Xtreme Degreez Sports Magazine

BOURNE WINS SHELL V-POWER KING OF THE HILL
Thousands watch final shakedown for Sol Rally Barbados

Twice winner of the island’s premier event, Paul Bourne completed his preparations for Sol Rally Barbados 2010, which marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Club’s International All-Stage Rally, with a dominant victory in Shell V-Power King of the Hill yesterday (May 23) in front of a crowd of thousands.
He was never headed on the Sailor Gully stage in the northern parish of St Peter, and was delighted: “I tried a different approach, changed the mapping, and it was smooth sailing. Roger Skeete is the main man, though, and I’m sorry we couldn’t go head to head.” Skeete, a spectator for the day sidelined by turbo problems, said: “Everyone should be worried about the yellow Subaru – it is fully insured, and will be driven hard!” 
Bourne set the pace on the single practice run in the Banks/Chefette/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Ford Focus WRC 07, clocking a time of 2m 01.55s, more than 10 seconds clear of the field; Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC) was second on 2:11.80, ahead of the hard-charging two-wheel-drive front-runners – Ian Warren (Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift) on 2:12.89 and Josh Read (Automotive Art/Baram Services Toyota Starlet) on 2:14.41.
The first official run gave a clearer indication of how the day would play out: Bourne lowered his time to 2:00.90, with Trinidad’s John Powell now second (2:03.91), a late change of co-driver seeing Brit Craig Thorley sitting in the Shell Helix Subaru Impreza WRC S12. England’s Paul Bird was third in the supercasino.com/Vent-Axia Ford Focus WRC 08, just over three seconds adrift of Powell. Read the rest of this entry »

GILL TO MAKE WRC DEBUT IN SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Suzuki SX4 WRC will be “worth the wait”

Multiple Barbados Rally Club Champion Sean Gill will drive an ex-works World Rally Car in competition for the first time this Sunday (May 23) in Shell V-Power King of the Hill, the final shakedown for the following weekend’s Sol Rally Barbados 2010, which marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Club’s International All-Stage Rally.
Alongside long-term co-driver Michael Cummins, he will drive an ex-Gigi Galli Mitsubishi WRC, due to arrive at Grantley Adams International Airport this afternoon (Friday, May 21); although the Shell V-Power/Automotive Art Suzuki SX4 WRC cannot now ready in time for this year’s events, Simpson Motors is delighted with progress on that project.
The company’s Brent Murphy said: “We are pleased with our initial testing and, in the coming weeks, Sean will be doing further tests with this exciting car.” His thoughts were echoed by Gill: “I am really thrilled about having the opportunity to drive a car of this calibre and my first experience with the car did not disappoint. I know it will be worth the wait!” Footage of Gill testing the SX4 has been posted today on the official Sol RB2010 web site, www.rallybarbados.bb.
The Lancer is run by MML Sports, which evolved from Ralliart Europe, the company that delivered four world rally titles for Tommi Makinen and one manufacturer’s title for Mitsubishi. The flamboyant Gigi Galli was the first driver of the car heading for Barbados – he finished fifth on chassis 15’s debut in Rallye Deutschland 2005; later in the season, he was lying fourth in Rallye Catalunya, having taken two consecutive stage wins, when he crashed into a bridge after the flying finish of the second of those stages.
The car was also driven by Gilles Panizzi on the 2005 Tour De Corse, one of his final appearances in a factory World Rally Car, but retired with electrical issues. As a customer car for MML, it won the Sarma Rally in Latvia earlier this year.
Twice the Barbados Rally Club’s Driver’s Champion – in 2000 and ’03 – Gill won Class Championships five years out of six between ’03 and ‘08 in Suzuki Ignis and Suzuki Swift models, so is looking forward to being reunited with the marque when the SX4 arrives.
Read the rest of this entry »

GIANT-KILLERS PREPARE FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Bird’s Focus flies in for Scrutineering

It is not just the four-wheel-drive cars that can record top 10 stage times in Sol Rally Barbados 2010 (May 29/30), which marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) International All-Stage Rally – there are some giant-killers, whose nimble cars are ideally-suited to the short, sharp stages.
In SuperModified 10, Ian and Robert Warren (Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift) are the class act, although nothing is guaranteed, with opposition including Cliff Roett/Orry Hunte (Paulo’s Churasco Do Brasil/Carters & Co/Lucky Horseshoe/Nassco/Lubriguard/

CLASS ACTION PROMISED IN SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Local crews aim to keep the trophies at home

