KOTH | Photos and Motors

2012-06-03

Paul Bird created history yesterday when he became the first foreign driver to win the King of the Hill event. Since 2008, this event, which has become the final shakedown before Sol Rally Barbados, has been shared equally among local drivers Roger Skeete and Paul Bourne who have each recorded two victories.

Paul Bird (UK) – Ford Focus WRC at Lion Castle

This result sets up what is expected to be a hard fought battle for the top podium positions in next weekend’s Sol Rally Barbados 2012 (RB12), with at least seven WRC cars showing that they are serious contenders for victory while Neil Armstrong’s potent Toyota Starlet continues to nip at their heels.

Neil Armstrong – Toyota Starlet

Full results can be found at the Rally Barbados website.

It will be a busy week ahead as I review the hundred of shots taken to select, process and post the pictures of this event. I will add photos to my Flickr site during the next few days so please check there regularly for updates

Alex Whitehead – BMW at Lion Castle

Geoffrey Ullyett – Datsun 2L Turbo

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 written consent from Ian Nicholls. Please use the Contact Form to email your request for permission.

Paul Bourne is once again the King of the Hill!!!

In a well-timed performance which is sure to boost his confidence going into this weekend’s Sol Rally Barbados 2010, Bourne stormed to victory over the Orange Hill to Four Hills course to regain his crown as the Shell V-Power King of the Hill.

John Powell

Paul Bird

Roger Hill

Sean Gill

With the WRC field depleted by the absence of the in-form Roger Skeete and the two Ford Focuses of Jamaican entrants Gary Gregg and Jeffrey Panton, Bourne was fastest through all of the timed runs during the event. He won by over 3 secs from class contenders John Powell, Paul Bird and Roger Hill. Ian Warren rounded off the top five with another giant killing act, leaving all other 2WD cars and a slew of 4WD cars in his wake.

Ian Warren

Josh Read

But the day was not all about the overall winner! The large, high quality field had more than enough sub-plots to keep the interest of the large crowd throughout the day.

Geoff Ullyett

Barry Mayers

Whether it was the debut of the Shell V-Power/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer WRC driven by Sean Gill, the Nissan 200 Turbo of Geoffrey Ullyett; the return of Roger and Barry Mayers to the rallying scene; the continuation of the epic two wheeled drive battle of Ian Warren and Josh Read; or the anticipation of the performance of the unfamiliar foreign teams this event offered enough to whet the appetite of fans prior to the main event next week.

Edward Corbin	Neil Armstrong	Sean Field	Nigel Reece
Glenn Campbell	Ding Boston	Allan MacKay	Kenny Hall

Highlights of the day for me were:-

Paul Bourne’s return to form
Ian Warren’s and Josh Read’s continued display of hard, committed driving in well prepared two wheeled drive cars
The return of the Mayers brothers to rallying; let’s hope they find a way to make this more than a one off appearance.
Seeing a Mitsubishi Lancer WRC in the flesh. I have long considered this to be the one of the ugliest rally cars ever made but seeing it up close, sitting low in tarmac trim has really changed my mind. It is unfortunate that Sean Gill will not have enough time in this car to really exploit it’s full potential.
Andrew Jones…I made some comments on his driving style following the Shakedown Rally but I was really impressed with Jones during this event as he drove against the clock and eliminated a lot of the slow slides from his performance.
Geoff Ullyett. Glad to see him get this project on the road. I saw a comment that he will be driving the car competitively. With the power he is now sitting on, he may have no choice!
Graham Manning. If Graham did not have commitments which kept him inactive for most of the season, I am sure that he would easily become a serious contender for class wins.
Ford Escorts..can’t get enough of them. Easily one of the most dramatic cars to photograph!!!

Gary Thomas	Andrew Jones	Gregg Cozier	Mark Hamilton
Rhett Watson	Stuart McChlery	Calvin Briggs	Graham Manning

However the day was not without incidents. Most notable among these was the horrific crash of Nick Gill/Sue Rogers in their Mazda 3 as they approached the popular spectator spot known as the esses in Orange Hill. Although we are aware that this as a possibility at any moment, to actually witness such a crash is a sobering reminder of the dangers associated with motorsport. I join with other members of the motorsport fraternity in wishing both Nick and Sue a successful and speedy recovery!

It was even more disturbing to see the hundreds of people who crowded the accident scene to do nothing but gawk at the crew in their moment of distress!!! Really sad…

Photos

I am really pleased with the results of this shoot. I used the opportunity to experiment a bit in an effort to further improve my knowledge of my camera. I played with shutter speeds, worked on my panning and tried new angles and positions which saw me shooting a rally using a wide lens for the first time!!!

The fact that we photographers usually stand in places where regular spectators are not allowed is a privilege which should not be taken lightly. We stand in those positions at our own risk, but must always remain aware of the unpredictability of the movement of an out of control car and more importantly, the danger presented by flying debris as was vividly highlighted by Nick Gill’s crash.

Well it’s on to the main event… Let’s hope that we have had or share of incidents and that RB10 will live up to the expectation of one of the most competitive rallies ever staged in Barbados.

Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable and incident free Sol Rally Barbados 2010!

Barry Gale

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.

Later,

Ian