THIRTY CARS FOR HO2 CONSTRUCTION WINTER RALLY

Champion Driver and Class titles to be settled on Sunday

Dane Skeete and Tyler Mayhew are seeded at number one for the final round of the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Driver’s & Class Championships on Sunday (October 27) in their Sol Rally Barbados-winning Subaru Impreza WRC S12B. Thirty crews were confirmed on the running order for the HO2 Construction Winter Rally at last night’s Briefing Meeting at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Clubhouse, Searles, Christ Church.

Lined up behind them, a further five four-wheel-drive entries include Andrew Mallalieu’s first outing in a Rally Club event in his recently-acquired Ford Fiesta R5 and Scotland’s Fraser Louden (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Proto), who makes his first appearance in an island event outside Rally Barbados and King of the Hill. The leading two-wheel-drive seed Andrew Jones in his Ford Escort MkII has reverted to the SuperModified 2 class where he will face Roger Mayers (Toyota Starlet) – these two will start at seven and eight respectively - and Rhett Watson (BMW M3), while Watson’s brother Logan completes the top 10 in his Modified 3 BMW M3.

Scrutineering will be held tomorrow (Saturday) at Platinum Motors, Fontabelle, Bridgetown, giving island fans their last chance this season to mingle with competitors ahead of the action. Technical checks will start at 2.00pm on a first-come, first-served basis, with competitors free to leave once their car has been scrutineered.

Sunday’s 10-stage, 41-kilometre event promises to be a fitting finale to a hard-fought season. The return to Apes Hill will level the playing field for many, while the customary year-end enhanced points system – 28 points for a class win, compared with the usual 20 – will test the mettle of the title contenders, both overall and in the classes. Champion Driver leader Edward Corbin (Daihatsu Charade) has 105 points, three more than Ian Warren (BimmaCup), with Jamal Brathwaite (Honda Civic Type-R) and Roger Hill (Toyota Corolla WRC) tied in third place on 95; in the 4wd Championship, Skeete leads Hill by a margin of 22 points, while fewer than 10 points cover the top four in 2wd, Logan Watson the current leader.

Slated for an 8.45am start from Hopewell Plantation in St Thomas, the HO2 Construction Winter Rally will comprise 10 stages, five each before and after a lunch break at Hopewell, which will also be the Service Park for the day. In the morning, three runs through the 4.50-kilometre HO2 Construction Dark Hole stage, running towards Spring Vale, will alternate with two downhill runs of the Java Island Lion Castle stage (4.00km). After lunch, there will be two runs from Spring Vale to Dark Hole, mixed with three through the 3.50km Java Island Apes Hill stage, which will represent a first-time challenge for many competitors. A Prize-giving Ceremony will be held immediately after the event at Hopewell Plantation, following the final posting of results.

HO2 Construction Winter Rally - Sunday, October 27
Final running order at October 25:

1 Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (WRC Sol/Automotive Art/CO Williams Sand & Lime Subaru Impreza WRC S12B)
2 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M4 Esso/Nassco/Pennzoil/MaxMeyer Paints/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC)
3 David Coelho – T&T/Barry Ward (FIA R5 Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Ford Fiesta R5)
4 Andrew Mallalieu/Geoff Goddard (FIA R5 Terra Caribbean Ford Fiesta R5)
5 Fraser Louden – SCO/Ashleigh Sidgwick - SCO (WRC EV Offshore Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Proto)
6 Avinash Chatrani/Andrew Skeete (M4 iShop Barbados/Genius Lynk/Axe Solutions/Lenovo/PowerBass/Gunk/Sign Station Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
7 Andrew Jones/Lindsey Pilkington – ENG (SM2 Lucozade/Supreme Distributors Inc Ford Escort MkII)
8 Roger Mayers/Sean Corbin (SM2 Chefette/Rubis/Sign Depot/Hankook Toyota Starlet)
9 Rhett Watson/Bradley Weekes (SM2 Chefette/Gliptone/Stihl/Leafy Organics/Gunk/Power King Batteries/Bajan Pure Water/Its Barbados BMW M3)
10 Logan Watson/Andrew Croney (M3 Leafy Organics/Cargo BGI/Luxe Caribbean Properties/Stihl/It’s Barbados/Sign Depot BMW M3)
11 Jamal Brathwaite/Rashid Phillips (M2 Valvoline/Automotive Art/Consumers Guarantee Insurance/Caribbean Auto Glass/TEC Barbados/Stylz Auto Spa/Chicken Pen Racing/JSB Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R)
12 Edward Corbin/Johnathan Alleyne (M1 Valvoline/Hilti/Cargo BGI/Co-Operators General Insurance Daihatsu Charmant)
14 Paul Horton - TCI/tba (M2 Java Island/Sky Motorsports/H Racing/Arbikie Highland Estate Citroen DS 3 R3 MAX)
15 Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (GpB Seawell Automotive/Sharkey’s The Bar/Pelican Produce/Total Oils BMW M3)
16 Kurt Thompson/Adam Straker (SM2 Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty/Slam 101.1FM/King Ocean Shipping/RA Mapp Honda Civic)
17 Suleman Esuf/Justin Harris (M3 Express Imports/SY Adams BMW M3)
18 Jermin Pope/Aaron Kirton (M1 Glassesco/PEG Farms/Good Time Snacks Honda Civic)
19 Ryan O Wood/Paul Inniss (SM1 BizNeedz/Lucas Oil/Shonny’s Kitchen/MB Auto City/MCLED/Axalta Paints/Island Guild/LITT Marketing & Events/Exceptional Plumbing Services Toyota Starlet)
20 Shareef Walcott/Jan-Yves Hinds (M1 Melwani’s Toyota Corolla)
21 Ian Warren/Robert Warren (C2 West Lake Performance Tyres/Benthams Farm & Garden/Guava Tech BimmaCup)
22 Calvin Briggs/Tiffani Bannister (GpB Massy Realty/Massy Properties/Tallest Wrecker Services Ford Sierra)
23 Stuart Garcia/Rasheed Smith (C2 Smith’s Engineering Works/Four & Twenty Bakery/Intelligent Defence Systems/ Zaccios/Kirba Inc BimmaCup)
24 Pierre Beswick – TCI/Leslie Evanson (M1 Grace Bay Car Rentals/Hartling Luxury Resorts/Caicos Dream Tours Citroen C2 R2 MAX)
25 Harold Morley - ENG/Barry McKenzie – T&T (H2 Porsche 911RSR)
26 Allan Kinch/Kyle Proverbs (C2 Tranquility Cruises BimmaCup)
27 Jason Tull/Hugo Greaves (C1 Jay-T’s Auto Services/CA Autobody Repair Services/Dominus PHD/Computech Solutions/Devon Star Automotive Parts/CST Tyres/Redline Performancce Imports Peugeot 106 Rallye S2)
28 John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (H2 Valvoline/Hilti/Cargo BGI/Co-Operators General Insurance Toyota Corolla)
29 Jason Downey/Kristina Pinto (C2 MQI/Subzero/mMoney BimmaCup)
30 Dario Watson/Kareem Gaskin (M1 Kohler SDMO/GT Traders/OS Creations/Alleyne Auto Clinic/Tallman Engineering/Goodride Tyre Shop/Fusions Boutique/Trident Cutz Barber Studio Toyota Starlet)
31 Kevin Wiggins/Darren Lashley (SM1 Johnson’s Auto/Zak Auto Parts/Dynamic Auto Imports/Therapy Partners Toyota Starlet)

For media information only. No regulatory value.

For further media information, robin@bradfax.com
Web site: www.barbadosrallyclub.com