RALLY BARBADOS - 1-2 Jun 13

RECORD WRC ENTRY FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2013 / New York businessman’s determination pays off for Sol RB13

Posted: May 30, 2013 9:42 AM

he final running order for this weekend’s Sol Rally Barbados, the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International, was published by the Barbados Rally Club today (May 28), in advance of this evening’s Briefing Meeting and Welcome Party. Competitors from 11 nations are listed among the 95 crews, headed by a record entry in the WRC classes.

From Saturday’s opening stage at Luke Hill in St Lucy to the climax of day two, the Power Stage between Padmore Village and Golden Grove in St Philip, competitors will face 22 closed-road tarmac special stages and a total stage distance of 115 kilometres.

Seeded from the results of last Sunday’s Scotiabank King of the Hill, Neil Armstrong and Barry Ward will start at number one in the Monster/Sol/Chefette/Digicel/Virgin Atlantic/Gunk/Hankook Tyres/Redline Fuels/Simpson Finance/Simpson Motors Suzuki SX4 WRC. At two is last year’s winner, England’s Paul Bird, with new Welsh co-driver Aled Davies in the Frank Bird Poultry/Rapid Solicitors/Fuchs Titan Race Oils Ford Focus WRC08, while 12-time winner Roger Skeete, carries three, co-driven in the Sol/Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Subaru Impreza WRC S12 by Louis Venezia.

Roger and Barry Mayers are the top 2wd seeds, starting at six in the Chefette/Digicel/Pennzoil/Illusion Graphics/Hankook WR Starlet, with Josh Read/Mark Jordan (Stihl/Gliptone/Hankook/SDRR/Weetabix/Royal Purple/EZone/Coffee Bean Toyota Starlet) at seven and Ian and Robert Warren (Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift) at 10.

In addition to the battle for overall and 2wd supremacy, there will be 14 separate classes contested, with island competitors pitting their skills against overseas entries in all but the two historic classes.

Sol Rally Barbados 2013 – statistics
• 95 crews on the final running order
• a record 30 International entries
• a record 13 entries in the World Rally Car classes
• competitors from 11 nations (including Barbados)
• 61 International drivers or co-drivers – 22 new to the event
• eight drivers or co-drivers from the wider Caribbean, two new to the event

New York businessman’s determination pays off for Sol RB13

New York-based Irish businessman Michael O’Leary’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X emerged from the Bridgetown Port today (Wednesday), more than 12 months after he first decided to compete in Sol Rally Barbados. His determination to do so, despite numerous potential barriers being put in his way, has finally been rewarded.

After he was unable to resolve some issues with shipping the car last year, Sol RB Rally Office Manager Jeanne Crawford started to investigate options as soon as he placed an entry for Sol RB13 in the first week of January. Shipping was arranged direct from New York to Barbados, the car loaded into a container with spares and delivered to the NY Port on May 7, to sail on May 11, arriving in the island on May 25. Two days before sailing, however, O’Leary discovered that the transit time to Barbados had changed: instead of 14 days, it would take at least 19 days, with the car arriving on Friday this week (May 31) . . . or possibly later.

Crawford says: “Panic took over! Much of that Friday was spent confirming the transit, as it seems the schedule had changed that week, also keeping Mike advised and eventually getting his permission to have the car removed from the load list. With the container held back, it then became a question of how to get it to Barbados in time, and the only option was to ship from Miami.

“Thanks to Warren Barnes at Schumacher Cargo Logistics, who was in California, co-ordinating this, we achieved what seemed impossible. He had the container removed from the Port and transported to their warehouse, where the car and spares were unpacked and loaded into a transporter, which he had also sourced.

“The car then set off to the Port of Palm Beach, where it arrived as scheduled at 8am last Monday (May 20). It was met by Charles Gittens of Express Consolidation Systems to prepare customs paperwork and pack it ready for sailing last Thursday on the Tropic Carib. The Evo was out of the container, and on Barbados soil at 9.00am Tuesday.”

Crawford summed it all up, saying: “Words don’t really tell the whole story of the calls, the e-mails and the commitment of everyone involved in ensuring that the car would arrive in Barbados in time. Through all of this, Mike has remained committed to doing Sol Rally Barbados and we look forward to seeing him and brother John competing after what has been a rather stressful couple of weeks.”

Sol Rally Barbados 2013 (June 1/2) and Scotiabank King of the Hill (May 26) are organised and promoted by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007; title sponsors are the Sol Group and Scotiabank. Marketing partners are Simpson Motors, LIME, Automotive Art, Banks and Karcher; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Tourism Development Corporation, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line and Virgin Atlantic Airways; associate sponsors are Chefette, Field Insurance, Glacial Pure, Little Switzerland, Redline Fuels, Stoute’s Car Rental and West Indies Rum Distillery.

