Barbados Rally - 7-8 Jun 03

Posted: June 6, 2003 2:21 AM

With 30 drivers from the UK and mainland Europe, plus 10 from the region, this weekend's (June 7/8) Rally Barbados 2003 is the biggest motor sport event ever staged in the Caribbean. Never before has the event attracted a capacity entry of 90 cars, and an entry in which quantity is matched by quality - the 50 drivers from Barbados will need to be on their mettle this weekend.

For the third year in a row, television crews have arrived to film the two events of the Barbados Rally Carnival - Rally Barbados and last weekend's Sunbeach International RallySprint - for transmission on Sky Sports in the UK and Europe later in the year. Last year, there was more than seven hours of air time devoted to the Barbados Rally Carnival on Sky Sports which, combined with the interest from regional print and broadcast media resulted in exposure of Barbados Rally Carnival - and, therefore, also Barbados - to approaching 1.5 million people.

In addition, there are cameras here from the Irish motor sport specialists, RPM Motorsport, to follow their four crews over the two weekends of activity, while the satellite channel Men & Motors has sent a team from the UK form the first time.

Print media journalists have already arrived from a number of European countries, including the UK, represented once again by Cars & Car Conversions magazine, while more are arriving from the region Friday. For further information:
Barbados Rally Carnival - web site: www.barbadosrallycarnival.com

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22/05/03
FINAL BUILD-UP STARTS FOR RALLY BARBADOS - FULL ENTRY LIST ON LINE
Scrutineers make ready to check capacity entry - 90 starters!

The final build-up to the Barbados Rally Carnival begins on Saturday (May 24) with official scrutineering for the cars from the island that are entered for Rally Barbados, to be contested island-wide on June 7/8. Unlike 2002, when local scrutineering was spread over two days, there is only one session for local cars this year - it will be staged at McEnearney Quality's premises in Wildey.

All motor sport fans are invited to attend this first official function of the 2003 Barbados Rally Carnival from 2.00pm on Saturday; after each car has been checked, they will be on display on the McEnearney Quality forecourt, where some the island's leading drivers will be interviewed about their prospects for Rally Barbados. A number of the overseas entries will be displayed in the showroom and refreshments and rally souvenirs will be on sale outside.

Chief scrutineer Simon Gilmore has assembled a team of eight scrutineers to work with him on Saturday, plus other personnel to deal with documentation; he expects the session to last until some time after 5.00pm. He said: "With 50 local entries, and the maximum turn-out on any previous event this year being around 30, there are quite a few cars that we haven't seen yet."

The same venue will host scrutineering for the overseas entries on Friday, May 30. Rally Barbados is the second of the two events which make up the Barbados Rally Carnival, organised by Friends of Motorsport. Over the previous weekend, May 31/June 1, competitors will take part in the Sunbeach International RallySprint at the Vaucluse Raceway in the parish of St Thomas.

The cars from Europe arrived in the Bridgetown Port last week courtesy of the Geest Line and the Barbados Tourism Authority; they were released by Customs on Friday (May 14) and taken to a number of destinations around the island. There, they await the arrival of their owners, most of whom - around 300 persons - will land on Virgin Atlantic 747-400 aircraft on Tuesday and Wednesday next week (May 27 & 28), in the biggest-ever airlift of competitors and their supporters from Europe to the Caribbean.

In addition to the host nation, 12 countries are represented in the entry list for Rally Barbados, which includes the largest number of European crews ever accepted for a motor sport event in the Caribbean - 30 - and a resurgence of interest from the region, with 10 cars entered from other islands. Publication by the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) of the official entry list has confirmed that it will be the biggest ever, with the maximum number of 90 starters reached for the first time.

