Graham Coffey & Patrick Walsh (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) Run 4
SECOND FLOW KING OF THE HILL CROWN FOR PANTON
Posted: May 30, 2017 6:02 AM
Jamaica’s Jeff Panton and Mike Fennell claimed their second Flow King of the Hill crown yesterday (Sunday), but enjoyed the limelight alone this time, following 2016’s tie with Simon Jean-Joseph and Jack Boyere. Second-placed Rob Swann claimed his best-ever KotH result, ahead of fellow British regulars, Roger Duckworth and Kevin Procter, with Roger Skeete finishing fifth and highest-placed local driver, as last year.
After four straight class wins, last year in eighth place, Rhett Watson and James Hutchinson finally claimed overall two-wheel-drive honours, finishing seventh, with 2wd cars packing the rest of the top 10, brothers Roger and Barry Mayers split by Dane Skeete. Of the 87 crews who started, only one failed to record a time on at least two runs, although many have work to do on their cars ahead of Sol Rally Barbados 2017.
Panton said: “Every win is a good win and the confidence level is high for next weekend. We went out very strong for the first run, as we expected rain. I wasn't able to better my time for runs two and three, but the last run was dry and we lowered the time by two seconds. The Friday night start doesn't bother me too much; seven-kilometre stages are nothing new for me and it’s just another night stage and we're ready for it.”
By the time the first run over the 4.3kms course started at 10.00am, huge crowds had gathered inside the Vaucluse Raceway (VRW) in St Thomas, with hundreds more spectators lining other popular spots on Hangmans Hill, at Dukes and Lion Castle. After rain had fallen sporadically during Saturday’s Rally Show at Simpson Motors, more was forecast for Sunday, and it would play its part in the results.
For the first time, there was no Practice run, the fastest of four Official runs to decide the results, then seeding for Sol RB17. This would benefit a handful of drivers, including a couple of class-winners, as everyone was encouraged to be ‘on it’ from the start, with rain likely. The event was run in reverse order of seeding, from Clubman up to WRC-1.
Panton (Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06) was quickest on the first run, clocking 2m 48.55s, 2.3secs faster than Swann and Darren Garrod in the Elegant Hotels/Blue Sky Luxury/Cygnet Plant Subaru Impreza WRC S12B, with Skeete and Louis Venezia another 1.3secs adrift in the Sol/Flow/Automotive Art/Simpson Motors/WTI Impreza S12B. Duckworth and Mark Broomfield (Intrinsys Impreza S6) were fourth, with Procter and newcomer Andrew Roughead (Procters Coaches Ford Fiesta) fifth.
Dane Skeete and Tyler Mayhew (Sol/Flow/Automotive Art/Williams Trading Inc Peugeot 306 Maxi) were sixth and fastest 2wd, ahead of Watson (Chefette/Power King Batteries/Gliptone/Stihl/Gunk/The Unknown Entity in support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3), Josh Read and Mark Jordan (Sprite/Hankook/Chutney’s/Urban Kitchen/Weetabix/Nassco/Flow/eCarib Classifieds/Cell Hut Toyota Starlet), Roger Hill and Graham Gittens (Esso/Nassco/MaxMeyer/MotorMac/Pennzoil Toyota Corolla WRC) and Avinash Chatrani and Eric Allamby (Lenovo/PowerBass/Gunk/iShop/Genius Lynk/Copacabana Beach Club Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI).
While Panton improved by two-tenths on the second run, he could have gone faster, but encountered yellow flags after Roger Skeete had slid off on an unexpected stretch of wet road, damaging the front left of the Impreza. While Swann (by 1.8secs, to within six-tenths of Panton), Procter (by 4.3secs) and Duckworth (by 2.6secs) also all improved on the second run, Skeete’s first-run time was still good enough for him to stay in fifth place . . . and so it remained for the rest of the day.
Rain fell part-way through run three, so only drivers in the first half of the field improved; then there was then a delay while emergency teams dealt with a number of incidents, the worst of which befell Scotland’s Fraser Louden, who rolled his Evo IX near the end of the stage. While both he and co-driver were OK, the clear-up took some time.
