Xtreme Degreez Sports Magazine

2009-11-21T06:29:00.000-08:00

CHELSEA ROETT SHINES IN CALIFORNIA

Chelsea Roett finishing 3rd at Ripcurl Gromsearch Nationals in California, is swiftly becoming a surfer girl to be reckon with on the international stage! In two international events she has stood proudly on the winners podium the same.In the forefront of Barbados women’s surfing,Roett is doing her country proud, winning the Ripcurl Gromsearch Regionals at New Smyrna Beach Florida in August earning an automatic qualification to the Ripcurl Nationals held last weekend in Salt Creek,California.Sponsored by ACP Associates , Alan Burke Coach for the five Junior surfers Dane Mackie, Chelsea Tuach, Ametza Nicholls and Joshua Burke that qualified for the Nationals states “Chelsea surfed an exciting first round heat, started out strong leading the heat, then dropped to fourth, with the pressure on, she collected
a final good ride in the dying minutes to catapult her to first place and a birth in the finals” Burke said. In the finals Roett started strong again but was unable to fend off the aggressive approach of Champion Nage Malamed (Hawaii) who unleashed a repertoire of power surfing maneuvers, getting in sync with the ocean and eventually using up her 12 allotted waves, forcing her to return to the beach with 3 minutes remaining. This left 2nd place finisher Lakey Peterson(California) , 4th place Frankie Harrar(California) and Roett to battle out the time on their own, ensuing a struggle to
capitalize on Malamed’s return to the beach,the Californian’s got the better of Roett with good paddle tactics forcing Roett to miss a potential good scoring set wave. “For these surfers to qualify for this event is an achievement in it self,and Chelsea’s podium presence is a plateful of confidence to junior surfers in Barbados, what we need now is good
sponsorship so these kids can continue to realized their talents and do their country proud” Coach Burke states. “This event was broadcast live via internet and viewed by millions, and from what I’ve been told the commentators whom had visited Barbados prior and due to our presence did not stop speaking highly of the Island, this is tremendous exposer to Barbados” Burke says. This trip was made possible with the kind assistance of ACP Associates and
the National Sports Council.
For full results,photos and Video go to www.ripcurl.com

FINAL SHOWDOWN FOR THE MUD DOGS

2009-11-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

Nassco prizes for top crews in November Safari

Competitors are making final preparations ahead of Sunday’s (November 13) Nassco November Safari, the fourth and final round of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Mud Dogs Safari Championship; more than 20 crews were entered by last night’s (Tuesday) Briefing Meeting, with none of the leading points-scorers missing.
During the meeting, Nassco’s Neil Corbin reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the Mud Dogs, and further strengthened this by announcing new awards for the top three crews: Sunday’s winning crew will take home $500.00 in credit at Nassco, with $300 and $200 on offer to those finishing second and third.
But taking home those prizes will not come easy, as this year’s final event has been set by 2005 Champions Neil Barnard and Barry Gale. Barnard explained: “The first route is predominantly Tulip, with a couple of sections of BRC, while the second route is a real 50/50 mix of BRC and Tulip. The BRC sections are not long, and the rally in general is neither a car-breaker nor a mind-bender – well, it shouldn't be! It should be good fun for both Pros and Novices.”
Crews must assemble at Gale’s Hatcheries, Mangrove, St Philip, by 7.00am, with the first crew scheduled to leave at 8.01am. The lunchtime stop-over will be at Automotive Art, Welches, some time between 12.30 and 1.00pm, with the finish at Black Bess in St Peter around 5.00pm, where the canteen will be fully-stocked for an evening social.
Mud Dogs Chairman Leslie Alleyne notes: “It promises to be an exciting day, with a Driver Challenge close to the start. Spectators interested in watching the challenge are asked to meet at the start, where they will be given directions to the challenge site.
“The route setters have been very clever, by changing up the styles between the two routes. Barry has set the first half, Neil has set the second half – for the navigator, this means that it will be difficult to get into a groove. The two halves will come together today as Barry re-checks Neil's and vice versa.”
The Prizegiving for the Nassco November Safari will be held at 7.00pm at the Barbados BCTSA Club House on Tuesday, November 17, once the results have been declared final.

Nassco November Safari – November 15
Mud Dogs BRC Safari Championship, round 4
Running order - Novice class
1 Matthew Durrant/Renne Mings (Tint Black Foot Flat Land Rover Defender)
2 David Brewster/Winston Drakes (Marks Auto Parts/Champion Auto Wrecker Service Suzuki Samurai)
3 Luke Gittens/Gary Mendes (LG Trading/K&N Equipment/Lunatics Inc Suzuki Samurai)
4 Simon Parravicino/Michael Jones (Toyota Hilux)
9 Anthony King/Dave Sealy (Dynamic Limousine/Maxxis Tire/Lee’s Tyre Shop Toyota Hilux)
16 Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai)
Pro class
5 Michael Ward/Willie Hinds (EZ Sign Stop Suzuki Samurai)
6 Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux)
7 Edson Arthur/Renata Roett (Toyota Hilux)
8 Kirk King/Tricia King (K & N Equipment Mazda B2500)
10 Sean Dowding/Kirk Watkins (Axis Inc/Vesta Ltd Isuzu D-Max)
11 Darrin White/Robert Warren (Flyin’ Fish/Lucky Locks Nissan Frontier)
12 Dustin Edwards/Ryan Corbin (Blockman/SDRR Hydraulics/Crane & Equipments Toyota Hilux)
13 Nicolas Lorde/Warrick Eastmond (Niccolls & Edghill Construction Suzuki Vitara)
14 Biddy Barber/Chris O’Neal (Aqua Pur/Castrol/Visitor's Information Daihatsu Feroza)
15 Colin Goodman/Robin Hinds (Suzuki Samurai)
17 Dominic Brooker/Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux)
18 Leslie Alleyne/Anna-Lee Alleyne (Autozone Inc Mitsubishi Pajero)
19 Brett Barber/Warren Gollop (Essco Mitsubishi Pajero)
20 Audley Croney/Jeremy Croney (JCB Excavators Suzuki Samurai)
21 Paul Marshall/Tiffany Marshall (Mitsubishi L200)
22 Damian Brooker/Derek Edwards (Joe Brooker's Building/SDRR Hydraulics Toyota Hilux)

2009 BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship
Positions after round three - Navigators:
1st Robert Warren, 174 points
2nd Stephen Dear, 164pts
3rd Wayne Clarke, 160pts
4th Kirk Watkins, 144pts
equal 5th Willie Hinds & Tricia King, 134pts
7th Derek Edwards, 130pts
equal 8th Neil Barnard & Warrick Eastmond, 110pts
10th Tiffany Marshall, 106pts
etc
Drivers:
1st Darrin White, 174 points
2nd Dominic Brooker, 164pts
3rd Chris Armstrong, 160pts
4th Paul Marshall, 156pts
5th Sean Dowding, 144pts
equal 6th Kirk King & Michael Ward, 134pts
8th Damian Brooker, 130pts
9th Audley Croney, 112pts
equal 10th Barry Gale & Nicolas Lorde, 110pts
etc

2009-11-04T17:07:00.001-08:00

MUD DOGS LOOK FORWARD TO FINAL BATTLE
Nassco November Safari brings season to a close

Just two weeks after island motor sport fans enjoyed last Sunday’s final gravel rally of the season, competitors in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Mud Dogs Safari Championship are heading for their final showdown. The Nassco November Safari on Sunday, November 15, offers crews their last chance to score points and settle whose names will be inscribed on the 2009 trophies.
Entries for the fourth and final round of the Championship opened on Monday and will close at 2.00pm next Tuesday (November 10), prior to the Briefing Meeting at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association’s Clubhouse at Searles, Christ Church at 7.00pm the same evening.
Crews can expect a challenging day, as the route setters are Neil Barnard and Barry Gale, respectively the Champion Navigator and Driver in 2005 and winners of the June Safari last year; victory in that event for Barnard created an unique triple, as he joined father David and grandfather, Trevor Gale, as a winner of the event which, in 1957, brought about the creation of the Barbados Rally Club.
Once again, the Mud Dogs have enjoyed a healthy season; thus far, 40 drivers and 42 navigators have scored points in the March, June and September Safaris . . . while many others have participated in the popular MudFests and navigational practice events. The latest practice event is slated for this Sunday (November 8) - set by Biddy Barber and Warrick Eastmond, it starts at the BCTSA Clubhouse at 9.00am, finishing at Juliet’s Rum Shop, College Savannah, St Philip, at around 1.00pm.
Mud Dogs Chairman Leslie Alleyne is looking forward to the climax of the season: “We have enjoyed tremendous support from our sponsors – and once again I must say a big thanks to Nassco for their continued backing of our final Safari – but I’m also really encouraged by the number of people who turn out for our practice events.
“This Sunday’s event, for instance, will give new competitors a chance to see what we are all about . . . but it is also a good opportunity for a few people who want to sharpen their minds for the battle to come on the 15th!”
Full details of the Nassco November Safari will be announced as they become available, but it has been confirmed as a one-day event, with a morning start and finish the same afternoon. As usual, the Prizegiving will be held at 7.00pm at the BCTSA Club House the following Tuesday (November 17), once the results have been declared final.

2009 BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship
Positions after round three - Navigators:
1st Robert Warren, 174 points
2nd Stephen Dear, 164pts
3rd Wayne Clarke, 160pts
4th Kirk Watkins, 144pts
5th equal Willie Hinds & Tricia King, 134pts
7th Derek Edwards, 130pts
8th equal Neil Barnard & Warrick Eastmond, 110pts
10th Tiffany Marshall, 106pts
etc
Drivers:
1st Darrin White, 174 points
2nd Dominic Brooker, 164pts
3rd Chris Armstrong, 160pts
4th Paul Marshall, 156pts
5th Sean Dowding, 144pts
6th equal Michael Ward & Kirk King, 134pts
8th Damian Brooker, 130pts
9th Audley Croney, 112pts
10th equal Barry Gale & Nicolas Lorde, 110pts
etc

2009-11-02T18:09:00.000-08:00

2009 Sans Souci Pro

2009-10-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

“BEACH BREAK”, SANS SOUCI
TOCO, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
October 31st & November 1st , 2009

The Caribbean Surf Network (CSN) invites to compete at the Second stage of the 2009 Suzuki Caribbean Challenge Cup at Beach Break, Sans Souci, Trinidad, October 31st - November 1st, 2009.
It is a great privilege for the CSN to host this event with the assistance of the SATT (Surfing Association of Trinidad and Tobago) and our sponsors as a means of further developing the sport of surfing at both the local and regional levels.

We look forward to welcoming you to Trinidad for this annual event.

Yours sincerely,
Nicholas Donawa & Christopher Clarke

Contacts:
WEBSITE: www.csnsurf.com
EMAIL: info@csnsurf.com
Nicholas Donawa, CONTEST DIRECTOR
FAX: (246) 426-4469: CELL: (246) 828-7747
nick@csnsurf.com

Christopher Clarke, EVENT DIRECTOR
Phone: (246) 228 0664: CELL: (246) 266-0842
chris@csnsurf.com

CONTEST SITE
The venue, “Beach Break”, lies in the scenic Village of Sans Souci, Toco located on the North East Coast of Trinidad. “Beach Break” is one of the premier surf breaks on this coast and by its’ name alone, implies the type of wave to expect-multiple random peaks due to the sand bar with few rocks on the inside. “Beach Break” has the reputation for providing consistent high performance surf for this event.

CONDITIONS IN OCTOBER
Air Temp: 28° C - 35° C
Water Temp: 24° C Avg
Climate: October is going into Winter Season in the Caribbean, so expect cool nights due to the rainforest conditions with the occasional rain showers. Strong tropical sunshine is the norm during the day so bring the necessary SUNBLOCK.
Surfboards: High Performance Boards are recommended.
Swell: East, East North East, Multiple Random Peak, Beach Break
Swell Size: 2-6 feet
Clothes: T-Shirt, Baggies, head and eye protection
Sunrise-Sunset: 5:30 am - 6:15 pm.

COMPETITION
There will be limited entry space in each division
48-OPEN: Men any age
16-JUNIORS: Men 21 years old or younger. Must not be older than 21 before January 1, 2009.
16- Women: Women of any age

PRIZE MONEY
All three (3) divisions to be contested will be awarded cash prizes. The following is a breakdown of the corresponding purse for each Division listed in $USD. All cash prizes will be paid in US Dollars and Regional Cheques.

Position	Open Men	Open Women	Junior Men
1	1,200	600	Prizes
2	900	400	Prizes
3	700	200	Prizes
4	400	150
5	250
5	250
7	150
7	150
Total $US	4,000	1,350

CONTEST RULES: The 2009 ISA RULE BOOK.

JUDGING PANEL

CSN will select a local/regional panel consisting of 5 ASP certified judges, rotating on a 3-man on, 2-man off panel. All Finals will consist of a 5 man panel.

ENTRY FEES/ MEMBERSHIP FEES
MEMBERSHIP/ENTRY FEES
Entry Fee - $ 75.00 USD
Junior Division Fee - $ 30.00 USD
Late Fee - $ 15.00 USD

Late Entries will be charge a $15.00 USD ($30.00BDS) and will only be accepted through consultation from the Head Judge and Contest Director.

All Entry fees must be paid in U.S. Dollars or the equivalent in Barbados or Trinidad currency. No Checks or credit cards can be accepted at this time.

REGISTRATION
Entries accepted at Mrs. Bravo Surf Camp. Entries close 7:00am on beach. contact Nicholas Donawa or Christopher Clarke

ACCOMODATION

The CSN recommends the following accommodation for regional competitors. The average prices range from USD$15 - $40 per night.

Accommodation	Phone	Per Night	E-mail
Dominic Ferdinand Trinidad and Tobago Surf Experience	(868) 495-8266	$30 USD	trinidadandtobagosurf@gmail.com
Mrs. Bravo Surf Camp	(868) 670-8356	$20 USD 2 Meals Incld.	None Available
Community Guest House/Apts.	(868) 620-8240	No Meals Incld	rooks@pariasprings.com

Each Competitor will be responsible for individual meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). There are local shops and mini-mart in the area.

EVENT SCHEDULE

October 31st Arrivals & Entries
October 31st ROUND 1 & 2 ALL DIVISIONS 8 am - 5 pm
November 1st ROUND 3, SEMIS AND FINALS 8 am - 5 pm
November 2nd Departure Day

AIR TRANSPORTATION

LIAT and CRIBBEAN AIRLINES are the main air carriers. Flight information and booking can be done from the following sites: www.liatairline.com or www.caribbean-airlines.com.