Entry List / Running Order

Posted: May 30, 2013 9:41 AM

1 Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (WRC-1 Monster/Sol/Chefette/Digicel/Virgin Atlantic/Gunk/Hankook Tyres/Redline Fuels/Simpson Finance/Simpson Motors Suzuki SX4 WRC)
2 Paul Bird - ENG/Aled Davies - WAL (WRC-1 Frank Bird Poultry/Rapid Solicitors/Fuchs Titan Race Oils Ford Focus WRC08)
3 Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (WRC-1 Sol/Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
4 Steve Perez – ENG/Paul Spooner – WAL (WRC-1 Kick Energy Drink Ford Focus WRC07)
5 Roger Duckworth - ENG/Alun Cook – WAL (WRC-2 Intrinsys/Kumho Subaru Impreza WRC S6)
6 Roger Mayers/Barry Mayers (SM10 Chefette/Digicel/Pennzoil/Illusion Graphics/Hankook WR Starlet)
7 Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM10 Stihl/Gliptone/Hankook/SDRR/Weetabix/Royal Purple/EZone/Coffee Bean Toyota Starlet)
8 Kevin Procter – ENG/Dave Bellerby - ENG (WRC-2 CIBC-FCIB/Automotive Art/PowerMaster Batteries/Simpson Motors/Maxi Malta/Eaton’s Jerk Seasoning/Coaches2.com/Procters Coaches Subaru Impreza WRC S7)
9 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (WRC-2 Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC)
10 Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift)
11 Eddie Power - IRL/Michael Morrissey - IRL (WRC-2 Eddie Power JCB Hire Toyota Corolla WRC)
12 Brett Clarke/Chris Hoad (SM10 Williams Trading Inc/Western Union/Lucky Horseshoe Citroen C2)
14 Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (M7 Amir’s Fresh Chicken/Ellco/Mum’s Pasta/P & N Hardware/Robert’s Manufacturing Honda Civic)
15 Dean Serrao/Josh Delmas (WRC-2 Sugar Ultra Lounge Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
16 Rhett Watson/Sean Corbin (SM12 Oreo/Chips Ahoy!/Armstrong Agencies/Power King Batteries/Unknown Entity/Hankook Tyres/SpringBoard Marketing Platforms/In support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3)
17 Paul Bourne/Jermin Pope (WRC-1 Chefette/Banks/LIME/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07)
18 Jeffrey Panton – JAM/Michael Fennell Jnr – JAM (WRC-1 Total/Blue Orchids Hotel/Rubis Ford Focus WRC06)
19 Tommy Doyle - IRL/Liam Moynihan - IRL (M7 McCormack Contracting Inc Renault Clio R3)
20 Rob Swann – ENG/Darren Garrod – WAL (WRC-2 Waves Hotel and Spa/Cygnet Plant Ltd/Revolution Wheels/R A Swann Ltd Subaru Impreza)
21 Geoff Noel/Nigel Reece (GpN Kick Energy Drink/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Automotive Art/CIAC Air Conditioners/Mix 96.9FM/Dewalt Tools Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
22 Andrew Mallalieu/Geoff Goddard (GpN Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10)
23 Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (SM11 Rubis/Williams Trading Inc Peugeot 306 Maxi)
24 Geoffrey Ullyett/Jason King (GpB1 Ullyett's Machine Shop/Algae-X/MG America Datsun 120Y)
25 Andrew Jones/Mick Squires - ENG (SM11 Lucozade/AP Jones Pharmacy Ford Escort MkII)
26 Owen Cumberbatch/Kelly-Ann Sandiford (SM12 SY Auto Parts/ACS Maintenance/Cool N World BMW M3)
27 Frans Verbaas – NED/Kees Hagman – NED (GpB1 Verbaas Preparations/Koni Mini Cooper S)
28 Ralph White/Joe Troulan (SM10 Barbados Villa Services/Island Safari/Sun General Insurance/Amsoil Toyota Starlet)
29 David Coelho – TRI/James Harris – ENG (WRC-2 Total/VP Racing Fuels/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
30 Keith Power – IRL/Jonathan McGrath - IRL (M6 Power Groundworks Renault Clio)
31 Nigel Worswick – ENG/Lindsey Pilkington – ENG (SM11 Worswick Engineering Ford Escort MkII)
32 Glenn Campbell – NIR/Sarah Whelan – IRL (SM11 Motorcare/Trevor Moore Motors/IanFleckSigns.com/DMH Automotive/RallyForums.com Nissan Micra)
33 Maurice Moffett – IRL/Jason McKenna – IRL (GpB1 Maurice Moffett Ltd/Premier Welding Products/Haughey Metals/The Squealing Pig/MS Motorsport Toyota Starlet)
34 Avinash Chatrani/Julian Goddard (GpA Electric Avenue/iShop Barbados/PowerBass/Formula 1/Sign Station/1 of K Jeans/Niagra Waters Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
35 Joe McQuillan – NIR/Annette Daly - IRL (GpA M & M McNally/Masstock/Masserene Park Farms Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII)
36 Raymond Conlon – IRL/Darren McCague – IRL (SM10 Palm Garden Hotel Barbados/Banks Beer/Skelton Travel/Clones Shavings/Scanbitz/Gribben Plumbing/Conlon Travel Toyota Corolla)
37 Cliff Roett/Joshua Plaza - TRI (SM10 Paulo’s Churasco do Brasil/Nassco/Mark’s Auto Spares/Roett’s Garage Toyota Starlet)
38 Neil Corbin/Matthew Staffner (M6 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions/Castrol/Emtage Electrical Toyota Starlet)
39 Martin Atwell/Chris King (SM12 Meow Mix/Ullyett's Machine Shop BMW M3)
40 Martin Donnelly - IRL/Brian Docherty - IRL (GpN Eire Concrete Inc Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
41 Harold Morley - ENG/Ken Mohammed - TRI (GpN Ontrac Telematics Inc Subaru Impreza N13 STi)
42 Mark Thompson/Kurt Seabra - GUY (GpN Glassesco Hardware/Stag Beer/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
43 Michael O’Leary - IRL/John O’Leary - IRL (GpN O’Leary Construction Inc/Feldman Lumber Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X)
44 Brian Gill/Ryan Wood (SM12 Coca Cola BMW M3)
45 Martin Stockdale - ENG/Gary Miller - ENG (SM12 Divi Southwinds/Drive-a-Matic/Quarry Motors BMW M3 Compact)
46 Norman Catwell/Kyle Catwell (M7 Ellesmere Quarries/John Hardman Engineering/Elite Transmissions/Valvoline/Tec Tyres Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk2)
47 Paul Horton - TCI/Kristian Yearwood (M7 Sky Motorsports/Java Island/H Racing/Precision Racing Ford Escort MkI)
48 Edward Corbin/Rodney Clarke (M7 Valvoline/Automotive ArtProsales/Klarkodio/Corbins Garage Toyota Corolla RunX)
49 Justin Campbell/Juan Watts (SM12 Dream Solutions/Acton Corporate Services/Castrol Racing BMW M3)
50 Trevor Manning/Derek Edwards (SM12 Ritz/Club Social/Armstrong Agencies/Power King Batteries/Unknown Entity/Hankook Tyres/SpringBoard Marketing Platforms/In support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3)
51 Stuart Deeley – ENG/Alistair Dodd - ENG (GpB1 MouseMatt Lotus 62)
52 Andrew Siddall – ENG/Michael Worme (Int-Hist Siddall and Hilton Products Ltd/Kick Energy Ford Escort MkI)
53 Greg Cozier/Natasha Farnum (Hist Hyundai Lubricants/Barbados Historic Rally Carnival/Sailun Tyres Ford Escort RS2000)
54 David St Hill/Ian Grimes (SM12 BMW M3)
55 Allan Mackay – SCO/Mo Downey – NIR (SM10 Avanti Environmental/Highland Waste Services/Mark Greer Motorsport/Mountune Ford Anglia WRC)
56 Chris Ullyett/Derek Ince (M7 Ullyett's Machine Shop/MG America/Proj-Rx Ford Escort RS2000)
57 Jeremy Gonsalves/Chris Corbin (M6 Makita/SSP/Champion Auto Wrecker/All Terrain Plus/Star Products/Yamaha/John Hardman Engineering Opel Corsa)
58 Stuart White/Jason O’Neal (Hist Lucky Locks BMW 325)
59 John Hardman – NIR/Vishal Dhanraj - TRI (GpB2 John Hardman Engineering/Chicken Pen Racing/PEC Tyres Nissan Micra)
60 Jamal Brathwaite/Dario Hoyte (M7 Valvoline Lubricants/Automotive Art/Mackeson Stoute/Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing/Freekz Customz/Codgi's Customs Brokers Honda Civic Type-R)
61 Randy Reid/Antonio Charles (GpB2 Double A Transport & Wrecker Service BMW 320i)
62 Wayne Archer/Lucas Nicolao - ARG (M6 Archers Hall Design Centre/Diamonds International/Calvin Alkins Customs Services Peugeot 206)
63 Jeremy Sisnett/Justin Sisnett (M7 The Tiki Bar/Autolink/Indoor Plant Services Ford Fiesta ST)
64 Duane Johnson/Dwayne Forde (GpB Johnson’s Autos/Williams Tools/Cyrus Chickens/Dalls Catering/Castrol/Third Lane Performance/AS Auto Stop Inc/Sandy Thelius/Illusion Graphics/AG Agencies Ltd/Odoll’s Aluminium Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo)
65 Enda McCormack - IRL/Kieran McElhinney - IRL (SM10 McCormack Contracting Inc Ford Escort MkII)
66 Rhett D’Andrade/Tristan Gibbs (SM9 Rent-A-Tool Daihatsu Charmant)
67 Eric Allamby/Andrew Skeete (SM11 Shelbury Construction/Blakey’s/This & That Bajan/Scrap Man Recycling/Castrol/SDRR Hydraulics/Redline Racing Fuels/MC Buccaneer/Goodyear Tyres Toyota Corolla)
68 Andrew Costin-Hurley - ENG/Rob Brook - ENG (GpB2 Earl’s Performance Hoses/Zeta Engineering Ford Puma)
69 Danny O’Brien - IRL/Barry McNulty – IRL (SM9 Midtown Concrete Toyota Starlet)
70 Allan Maynard/Marcus Beck (SM9 Marshal Trading/Roberts Manufacturing/Lubriguard Lubricants Toyota Starlet)
71 Winston Thompson/Scott Bentham (SM9 Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/SDRR Industrial & Hydraulic Spares/Aeroquip Performance Products/Kendall Racing Motor Oil Toyota Starlet)
72 Carlos Edwards/Andre Waithe (SM9 I-Finance/Courts Barbados/Enermax Toyota Starlet)
73 Brendon Mckenzie/Sean Collett (SM9 MCK Motorsport/Turbo Plus/Promotech Computers/Concepts/Do-it-best Quality Paints/Colour XL/Blakey’s/Hasselgren Engineering Inc Toyota Corolla)
74 John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (Hist Valvoline/Automotive Art/Prosales/Klarkodio/Corbins Garage Toyota Corolla)
75 Sean Field/Darnley Rayside (M7 Field Insurance Brokers/Castrol/Landscapes in Harmony/AM Realty/Ackee Tree Restaurant Peugeot 306 GTi6)
76 Trevor Mapp/Talia Mapp (Club Valvoline Lubricants/Automotive Art/Mackeson Stoute/Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing/Freekz Customz/Codgi's Customs Brokers Mitsubishi Mirage RS)
77 John Foster/Jonathan Ince (M6 JMS Dairy Farm/Green Meadows 100 Per Cent Fresh Milk Daihatsu Charmant)
78 Ron Greaves/Danny Wiles (M7 Chicken Pen Racing/Kick Energy Drink/Valvoline/Kumho/Ellesmere Quarries Ltd/McCarthys Garage/SY Auto Parts Honda Civic Type-R)
79 Conor Roach/Damien Johnson (Club Peugeot 106)
80 Sean Cox/Cody Foster (M5 Simpson Motors/Gliptone/Johnsen’s Suzuki Swift Gti)
81 Jeremy Croney/Andrew Croney (Club Warren’s Lubricants/SRG Engineering/Sign Station/Sweet Temptations Peugeot 206)
82 Miguel Toppin/Yakub Haveliwala (Club Illusion Graphics/De Limit Auto Body Repairs/Odol’s/Dundee’s/Fire Ball/MD Motorsports Peugeot 205)
83 Euan Mackay – SCO/Calum Macleod – SCO (SM10 Mark Greer Motorsport/Advantec Aberdeen/Highland Waste Services Ford Anglia JWRC)
84 Paul Rees – WAL/Paul Briggs - ENG (M5 ‘Ali my wife’ Vauxhall Astra)
85 Pierre Clarke/Ezra Gibbs (Club SDRR Hydraulics/Martindale’s Garage/Mackie’s Auto Clinic/Aspect Construction Honda Civic)
86 Rob Weir - ENG/Ross Weir - ENG (Int-Hist Weir Laundry Equipment/H J Weir Engineering Triumph TR7 V8)
87 Andy Hawkins - ENG/Del Johnson - ENG (M7 JAZ Computer Services/Ashadi Rallysport/Plastics 4 Performance/Konsort Systems/Sibcey Motors Volkswagen Golf Mk4)
88 Paul Inniss/Rashid Phillips (Club National HIV AIDS Commission/Illusion Graphics/Erie Tyre Shop/KB Trucking/Wints Auto Body Honda Civic)
89 Gary Mendes/Neil Pickering (M7 G & G Sales & Services Inc/Barbados Muffler Centre/Lunatics Inc/EDM Sales/Ride Barbados/RB Electrical/LG Trading/Dottins Auto Solutions/Purple Teardrop Campaign/Timeless Beauty Salon Toyota Corolla)
90 Rommell Martin/Alex Kellman (Club VV&K Rentals/Dalls Catering/B3 Imagining/Alien Werks RC & Full Scale Shop/Dream Solutions Toyota Starlet)
91 David Brewster/Alex Kirton (Hist SRG Engineering/Castrol/Innovative Security Solutions/Gittens & Company – Armstrong/USG Products Peugeot 205GTi)
92 Fabien Clarke/Arlington Hoyte (Club RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair/Barbados Business Listings Suzuki Ignis Sport)
93 Shannon Kirton/Lisa Roett (Club Ullyett’s Machine Shop/Gomez & Western Services/Field Insurance Brokers/Alpine Stars/In support of Little Pink Gift Datsun 120Y)
94 Peter Gallagher – IRL/Rene Ford (M6 Dublin Crystal/Greenspeed R & D/Sam Andrew Jewellers Peugeot 206)
95 Kenny Hall - SCO/Fenny Wesselink – NED (Club Halltune Garage Vauxhall Corsa)
96 Danny Williams/Alex King (Club Cutters of Barbados/Sparkle Pools/Sunflower Events/Chris Auto Repairs Ford Fiesta)