Skeete returned once the run resumed and, although he was no faster, he was happy with the repairs to the car; catching the best of the weather, Britain’s Nigel Worswick and Rebecca Kirsch were fastest in the Worswick Engineering/Rallytech Composites Ford Escort WRC. While both Panton and Duckworth improved on run four, Duckworth leap-frogging Procter for third, Swann’s earlier time still earned him a satisfying second place: “I had a really good day, despite not having any real clean runs. I drove well within myself, as there is still next week to come. I'm pretty pleased with second overall, which means not being first on the road, so it could work to my benefit.”
Dane Skeete held the upper hand in the 2wd battle until the final run, when Watson cut 2.5secs off his first-run time to finish ahead; Skeete also lost out to Roger Mayers and Sean Corbin (Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics WR Starlet), who had finished the first run stuck in second gear, which required a trip back to the workshop. Mayers was 65th after run one, missed run two, 51st after run three (one place behind Scottish crowd favourite Allan Mackay’s Ford Anglia WRC) and finished eighth and winner of SuperModified 2. His brother Barry and Ben Norris completed the top 10, third in SM2, the Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics Ford Fiesta handling strangely, running one rear damper borrowed from the Starlet.
Watson said: “The plan today was to feel out the car as we did some development work since the Shakedown Stages. The weather played a big part, so we tried to have a go in the first run to post a good time, then we had some fun sliding in the wet. It feels great to win something like this on sheer pace and not really benefit from attrition!”
The smallest margin of victory in the classes was Roger Mayers (0.39secs) over Dane Skeete in SM2, with five other classes settled by less than 1.5secs: Daryl Clarke (Flow/Automotive Art/Amir’s Chicken/MQI Collision Repair/Valvoline/eCarib Classifieds Honda Civic) and Kurt Thompson (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa Civic) were split by just 0.51secs in Modified 2, while Wayne Archer (Archers Hall Design Centre/RW Water/Arrow Woodworking/Arrow Construction/D & A Mechanical Services BMW 325) beat Greg Cozier (Barbados Historic Rally Carnival/Geest Line/Jondel Race Engines/Rally and Competition Equipment Ford Escort RS) by 0.84secs in Historic 2.
In Group A, Chatrani beat Trinidad’s David Coelho (Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Evo IX) by 1.44secs, the same margin of victory by which Edward Corbin (Automotive Art/Hilti Daihatsu Charmant) came from behind to beat Scotland’s Kenny Hall (Halltune Garage/F & Co Hair Stylists/The Sporting Pig Sports Bar & Restaurant/Time Out Hotel Ford Puma S1600) in M1. Holland’s Frans Verbaas (Verbaas Preparations/Koni Rover Mini Cooper) beat England’s Andrew Costin-Hurley (Cygnet Plant Ltd/Earl’s Performance Hoses/Wootton Tyres Ford Puma Evo) by 1.50secs in Group B2.
Sol Rally Barbados (June 2-4) and Flow King of the Hill (May 28) are organised and promoted by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrates its 60th Anniversary in 2017; title sponsors are the Sol Group and Flow. Marketing partners are Simpson Motors, Automotive Art and Banks; official partners are Accra Beach Hotel & Spa, the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, Geest Line and the Tourism Development Corporation; associate sponsors are Chefette and Stoute’s Car Rental.
1st Jeffrey Panton – JAM/Michael Fennell Jnr – JAM (Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06), 2m 46.45s
2nd Rob Swann – ENG/Darren Garrod - WAL (Elegant Hotels/Blue Sky Luxury/Cygnet Plant Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), + 02.50s
3rd Roger Duckworth - ENG/Mark Broomfield - ENG (Intrinsys Subaru Impreza WRC S6), + 04.41s
4th Kevin Procter – ENG/Andrew Roughead - ENG (Procters Coaches Ford Fiesta), + 05.19s
5th Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (Sol/Flow/Automotive Art/Simpson Motors/WTI Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), + 05.72s
6th Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (Esso/Nassco/MaxMeyer/MotorMac/Pennzoil Toyota Corolla WRC), + 08.30s
7th Rhett Watson/James Hutchinson (Chefette/Power King Batteries/Gliptone/Stihl/Gunk/The Unknown Entity in support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3), + 08.37s
8th Roger Mayers/Sean Corbin (Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics WR Starlet), + 08.90s
9th Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (Sol/Flow/Automotive Art/Williams Trading Inc Peugeot 306 Maxi), + 09.29s
10th Barry Mayers/Ben Norris (Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics Ford Fiesta), + 10.70s
CARS ON THE SEA FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2017
Posted: April 28, 2017 3:08 AM
Having off-loaded fruit and other exports from around the Caribbean, the Geest Line freighter Benguela Stream set sail from Portsmouth in England on Tuesday (April 25) carrying a shipment of 31 rally cars from the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe bound for Sol Rally Barbados 2017. After a 10-day trans-Atlantic voyage, the ship will off-load its precious cargo at the Bridgetown Port . . . including a 45-year-old ex-works Ford Escort MkI, which has undergone a bare-shell rebuild for a nostalgic trip to Barbados.
