CLARKE, WATSON AND WHITE GO DOWN TO THE WIRE

As competitors prepare for the final event in the 2014 Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Driver’s and Class Championships, front-runners Daryl Clarke, Rhett Watson and Stuart White are looking to the dropped score rule to give them the edge to claim the prestigious Champion Driver title. Clarke and Watson have each finished runner-up in the past two years, but for White this is uncharted territory.

Clarke and Watson approach the final round tied on 116 points, with White trailing marginally on 113; each driver must drop the season’s lowest score, however, which paints a far more intriguing picture, currently positioning White on 102 points between Watson (103) and Clarke (101).

As the final event of the season - the Winter Tarmac Sprint on Sunday, October 12 – is a double-header, offering up to a total of 30 points for two class wins, predicting the outcome is far from easy. While there are other class-leaders with a mathematical chance of easing into the top three positions at year-end, it would take a hugely bad weekend for all three of the leading protagonists for that to happen.

Reigning SuperModified 12 Champion Watson (Power King Batteries/Carter's Pit-stop/Gliptone/Stihl/Packaging Centre/The Unknown Entity/In support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3) was runner-up in last year’s Champion Driver title chase; he is unbeaten in the class this year, but a shortage of starters in the season-opener cost him points, while he also failed to maximise Power Stage points on Sol Rally Barbados.

Clarke (Roberts Manufacturing/P & N Hardware/Valvoline/Amir’s Chicken/MQI Quality/Mum’s Pasta Honda Civic), won the Modified 7 title in 2012, when he finished runner-up in the Champion Driver standings; while he claimed maximum Power Stage points on Sol RB14, a mechanical failure cost him the day two class win and an important five points.

White (39 Steps Wine Bar/Hunikom Swim Wear/UpBeat Wholesale/Makita/Guava Tech BMW 325), won the BRC’s new Historic class title last year; he has been beaten only once in 2014, but also suffered from a badly-subscribed class in the season-opener – he was the only entrant – so trails the others by a small margin.

The double-header format for the final means all bets are off! Predicting how each of the three major protagonists will perform is impossible, while the outcome of the Championships may ride on whether each of their classes is fully-subscribed – that means three starters for each of the two runs – and how each driver performs against the other. It is an event not to be missed.

Entries opened today (October 3) at Motorsport Services, Haggatt Hall, and will close at 1.00pm next Thursday (October 9); the Briefing Meeting, at which the running order will be published, is scheduled for 7.00pm the same evening at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association Clubhouse, Christ Church, where competitors will also have the chance to air their views about the running of Sol RB14.

After Scrutineering at the MTW Chance Hall Depot in St Lucy at 8.30am on Sunday, October 12, the event is slated for a 10.00am start. Round seven of the BRC Championship will run from Josey Hill to Lamberts, with the direction being reversed for round eight. The lunch break will be at around noon, with the finish expected to be at approximately 3.00pm.

Commenting on the venue, BRC Competition Secretary Neil Corbin said: “The stage is quite short . . . however, it has a few challenging areas that will test both high-speed and low-speed manoeuvrability, especially in the area of the hairpin between the cut rock. Many years ago, quite a few drivers found this section very challenging . . . unless you get it right, there’s lots of time to lose.

"This event will not be one to miss, as it represents the final two qualifying rounds for the BRC 2014 Championships!”

BRC Class Championship

Positions after round 6:

WRC-1:
1st Roger Skeete (Sol/LIME/Simpson Motors/Michelin/Williams Trading Inc Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 84 points;
2nd Paul Bourne (Chefette/Banks/MQI/Flow Ford Focus WRC07), 62pts

WRC-2:
1st Roger Hill (Nassco/Esso/Pennzoil/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 75pts

Group N:
1st Andrew Mallalieu (Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10), 81pts; 
2nd Mark Thompson (Glassesco Hardware/Stag Beer/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty Day Spa/Valvoline Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 63pts;
3rd Geoff Noel (Kola Kick/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Automotive Art/CIAC Air Conditioners/Dewalt Tools Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 27pts

