ALLAN,MACKIE,FERNANDES DOMINATE TILE GALLERY JUNIOR SURF EVENT

Event #2 of the Burkie Junior surfing championship series sponsored by TILE GALLERY held in beautiful 3ft semi glassy ideal conditions for the junior surfers at South Point on March 28th.The event attracted 81 entries in three divisions.

10-under had eighteen entries,under-12 had thirty and 14-under thirty three .Nine year old Che Allan and Gavin Fernandes took top honours in the 10-under and under-12 respectively for the second time in as many events,In the 14-under Dane Mackie threw adult type turns and got the better of Fernandes to detrone him from the 14-under top spot.The high tide played a significant role during the finals,causing the waves to become inconsistant and making the competitors scrabble for any wave they could find.In the earlier rounds saw some phenomenal surfing from the kids with seven year old Zander Veneiza receiving a nine point score from the judges.Other outstanding performances were seen from seven year old Axe Garrett,Ryan Burke,nine year old Anna Aimetti and eight year old Jacob Burke paddling into some steep drops and showing some class with backside rail grabs.

"There is absolutely no doubt that the level of these kids has risen significantly since the 1st Burkie event was held in Feb at Freights Bay" stated Alan Burke the organizer,"most of these kids a few weekes ago would not have even paddled out at South Point in these waves,but yet are out there surfing them from start to finish in a competition", we are seeing above average surfing coming from Che Allan,Zander Veneiza,Jacob & Joshua Burke,Dane Mackie and Gavin Fernandes" Burke said.

Receiving lovely marble plaque trophies were 10-under, 1st Che Allan,2nd Andrew Rose,3rd Zander Veneiza,4th Jack Degruchy.

Under 12,1st Gavin Fernandes,2nd Dane Mackie,3rd Che Allan,4th Josh Burke.

14-under 1st Dane Mackie,2nd Gavin Fernandes,3rd Adrian Williams,4th Josh Burke.

Event # 3 Burkies Junior Surfing Championship Series sponsored by ASHFORD DAIRIES/BRANKERS will be held at Surfers Point July 25th.

SWANN AIMS TO FLY IN BARBADOS
Competitors urged: "Enter now, avoid disappointment"

Following confirmation from last year's Sol Rally Barbados Group N winner, Ryan Champion, that he is stepping up to Group A this year with his iconic ex-Piero Liatti Subaru Impreza 555, the production category is certain to have a different winner in 2009 . . . and another British pairing hope to add their names to that roll of honour.
England's Rob Swann and Welsh co-driver Darren Garrod will be making their second attempt on the Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport event; they finished 15th overall and fourth in Group N last year in a Subaru Impreza N12, but are aiming higher in 2009.
This year, Swann will bring his current Impreza N14 in which he contested the second half of the British Rally Championship last year and finished second in Group N and highest-placed overseas competitor in the popular Tour of Flanders in mainland Europe in September. Supported by Revolution Competition Wheels, his principal sponsor in Britain, and Escape Hotels in Barbados, Swann is confident of a better result this year.
In 2008, he missed Shell V-Power King of the Hill as he was still in the UK, giving his N14 its debut on the Jim Clark Rally; his stage times there were good, but he had a monumental accident towards the end of the event, although he still made it to the finish in a very crumpled Impreza. He was soon on a flight to Barbados where, within a week, he was in the Group N running on the Saturday of Sol RB08, splitting the battling Champion and local Group N Champion Geoff Noel (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) more than once, despite not having seen the stages before and still feeling sore from the previous weekend's accident. A brush with a wall after sliding off on some oil on Sunday's opening stage, however, cost him both time and confidence and he slipped out of a top three class result.
Despite all that, he is fired up for a return in 2009: "I was back in Barbados in February for a couple of weeks' holiday and met up with a few rally folk, which refuelled my love of the rally. As well as competing for the Revolution team in the BRC again this year, we're also attending a few tarmac events in Europe if all goes to plan - I know a return to Flanders is confirmed after our great result last year."
And Swann has no intention of missing Shell V-Power King of the Hill this year, either: "I will be dropping the Jim Clark Rally for the BRC, as I want to be in Barbados for King of the Hill, so Geoff Jones will step in to the Revolution team for the Jim Clark."
Swann's opposition in what is known locally as Production 4 will again include Noel, but the visitor is looking for a top result: "We have made good progress with developing the N14 from its early stages of last season, when things were still a bit new. We loved the rally so much last year and have some unfinished business - we want to win Group N this year, now we have sampled the stages!"

Entry deadline draws near

Using the Group N field as an example, Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale has urged competitors to enter soon to avoid disappointment. The Group N entry list currently stands at six, not including three drivers who contested last year's event, all of whom are expected to enter again this year.
Gale remarked: "Looking through the entry for each class, we can see names missing - some are drivers who competed last year, and we have every reason to expect them to be there again, while there are others who have already seen action in the first two rounds of our own championship or other events in the region, who have also expessed their interest in Sol Rally Barbados 2009.
"Our maximum start list is 90, and we will not raise that number, in case it compromises our ability to run the event safely and professionally; entries close on Friday, May 1, so we have a little under five weeks to go. I urge every one who is intending taking part to go to our official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb and fill in the form."

Sol Rally Barbados 2009 (May 29-31) and Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 24) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; title sponsor is the Sol Group, the Caribbean's largest independent oil company, and both events are rounds of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's and Class Championships. Associate sponsors include the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association.