In the year that the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) marks its 60th Anniversary, the Club’s premier event will run from Friday to Sunday, June 2-4, and Flow King of the Hill the previous Sunday (May 28). Even with today’s (Thursday) 6.00pm deadline close at hand, new entries have been posted on the official web site in the past few hours.
Among the cars in today’s shipment, which bring the confirmed overseas entries to 41, is Gerald Pennell’s Callaway Golf, Ellis & Son Builders and GP Engineering-backed Escort, bearing the registration number REV 101K. Built at Ford’s competition base at Boreham, it was a practice and recce car for 119K, 120K and 128K, which the factory entered in period for Roger Clark and Hannu Mikkola among others, with 120K also well-known for post-works wins in the hands of Adrian Boyd and David Stokes.
Pennell bought the car in 1977 and campaigned it with considerable success until, like many other MkIs, it was re-shelled as a MkII in 1981; Pennell continued to rack up top 10 finishes and class wins until 2012, when he decided to rebuild the car in its original works spec, targeting an entry on Sol RB16, along with friend and competitor, Maurice May, who intended to celebrate his 70th birthday with an entry. Sadly, Maurice died before he could make the trip, son Simon and other members of Farnborough District Motor Club competing last year to honour his father.
This year, Pennell is campaigning as ‘Team Geriatric’, to remember not only Maurice, but also other fallen rallying friends, Keith Aslett, Stan Dukes and Ricky Wall, all of whose names are on the car. There is a brighter side to the trip, too, as Sam Ogier, who has been helping Pennell with the logistics, will be marrying his fiancée Kerry at Coconut Court Beach Hotel while they are here.
The second MkI is familiar to local fans, friend and former sponsor of Martin Stockdale, Ray Clough back for a third year with his Weber Construction Materials, Frank Key Builders Merchants and CCF Builders Merchants-supported example. Clough returned to rallying two years ago, saying at the time: “I’m 60 this year, so I thought I would treat myself, get the car out of the garage and use it for what it’s built for.”
Having first competed in the late 1970s, he had taken a long break and the Escort was finished in 2007, but not used until two years ago. On his first trip, he finished 42nd and fourth in the International Historic class, improving to 27th and Historic 2 class-winner last year, both times with local co-driver Stephen Bell. As Bell is now sitting with Pennell, Kareem Gaskin will be in the ‘hot seat’.
Pete Rayner, whose tail-out driving style has had the crowds jumping for the past two years, is back with his Perry Road Autos Escort MkII, missing KotH while on a family holiday, which also means daughter Maria hands over the co-driver’s seat to Ashley Trimble. He and Rayner were sixth overall and class-winners on the Jersey Rally in 2015, while he also co-drove for Philip Hopkins (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI) in Sol RB15.
Maria contributed to a Special Stage Extra programme, which increased Sol RB15 air time on British television, and the Rayner family are again responsible for extra UK exposure this year, with a five-page feature in the May 2017 edition of ClassicFord magazine. In a sidebar panel on his Sol RB outings, Rayner said: “It is an incredible event, brilliantly organised by the Barbados Rally Club, with massively knowledgeable and friendly locals in huge numbers competing and spectating. The whole package isn’t so much more expensive that doing an event like Jersey . . . and the weather is usually a lot warmer than the Channel Islands in October.”
Rayner’s friend Steve Finch is also back for a third visit in another MkII, with two overall finishes already under his belt, second in SM10 in Sol RB15 the better of his two results; he returns with Stan Graham as co-driver for the second time.