SuperModified 12:
1st Rhett Watson (Power King Batteries/Carter's Pit-stop/Gliptone/Stihl/Packaging Centre/The Unknown Entity/In support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3), 116pts;
2nd Justin Campbell (Hilton Barbados/Dream Solutions/Castrol Edge/C & C Auto Services/Acton Corporate Services/Transtech BMW M3), 58pts;
3rd David St Hill (BMW M3), 51pts; etc

SM11:
1st Andrew Jones (AP Jones Pharmacy/Southern Surf Beach Apartments/Lucozade/Panadol/Precision Racing Ford Escort MkII), 79pts;
2nd Stuart McChlery (Lubriguard/Gunk Ford Escort MkI), 49pts;
3rd Dane Skeete (Rubis/Williams Trading Inc/LIME/Michelin Peugeot 306 Maxi), 29pts

SM10:
1st Josh Read (Stihl/Gliptone/Hankook/Cell Hut/Royal Purple/Weetabix/Chutney's/Ezone Toyota Starlet), 85pts;
2nd Roger Mayers (Chefette/Digicel/Illusion Graphics/Pennzoil WR Starlet), 38pts;
3rd Cliff Roett (Nassco/Roett's Garage/Mark's Auto Spares/Flock it Electrostatic Coatings Toyota Starlet), 33pts; etc

Modified 7:
1st Daryl Clarke (Roberts Manufacturing/P & N Hardware/Valvoline/Amir’s Chicken/MQI Quality/Mum’s Pasta Honda Civic), 116pts;
2nd Jamal Brathwaite (Valvoline/Automotive Art/Mackeson/Ellesmere/Chicken Pen Racing Honda Civic Type-R), 84pts;
3rd Edward Corbin (Valvoline/Prosales Toyota Corolla RunX), 60pts; etc

M6:
1st Brendon Mckenzie (Mck Motorsport/Turbo Plus Drink Mix/Do-It-Best Quality Paints/Colour XL/PromoTech Computers Toyota Corolla), 90pts;
2nd Jeremy Gonsalves (Makita/SSP/Star Products/Yamaha Opel Corsa), 73pts;
3rd Neil Corbin (Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions/Valvoline/BG Products & Services Toyota Starlet), 65pts

Clubman:
1st Eric Allamby (Shelbury Construction/Scrap Man Recycling/MC Buccaneer Toyota Corolla), 83pts;
2nd Fabien Clarke (RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair/Barbados Business Listings Suzuki Ignis Sport), 66pts;
3rd Trevor Mapp (Ellesmere Quarries/AS Autostop/Codgi's Insurance Brokers/Chicken Pen Racing Mitsubishi Colt), 42pts; etc

Historic:
1st Stuart White (39 Steps Wine Bar/Hunikom Swim Wear/UpBeat Wholesale/Makita/Guava Tech BMW 325), 113pts;
2nd Wayne Archer (Archers Hall Design Centre/Calvin Alkins Customs Services/Diamonds International BMW 325), 94pts;
3rd John Corbin (Valvoline/Automotive Art/Prosales/Corbins Garage Toyota Corolla), 42pts; etc

Group B:
1st Geoffrey Ullyett (Ullyett's Machine Shop Service/Chesterton Hydraulic Seals & Gaskets/Valvoline Oil/Algae-X Nissan 200T), 47pts

BRC 4wd Championship:
1st R Skeete, 90pts;
2nd Bourne, 64pts;
3rd Mallalieu, 62pts;
4th Hill, 50pts;
equal 5th Thompson & Noel, 19pts

BRC 2wd Championship:
1st Watson, 95pts;
2nd Read, 66pts;
3rd Jones, 59pts;
4th Clarke, 45pts;
5th Mckenzie, 43pts;
6th Mayers, 40pts;
7th Brathwaite 36pts;
8th E Corbin, 35pts;
9th McChlery, 30pts; equal
0th Brian Gill (SM12 Coca Cola BMW M3) & White, 29pts; etc