Media enquiries: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com
web site - www.rallybarbados.bb

CASTROL SPRING MUDFEST

Map to Pot House.

Coming from Four Roads, St.John.
Keeping the gas station on your left, and fire station on your right.
Heading towards Pool Plantation.
Pass Pool. Pass Teen Challenge (Old Presentation College)
Pass Gall Hill.
Come to T-Junction with St.Johns Parish Church on left, and Cemetery on right.
Turn right, then immediate left onto Pot House hill.
Follow road past village and you should see the clearing for the Mudfest.

Coming from Bath Beach/Park.
Proceed up hill from beach. Turn right at T-Juntion by coconut trees.
Follow road past old Satellite Station on your right.
Follow road up incline.
Turn left (instead of following the usual road on your right.)
Turn right uphill.
Should see clearing for Mudfest.

The 2009 Mud Fest Season is about to get underway with the CASTROL SPRING MUDFEST. This will be held on Sunday 5th April 2009 at our new park in Pot House, St. John. (Please see attached flyer.)

Details:

Entries are now open at the locations shown on the flyer and they will close on Tuesday 31st March.
Briefing Meeting - Tuesday 31st March 2009 at the Clay Target Club - 7:00pm (all competitors must attend)
Scruitineering - Saturday 4th April at Pot House - 3:00pm sharp.
Start (event day - 5th April) - 9:00am sharp (competitors to arrive at Pot House for 8:00am)

For all interested competitors, we will be at Pot House for 3:00pm this Sunday (29th March) so you are welcome to come up and see the land and the courses. This will give you some insight for the briefing when we explain how the courses will be run and scored. (This is not mandatory)

Entries:

Entries are open now at 2 locations;
Autozone Inc, Motor Services Complex, Fontabelle, St. Michael - 436-2886 or 231-9095
Flyin' Fish Sportswear, #7 Newton Industrial Park, Christ Church - 420-7064 or 262-3774

Entry Fee - $40.00
Insurance - $40.00
Temporary Membership (BRC) - $50.00 per person
Annual Subs (BRC) - $200.00 (full members only)

BMF License fees will be dealt with at the briefing for those who need to renew or aquire a license. (minimum license requirement is $50.00 and this is valid for the whole year.)

FINLAYSON SHIPPING EARLY FOR BARBADOS
New date for Shell V-Power King of the Hill

Local fans will not have to wait until scrutineering for Sol Rally Barbados 2009 to see the first of this year's international visitors, as event regular Graeme Finlayson this week confirmed he is shipping his car early from the UK. His recently-acquired Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III will be in the island in time to contest the Automotive Art Shakedown Stages on Sunday, May 3.
As entries continue to flow in, an updated version of the Overseas Competitor Information document has been posted on the official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb; this includes notification of a change of date for Shell V-Power King of the Hill to Sunday, May 24, plus confirmation that the event ASRs are now available as a pdf download.
Scottish by birth, Finlayson has a great affection for the Caribbean, having grown up in Belize when his father was stationed there; he first appeared in Barbados in 2002, when his self-built motorcycle-engined Fluke WR1C was the Zero Car (although it failed to finish), and has not missed Rally Barbados since.
After four years in the Fluke, an unsuccessful outing in a rear-wheel-drive Peugeot 205 decided him to re-think the project, and he returned in 2007 with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS - a "proper rally car", as he called it - in which he and local co-driver Martin Atwell finished second in Group N. With the car upgraded to Group A last year, they shared driving duties to finish third in class, the highlight of the weekend being Atwell's impressive top six overall on Saturday's two night stages, ahead of the Ford Focus WRC of former UK National Champion Steve Perez . . . and this year's car is even better.
Finlayson says: "Sounds silly this early, but everything is in a mad rush now, as I'm shipping the car out early. As ever we're out on a giant-killing mission - being Scottish, we're probably on one of the tightest budgets in the rally and looking forward to seeing who we can annoy with our meagre finances!
"The new car has plenty power, double the torque of last year's car, a proper gearbox and actually has brakes; its very light . . . old school raw mechanical rallying. Can we put a £12,000 car into the top 10? I don't know, but we'll give it a good go!"
Originally built by respected British preparation company Quick Motorsport, the Evo III has recently made a habit of annoying World Rally Cars in the capable hands of 'Mad' Mick Jones; as Finlayson says: "with a full Phil Marks Group A engine running a Ralliart turbo and nice old-school fire-breathing anti-lag, it should be a big grin."
Neither Finlayson nor Atwell has competed since Sol Rally Barbados 2008. Finlayson says: "The Shakedown Stages will literally be that, then followed by intense further testing, as this car is plenty quick and given the competition, we need to be".
Already confirmed in Group A are Sol RB08 Group N winners, Britain's Ryan Champion and Craig Thorley, in an ex-works Subaru Impreza 555, while the overseas crews can expect a tough defence of local honour from Neil Armstrong; recently returned from promoting Sol RB09 with a successful outing on Rallye Sunseeker in the UK, he has been snapping at the heels of locally-owned World Cars in island events in his Evo VI.

Overseas Competitor Information updated, ASRs posted

Version two of the Sol Rally Barbados Overseas Competitor Information document has been posted on the official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb. Important updates for competitors to note include:
+ a change in date for Shell V-Power King of the Hill, which will now run on Sunday, May 24, with a scheduled start time of 10.00am
+ confirmation of shipping dates from Geest Line - the outbound voyage from Portsmouth is listed as Tuesday, April 28, and the return from the Bridgetown Port in Barbados scheduled for Tuesday, June 16
+ notification of the posting of the event's Additional Supplementary Regulations, which all competitors, local and overseas, are urged to download as a pdf document and read!