Rally Club thanks tireless Portsmouth volunteers
As happens every year, a group of Sol RB regulars travelled to Portsmouth to assist with loading the cars on Monday, led by Martin Stockdale, who marks his 17th consecutive visit at Sol RB17. Newcomers to the dockside crew this year, Kevin Procter and Nigel Worswick, drove round trips of 550 and 600 miles respectively, to combine delivering their cars and helping with the loading process.
Rally Office Manager Jeanne Crawford said: “What these guys do every year is such a big help to us, as rally cars are precious cargo and everyone worries for the safety of their cars. So thanks to Martin, Kevin, KP’s friend Les, Nigel, Paul Rees, Ray and Carron, the Costin-Hurleys and the Maugers for all their hard work on Monday evening. Their working relationship with the men on the dock plays a huge part in building confidence in our event, particularly among our newcomers.”
Sol Rally Barbados (June 2-4, 2017) and Flow King of the Hill (May 28) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrates its 60th Anniversary in 2017; Sol RB17 marks the 10th year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company, and the second by communications provider Flow.
Shipping date for European entries from Portsmouth confirmed
Posted: February 16, 2017 2:39 PM
The Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has confirmed Tuesday, April 25, as the sailing date for the Geest Line freighter Benguela Stream, which will ship the European entries for Sol Rally Barbados 2017 across the Atlantic Ocean. After the 10-day voyage, the 30 or so cars will be off-loaded at the Bridgetown Port on the south-east corner of the island before being collected by a team of BRC officials and volunteers and transported to 'Rally Central', the secure base at which the Club hosts the bulk of its overseas visitors, which will this year be located at Bushy Park Barbados.
Rally Office Manager Jeanne Crawford said: "The date falls in line with recent years, but I would just remind our first-time visitors that the closing date for cars to be delivered to the dock is noon the previous Friday (April 21); all paperwork must also be submitted to Geest no later than this date, along with payment for any additional crates they may be shipping, and insurance must also be in place. The return shipping date is yet to be confirmed; currently, the scheduled date is either Friday or Saturday, June 9 or 10, subject to availability."
Sol Rally Barbados (June 2-4, 2017) and Flow King of the Hill (May 28) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrates its 60th Anniversary in 2017; Sol RB17 marks the 10th year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean's largest independent oil company, and the second by communications provider Flow.
SOL RALLY BARBADOS REVAMP "A WORK IN PROGRESS"
Posted: February 3, 2017 7:15 AM
A new spectator-focussed Rally Show, a revised format for Scrutineering and a change of location for 'Rally Central' - the secure facility and workshop that plays host to the majority of visiting crews - are among changes for Sol Rally Barbados 2017 confirmed in outline today (January 28) by the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC).
As the BRC celebrates its 60th Anniversary, Sol RB17 will run from Friday to Sunday, June 2-4, with Flow King of the Hill, on which the seeding for the main event is based, the previous Sunday (May 28). Since entries opened on October 1 on the official web site, www.rallybarbados.net, more than 50 have been posted, almost three-quarters of the total from overseas.
In his introduction to a revised FAQ document which will shortly be available on-line, Sol RB Chairman Mark Hamilton writes: "After each event, we look at every element to see where anything might be improved but, as there have been no major structural changes in recent years, we decided it might be time for a closer look. We held a Members Meeting last week, at which there was a very productive exchange of views between the Committee of Management and competitors, which has resulted in us looking beyond what we were already planning to change."
On Saturday, May 27, the BRC will host its new Rally Show at Simpson Motors, after a decision to separate the official function of scrutineering ? the technical checks on competing cars - from the promotional event, which has surrounded it in recent years at the Warrens location. BRC PRO Neil Barnard says: "This, for me, was the best result of our Members Meeting. The competitors feel that the entire thing has become extremely onerous, with up to two hours spent by each team moving slowly forwards in line . . . and all this in the hot sun."
While the detailed format of the new event is still being developed, the Rally Show will run from 2.00pm to 6.00pm, with a mix of autograph sessions, competitions, driver and co-driver interviews, film clips, photo opportunities and sponsor giveaways. The revised Scrutineering plan means that crews who compete in the BRC Shakedown Stages (April 23) will not be required to undergo further technical checks, while overseas visitors and local drivers who did not compete will have their cars checked in non-public sessions on the same day.