Entry list fact sheet

• there will be no more than 90 starters
• there are currently two reserves (in order of take-up for the event, numbers 94 and 54) who will not get to start unless someone on the list drops out
• start number four has not been allocated this year, as a mark of respect to Richard Roett, the popular stalwart of island motor sport, who died suddenly last December. 'Ru', who had finished in the top six on the event on nine occasions since 1990, would have been seeded in that position this year
• number 13 has not been allocated, either
• in addition to Barbados, 12 countries are represented
• there are 76 drivers or co-drivers competing who are not Bajan nationals
• there are eight female co-drivers

RALLY BARBADOS 2003 Entry list updated at May 21, 2003 Key to nationalities (unless shown, competitor is from Barbados):
AUT - Austria; CAN - Canada; ENG - England; HOL - Holland; IRL - Republic of Ireland; JAM - Jamaica; NIR - Northern Ireland; NZL - New Zealand; SCO - Scotland; SVG - St Vincent & The Grenadines; TDAD - Trinidad & Tobago; WAL - Wales

For further information:
Barbados Rally Carnival - web site: www.barbadosrallycarnival.com

ENTRY LIST
no driver/co-driver (group/class sponsors car)
 
1 Roger Skeete/Dave Crawford - ENG (M9 Ford Escort WRC)
2 Roger Mayers/Max Ferri (M9 Ford Focus)
3 Paul Bourne/Louis Venezia (M9 Subaru Impreza WRC)
4 In memory of Richard Roett
5 Peter Moodie Jr - JAM/Mike Fennel Jr - JAM (M9 Mitsubishi Evo V1)
6 Mark Maloney/Stuart Maloney (M9 Nissan Pulsar GTiR)
7 Trevor Manning/James Betts (M8 Mitsubishi Evo V)
8 Willi Polesznig - AUT/Peter Stark - AUT (M8 Mitsubishi Evo V1)
9 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8 Toyota Celica GT4)
10 Kevin Procter - ENG/Mick Gilby - ENG (M8 Ford Sapphire Cosworth)
11 Gary Greg - JAM/Hugh Hutchinson - JAM (M8 Mitsubishi Evo VI)
12 Tom Roberts - ENG/Andy Stobart - ENG (M8 Toyota Celica GT4)
14 Sean Dowding/Logan Watson (M8 Mitsubishi Evo V)
15 Peter Morris - TDAD/Lyndon Mohammed - TDAD (M8 Mitsubishi Evo VI)
16 Martin Stockdale - ENG/Anders Howard - ENG (GpB BMW M3)
17 Terry Pankhurst - ENG/Amanda Craven - ENG (GpB Peugeot 206 WRC Replica)
18 Andrew Hurley - ENG/Carlin Gerbich - NZL (GpB Ford Puma Evo)
19 Samuel Cumberbatch/Nicolas Yarde (tba Ford Escort-BMW)
20 Simon Gillmore/Tricia Gillmore (M7 Peugeot 205)
21 Barry Gale/Ryan Rodriguez (P4 Mitsubishi Evo VI)
22 Peter Thompson/Winston Agard (P4 Proton Wira)
23 Tom Preston - ENG/Kevin Clark - ENG (P4 Subaru Impreza WRX)
24 Brian Gill/Ryan Wood (P4 Subaru Impreza WRX)
25 Geoff Noel/Leslie Alleyne (P4 Mitsubishi Evo VI)
26 Harold Morley - ENG/Geoff Goddard (P4 Subaru Impreza STI)
27 John Powell - JAM/Michael March - JAM (P4 Mitsubishi Evo VII)
28 Mikey Hassell/Bruce Wilkie (P4 Subaru Impreza)
29 Barry Mayers/Adam Hart (MO Toyota Starlet)
30 Bryan Gill - ENG/Jonathan Bean - ENG (Hist Opel Kadett GT/E)
31 Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (MO BMW M3)
32 Wim Wermink - HOL/Fenny Wessellink - HOL (Hist Opel Ascona)
33 Cliff Roett/Rhett Watson (MO Toyota Starlet)
34 Grant Sturkey - ENG/Jim Horrabin - ENG (MO Ford Escort MkII)
35 St Elmo Cumberbatch/Owen Cumberbatch (MO BMW E36)
36 Graham Samuel - ENG/Tony Phillips - ENG (Hist Porsche 911)