Sol Rally Barbados 2009 (May 29-31) and Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 24) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; title sponsor is the Sol Group, the Caribbean's largest independent oil company, and both events are rounds of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's and Class Championships. Associate sponsors include the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association.

Media enquiries: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com
web site - www.rallybarbados.bb

JUNIOR SURFERS READY TO SHOW THEIR SKILLS

The much anticipated event # 2 of the Burkie Jnr Surfing Championship Series sponsored by TILE GALLERY is set to make waves Saturday Mar.28th at South Point.The Burkie Championships is a series of four events catering to Junior surfers 14 years and younger,holding events in locations and conditions suited for junior surfers to encouraging more participation in contest, therefore being exposed at an early age in the hope of producing a WORLD CHAMPION surfer.

Coming off the overwhelming responce from event # 1 that was sponsored by LYNCH INSURANCE BROKERS and held at Freights Bay,a full entry of ninety surfers are expected,contest director Andrew Lewis stated"In order for the event to be completed in one day we have had to limit the entries to thirty per division".

Organizer and founder of the Burkie Junior Series of events Alan Burke expects a rise in the level of surfing from the kids," we have kids like Gavin Fernandes,Dane Mackie,Danny Edghill and Josh Burke surfing really well and new comers Dane Armstrong and Craig Stark showing great potential" ,"the 10-under kids are equally as talented in their own right,Che Allan,seven year old Zander Venizia,Jack Degruchy,Andrew Rose and Jacob Burke is certainly on the right track to stardom"

The competitors in the 14-under division will be spared some tuff competition from the "Chelsea dynamic duo" of Chelsea Roett and Chelsea Tuach who will be in Ecuador representing Barbados at The ISA World Junior Surfing Games.

Entries close at 8am on the beach.

Quiksilver ISA World Juniors ready to kick off in Equador

Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship International Surfing Assn La Fae, Salinas Equador 28 March - 5 April 2009 The Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship 2009 begins next week | Espanol Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 23 March, 2009 : - - The world’s best Under 18 surfers are gearing up for their biggest challenge of the year, the 2009 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship. Now in its seventh year, the Olympic-type event will be held from March 28 through April 5 in the waves of La FAE beach in Salinas, Ecuador. The entire competition and Opening Ceremonies Parade of Nations will be webcast live on isaworldjuniors.com. Surfers from the four corners of the globe will gather together to represent their home countries on the international stage for an International Olympic Committee-recognized competition. From the remote coasts of Africa to the crowded beaches in California, and the cold waters of Ireland to the warm Brazilian Atlantic shore; every junior team member is putting time in the water and training hard to achieve the dream of becoming a World Champion. Surfers from nearly 30 nations, including Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hawaii, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Tahiti, United States of America, Venezuela and Ecuador, will compete for medals in the three divisions of: Under 18 Boys, Under 18 Girls and Under 16 Boys. In addition to individual medals, each competitor’s points will count towards the Overall Teams Ranking, which determines team medals and the World Champion Team. Holding four Champion titles, Australia has proven to be the team to beat. Other past Champion nations include Brazil (Durban, South Africa 2003) and Hawaii (Huntington Beach, USA 2005). Teams from USA, South Africa, France and New Zealand are looking exceptionally strong this year and will be as hungry as ever for their first Team gold. Top surfers confirmed to compete this year include last year’s individual gold and silver medallists Australian teammates Laura Enever and Tyler Wright, 2007 Boys Under 16 gold medallist Garrett Parkes (AUS) and 2008 bronze medalists Courtney Conlogue (USA) and Ian Fontaine (FRA). Other past medallists Matty Costa (HAW), Shaun Joubert (ZAF) and Matt Hewitt (NZL) are also going to be in Salinas, along with Nat Young (USA), Maxime Huscenot (FRA), Marie Dejean (FRA), Fisher Heverly (USA), Kolohe Andino (USA) and Evan Geiselman (USA). The Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships has historically been a launch pad for the future leaders of surfing. Some past champions and medallists include ASP World Tour surfers Jordy Smith, Stephanie Gilmore, Jessie Miley-Dyer, Sally Fitzgibbons and Jeremy Flores, as well as world-renowned phenoms Julian Wilson and Clay Marzo. Junior surfing’s cream of the crop will be on display in Ecuador. For more information on the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship, live webcast, photos and on-demand video highlights, visit isaworldjuniors.com About the International Surfing Association (ISA):The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980. ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected six times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Mike Gerard (USA) and Karin Sierralta (Peru). Previous reports: # 1 : ISA gearing up for Quiksilver ISA World Junior Champs # 2 : Judges named for the 2009 Quiksilver ISA World Juniors # 3 : Coming soon # 4 : Coming soon www.isasurf.org www.quiksilver.com

