WATSON CLAIMS SECOND HAT-TRICK OF TITLES

Rhett Watson was honoured for his second consecutive clean sweep of titles at the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Annual Prizegiving at Colleton, St John, on Saturday evening (December 5). The Champion Driver also carried away the SuperModified 12 and 2wd trophies (with co-driver James Hutchinson), as nearly 80 members of the island’s motor sport fraternity were rewarded for their efforts in 2015, including the Club’s invaluable volunteer marshals, who earend some of the loudest applause.

  The 4wd Championship was won by Roger Hill and Graham Gittens, while Hill also won free entry for the 2016 BRC Driver’s Championship as highest points-scorer in the 4wd classes; Watson (SuperModified), Neil Corbin (Modified), Wayne Archer (Historic) and Jeremy Croney (Clubman) will enjoy the same privilege next season, Archer and Croney also having finished second and third respectively in the Driver’s Championship.

  Among the evening’s awardees were long-standing marshals Jonathan Chandler, Luke and Missy Gittens, Wesley Nicholls and Everton Smart, each of whom received a trophy, presented by Biddy Barber, herself a BRC competitor and marshal of long standing; others were recognised in the Outstanding and Rookie Marshal categories.

  In the Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship, Chris O’Neal won the Sextant Challenge Trophy as Champion Navigator for the third year in a row, with Leslie Alleyne adding a sixth Champion Driver title, again taking home the Peter Farmer Memorial Trophy. Derek Pinto and Adam Hunte were Chefette Novice Champions, while Jamaica’s Christopher McFarlane won the Autocross Championship, dislodging former four-time Champion Omar Boodhoo.

  In a brief address, Club Chairman Mark Hamilton said: “It has been a reasonable year of motor sport in every area, highlighted by the biggest and best Sol Rally Barbados to date. It is encouraging to see that around one third of the awardees tonight are first time recipients, also to note that participation from regional competitors is growing, with David Coelho, Paul Horton, Jeff Panton and the recently transplanted (to Barbados) ‘Teach’ McFarlane all competing on a regular basis. I should also like to make a special mention of ‘Penti’ Powell, who at his own expense has been firmly entrenched in the growth of motor sport within Barbados and further afield.

  Hamilton also thanked the sport’s stakeholders, including the body of marshals – “a pivotal part of the sport’s success” – the Club’s committees, officials, partners and the media for contributing to another successful season, along with “the Armstrong family for the use of Colleton, the Pintos for the use of their front yard, Noel Edwards and Hutchy for cooking the pig and Paul Marshal for his support of tonight’s proceedings.”

Barbados Rally Club Annual Prizegiving List of Award Winners

BRC Driver’s Championship

Each driver received a trophy

Champion Driver: Rhett Watson (SM12 Chefette/Power King/Gliptone/Stihl in support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3), 128 points 2nd Wayne Archer (Hist Archers Hall Design Centre/Diamonds International/CACS BMW 325), 126pts 3rd Jeremy Croney (Club Warrens Lubricants/Sign Station/SRG Engineering/Sweet Temptations Peugeot 206XS), 125pts 4th Neil Corbin (M6 Nassco/Jason Jones/BG Products & Services/Auto Solutions/Valvoline/Max Meyer Paints/Emtage Electric Toyota Starlet), 119pts 5th Paul Inniss (M6 Durex/Sun General Insurance/Caribbean Villa Chefs/Chicken Stop Inc/Illusion Graphics/Hugh Auto Body/HIV Aids Commission/Erie Tyre Service/JJ Racing Team Honda Civic), 105pts 6th Jamal Brathwaite (M7 Platinum Motors/Valvoline/Automotive Art/R S Electrical/Ellesmere Quarries/JSB Motorsport/Chicken Pen Racing/Codgies Customs Brokers Honda Civic Type-R), 104pts 7th John Corbin (Hist Valvoline/Corbins Garage/Pro Sales Toyota Corolla), 100pts 8th Roger Hill (WRC-2 Nassco/Esso/Pennzoil/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 98pts 9th Daryl Clarke (M7 MQI Collision Repair/Mom’s Pasta Products/Roberts Manufacturing/Valvoline Honda Civic), 96pts 10th Rommell Martin (Club Winston Enterprise/Fusion Boutique/VV&K Rentals/B3 Imaging/Candy Lane/Rallymaxx Toyota Starlet), 89pts

BRC Class Championship

Each driver received a trophy. Hill (4wd), Watson (SuperModified), N Corbin (Modified), Archer (Historic) and Croney (Clubman) also won free entry (not inc insurance) to the 2016 BRC Championship

WRC-1 - Champion: Roger Skeete (Sol/Flow/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 56pts; 2nd Dane Skeete (Sol/Flow/Automotive Art/WTI Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 42pts; 3rd John Powell – T&T (Intercontinental Shipping/Trinidad Mooring & Launch Services Ford Focus WRC08), 28pts