37 Jason Parkinson/Chris Parkinson (MO Toyota Starlet)
38 Walter Aitkin - SCO/Colin Aitchison - SCO (Hist Ford Escort MkII)
39 Hugh Peat - ENG/Michael Sendall - ENG (MO Ford Escort-Vauxhall)
40 Michel Smeets - HOL/Jos Smeets - HOL (Hist Opel Ascona A)
41 Graham Manning/Alex Whitehead (MO Ford Escort MkII)
42 John Keatley - NIR/James McKeefry - NIR (Hist Ford Escort RS1600)
43 Martin Atwell/Chris King (MO Westfield Megabird)
44 Graeme Finlayson - SCO/George Martin - ENG (MO Fluke WR1C)
45 Nicholas Gill/Robert Warren (MO Mazda Lantis)
46 Drexel Gillespie - NIR/Gill Cotton - ENG (Hist Lotus Cortina Mk II)
47 Barry Ward/Dirk Gray (MO Toyota Starlet)
48 Damien Edwards - JAM/Warren Lamey - JAM (MO Toyota Starlet Turbo)
49 Cody Mark/Jesse Mark (MO Toyota Starlet)
50 Antero Miikkulainen - FIN/C Wayne Clarke (Hist Alfa Romeo GTV)
51 Chris Ullyett/Derek Ince (MO Nissan 120Y)
52 Josef Pointinger - AUT/Gertrude Pointinger - AUT (Hist Ford Escort MkI)
53 A Neil Corbin/Ross Leelum (MO Toyota Starlet)
54 2nd reserve: Ronald Gilkes/David Bishop (tba Ford Escort MkII)
55 Calvin Briggs/Michael Best (MO Ford Escort MkII)
56 Greg Cozier/Antonio Da Silva (M7 Ford Escort RS2000)
57 Frans Verbaas - HOL/Kees Hagman - HOL (M7 Vauxhall Astra GTE)
58 Edward Corbin/Mark Perkins (M7 Toyota Corolla SR)
59 Mick Taylor - ENG/Liam Robinson - ENG (M7 Vauxhall Astra GTE)
60 Adrian Linton/Jonathan Linton (M7 Vauxhall Astra GTE)
61 Wayne Persad - TDAD/Stuart Johnson - TDAD (M7 Honda Civic Type R)
62 John Corbin/Rodney Clarke (M7 Toyota Corolla)
63 Geoffrey Ullyett/Owen Proverbs (M7 Nissan 200Y)
64 Norman Catwell/Kyle Catwell (M7 Peugeot 205 1.9 GTI)
65 Andrew Jones/Stuart White (M7 Ford Escort Mk II)
66 David Brewster/Nadine Worrell (M7 Peugeot 205 1.9 GTI)
67 Keith Francis - SVG/Willie Hinds (M7 Hyundai Excel)
68 Kurt Thompson/Sean Collet (M7 Honda Civic)
69 Sean Gill/Michael Cummins (M6 Suzuki Ignis)
70 Steven Ollivierre - SVG/Lindsay Farmer (M6 Mitsubishi Mirage)
71 Dermot Hassett - IRL/Julie Brady - IRL (M6 Opel Corsa)
72 Neil Armstrong/Ray Thompson (M6 Toyota Starlet)
73 Matthew Fowle - ENG/Martin Smith - ENG (M6 Peugeot 106GTI)
74 Mark Thompson/Barry Mustor (M6 Toyota Starlet)
75 John Ralston - JAM/Stephen Gunther - JAM (M6 Mitsubishi Mirage)
76 Kirk Watkins/Josh Read (M6 Toyota Corolla)
77 Martin Taylor - IRL/Peter Gallagher - IRL (M6 Proton Satria)
78 Jason Cozier/Matthew Staffner (M7 Peugeot 106)
79 Noel Golding Jr - JAM/Wayne McIntosh - JAM (M6 Suzuki Swift)
80 Neil Barnard/Chris Hoyos (M5 Opel Corsa)
81 Brett Clarke/Gary Clarke (M5 Suzuki Swift)
82 Kenny Hall - SCO/Colin Smith - SCO (M5 Opel Corsa-Suzuki)
83 Carlos Edwards/Brian Gibson (M5 Suzuki Forsa GTI)
84 Paul Rees - WAL/Sean Lucas - CDN (M5 Vauxhall Nova)
85 Roger Marshall/Bruce Lambert (M5 Toyota Starlet)
86 Winston Thompson/Vance Sayer (M5 Toyota Starlet)
87 Andy Hawkins - ENG/Chris Prabuki - ENG (M5 Austin Mini)
88 Shaun Alleyne/Brett Short (M5 Toyota Starlet)
89 Derek Roach/Tricia Gittens (P3 Mini Cooper S)
90 Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (P3 Toyota Starlet Turbo)
91 Simon Wallis - ENG/Stuart Leach - ENG (P3 Vauxhall Astra GSi)
92 Fred Davidson - ENG/Graham Willcock - ENG (M6 Peugeot 205 GTI)
93 Tom Ryan - ENG/Mike Ward (P2 Proton Satria)
94 1st reserve: Mark Sabga/Holley Holder (MO VW Beetle)