Armstrong wins King of the Hill in MML Sports-prepared Suzuki SX4 WRC

Posted: May 30, 2013 9:21 AM

Caribbean rally driver Neil Armstrong won this weekend's King of the Hill Rallysprint in the Simpsons Motors Suzuki SX4 WRC rally car, built and prepared by MML Sports. The traditional precursor for the Sol Rally Barbados, the win means Armstrong will carry the coveted Number 1 on the Suzuki next weekend on the famous Caribbean event.

Wet weather threatened but in the end, the rain stayed away for the three runs that constituted the event. Following a practice run, almost 90 crews tackled three timed runs over the 2.5Km Luke Hill course at St Lucy with the winner being decided on the fastest of the three runs.

Armstrong was third-fastest on the practice run, as well as the two first official timed runs of the event. However, the local put in a storming time on the final run of the event, a second faster than the nearest driver, to claim the fastest time of the day and with it, the overall win, his first in the MML Sports-prepared Suzuki.

The King of the Hill event not only serves as an exceptional warm-up to the Sol Rally of Barbados but determines the seeding for the event, which attracts crews from around the world. As the King of the Hill, Armstrong and co-driver Barry Ward will start this weekend's event as car No. 1.

Commenting, Armstrong said;
"We had a really good time today and were definitely pushing hard from the start. It was a bit of a task, when we saw early on that we were about two seconds off Paul Bird on such a short stage, but we knew where we could regain some of that time and we worked on it."

MML Sports Managing Director, John Easton, said; "I am delighted that Neil claimed the win on the King of the Hill. He bided his time and didn't allow himself to get fazed by posting the third-fastest times on the first two runs. He then pulled out a superb performance on the last run, having worked out where he could improve his pace.

"We knew that it was only a matter of time before Neil and the Simpsons Motors SX4 WRC took its first win and we are obviously hopeful that he and Barry can take this performance forward to the coming weekend and the Sol Rally Barbados, the region's most prestigious and well-attended event."

IRISH TRANSPORTER ‘INVADES’ SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 4, 2013 12:30 PM

A record-breaking Celtic ‘invasion force’ left Ireland late afternoon Wednesday (May 1) to tackle the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International. Ten rally cars were loaded on to a transporter in the north of the ‘Emerald Isle’ to start the nearly 5,000-mile journey to compete in Sol Rally Barbados 2013 (June 1/2). Having been assembled at a ‘secret location’ in County Antrim, the cars left Ireland by ferry from Belfast to Birkenhead, part of a 550-mile trip to Portsmouth on the English south coast, where all the remaining cars from Europe were already gathering. They will be loaded on to a Geest Line freighter to set sail for the 10-day voyage Barbados on Tuesday (May 7), calling at a number of European and Caribbean ports on the way.

