[1]Former winners Bird, Panton & Skeete ready for classic showdown
Ninety crews – one shy of the record entry in 2012 - will contest Sunday’s (May 27) Flow King of the Hill, the final shakedown ahead of Sol Rally Barbados 2018 (June 1-3). Last year’s winner, Jamaica’s Jeff Panton, Britain’s Paul Bird and island legend Roger Skeete, who have won seven of the 10 previous editions of KotH between them, will go head-to-head in a battle for supremacy that truly captures the spirit of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event – a showdown between local, regional and international drivers.
The provisional running order published today (May 25) lists the 90 starters in 14 classifications, with Group B split to accommodate the rare presence of eligible four-wheel-drive cars. As before, the results of Flow KotH will be used to seed Sol RB18 - drivers who either don’t compete or fail to set a time will be seeded behind the last car in their class, unless safety considerations dictate otherwise – but the event takes on even greater significance for local drivers this year, as the opening round of the 2018 Flow Super-Sprint Series, a new stand-alone BRC Championship.
BRC and Sol RB18 Chairman Mark Hamilton said: “As Sol Rally Barbados has developed, so has Flow King of the Hill; Sunday’s 90-car entry is sure to provide competitors and fans alike with an spectacular day’s sport, particularly as the format of four official runs and no practice means drivers have to be on it from the get-go. I am delighted that Flow has expanded its commitment to the Barbados Rally Club as title sponsor of the new SuperSprint Series, which adds another layer to our growing partnership.”
Having shared the Flow KotH crown with former double European Rally Champion Simon Jean-Joseph (Ford Focus WRC08) in 2016, Panton (Focus WRC06) went on to claim the second in his hat-trick of Sol RB victories, joining Skeete (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B, 2011) and Bird (Focus WRC08, 2012) in doing the KotH/Sol RB double in the same year. With Britain’s Rob Swann (Impreza S12B) and Kevin Procter (Ford Fiesta) also in the mix – their best finishes are, respectively, second and fourth in 2017 - the result of Sunday’s event is not a foregone conclusion, but the outcome will fuel some lively discussions among fans in the coming days.
Only two Sol RB18 entries are missing, the lowest number in recent years: Scotland’s Andy Scott (Ford Fiesta R5) is racing in the opening round of the new Americas Rallycross Championship at Silverstone in the UK, where his Albatec Racing team is fielding a pair of Peugeot 208 RX Supercars, the other for Mark Higgins in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. Ninth overall and SuperModified 3 winner in Sol RB17, Justin Campbell’s Republic Bank BMW M3 suffered a mechanical failure during testing, as he explains: “We managed to get the parts flown in last night [Wednesday] at 10.00pm, but we don’t have enough time to reassemble and test so we opted to sit this event out. It’s going to be my first time watching KotH since 2010, but I’ll be there to support my fellow competitors and friends.”
As it has since 2015, Flow KotH will run from Hangman’s Hill through the Vaucluse Raceway (VRW) then north to Lion Castle, all within the parish of St Thomas, for a total stage length of 4.30 kilometres. Cars will run in reverse order of seeding, from Clubman 1 up to WRC-1, and the top 10 at the lunch break will be held back and re-seeded in reverse order to run at the end of the field for the final two runs. The first run is slated for 10.00am, with two each before and after the lunch break, the fastest of which will decide competitors’ finishing positions.
From the first KotH at Turner’s Hall in 2008, local drivers Paul Bourne (‘08 & ’10) and Skeete (’09 & ’11) shared the laurels, as it moved first to Stewart’s Hill, then Sailor Gully and Hangman’s Hill. England’s Paul Bird won back at Hangman’s Hill in 2012, and again in 2014, Neil Armstrong winning in 2013, at Luke Hill. Victory at Hangman’s Hill in 2015, the first year the test ran through VRW, was Skeete’s third – that total so far unbeaten - while Panton and Simon Jean-Joseph tied for victory in 2016 after a rain-affected final run. Panton joined Bird and Bourne as a two-time winner last year.