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18/05/03

HISTORIC ACES LEAD IRISH ACROSS THE ATLANTIC Local connections for Kerridge crew from Ireland

RALLY MEN COME BACK FOR MORE
Repeat business for Barbados Rally Carnival

Some people, it seems, just can't get enough of Barbados . . . and that's just as true of motor sport enthusiasts as it is of the many thousands of tourists who have made the island a repeat destination for years. Among the 30 confirmed European entries whose cars have been shipped across the Atlantic courtesy of Geest Line and the Barbados Tourism Authority to compete in the Barbados Rally Carnival from May 27 to June 11, there are quite a few names that will be familiar to Bajan fans.

First, there's Graeme Finlayson, whose lightweight carbon fibre 2-litre Vauxhall-engined roadster saw action in last year's Sunbeach International RallySprint and - for a few hours at least - as a rally course car. Finlayson will be back, along with co-driver George Martin, but the car they are bringing will be virtually 100 per cent new and making its debut at Rally Carnival.

Renamed the Fluke WR1C, the car has been rebuilt from the ground up since its visit to Barbados last year and, this time, instead of acting as a course car, it is a fully-fledged entry in the Open Modified class of Rally Barbados. Now powered by a 1000cc Yamaha R1 motorcycle engine, developing around 190bhp in UK trim, the car's spec has been modified to include a gear-change system operated by paddles on the steering wheel, and custom shock absorber set-up valved specifically for Bajan tarmac.

The Fluke WR1C is likely to be one of the first cars seen on island roads, as the crew will be arriving in advance of the main influx of overseas visitors to complete shakedown tests of its new car. As before, they will be linking up with local driver Martin Atwell, whose Westfield Mega shares some heritage with the Fluke.

Four times Scottish rally champion Kenny Hall is also returning to these shores, determined to finish Rally Barbados and add a win in Modified 5 to the more than 70 class wins he has achieved in his distinguished career. He returns with the same 1400cc Suzuki-engined Opel Corsa he campaigned in 2002, although its livery has changed dramatically to promote his new sponsor, Lochcarron of Scotland, Tartan manufacturers. Colin Smith is back to co-drive for Hall.

Last year, after beating Roger Marshall to class victory in the Sunbeach International RallySprint - Hall's first-ever outing on a RallySprint course - he retired early from the following weekend's rally with mechanical problems.

On the co-driver front, Graham Willcock returns for the third year in a row, to sit with the third different driver! In 2001, he was a late call-up as co-driver to young Ryan Champion in a Mitsubishi Evo IV, then finished seventh last year with Andy Elliott in the mighty Opel Manta 400. This year, he arrives as part of The Raskelites, a rally team which hails from Raskelf in Yorkshire, in the north of England. Willcock will co-drive a Peugeot 205GTi in Production 3 for his brother-in-law Fred Davidson.