Confirmation just a few days before the transporter was loaded that Raymond Conlon, who first competed in Barbados last year, and regular visitor Glenn Campbell would be making the trip again brought to an unprecedented 14 the number of International crews entered for the Barbados Rally Club’s premier event that have Irish connections.

Conlon had entered some months ago, but issues with sponsorship caused him to withdraw; a late change of heart, however, means he and co-driver Darren McCague will return with the Palm Garden Hotel Barbados/Banks Beer/Skelton Travel/Clones Shavings/Scanbitz/Gribben Plumbing/Conlon Travel Toyota Corolla in which his flamboyant driving style earned respect from island fans on his way to 30th overall and fourth in the hyper-competitive SuperModified 10 classification last year.

In the early part of this year, Conlon has done three rallies in Ireland, finishing sixth overall on both the Donegal Mini Stages and the Mayo Stages. Of his preparations for Barbados this year, he says:
“Since last year, I’ve made a few changes to the car so, hopefully, I will go better in RB13.”

This is Campbell’s fifth visit, and one he hopes will eventually result in a class win. He has twice finished second in Modified 5, in 2009 & 11, and this year pits his Motorcare/Trevor Moore Motors/IanFleckSigns.com/DMH

Automotive/RallyForums.com Nissan Micra Kit Car against a mixture of local and International entries. He has a new co-driver for 2013, Sarah Whelan, the latest member of a rally-centric Irish family to win a title, in her case Champion Co-Driver of the 2012 Galway Motor Club.

In addition to Campbell’s Micra and Conlon’s Corolla, the transporter carried the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII of Joe McQuillan, who was instrumental in making the collective transport arrangements, the Toyota Starlets of Maurice Moffett and Danny O’Brien, the Philip Case Rally Sport-prepared Ford Escort MkII and Renault Clio R3 of Enda McCormack and Tommy Doyle, regular visitor Peter Gallagher’s Peugeot 206 and the Ford Anglia WRC and JWRC of Scotland’s Allan and Euan Mackay, whose cars are based in Ireland. In addition to the cars carried on the transporter, the record-breaking Irish contingent includes the father and son team of Eddie and Keith Power, in Toyota Corolla WRC and Renault Clio respectively, and New York-based Martin Donnelly (Evo IX).

Entries Received

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:59 PM

Available on the Competitors Page of:

Rally Barbados

IRISH STARLETS SET SAIL TO SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:42 PM

Two stunning Toyota Starlet rally cars will next week start a 10-day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on a Geest Line freighter from Portsmouth on the English south coast, heading for Sol Rally Barbados 2013 (June 1/2). Their Irish owners, however, will arrive in the small Caribbean island from different directions . . . Maurice Moffett from his homeland in the east, Danny O’Brien from New York in the west.

The Starlets are among 30 International entries heading to the 24th running of what has become the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International, a two-day tarmac rally with a spectator turn-out in excess of 20,000. The previous Sunday’s (May 26) Scotiabank King of the Hill offers International visitors the chance for a ‘shakedown’ on local tarmac at competition speed, with the results used to seed the entry for Sol RB13.

O’Brien’s involvement is poignant, as he is competing to honour the memory of a fellow member of the Irish rallying community in New York, Celsus ‘Charlie’ Donnelly, who posted an on-line entry for Sol RB13 last November, only days before he died.

Co-driver for Sol RB13 will be Barry McNulty, a multiple Irish and British title-winner –he was British Rally Champion in 2010, with Keith Cronin – who explains more:
“A few days before his sudden passing, Charlie had signalled his intent to do Rally Barbados and told the lads how excited he was! When he suddenly passed, Danny thought it would be a fitting tribute to buy the car and do the event in his memory . . . and the car carries the legend 'Going sideways for Charlie'.”

Born in County Cork, O’Brien emigrated to the United States in 1983 and began rallying 12 years ago, since when he has won the USA National Rally Championship three times, competing against Donnelly regularly; he currently campaigns a four-wheel-drive Open Class Subaru Impreza. His Midtown Concrete-backed Starlet has been refurbished for its trip to Barbados by MMG Rally Preparation in Aghadowey, County Londonderry.

The second Starlet is one of three regularly campaigned by members of the County Monoghan-based Moffett family, although only father Maurice will be in action in the Caribbean; in addition to his own engineering business, it is sponsored by Premier Welding Products, Haughey Metals, Brennans Furniture and Carpets and the Squealing Pig bar and restaurant. Having learned of Rally Barbados from previous Irish visitors, including double-winners Kenny McKinstry and Kris Meeke, the Moffetts realised it was an event not to be missed.

Moffett’s 325bhp Millington Diamond-engined car, which is prepared by MS Motorsport, has carried him to two National class titles, in 2006 & ’08, plus a number of individual class wins, including the 2009 Donegal International; with his previous Toyota Corolla, he was a class-winner in the International Tarmac Championship in 1988.

Perhaps his most memorable victory came on the Midlands Moto Stages in 2009 . . . but not without the help of many of his rivals, among them double Sol Rally Barbados winner Kris Meeke, who was entered in a Renault Clio: when the front right wheel fell off Moffett’s Starlet on the final road section some distance from the finish, one fellow competitor towed the car, while a handful of others sat in and on the back to balance it up . . . with Meeke prominently positioned holding up the tailgate.

Moffett’s co-driver that day, Jason ‘Wee Pete’ McKenna, has sat with him since 2002, and will be making the trip to Barbados . . . but, not just to go rallying: he is marrying Cheryl this coming Saturday (May 4) and Sol RB13 is their honeymoon!

DUCKWORTH RETURNS TO SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:40 PM

Former UK National Rally Champion Roger Duckworth will make his third trip to Sol Rally Barbados this year, bringing to a record-breaking 11 the number of entries in the two classes catering for World Rally Cars. In doing so, he will break a personal record, too – he has rarely rallied outside the UK, twice in Ireland and twice in Portugal, so competing in a country for a third time is a new experience! Having thoroughly enjoyed his two previous visits – both were prize drives for winning Rallye Sunseeker National – he was quick to enter again, once he knew his car would be ready . . . but that was by no means certain. As he told rallybarbados.net:
“Sadly, on the rallying front since last year, there is no story to tell - the car caught fire on the dock when it arrived back from Barbados and it has taken until now to get the repairs done.”

The Intrynsis-sponsored Subaru Impreza WRC S6 falls into WRC-2, where his opposition will be the newer Imprezas of Britain’s Kevin Procter and Rob Swann, plus Dean Serrao of Barbados, and the Toyota Corolla WRCs of Ireland’s Eddie Power and Barbados Toyota dealer Roger Hill. Duckworth’s co-driver will be the Welshman Alun Cook, who has sat with him many times in the past, although not yet in Barbados.