Barnard added: "The decision to split these two functions opens up a whole range of possibilities as to how we can transform this Saturday into something markedly bigger and more impactful for the benefit not only of our own marketing partners and sponsors, but also every single competitor's individual sponsors. Currently, it is a work in progress."
'Rally Central' will now be located in the Pits at Bushy Park Barbados, in light of the impending sale of the former Banks Brewery building at Wildey, where it has been located for the past four years. Hamilton explains: "Sourcing a location large enough to house the number of overseas cars, along with spare parts, tyres and associated equipment is no easy task. The Banks building has served us very well in recent years, as it was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate the steady growth in the overseas entry over that period.
"We have always been aware, however, that it would one day cease to be available, and that day has come. Our new arrangement with Bushy Park Barbados provides us with an enhanced package, as we can now offer track time for testing, without teams needing to decamp to a separate location. All the previous components of the Rally Central package ? the office, 24-hour security, storage and washrooms ? remain in place."
FROM PRIZE TRIP TO A DRIVE IN SOL RALLY BARBADOS - Kevin Flanagan to take part in Sol Rally Barbados 2017
Posted: January 14, 2017 4:10 PM
Irish motor sport enthusiast Kevin Flanagan will participate in Sol Rally Barbados 2017 (June 2-4), just two years after he was first introduced to the island by winning a Prize Trip in a draw for volunteer marshals on the Circuit of Ireland. And next Thursday (January 12), Flanagan will be among the first visitors to the Sol RB17 stand at Autosport International (ASI) in the UK, where the event is exhibiting for the first time.
Flanagan is looking forward to returning: "I had such a good time in Barbados when I won the trip in 2015 through the Circuit of Ireland marshals draw that I just had to return. I will be 50 in October this year, so that is my excuse! I'll be visiting the Sol Rally Barbados stand at the Autosport show next week, hoping to meet up with some old friends and start getting into the mood.?
Celebrating its 60th Anniversary year, the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) is launching a new campaign to attract more overseas spectators at ASI, Europe's largest motor sport show, which runs at the NEC Birmingham from January 12 to 15; two trade days are followed by two public days, with everyone welcome to visit Sol RB17 on stand 7400 in Hall 7. Supported by the island's Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), which had backed the earlier Marshals' Prize Trip promotions, the Club has partnered with British tour specialists Rally Travel to offer Official Spectator Packages.
A veteran of more than 30 years working as a marshal and official, and now with around two decades of competition in the Mini under his belt in rallies, hill climbs, sprints and races, Flanagan is more than happy to give back to the sport with the time he volunteers on events. When he won the 2015 trip, he had been part of the Circuit of Ireland timekeeping team, but has also been Clerk of the Course at a few night navigation rallies and, many years ago, on the committee of Monaghan Motor Club. Originally from County Monaghan, he now lives in Kilpedder, County Wicklow in the Republic of Ireland, where he is a heating engineer.
With Welsh co-driver Dominic Adams, Flanagan will compete in a Mini Cooper S, of which he became the third owner in 1993. Having started life as what he describes as "a bog-standard 1000cc Mini", it became his daily driver for two years. First log-booked as a rally car in March 1997, the 39-year-old Mini now boasts a 112 horsepower 1350cc engine, while Flanagan adds: "I am just in the process of a full rebuild, with a number of upgrades, in order to have it in tip-top shape for Sol Rally Barbados 2017."
While he has many event class wins to his credit, Flanagan has never won a Championship title as a driver - "I have never attempted any", he says ? but he was Novice Navigator of the Year in Monaghan Motor Club in the late 1980s. He explains: "This was a seriously competitive championship with 'expert' navigators from Northern Ireland competing. Due to the regulations, any navigator from another jurisdiction could compete as a novice if they hadn't competed in the Republic of Ireland before. I pipped a well-known International Rally Clerk of the Course for the win on the last event."
