[1]Panton claims back-to-back Champion Driver titles
The Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has today (December 20) confirmed its list of Champions for the recently-completed 2018 season, along with the leading points-scorers across all disciplines, whose achievements will be celebrated at the Annual Prizegiving in the New Year. More than 170 local competitors participated in events organised by the BRC, with a further 80-plus from the wider Caribbean and further afield on the entry lists for the Club’s blue riband event, Sol Rally Barbados 2018, and Flow King of the Hill.
Many regional visitors enjoyed successful seasons, as the number who base their competition cars in the island for a year-round programme of BRC and other local events heads for double figures. Jamaica’s Jeffrey Panton is the Champion Driver for the second straight year, also doubling up on the WRC and 4wd titles and adding the new-for-2018 Flow SuperSprint Series crown to his growing portfolio. His fellow-countryman Chris McFarlane is the BRC Autocross Champion for the fourth consecutive year, winning both the 4wd and 2wd classes on his way to the title.
Reflecting on the season, BRC Chairman Mark Hamilton said: “It has been a good year for the Club on many fronts. Our events have been very competitive, not just rallies and speed events, but also among the MudDogs – the tie-break rules were required to settle year-end results in both championships – and I am pleased to see sustained support of our grassroots Autocross series once again.
“The extension of our partnership with Flow to create the innovative SuperSprint Series was welcomed enthusiastically by our members, so we look forward to a repeat next year. Finally, I must just echo the comments of many members who were so pleased to see our 2016 Champion Driver Daryl Clarke and co-driver Russell Brancker enjoying themselves with friends and family on the ‘other side of the fence’ at our last event of the season, the Tivoli Winter Rally, as they continue to recover from their accident just five months before. Welcome back, guys!”
Panton (Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06) totaled 133 points with a perfect class-winning record from the season’s seven events, to claim the Champion Driver title by seven points. Barry Mayers (Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/Hankook Ford Fiesta) finished second with 126, up from fourth last year, also winning back-to-back 2wd and SuperModified 2 titles, adding the new Rwd Flow SuperSprint crown to the list. Modified 1 winner Edward Corbin (Valvoline/Hilti/Express Imports Daihatsu Charmant) finished third with 121 points, ahead of Britain’s Rob Swann, who finished second to Panton in WRC in his Elegant Hotels/Blue Sky Luxury/Cygnet Plant Subaru Impreza WRC S12B following his first full season of BRC competition . . . and the small matter of 42,000 miles of round trips across the Atlantic Ocean.
Swann got the tie-break nod for fourth over Logan Watson (Leafy Organics/Sign Depot/Subzero Services/Luxe Caribbean Properties/Hankook/Cargo BGI/Stihl BMW M3), who also scored 113 points on his way to victory in SM3, while Stuart Garcia finished sixth, winning his second consecutive Clubman 2 title in the Intelligent Defence Systems/Kirba Inc/Four & Twenty Bakery/Smith’s Engineering Works/Zaccios BMW 318ti Compact with 110 points.
Class Champions who finished outside the top six were: Group A - Andrew Mallalieu (Terra Caribbean/Blue Sky Luxury Subaru Impreza N10); GpN - George Sherman - USA (Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX); SM1 - Winston Thompson (Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/BCR Car Rental/Seawell Automotive Centre Toyota Starlet); M1 - Jamal Brathwaite (Valvoline/Automotive Art/Consumers Guarantee Insurance/Stylez Auto Spa/Caribbean Auto Glass/Chicken Pen Racing Honda Civic Type-R); Historic 2 - Greg Cozier (Barbados Historic Rally Carnival/Geest Line Ford Escort RS); C1 - Trevor Mapp (Automotive Art/Sign Station/Ellesmere Quarries/JSB Motorsport Mitsubishi Colt Mivec RS); GpB - Jonathan Still (Seawell Automotive Centre/Sharkey’s Bar/Suga Apple Swimwear/Castrol/Sikkens BMW M3).
Leslie Alleyne (Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max) won a record sixth consecutive Drivers crown in the Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship, although this time not sharing the honours with regular Navigator Chris O’Neal, who missed the year’s last event. Andrew Croney is Champion Navigator for the second time, having won as a Novice in 2006, while tie-break rules were needed to resolve both titles after a hotly-contested season in which established driver-navigator partnerships were broken up more than once; Croney sat with three different drivers on his way to the title, having missed winning the Championship by just two points last year, in his first full season competing in the unusual Honda Pioneer with Driver Jean-Marc Cozier.