Thanks to the diligent work of the Autosportif crew, the car was ready for a shakedown in yesterday’s (Sunday, April 7) Alan Healy Memorial Stages Rally, a single-venue tarmac rally at the Cadwell Park race circuit in Lincolnshire. Winner last year, Duckworth was seeded at one, but had not competed since Sol RB12:
“Apart from the Goodwood Festival of Speed Forest Stage driving a car that used to belong to me (Colin McRae’s 1997 RAC-winning Impreza, P12 WRC), I haven't been out at all! This means I will be somewhat rusty, but am still very much looking forward to Barbados.”

The day started well, Duckworth winning the first stage by six seconds from eventual winner David Turnbull (Impreza S11) . . . but it did not last long:
“On the second stage we had an electrical problem, the car cut out several times before stranding us mid-stage. A short investigation found a dodgy connector on the throttle body causing the throttle to keep shutting. Once fixed, we did stages four to 10 (the last) and took fastest on all but one of them.”

Having started rallying in 1989, Duckworth has driven a variety of marques, including Daihatsu and Ford – he had an extremely rapid Ford Sierra 4 x 4 – but, since 1997, has remained faithful to Subaru. He finished 11th overall and highest-placed amateur in Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship, then known as the Network Q RAC Rally, in his first season in an Autosportif-built Impreza 555, then won the Mintex National Rally Championship the following year in the same car.

After a couple of quiet seasons while he concentrated on building a new business, Duckworth returned in the ex-McRae Impreza. That has since been replaced by another former Prodrive Impreza, while Duckworth has remained a loyal customer of British preparation company Autosportif for 16 years.

IRISH BOOST 4WD ENTRY FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:39 PM

Two Irish drivers who made their Caribbean debuts last year are among the six entries from the ‘Emerald Isle’ now confirmed for Sol Rally Barbados 2013 (June 1/2). Their addition to the on-line entry list on the official web site, www.rallybarbados.net, boosts the four-wheel-drive entry to 18, more than half that number in the WRC classes.

Although both rally cars will be shipped from Ireland, the drivers approach Barbados from different directions: County Antrim farmer Joe McQuillan will travel west from Northern Ireland to the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international, while businessman Martin Donnelly will journey east from his base in New York.

Donnelly, who started his competition career in the mid-1990s driving a Ford Mustang, has been a regular competitor on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and twice won the Atlantic Rally Cup in the United States. Champion in 2008 & ’09, he has been a regular podium finisher on events in Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee and won the Black River Stages in up-state New York three years in a row.

In Sol RB12, with co-driver Colin Fitzgerald in the Eire Concrete Inc Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, Donnelly finished an impressive 22nd overall all and second in Group N, the island’s Production 4 category. For Sol RB13, Fitzgerald is unavailable, so his co-driver will be fellow-Irishman Brian Doherty.

McQuillan, who has been rallying since the late 1990s and has won the Mid Antrim Motor Club Championship twice, returns with the Evo VII prepared by Paul McGrath Motorsport and Raymond Mason, in which he finished 40th overall and third in Modified 8-A last year. For Sol RB13, the car boasts a new livery, and a new co-driver, McQuillan’s partner Annette Daly.

Since Sol RB12, the M & M McNally/Masstock/Masserene Park Farms-backed Evo, which started life as a Group N car, has been on a diet, alongside a development programme, as McQuillan, aka ‘The Big Man’, explains:
“Since Barbados, we have taken the car to three rally events, finished second overall in the first, but found the handling was not satisfactory, despite the result.

“We continued reducing and transferring weight for the next event, but the car was undriveable to the point of being dangerous – we still finished second overall, though! At the third event, with a new navigator and new suspension setups, it was performing very well, and it looked like we would win, until we had gearbox failure and a DNF!”

WISER WORSWICK BACK FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:38 PM

Britain’s Nigel Worswick and Lindsey Pilkington will contest Sol Rally Barbados (June 1/2) for the third time this year, determined to put to good use the lessons learned on their previous two visits. His entry for the Worswick Engineering Ford Escort Mark II brings to 16 the number of International crews confirmed for the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international, with further announcements in the pipeline.

As part of the preparations for his tropical trip, Worswick has been in action on two notoriously demanding forest rallies in recent months, with Paula Swinscoe as co-driver. Worswick reports:
“We were out in forests covered in sheet ice on the Grizedale Stages in December; we finished 16th overall, winning the class and the ladies award, then just two weeks ago, we had a third in class on the Malcolm Wilson Rally.”

Having learned of Sol Rally Barbados from friends and seen the TV coverage, Worswick nearly missed out on his first visit in 2011, when the Escort’s engine blew on a rally just nine days before the Geest Line freighter was due to sail from Portsmouth. After days of drama, with trouble sourcing parts, parts that didn’t fit, borrowing a WRC flywheel which required a lot of re-engineering, the car then refused to start.

Worswick recalls:
“When it finally did, we put it on the rolling road and it promptly blew the clutch seal. We had to wait for a replacement until Tuesday morning; we got the gearbox back in, loaded it up . . . and made the dock one hour before the deadline!”

Having finished 26th overall and fifth in SuperModified 10 in Sol RB11, the Escort had an engine transplant last year, moving it up to SM11. For 2013, there is more going on, as Worswick explains:
“The car is now being re-prepared to take into account the lessons learned from last year, when we were on schedule for a decent top 20 finish when the throttle sensor failed. The car is shedding a few more kilos, with lighter door windows and carbon trims and carbon bumpers which, allied to a longer axle ratio for better top speed, will hopefully make the car a bit quicker. Other minor mods and a new colour scheme will be revealed in Barbados!”

Worswick was a regular on Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship during the 1990s, missing out on a top 10 finish by just one second in 1996 in a Ford Sierra Cosworth 4 x 4, having finished in the top seven on the last five of 26 special stages.

ARMSTRONG CHANGES UP FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:37 PM

Giant-killer Neil Armstrong, the highest-placed two-wheel-drive finisher in Sol Rally Barbados for the past two years, faces a new challenge in the 2013 running of the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International on June 1/2. It was confirmed this week that he will drive the Simpson Motors/MML Suzuki SX4 WRC in 2013. Armstrong, one of the rising stars of island rallying, has just returned from the UK, where he worked with triple British Rally Champion Mark Higgins on an intensive test programme, including two days on gravel at Walter’s Arena, one of the most popular venues at Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB.

Speaking from the UK, Armstrong said:
“The test was an eye-opening experience. The stages were proper Wales Rally GB stuff, with everything you could imagine – some fast and flowing, then tight hairpins, up and down, and all on a perfect manicured surface.

“The Suzuki SX4 WRC is absolutely amazing. The turn-in is unbelievable, how it stops, how it reacts, how you can just lob it into a corner, get on the brakes and then just power out, with minimal steering input. I have driven a four-wheel-drive car before - an Evo VI - and the only similarities between the SX4 and the Evo are that they are both four-wheel-drive and they both have a steering wheel. Every aspect of the SX4 is just better and improved to a level that I am only beginning to comprehend. I am so looking forward to driving it in Trinidad and then in Barbados.”

Higgins was equally enthusiastic:
“The first time I drove the car on gravel I felt totally at home with it - the balance was incredible, it really hangs on to the corners well and I am very impressed. It was hard for the guys to get me out of it!

“I have driven a lot of World Cars over the last 10 years - they all feel pretty similar, but this engine has got great torque and the driveability is very, very good. The car also feels light and nimble, probably because of the short wheelbase. It has a great overall feel and I am confident the car and Neil will be very competitive."

