SKEETE WINS SHELL V-POWER KING OF THE HILL

Thousands watch final shakedown for Sol Rally Barbados

Eleven-time winner of the island’s premier event, Roger Skeete, continued his preparations for next weekend’s Sol Rally Barbados with victory in Shell V-Power King of the Hill, yesterday’s (May 29) ‘shakedown’ event, watched by thousands of spectators.
Driving the One World Group/Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S12, Skeete was nearly three seconds clear of the field on the practice run, clocking 2mins 00.53secs. England’s Paul Bird (Frank Bird Poultry Ford Focus WRC07) was second on 2:03.41s, Paul Bourne third on 2:03.55s in the Banks/Chefette/MQI/Castrol Focus WRC07 and Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC) fourth on 2:03.94s.
On the first official run, a combination of factors shook everything up: minutes after ‘Birdy’ and Bourne had been slowed by a thick cloud left by Graeme Finlayson’s blown turbo, rain fell, affecting nearly all the remaining Modified 8-WRC crews. Sean Gill clocked 2:05.30 in the Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC) to lead after the first run, just over 2secs ahead of team-mate Ian Warren, who topped two-wheel-drive in the Suzuki Swift.
Although the rain clouds never dispersed, it stayed dry for the remaining two runs. Skeete reasserted himself on the second run (1:57.65), but Bird was just seven-tenths adrift (1:58.36) and a full second clear of Bourne (1:59.92); while Bird bettered Skeete’s second-run time on the final climb of the 3.4-km course, and Bourne came within four-hundredths, Skeete had one final answer for them both, clocking 1:56.44, to win by nearly one second.
Afterwards, Skeete commented: “The dry runs were perfect, even though we could have been tidier in some places. There is definitely more time in the car but the aim is to be good for the rally.” While Bird referred to it as “a good day”, Bourne said: “I had that rusty feeling again at the start, but eventually worked into a groove. The car is definitely good, I just need to keep pushing myself.”
Behind them, an improvement of nearly six seconds (1:58:94) lifted Britain’s Rob Swann from seventh to fourth on the final run in the Automate CGI/Waves Hotel and Spa/Going Places Travel/Revolution Wheels/R A Swann Ltd Subaru Impreza WRC S12; on his debut in the WRC class, he was ahead of 2006 Rally Barbados winner Gary Gregg (fifth in the BD Gregg & Bros Focus WRC05) and 2.8 seconds quicker than the Impreza S12 of Trinidad’s John Powell, who finished eighth. Gill and Hill were sixth and seventh.
The top 10 was completed by two of the day’s most impressive drivers and set the scene for a classic two-wheel-drive battle next weekend. Never outside the top 10 all day, Neil Armstrong (Lubriguard Oils/Hankook Tyres/Nassco Toyota Starlet) was three-tenths ahead of Warren’s Swift on the practice run; he trailed him by around the same margin on the first two timed runs, also slipping behind the Chefette/Digicel/Delaware Dispensary/Illusion Graphics/Quality Tyre Starlet of Roger Mayers on the second.

Armstrong pulled out all the stops on run three, however, carving almost three seconds off his time to finish ninth overall; Mayers improved, too, nudging Warren out of the top 10, all three of the finishing ahead of England’s Roger Duckworth, who was without anti-lag all day in the Intrinsys/Kumho/Autosportif Impreza WRC.
Armstrong won SuperModified 10 and Mayers SM9, while Bryan Gill proved the best of the BMW M3s in SM11, finishing 13th overall and beating brothers Owen and Sammy Cumberbatch by 1.6s and 3.8s respectively. Geoff Noel (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) was 14th overall and winner of Group N, with Andrew Mallalieu (Impreza N10) second and Germany’s Berndt Kneupfer third in the unusual Opel Astra OPC Turbo – regular front-runner Mark Hamilton (Evo IX) suffered gearbox failure.
Just six-hundredths behind Noel came the younger Mayers brother, Barry, in turn just half-a-second ahead of Josh Read (Starlet), another driver whose commitment, particularly at the famous Lion Castle ‘jump’, was a talking point of the day.
There promise to be some close class battles next weekend: Adrian Linton (Vauxhall Astra GSi) won M7 by less than 2secs from Daryl Clarke (Honda Civic) – that meant a class win for his 17-year-old son Dominic on his debut as co-driver – while Dane Skeete (Peugeot 206) claimed M6 by just nine-tenths from Neil Corbin (Starlet).
Overseas visitors enjoyed mixed fortunes: there were class wins for regular visitor Steve Perez (Historic 3 Porsche 911 RSR) and newcomers Andrew Siddall (H2 Ford Escort RS2000 MkI) and Scotland’s Alex Hall (M5 Opel Corsa), the latter coming just a few days before his 18th birthday! On the down side, Ireland’s Glenn Campbell suffered a drive shaft failure on his Nissan Micra Kit Car and the popular Ford Anglia WRC of Scotland’s Allan Mackay suffered some electrical problems.
The island’s workshops will be busy for the next few days, as competitors from 14 nations prepare to contest the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international.