Highest-placed two-wheel-drive car for the first three years was the legendary Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift, with Sean Gill sixth in his last season in the car (2008), then Ian Warren ninth and fifth, which remains the highest overall KotH finish for 2wd. Armstrong was top 2wd in 2011 & ’12, ninth and eighth, the mantle then assumed by Roger Mayers, sixth and eighth respectively in 2013 & ’14. Josh Read then joined the roll of honour, seventh and sixth in 2015 & ’16, while Rhett Watson finally topped the 2wd entry last year, seventh overall.
Sol Rally Barbados (June 1-3) and Flow King of the Hill (May 27) are organised and promoted by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2017. Title sponsors: The Sol Group and Flow. Major partners: Automotive Art, Banks, Chefette, Simpson Motors, Toyo Tires. Partners: Accra Beach Hotel & Spa, Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, Geest Line, Tourism Development Corporation. Associate sponsor: Stoute’s Car Rental
FLOW KING OF THE HILL 2018 Provisional running order at May 25
Key to nationalities (competitor from Barbados unless shown): CDN – Canada; ENG – England; GUY – Guyana; IRL – Republic of Ireland; JAM – Jamaica; NIR – Northern Ireland; NZL – New Zealand; SCO – Scotland; T&T – Trinidad & Tobago; TCI – Turks & Caicos; USA – United States of America; WAL – Wales
no driver/co-driver (class/sponsors/car)
1 Cheryl Spencer - ENG/Barry Spencer - ENG (C2 Dover Beach Hotel/Marco Polo/SC Performance/Titan Exhausts/Hillside Vehicle Services/Waterfront Accident Repairs/Sequoia Landscape/Central Park Bodyshop Vauxhall Astra)
2 Randy Reid/Romario Reid (C1 Dynamic Auto Part/School Boy Sounds/Chef in the Box/Zak’s Auto Parts Toyota Starlet)
3 Howard Paterson – ENG/Ruth Paterson – ENG (C1 Little Bristol Beach Bar/DMack Tyres Skoda Fabia)
4 Fabien Clarke/Arlington Hoyte (C1 RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair Suzuki Ignis Sport)
5 Trevor Mapp/Allister Nurse (C1 Sign Station/JSB Motorsport/Chicken Pen Racing/Valvoline Mitsubishi Colt Mivec RS)
6 Russell Smith - ENG/Rashid Phillips (C2 Maxxis/Guava Tech/Kirba Inc BMW 318ti Compact)
7 John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (H2 Valvoline/Hilti Toyota Corolla)
8 Stuart Johnson – T&T/Wayne Persad – T&T (C2 Mitco Water Labs/Krazy Kustomz/Fast Parts Ltd/Guava Tech/Torco BMW 318ti Compact)
9 Luke Cozier/Tammy Lashley (C2 BMW 318ti Compact)
10 Spencer Hutchinson/Gayle Hutchinson (C2 MotorsportToolKits.co.uk BMW 318ti Compact)
11 Graham Haigh – ENG/Kari Bates – ENG (C2 G Haigh & Sons/Tanfield Engineering Services/Army Shop Ford Escort MkII)
12 Shon Cummins/Damian Sealy (SM3 Cell Hut/Sikkens/Paints Plus/Fusion Boutique/Stag Beer BMW 316)
14 Jermin Pope/Aaron Kirton (C1 Glassesco/Good Time Snacks/PEG/C A Autobody/Uniform Factory Outlet/Niccolls & Edghill/NKM/Bio Beauty/Industries Job Honda Civic)
15 Eric Allamby/Jonathan Ince (C2 Brake Pro/Power Bass/Lenovo/Maxxis/Gunk BMW 318ti Compact)
16 Allan Kinch/Kyle Proverbs (C2 Jolly Roger/Pirates Cove/Guava Tech/Printmax BMW 318ti Compact)
