC continues to enjoy growing competitor numbers – 69 local drivers have participated in VA Championship events so far this season, compared with 63 by the same point last year and 57 in 2011, an increase of around 10 per cent year on year.   Roach and Watson jointly lead the overall title chase, based on class results, with 105 points (scored from a possible maximum of 108); Geoff Noel is third (102), Josh Read fourth (96) and Andrew Jones, Roger Skeete and Ian Warren tied for fifth on 92. Six of the 10 rounds are now complete, with next month’s BRC Summer Nights Tarmac Stages (August 17) the next qualifier; drivers count their nine best scores at year-end.   Roach (Clubman Peugeot 106) and Watson (SuperModified 12 BMW M3) have been class-leaders since the start of the year, with wins in the Spring Blaze double-header speed event in March, shared with the Motoring Club of Barbados Inc, and in April’s Valvoline Rally. After the first three rounds, SM10 leader Read (Toyota Starlet) was also tied in the lead.   Intense competition over the two most important weekends of the year, however, changed things: Roach was beaten by Trevor Mapp (Mitsubishi Mirage RS) at King of the Hill, to slip two points behind Watson, who maintained his 100 per cent record, while Read also fell back, beaten by Roger Mayers (WR Starlet).   On the Saturday of Sol RB13 – each day is a separate points-scoring round – it was Watson’s turn for an upset, beaten by Brian Gill’s M3, although he bounced back with a class win and maximum Power Stage bonus points on Sunday. Roach claimed both class wins, but only two bonus points, to stay level with Watson, while Read slipped to fourth, beaten by Mayers on Saturday, then by both Mayers and Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift) on Sunday. Noel (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) has only failed to win Group N once – second to Andrew Mallalieu (Subaru Impreza N10) at King of the Hill - so has been consistent.   Read continues to lead the two-wheel-drive title chase, based on overall results, six points ahead of Warren, while WRC-1 class-leader Roger Skeete (Impreza WRC S12) heads Roger Hill (WRC-2 Toyota Corolla WRC) by 19 points in the 4wd Championship.   Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship Provisional positions after round 6:   WRC-1: 1st Roger Skeete (Sol/Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 92pts; 2nd Neil Armstrong (Monster/Sol/Chefette/Digicel/Virgin Atlantic/Gunk/Hankook Tyres/Redline Fuels/Simpson Finance/Simpson Motors Suzuki SX4 WRC), 64pts; 3rd Paul Bourne (Chefette/Banks/LIME/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07), 37pts   WRC-2: 1st Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 88pts; 2nd Dean Serrao (Sugar Ultra Lounge Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 59pts   Group A: 1st Avinash Chatrani (Electric Avenue/iShop Barbados/PowerBass/Formula 1/Sign Station/1 of K Jeans/Niagra Waters Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 66pts   GpN: 1st Geoff Noel (Globe Finance/Kick Energy Drink/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Automotive Art/CIAC Air Conditioners/Mix 96.9FM/Dewalt Tools Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 102pts; 2nd Andrew Mallalieu (Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10), 87pts; 3rd Mark Hamilton (CIBC-FCIB/Automotive Art/PowerMaster Batteries/Simpson Motors/Maxi Malta/Eaton’s Jerk Seasoning Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 24pts; etc   SuperModified 12: 1st Rhett Watson (Oreo/Chips Ahoy!