Strangely, there is a Barbados connection to Flanagan's biggest rallying accident: in December 1991, he broke both ankles and dislocated the left one (at the same time) in an incident on the famous Moll's Gap stage in Killarney, which left him in a wheelchair for a month and off work for much longer. He was the co-driver in an historic Hillman Imp, being driven by the late Gabriel Konig, who had been among the first British circuit racers to compete at Bushy Park in the early 1970s and was a regular visitor for 40 years.
SPECTATOR PUSH FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Posted: January 1, 2017 5:43 PM
The Barbados Rally Club (BRC) will kick off a new campaign to attract more overseas spectators to its premier event, Sol Rally Barbados, at Europe's largest motor sport show, Autosport International (ASI). Supported by the island's Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), the Club has partnered with tour specialists Rally Travel to offer Official Spectator Packages for 2017, which will be launched at ASI (January 12-15), where Sol RB will exhibit for the first time.
In the BRC's 60th Anniversary year, Sol RB17, the Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport International, will run from Friday to Sunday, June 2-4, with Scrutineering and Flow King of the Hill the previous weekend, May 27/28. More than 40 entries have been received on-line at www.rallybarbados.net, including 35 International crews, with at least 10 first-timers already on the list; entries remain open until early May 2017.
Rally Travel (www.rallytravel.com) has a loyal customer base of knowledgeable and enthusiastic rally fans from all over the world, always keen to experience the sport in new locations. Sol RB will be the UK company's only non-WRC offering, with two options available: the five-night Escorted Tour includes VIP access to all three days of Sol RB17, plus the Monday Prizegiving, while the 11-night offering encompasses Scrutineering and Flow KotH the previous weekend, along with a special excursions during the week.
Managing Director David Hutchinson says: "Sol Rally Barbados can, and should, become a 'must do' event on every motor sport fan's calendar. The enthusiasm for the sport and the event across the island is incredible, and what better way to experience a rally than standing in the sunshine with a beer (or rum!) in hand surrounded by beautiful scenery and just a few minutes from some of the best beaches in the Caribbean.
"The nature of the event, encompassing a week-long festival of rallying, offers fans a uniquely immersive experience which can not be rivalled on the world championship. Guests will feel they have become part of the event itself, with access to activities usually off-limits to fans in the WRC such as scrutineering, team workshop visits, pre-event social and media functions with the drivers, VIP viewing areas and the legendary Sol Rally Barbados Prizegiving party!
"With competing cars running at 30-second intervals, there's never a dull moment, making for a more 'action-packed' spectating experience than many events in the UK and Europe." Full details can be found at www.rallytravel.com, while fans looking for a more tailor-made package can e-mail the Rally Travel team at info@rallytravel.com.
There will also be Rally Travel personnel helping to staff the Sol Rally Barbados stand at ASI, with the island team headed up by BRC Competition Secretary Neil Corbin. ASI runs for four days: the two trade days last year attracted 27,500 industry professionals, including competitors, from 60 countries, while the two public days over the weekend bring in another more than 60,000 people, fans and spectators.
Sol RB Chairman Mark Hamilton is enthusiastic about the new venture: "The Rally Club has been keen to grow the numbers of overseas spectators at Sol Rally Barbados for many years. From our last audit, we know that there is a sound base of visitors from the region and further afield, supporting friends and family ? we have logged up more than 4,000 tourist nights each year in recent times ? but we are keen to reach those not directly associated and introduce the event and the island to a whole new market.
"We have run successful 'Rally to Barbados' promotions with the TDC since 2012 and are delighted that they are supporting our new partnership with Rally Travel, as we all share the same objectives of putting 'bums in beds'."
International Rally Drivers Club supports Sol RB17
The International Rally Drivers Club (IRDC) is helping to promote Sol Rally Barbados 2017 through its quarterly magazine IRDC Quattro. Following a preliminary feature in September, more space was devoted to the event in the latest issue, published in mid-December, with further coverage committed for March and June.
The IRDC has its origins in the Monte Carlo Rally British Competitors Club, founded in 1931 to protect and promote the interests of competitors making the annual pilgrimage to the Mediterranean. Having first morphed into the British International Rallies Club in the 1960s, reflecting the wider interests of UK competitors, by then also travelling to events in Africa and across Europe, the current IRDC was established in 1969.
