Four drivers joint leaders of BRC Championship

Four drivers are currently tied in the chase for the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Champion Driver title ahead of next Sunday’s (April 6) third round, the BRC Shakedown Stages. Kevin Armstrong, David-Anthony Balgobin, Stuart Maloney and Rhett Watson have each scored 30 points in their respective classes.
  All claimed maximum scores in the Spring Blaze Double-Header Sprint (March 16) in St John, organised by the Motoring Club Barbados Inc (MCBI) and shared with the BRC as the first two rounds of its 2025 Driver’s and Class Championships. There will be nine rounds, concluding with the Winter Rally in October, with one dropped score.
  Sunday’s event will feature nine stages at popular venues in St Peter and St Thomas, as crews tackle three loops of Springvale (3.2kms), Rock Hall (3.10kms) and Sailor Gully (2.50kms), two before lunch and one after; the first morning run of Springvale is scheduled to start at 10.45am and the first after lunch at 3.15pm.
  Entries for the Shakedown Stages close on Wednesday (April 2) at 3.00pm, with the Briefing Meeting on Thursday at 6.30pm at Savvy on the Bay, after which the running order will be published. Scrutineering will be held from 7.30am on Sunday at the Greenland Agricultural Station, St Andrew, which is the Service Park for the day.
  As multiple champions, Maloney and Watson are on familiar ground, but leading the standings overall is a new experience for Armstrong and Balgobin. Driving a BMW 325, Armstrong won Clubman 3 in each direction of the MCBI event, while Karl Bovell (BMW 325) and Ryan Wood, moving up a class in a BimmaCup Too, shared the podium places.
  Unfortunately, Bovell may be on the sidelines for some time, unable to build on his early results, following an accident outside his home after the event concluded. Rally Club PRO Neil Barnard said: “We were shocked to hear of Karl’s accident and the Barbados Rally Club wishes him a speedy recovery.”
  Balgobin, who was crowned Motoring News Rookie Champion in the 2024 BRC Autocross Championship, was fastest twice in C2. Antigua’s Stewart Gordon was second in the first direction and reigning C2 Champion Chris Hoad third, while Hoad improved to second in the reverse runs, ahead of Greg Cozier, all driving BimmaCup cars.
  Maloney (Skoda Fabia RS Rally) was chased home in both directions by Jamaicans Kyle Gregg (Ford Fiesta Rally2) and Jeff Panton (Fabia Rally2 evo) in the FIA R5 class, which was the best subscribed of the day with eight starters. Dane Skeete was the overall winner both times in his Subaru Impreza WRC 12, so leads the 4wd standings.
  Watson (BMW M3) claimed his two wins in the SuperModified 2 class, as Andrew Jones (Ford Escort MkII) shared the podium places with Nigel Reece, on the first outing in his recently-acquired ex-Josh Read Toyota Starlet. Watson also leads the 2wd standings ahead of Jones and Reece, with Neil Corbin fourth after two Modified 2 class wins in his Toyota GT86 CS-R3.

BRC Class Championship
Positions after round 2:
WRC: 1st Dane Skeete (Automotive Art/C O Williams Sand & Lime/Sol Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 22 points
FIA R5: 1st Stuart Maloney (Rock Hard Cement/M-Jet/Bushy Park Barbados/Sign Station Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), 30pts; 2nd Kyle Gregg – JAM (York Investment Management/BD Gregg Ford Fiesta Rally2), 26pts; 3rd Jeffrey Panton – JAM (KIG/Sandals Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 22pts; etc
Modified 4: 1st Kurt Thompson (Glassesco/Bio Beauty Day Spa/NKM Clothing/Realtors Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 26pts; 2nd Kyle Catwell (Audi TT-R), 22pts
SuperModified 2: 1st Rhett Watson (Chefette/Frosteez/Cargo BGI/Gliptone/Sthil/Hankook/Motul Racing Oils/Bajan Pure Water BMW M3), 30pts; equal 2nd Andrew Jones (Gale's Agro Products/GoOn/Weetabix/Tunnocks/Hankook/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII) & Nigel Reece (Toyota Starlet) 24pts; etc
SM1: 1st Edward Corbin (Valvoline/Pro-Sales/Bearded Hogs BBQ/Hilti Daihatsu Charmant), 26pts; 2nd Darren Lashley (Prestigious Wheels/DKK Industrial Supplies/Starboy Performance Toyota Starlet), 22pts
Modified 2: 1st Neil Corbin (Nassco/Stamina Energy/ColourXL/Auto Solutions/Pressout Performance Toyota GT86 CS-R3), 26pts; 2nd Sean Corbin (Super S/Carters Pitstop/FOXIN/Bajan Pure Water/First Step Security/Westlake/GuavaTech/Gunk/Fabblast Barbados/M&M Tuning BMW 318ti Compact), 22pts
Clubman 3: 1st Kevin Armstrong (DS Vroom/Armstrong Auto BMW 325), 30pts; equal 2nd Karl Bovell (KB Equipment Rentals BMW 325) & Robert Ryan Wood (Carters Pitstop/Blue Waters/Caribbean LED Lighting/Hilti/Westlake/Sitemaster/Hilti/C & A Autobody Repairs/Perkins & Son BimmaCup Too), 24pts; etc
C2: 1st David-Anthony Balgobin (DKK Industrial Supplies/Da-Shem-Rae BimmaCup), 30pts; 2nd Chris Hoad (Subway/Dasani Water/Shell Lubricants/ColourXL/GuavaTech BimmaCup), 24pts; equal 3rd Greg Cozier (Perkins & Son BimmaCup) & Stewart Gordon - ANT (BimmaCup), 21pts; etc
C1: 1st Shawn Brathwaite (Executive Air Ltd/Homeomart Barbados Toyota Corolla), 22pts
Open Class: 1st Sean Merritt (Seven Creative Media Inc/MB Auto City Toyota Starlet Turbo), 22pts

BRC 4wd Championship: 1st Skeete, 30pts; 2nd S Maloney, 26pts; 3rd Gregg – JAM, 22pts; 4th Panton – JAM, 20pts; equal 5th Mark Maloney (FIA R5 Rock Hard Cement/M-Jet/Bushy Park Barbados/Sign Station Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) & Rob Swann – ENG (FIA R5 GO Car Rental/Cygnet Plant/R A Swann Ltd Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 17pts; etc
BRC 2wd Championship: 1st Watson, 30pts; equal 2nd Jones & Reece, 24pts; 4th N Corbin, 20pts; 5th E Corbin, 17pts; 6th Tremaine Forde-Catwell (SM2 Rude Boy/MIPA Autocolour/Ingenuity Pro Shop/Cheese Autoglass Finish Inc Daihatsu Charmant), 16pts; etc

For media information only. No regulatory value.

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