“Base setup is important, but we have been doing quite a bit of testing with braking. You have to brake hard, even on gravel, get the weight transferred to the front and, because the car stops so well, you have to be a bit harder on the brakes. It’s all about building confidence; everything is coming at you faster with this type of car and it really is a different world. Your normal braking points, which you think are OK, aren’t, because you can go much further into a corner. It may only be a second or two a kilometre faster, but it makes all the difference in the heat of competition."

On Armstrong, he added:
“Neil has been doing a great job in testing. There is a lot going on with a World Rally Car, the diffs, the suspension, and what will be important for Neil is to develop his confidence in the car. He is very comfortable with the SX4 already, so he needs to keep developing his technique and style, as the talent is already there. He listens well, his speed is good and he’s improving all the time. Watch this space, as I believe Neil could be the new star out in the Caribbean."

With regular co-driver Barry Ward, Armstrong will make his SX4 debut in Rally Trinidad (March 23/24). The Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Rookie of the Year in 2002, he has since won five BRC Class Championships, two each in Group N and Group A, then last year in the SuperModified 10 Toyota Starlet in which he finished fifth in Sol RB12.

Armstrong replaces Sean Gill in the SX4, after Gill’s decision to step down from the top level of island motor sport. Gill said:
"The commitment to a full time programme with the SX4 has taken its toll and, to be honest, I need to concentrate on my family at the moment, so I am taking a break from the sport. I will be back, though, and I am looking forward to competing again in the future."

IRELAND POWERS UP FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:36 PM

As entries for Sol Rally Barbados 2013 (June 1/2) edged towards the starting list cap of 100 this week – the total hit 98 today (Friday) - father and son Eddie and Keith Power bring to four the number of first-time Irish crews entered for the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International. Entries remain open on the official web site, www.rallybarbados.net, for another three months.

Thanks to support from the island’s private-sector Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has seen massive growth in Irish interest in the last few years, directly attributable to those promotional programmes. BRC PRO Neil Barnard says:
“While there is an historic link between the rallying communities in Ireland and Barbados, what we have experienced in recent years goes well beyond that.

“The competitions to recognise that island’s volunteer marshals with a free trip to Sol Rally Barbados and the parallel promotion through Pacenotes Rally Magazine has raised the profile of our event significantly. Over the past two years, we have attracted 50 new International drivers and co-drivers to the event, and to the island, around half from Ireland, where rallying is a National sport, much the same as here.”

Eddie Power, a class Champion in the Dunlop Irish National Rally Championship in 2005, is entered in the new WRC-2 class in a Toyota Corolla WRC, a sister car to that campaigned in recent years by Barbados Toyota dealer Roger Hill, both among the last cars built. While Power Senior has only been rallying since 2000, co-driver Michael Morrissey’s career stretches back to the 1960s, since when he has won a number of titles, including two Irish National Championships and the Group N crown in the Middle East Championship.

Son Keith’s first rallying experience was as a co-driver in 1998, before he switched to driving, in a Toyota Corolla. He was the inaugural winner of the Junior class in the Galway Rally in 2005, won the 1600 class in the Southern 4 Championship the following year, then the S1600 class in the National Championship in 2007, by which time he was driving a Ford Puma. More recently, he was the overall two-wheel-drive Champion in the 2010 Southern 4 Championship and won the Carlow Motor Club Rallysprint in 2011.

For Sol RB13, Keith will be driving his factory-built Renault Clio S1600, originally campaigned in the Junior World Rally Championship in 2004 by Olly Marshall, before it was bought by Ireland’s Brian O’Mahoney, who used it with considerable success in National and International events in Ireland and the UK. Co-driver Jonathan McGrath has twice won the S1600 class in the Irish Championship.

STOCKDALE CONFIRMED FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:35 PM

Britain’s Martin Stockdale has confirmed that he will once again compete in the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International - Sol Rally Barbados - when he makes his 13th consecutive appearance in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event over the weekend of June 1/2 this year.

Fresh from celebrating daughter Laura-Jo’s 21st birthday in the British Midlands last weekend, surrounded by family and friends, including many made in Barbados since his first visit in 2001, when Laura-Jo wasn’t even in her teens, Stockdale was bubbling over with enthusiasm for his forthcoming trip when he talked to www.rallybarbados.net.

Stockdale said:
“We had a fantastic time last weekend and it was great to see so many of the friends we have met through Rally Barbados. Glenis and I can’t imagine not coming back to visit our extended family on the island each year, have a few beers . . . and take part in some great motor sport. What more could you ask for?”

The guest list for last weekend’s gathering included many names familiar in the island such as Fred ‘the Builder’ Davidson and wife Carole, Kenny Hall with wife Fiona and son Alex, Kevin and Paula Procter, Paul and Ali Rees and Hall’s co-driver, Holland’s Fenny Wesselink; indeed, one party-goer described it as “just like being at Rally Barbados”.

Nicknamed ‘Mad-dale’ by island fans for his flamboyant handling of a string of BMWs, Stockdale – three times a class-winner over the years - will again drive the Divi Southwinds Beach Resort/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals/Quarry Motors BMW M3 Compact, this time in the new SuperModified 12 class. His regular co-driver Mark Swallow can’t make it this year, but Gary Miller confirmed just a few days ago that he is available for his sixth trip to compete in Barbados, his second with Stockdale. After Sol RB12, Stockdale enjoyed mixed fortunes on UK events, the highlight a class win, by more than two minutes, and ninth overall on the Lynn Charity Stages after nearly 100 miles of slippery stages on the former bomber airfield of RAF Sculthorpe in Norfolk in November. On the down side, but for a three-minute penalty imposed for an early error, he would have finished third overall on the Lincoln Green Stages in September.

STRONG LOCAL SUPPORT FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:29 PM

Entries posted on the official web site (www.rallybarbados.net) for Sol Rally Barbados (June 1/2), the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International, passed 80 this week . . . and there is strong support for the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event from local crews, particularly those in the core Modified and SuperModified classes.

More than two-thirds of local entries so far received fall into those categories, where nearly all will also face some competition from either International or regional competitors. While most names are familiar, the off-season shake-up of equipment, some re-developed, some new to the island and some switching classes, promises a whole new look to the island’s rallying landscape in 2013. The BRC reviews its regulations every three years, taking into account trends in competitor support levels, as well as changes on the International stage . . . and the new cycle starts this year. The Modified and SuperModified rules remain much the same, although the minimum weight limits in Modified have been increased by 20kgs, while the top class in SuperModified has been split into two, with a new division at 2.5 litres.

Two-time SM11, also 2012 BRC two-wheel-drive Champion Logan Watson leads the new class, SM12, in his BMW M3, where the competition will include brother Rhett - he will use the team’s other M3, rather than share – and Justin Campbell (M3), back in Sol RB for the first time since 2010, when he finished 18th overall and third in SM11.

Dane Skeete, son of Roger ‘The Sheriff’ Skeete, the most successful driver in the history of the island’s premier event, is also back; winner of M6 and an impressive 14th overall in Sol RB11 in a Peugeot 206, Skeete Jnr’s mount for 2013 is yet to be confirmed, but he has entered in SM11.

While Neil Armstrong, SM10 winner for the past two years and highest-placed 2wd finisher overall for the past three, is not yet entered, the class still looks highly competitive. Overall winner of RB05 in his self-built Ford Focus, Roger Mayers and brother Barry – they returned to rallying in 2010 after a three-year break - have stepped up from SM9 in their WR Starlet, which will pit them against Josh Read (Toyota Starlet) and Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift), winners of 10 BRC class championships between them in recent years, Read also the Overall Champion Driver in 2007.