Meanwhile newcomer Grant Sturkey, who is bringing his 255bhp BDX-engined Ford Escort MkII will have the benefit of advice from the passenger seat from Jim Horrabin; he was last in Barbados in 1998, as co-driver for Englishman Pete Jackson, who finished 11th and won Group S in Paul Bourne's Peugeot 306 S16.

Back for the second year is Andy Stobart, who was a member of Finlayson's support crew in 2002; this time, Stobart - a regular contributor to the popular motor sport web site crash.net - will actually compete on the event as co-driver to Barbados debutante Tom Roberts.

A south London-based stockbroker, Roberts has a Toyota Celica GT4, in which he is a regular top 20 finisher on events in the UK, and won his local motor club's Best Novice Driver of the Year Award on his first season.

One more UK-based team has been working against the clock for some weeks to have its car ready for shipping; it missed the sailing of the Santa Catharina, on which the other cars were shipped, but organisers are hoping to have it aboard a vessel shortly.

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HISTORIC ACES LEAD IRISH ACROSS THE ATLANTIC Local connections for Kerridge crew from Ireland

Two of the top historic rally drivers head the crews from Ireland which are among the 30 confirmed European entries for this year’s Barbados Rally Carnival, to be staged from May 27 to June 11. Their cars are currently on their way from England to Barbados aboard the Santa Catharina, courtesy of Geest Line and the Barbados Tourism Authority.

Heading the Irish contingent is County Londonderry building contractor John Keatley, who won the British Historic Rally championship in 1995 and ’96 in his Porsche 911. For his trip to Barbados, however, he is bringing his immaculate red 1974 Mk1 Ford Escort RS1600, restored in 1997 and powered by a 2-litre Wilcox engine. Co-driver for Rally Barbados is Maurice Beckett.

From County Antrim comes veteran competitor Drexel Gillespie, whose rallying career started in the mid-1960s; as a co-driver, he sat alongside all the leading Irish drivers of the day, many of them with works teams including British Leyland, Fiat, Ford and Lancia. More recently, he was co-driver to the late Tony Pond, when he won the Welsh Rally in 1997.

A fashion agent by trade, Gillespie’s career as a driver started in the 1980s, and he has become an historic rally specialist. Having bought his 165bhp Lotus Cortina MkII at auction in 1988, he won first time out in the 1989 Galway Historic Stage Rally, since when he has rarely finished outside the top three.

His rallying has taken him to Belgium, France, Greece and the UK, but never as far afield as Barbados. And he is looking forward to the challenge: “I rally for fun, and for the enjoyment it has given me in 35 years of competition.”

Gillespie’s co-driver Gill Cotton, who comes from Kings Langley in Hertfordshire, England, is a project manager in the pharmaceuticals industry. Another with a wealth of experience, including many class wins on modern stage and historic road and stage rallies, she was winning co-driver in the Lada Challenge Trophy in 1985, member of the first ladies team in the Ford KA Championship in 1999, and co-driver of the winning car in the London to Athens World Cup Rally 2002.

Dublin company director Martin Taylor is another to have tackled last year’s World Cup Rally; formerly a club rally driver in Ireland, he intended to retire from the sport in 1997, but has continued, another to say “we rally purely for fun’”. Taylor’s co-driver is fellow Dubliner Peter Gallagher.

Their 135bhp 1600cc Proton Satria, which has recently been upgraded to tackle the Barbados stages, is prepared in Wales by Harry Hockley Motorsport, the same company which built the Suzuki Ignis, campaigned by Sean Gill for the Simpson Motors Rally Team.

The final Irish entry has a strong Barbados connection, as driver Dermot Hassett is the head of business consultancy with Kerridge Computer Systems, which supplies computer solutions to the motor industry worldwide; its Caribbean wing, Kerridge del Caribe, based in Puerto Rico, was recently confirmed as co-sponsor of the Simpson Motors Rally Team.

Dubin-based Hassett explained: “My inclusion in Rally Barbados is due in no small way to the efforts of Barry Sayers, a Bajan living and working in Puerto Rico. He is the IT director of the Simpson Group and suggested that I should compete.”