Lazy Days/Sprite National Surfing Championships

2009-10-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

by HEATHER-LYNN EVANSON

THE BARBADOS SURFING ASSOCIATION’S (BSA) Lazy Days/Sprite National Surfing Championships surfed off last weekend at the Soup Bowl, Bathsheba. And veteran surfer Alan Burke is this year’s National Open champion. He took the title in a very competitive final field of four in the 26th running of the two-day event.
In three-to-five-feet waves, Alan Burke took the top spot from talented junior Lewis St John, who has spent the majority of the year on the international circuit. Peter Hill and Stefan Corbin rounded out the top four.
Alan Burke, a many-time national champion however had to settle for second spot in his pet event. He was beaten by Zed Layson who returned to the surfing scene last weekend.
This year’s Nationals also saw the return of bodyboarding to the slate of categories.
And Ian Jarvis was the king of them all. He took top honour from Kwami Griffith, who was second, Jason Kistoo third and Paul Wilson fourth.
Turning to the ladies, Chelsea Tuach clinched the top spot in the Under-18 Girls’ final to beat her namesake Chelsea Roett into second.
Ametza Nicholls, however, surfed back from a third finish in that division to turn the tables on the Chelseas in the Ladies Open. She was the winner from Tuach and Roett, who were second and third respectively.
On Saturday, it was the younger surfers’ time to shine when the Under-12 Boys’ final was held in smaller conditions at the same beach.
Joshua Burke beat out Dane Mackie to take the top spot, while Gavin Fernandes and Evan Moll were third and fourth respectively. Meanwhile, Danny Edghill was the winner of a surf board donated by Peter Hill of ACP Associates.

FINAL RESULTS

Under-12 Boys: Joshua Burke, Dane Mackie, Gavin Fernandes, Evan Moll.
Under-16 Boys: Jordan Heaselgrave, Joshua Burke, Daniel Edghill, Gavin Fernandes.
Under-21 Boys: Stefan Corbin, Lewis St John, Jonathan Reece, Jordan Heaselgrave.
Bodyboard: Ian Jarvis, Kwami Griffith, Jason Kistoo, Paul Wilson.
Masters: Zed Layson, Wayne Roett, Louis Venezia, Kenny Tuach.
Senior Men: Chris Clarke, Simon Coles, Wayne Roett.
Long Board: Zed Layson, Alan Burke, Barry Banfield, Wayne Roett.
Under-18 Girls: Chelsea Tuach, Chelsea Roett, Ametza Nicholls, Jade Niccolls.
Ladies Open: Ametza Nicholls, Chelsea Tuach, Chelsea Roett, Jade Niccolls.
Men’s Open: Alan Burke, Lewis St John, Peter Hill, Stefan Corbin.

AUTUMN GRAVEL STAGES TO RUN OFF SUNDAY

2009-10-15T04:37:00.000-07:00

All to play for in Virgin Atlantic BRC Championships

As crews prepare man and machine for the penultimate round of the 2009 Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Driver’s and Class Championships – the BRC Autumn Gravel Stages runs off this Sunday (October 18) – many also have a weather eye on the year-end rewards on offer for success in the two championships.
Points are calculated on each driver’s total over the 12 rounds, minus the lowest score (including non-starts and non-finishes); the Driver’s title chase is a straight-forward dash to the line, as both contenders have already accrued a zero for a non-finish - eight points separate Paul Bourne (Ford Focus WRC) and Roger Hill (Toyota Corolla WRC).
And there’s an interesting battle for third place under way – around 40 points back from Hill come Neil Armstrong (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI) on 74, Roger Skeete (Subaru Impreza S12) on 72 and Trevor Manning (Ford Escort WRC) on 68; while all are out of reach of the Driver’s title, each could still have an effect on that result this weekend and in the final, the BRC Winter Rally (October 31/November 1).
Things are less clear in the Class Championship, not least because the bonus points awarded to Class-winners at the end of each route (two on Sunday, for instance) also come into play. While each Class Champion-elect is pretty clear in most cases, the chase for the prestigious Overall Class Champion title looks set to go down to the wire.
Just eight points separate first and third, while the sixth-place man is only 20 points behind the leader, with more than 40 points still on offer. Group N leader Geoff Noel (Evo IX) has 163 points, just one ahead of SM11 leader Jonathan Still (BMW M3), with Edward Corbin (Daihatsu Charmant), who leads Modified 6, third, another seven behind. The second group comprises SM11 leader Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift) on 148, with Bourne on 144, then SM9 leader James Betts (Opel Corsa) on 143 . . . there really is all to play for in the two remaining events.
Entries for Sunday’s BRC Autumn Gravel Stages close at 5.00pm tomorrow (Thursday, October 13), with the Briefing Meeting at 7.00pm the same evening at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association Clubhouse at Searles, Christ Church. The nearby Ocean Park car park will be the service area for Sunday’s action, which is slated for a 9.00am start. There will be four stages in the morning, running from Yorkshire to Searles, with a further four in the reverse direction scheduled to start at 13.10pm. A social and Prizegiving will follow the event, back at the BCTSA Clubhouse.

Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s Championship
– after Round 10
* totals shown are calculated less the lowest score

1st Paul Bourne (M8-WRC Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S9 & Ford Focus WRC), 121 points
2nd Roger Hill (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/Motormac Toyota Corolla WRC), 113pts
3rd Neil Armstrong (M8-A Simpson Motors/Hankook/ Shell V-Power/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 74pts
4th Roger Skeete (M8-WRC Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 72pts
5th Trevor Manning (M8-WRC All-Terrain Plus/Garbage Master/Bess Block Ford Escort WRC), 68pts
6th Geoffrey Noel (P4 Globe Finance/DeWalt Tools/Essco/Sunbeach/

Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 64pts
7th Ian Warren (SM10 Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power Suzuki Swift), 60pts
8th Barry Gale (M8-WRC Autolink/VP Racing/Bella Beauty Supply/Pro Pac Dog Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 52pts
9th Jonathan Still (SM11 Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments/Little Switzerland BMW M3), 51pts
10th Cliff Roett (Carters & Co/Nassco/Lucky Horseshoe/Roett’s Garage/Castrol Toyota Starlet), 35pts
etc

Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship
– after Round 10
* totals shown are calculated less the lowest score

Modified 8-WRC: 1st Bourne, 144pts; 2nd Hill, 115pts; 3rd Skeete, 90pts; etc
M8-A 1st Armstrong, 114pts; 2nd Kirk Watkins (Abacus Builders/Hankook Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V), 61pts; 3rd Michael Worme (Cot Media Group/Speedline Performance Auto/Dingolay/Details Car Valet Subaru Impreza STi), 49pts; etc
Production 4: 1st Noel, 163pts; 2nd Morley, 117pts; 3rd Dean Serrao (Amalgamated Security/Coconut Car Rentals/Lucky Games Inc Subaru Impreza N12 & Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 82pts; etc
SuperModified 11: 1st Still, 162pts; 2nd Nicholas Gill (SDRR/Glassfibre Products/Castrol/Barb's Bikinis Mazda 3), 68pts; 3rd Sammy Cumberbatch (Williams Industries/Digicel/F Taylor Associates/Castrol BMW M3), 48pts; etc
SM10: 1st Warren, 148pts; 2nd Rhett Watson (The Unknown Entity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbz Workz/Castrol Ford Escort MkI), 119pts; 3rd Roett, 73pts; etc
SM9: 1st James Betts (All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Makita/Black Bess/Yamaha/Champion Auto/Quik Start Auto/Kendal Sporting Opel Corsa), 143pts; 2nd Josh Read (Automotive Art Toyota Starlet), 125pts; 3rd Neil Corbin (Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet), 77pts; etc
M7: 1st Freddie Gale (Gale’s Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Racing Toyota Corolla RunX), 131pts; 2nd Adrian Linton (Ravensden/Morris Straker Construction/Garbage Gobbler/Crane & Equipments Vauxhall Astra GSi), 87pts; 3rd John Corbin (Corbins Garage/Klark-Odio/Automotive Art Toyota Corolla), 82pts; etc
M6: 1st Edward Corbin (Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant), 155pts; 2nd Jamal Brathwaite (AM Electrical Solutions/Arthur Construction/Arthur Lifting and Freighting/Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing/D2 Racing Suspension Mitsubishi Mirage), 89pts; 3rd Danny Williams (Chris’s Workshop/Sunbury Plantation House/Barbados Paragliding Association Ford Fiesta), 76pts; etc
M5: 1st Sean Cox (Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 116pts; 2nd Dave Sealy (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), 20pts; 3rd Rhett D’Andrade (Rent-A-Tool Toyota Starlet), 10pts
P3: 1st Sean T Field (AM Realty/Ackee Tree/Field Insurance Brokers/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306), 85pts
P2: 1st Fabien Clarke (Barbados Business Listings/RCA Tours/Bovell Auto Repair Suzuki Ignis Sport), 65pts; 2nd Dane Skeete (Peugeot 106), 40pts; 3rd Conor Roach (Peugeot 106), 12pts

Media enquiries: e-mail – robin@bradfax.com

Open Day at Pot House Hill

2009-10-15T04:30:00.000-07:00

Open Day at Pot House Hill

"All persons interested in learning more about the Mudfest Challenge events, are invited to join Kirk King at the Mud Dogs Pot House Hill location this Sunday (October 18th) at 9am.
Bring a cooler with some drinks and food, and of course your 4x4 rig, and enjoy a day of fun while you attempt the challenges and get pointers from the pros on how best to compete in these events without destroying your rig."

Samoan Tsunami: Kiwi surfer rides his way to survival..

2009-10-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

Samoan Tsunami: Kiwi surfer rides his way to survival..

Earthquake Magnitude 8.0 : Samoa Islands Region

Date Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 17:48:11 UTC
Location 15.558°S, 172.073°W
Depth 18 km (11.2 miles) set by location program
Region Samoa Islands Region
Distances 185 km (115 miles) ENE of Hihifo, Tonga
195 km (125 miles) S of APIA, Samoa
705 km (435 miles) NNE of NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga
2700 km (1670 miles) NNE of Auckland, New Zealand

Death toll is at least 149 in Samoan Tsunami | photos

Kiwi surfer rides his way to survival in Samoa | (scroll down)
Paul Robertson & Sa-Monana resort at Upolu survive tsunami | (click here)

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 1 October, 2009 : - - Rescue workers on the Samoan islands and Tonga continue to search for survivors after the tsunami struck, killing at least 149 people. 110 people are dead on the Samoan islands and the devastation is complete. Planes carrying aid supplies are arriving on Samoa and nearby American Samoa.

Tens of thousands of people need help in villages swamped by waves triggered by Tuesday's huge earthquake. The United Nations said it was sending an emergency team to Samoa. Full report, videos, photos, etc at BBC News

Damage in Si'umu Samoa : photo Dominion Post/AFP

Kiwi surfer rides his way to survival in Samoa

A New Zealander rode out the tsunami on his surfboard. "I went out early morning for a surf, then I felt the tremor, I didn't really think too much of it. I went out and caught a few waves. All of a sudden the water went really weird, it kind of glassed off and got really lumpy, then we started moving really quick, getting sucked out to sea"

"It was pretty scary looking back and seeing the reef completely dried up; it looked like a volcanic riverbed, it was just gone. I was thinking, 'This is it, we're going to get washed away and smashed into the jungle'. The group of surfers tried in vain to reach the shore as "trees and all sorts of stuff" started floating past them. They lay on their surfboards as wave surges swept ashore, riding them out and trying not to get smashed.

Chris Nel survived the tsunami : photo courtesy WA Today

"After about 35 or 45 minutes of floating around, we managed to time it between a surge to get to land through the reef channel." The surf camp he had been staying at had been destroyed. "A lot of my stuff got washed out to sea. I found one of my surfboards in the jungle."

"We were really, really lucky," Chris Nel said. "If anyone had caught a wave closer to shore there would have definitely been people who would have died or been severely injured." Read the full report at WA Today

A boat lays washed up ashore : photo AP

The first leg of the B3 Series presented by Bodyboarding

2009-09-28T08:22:00.001-07:00

Oct. 28th
The first leg of the B3 Series presented by Bodyboarding Barbados got off to a fantastic start this Sunday pass at Coles Road, St.Philip, Barbados.
After a two hour delay to allow conditions to improve the first heat entered the water at 11:55am. The competitors were treated to 2- 3 ft. waves with fantastic wedges and deep barreling pits, this equated too some gutsy barrel riding by the likes of Russel Gittens and 2nd. place finalist Kwame Griffith.
Other standout performances from the day's competition came from Paul Wilson who made a valiant effort after suffering from an ankle injury from an earlier heat to winning his repercharge heats and advancing as far to Semi Finals 1.
The main crowd pleaser came early from one Silas Adams, who in his 1st round heat demolished his competition by executing one of the biggest ARS's (Air Reverse Spin) in the day's competition. Silas is definitely one to watch for in future events.
As the day progressed and the sun started to settle it was the general consensus by spectators and competitors that the event would be remembered as one of the best. The blow horn to signal the start of the final heat saw finalist Kwame Griffith, Shane Watson, Paul Larrier and Ian Jarvis fight it out to see who would claim the right to be called the first ever winner of the Coles Road Classic.
In the end it was Paul Larrier who prevailed as the winner after executing a repertoire of manoeuvers which proved to be more than his other competitors could handle.

Final results
---------------
1st. Paul Larrier
2nd. Kwame Griffith
3rd. Ian Jarvis
4th. Shane Watson

First and second place both won a photo shoot with professional photographer Isa Went and finalist were all issued with apparel by Uneasy Riders Clothing Line and Irie One Skate shop.

Special thanks must be giving to Revo Home Services who provided the use of tents and coolers. The guys from Caribbean Surf Network Nick Donowa and Chris Clarke. Head ISA (International Surfing Association) Judge Elvis Carter and Nick Nielands. Adrian Howard from Extreme Sports Magazine and photographer Tarik Browne.

Sponsors of the B3 series and providers of prizes for the Coles Road Classic 2009 are, Isa Went Photography, Irie One Skate Shop and Uneasy Riders Clothing Line.

Reynolds & Slater shine in Rnd 3 Quiksilver Pro France

2009-09-26T21:19:00.001-07:00

Reynolds & Slater shine in Rnd 3 Quiksilver Pro France

Dane Reynolds © ASP/ CI/ Cestari via Getty Images

Quiksilver Pro France

ASP World Tour Mens event #7
Southwest Coast, France
23 September - 4 October 2009

Live Coverage | Results/Photos/Videos etc

Reynolds and Slater Shine in Round 3, Parkinson Out | francais & entertainment en dessous

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 26 September, 2009 : - - Seignosse -- The Quiksilver Pro France presented by Orange completed an action-packed Round 3 today, and despite the smaller one-to-three foot (0.5 – 1 metre) waves on offer at Les Bourdaines, the world’s best surfers flew electric in front of a capacity crowd on the beach.

Event No. 7 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Quiksilver Pro France ran in unexpectedly clean conditions today, and proved to be one of the most exciting days of competition so far this season, with massive scores and big upsets seemingly on call throughout the round.

Patrick Beven (FRA), 31, who earned his seed into the event through the Moskova Trials, caused the upset of the Quiksilver Pro France thus far, eliminating current ASP World No. 1 Joel Parkinson (AUS), 28, in Round 3 of competition. The Round 3 chess match saw the lead flip back-and-forth until the dying moments when Beven exploded on a set lefthander to secure a 6.87 out of a possible 10 and the win.

“It’s the kind of lefthanders I like surfing and it was a good heat,” Beven said. “I am stoked right now. I am fighting for France and the Euroforce. I haven’t qualified for the ASP World Tour yet, but I am showing I can surf and do well in this event. I am over the moon right now."

A local to the South of France, Beven enjoyed the support of the hundreds of spectators at the water’s edge today, as they supported the hometown hero in his thwarting of the current ASP World No. 1.

"It’s great to get that kind of heat wins in front such a huge supporting crowd, and to beat the world No. 1 is even better,” Beven said. “Seeing everyone get together behind us French and European surfers and that’s what the Euroforce is all about. A big thanks to all people putting the event up, it’s a great time every year for all of us."