Although the battle for outright victory in Sol Rally Barbados 2010 (May 29/30), which marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) International All-Stage Rally, may make the headlines, there will be action right through the 90-car field, with 12 more classes to be won or lost.
Despite only four entries, Modified 8-A has a good mix of crews, with drivers of four nationalities. Michael Worme and Brian Gibson defend home honour in the Cot Media Group/Dingolay/Speedline Performance Auto/Ullyetts Machine Shop Service/Slowboy Racing Subaru Impreza STi, hoping to improve on last year’s second place.
While ’09 winner Neil Armstrong has moved on, they will still be made to work hard, particularly by Barbados-based Scot Graeme Finlayson, one of the most enthusiastic overseas supporters of island rallying in recent years; he is co-driven by Bajan Darnley Rayside in the www.racedandrallied.com Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS he has previously shared with Martin Atwell.
The class is completed by St Vincent’s Steve and Dominic Ollivierre (St Vincent Distillers/East Caribbean Metal Industries Ltd/Digicel/Empire Cigarettes Evo VIII), regular Barbados competitors, and Rob Whitehouse. Before moving to Europe, New Zealander Whitehouse lived in Barbados; his Lancia Delta Integrale is more Group N than Group A, so may not pose a strong challenge, but he and co-driver Yvonne Mehta, twice a podium finisher in the World Rally Championship as co-driver to her late husband, the legendary five-time Safari Rally winner Shekhar Mehta, will certainly be looking to enjoy the Sol Rally Barbados experience.
Group N – known as Production 4 in the island – should produce some fireworks, with another healthy mix of local, regional and international crews. There is already a stirring national championship battle going on between the Evo IXs of Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (Autolink/Weetabix/redlinefuels.com/Bella Beauty Supply/Metal Craft Works) and Geoffrey Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (Globe Finance Inc/Mix 96.9/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Dewalt Tools/Automotive Art/Ezone), but they may well suspend hostilities to ensure the trophies stay at home!
They will be helped Dean Serrao, back in his Amalgamated Security Evo IX after his Impreza WRC S9 was destroyed by fire in Trinidad, and Terry Sealy/Rommel Coppin (Premier World Cargo/Speedline Performance Auto/Caribbean Alliance Insurance Impreza WRX STi).
Leading the overseas charge are Brits Rob Swann and Darren Garrod (Automate CGI/Waves Hotel and Spa/Revolution Wheels/R A Swann Ltd Impreza N14); they will not want to finish second again this year, especially as a first-place trophy would make a nice extra present for co-driver Garrod and fiancee Steph, who are getting married at host sponsor Waves Hotel and Spa on the west coast a few days before the event.
Fellow Brit Simon Wallis, a regular visitor, is another with something to celebrate . . . his 40th birthday, and he did it in style by treating himself to an Impreza N10, supported by Wallis Performance Ltd and co-driven by Louise Hay. Trinidad’s David Coelho and James Harris (Total/Subway Evo IX) are first timers, so may need to settle in.
While there is no Group B in national rallies in the island, there is in Sol Rally Barbados, although competitors are not eligible for overall position. It provides a home for cars which won’t make the weight in the SuperModified classes, also encourages the sort of creative engineering that Geoffrey Ullyett will be displaying with the debut of his new turbo-charged 2-litre Ullyett’s Machine Shop Service Datsun, co-driven by Jason King.
In common with Stuart McChlery/Julian Goddard, whose Lubriguard/TeleBarbados Mark I Escort is one of the oldest rally cars on the island with a continuous competition history, Ullyett’s aim is entertainment. Duane Johnson/Summer Lewis (Johnsons Autos Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo) complete the local entries.
Twice Group B winner, England’s Andrew Costin-Hurley returns for his seventh Rally Barbados in the Earl’s Performance Hoses Ford Puma, co-driven again by Shaun Mellett, while Holland’s Frans Verbaas/Mascha Corvers are aiming for a Group win in the Verbaas Preparations/Koni/Holland Huis/Hoewijk Special Paint Austin Mini Cooper, which debuted in Sol RB09 in celebration of the Mini’s 50th Anniversary.

Sol Rally Barbados 2010 (May 29/30) and Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 23) 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, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line and Virgin Atlantic Airways; associate sponsors are Stoute’s Car Rental, Glacial Pure and Chefette.