Although Hassett has been involved in rallying for more than 20 years – he is a former champion navigator - this will his first rally outside his native Ireland. Powertec Racing in Dublin completed a bare shell rebuild of his 130bhp 1600cc Opel Corsa in March this year, the car originally intended for an attack on the Circuit of Ireland rally over Easter weekend.

However, Hassett, who is chairman of the Dublin-based motor club ALMC, said: “The chance to swap Irish rain and cold for the Caribbean heat was just too tempting to turn down.” His co-driver is fellow ALMC club member Julie Brady, a recent convert to motor sport, but a lover of travel and sun.

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09/05/03
EUROPEAN TEAMS ASSEMBLE TO SAIL TO BARBADOS
Biggest ever entry for Rally Barbados

Final preparations are under way for the biggest-ever shipment of competition cars to the Caribbean as the final countdown begins for the third Barbados Rally Carnival, which runs from May 27 to June 11.

This year's event has attracted a record-breaking entry of overseas competitors; the 30 crews on the European entry list include drivers from Austria, England, Finland, Holland, Ireland and Scotland - they will join around 50 crews from Barbados and perhaps as many as 10 from around the region, the largest Caribbean contingent for many years.

Rally cars have been arriving at Portsmouth in southern England for the past few days in readiness to be shipped across the Atlantic by the Geest Line; they will be collected on the quay next Monday morning and loaded aboard the MV Santa Catharina, which will set sail on Wednesday, April 30. The ship, and its 36 tonnes of rally cars and equipment, is scheduled to arrive in Barbados on Monday, May 12.

Barbados Rally Carnival 2003, which comprises two internationals on consecutive weekends, will be the biggest motor sport event ever staged in the region. The Vaucluse Raceway Motor Sport Club will organise the Sunbeach International RallySprint on May 31/June 1 - practice and qualifying on Saturday will be followed by racing on Sunday - while Rally Barbados, organised by the Barbados Rally Club (BRC), will follow a week later (June 7/8).

More than 300 airline seats and 150 hotel rooms have already been booked in what will be the biggest-ever airlift from Europe of motor sport competitors to Barbados. The majority of competitors, their support crews and families, will arrive on Virgin Atlantic 747-400 aircraft on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27/28; most of the overseas visitors are staying at the Casuarina Beach Club in Dover, Christ Church, for the two-week duration of Rally Carnival, although some are extending their stays in Barbados for up to one month.

In addition to the two motor sport events themselves, and briefing meetings and scrutineering, an extensive range of social activities has been organised for the visitors; these will include an official welcome at The Ship Inn, pirate cruise on the Jolly Roger and a buffet lunch and party at the Carib Beach Bar. Island Safari is also arranging special tours to follow Rally Barbados.

Rally Carnival founder Greg Cozier said: "We're all beginning to get very excited, now that the cars are about to leave Europe. Barbados Rally Carnival is just a month away, and we're confident that it will be the best yet. Thanks to the co-operation we've had from the Barbados Tourism Authority, Geest Line, Virgin Atlantic and the Casuarina Beach Club, we have been able to arrange the best possible two weeks for our overseas visitors. Our aim has always been to introduce rally enthusiasts to the delights of Barbados as a tourist destination, while they enjoy their favourite sport, and I'm hoping that we have achieved that this year."

In an earlier statement, the Barbados Tourism Authority had congratulated the organisers of the Barbados Rally Carnival for what BTA senior vice-president Stetson Babb described as "a perfect fit with the BTA's strategy to continuously expand the range of sports tourism events and activities".

He said: "The BTA congratulates the organizers and participants of the 2003 Barbados Rally Carnival for making possible what is probably the most spectacular event of its type to ever take place in Barbados or indeed the Caribbean. The event provides a perfect fit with the BTA's strategy to continuously expand the range of sports tourism events and activities, as it seeks to position Barbados as the centre for sports, entertainment and recreation in the Eastern Caribbean. The BTA's support for this event also recognizes that motor sport is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. The BTA is committed to working with its partners to develop the sport locally and to fully exploit the sports tourism opportunities that it provides."

