Rally

Jamaica’s Jeff Panton is due to compete in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event for the 20th time this year, three decades after his first visit in 1994. Driving his Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo, the five-time winner is entered in Rally Barbados 2024 (May 31-June 2) leading a three-strong team from his home country, joined in the FIA R5 class by Kyle Gregg, while Horatio Brown moves up to SuperModified 2.

Twenty-five years after his first class win on the island’s premier event, reigning Barbados Rally Club (BRC) 2wd Champion Roger Mayers is gearing up to take the fight to all-comers in Rally Barbados 2024 (May 31-June 2). He finished eighth overall last year in his Toyota WR Starlet, equally splitting the 4wd cars that packed the top 15 but has no intention of returning to all-wheel drive to claim a second outright win.

The Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has paid tribute to Paul ‘Surfer’ Bourne, who passed away on Wednesday (February 7) at the age of 59. The two-time winner of Rally Barbados and former BRC Competition Secretary had been one of the island’s most formidable - and most popular - competitors for more than two decades until he stepped away from active motor sport in 2014.

Entries posted to date by local crews for Rally Barbados 2024 (May 31-June 2) comfortably exceed the number lodged this far ahead of the event in recent years. After 59 home-grown teams started RB23 – the highest number for a decade – RB24’s organisers are predicting another bumper year. Among them are two seasoned competitors, both of whom retired last year with engine failure and have spent the off season upgrading their cars to run in different classes.

Fresh from the first rally in his recently acquired Ford Fiesta Rally2, the Brands Hatch Winter Stages in the UK last Saturday (January 20), American George Sherman has confirmed his participation in Rally Barbados 2024 (May 31-June 2). He is the second driver now known to be stepping up to the FIA R5 class for the new season, along with local ace Logan Watson, who is joining the Skoda ranks.

Overseas entries for Rally Barbados 2024 (May 31-June 2) are nearing capacity just two months after on-line registrations opened. The provisional entry list passed 50 last weekend with International and Regional entries closing in on maximum numbers, and the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) is urging competitors to lodge their entries soon to avoid disappointment.

Former Barbados Rally Club (BRC) 2wd Champion Logan Watson is buzzing about his step up to the FIA R5 class in 2024, as he becomes the first local entry confirmed for Rally Barbados 2024 (May 31-June 2). The new owner of the Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo driven by Zane Maloney in Sol RB23 says: “I feel good about this new chapter. This car has really brought the motivation level back up to the top.”

Scotland’s Stewart Morrison has taken over the prize entry to Rally Barbados 2024 (May 31-June 2) offered at the Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally in the UK last October after the initial winner of the draw, Mike Curry, found he could not make the trip. Supported by Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, the prize covers entry to RB24 and the previous weekend’s King of the Hill, inclusive of return shipping for Morrison’s Ford Escort MkII from the UK to Barbados.

Mark-Anthony Hinkson has won the E-Sports R5 Rally Championship, presented by First Citizens, for the second time. In a dominant performance, the reigning champion won all five rounds of the competition, which is administered by Caribbean Sim Motorsport (CSM), a Member Club of the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF).

Fifteen new Champions have been added to the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Roll of Honour during 2023. In rallying and speed events, Ian Warren celebrates his 25th year in motor sport as the BRC’s Champion Driver for the first time and Roger Mayers has claimed his first 2wd Championship, while five other drivers have joined the list of Class Champions.