Shakedown Stages will test readiness for BCIC RB25

Two-time Rally Barbados winner Dane Skeete is seeded at number one for Sunday’s BRC Shakedown Stages in his Subaru Impreza WRC S12

Posted on April 4th, 2025.

Sunday’s (April 6) BRC Shakedown Stages has attracted an entry of 60 cars, as crews from home and abroad ramp up their preparations for BCIC Rally Barbados 2025 (May 30-June 1) in just eight weeks’ time. With nine stages in the north of the island, the first closed road rally of the year will be a valuable test of competitors’ readiness for the island’s premier event.
Seeded at number one in the running order published at last night’s (Thursday) Briefing Meeting at Savvy on the Bay is Dane Skeete in the Subaru Impreza WRC S12 in which he has twice won Rally Barbados. After winning both directions of the Motoring Club Barbados Inc (MCBI) Spring Blaze Double-Header Sprint three weeks ago, he leads the BRC 4wd Championship after two rounds.
Reigning BRC Champion Driver Stuart Maloney starts at two in the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 he drove to victory in BCIC RB24, ahead of Jamaicans Kyle Gregg (Ford Fiesta Rally2) and Jeff Panton (Fabia Rally2 evo), two of 16 overseas competitors who have arrived in the island. Others include three-time British Rally Champion Matt Edwards, the Welshman returning as co-driver to Paul Horton of the Turks & Caicos Rally Team (Citroen C3 Rally2).
Adam Mallalieu, a front-runner in BCIC RB24 in his Ford Fiesta R5, will start at five, with British co-driver Steve McNulty again on the notes, and Mark Thompson at six, leading a four-car entry in Modified 4 in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. Top 2wd seed is the reigning SuperModified 2 and 2wd Champion Rhett Watson in his mighty BMW M3, who will start at 10.
Newcomers among the 12-strong FIA R5 entry – the event’s largest class - are Jamaica’s Tarik Minott, finally enjoying the regional launch of the Fiesta Rally2 he has rallied in Britain three times, and local former BMW driver David Husbands, who will debut his recently-acquired Volkswagen Polo GTI R5.
Overseas visitors also include British crew Chris Shooter and Bev Le Good, who will compete in the island for the first time outside Rally Barbados. Regular historic class winners in their Ford Escort MkII since 2014, they have stepped up to Modified 4 with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII FQ, the couple’s first four-wheel-drive competition car.
The 2wd classes look set for a hard-fought event, too. Even though Barry and Roger Mayers are both absent, awaiting engines for their Ford Fiesta and Toyota WR Starlet respectively, Watson will still face some challenges. Suleman Esuf debuts his Millington Diamond-engined Ford Escort MkII, Nigel Reece continues to climb his learning curve with the ex-Josh Read Toyota Starlet, while former BRC Champion Driver Ian Warren returns with a BMW formerly owned by Wayne Archer, saying he is looking to “have some fun with something a bit more powerful than the BimmaCup car”.
In other classes, Natya Soodeen has moved from her Clubman 2 BimmaCup to the Modified 1 Peugeot 208 R2 once rallied by Jamaica’s Pierre Beswick, while multiple BimmaCup Champion Ryan Wood now competes in Clubman 3 in a BimmaCup Too.
Junior Champion in the BRC’s 2024 Autocross series, Callum Kirton, is making a temporary switch from rear to front-wheel-drive in a borrowed Toyota Starlet Glanza in Clubman 1. While he finished BCIC RB24 co-driving for Spencer Hutchinson, as a first-time driver this year, he is required to compete in at least one rally ahead of BCIC RB25 and the BimmaCup he will drive then is not yet finished.
There are nine stages at popular venues in St Peter and St Thomas, three loops of Spring Vale (3.20kms), Rock Hall (3.10kms) and Sailor Gully (2.50kms), two before lunch and one after, the first morning run of Spring Vale scheduled to start at 10.45am and the first after lunch at 3.15pm. The Greenland Agricultural Station, St Andrew, is the Service Park for the day.