Sol Rally Barbados 2011 (June 4/5) and Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 29) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007; title sponsor is the Sol Group. 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 Stoute’s Car Rental, Glacial Pure, Chefette, Field Insurance and Sagicor.

Note:
Text taken from official Sol Rally Barbados press realease. All images appearing in this post are owned and copyrighted by Ian Nicholls, unless otherwise credited. Images may not be reproduced (including on a website or in print) without specific consent from Ian Nicholls. Please use the Contact Form to email your request for permission.

The full set of pics from this event can be viewed on Flickr

RECORD ENTRY FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2011

Sol reports “amazing results” from sponsorship

SOL (Barbados) General Manager, Andrew Niles (c) is flanked by BRC Chairman Geoff Noel (l) and Sol RB11 Rally Chairman Barry Gale (r)

A record 100 crews, representing 14 countries, will assemble shortly to contest the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international, Sol Rally Barbados 2011 (June 4/5). The provisional entry list was published by the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC) during a media conference today (Monday) at the Hilton Hotel in the island’s capital Bridgetown.
After entries for the 20th Anniversary running of the BRC’s premier event were 20 per cent oversubscribed last year – this, despite the prevailing economic climate – Club officials opted to increase the maximum entry cap from 90 to 100 to accommodate the growing interest, a decision that has been vindicated.
Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale told the assembled media: “I thought that last year’s response from competitors was amazing; well, that word apparently has a long shelf life as it relates to Sol Rally Barbados, because 2011 has been even better! We had made a particular effort from early to target interesting two-wheel-drive cars from Europe, an initiative that has certainly paid off.
“We have a new bunch of trophies for the top 10 two-wheel-drive cars, and the highest-placed front-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive overseas crews will have their entry fees reimbursed . . . and I’m glad to say that, of the 16 cars that qualify, eight are newcomers to the event, and they’re bringing some really different and exciting cars.”
Among those newcomers are Australia’s Paul Darrouzet and Germany’s Berndt Kneupfer; not only are they the first competitors from their respective countries to tackle the BRC’s premier event, but each arrives with an unusual car, Darrouzet’s a rare 5-litre V8 Ford Capri Perana, while Kneupfer’s turbocharged Opel Astra OPC is one of only two two-wheel-drive cars homologated to run in the FIA’s N4 category.
Sol RB2011 starts a second three-year title sponsorship deal with the Sol Group, the region’s largest independent oil company, operating in 17 countries across the Caribbean Basin. Representing the Group, Andrew Niles, General Manager of Sol (Barbados) Ltd, said: “Over the past three years, we have worked with the Club and continue to see amazing results from this partnership. Sol Rally Barbados attracts thousands of fans, scores of local and overseas journalists and plenty of tourists to our shores. Sol is happy to be able to contribute to the overall development of Barbados in this way.”
Once again, the battle for overall supremacy is wide open, although the locals have strength in numbers: 11-time winner of the island’s premier event – including in 2010 – Roger Skeete (Subaru Impreza WRC S12) surely starts as favourite, but the opposition is strong, led by another former winner (2003 and ‘07) Paul Bourne, recently reunited with his Ford Focus WRC07 for the first time since Sol RB2010.
Jamaica’s Gary Gregg is another previous winner on the list; he won in 2006 and finished third in ‘05 and ‘08 in his previous Ford Focus WRC02, but did not enjoy the same fortune last year, when he finished outside the top 10 in his newer WRC05.
Locals Sean Gill (Suzuki SX4 WRC) – winner in 1996, as co-driver to Ireland’s Kenny McKinstry – and Roger Hill (Toyota Corolla WRC) are certain to remain near the front, even once the overseas crews arrive, while Trinidad-based Jamaican John Powell’s record – second in ’05 and ’07 in Toyota Corolla WRCs, fourth last year in his current Impreza S12 – puts him right in the mix.
A third S12 will be campaigned by England’s Rob Swann, the only driver to have won Group N in Barbados and Jamaica in the same year (2010), while former UK National Champions Paul Bird (Ford Focus WRC08), a top three finisher each time he’s competed here, and Roger Duckworth (Impreza WRC), who makes his first trip courtesy of the BRC and the Barbados Tourism Authority, as his prize for winning Rallye Sunseeker National back in February, are unlikely to be too far off the pace.
As before, the overseas entries spread right through the field – only three of the 15 classes will be without a battle between local and overseas drivers – while the entry is also notable for the presence of the first local all-female crew to tackle the island’s premier event; Shannon Kirton and co-driver Lisa Roett contest the new Clubman class.

