Rally Trinidad 2010

The lull in the  local motorsport calendar between the Automotive Art shakedown Stages Rally and Sol Rally Barbados provides the perfect opportunity for me to backtrack and recall my experiences at Rally Trinidad 2010, held earlier this year from  March 26th to 28th.

Unexpected circumstances conspired to get me to Trinidad at a time which coincided perfectly with the rally weekend. Although I am  frequent visitor to Trinidad, I had not watched a rally in Trinidad since 1999 when Paul Bourne partnered by Graham Gittens drove to victory in his Grp A Subaru Impreza.

I dug into my archives to refresh my memory of that event…

Paul Bourne and Graham Gittens celebrate their victory at the 1999 Trinidad Int'l Rally. Image © Ian Nicholls	Paul Bourne treats the crowd to donuts after winning the 1999 International Rally. Image © Ian Nicholls
Peter Morris. Image © Ian Nicholls	John Powell. Image © Ian Nicholls
Barry Gale. Image © Ian Nicholls	Roger Mayers. Image © Ian Nicholls
Ian Warren. Image © Ian Nicholls	Franklyn Seegobin. Image © Ian Nicholls

Back then, Bourne won by a margin of over 5 minutes from a field of 17 entrants. Things have changed a lot since then…

Most noticeable were the improvements in the  quality of the stages, the quality and size of the local entry and the level of organisation of the rally. The enormous influence which the presence of John ‘Penti’ Powell has had on the regional rallying scene is clearly obvious in the land which he now calls home, Trinidad.  Apart from spearheading the fight for overall honours with his Subaru Impreza WRC S12, and being instrumental in the participation on Mark Higgins and Nicky Grist, no fewer than three of the Group N cars entered had been previously owned or campaigned by Powell

A strong team consisting of six crews represented Barbados. The team included Paul Bourne/Stuart Maloney (Banks/Cheffette/Lime/Virgin Atlantic Ford Focus WRC 07, Dean Serrao/Michael Worme (Subaru Impreza WRC S9), Harold Morley/Geoffrey Goddard (Net2Vu Subaru Impreza N14), Neil Armstrong/Jeremy Croney (Breeze Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V), Ian Warren/Graham Gittens (Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift),  Mark Hamilton/Allan Kinch (Valvoline/Power Master Ford Escort Mk 2), Ryan Wood/Matthew Staffner  (ProPac/Catch Toyota Starlet) and Stuart White/Jason Cozier (ProPac/Catch Toyota Starlet).

Added to the Bajan contingent, the entry of former British Rally Champion, Mark Higgins, partnered by world renown co-driver Nicky Grist along with Bobby Marshall of Jamaica helped to give this rally one of the largest starting lineups ever seen in Trinidad for a rally.

Paul Bourne, Nicky Grist and Mark Higgins (l-r) in deep discussion at the ceremonial start

John Powell (left) at the ceremonial start of the rally

One thing which has not changed during my 11 year absence from the Trini rally scene was the level of awareness of the rally among the general population. Hardly anyone I spoke to before or after my arrival had any knowledge that the big international rally was coming off over the weekend!

It is clear that rallying still does not attract widespread appeal among Trinidadians. Despite the fact that the cessation of motorsport activity at Wallerfield has effectively temporarily halted both circuit racing and drag racing, the crowd support for the rally over the two days of rallying could only be described as encouraging.  It is safe to say that the crowds which I witnessed on the stages on Saturday and Sunday were more akin to a gathering at a good corner at  an early season Searles speed event. Let me stress that I am referring to the actual gravel stages and not the Preysal “spectator” stage or the  super special which was staged in the streets of Chaguanas at the end of the rally.

The rally officially began with a parc expose and official opening ceremony on Friday evening at Queen’s Park Savannah. The reality of the horrendous traffic in Port of Spain meant that most of the cars were transported by flat bed wrecker to  Port of Spain from their bases in southern Trinidad near San Fernando.

After nightfall, following the official speeches, models in Carnival costumes, tassa drummers, and flag waving moko jumbies (stilt walkers),  the competitor interviews on the start ramp heralded the official start of the rally and the anticipation of two days of action packed competition.

Mark Higgins/Nicky Grist about to be presented on the Ceremonial Start Ramp

The competitive stages on Saturday and Sunday were located in Southern Trinidad, primarily at the venues of Cedar Hill and Bronte with a shorter “spectator” stage at Preysal being used to close out the evening and night of the first day. In addition organisers used multiple variations of the stage layout at the Cedar Hill and Bronte locations so that no layout was run more than twice during the rally.

Having had no familiarity with the stages, I depended on the advice of  a few of the Bajan crews who recommended Bronte as the best location for photographic opportunities. After two drives through of the 12km stage I became overwhelmed  with the choice of good locations.  Howerver, I had to delicately balance my desire for a good photo opp with the fact that I had to make it an interesting experience for my willing Trinidadian counterpart who, although being an avid F1 fan,  had never been to a rally before. I eventually settled on a location which gave good visiblity for the rally novice but was not necessarily the best location for photos.

Dean Serrao on the Start Ramp. This is my last shot of the car before it was destroyed by fire on SS1.

As I waited at SS2, I heard the familiar sounds of antilag systems filling the air to signal that start of the nearby SS1 at Cedar Hill. A few minutes after these first sounds, I noticed a column of black  smoke over in the direction of SS1. The smoke got thicker, and I immediately had a feeling that I was not looking at a cane fire but possibly a car fire. Unfortunately, I was soon to learn that I had just witnesed the smoke from the fire which destroyed car No. 4, Dean Serrao’s Subaru WRC S9!!!