There are 12 local entries out of 16 in M7, comfortably the best-subscribed class, based on entries posted so far, including reigning M7 Champion Daryl Clarke (Honda Civic) and former title-holders Eddie Corbin (Toyota Corolla RunX) and Jeremy Sisnett (Ford Fiesta ST), which suggests a robust defence of island honour can be expected there, too.

FROM COMPANY CAR PARK TO SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:28 PM

British rally driver Andy Hawkins will this year return to the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International, Sol Rally Barbados (June 1/2), for the first time since his debut in an historic Austin Mini 10 years ago. This time, he will be at the wheel of a Volkswagen Golf GTI MkIV, formerly his mother’s company car, which is currently undergoing a ground-up rebuild to transform it for Sol RB13.

The Golf is one of four cars of which the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) is currently aware, that are being built, or completely rebuilt, by International competitors specifically for the island’s premier event. This continues the trend of previous years, in which perhaps the most notable new build was the Mini of Dutch enthusiast Frans Verbaas created for Sol RB09 to mark the 50th Anniversary of the iconic car’s launch.

Confirmed last month were Ireland’s Enda McCormack with a new-build Ford Escort MkII and his team-mate Tommy Doyle’s Renault Clio, in the midst of a bare-shell rebuild in Ireland. In addition to the Hawkins Golf, father and son team Rob and Ross Weir, who entered for the first time last year in a new-build Subaru Impreza, now have an historic Triumph TR7 V8 being recreated.

Hawkins and co-driver Chris Prabucki earned a host of fans in 2003 in the Mini, which was driven with great enthusiasm to 32nd overall and fifth Historic. Having largely retired from rallying after RB03, Hawkins concentrated on his love of motorcycling, enjoying two major adventures, to Mount Ararat in Turkey (resting place of Noah’s Ark), then deep into the Sahara Desert and high into the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

The Volkswagen was presented to Hawkins’s mother, Jenny, when she took early retirement just before RB03; when he decided in 2011 to return to Barbados this year, he bought it and started work. Hawkins says:
“The decision was soon made to fully strip and create a car that would be even better built than the dear old Mini. Sol Rally Barbados is the reason for our return to the sport and the car is currently being re-fitted, aiming for first tests at the end of February/early March.
“I envisage that the engine will be pretty much standard for RB13, so possibly not that competitive, as we will not have had time to develop and test it before shipping. I am more interested in ensuring the thing will go in a straight line, start and stop. It will be fun driving a full-size car . . . actually, it will be fun rallying again!”

Fans can track the rebuild on the team’s facebook page (www.facebook.com/ashadirs), while the Ashadi Rally Sport web site (www.ashadi.co.uk) should be fully operational within a couple of weeks.

SKEETE LEADS HOME TEAM FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:27 PM

Roger ‘The Sheriff’ Skeete will lead the home team when Sol Rally Barbados 2013 is staged over the weekend of June 1/2 . . . and the most successful driver in the 23-year history of the Caribbean island’s premier event is very much looking forward to the new season after what he describes as some “character-building” moments in 2012.

His entry was posted a few days ago on the official web site, www.rallybarbados.net, with the provisional entry now at 70, nearly four months ahead of the May closing date.

With Louis Venezia his co-driver in the Sol/Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Subaru Impreza WRC S12, Skeete is aiming to put 2012 firmly behind him. With his 12 victories in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) blue riband event including 1990, ’91 & ’92, then 2000, ’01 & ’02 and 2010 & ’11, he was on course for a remarkable hat-trick of hat-tricks . . . but it was not to be.

Looking back this week, Skeete said:

“It’s safe to say that 2012 didn't yield the best results, however it’s all relative. But the disappointment of failing to restart after the afternoon service in Sol RB12 while in the lead, and with a car that was slowly coming to me with set-up changes we were making through the nine stages up to that point was character-building, to say the least.

“I don't think we turned out to any event where we were not solving small problems coming off a major rebuild in 2011, but we were not going too badly in Sol RB12 until the unfortunate problems that eluded everyone until we were out of time.
“This trend continued until the end of the year, with small problems holding us back, with the exception of the last event where the car worked very well, albeit with an engine overdue a rebuild. We have taken corrective measures and start 2013 with a rebuilt and tested car, shaken down all through 2012 . . . but now with a very fresh engine. I am looking forward to 2013, especially due to the fact that I shall be competing once again alongside my son Dane and his co-driver Tyler Mayhew, as soon as their new car arrives in Barbados.”

Skeete’s Impreza finished second twice on World Rally Championship events in the hands of former works driver Petter Solberg – in Argentina and Mexico in 2006 – with a fourth place in Norway achieved the following year. Shortly after that it was sold to an Irish competitor, from whom Skeete acquired it just before Sol RB09. From 1990, when the BRC’s inaugural International All-Stage Rally laid the groundwork for what has grown into the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International, Skeete won five of the first six events in a Peugeot 205 GTi, the last in 1995. Between 1997 and 2004, he doubled his tally of wins in a Peugeot 306 S16, Ford Escort Cosworth and Escort WRC. He was not to win again, however, until 2010 in his current Impreza.

Skeete will compete in the new-for-2013 WRC-1 class, created as part of the BRC’s review of its class structure, carried out in a three-year cycle. The previous Modified 8-WRC has been split into two, with cars built up to the end of 2003 now separated from those built after. In addition, WRC-2 will cater for an increasing number of cars that no longer fit into the regulations for other four-wheel-drive classes, including the Subaru Impreza built to the UK’s B13 regs and driven by British regular Rob Swann, whose entry for Sol RB13 was confirmed last month.

ANGLIAS DOUBLE UP FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2013

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:26 PM

Island rally fans who have been thrilled by the flamboyant antics of Scotland’s Allan Mackay and his Ford Anglia WRC for the past three years will have twice the fun at Sol Rally Barbados 2013 (June 1/2), as his son Euan is entered to drive for the first time in what is dubbed the ‘Anglia JWRC’.

Despite a combined age of more than 100, the two Anglia 105Es are among the most lively on the rally scene and promise more than enough sideways action to keep fans entertained. Euan says:
“After my father competed in Barbados the first time, he came home and wouldn’t shut up about it, so I had to go see what the fuss was about!”

Mackay Snr won the hearts of the crowd on his first visit to the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International in 2010, despite retiring with bent steering. The former Scottish Tarmac Champion finished 29th overall in 2011, fourth in SuperModified 10, then 49th in Sol RB12, slipping a few places down the order in SM10. Once again, his co-driver will be Ireland’s ‘Mad Mo’ Downey.

Owner of the Anglia WRC – the initials stand for Well-Run Car – since he was 14 years old, Allan gave another as a shell to his son one birthday. Euan explains: “I started navigating in the Anglia WRC for my Dad when I was 16, but soon got bored and wanted at the controls. I started doing sprints in the WRC, then got a Vauxhall Nova before me and my friends built my own Anglia and a Peugeot 106 Cup car from scratch.”

The Peugeot, called ‘Snowball’, was driven to many class wins in Scotland, including on a single-venue event last year. Euan says:
“One of my major achievements was doing the Crail Summer Stages two days after getting back from Barbados with my friend Rory Fraser, who had never navigated before – we were 11th overall and won our class.” Sadly, ‘Snowball’ became a fireball a few months later, when Mackay rolled end-over-end on the last stage of the Mull Rally in October; the car burned out completely.