17 Stuart Garcia/Rasheed Smith (C2 Four & Twenty Bakery/Intelligent Defence Systems/Smith’s Engineering Works/Zaccios/Kirba Inc BMW 318ti Compact)
18 Ryan O Wood/Dario Watson (SM1 MB Auto City/Lucas Oil/Code One Plus Toyota Starlet)
19 Derek Edwards/Damien Johnson (C2 D & A Air Conditioning/LAH Equipment Supply/Arrow Woodworking/C A Autobody BMW 318ti Compact)
20 Calvin Briggs/Tiffany Bannister (GpB2 Lucas Oils/Massy Realty Ford Sierra)
21 Marcel Freling – ENG/Karen Robinson – ENG (SM2 Rostrevor Hotel/Rentazoom Car Rentals/RallyMe.co.uk MG ZR)
22 Orry Hunte/Chris Haywood (GpB2 Blakeys/Crane & Equipment/Phoenix Protection Services/S G DeFreitas/Sign Station/Williams Electrical/Williams Equipment/Williams Solar Mitsubishi Lancer)
23 Winston Thompson/Troy Toppin (SM1 Ellesmere Quarries/BCR Car Rental/SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares/Ullyett’s Machine Shop Toyota Starlet)
24 Harold Morley - ENG/Terry Hamilton (H2 Bajanloveshop.com Porsche 911RSR)
25 John Carroll – ENG/Kareem Gaskin (M2 JJCAL Construction Consultants Honda Civic Type-R)
26 Simon Nutter – ENG/Sonia Dent - ENG (M1 Competitionsupplies.com/Little Bristol Beach Bar/Discovery Bay/Cobra Seats/KK Accountancy Services Kendal/Beckside Plumbing/Scotty’s Cheap Car Rentals Toyota Corolla)
27 Chris Shooter - ENG/Bev LeGood – ENG (H2 Sparrow Hill Cars Ford Escort MkII)
28 Clifford Cox/Scott Bentham (SM1 Snorkel/Deutz/Hankook/Brake Pro/Williams Equipment/MQ Multiquip/JLG/Yanmar/BizNeedz Toyota Starlet)
29 Dominic Linton/Adrian Linton (M2 Ravensden/JAD Performance Vauxhall Astra SRi)
30 Sean Kukula - ENG/Emma Arthur - ENG (H2 Competitionsupplies.com/Lifeline Motorsport Systems/WOSPerformance/Tilton Engineering/DMD Motorsport Engineering/Odyssey Batteries/Cobra Seats Ford Escort MkII)
31 David Proud - NZL/Stuart Leach - ENG (M2 Window Factory/Hankook/Marshall Motorsport Peugeot 206 GTi 180)
32 Paul Inniss/Michelle Sutherland (M1 Brydens Insurance/East Point Grill/Going Places Travel/Cockspur/Caribbean Villa Chefs/Chef Byer Catering/Castrol/JJ Racing Team/Hugh Autobody/Brunswick Barbados/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals/Autoderm Honda Civic)
33 Benjamin Hartling – CDN/Leslie Evanson (M1 The Hartling Group Citroen C2 R2 MAX)
34 Jason Harewood/Pierre Clarke (SM1 Mark’s Auto Spares/Gaskin’s Garage/Image Vault/Castrol/Starboy Performance/JVM Signage/SDRR/Barbados Bearings/High Maintenance Detailing Toyota Starlet)
35 Andrew Costin-Hurley - ENG/Shaun Mellett – ENG (GpB2 Earl’s Performance Hoses/Wootton Tyres Ford Puma Evo)
36 Stuart Austin – ENG/Sophie Louise Buckland - ENG (GpA Austin Powell Ltd/Accra Beach Hotel and Spa/Cancer Research Subaru Impreza)
37 Raymond Clough - ENG/Stephen Bell (H2 Saint Gobain/Minster/CCF Builders Merchants/Frank Key Builders Merchants Ford Escort MkI)
38 Wayne Archer/Tristan Gibbs (H2 RW Water/Arrow Construction/Arrow Woodworking/Archers Hall Design Centre/D & A Air Conditioning BMW 325)
39 Shareef Walcott/Jan-Yves Hinds (M1 Melwani’s/Tint +/Castrol/BizNeedz/Reef Motorsport/Lil Griff’s Maintenance & Freighting Services Toyota Corolla)
40 Martin Stockdale - ENG/Mark Swallow – ENG (SM3 Divi Southwinds Beach Resort/Drive-a-Matic/Canems Engine Management/Quarry Motors BMW 1M Coupe)