MANNING SECOND ON ESCORT WRC DEBUT
Epic season in prospect for motor sport fans

One by one, the ingredients which promise to make 2009 one of the most competitive motor sport seasons in recent history are being added to the mix. On Sunday (March 22), it was the debut of Trevor Manning in the ex-Roger Skeete Ford Escort WRC, in which he finished second to Paul Bourne in the BRC Spring Gravel Sprint.
Driving the Banks/LIME Subaru Impreza WRC S9, Bourne set the pace on the practice run through the 5.3-kilometre course at Searles, Christ Church, stopping the clock at 4m 05.78s, a little under three seconds faster than Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/Motormac Toyota Corolla WRC) and four ahead of Manning.
The order remained the same on the first official run, with Bourne (3m 58.01s) still ahead, but by a smaller margin, of Hill (3m 59.61s) and Manning (4m 01.46s); the order switched on run two, Bourne's 3m 53.56s now less than a second better than Manning (3m 54.40s), while Hill's 3m 55.81s would be his last recorded time, the Corolla sidelined by power steering failure on the final run.
A last improvement saw Bourne win the day on 3m 49.91s, compared with 3m 52.59s for Manning, who said afterwards: "I was chuffed to finish that close to Paul; the car was fantastic to drive, very well-balanced and I think we can do more, as it currently has a very basic set-up." Of course, this was Manning on his favourite surface, but it certainly boosted the spirits of his many fans.
Another stirring performance placed Neil Armstrong fourth in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI, winning M8-A from Kirk Watkins (Evo V), out for the first time this year. Geoff Noel (Evo XI) finished fifth beating Harold Morley (Impreza N14) and Michael Worme (Impreza STi) in Group N, which had lost its fourth contender during the practice run, when a component failure resulted in Dean Serrao rolling his Impreza N12.
Sean Gill finished sixth, remarking that the gearbox and left-hand-drive of the ex-Manning Evo VIII are taking some getting used to, resulting in occasional missed changes, while his new Simpson Motors team-mate Ian Warren finished eighth and won SuperModified 10; he had vowed to take it steady on his first outing in the ex-Gill Suzuki Swift, as he was still learning the car.
Eleventh overall, James Betts won SM9 with only one official run, after a lengthy effort in the service park to sort an overheating drama with his Opel Corsa; he was just under two seconds quicker than Josh Read, who was learning how to get the best from the sequential gearbox now installed in his immaculately turned-out Toyota Starlet.
Adrian Linton (Vauxhall Astra) finished 12th overall, winning M7 from Freddie Gale, whose Toyota Corolla RunX had a loose engine mount, while the SM11 battle went the way of Jonathan Still (BMW M3), despite losing his final run on new tyres to a broken accelerator cable, after Nick Gill (Mazda 3) had lost third gear at the start of run two.

BRC Spring Gravel Sprint - March 22
Provisional results

1st Paul Bourne (M8-WRC Banks/LIME Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 3m 49.91s
2nd Trevor Manning (M8-WRC All Terrain Plus/Garbage Master Ford Escort WRC), 3m 52.59s
3rd Roger Hill (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/Motormac Toyota Corolla WRC), 3m 55.81s
4th Neil Armstrong (M8-A Hankook Tyres/Gunk/Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 3m 59.15s
5th Geoffrey Noel (P4 Globe Finance/Dewalt Tools/Essco/Sunbeach/

Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 4m 06.54s
6th Sean Gill (M8-WRC Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII), 4m 06.85s
7th Harold Morley (P4 Subaru Impreza N14), 4m 11.07s
8th Kirk Watkins (M8-A Abacus Builders/Hankook/Aqua Pur Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V), 4m 13.31s
9th Ian Warren (SM10 Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power Suzuki Swift), 4m 13.61s
10th Michael Worme (P4 Cot Media Group/Speedline Performance Auto/Dingolay/Details Car Valet/Mobil 1 Subaru Impreza STi), 4m 14.68s
etc

Class results
Modified 8-WRC: 1st Bourne; 2nd Manning; 3rd Hill; etc
M8-A: 1st Armstrong; 2nd Watkins
Production 4: 1st Noel; 2nd Morley; 3rd Worme
SuperModified 11: 1st, Jonathan Still (Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments BMW M3), 4m 23.44s; 2nd Nicholas Gill (Mazda 3), 4m 25.39s; 3rd Andrew Jones (Rexona V8/McEnearney Quality Inc Ford Escort MkII), 4m 35.01s
SM10: 1st Warren; 2nd Rhett Watson (The Unknown Quantity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbs Workz Ford Escort MkI), 4m 25.66s; 3rd Logan Watson (The Unknown Quantity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbs Workz Ford Escort MkI), 4m 30.36s
SM9: 1st James Betts (All Terrain Plus/Makita/Champion Auto/Kendal Sporting/Star Products Opel Corsa), 4m 19.90s; 2nd Josh Read (Automotive Art Toyota Starlet), 4m 21.84s; 3rd Neil Corbin (Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet), 4m 25.94s
M7: 1st Adrian Linton (Ravensden/Morris Straker Contruction/Garbage Gobbler/Crane & Equipment Vauxhall Astra GSi), 4m 20.59s; 2nd Freddie Gale (Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Racing Toyota Corolla RunX), 4m 28.88s; 3rd Andrew Skeete (Hitachi Power Tools/RentEquip/Fasteners Barbados Mitsubishi Lancer), 4m 39.32s
M6: 1st Danny Williams (Ford Fiesta), 4m 37.96s; 2nd Edward Corbin (Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant), 4m 39.97s
M5: 1st Sean Cox (Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 4m 37.47s
P2: 1st Dane Skeete (Peugeot 106), 5m 13.61s