WRC-2 – Champion: Hill, 109pts

Group A – Champion: Avinash Chatrani (iShop Barbados/Electric Avenue/PowerBass/Lenovo/1 of K/Copocabana/Sign Station Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 78pts Group N - Champion: David Coelho – T&T (Total/Lubetech/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi/www.machinerysalestrinidad.com/Quipsol Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 82pts; 2nd Andrew Mallalieu (Terra Caribbean/Blue Sky Luxury Subaru Impreza N10), 80pts; 3rd Mark Thompson (Automotive Art/Stag Beer/Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 49pts SuperModified 12 - Champion: Watson, 128pts; 2nd Justin Campbell (Dream Solutions/Itstaboo.com/Hunikom/Campbell Racing Team/Castrol/Hilton Barbados/One Media/Biz Needz BMW M3), 77pts; 3rd David St Hill (Solar & Wind Energy BMW M3), 53pts

SM11 - Champion: Andrew Jones (AP Jones Pharmacy/Southern Surf Beach Apartments/Lucozade Ford Escort MkII), 83pts; 2nd Stuart McChlery (Lubriguard/Gunk Ford Escort MkI), 31pts

SM10 - Champion: Josh Read (Stihl/Gliptone/Sprite/Hankook/Weetabix/Chutney’s/Royal Purple/EZone Toyota Starlet), 77pts; 2nd Neil Armstrong (Rubis/Chefette/Hankook/Nassco/GUNK Toyota Pitbull WRC), 55pts; 3rd Roger Mayers (Chefette/Sol/Digicel/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics WR Starlet), 54pts

SM9 - Champion: Clifford Cox (Snorkel Toyota Starlet), 63pts; 2nd Mark Kinch (Black Pearl Party Cruises/Jolly Roger 1/Rubis Kirtons/Ultraviolet Entertainment/Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum Toyota Starlet), 45pts Modified 7 - Champion: Brathwaite, 104pts; 2nd Clarke, 96pts; 3rd Kurt Thompson (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty/Digicel 4G/Beacon Insurance Honda Civic), 58pts

M6 - Champion: N Corbin, 119pts; 2nd Paul Inniss (Durex/Sun General Insurance/Caribbean Villa Chefs/Chicken Stop Inc/Illusion Graphics/Hugh Auto Body/HIV Aids Commission/Erie Tyre Service/JJ Racing Team Honda Civic), 105pts; 3rd Chris Williams (Cutters Barbados/Sun Flower Events/Solo/Royal Chinese Restaurant Ford Fiesta), 65pts Clubman - Champion: Croney, 125pts; 2nd Martin, 89pts; 3rd Pierre Clarke (SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares Honda Civic), 86pts Historic - Champion: Archer, 126pts; 2nd J Corbin, 100pts; 3rd Jonathan Ince (Ocean Fisheries/Hankook Daihatsu Charman), 84pts; GpB - Champion: Geoffrey Ullyett (Ullyett's Machine Shop Service BMW M3), 22pts

BRC 4wd Championship 

Each driver and co-driver received a trophy

Champions: Roger Hill/Graham Gittens, 125pts; 2nd Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia, 72pts; 3rd David Coelho/James Harris, 69pts; 4th Andrew Mallalieu/Geoffrey Goddard, 65pts; 5th Avinash Chatrani/Andrew Skeete, 63pts

BRC 2wd Championship

Each driver and co-driver received a trophy

Champions: Rhett Watson/James Hutchinson, 98pts; 2nd Neil Corbin/Matthew Staffner, 78pts; 3rd Andrew Jones/Lindsey Pilkington, 73pts; 4th Josh Read/Mark Jordan, 61pts; 5th Wayne Archer/Derek Edwards, 60pts Highest-placed female co-driver – Lindsey Pilkington

Special Awards

Rookie Award, a $1,000 Automotive Art gift voucher – Rommell Martin Richard Roett Memorial Trophy – Andrew Jones Golden Turkey Award – Daryl Clarke

Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship

The Champions received the Sextant Challenge Trophy (Navigator) and the Peter Farmer Memorial Trophy (Driver); second and third Navigator and Driver each received a trophy

Champion Driver & Navigator: Leslie Alleyne & Chris O’Neal (Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max), 236pts 2nd Ben Norris & Kirk Watkins (Birdies Restaurant Ford Ranger), 228pts 3rd Chris Armstrong & Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), 224pts

Chefette MudDogs Novice Safari Championship Each received a trophy and a Barbecue Barn voucher; the Champions also received free entry (not inc insurance) to the 2016 MudDogs Safari Championship Champion Novice Driver & Navigator: Derek Pinto & Adam Hunte (Impulse Services Inc Toyota Hilux), 240pts 2nd Richard Hinkson & Kevin-Jon Manning (Goodyear Tyres Suzuki Samurai), 234pts

BRC Autocross Championship

Each driver received a trophy

Champion: Christopher McFarlane - JAM (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X), 39pts 2nd Omar Boodhoo (Suzuki Swift), 26pts 3rd Stephen Edwards (Honda Civic), 25pts 4th Kevin Manning (Peugeot 106 Rallye), 21pts 5th, Roystone Hinkson (Peugeot 205GTi), 19pts

Marshals Awards

Each marshal received a trophy

Long-standing Marshal: Jonathan Chandler, Wesley Nicholls, Everton Smart; Luke & Missy Gittens (MudDogs) Outstanding Marshal: Orrie Brooms, Dexter Griffith, Selwyn Maloney; Adrian Sinckler (MudDogs) Rookie Marshal: Gerianne Bullard, Dannielle Burke, David Russell; Chris Thornhill (MudDogs)