/Armstrong Agencies/Power King Batteries/Unknown Entity/Hankook Tyres/SpringBoard Marketing Platforms/In Support of Little Pink Gift  BMW M3), 105pts; 2nd Martin Atwell (Ullyett's Machine Shop BMW M3), 67pts; 3rd Trevor Manning (Ritz/Club Social/Armstrong Agencies/Power King Batteries/Unknown Entity/Hankook Tyres/SpringBoard Marketing Platforms/In Support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3), 53pts; etc   SM11: 1st Andrew Jones (Lucozade/AP Jones Pharmacy Ford Escort MkII), 92pts; 2nd Eric Allamby (Shelbury Construction/Blakey’s/This & That Bajan/Scrap Man Recycling/Castrol/SDRR Hydraulics/Redline Racing Fuels/MC Buccaneer/Goodyear Tyres Toyota Corolla), 60pts; 3rd Dane Skeete (Rubis/Williams Trading Inc Peugeot 306 Maxi), 35pts   SM10: 1st Josh Read (Stihl/Gliptone/Hankook/SDRR/Weetabix/Royal Purple/EZone/Coffee Bean Toyota Starlet), 96pts; 2nd Ian Warren (Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift), 92pts; 3rd Roger Mayers (Chefette/Digicel/Pennzoil/Illusion Graphics/Hankook WR Starlet), 69pts; etc   SM9: 1st Rhett D’Andrade (Rent-A-Tool Daihatsu Charmant), 51pts; 2nd Carlos Edwards (I-Finance/Courts Barbados/Enermax Toyota Starlet), 32pts; 3rd Mark Kinch (Toyota Starlet), 22pts; etc   M7: 1st Edward Corbin (Valvoline/Automotive ArtProsales/Klarkodio/Corbins Garage Toyota Corolla RunX), 76pts; 2nd Daryl Clarke (Amir’s Fresh Chicken/Ellco/Mum’s Pasta/P & N Hardware/Robert’s Manufacturing Honda Civic), 74pts; 3rd Sean Field (Field Insurance Brokers/Castrol/Landscapes in Harmony/AM Realty/Ackee Tree Restaurant Peugeot 306 GTi6), 61pts; etc   M6 & M5: 1st Neil Corbin (M6 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions/Castrol/Emtage Electrical Toyota Starlet), 70pts; 2nd Sean Cox (M5 Simpson Motors/Gliptone/Johnsen’s Suzuki Swift Gti), 46pts; 3rd Wayne Archer (M6 Archers Hall Design Centre/Diamonds International/Calvin Alkins Customs Services Peugeot 206), 45pts; etc   Clubman: 1st Conor Roach (Chattel House Realty Peugeot 106), 105pts; 2nd Trevor Mapp (Valvoline Lubricants/Automotive Art/Mackeson Stoute/Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing/Freekz Customz/Codgi's Customs Brokers Mitsubishi Mirage RS), 73pts; 3rd Jeremy Croney (Warren’s Lubricants/SRG Engineering/Sign Station/Sweet Temptations Peugeot 206), 63pts; etc   Historic: 1st Stuart White (Lucky Locks BMW 325), 48pts; 2nd John Corbin (Valvoline/Automotive Art/Prosales/Klarkodio/Corbins Garage Toyota Corolla), 11pts   Group B: 1st Duane Johnson (Johnson’s Autos/Williams Tools/Cyrus Chickens/Dalls Catering/Castrol/Third Lane Performance/AS Auto Stop Inc/Sandy Thelius/Illusion Graphics/AG Agencies Ltd/Odoll’s Aluminium Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo), 46pts; 2nd Geoffrey Ullyett (Ullyett's Machine Shop/Algae-X/MG America Datsun 200Y), 37pts; 3rd Randy Reid (Double A Transport & Wrecker Service BMW 320i), 30pts   BRC 4wd Championship: 1st Skeete, 99pts; 2nd Hill, 80pts; 3rd Noel, 65pts; 4th Serrao, 53pts; 5th Chatrani, 51pts; 6th Armstrong, 49pts; 7th Mallalieu, 47pts; 8th Bourne, 39pts; 9th, Hamilton, 21pts; 10th Harold Morley (GpN Ontrac Telematics Inc Subaru Impreza N13 STi), 10pts   BRC 2wd Championship: 1st Read, 95pts; 2nd Warren, 89pts; 3rd Mayers, 66pts; 4th R Watson, 56pts; 5th Atwell, 38pts; 6th Jones, 37pts; 7th, N Corbin 34pts; equal 8th Manning & Brian Gill (SM12 Coca Cola BMW M3), 30pts; equal 10th, Brett Clarke (SM10 Williams Trading Inc/Western Union/Lucky Horseshoe Citroen C2) & E Corbin, 29pts; etc   For media information only. No regulatory value.   For further media information, robin@bradfax.com Web site: www.barbadosrallyclub.com