For further media information, robin@bradfax.com

MANNING RETURNS TO ACTION
Healthy entry for BRC Spring Gravel Sprint

More than 30 competitors are entered for the second round of the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Driver's and Class Championships tomorrow (March 22), among them Trevor Manning, whose first outing in the ex-Roger Skeete Ford Escort WRC is eagerly awaited by island fans.
The BRC Spring Gravel Sprint, which will be run on the popular stage at Searles, Christ Church, is slated for a 9.00am start; competitors, who will be based in the Searles Factory Yard, will tackle four official timed runs.
Manning has had little chance to test his recently-acquired car, so is lacking seat time compared with the opposition, led by Paul Bourne (Banks/LIME Subaru Impreza WRC S9) and Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/Motormac Toyota Corolla WRC), currently first and second in the Driver's Championship.
Despite that, Manning is decidedly upbeat, saying of the Escort: "It's lovely. Although I know I need more seat time, I'm enjoying it so far. The handling is fairly neutral, and its very responsive power-wise. We still have a lot to learn - you can spend days setting up these cars - but I'm very happy with where we're starting."
Manning's familiar S469 index plate is already on the Escort, the first time it has been seen on a car bearing Ford's famous blue oval since the mid-1990s, while he is also reunited with his former crew chief Sean Lashley. Manning added: "The car will probably still be plain white this weekend, as we have a few small areas to tidy up, and there was no real point doing that before a loose event. I feel really relaxed about it, and I'm just looking forward to getting started."
As well as Bourne and Hill, Manning's opponents in Modified 8-WRC will be Sean Gill, driving the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII which has been Manning's mount for the past five years, and Barry Gale, appearing for the first time this year in his Evo VI.
Others making their seasonal debut include Kirk Watkins (Evo V), Andrew Jones (Ford Escort MkII), the Toyota Starlets of Neil Corbin and Josh Read, while Ian Warren is expected to make his first appearance in the ex-Sean Gill Suzuki Swift.

Penalties lifted, points revised

The 10-second penalties applied to Sean Gill and Sean Cox for late arrival at the Motoring Club of Barbados Inc's recent Double-Header at Guinea have been lifted; Gill is therefore reinstated in fourth place, resulting in a shuffling of the Top 10 in the BRC Driver's Championship. Positions in the BRC Class Championship remain unchanged.

BRC Spring Gravel Sprint - March 22
Provisional running order
1 Paul Bourne (M8-WRC Banks/LIME Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
2 Roger Hill (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/Motormac Toyota Corolla WRC)
3 Trevor Manning (M8-WRC Ford Escort WRC)
4 Barry Gale (M8-WRC Autolink/Bella Beauty Supply/ProPac Dog Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
5 Neil Armstrong (M8-A Hankook Tyres/Gunk/Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
6 Sean Gill (M8-WRC Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII)
7 Kirk Watkins (M8-A Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V)
8 Logan Watson (SM10 The Unknown Quantity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbs Workz Ford Escort MkI)
9 Dane Skeete (M6 Peugeot 106)
10 James Betts (SM9 All Terrain Plus/Makita/Champion Auto/Kendal Sporting/Star Products Opel Corsa)
11 Geoffrey Noel (P4 Globe Finance/Dwalt Tools/Essco/Sunbeach/

Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
12 Dean Serrao (P4 Subaru Impreza N12)
13 Harold Morley (P4 Subaru Impreza N14)
14 Michael Worme (P4 Cot Media Group/Speedline Performance Auto/Dingolay/Details Car Valet/Mobil 1 Subaru Impreza STi)
15 Nicholas Gill (SM11 Mazda 3)
16 Andrew Jones (SM11 Ford Escort MkII)
17 Jonathan Still (SM11 Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments BMW M3)
18 Ian Warren (SM10 Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power Suzuki Swift)
19 Duane Johnson (SM10 Mitsubishi Lancer)
20 Neil Corbin (SM9 Toyota Starlet)
21 Josh Read (SM9 Toyota Starlet)
22 Adrian Linton (M7 Ravensden/Morris Straker Contruction/Garbage Gobbler/Crane & Equipment Vauxhall Astra GSi)
23 Andrew Skeete (M7 Mitsubishi Lancer)
24 Gary Mendes (M7 Lunatics Inc/G & G Sales & Service/L G Trading/Barbados Muffler Centre/Appleby Filling Station/ACT Sand Blasting/Techno Toy Tuning/Fast Lane Model Car Racing Toyota Starlet)
25 Freddie Gale (M7 Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Racing Toyota Corolla RunX)
26 Edward Corbin (M6 Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant)
27 Danny Williams (M6 Ford Fiesta)
28 Dave Sealy (M5 Lunatics Inc/G & G Sales & Service/L G Trading/Barbados Muffler Centre/Appleby Filling Station/ACT Sand Blasting/Techno Toy Tuning/Fast Lane Model Car Racing Toyota Starlet)
29 Sean Cox (P1 Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift)
30 Jeremy Gonsalves (SM9 All Terrain Plus/Makita/Champion Auto/Kendal Sporting/Star Products Opel Corsa)
31 Conor Roach (M6 Peugeot 106)
32 Rhett Watson (SM10 The Unknown Quantity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbs Workz Ford Escort MkI)

Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's Championship - after Round 1 (revised)
1st Paul Bourne, 15 points
2nd Roger Hill, 12pts
3rd Neil Armstrong, 10pts
4th Sean Gill, 9pts
5th Geoffrey Noel, 8pts
6th Harold Morley, 7pts
7th Dean Serrao, 6pts
8th Nicholas Gill, 5pts
9th Jonathan Still, 4pts
10th Ian Warren, 3pts
etc

