GILL & CRONEY WIN CHEFETTE APRIL SAFARI

Having finished second in last month’s curtain-raiser for the 2014 season, Derek Gill and Andrew Croney (Insurance Solutions/Sweet Temptations Mitsubishi Pajero) went one better last Sunday (April 6), winning the Chefette April Safari, round two of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Chefette MudDogs Safari and Safari Novice Championships.

It was the first victory for 2005 Champion Driver Gill since returning to regular competition last year after a few seasons away, and their first as a partnership since the November Safari in 2006, when Croney clinched the Champion Navigator title. Third in the 2013 June Safari was followed by a hat-trick of second places in September, October and then last month, so a victory was on the cards.

They amassed 442 penalties, winning by a margin of 72 points. Just three penalty points were spread across the next three crews, with an impressive performance from the highest-placed Novice crew of Damien and Brandon Johnson (Western Union Suzuki Samurai) netting them second overall.

Third were Wayne Manning and Willie Hinds (Zephrins Bakeries Suzuki Samurai), who had been among the route-setters for last month’s event, so were enjoying competition for the first time this year, with Leslie Alleyne and Chris O’Neal (Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max) fourth.

By its very nature, Sunday’s event was going to encourage close competition and MudDogs Chairman Ricky Holder, who had set the route with Philip McConney, was delighted with how the day went, despite coming just three weeks after the season’s first event: “I think it came off well, considering we only had one weekend to set it and one weekend to recheck. It was a comparatively simple event, as it was set to encourage the Novices . . . and that certainly seems to have worked, with some strong performances from our Novice crews. Also, sometimes, I think that the Pros tend to over-think things.”

Winning driver Gill agreed: “It was well thought through, with quite a bit of tricks along the way. We had to be very alert at all times and still made some errors. Thankfully, some of these were corrected in time. Mud would have been a bonus but the rain god is on holiday. No matter, we still had fun. Since 2006, Andrew was away for a couple of years and then I had some health issues, so we haven't really had too much competition together until ‘The June’ last year. I would like to think ‘we're back’”.

Alleyne and O’Neal, who won the March Safari, took the upper hand in the first route, which went through the island’s central parishes from The Mill, Canewood, St Michael to the Lunch Stop at Chefette, Charles Rowe Bridge, St George. With just 223 penalties, they had an advantage of 29 points over Manning/Hinds and Gill/Croney, tied in second place in 252, with Johnson/Johnson another five behind in fourth place.

The order shuffled on route two, which travelled in a loop back to Charles Rowe Bridge, Gill/Croney the winners on 190 penalties, with Audley and Jeremy Croney (CC Motor Sports & Friends Suzuki Vitara) second, 37 points behind; Richard Hinkson and Dean Springer (Eastern Veterinary Clinic/No More Turns Racing Suzuki Samurai) scored another hit for the Novice crews, third on 244, while early leaders Alleyne and O’Neal were down in seventh place on 294.

The potential for an even better competition, with five crews entered in the second round of the Chefette Novice Championship, suffered a blow when Michael and Joshua Broome (WOW Camp/12 Volt Auto Suzuki Jimny), who finished third in March, retired shortly after the start with mechanical problems, soon followed by Julian Kirton and Dominic Straker (Kirts Connection Jeep Wrangler), last month’s winners. Behind Damien and Brandon Johnson, Simon Parravicino and Jonathan Millar (Sweet Temptations Suzuki Samurai) finished second, with Hinkson/Springer third.

At last night’s (Tuesday) Prizegiving at the BCTSA Club House at Searles, Christ Church, Lisa Carter of Chefette gave what Alleyne described as “a very encouraging speech, which made us all feel privileged to have continued support from Chefette since 2010.” The Reigning Champion Driver added: “Competition was tight and many times you had to slow right down or stop to ponder your next move, which at times cost you points, especially in route two. Congrats to the winners and many thanks to all the marshals and officials.”

Chefette April Safari, April 6

Results

Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship, round 2 1st Derek Gill/Andrew Croney (Insurance Solutions/Sweet Temptations Mitsubishi Pajero), 442 penalties 2nd Damien Johnson/Brandon Johnson (Western Union Suzuki Samurai), 514pens 3rd Wayne Manning/Willie Hinds (Zephrins Bakeries Suzuki Samurai), 516pens 4th Leslie Alleyne/Chris O’Neal (Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max), 517pens 5th Audley Croney/Jeremy Croney (CC Motor Sports & Friends Suzuki Vitara), 544pens 6th Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), 703pens 7th George Mendes/Gary Mendes (G & G Sales & Service/Lunatics Inc Mitsubishi L200 Sportero), 790pens 8th Ryan Corbin/Dustin Edwards (Corbins Catering Services/Crane & Equipment Toyota Hilux), 808pens 9th Simon Parravicino/Jonathan Millar (Sweet Temptations Suzuki Samurai), 949pens 10th Warrick Eastmond/Trina Griffith (Daihatsu Feroza), 1034pens etc Route 1 – 1st Alleyne/O’Neal, 223pens; equal 2nd Manning/Hinds & Gill/Croney, 252pens; etc Route 2 – 1st Gill/Croney, 190pens; 2nd Croney/Croney, 227pens; 3rd Richard Hinkson/Dean Springer (Eastern Veterinary Clinic/No More Turns Racing Suzuki Samurai), 244pens; etc

Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship, round 2 1st Johnson/Johnson, 514pens – 2nd overall 2nd Parravicino/Millar, 949pens – 9th o/a 3rd Hinkson/Springer, 1479pens – 11th o/a 4th Julian Kirton/Dominic Straker (Kirts Connection Jeep Wrangler), 6500pens 5th Michael Broome/Joshua Broome (WOW Camp/12 Volt Auto Suzuki Jimny), 7750pens Route 1 – 1st Johnson/Johnson, 257pens; 2nd Parravicino/Millar, 546pens; 3rd Hinkson/Springer, 1235pens Route 2 – 1st Hinkson/Springer, 244pens; 2nd Johnson/Johnson, 257pens; 3rd Parravicino/Millar, 403pens