Rally

Rally Club remains committed to major events

Sol Rally Barbados 2020 and Flow King of the Hill, scheduled for the last two weekends in May, have been postponed. Following confirmation of the first two cases of Covid-19 in the island on Tuesday (March 17) and the escalation of the coronavirus crisis in the UK, the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has reacted quickly to confirm the news.

Rally Club monitoring coronavirus situation closely

With the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) innovative new ‘Test Stage’ just two weeks away (March 28), preparations are in high gear for the domestic rally and speed event season. As island drivers bring their competition cars to full readiness, so the local entries for Sol Rally Barbados have been flowing in, with last year’s winners Dane Skeete and Tyler Mayhew in their Sol/CO Williams Sand & Lime/Automotive Art Subaru Impreza WRC S12B topping approaching 30 already posted on-line.

Growth in competitor numbers, improvements in infrastructure

Describing 2019 as “an important year” for the Barbados Rally Club (BRC), Chairman Mark Hamilton reported a number of positives to the Annual General Meeting last night (Thursday). While citing growth in competitor numbers, upgrading of equipment prompted by revised vehicle regulations, improvements in infrastructure and satisfactory financial results, he also sounded a warning, however, that the Club and its membership “will need to continue working hard to maintain this in the coming years.”

Sol RB20 and Flow KotH join Cossie World Tour 2020

Sol Rally Barbados has today (March 5) been confirmed as a stop on the 2020 edition of American motor sport star Ken Block’s Cossie World Tour, which kicks off with Rally Mexico in 10 days’ time. With around six million followers on each of Facebook and Instagram, Block has become one of the most-recognised names in worldwide motor sport, with a huge boost in coverage of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event promised via the 751,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel.

‘Test stage’ a new addition to Rally Club calendar

Alongside the steady growth in the FIA R5 class for Sol Rally Barbados 2020, there is continued support for the more traditional four-wheel-drive classes. Confirmed today are entries for Ireland’s Peter Gallagher and Rupert Lomax from North Wales, each of whom will campaign a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI in the Modified 4 class, carrying the 4wd entries already posted on-line into double figures.

With the 2020 motor sport season about to get under way this weekend, the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF) has continued its programme of investment in training its senior officials. Owen Proverbs and Warren Gollop have each recently returned from overseas trips intended to further enhance their experience and skill sets as the BMF works to maintain standards and keep up with international developments.