BRC Shakedown Stages - Sunday, April 6
2025 BRC Driver’s & Class Championships, round 3
Final running order at April 4:

1 Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (WRC Automotive Art/C O Williams Sand & Lime/Sol Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
2 Stuart Maloney/Kristian Yearwood (FIA R5 Imagine/M-Jet/Bushy Park Barbados/Sign Station Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)
3 Kyle Gregg – JAM/Orry Hunte (FIA R5 York Investments/B D Gregg Ford Fiesta Rally2)
4 Jeffrey Panton – JAM/Michael Fennell Jnr – JAM (FIA R5 KIG/Sandals Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo)
5 Adam Mallalieu/Steve McNulty - ENG (FIA R5 Terra Caribbean Ford Fiesta R5)
6 Mark Thompson/Ron Greaves (M4 Glassesco/Bio Beauty Day Spa/NKM Clothing/Realtors Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
7 Rob Swann – ENG/Tom Woodburn - ENG (FIA R5 GO Car Rental/Cygnet Plant/R A Swann Ltd Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo)
8 Mark Maloney/Justin Maloney (FIA R5 Imagine/M-Jet/Bushy Park Barbados/Sign Station Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo)
9 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (FIA R5 Mobil 1/Max Meyer/PPG Paints/MotorMac Skoda Fabia R5)
10 Rhett Watson/Andrew Croney (SM2 Chefette/Frosteez/Cargo BGI/Gliptone/Stihl/Hankook/Motul Oils/Bajan Pure BMW M3)
11 Andrew Mallalieu/Geoff Goddard (FIA R5 Terra Caribbean Ford Fiesta R5)
12 Paul Horton - TCI/Matt Edwards - WAL (FIA R5 Java Island/HO2 Construction/URBN Villas/Edge Development Citroen C3 Rally2)
14 George Sherman - USA/Scott Pinheiro – T&T (FIA R5 Tide Cleaners/GS InMotion Racing Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo)
15 Tarik Minott – JAM/Harry Walshaw - ENG (FIA R5 Minott Dialysis Supply Ford Fiesta Rally2)
16 Mark Kinch/Natasha Farnum (F) (SM2 Express Motors/Servall Inc/SignUp BMW Compact)
17 Kurt Thompson/Adam Straker (M4 Glassesco/Bio Beauty Day Spa/NKM Clothing/Realtors Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
18 Nigel Reece/Jason Tull (SM2 Subzero Services Ltd/Hankook/Royal Purple Toyota Starlet)
19 Kyle Catwell/Kayleigh Catwell (F) (M4 KFC/BCIC/Chicken Pen Racing/Thomas Tours/Ellesmere Quarries Audi TT-R)
20 Andrew Jones/Lindsey Pilkington (F) – ENG (SM2 Gale's Agro Products/GoOn/Weetabix/Tunnocks/Hankook/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII)
21 Suleman Esuf/Asif Suleman (SM2 Express Motors/Munch Hut/Y Esuf Auto Clinic Ford Escort MkII)
22 Brian Gill/Mark-Anthony Hinkson (SM2 BMW M3)
23 Neil Corbin/Jeremy Gonsalves (M2 Nassco/Stamina Energy/ColourXL/Auto Solutions/Pressout Performance Toyota GT86 CS-R3)
24 Ahmed Esuf/Ryan Ali (M3 Express Motors/Munch Hut/Casa Bella Lux/Versatile Construction Inc/Y Esuf Auto Clinic BMW M3)
25 Sean Merritt/Keenan Barker (OC Seven Creative Media Inc/MB Auto City Toyota Starlet Turbo)
26 Edward Corbin/Johnathan Alleyne (SM1 Valvoline/Pro-Sales/Bearded Hogs BBQ/Hilti/Bajan Pure Daihatsu Charmant)
27 David Husbands/Ryan Carrington (FIA R5 Volkswagen Polo GTI R5)