Sol Rally Barbados 2011 provisional entry headline statistics:
+ 100 crews on the provisional entry list, a record for the event
+ drivers or co-drivers from 14 nations (including Barbados), with Australia and Germany represented for the first time
+ 40 International drivers or co-drivers, 20 new to the event
+ 13 drivers or co-drivers from the wider Caribbean, three new to the event
+ 10 female competitors, one driver, nine co-drivers
+ cars from 16 manufacturers, Ford the best-represented with 21, followed by Toyota (19), Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Subaru (9 each) and BMW (8)

Sol Rally Barbados 2011 (June 4/5) and Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 29) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007; title sponsor is the Sol Group. 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 Stoute’s Car Rental, Glacial Pure, Chefette and Sagicor.

For further media information: e-mail – robin@bradfax.com
web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com

BOURNE MAKES A POINT BEFORE SOL RALLY BARBADOS

Paul Bourne - Ford Focus WRC

Back in competition after an 11-month absence, Paul Bourne started his preparations for Sol Rally Barbados 2011 (June 4/5) in style by winning Sunday’s BRC Shakedown Stages; co-driven by Ronald Plant in the Banks/Chefette/MQI/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07, his margin of victory was just under eight seconds after 48 stage kilometres.
Despite a smaller field than expected and a high rate of attrition – only 23 of the 44 starters were classified as overall finishers – fans were treated to a feast of stylish driving, with action aplenty, as they enjoyed their first chance to weigh up how some of the island’s new (or returning) combinations would fare against the established runners.
Bourne trailed Roger Skeete and Louis Venezia (Virgin Atlantic/One World Group/Michelin/Simpson Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12) in the early stages, tenths away on each run to lie second at the lunch halt, 0.86secs behind; damage to one piece of the new ECM timing equipment, however, meant that drivers were not being informed of their times stage-by-stage, important to those keen to know whether to push harder.
After lunch, aware of the gap to Bourne, Skeete did just that, building his margin to eight seconds by the end of stage 10; on the next stage, however, the advantage was lost. Skeete said: “The bravery level was high, I turned in too early and clipped a kerb hidden in grass; although it caused no damage, we had a 25-second spin, then stalled.”
Bourne assumed the lead, with an advantage of nearly 13secs; Skeete cut that back by four on the final run from Three Houses to Padmore Village, but had to settle for second. Bourne said: “It was good. I was a little slow at first, but the rust came off slowly but surely as I gradually regained my confidence.”
Trinidad-based Jamaican John Powell’s no-show disappointed some fans – his Impreza WRC S12 was not cleared from the Bridgetown Port in time – but there was still lots to see: after its second-place finishes in Jamaica and Trinidad, the Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC of Sean Gill and Michael Cummins was not on the ultimate pace, thanks to overheating brakes, but finished third. Fourth was Roger Hill, in the Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC, of which co-driver Graham Gittens said: “The older tech car can’t really keep up, so we just let the others apply pressure on each other and capitalise on any mistakes they make.”
In Group N, Mark Hamilton and Geoff Noel swapped times throughout the day in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IXs – the score-line was Hamilton 6, Noel 4 – but the 20secs lost by Hamilton on stage 10 gifted the class to Noel; Andrew Mallalieu provided an action moment for the crowds at the Bushy Park triangle – he rolled his Impreza N10, recalling afterwards: “I will always remember the big tree – I saw it from a number of angles.”

Roger Skeete

Sean Gill

Mark Hamilton

Andrew Mallalieu

Fierce two-wheel-drive action thrills fans

Neil Armstong - Toyota Starlet

The fierce two-wheel-drive battle, was the talking point for many, however . . . and it started on the very first run from Colleton to Cliff. With a time of 1m 49.35s, Group N leader Noel had the front-running two-wheel-drive cars on his tail: after a late night working on the car, Neil Armstrong clocked 1:49.52 in his Toyota Starlet, now with 1.8-litre Formula Atlantic power; 2008 Caribbean circuit racing champion Stuart Maloney returning to rallying in a Peugeot 306 Maxi (1:49.74); Josh Read was just one-hundredth slower in his Starlet, with Brett Clarke (Citroen C2 S1600) another second back.
Armstrong finished outside the top five only once (within six-tenths of the World Cars of Gill and Hill on SS3), placed fifth overall, top two-wheel-drive and SuperModified 10 winner; Read finished a place behind, 24secs down, and picked up SM9 honours.
Fans lost the chance to see Armstrong head-to-head with SM10’s current class car, Ian Warren’s Suzuki Swift, which dropped a valve and failed to start, while Maloney’s early retirement (blown engine) left the SM11 scrap to the BMWs of eventual winner Brian Gill and Logan Watson, both of whom were regular top 10 visitors.
The final ingredient in the new two-wheel-drive cocktail is the SM9 Starlet of Barry and Roger Mayers; after an early-morning road accident – neither was injured – there was a further setback when the rally car cut out on the way to the start; they started late, but were in the top 10 for the last four stages. Roger said: “We had some gearbox trouble downshifting, also the car is too low – we’d like to go up an inch, but the current suspension won’t allow so we will have to modify the top mounts.”