There was also some consolation for Cozier; despite starting only two events this year, he claimed a 100 percent win rate in the five Driver Challenges in March and April, building up a sufficient lead to win the Shelbury Construction Trophy. While Class B attracted a growing following, only two crews contested sufficient events to register for year-end points, Damien Johnson and Justin Lynch (Dre Tuned Toyota Hilux) the Champion Driver and Navigator respectively.
McFarlane’s fourth consecutive BRC Autocross Championship came with the bonus of winning both the 4wd and 2wd titles, the series split for only the second year, in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ and Geoff Ullyett’s BMW M3 respectively.
BRC Driver’s Championship
Final Overall Positions after round 7:
1st Jeffrey Panton – JAM (WRC Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06), 133 points
2nd Barry Mayers (SM2 Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/Hankook Ford Fiesta), 126pts
3rd Edward Corbin (M1 Valvoline/Hilti/Express Imports Daihatsu Charmant), 121pts
4th Rob Swann – ENG (WRC Elegant Hotels/Blue Sky Luxury/Cygnet Plant Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), 113pts
5th Logan Watson (SM3 Leafy Organics/Sign Depot/Subzero Services/Luxe Caribbean Properties/Hankook/Cargo BGI/Stihl BMW M3), 113pts
6th Stuart Garcia (C2 Intelligent Defence Systems/Kirba Inc/Four & Twenty Bakery/Smith’s Engineering Works/Zaccios BMW 318ti Compact), 110pts; etc
BRC Class Championship
Final Positions after round 7:
WRC: 1st Panton, 133 points; 2nd Swann, 113pts; 3rd Roger Hill (Nassco/Esso/Pennzoil/MaxMeyer/Motormac/Energizer/Refresh your Car/California Scents Toyota Corolla WRC), 98pts
Group A: 1st Andrew Mallalieu (Terra Caribbean/Blue Sky Luxury Subaru Impreza N10), 105pts; 2nd David Coelho – T&T (Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Ford Fiesta R5 & Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 98pts; 3rd Mark Thompson (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty Day Spa/Automotive Art/SLAM 101.1FM/King’s Ocean/Berger Paints Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 69pts; etc
GpN: 1st George Sherman - USA (Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 56pts
SuperModified 3: 1st L Watson, 113pts; 2nd Rhett Watson (Chefette/Gliptone/Stihl/Leafy Organics/Gunk/Hankook/Bajan Pure Water/It’s Barbados/Power King Batteries BMW M3 & 318ti Compact), 93pts; 3rd Andrew Jones (Lucozade/Caribbean Powder Coating/AP Jones Pharmacy/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII), 88pts; etc
SM2: 1st B Mayers, 126pts; 2nd Dane Skeete (Sol/Flow/Automotive Art/Williams Trading Inc Peugeot 306 Maxi), 84pts; 3rd Kurt Thompson (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Slam 101.1FM/Berger Paints/King Ocean/RA Mapp Honda Civic), 41pts SM1: 1st Winston Thompson (Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/BCR Car Rental/Seawell Automotive Centre Toyota Starlet), 104pts; 2nd Jeremy Gonsalves (Sign Depot/Makita/John Hardman Engineering/Valvoline/Guava Tech Opel Corsa), 90pts; 3rd Neil Corbin (Nassco/H Jason Jones/General Electric/Refresh your Car/Valvoline/California Scents/Sun General Insurance/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet), 76pts; etc
Modified 2: 1st Jamal Brathwaite (Valvoline/Automotive Art/Consumers Guarantee Insurance/Stylez Auto Spa/Caribbean Auto Glass/Chicken Pen Racing Honda Civic Type-R), 104pts; 2nd Paul Horton - TCI (Arbikie Highland Estate/Java Island/Sky Motorsports/H Racing Citroen DS 3 R3 MAX), 90pts
M1: 1st E Corbin, 121pts; 2nd Paul Inniss (Brydens Insurance/East Point Grill/Caribbean Villa Chefs/Chef Byer Catering/Castrol/JJ Racing Team/Hugh Autobody/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals/Autoderm Honda Civic), 78pts; 3rd Ben Hartling – CDN (The Hartling Group Citroen C2 R2 MAX), 55pts; etc
Historic 2: 1st Greg Cozier (Barbados Historic Rally Carnival/Geest Line Ford Escort RS), 103pts; 2nd John Corbin (Valvoline/Hilti Toyota Corolla), 102pts; 3rd Wayne Archer (Archers Hall/Arrow Construction/Arrow Woodworking/RW Water/D & A Air Conditioning & Refrigeration BMW 325), 98pts