28 Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM2 Cargo BGI/Warren Coastal Lubricants/GuavaTech/ColourXL/Caribbean Autoglass & Accessories BMW 325)
29 Calvin Briggs/Fabian Morris (SM2 Ford Sierra)
30 Sean Corbin/Emily Kinch (F) (M2 Super S/Carters Pitstop/FOXIN/Bajan Pure/First Step Security/Westlake/GuavaTech/Gunk/Fabblast Barbados/M&M Tuning BMW 318ti Compact)
31 Wayne Archer/Castara Waterman (F) (SM2 Archers Hall Design Center/Total Sourcing & Supply/Arrow Woodworking/Arrow Construction BMW)
32 Darren Lashley/Jason Harewood (SM1 Toyota Starlet)
33 Kevin Armstrong/Kareem Gaskin (C3 DS Vroom/Armstrong Auto BMW)
34 Chris Shooter – ENG/Bev LeGood (F) - ENG (M4 Sparrowhill Cars Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII FQ)
35 David-Anthony Balgobin/Cekae Husbands-Forte (C2 DKK Industrial Supplies/Da-Shem-Rae Inc BimmaCup)
36 Chadane Holder/Shaquille Mayers (OC COB/Seven Creative Media/Carnique Transport Toyota Starlet)
37 Chris Hoad/Allan Alkins – T&T (C2 Subway/Dasani Water/Shell Lubricants/ColourXL/GuavaTech BimmaCup)
38 Stewart Gordon - ANT/Rene Forde (C2 BimmaCup)
39 Robert Ryan Wood/Tristan Mapp (C3 Carters Pitstop/Blue Waters/Caribbean LED Lighting/Hilti/Westlake/Sitemasters/Hilti/C & A Autobody Repairs/Perkins & Son BimmaCup Too)
40 Allan Kinch/Kyle Proverbs (C2 Savvy on the Bay/Yorkshire Agricultural/Tranquility Cruises/GuavaTech/ColourXL BimmaCup)
41 Shareef Walcott/Justin Lynch (OC Movements Plus/AutoBody Plus/Lil Griff Hardware/Reef Motorsports Toyota Corolla)
42 Kamal Quimby/Alex Barrow (C3 BMW)
43 Ross Callender/Damien Castillo-Marshall (SM2 Empire Building & Construction/Express Motors/The Tavern Pub/Hilti/HEL Performance/Percy King Autos Toyota Starlet)
44 Mark Huggins/Kyle Ifill (OC General Distributors Daihatsu Charmant)
45 Spencer Hutchinson/Gayle Hutchinson (F) (C2 Perkins & Sons ‘75’ Barbados Rum BimmaCup)
46 Savio Walcott/tbc (C2 BPWCCUL/Movements Plus/Autobody Plus BimmaCup)
47 Jason Downey/Kristina Pinto (F) (C2 BimmaCup)
48 Nick Morley - ENG/Raizer Stoute (C2 Remflow/Lithex BimmaCup)
49 Stuart Garcia/Rasheed Smith (M3 Kirba Inc/Smiths Engineering Works/GuavaTech/Time Out Car Rental BMW Compact)
50 Luke Cozier/Ben da Sliva (C2 BimmaCup)
51 Jayden Thompson/Jacob Mustor (C2 Glassesco BimmaCup)
52 Sebastian Thompson/Delano Hinds (C2 Glassesco BimmaCup)
53 Callum Kirton/Kai Shepherd (C1 Ullyett’s Machine Shop/DUCK Racing/Demon Tweeks Toyota Starlet Glanza)
54 Seth Edwards/Elijah Marshall (M1 Enermax/Be Social Citroen C2R2 MAX)
55 Antonio Springer/Felicia Springer (F) (SM1 Trey Vision Video and Photography Toyota Starlet)
56 Jamar Haynes/Jashani Haynes (M1 Honda Civic)
57 Natya Soodeen (F)/Sameisha Williams (F) (M1 Standard Distribution/NewTech/Mark's Auto Spares Peugeot 208 R2)
58 Shawn Brathwaite/Johnathan King (C1 Executive Air Ltd/Homeomart Barbados Toyota Corolla)
59 Kyle Gill/Gerrard Gill (C1 Expressionism/Executive Auto Centre/Adhoc Industries/Chicken Stop Mitsubishi Mirage RS Clone)
60 Harold Morley/Muta Cutting (F) (H2 Spectrum Antimicrobials Inc Porsche 911RS)
61 Brian Austin/Shamario Bruce (SM2 Sales Barbados BMW 318i)