Bede Durbidge © ASP/ CI/ Cestari via Getty Images

Beven will face Dean Morrison (AUS), 28, in Round 4 of the Quiksilver Pro France.

Kelly Slater (USA), 37, reigning nine-time ASP World Champion and current ASP World No. 6, surfed immediately following Parkinson’s elimination, with many assuming the Floridian would immediately capitalize on the opportunity to gain some ground on the ASP World Tour ratings. However, it was his opponent, wildcard and current ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) No. 7, Joan Duru (FRA), 20, that opened up the heat with an incredible 9.17 out of a possible 10.

Despite being on the ropes from the outset, Slater patiently built momentum throughout the heat, and in the face of Duru failing to secure a solid backup wave, netted an impressive 8.90 out of a possible 10 in the last minutes to take the win and advance through to Round 4.

“I opened up with a pretty good wave but turned around to see Joan (Duru) bang out his 9.17,” Slater said. “As I was paddling out, I knew I was working the math out in my head as to what I’d have to do to come back. My board seemed to work out perfectly for those conditions – I’d never ridden it before, but it’s a similar template to one I’d been riding, a light, little epoxy. Joan didn’t ever really find a backup score and I was able to grab a good one right at the end there. Pretty happy to come back there.”

With the elimination of ASP ratings’ frontrunner, the opportunity to gain ground exists for a number of ASP Top seeds, Slater amongst them. Despite the Parkinson’s stumble, the Floridian remains cautious when calculating his 2009 ASP World Title chances.

“I don’t really smell blood yet,” Slater said. “I think I’m still in the forest trying to find him (Parkinson).” Slater will take on lethal 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie Michel Bourez (PYF), 23, when Quiksilver Pro France competition resumes. In addition to the ASP World Title drama that went down on Day 3 of the Quiksilver Pro France, some of the best surfing of the event was d by some of the sport’s most progressive characters.

Dane Reynolds (USA), 23, current ASP World No. 11, proved the form surfer of the day, blending explosive aerials with searing carves to net the highest heat total of the event, an 18.27 out of a possible 20. Bucking the traditional thruster model, Reynolds opted for a shorter, wider board with big side fins and a small trailer fin. The result was revelatory.

"The waves were pretty bad and I couldn’t take it too serious on a shortboard,” Dane said. “The waves were still really fun though. It’s not flat and there were still some good sections to get speed on and get some airs. I had fun out there. I am riding an MTF (Merrick Twin Fin). It’s just a copy of one of Rob Machado’s old ones. It felt good today in these waves, with two big side-fins and one smaller one in the middle. I was scared to ride this board because it was catching rail yesterday, but it was going pretty good today. I just figured that I’d have a lot more fun on this thing."

Riding high following an equal 3rd place finish in South Africa and a runner-up finish last week in Southern California, Reynolds is proving to be one of the most dangerous surfers on tour. “I like it here in France,” Reynolds said. “The waves can be really similar to home and punchy and fun. We haven’t had too many waves though so hopefully it picks up.”

Reynolds will face Bede Durbidge (AUS), 26, in the opening heat of Round 4 when competition recommences. Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 8am for a possible 8:15am start.

Highlights from today’s Quiksilver Pro France will be available at quiksilverprofrance.com. Downloadable media from today’s event available at the following FTP address: The Quiksilver Pro France pres. by Orange will host the world’s best surfers from September 23 to October 4, 2009.

For more information, log onto aspworldtour.com

Check the Live Coverage

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.50 def. Nic Muscroft (AUS) 12.03
Heat 2: Dane Reynolds (USA) 18.27 def. Roy Powers (HAW) 11.00
Heat 3: Ben Dunn (AUS) 14.57 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 13.13
Heat 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.50 def. Phillip MacDonald (AUS) 12.80
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) 16.50 def. Greg Emslie (ZAF) 9.74
Heat 6: Taylor Knox (USA) 13.17 def. Dustin Barca (HAW) 12.70
Heat 7: Dean Morrison (AUS) 13.57 def. Mick Campbell (AUS) 12.80
Heat 8: Patrick Beven (FRA) 14.87 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.07
Heat 9: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.73 def. Joan Duru (FRA) 13.57
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF) 13.57 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 9.76
Heat 11: Tiago Pires (PRT) 16.43 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.83
Heat 12: Tim Boal (FRA) 15.43 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 14.67
Heat 13: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.54 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.06
Heat 14: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.34 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 12.50
Heat 15: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.17 def. Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 10.16
Heat 16: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 11.67 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 11.47

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 2: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 4: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Patrick Beven (FRA)
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 6: Tiago Pires (PRT) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Heat 8: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)

Kai Otton (Friday) © ASP/ CI/ Scholtz via Getty Images

AM Report

Round 3 of Quiksilver Pro France ON at Les Bourdaines

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 26 September, 2009 : - - Seignosse -- The Quiksilver Pro France presented by Orange is back ON with Round 3 heading out into the glassy two-to-three foot (1 metre) surf on offer at Les Bourdaines at 11am. Event No. 7 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Quiksilver Pro France assessed conditions this morning before determining the activate the world’s best surfers for Round 3 of competition.

“We didn’t expect these conditions today,” Rod Brooks, Quiksilver Pro France Contest Director said. “It’s very clean and very contestable and seeing as how the fore for next week isn’t looking very promising, we’ll be starting Round 3 at 11am this morning. We’ll be closely monitoring the conditions throughout the day and making adjustments accordingly.

Up first this morning will be Bede Durbidge (AUS), 26, up against 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie Nic Muscroft (AUS), 27, in Heat 1 of Round 3.

The event be web LIVE in French, English and Portuguese at quiksilverlive.com. The Quiksilver Pro France will host the world’s best surfers from September 23 to October 4, 2009.

For more information, log onto aspworldtour.com

Check the Live Coverage

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 3 MATCHUPS
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Nic Muscroft (AUS)
Heat 2: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 3: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Ben Dunn (AUS)
Heat 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Phillip MacDonald (AUS)
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Greg Emslie (ZAF)
Heat 6: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Dustin Barca (HAW)
Heat 7: Mick Campbell (AUS) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Patrick Beven (FRA)
Heat 9: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Joan Duru (FRA)
Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 11: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 12: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)
Heat 13: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Julian Wilson (AUS)
Heat 14: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 15: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Aritz Aranburu (EUK)
Heat 16: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)

www.quiksilver-europe.com
www.quiksilverlive.com/profrance09

Mud Dog supremacy

2009-09-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

The battle for Mud Dog supremacy continues to be fiercly contested as evidenced in the results of the recently held Regional Fire & Security September Safari which saw the team of Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke take the top spot in their Toyota Hilux.
Although June Safari winners Darrin White and Robert Warren in the Flyin’ Fish/ Lucky Locks Nissan Frontier finished second, they have taken the overall lead of the championship ahead of the crew of Dominic Brooker and Stephen Dear who up until this event, were leading in their SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares/ Next Generation Electrical/ Joe Brookers Building Ltd. Toyota Hilux.
Armstrong and Clarke, 585 points ahead of White and Warren with 634 points said the straight line to map method of navigating, which many competitors are not fond of, may have given them the advantage.
Straight line to map, a method not used much in recent years, combines two of what many call the most challenging methods of navigating, a method which many of the newer teams used for the first time on Sunday.
“I think we won the rally because of the straight line” said Armstrong, who was in the driver seat, adding: “We got the hang of it early enough. When others faltered we got it.”
While navigator Wayne Clarke agreed that this may have helped, he said he preferred this method as it was easier to correct any mistakes and to get back on track if lost.
Sunday’s results show just how the straight line affected the overall standings, as the gap between competitors was wider than in previous events with many amassing most of their penalties in route two- where straight-line was the order of the day.
All this notwithstanding, second place finishers White was pleased with the outcome, saying Sunday’s outcome makes for an interesting November event- the final of the four safaris which comprises the championships- making a win a hard-fought battle.
Brooker and Dear who were previously leading the championships, having won the March Safari and finishing second in June, placed eighth in this event, after experiencing mechanic al problems for most of the Sunday. Unfortunately, the pair may not have a chance to make a comeback, as their presence in the November safari is doubtful.
The father daughter team of Paul and Tiffany Marshall in a Mitsubishi L200 placed third, 100 points behind White and Warren, while Collin Goodman and Robin Hinds in a Suzuki Samurai, finished fourth 185 points behind Marshall and Marshall, while fifth place finishers Biddy Barber and Chris O’Neal were 28 points behind them.
Overall there was a 359 point difference between the top spot and fifth place.
Other significant entries included highest placed novice competitors Ben Norris and Rhett Watson in the notable Land Rover Tom Cat, finishing ninth with 1053 points and Tiffany Marshall who was the highest-placed female finisher.
Despite the difficulties many faced with the not-much-used method of navigation, the 23 teams enjoyed the event, with many looking forward to mastering the technique in future events.
Route setter Kirk Watkins said feedback was mixed.
“Most of the more experienced guys seemed to understand where they’d been tricked, and I’m sure the only reason they were tricked at all is because it’s a new (or renewed) type of navigation. Some of the more inexperienced competitors still don’t know where they went wrong but hopefully they’ll try to find out. “
With that in mind he added: “All in all it seems to have gone down pretty well so hopefully it will be used again in the near future.”
Going into the finals, White and Warren lead with 174 points, Brooker and Dear are second with 164, Armstrong and Clarke are third with 160, Marshall and Marshall are fourth with 156 and Sunday’s route setters Sean Dowding and Watkins round out the top five with 144 points.
Previous third place holders Barry Gale and Neil Barnard did not compete, pushing them out of a top five season finish.
With such a close gap between the crews, November’s event will make for an exciting culmination to the season.

Regional Fire & Security September Safari - September 13
Mud Dogs BRC Safari Championship, round 3
Results
1st Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), 585 penalties
2nd Darrin White/Robert Warren (Flyin' Fish/Lucky Locks Nissan
Frontier), 634pens
3rd Paul Marshall/Tiffany Marshall (Mitsubishi L200), 731pens
4th Colin Goodman/Robin Hinds (Suzuki Samurai), 916pens
5th Biddy Barber/Chris O'Neal (Aqua Pur/Castrol/Visitor's Information
Daihatsu Feroza), 944pens
6th Kirk King/Tricia King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai), 996pens
7th Mike Ward/Willie Hinds (Niccolls & Edghill Construction/EZ Sign
Stop Suzuki Samurai), 1013pens
8th Dominic Brooker/Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation
Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux), 1053pens
9th Ben Norris/Rhett Watson (Pitbull Energy Drink/ACE Engineering
Land Rover Tomcat), 1114pens
10th Audley Croney/Jeremy Croney (JCB Excavators Suzuki Samurai),
1119pens

Novice Class
1st Norris/Watson
2nd Bryan Collymore/Adrian Jackman (Owlies Trucking/Williams Tools &
Equipment Suzuki Samurai), 1461pens - 13th o/a
3rd Kyle Proverbs/Daniel Christie (Jason Jones & Co/Hankook Tyres/
Ellco/Fingerprint Designs/SDRR Hydraulics/Flick Services/Ready Mix/
Ready Block Suzuki Samurai), 1462pens - 14th o/a

2009 BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship
Positions after round three - Navigators:
1st Robert Warren, 174 points
2nd Stephen Dear, 164pts
3rd Wayne Clarke, 160pts
4th Kirk Watkins, 144pts
5th equal Willie Hinds & Tricia King, 134pts
7th Derek Edwards, 130pts
8th Neil Barnard & Warrick Eastmond, 110pts
10th Tiffany Marshall, 106pts

Drivers:
1st Darrin White, 174 points
2nd Dominic Brooker, 164pts
3rd Chris Armstrong, 160pts
4th Paul Marshall, 156pts
5th Sean Dowding, 144pts
6th equal Michael Ward & Kirk King, 134pts
8th Damian Brooker, 130pts
9th Audley Croney, 112pts
10th equal Barry Gale & Nicolas Lorde, 110pts

2009-09-22T19:50:00.001-07:00

The Surfer Hot 100 Video Contest

Prizes:
- Gorilla Grip Prize Pack - Board Bag, Grip, Leash, & Backpack
- New skateboard courtesy of Carver Skateboards

We’ve all been privy to the local ripper, sans sponsor, tearing the living life out his local beachie and we think he deserves more than just the applause of the lineup. With that in mind, SURFER is launching the Hot 100 Video Contest for all of the surfers out there looking to explode on the scene. Starting August 17, 2009, all of you underground rippers have a shot at the big time and a nasty mess of prizes that we’re giving away to the winner, voted on by the SURFER Magazine staff, that produces the best all-around 30-second clip.

The contest will run from August 17, 2009 to October 15, 2009. And time, she’s a ticking, so start logging your footage, load up on the energy drinks, and get editing.

Share this Contest:

2009-09-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

Surfer Poll Awards crown Slater, Gilmore & 'Still Filthy'

2009-09-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

Surfer Poll Awards crown Slater, Gilmore & 'Still Filthy'

Kelly Slater : photo Grant Ellis

Surfer Poll

Surfer Poll Awards crown Slater, big shakeup in results from last year

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 16 September, 2009 : - - Dana Poing -- Top honors were awarded to Kelly Slater, Stephanie Gilmore and 'Still Filthy' last night at the 37th annual SURFER Poll and Video Awards presented by American Suzuki and Ultimate Wave Tahiti. While each category boasted exceptionally talented nominees, a good cross-section of the old and new guard was honored while there was an obvious shake up in the Polls for both men and women.

“SURFER Poll is always the best night in surfing, and it lived up to it this year,” said SURFER Publisher Ricky Irons. “There was definitely a sense of respect from the surfers for the Awards given out and to the readers of SURFER for voting for them. It is really the readers who make it happen and we just host the party on their behalf.”

It was no shocker when Kelly Slater, on the heels of his ninth world title and recently voted “The Greatest Surfer of All Time” by SURFER Magazine, secured the men’s top spot for the 15th time. His gracious acceptance speech once again gave credit to one of the up-and-comers of the new generation. Last year he called out Dane Reynolds as the best surfer in the world, this year he gave props to Brett Simpson.

“Brett Simpson is the man of the hour. . .or the year, really,” said Slater. “Congrats Brett!”

In the No. 2 spot, Joel Parkinson, followed by Dane Reynolds, Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, Rob Machado, Andy Irons, CJ Hobgood, Jordy Smith and Bruce Irons. Parko’s climb to No. 2 marks a notable boost in momentum to his current world-title campaign, and Dane and Jordy’s invasion of the top 10 could signal a toppling of the old guard.

Stephanie Gilmore : photo Grant Ellis

In the women’s category two-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore usurped reigning queen Sofia Mulanovich, bringing a bright young face to the apex of the SURFER Poll podium. “I’ve been in The States for the last three months and I don’t want to go home! The adventures have been endless,” said Gilmore. “Congrats to the other girls in the top five. You look so hot, and you’re making women’s surfing just blossom.”

Former World Champ Mulanovich held her ground in the No. 2 slot with the young Hawaiian contingent of Carissa Moore, Coco Ho and Alana Blanchard rounding out the top five most popular female surfers.