From the first pass through SS2, a few things were clear; “Penti” was flying, Mark Higgins was giving it his all as usual, Paul Bourne was off the pace, Armstrong was nursing the car through the stage with a mechanical problem and both Ian Warren and Mark Hamilton were at home in the “foreign” conditions. With Bourne retiring after the end of SS2 with a mechanical problem, the anticipated battle of the WRC cars had quickly petered out to a one-car show.

Paul Bourne	John Powell	Ainsley Lochan	Neil Armstrong
Harold Morley	David Coelho	Zak Waddel	Stuart Johnson

However, these developments in no way put a damper on my experience at the actual rally as I had more than enough interest in watching the two wheel drive class battles and the group N competition which featured a number of  local drivers facing off against Harold Morley in his N14 Subaru Impreza. It goes without saying that Mark Higgins’ pace in the Group N Evo and John Powell’s progress in the Impreza also piqued my interest.

Following a second run through Bronte, I moved to take in a few stages at Preysal. With a designated spectator area in place featuring  temporary stands and all, access to the actual stage was more rigorously controlled by the marshals and my lack of official press accreditation really hampered my freedom to move around and take photos. With this restriction in place I finished the evening by shooting just one pass through this stage  before putting my camera away to take in the atmosphere for the rest of the evening.

Mark Higgins	Harold Morley	John Powell	Mark Hamilton
	Ryan Wood	Ainsley Lochan

Sunday was a short day as I only had time to take in the morning session before returning to Barbados.  I returned to the reconfigured Bronte stage  and took up a position which offered good viewing and photos opportunities for the stage which was being run in a forward and reverse direction. Unfortunately I could not make it to the Saith Park superspecial which ended the rally.

All things considered, the spectator experience was good, although there were times when the inexperience of the local drivers dropped the intensity level a few notches and the odd occasion when some of them let their enthusiasm get the better of their skills!!!   The drought conditions prevailing in the Caribbean at the beginning of the year made for extremely dusty conditions; add to this the endless acres of unharvested, burnt canes in the heart of  Trinidad’s abandoned sugar cane estates, and the combination of the blazing sun, blowing dust with cane ash at your feet made for sometimes miserable conditions. That being said, the stages were awesome from a spectator point of view.

In closing I will summarise my thoughts on the rally as follows:-

• The distribution of stage and rally information was excellent. Without intimate knowledge of the stages, I was able to do a lot of planning with the maps and directions published on the official website.
• The stages were well prepared and graded but anyone familiar with the configuration of Trinidad canefields knows that the stages can be very technical, quite unlike the straights followed by 90L/90R ad nauseum which is so common on Barbados gravel stages. Added to this, the deep drainage ditches at the sides of the road means that the stages are not for the feint-hearted.
• I was really impressed with the quality of the local entry which was a huge step up from the  turbocharged two wheel drive projects which dominated the entry list in the past.
• It was pleasing to see the number of circuit racers who have made the transition to rallying. Names like Tanko Baboolal and Christian Bourne, well known for their racing expolits at Wallerfield, were among the starters.
• I am not going to join the bandwagon of bashing the obvious gap in the skill level of the Trinidadian drivers when compared to their overseas counterparts. With venues like Bronte and Cedar Hill which offer long, technical stages with multiple stage configurations, they will improve with time and become a force in Caribbean rallying,  especially on gravel.  While our Bajan drivers have obvious skill and are very talented, I am now more convinced that being brought up on a diet of short, familiar stages affects  some driver’s ability to drive with real commitment and confidence, when there is a need to rely primarily on pace notes.
• I was really impressed with the drive by Higgins. He gave us an abbreviated, eyeopening drive in a Toyota Corolla WRC at the  2007 Rally of the Sun and the Stars. This time he was at the wheel of a less powerful Grp N car and really showed his mastery of the craft. While I never expected a serious challenge to the WRC cars, he outpaced Paul Bourne in the two stages which he completed and was never threatened by the other Grp A and Grp N cars in the field.
• Powell is gaining more confidence with the S12. The opprtunity to get competitive seat time on this rally without having to worry about the prospect of being overtaken will prove to be invaluable in his goal to be dominant in this car.
• Ian Warren was clinical. as usual. in dismissing all comers in the 2WD category until he went off a few stages before the end.
• Mark Hamilton continues to impress with the Escort. The car is now reliable and Hamilton drives it like he stole it!!!
• The Bajan contingent added to the spectacle as they have been doing in recent times in both Jamiaca and Trinidad. Though the records will show that their overall rally wins outside of Barbados are rare, the presence of these well presented, and driven, cars at these regional rallies is tremendously appreciated by the  local competitors and fans. All of the Bajan crew represented well!!!
• One big disappointment was Neil Armstrong’s mechanical problems during the first day which seriously hampered his overall competitiveness throughout the rally. I rate Armstrong highly  and would have enjoyed watching him take on his class and Mark Higgins in a healthy car. Of course, that was a small disappointment as it was nothing compared to the loss of  Serrao’s Subaru Impreza WRC S9 during the rally!!!

Just for the record, John Powell/Nicholas Telfer (Subaru Impreza WRC S12) won the rally comfortably from Mark Higgins/Nicky Grist (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX Grp N)  with Ainsley Lochan/Robert Dumas (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX Grp A) rounding off the podium. Robert at Red265 Rally Media did not post the results of this rally but I will update the post when I find a reliable link to the overall results.

Let’s hope it does not take another 11 years to see my next rally in Trinidad!

The full set of my photos from this event can be found at my Flickr Site

Ian
photosandmotors

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