For further media information, robin@bradfax.com

ICONIC SUBARU IMPREZA 555 HEADS TO BARBADOS
Sol RB08 Group N winner Champion steps up

Winner of Group N in Sol Rally Barbados 2008, Britain's Ryan Champion, will this year step up to Group A when he ships a recently-restored example of the iconic Subaru Impreza 555 to the island for the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) 20th running of its blue riband event over the last weekend of May.
The 2005 British Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Champion will contest the Caribbean's biggest annual international motor sport event for the third time, with last year's Group N-winning co-driver Craig Thorley again on the notes. Dating from 1996, N555 BAT - the registration number reflects British American Tobacco's ownership of the-then Subaru team sponsor 555 - was driven by Italian tarmac expert Piero Liatti, who made a major contribution to Subaru's second consecutive World Rally Championship title that year and was described in British magazine Autosport as "Subaru's hero".
In his seven events for the 555 Subaru World Rally Team, Liatti retired only once (in San Remo), and claimed six top-seven finishes, narrowly losing out on victory in his last rally of the year; having led for most of Rallye Catalunya, he eventually finished second to team-mate Colin McRae, helping secure Subaru's title. The car had been used only once before Liatti drove it, when guest driver Didier Auriol (without a drive after Toyota Team Europe's exclusion) finished 10th in the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally.
Champion, whose career highlights also include winning the 1994 Peugeot Junior Rally Challenge, the 2001 Group N National RallySprint title and the 2002 Ford Puma Rally Championship, has fond memories of the Impreza 555: "I first drove one belonging to a sponsor, finishing second on a British Rally Championship round, and loved the car."
That was in 2003: having only driven the car for the first time that day, he impressed many observers with a solid drive on the season-ending Tempest Rally and a hard charge over the last two stages, to finish second behind an 18-year-old Finn driving a works Ford Focus, one Jari-Matti Latvala, now a WRC regular with BP Abu Dhabi Ford.
At the finish, Champion was quoted in Autosport saying: "I don't know how we've done and I don't care. We've had a ball." Looking back this weekend, Champion added: "I always said that if I wasn't rallying full-time and wanted a car for fun, I'd like a Group A Subaru . . . but it had to be a Prodrive car, preferably with some history, and my father kindly helped with the acquisition of N555 BAT late last year."
When new WRC regulations were introduced at the start of 1997, N555 BAT was sold to a competitor in the Italian Rally Championship, then it travelled around Europe before arriving back in the UK in 2004. Since acquiring the car, Champion has had little chance to compete in it, but finished sixth in the Specsavers Christmas Stages tarmac event at the Croft motor racing circuit in North Yorkshire in December, where Barbados regulars Kevin Procter and Paul Bird finished first and second.
Before the car, currently white, arrives in Barbados, a lot of work will have been done, according to Champion: "We are currently giving the car a full rebuild and putting it back into its iconic blue and yellow colour scheme before it comes across the Atlantic for it's holidays."
While Champion has contested only a couple of rallies since Sol RB08 - apart from his Specsavers outing, he finished 22nd overall on Britain's December round of the WRC, Wales Rally GB - co-driver Thorley has been a very busy man: in the last three weekends alone, he has done three events as co-driver in Charlie Payne's Mitsubishi Lancer WRC Step II.
At Rallye Sunseeker two weeks ago, where Payne's regular preparation company MSR Motorsport was also running Bajan crew Neil Armstrong and Max Ferri, Payne and Thorley were ninth, robbed of a potential podium finish by an electrical problem late morning. But worse awaited them in Cumbria last Sunday (March 8), when they rolled out of the Malcolm Wilson Rally, the Lancer suffering major structural damage.
All that was forgotten by today, however, after Mark Robson and the MSR Motorsport crew had dedicated around 400 man-hours to the reconstruction of the car over just four days; Payne and Thorley repaid the team's efforts with victory on another popular North Yorkshire event, the Riponian Stages, after a crowd-pleasing day-long battle with 2008 winner Tim Pearcey (Evo IX) and Procter, who won in 2006. (The event was cancelled in 2007 because of weather.)

Sol Rally Barbados 2009 (May 29-31) 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, the Caribbean's largest independent oil company, and both events are rounds of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's Championship. Associate sponsors include the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association.

Media enquiries: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com
web site - www.rallybarbados.bb