The Club's coat of arms retains the original 1930s design ? the flags of Britain and Monaco, wheel chains and snow shovels ? while the Latin motto is Per Ardua Ad Solem, which translates as 'Through Adversity to the Sun'. Chairman Shaun Martin said: "We're delighted to help spread the word about Sol Rally Barbados, as we know many of your regular visitors through our involvement at Goodwood, all of whom have high praise for the event. And the Club motto seems very appropriate, too!"
The IRDC's President is Jimmy McRae and Vice-Presidents Gwyndaf Evans, John Haugland and Malcolm Wilson, while Martin heads up an active club with a worldwide membership, which has a major presence on the UK rallying scene at events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Rallyday at Castle Combe and Wales Rally GB.
Sol Rally Barbados (June 2-4, 2017) and Flow King of the Hill (May 28) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which will celebrate its 60th Anniversary in 2017; Sol RB17 marks the 10th year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean's largest independent oil company, and the second by communications provider Flow.
CHAMPION TARGETS SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2017 / More than 20 entries received in first week of registration
Posted: October 12, 2016 10:00 AM
Winner of Group N at Sol Rally Barbados 2008, Britain's Ryan Champion is targeting a return to the event next year in the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC04 in which he finished third in last Saturday’s (October 1) Trackrod Rally Yorkshire. While Champion is not yet among the more than 20 entries received since on-line registration opened last weekend, he is in determined mood.
The 2005 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Champion told the British weekly, Motorsport News: “We’re certainly going to see what we can do in terms of Barbados. It’s an event I’ve done before and one I’d like to do again. We’re going to talk about it, whether it’s possible or not, we’ll look into it, but it would be nice to do it.”
Organised by the Barbados Rally Club (BRC), which will celebrate its 60th Anniversary next year, Sol Rally Barbados 2017 will run from Friday to Sunday, June 2-4, with Scrutineering and Flow King of the Hill the previous weekend, May 27/28. On-line entries are now open on the official web site - www.rallybarbados.net – and will close in early May next year.
Barbados connections were well-represented in Yorkshire last weekend, with many familiar names in the top 10: the five-stage 44-mile rally was won by Charlie Payne (Ford Fiesta), co-driven by Carl Williamson, who finished 21st and Historic 2 class-winner with Andrew Siddall in his Ford Escort MkI in Sol RB11. Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson finished second in a Fiesta R5, with Champion and Allan Harryman third in the Lancer. Payne and Petch had two stage wins each, Champion claiming the other.
Regular Barbados top 10 finishers Kevin Procter and Rob Swann finished fourth and fifth, Procter co-driven by Andrew Roughead in his Fiesta, while Swann tackled his first gravel rally for a year with Aled Edwards on the notes in his Subaru Impreza WRC S12B. Peter Stephenson finished 10th in a Ford Focus WRC, with co-driver Ian Windress, who twice finished second in Barbados, with Paul Bird on his first two visits in 2008 & ’09.
The Lancer WRC04, which is owned by Tristan Bailey and run by Dom Delaney’s SVP outfit, is the predecessor to the WRC05, one of which Sean Gill drove to fifth place in Sol RB10, which Champion remembers: “I used to test the WRC cars at Mitsubishi and I sat with Sean at Bushy Park when the '05 car first arrived on the island, at something like 6.30 in the morning!”
Of his Yorkshire outing, which was dogged by low turbo boost early in the day, Champion said: “I had a couple of spins, it’s probably a couple of things, me overdriving and trying to make up a lot of time with the turbo issues. Having been fastest in Dalby, we were within a second of Charlie on the last two stages, and there’s quite a bit of difference in the technology to Charlie’s car. There’s definitely more to come from me and the car together.”
After winning Group N in Sol RB08 – he finished eighth overall in a Lancer Evo VIII, co-driven by Craig Thorley – Champion returned the following year with his recently-restored Subaru Impreza 555, but retired with engine failure; with wife Jemma, son Finley and his parents, both also former competitors, Champion has been a regular spectator since then, so is looking forward to a Caribbean competition comeback.
Sol Rally Barbados is a two-day tarmac rally, with around 22 special stages run on the island’s intricate network of public roads, under road closure orders granted by the Ministry of Transport & Works; the previous Sunday’s Flow King of the Hill ‘shakedown’, run under a similar arrangement, features four timed runs on a roughly three-kilometre stage, the results of which are used to seed the running order for the main event.
