Xtreme Degreez Sports Magazine

Virgin Atlantic Championships get under way Saturday

The Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Spring Gravel Sprint on Saturday (February 27), kicks off the 2010 motor sport season with an International flavour, with a welcome return to the island scene by Trinidad-based Jamaican John ‘Pentti’ Powell in the Subaru Impreza WRC S12 in which he finished third in Rally Jamaica 2009.
Powell is one of 18 entries – half in the four-wheel-drive categories – listed for rounds one and two of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s and Class Championships; start time for the double-header, on the popular Searles stage, has been moved back to 12.00pm and fans are promised around four hours of virtually non-stop action.
Popular with local fans, Powell has twice finished second in Rally Barbados in recent years – 2005 & ’07 in his Toyota Corolla WRCs – and has been a regular competitor in BRC events. Reigning Champion Paul ‘Surfer’ Bourne opens his defence at the wheel of his Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Ford Focus WRC07, challenged not only by Powell, but also by the runner-up in last year’s title chase, Roger ‘Ninja’ Hill (Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC).
And there is further interest in Modified 8-WRC, with the class debut of Dean Serrao in the Impreza WRC S9 in which Bourne started his 2009 campaign, while Brett Clarke is making an unusually early-season appearance in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI. Read the rest of this entry »

Barbados Rally Club season gets under way

With seven first-time overseas crews among the on-line entries for Sol Rally Barbados 2010 (May 29/30), and enquiries still being received by the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC), this year’s event looks set to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Club’s International All-Stage Rally in style.
Among the newcomers are English crew Graham Butler and Darren Lakeland, who promise to take the fight to the popular local Modified 6 class in their ex-works Peugeot 106 Maxi, backed by Evolution Sports Supplements, Veloce Wheels and Containers to Go; the competition will include reigning BRC Modified 6 Champions Edward Corbin and Rodney Clarke (Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage Daihatsu Charmant) and another overseas entry already confirmed, Ireland’s Peter Gallagher, co-driven in his Dublin Crystal/Peter Gallagher Design Peugeot 206 by Bajan Dario Hoyte. Read the rest of this entry »

Jamaica’s Panton joins list of previous winners

While rally crews the world over seem determined to help the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of its International All-Stage Rally, the Club has received another vote of confidence, with confirmation of a renewed three-year title sponsorship deal with Sol Barbados Ltd.
Entries so far received, which hover around the maximum of 90, include not only the biggest-ever local entry for the BRC’s blue riband event, but 28 from overseas, a massively-encouraging total in the current economic climate . . . and one which is expected to rise yet further. Rally Chairman Barry Gale has a simple message: “Even though we’re already around our limit of 90, interested competitors should continue to enter on-line, as we are a long way from our closing date. Read the rest of this entry »

BRITISH PIONEER BACK FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Record flow of entries puts pressure on places

The Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) 20th Anniversary celebrations of the inaugural running of its International All-Stage Rally have been further boosted this week with confirmation that the first British driver to compete on the event has entered Sol Rally Barbados 2010 . . . and he’s bringing some friends with him!
Howard Paterson’s ninth-place finish in his Volkswagen Golf GTI in 1991 was the first overseas result, although fellow-Brit Kevin Furber had enjoyed ‘guest driver’ status the previous year as Zero Car in local engineer and competitor Simon Gilmore’s Peugeot 205; along with co-driver Dave Crawford, Furber won a trophy for the “spirited driving as course car”.
In a career spanning nearly 30 years since he finished ninth in a Volvo 240 in the 1983 Himalayan Rally, Paterson has contested more than 100 International rallies; his CV includes iconic events such as the London to Mexico, London to Sydney and the Safari, and he has won championship titles as both co-driver (1985 British GpB 1600) and driver (1999 Middle East F2, 2006 FIA Dubai RallySprint).
Paterson recalls: “My claim to fame is that I am the only driver to have rallied on both the highest (Peru) and lowest stages in the world – the Dead Sea stages in Jordan.” All that experience has led him to become one of the most sought-after driver coaches in the business, particularly in the Middle East. Read the rest of this entry »

IRISH TRIO RETURN FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Airline and hotel deals confirmed for overseas visitors

Ireland will be well represented when Sol Rally Barbados 2010 (May 29/30) marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) International All-Stage Rally; among the 15 overseas entries already received on-line are three Irish drivers returning to join in the celebrations.
While Glenn Campbell is making only his second trip to the island, for Peter Gallagher and Martin Taylor, 2010 will mark their fifth participation in Rally Barbados, although it will present a different challenge, as each is bringing a new car.
On his previous four visits, Taylor has campaigned his Dublin Crystal-sponsored Proton Satria, twice each in Modified 6 and Production 2; in 2003 & ’04, Gallagher was his co-driver, replaced by Taylor’s wife Janet for their visits in ’07 & ’08, once Gallagher decided to switch to the driver’s side of the car. Taylor’s 100 per cent overall finishing record includes a class win in P2 (‘04), with 33rd (‘03) his best overall result.
Dublin-based Gallagher also has a 100 per cent overall finishing record and a class win to his credit – P3 in ’08 – when he finished 33rd overall in his ex-works Dublin Crystal/Peter Gallagher Design Peugeot 306 S16; on both his visits as a driver, he has been joined on Rally Barbados by local co-driver Dario Hoyte, who is listed to sit alongside Gallagher again in 2010 . . . but this time it will be in a Peugeot 206 in M6.
Taylor’s change of machine is rather more drastic, as he is switching from front- to rear-wheel drive: between entering on-line in mid-December and an e-mail to the Rally Office last week, Taylor has acquired a BMW 325i, previously used in the increasingly-popular BMW Challenge rally series in the UK. His change of car brings the number of BMWs already entered for Sol Rally Barbados to six – the Bavarian marque is currently second equal with Ford in the league table of makes entered, Toyota leading with nine.
Ulsterman Campbell’s first visit was last year, the former Northern Ireland 2wd Champion making an immediate impression in his Nissan Micra; with co-driver Anthony Concannon, he finished second in Modified 5, as Scotland’s Kenny Hall collected his third Group win. For his second visit, Campbell, who is yet to name a co-driver, will be sponsored by Campbell Motorsport Electrics, Dyno Tune, Burn Road Trade Sales, Motorcare, MotoGlass, Agnew Recovery and Graham Curry Photography.
Last weekend in Ireland, Campbell and fellow-Irishman Graham Curry collected the Class 3 Driver and Navigator Awards respectively at the Mid Antrim Motor Club’s annual awards dinner; photographer Curry was another first-time visitor to Barbados in 2009 and has provided enthusiastic and valuable coverage in Irish magazines.
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