FIRST-TIME PROS WIN ARMAG MARCH SAFARI
Brooker and Dear take early-season lead

Just 12 months on from finishing seventh overall and highest-placed novices in the opening round of the 2008 Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Mud Dogs Safari Championship, Dominic Brooker and Stephen Dear beat all-comers on Saturday (March 7) to win the ARMAG March Safari outright, taking an early lead in the 2009 standings.
Although both were apprehensive about their elevation to the Pro Class in advance of the event, their weekend result proved them worthy of the promotion, especially as Brooker had other things on his mind, having become a father the night before! Not only did they beat 2005 Champion Navigator and Driver Neil Barnard and Barry Gale into second place, but they also finished ahead of a number of other very experienced crews.
Brooker and Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux) were at the top of their game from the start at Windward Cricket Club in St Philip; by the late afternoon stop-over, having incurred just 100 penalties, they were joint leaders with Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), who can count no fewer than six June Safari titles between them.
Paul and Tiffany Marshall were third at this point in the family Mitsubishi L200, with 140 penalties, with Sean Dowding and Kirk Watkins (Axis Inc Isuzu Dmax) fourth on 174, ahead of a close battle for fifth between Sean Mottley/Kreigg Yearwood (Suzuki Vitara) and Darrin White/Robert Warren (Flyin' Fish Nissan Frontier), who were separated by just five penalties.
Gale and Barnard placed eighth at the stop-over. Barnard remarked afterwards: "I cannot remember, and I checked with my father and he can't either, ever being handed two route cards at the start of a navigational event. . . that would mean more than 50 checkpoints in the first route! It was tough!"
And that was just how route-setter Leslie Alleyne had meant it to be: "The rally turned out just the way that I intended, and I think it has provided a good footing for the 2009 championship. With 90 controls over the seven hours of route the competitors had little time to nap, and the results certainly reflected a determined and calculated effort on the part of all who did well."
And it was Gale and Barnard who came out on top of the second route, collecting just 115 penalties, but Brooker and Dear had kept up the pressure, to finish second with 128; although the former Champions could not overcome their earlier deficit - they were 161 penalties behind Brooker and Dear at the stop-over - they nevertheless leap-frogged everyone else to place second by the finish at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Club House at Searles, Christ Church.
White and Warren finished third in route two, climbing to third overall, but it was a close-run thing; their overall total was 569 penalties, just 17 ahead of Armstrong and Clarke, who were in turn merely six ahead of Dowding and Watkins.
Highest-placed novices throughout the day were Kerry Renee and Winston Drakes who were 11th overall at the stop-over in their Suzuki Samurai, but slipped a couple of places in the evenint to finish 13th.
In summary, Alleyne noted: "It was a very jovial prize giving, and all reports indicated that the competitors thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They were tricked several times during the course of the event . . . but always due to their own oversights. We got a lot of praise from Chris Armstrong, who said a few words on behalf of ARMAG Quarries, and I would just like to offer our thanks for their support."
The Prizegiving for the ARMAG March Safari was held at the BCTSA Club House on Tuesday (March 10), and the 2009 BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship will continue with the Castrol MudFest, the first to be run at the new Mud Dogs Park in Pot House, St John, on Sunday, April 5.

ARMAG March Safari - March 7
Mud Dogs BRC Safari Championship, round 1
Results - Overall
1st Dominic Brooker/Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux), 228 penalties
2nd Barry Gale/Neil Barnard (Mitsubishi L200), 377pens
3rd Darrin White/Robert Warren (Flyin' Fish Nissan Frontier), 569pens
4th Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), 586pens
5th Sean Dowding/Kirk Watkins (Axis Inc Isuzu Dmax), 592pens
6th Paul Marshall/Tiffany Marshall (Mitsubishi L200), 804pens
7th Dustin Edwards/Ryan Corbin (Crane & Equipment/SDRR Toyota Hilux), 875pens
8th Audley Croney/Geoffrey Goddard (JCB Excavators Suzuki Samurai), 1009pens
9th Nicolas Lorde/Warrick Eastmond (Nicolls & Edghill Construction Suzuki Vitara), 1447pens
10th Kirk King/Tricia King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai), 1691pens
etc
Novice class
1st Kerry Renee/Winston Drakes (Suzuki Samurai), 3033pens - 13th o/a
2nd Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai), 3546pens - 15th o/a
3rd Dave Gibson/Lisa Gordon (Suzuki Samurai), 4342pens - 18th o/a

etc
Route 1
1st Brooker/Dear & Armstrong/Clarke, 100pens
3rd Marshall/Marshall, 140pens
etc
Route 2
1st Gale/Barnard, 115pens
2nd Brooker/Dear, 128pens
3rd White/Warren, 361pens
etc

For further media information, robin@bradfax.com

ENTRIES FLOW IN FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Rally Club congratulates Meeke and Nagle

With nearly eight weeks to go until entries close for the Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport event, Sol Rally Barbados 2009, the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC) is already more than half-way to its maximum starting list of 90 crews. Entries close on May 1, four weeks in advance of the 20th running of the BRC's blue riband event.
Entries made on-line through the event's official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb, since the January 1 opening date now total 49, with the balance of local, regional and international interest closely reflecting the final list for last year's event.
Sol Rally Barbados chairman Barry Gale admits to being a little surprised: "I still cannot believe the response we are getting, especially from our European competitors, bearing in mind the doom and gloom associated with the never-ending talk about a recession. The weakness of Sterling against the Dollar means that coming here will cost our regulars from the UK around 30 per cent more than it did last year, but that does not seem to be stopping them.
"Better than that, we already have five UK crews entered who have not been here before, and we're talking to even more newcomers at the moment, including one or two well-known names who contacted us . . . rather than the other way around; between exciting first-time drivers and one or two very special cars we already have confirmed, it seems we may have all the right ingredients to make Sol Rally Barbados 2009 a 'must-see' event, not just for the many thousands of motor sport fans in the island, but also from around the region as well."
A 'half-term' statistics report on the 49 entries so far presents this interesting countdown:
+ 15 international crews entered
+ 14 entries in Modified 7, M6 and M5
+ 13 manufacturers represented
+ 12 events in its 19-year history won by drivers already entered for 2009
+ 11 entries in Modified 8-WRC and M8-A
+ 10 female competitors
+ nine of whom are co-drivers
+ eight countries outside Barbados represented
+ seven local co-drivers who did not compete in Sol Rally Barbados 2008
+ six overseas drivers competing in the island for the first time
+ five Ford Escorts entered
+ four local drivers who did not compete in Sol Rally Barbados 2008
+ three entries from the wider Caribbean
+ two cars currently being built in Europe to debut in Barbados
+ one entry at least in each of the BRC's Groups, except Production 2 and P3
+ zero interest so far in the traditional Historic class