More than 20 entries received in first week of registration
Interest in Sol Rally Barbados remains high, as organisers report more than 20 entries have been received since on-line registration at www.rallybarbados.net opened last Saturday (October 1). All but one of those entries comes from overseas, with representation from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with more than a quarter posted by crews who will be making their Caribbean debuts.
Sol RB17 Chairman Mark Hamilton said: "This is a very good start to our annual journey, with the first week a little better than last year in terms of numbers. What is particularly encouraging, however, is the number of new names we are already seeing on the provisional list, reinforcing our event’s place on so many competitors’ ‘bucket lists’. We look forward to welcoming those newcomers next year, as well as renewing friendships with our repeat visitors.”
Sol Rally Barbados (June 2-4, 2017) and Flow King of the Hill (May 28) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which will celebrate its 60th Anniversary in 2017; Sol RB17 marks the 10th year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company, and the second by communications provider Flow.
SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2017 DATES ANNOUNCED
Posted: August 25, 2016 6:45 AM
The Barbados Rally Club (BRC), which will celebrate its 60th Anniversary next year, has today (August 22) announced the dates for next year’s edition of its premier event: Sol Rally Barbados 2017 will run from Friday to Sunday, June 2-4, with Scrutineering and Flow King of the Hill the previous weekend, May 27/28. On-line entries will open on the official web site - www.rallybarbados.net – on October 1.
Sol RB17 Chairman Mark Hamilton said: "We have made representations to the island’s governing body, the Barbados Motoring Federation, regarding the early release of our dates before the ratified BMF calendar is published, so we can give competitors time to prepare. We have been receiving a steady flow of enquiries in recent weeks, many from potential newcomers to the event.
“While the two weekends of activity are the same as this year, slotting around school half-term holidays in the UK, there is an added bonus in 2017 - as Easter falls late, the Monday after Sol SB17 is the Whit Bank Holiday in the island, which boosts the Prizegiving at The Boatyard, as there is always an extra-special turn-out of local competitors, who might otherwise have been at work.”
From small beginnings as the International All-Stage Rally in 1990, the BRC’s premier event has grown into the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International and a key National Event on the island’s sports-tourism calendar; it contributes around Bds $4 million to the economy each year, much of it in foreign exchange, and accounts for more than 4,000 visitor nights at a traditionally quiet time.
While the start list for Sol RB16 was a few short of the previous year, the quality was undeniably the best in the history of the event, including an entry from World Rally Championship (WRC) crew Elfyn Evans and Craig Parry in a Ford Fiesta R5 Evo, the first current WRC participants to compete in Barbados. Jamaica’s Jeff Panton and Michael Fennell Jnr (Ford Focus WRC06) claimed their second consecutive win and the third for Panton, who had been the event’s first regional winner in 1998.
Island legend and 13-time winner Roger Skeete, co-driven in his Subaru Impreza WRC S12B by Louis Venezia, finished second, with Evans and Parry third, after two-time European Rally Champions Simon Jean-Joseph and Jack Boyere of Martinique retired from second place on Sunday morning after their Focus WRC08 suffered diff failure.
Among the 81 overseas participants, there were 31 new to the event and a record-equalling 16 female competitors. Combining the 2016 statistics with those of previous years, the event has now hosted more than 450 overseas participants, who have travelled from 29 countries. The biggest competitor base remains the UK and Ireland, but competitors have come from as far afield as Australia, Canada, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States, as well as mainland Europe.
Hamilton added: “While we had expected a peak in interest for Sol RB15, as it marked the event’s 25th Anniversary, carrying that increased level of support through to this year was a real bonus. New names enquiring about the dates in recent weeks would suggest there are still a lot of competitors out there who see Sol Rally Barbados as a must-do event, but haven’t made it yet. We look forward to welcoming them.”
Sol Rally Barbados is a tarmac rally, with around 22 special stages run on the island’s intricate network of public roads, under road closure orders granted by the Ministry of Transport & Works; the previous Sunday’s Flow King of the Hill ‘shakedown’, run under a similar arrangement, features four timed runs on a roughly three-kilometre stage, the results of which are used to seed the running order for the main event.
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