Andrew Jones

Allan Maynard

Roger Mayers

Dane Skeete

The BRC Shakedown Stages (May 8), Sol Rally Barbados 2011 (June 4/5) and Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 29) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB2011 is the 22nd running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the start of a second three-year term of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

BRC Shakedown Stages, May 8
Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s & Class Championships, round 3
Results:

1st Paul Bourne/Ronald Plant (M8-WRC Banks/Chefette/MQI/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07), 23m 07.58s
2nd Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (M8-WRC Virgin Atlantic/One World Group/Michelin/Simpson Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 23m 15.44s
3rd Sean Gill/Michael Cummins (M8-WRC Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC), 23m 31.86s
4th Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 23m 43.24s
5th Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (SM10 Lubriguard Oils/Hankook Tyres/Nassco Drink Toyota Starlet), 24m 12.35s
6th Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM9 Automotive Art/Baram Services Toyota Starlet), 24m 37.74s
7th Geoffrey Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (P4 Globe Finance/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Mix 96.9/Automotive Art/Cargo Solution International/CIAC Airconditioners Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 24m 54.75s
8th Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (P4 First Caribbean International Bank/Consumer Guarantee Insurance/PowerMaster/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 25m 06.13s
9th Brian Gill/Harry Tempro (SM11 Kerns Juices/Maxi Malta BMW M3), 25m 11.34s
10th Logan Watson/Jeremy Foster (SM11 The Unknown Entity BMW M3), 25m 31.67s
etc
Modified 8-WRC: 1st Bourne/Plant; 2nd Skeete/Venezia; 3rd Gill/Cummins; etc
Modified 8-A: 1st Avinash Chatrani/Martin Goddard (Electric Avenue/EA Mobile/Hankook/Solder Seal Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 46m 56.15s
Production 4: 1st Noel/Yearwood; 2nd Hamilton/Howell; 3rd Andrew Mallalieu/Chris Millward (Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10), 27m 25.76s
SuperModified 11: 1st Gill/Tempro; 2nd Watson/Foster; 3rd Andrew Jones/Kurt Ward (A P Jones Pharmacy/Rally & Competition Equipment/Precision Automotive/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII), 25m 56.23s; etc
SM10: 1st Armstrong/Ward
SM9: 1st Read/Jordan; 2nd Allan Maynard/Marcus Beck (Marshal Trading/Roberts Manufacturing/Pine Hill Dairy/Lubriguard/El Tigre Catamaran Cruises/Williams Equipment Toyota Starlet, 27m 35.11s; 3rd Barry Mayers/Roger Mayers (Chefette/Digicel/Delaware Dispensary/Illusion Graphics/Quality Tyre Toyota Starlet), 30m 16.92s
M7: 1st Jeremy Sisnett/Justin Sisnett (Ford Fiesta); 28m 22.94s; 2nd Kyle Catwell/Norman Catwell (Carib Beer/Freekz Customz/Ellesmere Quarries/Cutters Of Barbados Volkswagen Golf GTI), 30m 43.87s; 3rd Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (Ellco Rentals/Roberts Manufacturing/Mom’s Pasta Products Honda Civic), 32m 18.25s
M6: 1st Neil Corbin/Adam Alleyne (Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet), 25m 56.35s; 2nd Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (One World Group/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Peugeot 206), 30m 44.43s; 3rd Brendon Mckenzie/Tony Pile (Budex Couriers Toyota Corolla), 32m 15.80s
P3: 1st Sean Field/Darnley Rayside (Field Insurance Brokers/Castrol Oil/Ackee Tree/AM Realty Services/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306), 27m 33.41s
P2: 1st Conor Roach/Damien Moore (Peugeot 106 Rallye), 29m 25.32s; 2nd Fabien Clarke/Arlington Hoyte (Barbados Business Listings/Crimson Jade Consulting/RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair Suzuki Ignis Sport), 31m 59.07s
Clubman: 1st Shannon Kirton/Lisa Roett (Fingerprint Designs Datsun 160J), 31m 55.91s

For further media information: e-mail – robin@bradfax.com
web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; barbadosrallyclub.com

Note: All images appearing in this post are owned and copyrighted by Ian Nicholls, unless otherwise credited. Images may not be reproduced (including on a website or in print) without specific consent from Ian Nicholls. Please use the Contact Form to email your request for permission.

The full set of pics from this event can be viewed on Flickr