For further information:
media contact – robin@bradfax.com
web site – www.rallybarbados.bb

MAYERS BROTHERS RETURN IN SOL RALLY BARBADOS
SuperModified 11 has a truly international flavour

Rally Barbados 2005 winner Roger Mayers and his brother Barry will return to island rallying for the first time in nearly five years when they share a BMW M3 in Sol Rally Barbados 2010 (May 29/30), which marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) International All-Stage Rally.
They will compete in SuperModified 11 – with 16 entries, the event’s best-supported class – in the car in which Jonathan Still recorded a hat-trick of class wins over the past three years; their return is sponsored by Terra Caribbean and the Delaware Dispensary, with support from Illusion Graphics, redlinefuels.com and Quality Tyre . . . and, says Roger: “The goal is to finish as top two-wheel-drive car.”
Between them, the Mayers brothers claimed seven top 10 finishes in the island’s premier event between 2000 and ‘05; in addition to his victory (with Max Ferri in a Ford Focus), Roger had finished second overall (’02, Ford Escort Cosworth) and enjoyed class wins in 2000 (MG Metro 6R4) and 1999 (Toyota Starlet). Younger brother Barry finished in the top 10 and claimed Modified Open or SM11 class wins four times in the Starlet, culminating in fourth overall in ’05, the only two-wheel-drive car in the top 10.
Roger explained the background: “Barry and I were at a party and Stillo mentioned how he’d always dreamed of us driving his car. I said ‘Do you want to rent it for Rally Barbados?’ . . . and it went from there. Barry approached a lot of sponsors, and I’d lost all hope when we heard nothing. Then, at Barry’s wedding, Kathy-Dawn Burke got wind of it and jumped straight on it with Terra Caribbean; with some help from Delaware Dispensary, who support us at Bushy Park, and three additional sponsors, here we are!”
Mayers admits to a degree of apprehension: “I’m not worried about the speed, but there is certainly some rustiness, and it is a very foreign car. But once I put on the helmet and dump the clutch for the first run at King of the Hill, all that will disappear.” Read the rest of this entry »

SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2010
Provisional entry list at May 10

+ some classifications subject to scrutineering of overseas entries list
+ is provisional and includes reserves

+ driver/co-driver (car) – listed alphabetically by class

Key to nationalities (competitor from Barbados unless shown):
ARG – Argentina; CDN – Canada; ENG – England; NED – The Netherlands; IRL – The Republic of Ireland; JAM – Jamaica; NIR – Northern Ireland; NZ – New Zealand; SCO – Scotland; SVG – St Vincent & The Grenadines; TCI – Turks & Caicos; TDAD – Trinidad & Tobago; WAL – Wales

Modified 8-WRC
Paul Bird – ENG/Kirsty Riddick – SCO (Ford Focus WRC 08)
Paul Bourne/Stuart Maloney (Ford Focus WRC 07)
Brett Clarke/Garry Clarke (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
Sean Gill/Michael Cummins (Suzuki SX4 WRC)
Gary Gregg – JAM/Hugh Hutchinson – JAM (Ford Focus WRC 05)
Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (Toyota Corolla WRC)
Trevor Manning/Derek Edwards (Ford Escort WRC)
Jeffrey Panton – JAM/Mike Fennell Jnr – JAM (Ford Focus WRC 00)
John Powell – TDAD/Michael March – JAM (Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (Subaru Impreza WRC S12)

Modified 8-A
Graeme Finlayson – SCO/Darnley Rayside (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS)
Steve Ollivierre – SVG/Dominic Ollivierre – SVG (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII)
Rob Whitehouse – NZ/Yvonne Mehta – ENG (Lancia Delta Integrale)
Michael Worme/Brian Gibson (Subaru Impreza STi)
Read the rest of this entry »

ANNIVERSARY SHAKE-UP FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS
New Super Special brings rally to town

The Shell V-Power Super Special at Simpson Motors confirmed today (Wednesday) is the highlight of a major shake-up of the route for Sol Rally Barbados 2010 (May 29/30), which marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) International All-Stage Rally.
All but one of the event’s special stage venues has undergone some significant modification, while the restructured route abounds with changes, which will go some way to levelling the playing field for local and overseas competitors. Following its use for Shell V-Power King of the Hill the previous weekend, Sailor Gully is replaced on Saturday by Malvern, while Stewarts Hill takes over the Malvern slots on Sunday.
But it is the Shell V-Power Super Special at Simpson Motors on the Sunday afternoon that will set rally fans talking island wide; the one-kilometre course will run south to north in front of the main showroom, then wind around the complex behind the ITC building in Warrens to finish behind the north showroom. Arrangements for traffic, spectator parking and viewing areas will be announced closer to the time.
Also, for the first time, the Super Special will be included in the results; in previous years, it has only been necessary for competitors to start the Super Special to be eligible for an overall finish, but this year’s two runs will be included in the timing calculations.
During last month’s media briefing, Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale told reporters: “Each year, we look carefully at the event to see where it can be tweaked to meet our permanent aim of making it ‘the best Rally Barbados’ yet! And I think the new Super Special will bring our 20th Anniversary celebrations to a rousing finale. Read the rest of this entry »