Rally Barbados - NEW DATE 30 Oct-1 Nov 20

NEW DATES ANNOUNCED FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS / On-line entries open

Posted: July 19, 2020 3:06 AM

The Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has announced revised dates for its premier event, Sol Rally Barbados 2020, which was postponed following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March. Sol RB20 is now planned for Saturday and Sunday, October 31/November 1, with Flow King of the Hill the previous Sunday, October 25. The announcement comes as competitive motor sport in the island reopens this weekend, with grass roots disciplines the first to return under strict Covid-19 protocols.

Flow KotH and Sol RB20 will this year carry greater weight than before in the Rally Club’s annual Driver’s and Class Championships, which have been reduced from seven to six rounds due to the pandemic; Flow KotH, which will again play a vital role in creating the seeding order for the following weekend, is round three, with each day of Sol RB20 a separate round.

The Championship will kick off on Sunday, August 23, with a Double-Header Sprint shared with the Motoring Club of Barbados Inc and conclude with the Winter Rally on Sunday, November 22, at which the usual enhanced points-scoring system will apply. Postponed from the end of March, the non-championship ‘Test Stage’ will now run on Saturday, August 22, at Orange Hill in St Peter.

In correspondence sent this week to the local membership and to the scores of overseas competitors for whom competing in the Caribbean has become a regular treat, Rally Club and Sol RB Chairman Mark Hamilton wrote:
“Countries have started to open their borders in an attempt to get their economies going, including the reintroduction of air travel. Barbados now has flights arriving on a weekly basis and our situation here on the ground is currently quite positive due to the low impact of the pandemic thus far.

“The Club is aware of the potential for changes to Government Policy and therefore will be taking a Plan A and Plan B approach, with the underlying philosophy being a ‘with spectators / business as usual’ and ‘with limited or no spectators / business unusual’ approach. In each case, Government Policy will be the major influencing factor.” As the cloud of Covid-19 still hangs over all aspects of life across the globe, the BRC has taken a careful look at the structure of its key events, including returning to a two-day format for Sol RB, which has included action on Friday night since 2014. Rally Club PRO Neil Barnard said: “The route that was finalised earlier this year has to be revised in a major way and returning to two days is largely due to budget constraints – but that certainly doesn’t mean that we won’t have a challenging or interesting rally! In the continuing Covid-19 environment, we will seek to deploy resources in spectator areas across the two weekends, as the safety of all our patrons, along with competitors and our invaluable volunteers, is paramount.”

On-line entries open this weekend

Although many competitors had already entered since the on-line system opened on October 1 last year, the Club has opted to restart the process from scratch. On-line entries will open on the official web site - www.rallybarbados.net – at 00.00hrs Barbados time tomorrow (Sunday, July 19), which is 05.00hrs in Ireland/UK; they will close on Friday, October 2, soon after which the provisional entry list will be published.

Rally Officer Manager Jeanne Crawford said:
“Many months have passed since the earliest entries were made and competitor circumstances might have changed, particularly details of sponsorship, co-drivers and so forth. So it makes sense to start from scratch, rather than having numerous persons editing old entry forms. We are looking forward to the entries flowing in during the coming weeks.”

The Club is continuing its discussions with all stakeholders and further announcements will be made in the coming weeks on matters such as shipping and arrangements on the ground for hosting overseas crews and their cars.

Sol Rally Barbados and Flow King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2017; Sol RB20 marks the 13th year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company, and the fifth by communications provider Flow.

On Line Entry:

Rally Barbados

ORGANISERS REMAIN COMMITTED TO SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Posted: April 25, 2020 5:43 AM

A month since confirming the postponement of Sol Rally Barbados 2020 and its associated events, the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) remains committed to its premier event. In a statement issued today (April 21) the Club has updated its membership and overseas competitors with its current plans for the future, all of which still remain subject to the impact of Covid-19 in the island and further afield.

Club Chairman Mark Hamilton said: “Abandoning these events is not a consideration at this point, although their format, scope and size are under constant review given the circumstances and are likely to be influenced should the Covid-19 virus continue to impact our competitors after July 31, 2020.”

“As we had indicated earlier, it currently remains our intention to execute both events in the last quarter of the year, with the potential dates being Sunday, October 25 for Flow King of the Hill, then October 30 to November 1 for Sol Rally Barbados. Clearly, with the continued impact of Covid-19 locally, regionally and internationally, it remains to be seen if this time-line will be realistic. The Club will continue to monitor the situation and make decisions in the best interests of all stakeholders and the events themselves.”

