SWANN, HILL TOP SUNOCO SHAKEDOWN STAGES ENTRY

Seeded at number one for Sunday’s (April 24) Sunoco Shakedown Stages, ahead of Roger Hill, Britain’s Rob Swann starts his final preparations for Sol Rally Barbados 2016. Driving his recently-acquired Subaru Impreza WRC S12B in anger for the first time, the 10-stage event presents an ideal chance for a warm-up before Flow King of the Hill and the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event over the next six weeks.

  Sporting a locally-wrapped new livery in deference to sponsors Elegant Hotels and Blue Sky Luxury, Swann’s car will first be seen at Scrutineering, between noon and 5.00pm tomorrow (Saturday) at Automotive Art Welches. Campaigned when new by Subaru World Rally Team drivers Xavi Pons and Petter Solberg, it was twice driven to victory on Italian events in 2012 by Polish ex-Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica.

  For Sunday’s event, Swann will have experienced local Sean Gill in the co-driver’s seat, a year since the former Rally Club Champion last saw action, when he sat with Jamaica’s Kyle Gregg, who finished second in Group N in the Shakedown Stages on his first-ever tarmac outing in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX.

  Three regional entries are also listed on the 29-car running order confirmed at last night’s (Thursday) Briefing Meeting at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Club House, Searles. With 10 stages offering 37.5 kilometres of competitive mileage – a little under one-third of the projected distance for Sol RB16 – Sunday’s event will give crews some valuable pointers as to where they stand against the opposition and whether their winter development work has paid off.

  Hill is the only other starter in WRC, his Toyota Corolla WRC repaired after rolling at the season-opener in March, while Group N promises a good contest: last year’s winner Andrew Mallalieu (Impreza N10), the only driver to have scored points this year, faces the Evo IXs of reigning class champion, Trinidad’s David Coelho, and Mark Thompson.

  Many eyes will be focused on the two-wheel-drive battle, particularly as Josh Read (Toyota Starlet) has already notched up two outright wins in the season’s early speed events; he faces some more serious opposition this time round, however, from Roger Mayers (WR Starlet), Dane Skeete (Peugeot 306 Maxi) and double BRC Champion Rhett Watson (BMW M3). Add in Daryl Clarke (Honda Civic), Neil Corbin (Starlet) and Andrew Jones (Ford Escort MkII), and the outcome will create fierce debate stageside.

  Ten special stages are planned at two venues, with the 9.30am start, lunch break and finish (approximately 4.30pm) at the Greenland Agricultural Station in St Andrew, with the Prizegiving shortly after. The stage venues are Four Hills to Orange Hill, which will run three times in the morning, alternating with two runs from Collins to Pickerings; in the afternoon, the stages will be reversed, with three runs of Pickerings to Collins and two from Orange Hill to Four Hills.

Sunoco Shakedown Stages - Sunday, April 24 Provisional running order at April 22:

1 Rob Swann – ENG/Sean Gill (WRC Elegant Hotels / Blue Sky Luxury / Cygnet Plant Subaru Impreza WRC S12B)

2 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (WRC Esso / Nassco / MotorMac / Pennzoil Toyota Corolla WRC)

3 Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM2 Sprite / Stihl / Gliptone / Hankook / Weetabix / Chutney’s / Urban Kitchen / Cell Hut / Cockspur Toyota Starlet)

4 Andrew Mallalieu/Geoff Goddard (GpN Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10)

5 Roger Mayers/Sean Corbin (SM2 Chefette / Digicel / Sol / DHL / Illusion Graphics / Hankook WR Starlet)

6 Mark Thompson/Kurt Seabra - GUY (GpN Rock Hard Cement / Stag Beer / Automotive Art / NKM Clothing / Bio-Beauty Day Spa / Slam 101.1FM / Versatile Construction / Glassesco Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

7 David Coelho – TRI/James Harris – ENG (GpN Zanzibar / Kaizan Sushi / VP Fuels / Total Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

8 Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (SM2 Sol / Flow / Automotive Art / Williams Trading Inc Peugeot 306 Maxi)

9 Rhett Watson/James Hutchinson (SM3 Chefette / Carter’s Pitstop / Stihl / Gliptone / The Unknown Entity in support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3)

10 Andrew Jones/Lindsey Pilkington – ENG (SM2 Lucozade / Caribbean Powder Coating Ford Escort MkII)

11 Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (M2 Roberts Manufacturing / Amir’s Chicken / Valvoline / MQI Collision Repair Honda Civic)

12 Jamal Brathwaite/Dario Hoyte (M2 Platinum Motors Collision Repair / Valvoline / Automotive Art / Consumers Guarantee Insurance / JSB Motorsport / Ellesmere Quarries Honda Civic Type-R)

14 Norman Catwell/Kyle Catwell (M2 Ellesmere Quarries / John Hardman Engineering / Jenvey / Elite Transmissions Volkswagen Golf GTI)

15 Stan Hartling - TCI/Andy Proudfoot – CDN (SM3 H Racing / Bambarra Rum BMW M3)

16 Paul Horton - TCI/Dwayne Forde (M2 Java Island / H Racing / Sky Motorsports Ford Escort MkI)

17 David St Hill/Ian Grimes (SM3 Solar Wind & Energy Solutions / Liqui Moly / Bimmer Specialist BMW M3)

18 Neil Corbin/Matthew Staffner (M1 Nassco / Jason Jones / Auto Solutions / Emtage Electric / BG Products & Services / Valvoline Toyota Starlet)

19 Jeremy Sisnett/Justin Sisnett (M2 The Tiki Bar / Autolink / Indoor Plant Services Ford Fiesta ST150)

20 Wayne Archer/Derek Edwards (M1 Archers Hall Design Centre / RW Water Peugeot 206)

21 Edward Corbin/Rodney Clarke (SM1 Automotive Art / Pro Sales / KlarkOdio / Hilti Daihatsu Charmant)

22 Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (M2 Gale’s Hatcheries / Nassco Toyota Corolla RunX)

23 Jermin Pope/Adam Cox (C1 Good Time Snacks / Uniform Factory Outlet / Glassesco / NKM Clothing / Slam 101.1FM / Tile Express Honda Civic)

24 Greg Cozier/Natasha Farnum (C2 Hyundai Trucks / BimmaCup BMW 318Ti)

25 Orry Hunte/Chris Haywood (M2 S G DeFreitas & Co Mitsubishi Lancer)

26 Rommell Martin/Rashid Phillips (C1 Winston Enterprises / Kola Kick / Slam Condoms / Fusion Boutique / B3 Imaging / VV&K Rentals Ltd / Candy Lane / Rallymaxx / Image Vault / Kevin Wood Photography Toyota Starlet)

27 John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (H2 Automotive Art / Pro Sales / KlarkOdio / Hilti Toyota Corolla)

28 Paul Inniss/Selena Kirton (C2 Durex / East Point Grill / The Chicken Shop Inc / Hugh Auto Body / Sun General Insurance / Drive-A-Matic Car Rentals / Caribbean Villa Chefs / JJ Racing Team / Illusion Graphics Honda Civic)

29 Pierre Clarke/Ezra Gibbs (C1 SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares Honda Civic)

30 Kevin-Jon Manning/Jason Tull (C1 Durex / KY / Flat 4s Barbados / Sunshade Tinting Studio / Pinder IT Peugeot 106 Rallye)