“The SURFER Poll is seldom wrong,” said SURFER Editor in Chief, Joel Patterson. “Kelly has won it 15 times, Curren won it for a decade, and so did Lisa Andersen. These are truly exceptional surfers who defined entire generations of surfing, and the fact that Steph Gilmore has risen to the top is no surprise to anyone who’s ever seen her compete or simply free surf. She is the most dominant female surfer of her generation, and we were honored to have her on stage.”

For the Video Awards, this year instituted a new jury panel selection process for five of the most important categories. The jury, made up of surf film experts, World Champion surfers and respected industry leaders selected Still Filthy as “Movie of the Year,” Waveriders as “Best Documentary,” The Present for “Best Cinematography presented by Ultimate Wave Tahiti,” Dusty Payne in BS! for “Best Male Performance,” and Chelsea Hedges in The Present for “Best Female Performance.”

Still Filthy, Billabong’s ambitious 21-years-in-the-making sequel to Filthy Habits, features Andy Irons, Taj Burrow, Joel Parkinson, to name a few. Director Jarrod Tallman credited the surfers while accepting the award: “These guys rip and give us a chance to really show this medium.” Andy Irons eloquently added: “We all like to get filthy once in awhile. Still Filthy for life!”

Makers of 'Still Filthy' : photo Grant Ellis

The remaining Video Award winners included:
· Best Barrel: Cory Lopez (5’5” x 19 1/4” Redux)
· Best Maneuver: Taj Burrow, frontside air (Still Filthy)
· Worst Wipeout: Skin Dog (BS!)
· Coors Heavy Water: Nathan Fletcher (Lavese Las Manos)
· Breakthrough Filmmaker: Tiffany Morgan-Campbell (Dear and Yonder)

Rob Machado and Courtney Conlogue presented SurfAid International Founder and CEO Dr. Dave Jenkins with the “Agent of Change” award and surprised him with a check for $15,000 to help support the SurfAid mission.

“I’m honored to receive this award on behalf of everyone who donates and contributes to SurfAid International,” said Jenkins. “Collectively we’ve wiped out hundreds of hours of child suffering. A special thank you to SURFER Magazine. They’ve really sparked support from the industry. And on behalf of all the children that now not only survive, they thrive.”

In addition to voting rights in the Poll, the public was also given a chance to decide the winners of “Photo of Year” and the all-new “SurferMag.com Web Clip of the Year.” Todd Glaser earned the “Photo of the Year” honor for “Secrets,” and Jordy Smith took home the inaugural Web Clip award for his mind-blowing rodeo flip on the Red Bull Mentawais boat trip.

Between citing repeatedly all of the beautiful girls in attendance at SURFER Poll and proclaiming his single status, Smith also acknowledged fellow nominees Sebastian Zietz and Tanner Gudauskas for their hilarious “dance off” web clip before thanking SurferMag.com for the award: “I didn’t think I could beat those moves from Seabass and Tanner. But we got some of the best waves they’ve seen in 25 years, and I just really appreciate it.”

David Jenkins : photo Grant Ellis

Local Orange County surfer Brett Simpson secured the “Sponsor Me Breakthrough Performer” win for his accomplishments this year including the US Open of Surfing win in front of his hometown crowd which earned him the largest professional surfing purse ever awarded in a surf contest.

For more results, in-depth analysis, photos and video visit surferpoll.com or surfermag.com. Catch a broadcast of highlights from the 2009 SURFER Poll and Video Awards on FUEL TV, Oct. 19, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Check local listings to confirm date and time.

Special thanks to the sponsors of the 2009 SURFER Poll and Video Awards: American Suzuki, Ultimate Wave Tahiti, Red Bull Surfing, Sponsorme.tv, Coors, New Era and FUEL TV. Additional thanks to the VIP table donors whose donations benefit this year’s charity SurfAid International.

Complete SURFER Poll and Video Award Results

MEN
1. Kelly Slater
2. Joel Parkinson
3. Dane Reynolds
4. Mick Fanning
5. Taj Burrow
6. Rob Machado
7. Andy Irons
8. CJ Hobgood
9. Jordy Smith
10. Bruce Irons

WOMEN
1. Stephanie Gilmore
2. Sofia Mulanovich
3. Carissa Moore
4. Coco Ho
5. Alana Blanchard

Movie of the Year: Still Filthy (Jarrod Tallman, Director)

Best Documentary: Waveriders (Joel Conroy, Director)

Best Cinematography presented by Ultimate Wave Tahiti: The Present (Thomas Campbell, Director)

Best Male Performance: Dusty Payne (BS!)

Best Female Performance: Chelsea Hedges (The Present)

Best Barrel: Cory Lopez (5’5” x 19 1/4” Redux)

Best Maneuver: Taj Burrow, frontside air (Still Filthy)

Worst Wipeout: Ken “Skindog” Collins (BS!)

Coors Heavy Water: Nathan Fletcher (Lavese Las Manos)

Breakthrough Filmmaker: Tiffany Morgan-Campbell and Andria Lessler (Dear and Yonder)

Agent of Change: Dr. Dave Jenkins (SurfAid International)

Photo of the Year: “Secrets” by Todd Glaser

Web Clip of the Year: Jordy Smith’s Rodeo Flip (RedBull Surfing)

Sponsor Me Breakthrough Performer: Brett Simpson

About SURFER Magazine: Upon its inception in 1960, SURFER Magazine brought a unity of voice and vision to an otherwise niche and fragmented sport. Today, the original surf publication is widely recognized as the "Bible of the Sport" and the driving force in the surf world, reaching more surfers worldwide than any other surf magazine. SURFER is part of Source Interlink’s Action Sports Group (ASG) that reaches more than 2 million action sports enthusiasts through an integrated network of magazines, online properties, events, and television programming.

About American Suzuki Motor Corporation: The Brea, Calif.,-based Operations of American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC) was founded in 1963 by parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) and currently markets its vehicles in the United States through a network of approximately 400 automotive dealerships and numerous other motorcycle, ATV and marine distributors in 49 states. With global headquarters in Hamamatsu, Japan, SMC is a diversified worldwide automobile, motorcycle, and outboard motor manufacturer. In 2008, SMC sold more than 2 million new cars and trucks and more than 3.5 million motorcycles and ATVs. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has operations in 196 countries and regions. For more information, visit media.suzuki.com.

About Ultimate Wave Tahiti: Ultimate Wave Tahiti, featuring Kelly Slater, will premiere next February. It is the first 3D film produced and distributed for IMAX® and other Giant Screen Theaters to focus on surfing and the unique waves that travel thousands of miles, eventually making it all the way to Teahupoo. Together with Tahitian Raimana Van Bastolaer, Slater will treat movie-goers to a blend of sport, ocean science, and cultural history that will both enthrall and fascinate. Award-winning director, Stephen Low, brings a never-before-seen filming technique to the giant screen, opening eyes to the beauty and intensity of some of the world's most powerful of waves. Ultimate Wave Tahiti, which will be released worldwide to IMAX and other giant screen and digital theaters in 3D and 2D, is produced by The Stephen Low Company and executive produced by K2 Communications, Inc. and presented by Suzuki, with supporting partnerships from Tahiti Tourism North America and Quiksilver. (IMAX® is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation.)

www.surferpoll.com

2009-09-13T05:45:00.000-07:00

THE DOG

...THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS AS THEY APPEAR.

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 12 September, 2009 : - A woman was flying from Seattle to San Francisco. Unexpectedly, the plane was diverted to Sacramento along the way. The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft the plane would re-board in 50 minutes.

Everybody got off the plane except one lady who was blind. A surfer had noticed her as he walked by and could tell the lady was blind because her Seeing Eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of her throughout the entire flight.

He could also tell she had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached her, and calling her by name, said, 'Kathy, we are in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?' The blind lady replied, 'No thanks, but maybe Buddy would like to stretch his legs.'

Picture this:~

All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with a Seeing Eye dog! The pilot was even wearing sunglasses. People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines!

True story... Have a great day and remember..

RACE 1 CREW WILL BE THERE

2009-09-12T06:13:00.000-07:00

What started out as a rumour is indeed true, and come tomorrow most motorsport fans will get a taste of it. The annual Motoring Club of Barbados' Rally Of The Sun and Stars comes off tomorrow Starting at Hangmans's Hill, St. Thomas at noon where you can get an opportunity to see Paul 'The surfer' Bourne in the ex-Paul Bird Ford FocusWRC07. Guaranteed to be a day of fun and keen competition, make it your duty not to miss out on the action! The RACE 1 CREW will be there catching all action.

2009-09-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

MUD DOGS RETURN TO BATTLE FOR RFS SAFARI
Driver challenge to start Sunday Safari

After a three-month break since the June Safari, competitors in the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) Mud Dogs Safari Championship rejoin battle this Sunday (September 13) in the Regional Fire & Security September Safari. Round three of the four-round championship is slated to start at 8:01am from Automotive Art, Welches . . . and it will start in fine style, too, with a driver challenge on the adjacent land.
The morning route will cover the western and northern parishes, before the stop-over at AXIS Inc, The Garden, St James at around 12:30pm. In the afternoon, crews will take in the island's central and eastern parishes, then finish at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association's (BCTSA) Clubhouse at Searles at approximately 5:00pm.
The event will be split roughly 60/40 between the tulip system of navigation and map work, which is also divided between the traditional BRC method and a re-generated straight-line by the map system. Route-setters for the first time are Sean Dowding and Kirk Watkins, while the tulip sections are being checked by Stewart Gill.
Competition is expected to be tough, with fewer than 10 points spread across the leading crews. Dominic Brooker and Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux), who started their season well with victory in the ARMAG March Safari, currently head the Driver and Navigator standings.
Their closest challengers are Darrin White and Robert Warren (Flyin' Fish/Lucky Locks Nissan Frontier); third in the season-opener, they went on to win the Shelbury Construction June Safari, to lie just two points behind the leaders.
Champion Navigator and Driver in 2005, Neil Barnard and Barry Gale (Gale's Agro Products/Redlinefuels.com Mitsubishi L200) are currently third; Gale is overseas on BRC business, however, so navigator Barnard will sit alongside his father, David, whose wealth of experience - and results, three-time winner of 'The June' - will make them a very strong team. Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux) are just a handful of points adrift, so another good result will keep them in contention.
The Prizegiving for the Regional Fire & Security September Safari will be held at 7.00pm at the Barbados BCTSA Club House on Tuesday, September 15, once the results have been declared final.

Regional Fire & Security September Safari - September 13
Mud Dogs BRC Safari Championship, round 3
Running order - Pro class
1 Dustin Edwards/Ryan Corbin (Blockman/SDRR Hydraulics/Crane & Equipments Toyota Hilux)
3 Nicolas Lorde/Warrick Eastmond (Niccolls & Edghill Construction Suzuki Vitara)
5 Paul Marshall/Tiffany Marshall (Mitsubishi L200)
6 Biddy Barber/Chris O'Neal (Aqua Pur/Castrol/Visitor's Information Daihatsu Feroza)
7 Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux)
8 Colin Goodman/Robin Hinds (Suzuki Samurai)
9 Edson Arthur/Renata Roett (Toyota Hilux)
10 Dominic Brooker/Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux)
11 Chris Beckley/Warren Gollop (Essco Mitsubishi Pajero)
13 Damian Brooker/Derek Edwards (Joe Brooker's Building/SDRR Hydraulics Toyota Hilux)
14 Wayne Manning/Yosuf Patel (Black Bess Quarry/Citgo Oils Toyota Hilux)
15 Audley Croney/Jeremy Croney (JCB Excavators Suzuki Samurai)
18 Mike Ward/Willie Hinds (Niccolls & Edghill Construction/EZ Sign Stop Suzuki Samurai)
22 Darrin White/Robert Warren (Flyin' Fish/Lucky Locks Nissan Frontier)
23 David Barnard/Neil Barnard (Gale's Agro Products/Redlinefuels.com Mitsubishi L200)
25 Kirk King/Tricia King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai)

Novice class
2 Anthony King/Dave Sealy (Dynamic Limousine/Maxxis Tire/Lee's Tyre Shop Toyota Hilux)
4 Ben Norris/Rhett Watson (Pitbull Energy Drink/ACE Engineering Land Rover Tomcat)
12 Bryan Collymore/Adrian Jackman (Owlies Trucking/Williams Tools & Equipment Suzuki Samurai)
16 Hadley Green/Adrian Crane (Automotive Art/Hunte's Auto Spares Toyota Hilux)
17 David Brewster/Winston Drakes (Marks Auto Parts/Champion Auto Wrecker Service Suzuki Samurai)
19 Matthew Durrant/Renne Mings (Tint Black Foot Flat Land Rover Defender)
20 Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai)
21 Russell Williams/Dale Mottley (Dr Donuts Suzuki Samurai)
24 Kyle Proverbs/Daniel Christie (Jason Jones & Co/Hankook Tyres/Ellco/Fingerprint Designs/SDRR Hydraulics/Flick Services/Ready Mix/Ready Block Suzuki Samurai)

2009 BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship
Positions after round two - Navigators:
1st Stephen Dear, 118 points
2nd Robert Warren, 116pts
3rd Neil Barnard, 110pts
4th Wayne Clarke, 100pts
5th Kirk Watkins, 92pts
6th Derek Edwards, 90pts
7th Willie Hinds, 86pts
8th Tricia King, 84pts
9th Warrick Eastmond, 82pts
10th Geoffrey Goddard, 70pts
etc
Drivers:
1st Dominic Brooker, 118 points
2nd Darrin White, 116pts
3rd Barry Gale, 110pts
equal 4th Chris Armstrong & Paul Marshall, 100pts
6th Sean Dowding, 92pts
7th Damian Brooker, 90pts
8th Michael Ward, 86pts
9th Kirk King, 84pts
10th Nicolas Lorde, 82pts
etc

For further media information, robin@bradfax.com

2009-09-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

Video highlights from the Intense Wave Invitational '09

Blake Ainsworth : photo Steve Robertson

Fantastic Noodles Intense Wave Invitational 09

$20 000 Prize Money
Thursday August 27th 2009

Video Highlights from one of the most memorable days in Surfing Australia’s competitive history

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 3 September, 2009 : - - An amazing day of big wave surfing at the inaugural Fantastic Noodles Intense Wave Challenge 09 held in perfect surf around the serious 15 feet range (4m plus!) in South Australia. Gold Coast surfer Blake Ainsworth won his biggest ever event and pocketed $11 000 for the win, tube riding his way to a well deserved win over local South Australian charger Josiah Schmucker. “The best day of my surfing career by far” commented an exhausted and elated Ainsworth after his final.

“The waves were incredibly big at times but also perfect and barrelling and to win today means a lot to me, especially with everyone charging so hard and scoring big through just about every heat – it’s been awesome.”

There were numerous stand-out performances throughout the day which was designed to expose the next breed of Australian’s heading for the world tour to the serious side of facing your fears and charging really serious waves – and there’s no doubt today’s experience went a long way to hardening these young chargers.

Final Results –
1st Blake Ainsworth (Qld)
2nd Josiah Schmucker (SA)
3rd Equal – Courtney Brown (WA) and Sam Hawke (NZ)
5th Equal – Teale Vanner (SA), Dean Bowen (NSW), Cahill Bell-Warren (Vic) and Jordi Watson (NSW).