Clubman 2: 1st Garcia, 110pts; 2nd Eric Allamby (Gunk/Lenovo/Power Bass/Maxxis/Brake Pro/Chutneys BMW 318ti Compact), 58pts; 3rd Derek Edwards (D & A Air Conditioning & Refrigeration/Arrow Construction/Arrow Woodworking/Rock Oil BMW 318ti Compact), 53pts; etc
C1: 1st Trevor Mapp (Automotive Art/Sign Station/Ellesmere Quarries/JSB Motorsport Mitsubishi Colt Mivec RS), 105pts; 2nd Jermin Pope (Glassesco/NKM/Slam 101.1FM/Nicholls & Edghill/Good Time Snacks/Uniform Factory Outlet Honda Civic), 71pts
GpB: 1st Jonathan Still (Seawell Automotive Centre/Sharkey’s Bar/Suga Apple Swimwear/Castrol/Sikkens BMW M3), 117pts; 2nd Calvin Briggs (Massy Realty/Lucas Oils Ford Sierra), 75pts; 3rd Geoffrey Ullyett (Ullyetts Machine Shop Service BMW M3 & Ford Escort RS2000), 52pts
BRC 4wd Championship: 1st Panton, 133pts; 2nd Swann, 113pts; 3rd Hill, 98pts; 4th Mallalieu, 78pts; 5th Coelho, 71pts; 6th Avinash Chatrani (Lenovo/PowerBass/Genius Lynk/iShop/Copacabana/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 49; etc
BRC 2wd Championship: 1st B Mayers, 127pts; 2nd R Watson, 74pts; 3rd L Watson, 73pts; 4th D Skeete, 71pts; 5th Jones, 71pts; 6th E Corbin, 64pts; etc
Flow SuperSprint Series, after round 3:
Fastest Overall: Panton; Fastest Rwd: B Mayers; Fastest Fwd: D Skeete
Class winners: WRC: Panton; Group A: Coelho; SM3: Jones; SM2: B Mayers; SM1: N Corbin; M2: Brathwaite; M1: E Corbin; H2: J Corbin; C2: Garcia; C1: Pope; GpB: Still
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship
Final positions after round 5 (lowest score dropped) – Overall Drivers:
1st Leslie Alleyne (Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max), 234 points
2nd Ryan Corbin (Corbins Catering Services/Mahogany Ridge Toyota Hilux), 234pts
3rd Willie Hinds (Black Bess Group Suzuki Samurai), 212pts
4th Chris Armstrong (Toyota Hilux), 206pts
5th Stephen Mayers (Toyota Hilux), 198pts
6th Damien Johnson (Dre Tuned Toyota Hilux), 194pts; etc
Overall Navigators:
1st Andrew Croney (Country View Bar/Market Hill Farms/Westside Security Services Honda Pioneer & Shelbury Construction Toyota Hilux), 234pts
2nd Dustin Edwards (Corbins Catering Services/Mahogany Ridge Toyota Hilux), 234pts
3rd Chris O'Neal (Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max), 230pts
4th Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux & Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max), 230pts
5th Wayne Manning (Black Bess Group Suzuki Samurai), 212pts
6th David Reece (Toyota Hilux), 198pts; etc
Class B Driver: 1st Johnson, 236 points; 2nd Richard Hinkson (Windforce Tyres Suzuki Samurai), 228pts; 3rd John Pinto (Structural Systems/Amsoil GMC Sonoma), 226pts; etc
Class B Navigator:
1st Justin Lynch (Dre Tuned Toyota Hilux), 236pts; 2nd Kevin-Jon Manning (Windforce Tyres Suzuki Samurai), 228pts
Shelbury Construction Trophy
Final positions after round five:
1st Jean-Marc Cozier (Country View Bar/Market Hill Farms/Westside Security Services Honda Pioneer), 35 points
2nd Mayers, 26pts
3rd Armstrong, 22pts
4th Hinds, 17pts
5th Johnson, 16pts
equal 6th R Corbin & Michael Ward (Regional Fire & Security/Quality Tyre Suzuki Jimny), 9pts; etc
BRC Autocross Championship
Final Overall positions after round 4:
1st Christopher McFarlane - JAM (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ), 56 points
2nd Jody Forte (Subaru BRZ), 44pts
3rd Geoffrey Ullyett (BMW M3 & Ford Escort RS2000), 41pts
4th Richard Hinkson (Toyota Corolla), 35pts
equal 5th Glyne Husbands (Mazda Miata) & Stephen Nicholls (Nissan March), 25pts etc
4wd: 1st McFarlane, 56pts; 2nd Ullyett (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ), 35pts; 3rd Kofe Jean Baptiste (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 13pts; etc
2wd: 1st McFarlane (BMW M3), 56pts; 2nd Forte, 44pts; 3rd Ullyett, 41pts; etc
For media information only. No regulatory value.
For further media information: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com [9]
websites: www.rallybarbados.net [10]; www.barbadosrallyclub.com [11]