The Club’s championship calendar of sprint and rally events, which was due to kick off with the Shakedown Stages last Sunday (April 19) was suspended until further notice in mid-March, but Hamilton adds: “The Club is looking at potentially starting its 2020 season during late August/early September, dependent on the continuing impact of Covid-19 on the island. We will keep the Membership and other stakeholders updated and wish everyone safety and health in these challenging times.”

Sol Rally Barbados and Flow King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2017; Sol RB20 marks the 13th year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company, and the fifth by communications provider Flow.

SOL RALLY BARBADOS, FLOW KING OF THE HILL POSTPONED

Posted: March 20, 2020 5:49 AM

Sol Rally Barbados 2020 and Flow King of the Hill, scheduled for the last two weekends in May, have been postponed. Following confirmation of the first two cases of Covid-19 in the island on Tuesday (March 17) and the escalation of the coronavirus crisis in the UK, the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has reacted quickly to confirm the news.

The announcement of confirmed cases in the island triggered Stage 1 of a Government Protocol aimed at limiting the spread of the virus, which includes a ban on public gatherings of more than 100 people. As a result, the BRC has advised that its calendar of sprint and rally events, which was due to kick off with the innovative ‘Test Stage’ on Saturday, March 28, will be suspended until further notice.

BRC and Sol RB Chairman Mark Hamilton said:
“As the world continues to grapple with, and react to, the effects of the coronavirus, it has become very apparent that very few of us will not be impacted in some way. With the first two known cases in the island confirmed, it is anticipated that we will see an escalation similar to that seen around the world, in both the number of persons infected, as well as the Government’s reaction in an effort to limit the spread of the virus. Given the above, I have to unfortunately advise that all Sprint and All Stage Rally Motorsport run by the Club will be suspended until further notice.” Sol RB20, round three of the 2020 FIA NACAM Championship, was scheduled to run from Friday to Sunday, May 29 to 31, with The Rally Show and Flow King of the Hill on May 23 and 24. The deadline for UK crews to deliver their cars to Portsmouth for shipping on the Geest Line, however, is five weeks earlier and, with the situation in the UK steadily worsening, the logistics add to the complications.

Despite the current state of affairs, Hamilton added:
“The Club remains totally committed to running our major events in the latter part of the year, when we hope the environment allows. We have already identified a number of potential dates, but it is critical that we provide the best options for all our stakeholders, from the competitors, to the Club’s commercial partners, as well as the thousands of spectators. To this end, we are already in talks with all concerned, so that we are ready to go when the situation improves.”

Sol Rally Barbados and Flow King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2017; Sol RB20 marks the 13th year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company, and the fifth by communications provider Flow.

SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2020 DATES ANNOUNCED

Posted: November 26, 2019 4:13 AM

Following this year’s successful 30th running of its premier event, which attracted more than 40 overseas entries for the fifth year in a row, the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has announced the provisional dates for Sol Rally Barbados 2020. Subject to final ratification by the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF), Sol RB20 will run from Friday to Sunday, May 29 to 31, with The Rally Show (May 23) and Flow King of the Hill (May 24) the previous weekend.

The event has evolved from small beginnings as the International All-Stage Rally of 1990 into the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International and a key National Event on the island’s sports-tourism calendar. As has been the practice in the recent past, on-line entries will open on the official web site - www.rallybarbados.net – on October 1, which falls on a Tuesday this year, and close in early May 2020.

Following its steady growth over the past three decades, the event now contributes around Bds $4 million to the economy each year, much of it in valuable foreign exchange, and accounts for as many as 4,000 visitor nights at a traditionally quiet time in the tourism calendar. The 80 overseas participants in Sol RB19, of whom 19 were new to the event, came from 13 countries, while there was a record number of female competitors for the third year in a row. Adding the 2019 statistics to those of previous years, the event has now hosted more than 500 overseas participants from 29 countries. The biggest competitor base remains the UK and Ireland, but competitors have come from as far afield as Kenya, New Zealand and the United States.

Sol Rally Barbados is a tarmac rally, with around 24 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 four-kilometre stage, the results of which are used to seed the running order for the main event.

Event Website / Details

Posted: November 26, 2019 4:11 AM

Rally Barbados