Sam Hawke : photo Steve Robertson

Check out the reports
Blake Ainsworth wins Fantastic Noodles Intense Wave
Tim Bonython's tale of shooting super-sized South Oz..

www.surfingaustralia.com
www.intensewave.com.au

Mossel Bay surfer dies after Glentana Bay shark attack

2009-09-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Shark News

Gerhard van Zyl bleeds to death after lower leg is bitten off

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 31 August, 2009 : - - A surfer had his lower leg bitten off by a shark while surfing at Glentana Bay in the southern Cape on Saturday, and died later in hospital.

Gerhard van Zyl, 25, a Mossel Bay local, was surfing with a friend at the small seaside village when he was attacked. National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson Craig Lambinon said they were called out around 3.30pm, soon after the attack. Van Zyl's lower right leg had been bitten almost completely off. When authorities arrived, a friend had pulled him out of the water, and had helped to tie a tourniquet around his injured leg.

Lambinon said NSRI volunteers, ER24 paramedic services, Netcare 911, the police, Metro ambulance and rescue services and a Red Cross AMS helicopter had been called to the beach. "We found him on the beach and treated him for amputation to his right leg," said Lambinon. "He was airlifted to a hospital in George and when he got there, was declared to be in a critical condition. He was later declared dead."

Van Zyl's father, who was in Cape Town at the time of the incident, was travelling back to Mossel Bay to identify his son's body, the police said. Southern Cape Surfing chairman Mike Sheppard said Glentana Bay was fast becoming a popular surfing spot. This was the first recorded shark attack there that he had heard of.

"It is an active stretch of beach. Surfers are making use of it more and more, but this is the first we've heard of a shark attack there," he said. The attack, said Sheppard, had left the entire local surfing community rattled. "Everyone's emotional, it's a very sad day for us. You have lots of people surfing here each day and this really hits home for us."

Robin de Kock, general manager of Surfing SA, said that while shark attacks were traumatic for surfers, they were a very rare occurrence. Surfers were aware of the dangers of the sport, he said. "This is a terrible tragedy, and without detracting from that fact, it must be said that it is a very rare occurrence. If you're a surfer, shark attacks are one of the risks you're aware of," said De Kock

2009-08-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

MUD FEST SEASON ENDER A NAIL BITER
Castrol Summer Mud Fest almost ends in a draw

The 2009 Mud Fest season ended with competition so tight, it almost took a tie breaker to declare the winner, at the Castrol Summer Mud Fest, staged Sunday August 23.

After an intense day of battling challenges, enduring vehicular problems and also braving the heat, Tfphill Juman and Matthew Caine narrowly edged out Jason Croney and Nick King to nab the title, King of the Mud.
Keeping the crowd on hand engaged for the day, the two teams along with 11 others gave spectators their money’s worth, as both classes - the General and Big Tyre -had too close to call finishes and several ties across the board.

In the end, the team of Juman and Caine, in their super modified, Sleep Rite Ltd. Suzuki Samurai won with 488 penalties and one DNF (Did Not Finish) versus Croney’s 488 and two DNFs.
Darrin White, one of the event’s organisers said there could not have been a better end to the season, despite the low entries which actually worked in the club’s favour.
“Sunday was the best Mud Fest so far despite what we consider a low entry, there were quality entries, all the competitors were experienced, and the vehicles well prepared, so that made for a smooth event.”

Juman and Caine, in the only four-wheel steering vehicle in the competition, and Croney and King, in a modified Suzuki Vitara, were neck and neck throughout the day. At the halfway point, Juman had the lead, but that quickly ended when Croney gained on him only to lose his grip after sustaining damage to his vehicle. Juman again took the lead before relinquishing it to Croney, eventually ending the day in a tie for points. Both teams competed in the Big Tyre class.

The competition was also keen in the classes, as David Brewster and Terry Mason took the General Class in their Champion Wrecker/ Marks Auto Spares Suzuki Samurai, just six points ahead of Brian Collymore and Adrian Jackson, also in a Suzuki Samurai. Brewster, whose vehicle sustained mechanic damage during completion, refused to give up, eventually earning him the top spot in his class as well as the respect of those who knew the challenges he faced on Sunday, prompting White to say: “ (David) Brewster’s attitude must be commended.”
Hadley Greene paired with Adrian Crane and David St. Hill with Ian Grimes, both in the Big Tyre class also tied for an overall fourth place finish, showing just how tight the competition was.

Thirteen teams were vying for top spots over 10 courses but in the end, only eight finished the event, which saw crowd favourite Ben Norris in his super modified Tom Cat, Land Rover, bow out after he sustained damage to his vehicle, and defending Mud Fest champion Rodney “Ramma” Mason, failing to start, also due to mechanical problems.
The competitors put on a good showing, providing much entertainment for those gathered at the club’s Pot House headquarters.
The second run of the-much-anticipated mud pit got the better of nine of the 11 who attempted the challenge. In the end, it might have been this course which cost Croney, who was in it to win the title, the top spot as this is where he earned his first DNF, breaking an axle, while Juman made it through was ease.

The Tank Trap was also another crowd pleaser. Here driver and spotter worked as a team, as the angles of the course required the spoter to direct the driver from outside of the vehicle, if there was any hope of conquering the tough terrain.
Other thrilling courses included the tractor pull; the tyre pit, and the rock pit which provided much entertainment for spectators, who were keen to place verbal wagers on their picks for each course.

White says the two events this season, the first to be staged at Pot House, went well; looking to next season he said despite the fun and extreme nature of the sport, they may scale back from the three mud fests that were planned for this year, and go for two Mud Fest events, maximum, for next year.
Juman and Caine will have to wait a little while longer, so see if Sunday’s win was enough to earn them the crown of overall King of the Mud for the 2009 season.
Mud Fest is staged by the Mud Dogs, the 4x4 arm of the Barbados Rally Club, this motor sport season saw two events take place. Last year’s King of the Mud, Dave Lowe did not compete this season, leaving the field wide open for a new champion.

Results:
General/Small Tyre:
David Brewster/ Terry Mason 214;
Brian Collymore/Adrian Jackman 208;
Russell Williams/Kemar Drakes 158;
Collin Goodman/Armando Matthews 152;
Nicolas Lorde/ Kyle Proverbs 138.

Big Tyre:
Tfphill Juman/Matthew Caine 256;
Jason Croney/Nick King 256;
Edson Arthur/Renata Roett 238;
Anthony King/Dave Sealy 228;
David St. Hill/Ian Grimes 198.

Overall:
Tfphill Juman/Matthew Caine 488, 1 DNF
Jason Croney/Nick King 488, 2 DNF
Edson Arthur/Renata Roett 438
Hadley Greene/ Adrian Crane and David St. Hill/ Ian Grimes 394.

Prepared by Ann-Marie Bailey

Barbados Team places 23rd

2009-08-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Barbados Team places 23rd at the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games

A full Barbados Team competed in the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games that were held in the perfect waves of Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica, from August 1st through the 8th.

The great team of eight Barbadian surfers placed 23rd in the Overall Team Standings.

Individual team standings
Open Men
81- Jonathan Reece
81- Christopher Clarke
81- Blake Sands
97- Simon Coles

Open Women
33- Chelsea Tuach
49- Nikita Fitzwilliams

Longboard
41- Kenneth Tuach
57- Kevin Jones

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. 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 La Jolla, 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 Karín Sierralta (Peru).

Team Barbados

Chelsea Tuach

Stephan Corbin

Kelly Slater on his way to his 9th ASP World Title on TV

2009-08-25T05:34:00.000-07:00

Kelly Slater on his way to his 9th ASP World Title on TV

Team News & Entertainment

Surf Phenom Kelly Slater on his way to his 9th ASP World Title.
Catch the highs, lows, barrels and airs

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 August, 2009 : - - Cloud 9 - Kelly Slater’s Campaign for his 9th World Title. Take an in depth look into Kelly Slater’s journey from frustration to victory through the 2007 and 2008 WCT tours. He's won more world titles than any other competitive surfer and is the oldest and youngest tour champion. Four time ASP World Champ Mark Richards puts it like this: “Kelly Slater is a person who has transcended being called the greatest surfer in history. I think he’s on the verge of being called the greatest athlete in sporting history.” Cloud 9 includes footage spanning his career, opinions from former pro surfers and current WCT campaigners and peers from outside the realm of surfing like fellow legend Tony Hawk. The man himself weighs in with remarks on the motivation and attitude needed to achieve such results.

One could easily assume that he was groomed for success in perfect running barrels from the moment he was born, but he hails from Cocoa Beach in Florida, an area with no real waves of distinction. Some retrospective footage sheds light on these early years, learning the finer points of his trade in closeout onshore beach breaks. The lack of waves was like fuel for the fire, pushing Slater to win the US open and place third in the world Championships at the age of 14. It was then that he began to contemplate a future where he could be winning contests and vying for glory.

In 2007 he set about defending his world title, much to the dismay of a competitive field expecting him to bow out with 8 under his belt. Things started roughly and Slater was unable to produce a definitive result that would get him on track. He couldn’t build the much needed momentum and finished the tour in 3rd behind Taj Burrow and tour winner Mick Fanning. With a race like that 2008 was bound to be an interesting season. The rookies thought they had the tour wired and Kelly was refusing to commit to the tour full time. It seemed like the end of an era. However, the man is renowned for taking a negative and turning it into a positive. With all the attention on the new champion he flew a little further under the radar than usual. Kelly’s change in mindset and relaxed approach paid off, winning three of the next four events.

Watch Kelly Slater rip apart some of the best waves in the world as he bounces back from disappointment and searches for his 9th world title on SuperSport 1 at 6pm.

Date Time Channel

August
24 18:00 SuperSport One / SuperSport One Africa / SuperSport CSN
25 12:40 SuperSport Six / SuperSport Six AfricA
21:30 SuperSport Two / SuperSport Two Africa / SuperSport CSN
18:00 SuperSport Seven / SuperSport Seven Africa / SuperSport (Ten)
26 02:30 SuperSport Two / SuperSport Two Africa
17:00 SuperSport Seven / SuperSport Seven Africa / SuperSport (Ten)
11:00 SuperSport Two / SuperSport Two Africa
29 23:05 SuperSport Five / SuperSport Five Africa
31 17:30 SuperSport Seven / SuperSport Seven Africa / SuperSport (Ten)

September
01 05:30 SuperSport One / SuperSport One Africa
03 12:30 SuperSport One / SuperSport One Africa

www.quiksilver.com

Surfboards more responsive tougher with Innegra fiber

2009-08-25T05:30:00.000-07:00

Surfboards more responsive tougher with Innegra fiber

Industry News

Surfers Experience A More Responsive, Tougher Board Thanks To Innegra Fiber

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 August, 2009 : - - Surfers, shapers, surf shop owners and even competitive surfers are beginning to take advantage of the responsive ride and tougher boards made with Innegra™ fiber.

“It takes the chop out of the wave, combining the impact resistance of epoxy surfboards with the softness of polyurethane boards. It’s all about the feel,” said Arnaud Bezat, owner of Abezat Surfboards in the Netherlands.

The fabric not only gives a better ride, but also adds incredible toughness to the boards. “I had it in my booth at Surf Expo 2008 and gave a hammer to everyone who came into the booth. Nobody could ding it. Then one guy asked if it would stand up to driving his truck over it, so we went out into the parking lot and drove over the board twice. It looked great!” said Roy Scafidi, owner of Island Surfboards and Oceansports World in Cocoa Beach. Scafidi has made and sold boards to Ron Jon Surf Shop where they are taking advantage of the durability in their rental boards. This durability gives you more time on the water and less time repairing your board!

The fiber is the lightest composite reinforcement fiber available as well as one of the toughest. It is currently used in ballistic protection, high performance ropes, and a variety of composites including winning Formula One race cars with Technical Partner, Brawn GP Formula One Team. Scafidi of Oceansports World has also supplied Innegra fabrics to NASA engineers for testing in various applications where light weight and toughness is mission critical. These key advantages, in addition to its compatibility with many thermoset composite application methods are making it the fiber of choice for many demanding applications… including surfboards.

On the West Coast, here’s what Joe Virgilio and George Gall from Plus One Surf had to say, "Innegra? Amazing. This stuff couldn't have come at a better time. Innegra is making us rethink how we make boards... ...we are just starting to see the potential." A team rider from a major, international brand commented, “My new Innegra board was so light and so responsive, when it rips for 100 surfs I’ll be convinced.”
Hank Johns, co-owner of Graphite Master and SIMA board member said," A surfboard's flex and re-flex are what surfers feel (or don't feel) on the face of the wave. Innegra's significant property for surfboards is its dynamic tenacity. We will be investing a lot in this technology and really believe Innegra can represent a paradigm shift in custom board design." Through his distributorship he'll be selling Innegra fabrics to builders on the west coast as well as internationally.

Also, Resin Research’s Greg Loehr offered his support by saying, "Many advanced composite materials have been used to build custom surfboards, but most haven't really made their way into the mainstream consumer market. I think Innegra has the opportunity to break through this barrier of "tradition" the way epoxy has. Innegra has the characteristics necessary to become a commercial success in surfboards: it is obviously incredibly tough, has unique flex characteristics, and best of all is the fact it is lighter than glass or resin and even lighter than carbon or Kevlar®.”

Innegra’s advantages are being felt in the paddleboard market too according to Bob Boeche at Diamond Glassing. "A growing, important part of our custom glassing business is Stand Up Paddleboards. SUP'S from our customers like Stu Kenson Surfboards are evolving at a very fast pace. Their larger size puts a greater demand on weight than any other type of board. We've learned to maximize the strength-to-weight ratios. Glass is great , but the ultralight weight of Innegra is awesome. We are going to solve paddlestrike dings and rail cancer without adding weight or the costs of carbon."

Boards are currently available from Oceansports World, Plus One Surf, and Abezat Surfboards in the Netherlands. Others soon to be offering boards are Diamond Glassing and Stu Kenson Surfboards in southern California, Gzero Boardsports in Brazil and Hellfish in Australia, UWL Surfboards in France and many more by the end of 2009. Fabrics are currently available from weavers Absecon Mills, BGF, J B Martin, and Lewcott and distributors Graphite Master, Oceansports World, and Advanced Composite Technology in North America as well as Colan Industries in Australia. The fabrics are compatible with standard surfboard manufacturing and are most effectively used next to the foam with a cover layer of glass over the graphics.

Click here to see video of an Innegra built surfboard run over by a truck

Innegrity manufactures high performance Innegra™ fiber for use in ballistic, composite and rope applications. The fiber delivers light weight and toughness at a cost that is reasonable compared to other high performance fibers, and has been used in combination with carbon, aramid and polyethylene fibers. Innegra fiber is being tested in sporting goods applications from tennis racquets, bicycle frames, baseball bats, kayaks, canoes and more. The company was founded in 2004, began pilot manufacturing in 2007 and started full-scale production in early 2009 in their 120,000 square foot facility in Mauldin, SC. Mark Shioleno; 1312 Old Stage Road, Simpsonville, SC 29681; 864...; 864-373-7080fax; mark.shioleno@innegrity.com

BARBADOS TOP JUNIOR SURFERS DOMINATE USA EVENT

2009-08-20T19:22:00.001-07:00

BARBADOS TOP JUNIOR SURFERS DOMINATE USA EVENT

Chelsea Roett,Chelsea Tuach and Ametza Nicholls dismantled the American girl surfers in the 16 under division while Dane Mackie just missed out on Champion status in a close fought 12 under at the just concluded 2009 Ripcurl Gromsearch event in New Smyrna beach Florida last weekend.Roett started the final with a strong right hander all the way to the beach while Nicholls favored her forehand going left executing some quick turns and down the line power surfing but failing to make the connection to the inside.Tuach opened up with a right generating lots of speed and performing her signature slash off the top on a two maneuver wave.American Kayla Durden who finished 2nd in last years event had a hard time choosing the right waves to show her true talent.Roett collected another good right to earn another high score.Tuach and Nicholls brought on a Regular foot VS Goofyfoot battle as each favored the forehands getting nice turns and good speed out of the 3-4ft semi glassy conditions but it was Roett's day,catching the best ride of the finals in the dying seconds throwing big turns and stepping off on the beach in front of hundreds of spectators to claim her first major win and a trip to Salt Creek California on Nov 14th for a chance to qualify for the finals in Bells Beach Australia.