Key dates for 2003

Saturday, May 24 - scrutineering for local entries, McEnearney Quality, Wildey
Friday, May 30 - scrutineering for overseas entries, McEnearney Quality
Saturday, May 31 - RallySprint qualifying, Vaucluse Raceway, St Thomas
Sunday, June 1 - Sunbeach International RallySprint, Vaucluse Raceway
Saturday, June 7 - Rally Barbados, day 1, islandwide
Sunday, June 8 - Rally Barbados, day 2, islandwide

For further information:
Barbados Rally Carnival - web site: www.barbadosrallycarnival.com Rally cars have been arriving at Portsmouth in southern England for the past few days in readiness to be shipped across the Atlantic by the Geest Line; they will be collected on the quay next Monday morning and loaded aboard the MV Santa Catharina, which will set sail on Wednesday, April 30. The ship, and its 36 tonnes of rally cars and equipment, is scheduled to arrive in Barbados on Monday, May 12.

Barbados Rally Carnival 2003, which comprises two internationals on consecutive weekends, will be the biggest motor sport event ever staged in the region. The Vaucluse Raceway Motor Sport Club will organise the Sunbeach International RallySprint on May 31/June 1 - practice and qualifying on Saturday will be followed by racing on Sunday - while Rally Barbados, organised by the Barbados Rally Club (BRC), will follow a week later (June 7/8).

More than 300 airline seats and 150 hotel rooms have already been booked in what will be the biggest-ever airlift from Europe of motor sport competitors to Barbados. The majority of competitors, their support crews and families, will arrive on Virgin Atlantic 747-400 aircraft on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27/28; most of the overseas visitors are staying at the Casuarina Beach Club in Dover, Christ Church, for the two-week duration of Rally Carnival, although some are extending their stays in Barbados for up to one month.

In addition to the two motor sport events themselves, and briefing meetings and scrutineering, an extensive range of social activities has been organised for the visitors; these will include an official welcome at The Ship Inn, pirate cruise on the Jolly Roger and a buffet lunch and party at the Carib Beach Bar. Island Safari is also arranging special tours to follow Rally Barbados.

Rally Carnival founder Greg Cozier said: "We're all beginning to get very excited, now that the cars are about to leave Europe. Barbados Rally Carnival is just a month away, and we're confident that it will be the best yet. Thanks to the co-operation we've had from the Barbados Tourism Authority, Geest Line, Virgin Atlantic and the Casuarina Beach Club, we have been able to arrange the best possible two weeks for our overseas visitors. Our aim has always been to introduce rally enthusiasts to the delights of Barbados as a tourist destination, while they enjoy their favourite sport, and I'm hoping that we have achieved that this year."

In an earlier statement, the Barbados Tourism Authority had congratulated the organisers of the Barbados Rally Carnival for what BTA senior vice-president Stetson Babb described as "a perfect fit with the BTA's strategy to continuously expand the range of sports tourism events and activities".

He said: "The BTA congratulates the organizers and participants of the 2003 Barbados Rally Carnival for making possible what is probably the most spectacular event of its type to ever take place in Barbados or indeed the Caribbean. The event provides a perfect fit with the BTA's strategy to continuously expand the range of sports tourism events and activities, as it seeks to position Barbados as the centre for sports, entertainment and recreation in the Eastern Caribbean. The BTA's support for this event also recognizes that motor sport is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. The BTA is committed to working with its partners to develop the sport locally and to fully exploit the sports tourism opportunities that it provides."

Key dates for 2003

Saturday, May 24 - scrutineering for local entries, McEnearney Quality, Wildey
Friday, May 30 - scrutineering for overseas entries, McEnearney Quality
Saturday, May 31 - RallySprint qualifying, Vaucluse Raceway, St Thomas
Sunday, June 1 - Sunbeach International RallySprint, Vaucluse Raceway
Saturday, June 7 - Rally Barbados, day 1, islandwide
Sunday, June 8 - Rally Barbados, day 2, islandwide

For further information:
Barbados Rally Carnival - web site: www.barbadosrallycarnival.com