41 Peter Gallagher – IRL/Rene Forde (GpA Black Bonnet Racing/Recycle Rallying.com Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
42 Stan Hartling - TCI/Andy Proudfoot – CDN (SM3 Bambarra Rum/Automotive Art BMW M3)
43 Philip Moe/Adrian Gittens (SM1 CAM2 Racing Oils/Sunbay Hotel/Bajan Motors Toyota Corolla)
44 Robin Hamilton – SCO/Vanessa Hamilton – SCO (GpB3 Gleaner Fuels/RHA MG Metro 6R4)
45 Craig Marshall - NZL/Karl Celeste – NZL (SM1 Window Factory/Hoosier/Marshall Motorsport Peugeot 106 Maxi)
46 Dave Jenkins - ENG/Ross Weir - WAL (H2 Weir Rallying UK/Dave Jenkins Motorsport Ford Escort MkII)
47 Gary Thomas – WAL/Linda Thomas – WAL (SM2 Tsalta Motorsport Ford Escort MkII)
48 Dick Mauger – ENG/Stanley Graham - ENG (SM2 Major Farm Services Ford Escort MkII)
49 Greg Cozier/Natasha Farnum (H2 Barbados Historic Rally Carnival/Geest Line Ford Escort RS)
50 Jeremy Gonsalves/Rommell Martin (SM1 Sign Depot/Valvoline/Star Products/John Hardman Engineering/Guava Tech/Roscoe’s Machine Shop Opel Corsa)
51 Stuart McChlery/Julian Goddard (SM2 Lubriguard/Gunk/PowerBass/Lenovo Ford Escort MkI)
52 Edward Corbin/Johnathan Alleyne (M1 Valvoline/Hilti/Express Imports/Cargo BGI Daihatsu Charmant)
53 Norman Catwell/Kyle Catwell (M2 Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/BCR Car Rentals/John Hardman Engineering/SB Motorsport Engineering/Jenvey Volkswagen Golf GTI)
54 Shelly Taunt – ENG/Julie Murphy - ENG (GpN Infinity on the Beach/ASF Sign Factory/Darren Dixen/Combined Scaffolding/Jim Griffiths Car & Body Repairs/Julie Murphy’s Driving School Subaru Impreza N10)
55 Geoffrey Ullyett/Jason King (GpB2 Ullyett’s Machine Shop/Proj Rx/Radcomm/Rally and Competition Equipment/Goodyear BMW M3)
56 Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (GpB2 Sharkey’s Bar/Castrol/Suga Apple Swimwear/Pelican Market Suppliers Inc BMW M3)
57 Nick Marshall - NZL/Declan Dear - ENG (GpB3 Window Factory/Pirelli/Marshall Motorsport/Alltask Ford Fiesta S3000)
58 George Sherman - USA/Anthony Sherman - USA (GpN Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
59 Paul Horton - TCI/Dwayne Forde (M2 Arbikie Highland Estate/Java Island/Sky Motorsports/H Racing Citroen DS 3 R3 MAX)
60 Jamal Brathwaite/Dario Hoyte (M2 Platinum Motors/Valvoline/Automotive Art/Consumers Guarantee Insurance Honda Civic Type-R)
61 Brandon Smith - WAL/Dylan Thomas - WAL (GpB2 BCS Auto Repairs Darrian T9GTR)
62 Geoff Phelps – ENG/Elwyn Manuel - WAL (GpA G&S Phelps Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
63 Jon Trenholme – ENG/Alison Trenholme – ENG (GpA Subaru Impreza)
64 Simon Wallis – ENG/Peter Horsman – ENG (GpA Cambridge Compilers Subaru Impreza N10)
65 Mark Kinch/Andrew Peirce (SM3 PEG Biodynamic Farm & Nature Reserve/Guava Tech/Carter’s Pit-Stop BMW M3)
66 Kurt Thompson/Adam Straker (SM2 Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Slam 101.1FM/Berger Paints Honda Civic)
67 Neil Corbin/Matthew Staffner (SM1 Nassco Limited/H Jason Jones/General Electric/Emtage Electric/California Scents/Refresh your Car/Energizer/Auto Solutions/Valvoline Toyota Starlet)