In the 12 under Boys division Round one, Dane Mackie and Joshua Burke were in heat four together against four American surfers ,coach for the Barbadian contingent Alan Burke states" In what appeared to be a strong possibility that we were going to have at least one bajan eliminated Dane and Josh did not disappoint,even though there was a 4-5ft Bull shark 15 ft from the beach,Dane and Josh exchanged wave for wave and finished 1st and 2nd respectively advancing to the next round","Myself and a Ripcurl photographer were standing at the waters edge when this 4-5ft Bull shark swam right infront of us feeding on some bait fish". Mackie and Burke continued their exhibition of excellent surfing with Burke been eliminated in the semi finals and Mackie taking to the finals to be Barbados's lone representative in a boys finals placing a commendable 2nd behind American Justin Croteau in a close 12 under final and just missing out on a birth to Saltcreek.

In the 14under boys Joshua Burke and Gavin Fernandes were surfing well and met in Heat 1 of the quarter finals,Fernandes came up short while Burke advanced with excellent surfing and look as though he was on his way to the finals but made a tactical error that would cost him a chance at Saltcreek,California." In the first 3 minutes of the Semi ,Josh caught the highest scoring ride of the 15 min heat,riding to the beach,but the current was strong and instead of him opting to run up the beach and paddle through the rip,which he is trained to do ,he took 11 minutes to make it back to the line up and never got a second scoring ride which is vital,all he needed was a poor second wave to advance as his first score was almost high enough to go to the finals" Coach Burke said.

Overall results:

12 under Boys:1st Justin Croteau USA,2nd Dane Mackie Barbados,3rd Logan Hayes USA,4th Cobie Grittner USA.equal 5th Joshua Burke Barbados.equal 16th Gavin Fernandes Barbados,equal 20th Andrew Rose Barbados.

14 under Boys: 1st Corey Howell USA,2nd Noah Schweizer USA,3rd Eros Exarou USA,4th Daniel Calloway USA. equal 5th Joshua Burke Barbados.equal 11th Gavin Fernandes Barbados.equal 16th Dane Mackie.

16 under Girls: 1st Chelsea Roett Barbados,2nd Chelsea Tuach Barbados,3rd Ametza Nicholls Barbados. 4th Kayla Durden USA.

2009-08-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

Final stop of the Rip Curl GromSearch hits New Smyrna

Chelsea Roett : photo courtesy Rip Curl

Rip Curl GromSearch

New Smyrna Beach Florida
16 August 2009

Final stop of the Rip Curl GromSearch hits New Smyrna

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 18 August, 2009 : - - This past Sunday, August 16, groms from across the Sunshine State invaded New Smyrna Beach for the fourth and final stop of the Rip Curl GromSearch fueled by H2O Overdrive. A fun, crossed up swell welcomed the competitors who carried aspirations of the title, the cash, the loot, the coveted National Finals slot, and the bragging rights awarded to the 2009 Rip Curl GromSearch Florida Champion.

The Boys 12/under was the first final to hit the water on Sunday as the tide turned and the swell pushed. The closest final of the day, Justin Croteau narrowly took the upper hand over Dane Mackie and snatched the sole invite to the National Finals.

In the Boys 14/under, Noah Schweizer and Corey Howell exchanged blows, but Howell ultimately took hold of the reigns and rode out on top. Howell was in prime form, making two finals, winning the 14/under division, and rounding out the day with the H20 Overdrive Maneuver of the Event and $100 cash prize by throwing a massive carving reverse.

Justin Couteau : photo courtesy Rip Curl

The ladies also brought their A-game, but only one could win the title and the invite to the Salt Creek Finals. With so much on the line, tension was high, but at the end of the day, Chelsea Roett’s skills shined the brightest, as she dropped a high score in the dying minutes of the heat and solidified her win.

Rip Curl’s own Florida ripper, Christian Miller, started strong in the Boys 16/under final, putting the pressure on young Evan Geiselman and fellow finalists. But EG would not be outdone and stormed back to claim a near perfect ride of 9.5.

“I am so stoked! I never get to surf events at home any more and to have a few waves to ride made it that much better,” Geiselman enthused as he collected his winnings. “I am just stoked to make the National Finals and come out to California to get a shot a making it over to Bells.”

The 2009 Rip Curl GromSearch regional qualifiers are wrapped up and a solid crew of surfers will be heading to California for the Rip Curl National Finals on November 14th at Salt Creek. An invitee list will be posted to Ripcurl.com/gromsearch as well as notified through email.

For post event coverage log on to surfingthemag.com and cast your vote for the "Rip Curl GromSearch Video Elections presented by Surfing Mag", as well as get connected at Surfline's exclusive community site at surfline.com/gromsearch. For all media inquiries, please contact Rip Curl marketing coordinator Chelsea Johns: cjohns@ripcurl.com.

Christian Miller : photo courtesy Rip Curl

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF STOP #4, 2009 RIP CURL GROMSEARCH FUELED BY H20 OVERDRIVE, New Smyrna Beach, Florida:

H20 Overdrive Maneuver of the Event:
Corey Howell- $100

BOYS 16/UNDER
1. Evan Gieselman- $250
2. Christian Miller
3. Corey Howell
4. Noah Schweizer

BOYS 14/UNDER
1. Corey Howell- $250
2. Noah Schwiezer
3. Eros Exarhon
4. Daniel Calloway

BOYS 12/UNDER
1. Justin Croteau- $250
2. Dane Mackie
3. Logan Hayes
4. Cobie Gittner

GIRLS 16/UNDER
1. Chelsea Roett- $250
2. Chelsea Tuach
3. Ametza Nicholls
4. Kayla Durden

www.ripcurl.com
www.ripcurl.com/gromsearch

2009-08-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

ALLAN/MACKIE DOMINATE ASHFORD/BRANKERS SURF EVENT

Event #3 of the Burkie Junior Surfing Championship Series sponsored by ASHFORD DAIRIES/BRANKERS surfed off last weekend in ideal 3-4ft waves at South Point.

Over 60 entries were received in three divisions 14-under,under-12 and 10-under.

Winning on Saturday,10 year old Che Allan has won all three of the BJSCS events for 2009,with one more event to go he has basically sealed the overall championship in 10-under. 2nd and 3rd place finishers Zander Venizia and Andrew Rose has a long shot at clipping Allan of the title.4th in 10-under was Trip Chandler from South Carolina,our first international entry since the beginning of the BJSCS in February at Freights Bay.

Dane Mackie won the 14-under and the under-12 divisions with solid surfing,consistently choosing the right waves and utilizing them with radical control maneuvers. Just missing out on dethroning Mackie in the Under-12 was Josh Burke securing one of the highest scoring rides in the event with a series of off the lips and a speeding round house cutback,but came up short of another high scoring ride.3rd was equally as talented Gavin Fernandes and 4th 8year old Zander Venizia.

14-under final was the battle of the event,two of Barbados's top 14-under girls against two of the top junior boys.Mackie,Chelsea Roett and Joshua Burke started the heat with excellent wave selection and finished in front of the judges on the beach with equally high scores,leaving Chelsea Tuach out the back playing catch up.Mackie responded with another high score to take the lead and stood there,Roett and Burke exchanged blow for blow fighting for second position,with Tuach being out of synch with mother nature.In the end Mackie took first,Roett 2nd just clipping Burke in third and Tuach in 4th.

Next event is Nov 14th at Brandens with surfers point the alternate venue.

TOP JUNIOR SURFERS FOR USA EVENT

Barbados will be represented with a strong contingent of junior surfers next weekend at the 2009 Ripcurl Gromsearch in New Smyrna beach ,Florida.

The gromsearch is a series of surf events open to 16 years-under surfers from around the world and sponsored by surf industry giant RIPCURL in the hope of searching for new and up and coming talent,hence the name "Grom" is slang for young surfer.

Coach/Spokesperson for the young group of surfers Alan Burke is excited and confident the Bajan surfers will do well,"No one in the local surf industry would argue that since the inception of the Burkie Jnr Surfing Series there has been a huge improvement and participation in Junior surfing in Barbados","after conducting numerous coaching sessions over the past month with these kids I am happy with their progress". Multiple Girls National Champion Ametza Nicholls will be competing in the 16-under along with the ever improving and fluid style of Chelsea Roett who will be in the 16-under and 14-under divisions.The dynamic trio of 12 year olds Gavin Fernandes,Dane Mackie and Josh Burke will be pushing Barbados Junior surfing next weekend in the 14-under and 12-under. " These three boys are doing adult type turns,generating lots of speed,flow and radical maneuvers,the perfect winning formula,I wont be surprise if one of them win or make the finals" Burke states.

The youngest surfer on the team is 10 year old Andrew Rose who has improved tremendously.

"Although this trip has been financed individually and its not an official National team,we will be operating as a Barbados team with a high level of team spirit present and knowing the determination and pride in each and everyone of these young surfers,Barbados will be in great hands next weekend and in the future!" Explains Burke.

2009-08-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Team USA wins ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica

Team USA : photo Watts/ISA

Billabong ISA World Surfing Games

International Surfing Assn.
Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica
1 - 8 August 2009

Live Coverage | Results/Photos/Videos etc

Team USA wins the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica for the first time in 13 Years

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 August, 2009 : - - It was a fitting end to an event steeped in a mix of camaraderie and tough competition as Team USA took the overall gold medal today over Team France at the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games presented by Monster Energy in Costa Rica. It was the first time that the Americans have won an overall gold medal in since the 1996 World Surfing Games in Huntington Beach, California.

From the opening heats of the Games at Playa Hermosa that began eight days ago, Team USA appeared committed and focused, as they competed against 34 other teams for a spot on the podium. With the final day of competition looming overhead, Team USA stood firm and was able to place five or their eight team members into the three finals, hence becoming the team to beat.

The team was led by Ian Cairns who assumed the position as Coach less than one month ago. "We had good surfers and what we did was to stay very concentrated,” said a low-key Cairns. “This is a long event and it was very important to preserve your energy.”

"I am really very happy” said Cairns of the first American title in more than a decade. “My goal was to come here and win. But also I wanted to establish a different personality for American surfing. I didn't want to make a lot of noise until things were happening. We built the support, the calmness and we focused on being together and concentrating on doing things well. Later, at the final, we went to the beach to wave the flag.”

Jeremy Flores : photo Watts/ISA

ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, said about the amazing Billabong ISA World Surfing Games: "This was a great event. The new team format (4 open men, 2 open women and 2 longboarders) proved to be the right decision. The inaugural Billabong ISA World Surfing Games will go down as a historical moment for surfing, with record number of competitors and national teams in attendance. Congratulations to all the nations and see you next year!”

Hot on the USA's heels was the French team, led by ASP World Tour surfer Jeremy Flores. He looked in stellar form throughout the entire contest. France managed to put a one athlete in each of the Open, Women's, and Longboard divisions.

Kick-starting the final day of the contest was the ISA Aloha Cup, run as a tag-team event with five surfers from each team taking turns competing in the hour-long final. The unique format brought the national pride and overall competitiveness that had been simmering to a roaring boil.

Historically, one of the strongest teams in the event and last year's overall event winner, Team Australia, took the lead in the Aloha Cup at the outset of the heat and managed to hold on to it despite a strong rally from the French Team. It was a bittersweet moment for the Aussies as the team was not able to secure the ISA Team World Championship gold medal as it's done many times in the past. The Aloha Cup was the only gold medal for the Australians.

Courtney Conlogue : photo Watts/ISA

Following the Aloha Cup, the Longboard finalists took to the tepid 4 to 5 foot Costa Rican lineup and put on a tremendous show. The final, that included an American, a Frenchman, an Australian, and a British surfer, brought the thousands of fans that swarmed the beach to their feet, blending old-world noserides and iconic style with modern high-speed turns and speed floats. In the end, France's Antoine Delpero came out on top as he narrowly edged out Aussie surfer Harley Ingleby with a two-wave combined score of 15.50 points.

“I feel unreal�I'm so happy I can't say a word,” said a beaming and visibly shaken Delpero following his win. “This is so cool for me and Team France.” In the Women's final, 16-year-old American Courtney Conlogue was surfing on a higher plane as she dismantled her competition with a determined backhand attack on the lefts that earned her a slew of 8- and 7-point rides along with a gold medal.

Heading into the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games, Conlogue was coming off monumental performances this year, including silver medal at the ISA World Junior Championship in Ecuador, and a victory at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, CA. Judging from her recent competitive dominance, Conlogue has proven that she will be a formidable figure in the sport for years to come.

With her face partially shaded behind a pair of aviator sunglasses, Conlogue remained poised following her gold medal win. “To be surfing in front of all these people is amazing. It's been such a great event. To be in the final I had to put it all on the line,” she said. “The conditions were really good out there�it's just really been such a fun journey so far.”

Antione Delpero : photo Watts/ISA

Highlighting the final day's action was the Open final. Comprised of two Americans—Floridian Cory Lopez and North Carolina native Ben Bourgeois—a Peruvian and a Frenchmen, the level of surfing in the Men's final showcased just how technically advanced surfing has become throughout the world.

Opening up the heat with a barrage of mind-numbing turns was American Cory Lopez. Throughout the Games, Lopez looked extremely relaxed and confident—a dangerous mix in the game of competitive surfing. Despite Lopez's stellar rail work and progressive turns, France's Jeremy Flores was the man to beat.

Surfing like a man possessed, Flores seemed untouchable, putting his trademark low center of gravity style and lightning fast turns to good work in the final. That surfing earned him a pair of 8-point rides that the other competitors couldn't touch as Flores went on to win the gold medal.

Following his win, Flores appeared proud and confident as he reflected on the impact of bringing home a gold medal. “I haven't won too many contests, I've always done well, but I hardly ever seem to win. For me this is huge. This was more than a victory for me. I never win anything�I can't believe I just won. Wining the gold medal for my country, is the best feeling I ever had in my surfing career.”

