Rally

Former UK National Rally Champion Paul Bird will return to Sol Rally Barbados (June 4/5) this year with one aim in mind . . . victory in the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international; he will once again campaign his Ford Focus WRC08, but in its new Frank Bird Poultry livery, and shod with DMACK tyres.

When four-time Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Group Champion Neil Armstrong takes the start in the opening round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship (DTBRC) - Rallye Sunseeker International (February 25/26) - he will be representing his Caribbean island home against first-class drivers from eight other nations.

The Barbados Rally Club (BRC) is stepping up its marketing and promotion campaign for Sol Rally Barbados 2011 (June 4/5) this week, with confirmation of extensive coverage – and reader competitions – in a cross-section of motoring and lifestyle publications in the UK and Ireland. Supported by the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), this initiative brings the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international - and the island which hosts it – to the attention of nearly 1.5 million readers, a large percentage of them in affluent and influential market sectors.

Four-time Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Group Champion Neil Armstrong will contest the opening round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship. His entry in Rallye Sunseeker International (February 25/26) is a further boost to the major Sol Rally Barbados 2011 promotion already announced for that weekend.

Regional interest in Sol Rally Barbados (June 4/5, 2011), the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international, remains high. Two returnees from Trinidad & Tobago, one a former National Champion, are among the early entries received on-line at the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) official event web site, www.rallybarbados.bb.

Reigning Manx Rally Champion, 21-year-old rising star Connor Corkill, has entered Sol Rally Barbados 2011 (June 4/5) in a “fire-breathing” Ford Escort Mk I, to the delight of the Barbados Rally Club, which announced in November a range of incentives to attract the most exciting two-wheel-drive cars in Europe to compete in the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international.

The Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has joined forces with the London office of the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) to stage a major promotion for Sol Rally Barbados 2011 at Rallye Sunseeker International next month (February 25/26); based in the British south coast resorts of Bournemouth and Poole, it is for the first time the opening round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship.

Scottish teenager Alex Hall will become the first ‘second generation’ overseas driver to compete in the Caribbean’s biggest annual international motor sport event, when he makes his debut on Sol Rally Barbados (June 4/5) next year. Hall’s father Kenny is a veteran of the event – next year is his ninth visit - and a three-time class winner.