Read digs deep to beat Gregg in Rally2 thriller

Josh Read won the second round of the 2024 Barbados Rally2 Championship sponsored by CIBC Caribbean on Sunday (April 28), holding off a determined late charge by first round winner Kyle Gregg of Jamaica to win by just 1.96 seconds. Britain’s Rob Swann finished third, while championship newcomer Adam Mallalieu impressed the huge turn-out of spectators – and his fellow-drivers – with his raw pace.

  While Stuart Maloney won the Barbados Rally Club’s Shakedown Stages overall, the first winner of the Barbados Motoring Federation’s (BMF) championship for R5 and Rally2 machinery in 2022 is no longer registered for points. Neither is his brother Mark nor 2023 Champion Jamaican Jeff Panton, as none were able to commit to a full season, which has opened the door for a new champion to emerge.
  The omens are good for a competitive season, with Gregg, Read and Swann covered by just five points at the top of the standings and all three recording stage wins on Sunday. Two popular venues in the north of the island were used for nine stages: in the morning, a 3.6-kilometre run from Lamberts to Luke Hill in St Lucy alternated with French Village to Four Hills (3.7kms) in St Peter, with three runs from Luke Hill to Lamberts after the lunchbreak, while French Village to Four Hills ran in the same direction.
  With co-driver Mark Jordan alongside in his Ford Fiesta R5, Read was quickest of the championship contenders on three of the morning stages, leading Swann by 2.5secs at lunch. Enjoying the company of Welsh co-driver Dylan Thomas for the first time in his Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo, Swann was second to Read on those three and pegged him back a few tenths with a stage win on the second Lamberts.
  Gregg and island co-driver Orry Hunte were third at lunch in their Fiesta Rally2, just over 8secs adrift of Read, part of that time lost on stage two when they encountered a slowing Dane Skeete in his ailing Subaru Impreza WRC S12. Battling over fourth place, just eight-tenths apart, Roger Hill and Graham Gittens (Fabia R5) had the upper hand over Logan Watson and Kreigg Yearwood (Fabia Rally2 evo).
  Andrew Mallalieu and Geoff Goddard (Fiesta R5) were sixth, 4secs ahead of Paul Horton of the Turks & Caicos Rally Team, with triple British Rally Champion Welshman Matt Edwards co-driving in his Citroen C3 Rally2, while the USA’s George Sherman (Fiesta Rally2) was the only other driver to have completed every stage, with Trinidad’s Scott Pinheiro on the notes.
  Competing in the Rally2 Championship for the first time, and the youngest driver this year at the age of 20, Adam Mallalieu was sixth of the registered drivers on stage one, but a mechanical issue resulted in him missing the last stage before lunch; championship rules, however, credit a driver with the slowest time for the run missed plus 20 per cent, so he still gets a result. The former Caribbean Junior Karting Champion, who had the experienced British co-driver Steve McNulty guiding him through his first rally, returned to set some quick times. He was sixth overall - third of the Rally2 Championship runners - with a very committed run through the day’s final Luke Hill stage, prompting Logan Watson, himself a newcomer to the field this year, to post on Facebook: “He is quick already with very little seat time. I think all of us have to watch out!”
  Reminiscent of his charge over the final stages of the opening round at the Motoring Club Barbados Inc Spring Blaze in March, Gregg was in determined mood, winning all five stages after lunch, chipping away at that 8secs gap . . . but Read dug deep to stay ahead and win by to just 1.96secs. Admitting to an error or two, Swann slipped to third behind Gregg, another 9secs adrift, with the rest remaining in the order at lunch.
  Read said: My objective was to come out of the box hot and try to get a bit of an advantage on the rest of the field. I wasn’t surprised that Kyle was creeping back up so I kept pushing until the very last stage. It was a good solid result, so confidence levels are high for Rally Barbados.”
  Gregg was equally pleased: “All in all a good day as the car is in one piece and we had no punctures. We made some suspension adjustments though and I'm very pleased so I'm looking forward to King of the Hill and Rally Barbados.”
  Swann, who had retired from last year’s Shakedown after he and co-driver Darren Garrod had an argument with a power pole, said: “We had a good day but I was very mindful of what happened 12 months ago. Dylan and I worked together really well. For Rally Barbados I need work at starting fast and making no mistakes.”

Barbados Rally2 Championship
Round 2 – Shakedown Stages (Barbados Rally Club)
St Lucy & St Peter – April 28
Results
1st Josh Read/Mark Jordan (Ford Fiesta R5), 18m 31.10s
2nd Kyle Gregg – JAM/Orry Hunte (Ford Fiesta Rally2), + 01.96s
3rd Rob Swann – ENG/Dylan Thomas - WAL (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), + 09.10s
4th Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (Skoda Fabia R5), + 24.70s
5th Logan Watson/Kreigg Yearwood (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), + 28.50s
6th Andrew Mallalieu/Geoff Goddard (Ford Fiesta R5), + 51.39s
7th Paul Horton – TCI/Matt Edwards - WAL (Citroen C3 Rally2), + 59.84s
8th George Sherman – USA/Scott Pinheiro – T&T (Ford Fiesta Rally2), + 4:18.48
9th Adam Mallalieu/Steve McNulty - ENG (Ford Fiesta R5), + 7:03.83s

Championship points after round 2
1st Gregg – JAM, 37 points; 2nd Read, 55pts; 2nd Swann – ENG, 32pts; 4th Hill, 26pts; 5th Watson, 22pts; 6th Andrew Mallalieu, 18pts; 7th Horton - RCI, 14pts; 8th Sherman – USA, 10pts; 9th Adam Mallalieu, 3pts

Remaining rounds: Rd 3, May 26 – First Citizens King of the Hill (BRC); Rds 4 & 5, May 31–Jun 2 – BCIC Rally Barbados 2024 (BRC); Rd 6, Sep 14 – Rally of the Sun & Stars (MCBI); Rd 7, Nov 17 – Winter Rally (BRC); Rds 8 & 9, Nov 30/Dec 1 – Special Stage Rally (VRMSC)
Key to organisers: BRC – Barbados Rally Club; MCBI – Motoring Club Barbados Inc; VRMSC – Vaucluse Raceway Motorsports Club

For media information only. No regulatory value.

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