Men's finalits : photo Watts/ISA

FINAL Team Results:
 GOLD - United States – 14910 points
 SILVER - France – 13280 points
 BRONZE - Australia - 10996 points
 COPPER - Hawaii – 10856 points   

INDIVIDUAL FINAL RESULTS  

Open Men
 Gold: Jeremy Flores (FRA)
 Silver: Cory Lopez (USA)
 Bronze: Gabriel VIllarán (PER)
 Copper: Ben Bourgeois (USA)
  
Open Women
 Gold: Courtney Conlogue (USA)
 Silver: Rosanne Hodge (RSA)
 Copper: Sage Erickson (USA)
 Bronze: Pauline Ado (FRA)
  
Longboard  
Gold: Antoine Delpero (FRA)
 Silver: Harley Ingleby (AUS)
 Copper: Ben Skinner (GBR)
 Bronze: Tony Silvagni (USA)

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1 - USA - 14910 points
2 - France - 13280 points
3 - Australia - 10996 points
4 - Hawaii - 10856 points
5 - South Africa - 10666 points
6 - Peru - 10180 points
7 - Costa Rica - 9650 points
8 - Venezuela - 9040 points
9 - Brazil - 9000 points
10 - Puerto Rico - 8820 points
11 - New Zealand - 8100 points
12 - Argentina - 7160 points
13 - Tahiti - 6688 points
14 - Ecuador - 6170 points
15 - Panama - 5952 points
16 - Italy - 5670 points
17 - Mexico - 5560 points
18 - Japan - 5324 points
19 - Chile - 5208 points
20 - El Salvador - 4784 points
21 - Ireland - 4568 points
22 - Austria - 4320 points
23 - Barbados - 4128 points
24 - Germany - 4024 points
25 - UK- 3810 points
26 - Guatemala - 3696 points
27 - Switzerland - 3440 points
28 - Jamaica - 2912 points
29 - Canada - 2784 points
30 - Nicaragua - 2656 points
31 - Colombia 2544 points
32 - Trinidad & Tobago - 2240 points
33 - Bahamas 2240 points
34 - Rep. Dominican - 1680 points
35 - Aruba- 384 points

2009-07-20T10:59:00.001-07:00

SUMMER NIGHTS TARMAC SPRINT SATURDAY
Virgin Atlantic BRC Championships resume after mid-season break

Competitors will come under starters' orders for the second half of the 2009 Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Driver's and Class Championships this weekend, when they gather for the BRC Summer Nights Tarmac Sprint on Saturday evening (July 25).
After a concentrated month of competition in May, during which the Automotive Art Shakedown Stages, Shell V-Power King of the Hill and Sol Rally Barbados 2009 offered them four points-scoring opportunities in the space of five weekends, competitors have been enjoying a welcome mid-season break.
While some have taken the chance for family holidays, others have been working to repair or upgrade their machinery in readiness for a full attack on the remaining six Championship rounds.
The Summer Nights Tarmac Sprint, round 7 of the Virgin Atlantic Championship, is slated to start at 7.00pm; special permission has been obtained by the BRC to use Pickerings Plantation as a spectator area, which will be floodlit - spectators are asked to be in place not later than 6.30pm, to allow for a prompt start. There will be one practice run, followed by three official timed runs.
The St Lucy course, popularly known as Pickerings, features a combination of challenges, offering something for everyone - the mixture of rough winding roads, tricky corners and high-speed sections means drivers are really tested, particularly at night, and particularly if the surface is slippy. Over the past two years, this event has attracted many hundreds of fans, the chance to see competition cars in action at night combining with generally cooler conditions to make for an unmissable occasion.
Paul Bourne has won the equivalent event for the past two years, with John Powell and Roger Skeete second and third in 2007, Skeete and Roger Hill occupying those positions last year. Sean Gill's Suzuki Swift was the highest-placed two-wheel-drive car in both years, with Jonathan Still's BMW M3 and the Swift's new driver Ian Warren also well into the top 10.
Competitors will be based in the car park of St Lucy's Parish Church, where they must arrive for scrutineering by 5.15pm. With 70 competitors having already scored points in the Virgin Atlantic Championships this year, the BRC expects the entry to approach the maximum of 40 starters. Entries are now open at Motorsport Services, located at DC Security Inc, Haggatt Hall, St Michael and will close at 6.30pm on Thursday (July 23).

Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's Championship
- after Round 6
1st Paul Bourne (M8-WRC Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 82 points
2nd Roger Hill (M8-WRC Toyota Corolla WRC), 81pts
3rd Neil Armstrong (M8-A Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 54pts
4th Trevor Manning (M8-WRC Ford Escort WRC), 49pts
5th Barry Gale (M8-WRC Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 43pts
6th Geoffrey Noel (P4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 40pts
7th Ian Warren (SM10 Suzuki Swift), 35pts
8th Roger Skeete (M8-WRC Subaru Impreza WRC S9 & S12), 31pts
9th, Jonathan Still (SM11 BMW M3), 28pts
10th equal Harold Morley (P4 Subaru Impreza N14) & Michael Worme (M8-A & P4 Subaru Impreza STi), 19pts
etc

Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship
- after Round 6
Modified 8-WRC: 1st Bourne, 84pts; 2nd Hill, 82pts; 3rd Gale 61pts; etc
M8-A 1st Armstrong, 96pts; 2nd Kirk Watkins (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V), 61pts; 3rd Worme, 39pts; etc
Production 4: 1st Noel, 111pts; 2nd Morley, 79pts; 3rd Dean Serrao (Subaru Impreza N12), 57pts; etc
SuperModified 11: 1st Still, 105pts; 2nd Nicholas Gill (Mazda 3), 66pts; 3rd Justin Campbell (BMW M3), 39pts; etc
SM10: 1st Warren, 102pts; 2nd Rhett Watson (Ford Escort MkI), 83pts; 3rd Ralph White (Toyota Starlet), 30pts; etc
SM9: 1st James Betts (Opel Corsa), 98pts; 2nd Josh Read (Toyota Starlet), 66pts; 3rd Stuart White (Toyota Starlet), 43pts; etc
M7: 1st Adrian Linton (Vauxhall Astra GSi) & Freddie Gale (Toyota Corolla RunX), 87pts; 3rd Kyle Catwell (Volkswagen Golf GTI), 46pts; etc
M6: 1st Edward Corbin (Daihatsu Charmant), 98pts; 2nd Danny Williams (Ford Fiesta), 76pts; 3rd Jamal Brathwaite (Mitsubishi Mirage), 37pts; etc
M5: 1st Sean Cox (Suzuki Swift), 79pts; 2nd Dave Sealy (Toyota Starlet), 20pts
P3: 1st Sean T Field (Peugeot 306), 55pts
P2: 1st Fabien Clarke (Suzuki Ignis Sport), 55pts

2009-07-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Learning to Surf in Barbados

Barbados is a great place for surfing, whether you are a beginner or an intermediate. Our aim is for our surfing instructors to provide our clients with a high quality introduction to surfing that is safe, professional and fun! There is nothing we like more, than seeing the thrill people get, when they stand up for the first time! This is why we provide our clients with easy to use techniques, low student to instructor ratios and the ideal location.

Our Surf Instructor

Christian Neville Boos (Boosy) is the founder of Boosy’s Surf School and is the only instructor for the surfing lessons and surf tours. Christian has been a surf instructor for 4 years. Since then he has taught well over a thousand people how to surf. Christian offers some great surfing tips and has a high success rate of getting people to stand in their first lesson. He has loads of experience and patience which has been developed from many years of instruction. He is also the father of one son, Gabriel, who is two years old and eager to get in the surf too.

St John, Tuach & Simmonds rule the Suzuki Makka Pro

2009-07-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

2009 Suzuki Makka Pro

Jamaican Surfing Assn.
Southhaven St Thomas
4 - 5 July 2009

Thousands turn out for 09 Suzuki Makka Pro

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 7 July, 2009 : - - Barbadians Lewis St John and Chelsea Tuach along with local boy Shane Simmonds shared the championship honors at the 2009 SUZUKI MAKKA PRO surf contest which went off without hitch at the “Makka” surfing beach in Southaven, Yallahs St Thomas on the 4th and 5th of July in 4’-5’ waves.

The event which featured top Caribbean pro surfers attracted 16 pro men, 5 pro women and 12 junior pro surfers along with thousands of patrons to the south coast’s premiere surf contest venue. The event, now in its third year, has taken on the title of “Biggest surfing contest in the English speaking Caribbean and attracted a diverse demographic of spectators from babes in arms to great grandmothers from all sectors of the society.

There was much excitement as Jamaica’s top surfers matched up against the best from Barbados and showed that the Jamaicans are a force to be reckoned with. JSA President Billy Wilmot provided lively commentary throughout the day with help from CSN Director Nic Donawah. There were loud cheers and whistles from the crowd on the beach each time a surfer executed an impressive maneuver and by the end of the day the patrons had become expert surf judges themselves.

Jamaica’s top performers this year were Shane Simmonds who successfully defended his junior title while nabbing a second place in the open men division. Other top finishers in the open men included last years runner up in the men’s open Inilek Wilmot, Luke Williams, Ackeam Phillips, Icah Wilmot and Michael Panton who all finished in the money. In the women’s division Imani Wilmot and Jessica Williams made it to the money round with Eneson Lightbourn finishing in the prizes in the pro juniors.

“This event is another step towards the JSA realizing the association’s mandate of making surfing a sport of choice for all Jamaicans” said Mr. Wilmot. “The fact that our event has by far the most spectator support of any surf event in the region is proof of the interest this spectator friendly sport generates here in Jamaica. Combined with the possibilities in alternate tourism we see surfing doing for Saint Thomas what Reggae and Tourism have done for Jamaica.”

The event was made possible through the kind sponsorship of Suzuki, Ipath, Xtrak, The SDF,

MENS DIVISION (US$)
1st Lewis St John BAR $1,200.00
2nd Shane Simmonds JAM $ 700.00
3rd Jordan Heaselgrave BAR $ 500.00
4th Inilek Wilmot JAM $ 300.00
5th Luke Williams JAM $ 250.00
6th Ackeam Philli8ps JAM $ 200.00
7th Icah Wilmot JAM $ 150.00
8th Michael Panton JAM $ 100.00

WOMEN DIVISION (US$)
1st Chelsea Tuach BAR $600.00
2nd Ametza Nichols BAR $300.00
3rd Imani Wilmot JAM $150.00
4th Jessica Williams JAM $100.00

JUNIOR DIVISION
1st Shane Simmonds JAM Trip to Trinidad
2nd Jordan Heaselgrave BAR Prizes
3rd Stefan Corbin BAR Prizes
4th Eneson Lightbourn JAM Prizes

The JSA would like to thank our partners who made this event possible. Suzuki, Caribbean Surf Network, The Sports Development Foundation, Insight, Xtrak, Magma, Ipath, Mailpac, The JSA and the citizens of Southaven.

WHITE AND WARREN CLAIM 'JUNE' HONOURS

2009-07-02T19:33:00.001-07:00

WHITE AND WARREN CLAIM 'JUNE' HONOURS
Shelbury Safari "a fantastic event"

Darrin White added his name to the roll of honour of the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) oldest event at the weekend (June 27/28), when he and navigator Robert Warren - claiming a second win - triumphed in the Shelbury Construction June Safari.
Route-setter Stewart Gill, himself a former winner of 'The June', had devised a challenge worthy of the 53rd running of Club's premier navigational event, as Mud Dogs chairman Leslie Alleyne noted: "Stewart used great skill in developing tricks throughout the event which caught competitors off guard - in many instances, they were several kilometres away before they realised that they had been tricked. The competitors were very appreciative of the effort that was put into setting a fantastic event."
White and Warren (Flyin' Fish Nissan Frontier) finished the event with 720 penalties, beating ARMAG March Safari winners Dominic Brooker and Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux) by just 72 penalties; third were the 2008 Novice Champions, Damian Brooker and Derek Edwards (Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux), another 88 penalties behind.
With two routes on Saturday and a third on Sunday, crews faced the hardest challenge of the four events comprising the 2009 Mud Dogs BRC Safari Championship, and the first route was to prove crucial. Warren, who won 'The June' in 2002 with brother Ian, recalls: "I think the master trick was the end of route 1, where we drove past Chefette, could smell the food (which smelled real good after five hours of driving) and most of us made what we thought was the last turn only to get an off-route d-check!! Well most people did not know what happened and went back to Chefette, some knew what they had to do, which was drive another five kilometres to Weston! Those of us who put off eating for a while (which was hard to do!) got CP4! Classic."
Alleyne agrees: "That last check point of the first route was a rally-winning control. Only three crews went to this control on Speightstown by-pass road, White and Warren among them, which helped them bank enough of an advantage to weather the storm."
That, however, was not his most apt choice of phrase, as the one 'complaint' voiced by many was, indeed, the weather. Warren said: "Its just unfortunate it was so dry! I think it has been the driest in my memory, thankfully we had the mud hole at Castle so at least when done there it looked like an off road rally!" His thoughts were echoed by 2008 winning navigator, Neil Barnard: "it was the driest June that certainly I have ever been in. What kept it interesting was of course the quality of the actual route, but also the fact that the rally moved very quickly from location to location, so you never felt as if you were going around in circles in one geographical area."
As they settled down for their well-earned supper, White and Warren had attracted just 212 penalties on the first route. Paul Farmer and another former winner, Peter Bradshaw, were second (Hankook Tyres/Starfish Designs Isuzu LS) on 430 penalties, with the impressive Novice pair of Luke Gittens and Gary Mendes (LG Trading/K&N Equipment/Lunatics Inc Suzuki Samurai) third, on 440 penalties.
While different crews come to the fore on route two, Warren and White's early advantage saw them in good stead. Brooker and Dear were the route winners with 94 penalties, 28 ahead of the most successful crew entered in terms of 'June' history, Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux) - as well as two wins together (2000 & '01), Clarke had also won twice as navigator to Don Hunte (1991 & '93). Just another 12 penalties behind were Brooker and Edwards, with White and Warren fourth.
As competitors gathered at Automotive Art, Welches for Sunday's final route, White and Warren had increased their advantage to just over 300 penalties, with Brooker/Dear second, Brooker/Edwards third and Farmer/Bradshaw now fourth.
While no-one looked likely to catch the leaders, there was an intense battle for the places, just 30 penalties covering those crews at the start of the day. Alleyne, acting as 'Sweeper' said: "We had live results at every control that we went to and we watched positions literally changing before our eyes. Four controls before the finish we saw a one penalty point difference between the then second-placed team of Farmer and Bradshaw, and third Brooker and Dear. At our very next control, we saw Brooker/Dear and Brooker/Edwards take over second and third respectively. It was exciting stuff."
While the overall battle was being watched by Alleyne, different crews again impressed on route three: by finishing second and third to Brooker and Dear, Wayne Manning and Yosuf Patel (Black Bess Quarry/Citgo Oils Toyota Hilux) and Kirk and Tricia King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai) hauled themselves into the top 10 overall by the finish.
Everyone involved gathered once more for the Prizegiving at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association Clubhouse at Searles on Tuesday evening (June 30), where Alleyne reports "a very positive and jovial atmosphere, and a fitting conclusion to a weekend of hard-fought battles and many position changes. Chris Armstrong of Shelbury Construction was full of praise for the event, and pledged his continued support in 2010. In thanking him, I can pledge that we will raise the bar yet again next year."
In addition to the Shelbury Construction awards, Tricia King received a trophy donated by Biddy Barber as the highest-placed female competitor, and winning Novices Adrian Sinckler and Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai) a trophy presented by Richard Daniel of Neptune Tours.

