ALLEYNE AND O’NEAL WIN MUDDOGS SEPTEMBER SAFARI

Leslie Alleyne and Chris O'Neal won Sunday’s (September 20) MudDogs September Safari in the Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max, easing ahead in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship. While recent weather patterns had created a good degree of mud, Sunday’s heavy rains fell mostly on the west of the island, while the MudDogs were on the east coast, so had little further effect.

Alleyne and O’Neal’s victory created a new MudDogs record, as the first crew to win three consecutive events overall since the BRC’s off-road navigational championship was launched in 2004; the feat has been achieved in the Novice category, while more than one partnership has won two consecutive events overall, but never a hat-trick.

Ben Norris and Kirk Watkins in the Birdies Restaurant Ford Ranger claimed their best result of an impressively consistent season – seventh-third-third and now second – finishing 358 penalties adrift of the winners, after a strong performance in winning route two; it has moved them to second in the Driver and Navigator standings, with one round remaining in November. With the dropped score rule yet to be applied, the Chefette Championship is poised for an exciting conclusion.

George and Garry Mendes (G & G Sales & Services Inc Mitsubishi L200 Sportero) were the final podium finishers, just over 500 penalties behind Norris/Watkins, while Derek Pinto and Adam Hunte (Impulse Services Inc Toyota Hilux) clocked up a fourth straight Chefette Novice Championship win – another MudDogs record - finishing 10th overall.

The BRC MudDogs September Safari started at the Vaucluse Raceway, St Thomas, with the lunch stop at Chefette, Six Roads, St Philip, and the finish in the same parish at East Point Grill, Ragged Point. Route-setter was Sean Gill, four-time winner of the BRC’s longest-established event, the June Rally, which brought back happy memories for winner Alleyne: “It was great to see Sean back in the mix, as we had some good years rallying against one another in the 1990s. We really have to thank him very much for stepping in as a route setter . . . hopefully, it will trigger some memories and encourage him back to competition!”

Of Sunday’s Safari and the contribution of his Navigator O’Neal, Alleyne added: “We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves . . . the rally was full of surprises! For me, this rally was all about Chris - he was on fire! - and certainly bailed us out of the trouble spots when it counted. Thankfully, the rain did not factor into the mix very much as we were on the east coast and watched all the rain falling on the other side of the island. As always, the Isuzu worked flawlessly and we look forward to the last event in November.”

  After the Prizegiving at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Club House at Searles, Christ Church last evening (Tuesday), MudDogs Chairman Ricky Holder said: “Sean has not set an event in a long time and our competitors were really happy to have someone other than another competitor as route-setter. Unfortunately, he could not make the Prizegiving, but he did receive a big round of applause for doing it and the guys said that they look forward to him doing another when he has the time.”

BRC MudDogs September Safari, September 20 Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship – Round 4 1st Leslie Alleyne/Chris O’Neal (Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max), 522 penalties 2nd Ben Norris/Kirk Watkins (Birdies Restaurant Ford Ranger), 880pens 3rd George Mendes/Garry Mendes (G & G Sales & Services Inc Mitsubishi L200 Sportero), 1388pens 4th Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), 1450pens 5th Nicholas Lorde/Brett Barber (Comfeet/NL Engineering Inc Mitsubishi L200 Sportero), 1582pens 6th John Pinto/Nicholas Branson (Paints Plus GMC Sonoma), 1677pens 7th Wayne Manning/Willie Hinds (AS AutoStop Suzuki Samurai), 1753pens 8th Damien Johnson/Brandon Johnson (Western Union Suzuki Samurai), 1928pens 9th Nicholas Pinto/Jamal Brathwaite (Jeep Grand Cherokee), 1972pens 10th Derek Pinto/Adam Hunte (Impulse Services Inc Toyota Hilux), 1992pens etc Route 1 – 1st Alleyne/O’Neal, 320pens; 2nd Mendes/Mendes, 594pens; 3rd Lorde/Barber, 722pens; 4th Manning/Hinds, 765pens; 5th Norris/Watkins, 786pens; etc Route 2 – 1st Norris/Watkins, 94pens; 2nd Alleyne/O’Neal, 202pens; 3rd Armstrong/Clarke, 552pens; 4th Mendes/Mendes, 794pens; 5th Pinton/Branson, 850pens; etc

Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship – Round 4 1st Pinto/Hunte, 1992pens – 10th overall 2nd Richard Hinkson/Nicola Clarke (Flat 4's Barbados/Performance Imports Suzuki Samurai), 2363pens – 11th o/a Route 1 – 1st Pinto/Hunte, 890pens; 2nd Hinkson/Clarke, 971pens Route 2 – 1st Pinto/Hunte, 1102pens; 2nd Hinkson/Clarke, 1392pens

Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship Positions after round 4

Navigators 1st Chris O’Neal, 230 points; 2nd Kirk Watkins, 218pts; 3rd Garry Mendes, 214pts; 4th Brett Barber, 194pts; 5th Brandon Johnson, 192pts; 6th Warrick Eastmond, 184pts; 7th Willie Hinds, 172pts; 8th Wayne Clarke, 170pts; 9th Adam Hunte, 168pts; 10th Andrew Croney (Insurance Brokers & Solutions Inc Mitsubishi Pajero), 166pts; etc Drivers 1st Leslie Alleyne, 230pts; 2nd Ben Norris, 218pts; 3rd George Mendes, 214pts; 4th Nicholas Lorde, 194pts; 5th Damien Johnson, 192pts; 6th Michael Ward, 184pts; 7th Chris Armstrong, 170pts; 8th Derek Pinto, 168pts; 9th Derek Gill (Insurance Brokers & Solutions Inc Mitsubishi Pajero), 166pts; equal 10th Noel Edwards (Rubis West Indies/Barbarees Service Station Toyota Tundra) & Richard Hinkson, 144pts; etc

Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship Positions after round 4 Navigators 1st Adam Hunte, 240pts; 2nd Kevin-Jon Manning (Flat 4's Barbados/Performance Imports Suzuki Samurai), 172pts; equal 3rd Nicole Clarke & Nathan John (Suzuki Samurai), 58pts; 5th Kerry Renee (Sunshine Optimist Club Suzuki Samurai), 56pts; 6th Greg Gill (Suzuki Samurai), 54pts Drivers 1st Derek Pinto, 240pts; 2nd Richard Hinkson, 230pts; 3rd Alvin Leon (Suzuki Samurai), 114pts