Rally

President of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Jean Todt heaped praise on the island’s motor sport fraternity shortly before he left Barbados on Tuesday (August 8) after a one-day visit in his capacity as the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety. Speaking to the media at Bushy Park, he said: “In Barbados, a small country of less than 300,000 population, there are a lot of skilled people with energy and passion, which makes me very happy.”

After a dominant run of four straight WRC class wins, Jamaica’s Jeffrey Panton is the first competitor from the four-wheel-drive classes to lead the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Champion Driver title chase at the half-way stage since 2011. With four of seven rounds run, he is three points ahead of SuperModified 1 class leader Neil Corbin, while four more drivers are within 10 points of his total of 75.