68 Chris Ullyett/Tricia Gittens (M2 Proj-Rx Inc/Ullyett's Machine Shop Ford Escort RS2000)
69 David St Hill/Ian Grimes (SM3 Solar & Wind Energy Solutions/Charles Doc Inc/Tropical Touch BMW M3)
70 Logan Watson/Andrew Croney (SM3 Leafy Organics/Sign Depot/Subzero Services/Luxe Caribbean Properties/It’s Barbados/Hankook/Cargo BGI/Stihl/The Unknown Entity BMW M3)
71 Ryan Pinheiro – T&T/Joshua Plaza – T&T (GpA Gulf Oil/TRACK Batteries/Mayfield Drapery Works/REV Tech Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V)
72 Tom Preston - ENG/Carl Williamson – WAL (GpA Hippo Motor Group Skoda Fabia R5)
73 Ryan Champion – ENG/Craig Thorley – ENG (GpA Courtesy Rent-A-Car/Omologato/GPM/Speedline Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
74 Andrew Mallalieu/Geoff Goddard (GpA Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza)
75 Mark Thompson/Kurt Seabra - GUY (GpA Glassesco Hardware/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty Day Spa/Automotive Art/SLAM 101.1FM/Berger Paints Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
76 David Coelho – T&T/James Harris – ENG (GpA Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
77 Nigel Worswick – ENG/Joe Troulan - ENG (WRC-2 Rallytech Composites/Worswick Engineering/Ullyetts Machine Shop/Rockwell Automation Ford Escort WRC)
78 Andrew Jones/Lindsey Pilkington – ENG (SM3 Lucozade/Caribbean Powder Coating/Southern Surf Beach Apartments/AP Jones Pharmacy Ford Escort MkII)
79 Avinash Chatrani/Andrew Skeete (GpA Lenovo/PowerBass/Genius Lynk/iShop/Copacabana/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
80 Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (SM2 Automotive Art/Flow/Amir’s Chicken/MQI Collision Repair/eCarib Classifieds Honda Civic)
81 Barry Mayers/Ben Norris (SM2 Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/Hankook/DHL/Illusion Graphics Ford Fiesta)
82 Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (SM2 Sol/Automotive Art Peugeot 306 Maxi)
83 Roger Mayers/Jason Parkinson (SM2 Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/Hankook/DHL/ Illusion Graphics Toyota WR Starlet)
84 Rhett Watson/Bradley Weekes (SM3 Chefette/Stihl/Gliptone/Leafy Organics/Gunk/Hankook/Bajan Pure Water/It’s Barbados/Power King Batteries, in support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3)
85 Graham Coffey – ENG/Patrick Walsh - WAL (WRC-1 Graham Coffey Solicitors Subaru Impreza WRC S12B)
86 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (WRC-2 Esso/Nassco/MaxMeyer/MotorMac/Pennzoil/Energizer/Refresh your Car/California Scents Toyota Corolla WRC)
87 Paul Bird - ENG/Jack Morton - ENG (WRC-1 Frank Bird Poultry/Be Wiser Insurance/Hager/Fuchs Titan Race/Loco Energy Drink Ford Focus WRC08)
88 Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (WRC-1 Sol/Automotive Art/Simpson Motors/Flow Subaru Impreza WRC S12B)
89 Kevin Procter – ENG/Andrew Roughead - ENG (WRC-1 Procters Coaches Ford Fiesta)
90 Rob Swann – ENG/Darren Garrod - WAL (WRC-1 Elegant Hotels/Blue Sky Luxury/Cygnet Plant Subaru Impreza WRC S12B)
91 Jeffrey Panton – JAM/Michael Fennell Jnr – JAM (WRC-1 Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06)