Like the Anglia WRC, Euan’s car is run by Mark Greer Motorsport in Ireland. Originally built as a Clubman spec car, with a 1600cc crossflow engine, it has been steadily developed, as Euan explains:
“It was always getting the hand-me-down parts from the WRC, until its current spec, which is now identical. The Duratec engine and the Quaife 60G gearbox are the latest mods, fitted during the off-season.”

Mackay Jnr’s co-driver will be fellow Scot Calum Macleod. He is happy on either side of the car, although his last experience driving, also on Mull, was less than successful:
“I was competing there for the first time. While lying 40th overall, I slightly misjudged a wet corner on the sea front and ended up rolling into the sea in the middle of the night.”

POPULAR UK SUBARU PAIR FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:25 PM

Two of the most popular Subaru Impreza drivers to have journeyed from England to the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international in recent years are today confirmed for Sol Rally Barbados 2013 (June 1/2). Kevin Procter will compete for the first time since 2009, while Rob Swann is back for the sixth consecutive year.

Since entries opened on November 1 last year on the official web site, www.rallybarbados.net, nearly 60 have been received, with another four months to go before entries close; more than half are from Regional or International crews, with Procter and Swann the first overseas four-wheel-drive entries confirmed. This will be Procter’s eighth trip as a competitor since his introduction to the event in 2003; in common with Swann and last year’s winner Paul Bird, however, he returns to Barbados for family holidays outside the rally season and all three have been in the island in the past few weeks.

Procter had another reason to celebrate during his New Year family holiday in Barbados: last Saturday (December 29), he won the Christmas Stages Rally in North Yorkshire for the fourth time in five years in the Procters Coaches Subaru Impreza WRC S7, co-driven by Dave Bellerby, the same combination which will attack Sol RB13.

Procter has four times finished in the top 10 in Barbados, with a best of fourth in 2009, the second time he entered the Impreza. He had previously finished fifth (RB07, Hyundai Accent WRC), ninth and highest-placed European crew (RB05, Ford Puma Evo 4 x 4), also fifth and highest-placed overseas crew (RB04, Ford Escort Cosworth).

Introduced to rallycross by Bellerby, a competitor for many years, Procter concentrated on the European Rallycross Championship (ERC) in 2012, after some outings in the British series; driving a Ford Focus, he has raced against well-known names including former WRC Champion Marcus Gronholm and Global Rallycross Champion Tanner Foust. He finished 10th in the 2012 ERC, his victory in France a memorable result, as he won the ‘A’ Final from the back row, having fought through the ‘C’ and ‘B’ finals after a poor qualifying . . . a rare achievement in the history of rallycross.

Swann has three top 10 finishes in the Barbados Rally Club’s premier event to his credit, with a best of fifth in Sol RB11, co-driven in a Subaru Impreza WRC S12 by Darren Garrod. Ninth the previous year in his Impreza N14 also brought a Group N win, which he repeated in Rally Jamaica six months later, making him the first driver to do the double in the same year, a remarkable achievement for an overseas visitor.

The same car returned last year, almost unrecognisable after a comprehensive rebuild to Britain’s B13 spec, stripped to a bare shell, lightened, dipped, re-sprayed, then fitted with a WRC-spec engine, six-speed sequential gearbox and active centre diff. Swann started on the back foot, with no chance to test in the UK, so was disappointed with 16th in King of the Hill; development work during the week resulted in a seventh-place finish in Sol RB12, however, with Swann rarely outside the top 10 stage times.

He is confident that he can do even better this year, with further tweaks now completed on the Waves Hotel and Spa/Cygnet Plant Ltd/Revolution Wheels/Wacker Neuson Subaru Impreza. Third place and a class win on the Tempest Rally in the UK in November and his second consecutive victory on the Premier Rally a few weeks later – both loose-surface events - have further boosted his confidence with the car.

ANNIVERSARY RE-BRAND FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:24 PM

The Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international, Sol Rally Barbados, will have a fresh new image for 2013. The Barbados Rally Club (BRC) this week revealed the event’s new logo and associated branding, marking the 10th Anniversary of the name change from International All-Stage Rally to Rally Barbados, a title which better projected the event’s growing contribution to the island’s sports tourism product.

Publication this month of the Barbados Motoring Federation’s (BMF) Approved Calendar confirms the date for Sol RB13 as Saturday and Sunday, June 1/2, with Scrutineering and the Scotiabank King of the Hill ‘shakedown’ the previous weekend, May 25/26.

Created by local graphics and marketing consultants 809 Design Associates, the new logo combines rallying heritage by adopting the ‘door plate’ design familiar throughout the world, national identity through the use of colour and design, and distinct branding for The Sol Group, which is in its sixth year of title sponsorship. BRC PRO Neil Barnard explains:
“As a major contributor to sports tourism in Barbados, it is vital that the event logo reflects elements of the island’s national identity. We have achieved this by using the national colours - blue, gold and black - and by re-introducing the icon used for the original Rally Barbados logo in 2003, the ‘Trident Arrows’, which combine a reference to the National Flag with ‘tulip diagrams’ familiar to rally co-drivers.

“From the title sponsor’s perspective, it is essential that the identity appears distinct and true to brand guidelines. To this end, we recognised that the most effective colour for it to appear against is white and are delighted that Sol has approved our proposals.”

The new branding will appear in a variety of applications, from communications to merchandise, including the event web site, www.rallybarbados.net. The site has been refreshed by 809, the original designers, and will continue to be managed by another local company, Caribbean New Media, which has been involved from the start.

IRISH FANS PLAN FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2013

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:22 PM

Nearly 50 Irish rally fans are looking forward to Sol Rally Barbados 2013, having signed up for the first-ever package deal offered by an Irish travel agent for the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international. While some overseas competitors have taken as many as 20 family and friends, this will be the largest single group to attend Sol Rally Barbados, reinforcing it as a key player in the country’s sports-tourism product.

Barbados Rally Club (BRC) PRO Neil Barnard is delighted:
“This is amazing. Over the past two years, funded by the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), we have vigorously promoted Sol Rally Barbados in Ireland, with significant growth in competitor numbers. Now, to have this surge of interest among spectators is just superb.

“With the help of the TDC, we were able to bring journalists to Barbados to publicise the event, also to offer a trip to Sol RB12 as a competition prize for marshals who worked at the Circuit of Ireland Rally.”

Ethna Rowland of Flyaway Travel in County Mayo, on Ireland’s west coast, put the package together. She explained:
“As a spectator myself, I always wanted to head to Barbados for the rally. After being put under pressure from friends who are also huge rally fans, most are members of the Galway Motor Club, I decided to look into it.

“My chance came in early October, with great flight sale prices through Virgin Atlantic, so I put a package together to see what feed back I'd get. I advertised it on our Facebook page, in the rally car section of Donedeal.ie and on rally.ie. The response was unbelievable . . . I have 46 fans and spectators booked in to date.” Rowland also acknowledged the contribution of Dublin Crystal’s Martin and Janet Taylor, regular competitors in Barbados: “They have been a great help and given me a lot of advice and information.”

Subject to final ratification by the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF), Sol RB13 will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 1/2, with Scrutineering and the Sol Go Further King of the Hill ‘shakedown’ the previous weekend, May 25/26.

Event Website

Posted: May 2, 2013 8:22 PM

Rally Barbados