SERRAO MASTERS CONDITIONS AT BLACK BESS

Motor sport wins the battle of the elements At the wheel of the Sugar Ultra Lounge Subaru Impreza WRC S9, Dean Serrao displayed great commitment in challenging driving conditions to win the final two rounds of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Driver’s and Class Championships on Sunday (October 13) at the double-header BRC Winter Gravel Sprint at Black Bess in St Peter.   It was a day when the weather proved once again that all sides of island motor sport – competitors, spectators and officials – are ready and willing to rise above a seemingly insurmountable challenge. Heavy thunderstorms during the early hours of Sunday demanded quick thinking on the part of the BRC’s officials, while spectator numbers, thin in the morning, steadily grew as the day wore on.   Competition Secretary Neil Corbin said: “The rain caused us to immediately rule out the first mud section by the fruit trees, but we decided to attempt the new uphill section as it seemed to have been less saturated. However, we were wrong. After a drive through and practice run, where four-wheel-drives had to drive up mostly in first gear and two-wheel-drives were getting stuck everywhere, we were forced to cancel the course, have all the drivers sign a document agreeing to change the course and start all over again.   “This meant of course another drive through, practice and so on. The new course included a section that travelled north to the ‘triangle’ and spun around two barriers, doubling back on itself before making the left up the gravel hill. This was a great way to use the course, but the time taken to run the event was further extended as the next car could not start until the double-back section was clear.”   The downhill course, which was run for the second part of the day was a simplified course and slightly shorter, but no less a challenge for competitors, as Corbin testified: “We all enjoyed the speed coming down the hill into a very fast left-hander, before setting the car up for the left hairpin at the bottom.”   Among competitors who praised the Club’s efforts to make sure the event could be run was Stuart White, who campaigned his Historic class BMW. He said: “I had a great time, thanks for all the effort the Rally Club team put into the event.”   On the uphill run, Serrao was fastest in the practice run, then the first two official timed runs, heading Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC) by 1.3 seconds before the final run; although Serrao slipped down the order and Hill improved by 1sec, it was not enough, leaving Serrao the overall and WRC-2 winner. Hill fought back downhill, faster in practice and the second run, but still had to give best to Serrao by four-tenths at the end of the day.   The two-wheel-drive battle was intense: in the uphill run, Rhett Watson (SM12 Oreo/Chips Ahoy!/Armstrong Agencies/Power King Batteries/Unknown Entity/Hankook Tyres/SpringBoard Marketing Platforms/In support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3) was fastest in practice, ahead of Edward Corbin (M7 Valvoline/Automotive ArtProsales/Klarkodio/Corbins Garage Toyota Corolla RunX) and Neil Corbin (M6 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions/Castrol/Emtage Electrical Toyota Starlet).   In the official runs, Watson trailed the Corbins, Neil ahead on the first run, Edward ahead on the second, but Modified 6 winner Neil faster on the final run to claim fourth overall (behind Group N winner Geoff Noel’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) and two-wheel drive honours. Heading downhill, Edward had the upper hand in the Corbin battle, faster than Neil on every run, also beating Noel to finish third overall and top two-wheel-drive, while Championship contender Watson won SuperModified 12 in both directions.   Watson’s rival Conor Roach claimed two Clubman class victories in his Chattel House Realty Peugeot 106, beating Jeremy Croney (Warren’s Lubricants/SRG Engineering/Sign Station/Sweet Temptations Peugeot 206) by just seven-tenths uphill, but by a more than 1sec downhill. BRC Winter Gravel Sprint Sunday, October 13 – Black Bess, St Peter Virgin Atlantic BRC Drivers and Class Championships, round 8 1st Dean Serrao (WRC-2 Sugar Ultra Lounge Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 2m 03.03s 2nd Roger Hill (WRC-2 Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 2m 03.74s 3rd Geoff Noel (GpN Kick Energy Drink/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Automotive Art/CIAC Air Conditioners/Mix 96.9FM/Dewalt Tools Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 2m 06.82s 4th Neil Corbin (M6 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions/Castrol/Emtage Electrical Toyota Starlet), 2m 11.25s 5th Edward Corbin (M7 Valvoline/Automotive ArtProsales/Klarkodio/Corbins Garage Toyota Corolla RunX), 2m 13.09s 6th Rhett Watson (SM12 Oreo/Chips Ahoy!/Armstrong Agencies/Power King Batteries/Unknown Entity/Hankook Tyres/SpringBoard Marketing Platforms/In support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3), 2m 15.27s 7th Harold Morley (GpN Ontrac Vehicle Tracking/Booth Steamship/Crowley Shipping Subaru Impreza N14), 2m 16.79s 8th Jamal Brathwaite (M7 Valvoline Lubricants/Chicken Pen Racing/Mackeson Mitsubishi Mirage RS), 2m 18.67s 9th Conor Roach (Club Chattel House Realty Peugeot 106), 2m 19.32s 10th Jeremy Croney (Club Warren’s Lubricants/SRG Engineering/Sign Station/Sweet Temptations Peugeot 206), 2m 20.08s etc WRC-2 1st Serrao; 2nd Hill Group N 1st Noel; 2nd Morley SuperModified 12 1st Watson; 2nd Allan Maynard (Marshal Trading/Roberts Manufacturing/Lubriguard Lubricants Toyota Starlet), 2m 25.65s; 3rd Sean Corbin (Oreo/Chips Ahoy!/Armstrong Agencies/Power King Batteries/Unknown Entity/Hankook Tyres/SpringBoard Marketing Platforms/In support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3), 2m 24.74s SM9 1st Clifford Cox (SM9 Toyota Starlet), 2m 46.60s Modified 7 1st E Corbin; 2nd Brathwaite; 3rd Jeremy Sisnett (The Tiki Bar/Autolink/Indoor Plant Services Ford Fiesta ST), 2m 21.69s M6 1st N Corbin; 2nd Adam Alleyne (Green Meadows/Auto Solutions/Marks Auto Spares/Automotive Art Daihatsu Charmant), 2m 24.15s Clubman 1st Roach; 2nd Croney; 3rd Trevor Mapp (Valvoline Lubricants/Chicken Pen Racing/Mackeson Mitsubishi Mirage RS), 2m 28.67s Historic 1st Stuart White (Lucky Locks BMW 325), 2m 25.29s Virgin Atlantic BRC Drivers and Class Championships, round 9 1st Serrao, 1m 45.68s 2nd Hill, 1m 46.11s 3rd E Corbin, 1m 50.24s 4th Noel, 1m 51.32s 5th N Corbin, 1m 52.51s 6th Brathwaite, 1m 54.34s 7th Morley, 1m 57.36s 8th Roach, 1m 59.28s 9th Watson, 1m 59.65s 10th Croney, 2m 20.33s etc WRC-2 1st Serrao; 2nd Hill Group N 1st Noel; 2nd Morley SuperModified 12 1st Watson; 2nd Maynard, 2m 04.98s; 3rd S Corbin, 2m 16.47s Modified 7 1st E Corbin; 2nd Brathwaite; 3rd Sisnett, 2m 06.27s M6 1st N Corbin; 2nd Alleyne, 2m 07.77s Clubman 1st Roach; 2nd Croney; 3rd Mapp, 2m 08.46s Historic 1st White, 2m 12.67s For media information only. 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