BRC congratulates Sol Rally Barbados 2008 winners on first IRC win in Brazil

Sol Rally Barbados 2008 winners Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle claimed their first win in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in Brazil at the weekend, and officials of the Barbados Rally Club were quick to send congratulations by e-mail and text message. The Ulster crew bounced back from what Meeke had described as the biggest accident of his career on the Monte Carlo Rally in January to dominate the Rally Internacional de Curitiba in the Peugeot 207 S2000 entered by Peugeot UK/Kronos Racing.
Sol RB09 Chairman Barry Gale said: "It is fantastic news for Kris, who is more than capable of repaying the faith that Peugeot has placed in him; but it is also great to see an international competitor who has developed such an interest in our own event doing so well on the world stage and spreading the word. We're in regular contact, and are all doing our best to make sure that he can compete here again."
Gale also had a word for Rally Barbados regular Steve Perez, who won the Malcolm Wilson Rally in the north of England on Saturday in his ex-Marcus Gronholm Ford Focus RS WRC07: "Having retired from Rallye Sunseeker the previous weekend on his first outing with the new car, I reckon Steve will have been delighted with the result. Even so, I know he'll have spared a thought for Paul Bird, who retired for the second time in as many weekends, this time in a major accident. Thankfully, while the damage to his Focus looked major, both he and Ian Windress are OK."

Sol Rally Barbados 2009 (May 29-31) 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, the Caribbean's largest independent oil company, and both events are rounds of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's Championship. Associate sponsors include the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association.

Media enquiries: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com
web site - www.rallybarbados.bb

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ARMSTRONG IMPRESSIVE 17TH IN BRITISH RALLY
Sol Rally Barbados promotion a success

Double Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Group N Champion Neil Armstrong and Rally Barbados 2005 winning co-driver Max Ferri finished 17th overall and ninth in Group N on Rallye Sunseeker, the opening round of the UK's Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship, which finished in the English south coast resort of Bournemouth yesterday (February 28).
Shortly before driving over the finish ramp, Armstrong said: "I can't even begin to explain the experience. Its like my first rally again, a whole completely new experience." Driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII, prepared by North Yorkshire-based MSR Motorsport and carrying Sol Rally Barbados 2009 livery, Armstrong had faced a multi-national class of Group N drivers from England, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden and Wales on his first-ever rally in Europe.
Rallye Sunseeker is the only mixed-surface round of the Pirelli Championship, with two Friday evening 1.6-mile tarmac SuperSpecials in the centre of Bournemouth, where it has been based for the past 24 years; the organisers were forced to abandon these stages before they were completed after a major incident in which a Subaru Impreza WRC struck an electricity pole, resulting in damage that could not be repaired easily.
Armstrong was classified 24th overnight - those crews which had not passed through both SuperSpecial stages were given notional times so, for many, the rally only really began on Saturday morning. The schedule covered 11 stages in the nearby Ringwood and Wareham forests, plus Somerley Park, home of Event Patron Lord Normanton, where an all-day Motorfair attracted thousands of spectators and featured a display of MG Metro 6R4s, marking the 25th Anniversary of the iconic Group B car's launch.
As the day progressed, Armstrong worked his way slowly up the order, in part through the problems experienced by his competitors, in part through his own determination. He earned the cheers of the Motorfair crowd on stage six, when he demolished the wall of straw bales at the popular ninety-right in front of Somerley House, by which time he had progressed to 22nd overall.
Among his ambitions was to finish higher than the same car had achieved in 2008, when Miles Johnston finished 19th; by the second service, mid-afternoon on Saturday, he had matched that position, and that was how it seemed set to stay. A big effort on the final stage of the day, when he was 16th fastest overall, his best of the weekend, promoted him two slots up the order to 17th.
Describing the experience, Armstrong said: "I can compare rallying in Barbados to track racing - you know the roads, you know what you're doing, you just drive it without notes. This is a whole different skill altogether. I need to come back and do some more."
Of his co-driver Ferri, who won Rally Barbados 2003 alongside Roger Mayers, Armstrong said: "He was amazing, hasn't called a wrong note all weekend; if it wasn't for him, I'd still be knocking around somewhere in Ringwood."
From the other side of the car, Ferri noted: "It was brilliant, we had a fantastic time, the stages are amazing, it's a fantastic experience. Neil drove perfectly, he's definitely a gravel expert for sure."
Group N and the opening round of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evo Challenge was won by Ireland's Daniel Barry and Martin Brady (Evo IX) in a time of 58 minutes 43 seconds; Armstrong's time was 63m 36.8s. The overall winners were Will Nicholls and Nick Broom (Subaru Impreza WRC) in a time of 56m 14.0s.
Two of the most enthusiastic supporters of Rally Barbados, Steve Perez and Paul Bird, were also locked in battle in Bournemouth, each equipped with a 2007 version of the Ford Focus World Rally Car. Despite the machinery at hand, however, neither of the former National Champions (Perez in 2004, Bird in 2005) would prevail - Perez retired when he ran off the road and could not rejoin, while Bird suffered an electrical failure following a heavy landing a few stages later.

Sol Rally Barbados 2009 (May 29-31) 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, the Caribbean's largest independent oil company, and both events are rounds of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's Championship. Associate sponsors include the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association.

Media enquiries: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com
web site - www.rallybarbados.bb