Shelbury Construction June Safari - June 27/28
Mud Dogs BRC Safari Championship, round 2
Results - overall
1st Darrin White/Robert Warren (Flyin' Fish Nissan Frontier), 720 penalties
2nd Dominic Brooker/Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux), 792pens
3rd Damian Brooker/Derek Edwards (Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux), 880pens
4th Paul Farmer/Peter Bradshaw (Hankook Tyres/Starfish Designs Isuzu LS), 985pens
5th Barry Gale/Neil Barnard (Gale's Agro Products/Redlinefuels.com Mitsubishi L200), 1148pens
6th Paul Marshall/Courtney Holder (Mitsubishi L200), 1184pens
7th Michael Ward/Willie Hinds (Niccolls & Edghill Construction/EZ Sign Shop Suzuki Samurai), 1247pens
8th Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), 1284pens
9th Wayne Manning/Yosuf Patel (Black Bess Quarry/Citgo Oils Toyota Hilux), 1362pens
10th Kirk King/Tricia King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai), 1686pens
etc
Novice class
1st Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai), 1818pens - 13th overall
2nd David Brewster/Damien Bradshaw (Marks Auto Parts/Champion Auto Wrecker Serice Suzuki Samurai), 1851pens - 14th o/a
3rd Hadley Green/Adrian Crane (Automotive Art/Hunte's Auto Spares Toyota Hilux), 1923pens - 15th o/a
etc
Route 1
1st White/Warren, 212pens; 2nd Farmer/Bradshaw, 430pens; 3rd Luke Gittens/Gary Mendes (LG Trading/K&N Equipment/Lunatics Inc Suzuki Samurai), 440pens; etc
Route 2
1st Brooker/Dear, 94pens; 2nd Armstrong/Clarke, 112pens; 3rd Brooker/Edwards, 124pens; etc
Route 3
1st Brooker/Dear, 118pens; 2nd Manning/Patel, 130pens; 3rd King/King, 212pens; etc

X-Treme Video - Surfing - Inside Teahupoo

2009-06-27T22:03:00.001-07:00

X-Treme Video - Surfing - Inside Teahupoo

Shared via AddThis

2009-06-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

SHARK ATTACK: Surfer okay after shark attack in NSW

Shark Attack

South coast shark attack victim 'in good spirits' - I'll surf again

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 27 June, 2009 : - - Signs have been put up on a New South Wales south coast beach warning that it has been closed, after a shark attack this morning. The victim, surfer Les Wade, 52, was rushed to hospital after he was bitten off Seven Mile Beach at Gerroa, south of Kiama, about 8.45am. He was taken to Shoalhaven hospital where he received more than 50 stitches.

The injury was not regarded serious enough for him to be admitted overnight and he was discharged this afternoon. Following his release from Shoalhaven Hospital yesterday, the grandfather said he was grabbed below the knee by what he thought was a two-metre bronze whaler. He sustained 12 separate puncture wounds.

"I felt something push me from behind, I felt a pressure on my leg, I thought it was another surfer, I turned around to say, 'What are you doing', and then I saw the back of a shark," Mr Wade said. He pledged to be back in the water as soon as he has recovered. The Australian Aerial Patrol says the attack is a timely reminder about the prevalence of sharks, despite the end of summer.

Duty officer with Surf Life Saving New South Wales, John Restuccia, says signs have been erected this afternoon reminding people the beach is closed and that they swim there at their own risk. "Tomorrow morning our local jetboat in that area, at Kiama, [will] just have to patrol the area and make sure everything's still alright down there," he said.

What's your take on this?
Post your thoughts: SV Forum

BARNARD AND GALE DEFEND 'JUNE' TITLE

2009-06-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

BARNARD AND GALE DEFEND 'JUNE' TITLE
Big influx of Novice crews for Shelbury Safari

Seven previous winners are among more than 30 entries for the Shelbury Construction June Safari this weekend (June 27/28), the 53rd running of the oldest motor sport event in the Caribbean with a continuous history. The second round of the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) Mud Dogs Safari Championship will start from Heymans Factory, St Peter, at 2:01pm on Saturday.
Champion Navigator and Driver in 2005, Neil Barnard and Barry Gale (Gale's Agro Products/Redlinefuels.com Mitsubishi L200) will have their work cut out to repeat their victory of last year, when Barnard claimed a third-generation victory, joining father, David, and grandfather, Trevor Gale, on 'The June's' roll of honour.
Five of the top six crews from 2008 compete again, among them Dominic Brooker and Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux), who finished third and highest-placed Novice crew. They went on to finish second in the Novice Championship last year and have started their first Pro season well, with victory in the ARMAG March Safari.
Fourth in June last year, Dustin Edwards and Ryan Corbin (Blockman/SDRR Hydraulics/Crane & Equipments Toyota Hilux) have switched seats for 2009, Edwards now the driver, while fifth-placed Sean Dowding and Kirk Watkins (Isuzu D-max) and sixth-placed Kirk and Tricia King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai) will again be aiming for strong finishes. All these crews figure in the top 10 of the respective Navigator and Driver Championship standings, so a weekend of hard-fought competition is ahead.
The most successful crew entered in terms of 'The June' is that of Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux); as well as winning the event twice together (2000 & '01), Clarke had already claimed two earlier wins, as navigator to Don Hunte (1991 & '93). The list of former winners is completed by Peter Bradshaw and Robert Warren, who won in 2002, when the result was tied - Bradshaw was driver to Derek Gill and Warren navigator for brother Ian - and John Sealy, who is rare in the event's history, having won as both navigator (1967) and driver (1978).
Perhaps the most encouraging feature of the weekend's entry is the significant rise in the number of Novice crews, with no fewer than 10 pairs listed who have either not seen action this year, or are entirely new to the Championship. Of those who did contest the ARMAG March Safari, the leading novice driver is currently Adrian Sinkler, entered with Andre Murrell, while leading navigator is Gary Mendes, who sits with Luke Gittens.
The Shelbury Construction June Safari will feature three routes, two on Saturday, one on Sunday. The first crew is scheduled to leave the start at Heymans Factory, St Peter at 2:01pm on Saturday, with the first route concluding with a dinner stop at Chefette in Speightstown at around 7:00pm. The second route will finish at Andrews Factory Yard in St Joseph at around midnight.
In a minor change to the schedule, the first crew will now re-start at 7:31am on Sunday from Automotive Art, Welches - half-an-hour earlier than previously published - to face a further four hours or so of competition before the finish at Kendal Sporting at approximately noon. The route is primarily Tulip, with a couple of sections of BRC (80 per cent Tulip, 20 per cent BRC), and there is no BRC in Route two.

Shelbury Construction June Safari - June 27/28
Mud Dogs BRC Safari Championship, round 2
Running order - Pro class
2 Audley Croney/Geoffrey Goddard (JCB Excavators Suzuki Samurai)
4 Sean Dowding/Kirk Watkins (Isuzu D-Max)
7 Kirk King/Tricia King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai)
12 Paul Farmer/Peter Bradshaw (Hankook Tyres/Starfish Designs Isuzu LS)
13 Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux)
14 Damian Brooker/Derek Edwards (Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux)
15 Paul Marshall/Courtney Holder (Mitsubishi L200)
16 Mike Ward/Willie Hinds (Niccolls & Edghill Construction/EZ Sign Shop Suzuki Samurai)
17 Darrin White/Robert Warren (Flyin' Fish Nissan Frontier)
18 Brett Barber/Warren Gollop (Mitsubishi Pajero)
19 Wayne Manning/Yosuf Patel (Black Bess Quarry/Citgo Oils Toyota Hilux)
20 Dustin Edwards/Ryan Corbin (Blockman/SDRR Hydraulics/Crane & Equipments Toyota Hilux)
21 Greg Cozier/Antonio Da Silva (Toyota Hilux)
23 Dominic Brooker/Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux)
24 Edson Arthur/Renata Roett (Toyota Hilux)
26 Barry Gale/Neil Barnard (Gale's Agro Products/Redlinefuels.com Mitsubishi L200)
27 Nicolas Lorde/Warrick Eastmond (Niccolls & Edghill Construction Suzuki Vitara)
29 John Sealy/Gregory Dickenson (Land Rover Defender)
Novice class
1 Kemar Drakes/Russell Williams (Suzuki Samurai)
3 Luke Gittens/Gary Mendes (LG Trading/K&N Equipment/Lunatics Inc Suzuki Samurai)
5 Bryan Collymore/Adrian Jackman (Owlies Trucking/Williams Tools & Equipment Suzuki Samurai)
6 Hadley Green/Adrian Crane (Automotive Art/Hunte's Auto Spares Toyota Hilux)
8 Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai)
9 Jamar Burrowes/Robert Burrowes (Berty's Transport Land Rover Defender)
10 Feroze Rafikh/Kamal Smith (Phoenix Construction & Maintenance Jeep CJ7)
11 Dean Springer/Steve Singh (Eastern Veterinary Clinic Suzuki Sidekick)
22 David Brewster/Damien Bradshaw (Marks Auto Parts/Champion Auto Wrecker Serice Suzuki Samurai)
25 Peter Phillips/Junior Phillips (Phillips Freighting & Farming Services Suzuki Fox)
28 Anthony King/Dave Sealy (Dynamic Limousine/D & N Rental & Taxi Service/Maxxis Tire/Lee's Tyre Shop Toyota Hilux)
* 30 Phil Harewood/Chris Gibson (CKE Security/C & H Tractor Services Suzuki Samurai)
31 David St Hill/Ian Grimes (Mitsubishi Pajero)
* entry pending approval

For further media information, robin@bradfax.com

2009-06-23T07:24:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the 2009 Suzuki Caribbean Surf Tour. It has bee a tough challenge for the CSN to negotiate sponsorship in the atmosphere of global Crisis, but our sponsors have yet again come on board to assist in the development of Caribbean Pro Surfing.

First, congratulations to Ametza Nicholls, who against all odds, managed to hold on to her lead and emerge as Ladies Champion. And then, a special mention to Lewis St. John for totally “cleaning up” the trophies. The new Oakley team rider completely steam rolled over all opposition at the 2008 Soup Bowl Pro in both the Jr. and Open Men’s Divisions to claim his double title of Open Men’s Champion and Junior Champion.

Now details on the 2009 Tour. Due to the unexpected financial challenges it was decided the 2009 San Souci Pro should be postponed to October 3-4, 2009. This means that the Tour will now begin in Jamaica for the Makka Pro on July 4-5, 2009, and concludes in Barbados November 28-29, 2009, for the Soup Bowl Pro.

Finally, surfers travelled from 7 Caribbean islands to compete for the title of Suzuki Caribbean Surf Champion. In 2007, Alan Davis from Trinidad and Tobago and Jade Nichols from Barbados claimed the titles. In 2008, Barbadians Lewis St. John and Ametza Nicholls held claim to the titles. Who will surf away with the titles in 2009? Will the Jamaicans powerhouses “Bolt” for a fresh face on the Caribbean surf scene?

Good luck to all surfers and see you in the line up.

For Airline info from Barbados Contact the Caribbean Airlines (Heather Kieffer) http://www.bwee.com/index.html

Tele: (246) 429-5929 or (246) 427-4502

For Guest house and room Rental Contact the Jamaican Surfing association (Billy Mystic).

Email: jasurfas@hotmail.com or billymystic@yahoo.com

Tele: (876) 750-0103

2009-06-23T06:59:00.001-07:00

Surferz Zone

Surf shop

Polyester Surfboard Repairs

Epoxy Surfboard Repairs

Polyester Surfboard Repairs

# of dings (Price range)

1 from $25+

2 $40+

3 $75+

4 $95+

5 $125+

8 $160+

10 $200+

Broken Boards

Buckle 1 side $60+

Buckle both sides $100+

Broken nose $80+

Broken shortboard $150+

Broken longboard $250+

Deck delamination $80+

Fin Jobs

Fcs 1 plug $45+

Fcs 2 plugs $70+

Single fin box $75+

Lesh plug/ glass loop $35+

Glass on fin w/fin $50+

Lost fin add $40+

Future, Ofishel, Lockbox, Redx $50+

Epoxy Surfboard Repairs

# of dings (Price range)

1 from $35+

2 $50+

3 $85+

4 $105+

5 $135+

8 $170+

10 $210+

Broken Boards

Buckle 1 side $70+

Buckle both sides $110+

Broken nose $90+

Broken shortboard $160+

Broken longboard $260+

Deck delamination $90+

Fin Jobs

Fcs 1 plug $55+

Fcs 2 plugs $80+

Single fin box $85+

Lesh plug/ glass loop $45+

Glass on fin w/fin $60+

Lost fin add $50+

Future, Ofishel, Lockbox, Redx $60+

CASH OR CHECK ONLY

2009-06-19T08:41:00.001-07:00

$500,000.00 MAKKA PRO SURF CONTEST SET FOR SOUTHAVEN ST THOMAS JULY 4 & 5

The "2009 SUZUKI Makka Pro" surfing contest, Jamaica's premiere annual pro surfing event, is set to run on July 4th and 5th 2009 at the Makka surfing beach in Southaven, St. Thomas. This marks the third time Jamaica will play host to the region's best pro surfers who will be trying their luck at the over J$500,000.00 in prize money up for the taking.

The event will be the first of four events making up the Caribbean Surfing Network's "Caribbean Challenge Cup" series. There will be two events in Barbados and one in Trinidad. "This event will provide the opportunity for local surfers to get a good start in the '09 series," said JSA President Billy Wilmot. "In any series, if you start with a win in the first event, you are number one in the series and can use that to create momentum and our surfers will have home turf advantage. Also, when you are ranked at the top, you get better heats going into the next event and everyone else has to play catch up".

Last year, Jamaicans did well and finished in the money with second and fifth place in the open division and first and third in the junior's. The local ladies did not do as well and finished at the bottom of the tables in their division.

Open division defending champ, Barbados' Jonathan Reece, will be looking to defend his title against the formidable Jamaican charge being led by Wilmot brothers Inilek and Icah. Junior defending champion Jamaica's Shane Simmonds will have tremendous local support after his crowd pleasing victory performance last year.

This year the event is being made possible through the kind sponsorship of Suzuki, The Sports Development Foundation, Insight, Xtrak, Magma, Ipath, Mailpac and the citizens of Southaven.

2008 MAKKA PRO RESULTS

OPEN MEN

1ST	Jonathan Reece	BAR
2ND	Inilek Wilmot	JAM
3RD	Barry Banfield	BAR
4TH	Bruce Mackie	BAR
5TH	Icah Wilmot	JAM
6TH	Alan Davis	T&T
7TH	Luke Williams	JAM
7TH	Shawn Ronstat	T&T
9TH	Jason Appericio	T&T
9TH	Ishack Wilmot	JAM
9TH	Dane Jefferys	USA
9TH	Mark Holder	BAR
13TH	Dane Tuach	BAR
13TH	Christopher Clarke	BAR
13TH	Jordan Heaselgrave	BAR
13TH	Ackeam Phillips	JAM
17TH	Eneson Lightbourn	JAM
17TH	Wayne Saulterwhite	USA
17TH	Doran Edwards	JAM
17TH	Shane Simmonds	JAM
21ST	Junior Hibberts	JAM
21ST	Joel Lawrence	JAM
21ST	Anderson Mayers	BAR
21ST	Carlos Warton	BAR

OPEN WOMEN

1ST	Chelsea Tuach	BAR
2ND	Chelsea Roett	BAR
3RD	Alexis Jordan	BAR
4TH	Danielle Ohyan	JAM
5TH	Imani Wilmot	Jam
5TH	Esther Beckford	JAM

JUNIORS

1^st Shane Simmonds JAM

2^nd Jordan Heaselgrave BAR

3^rd Ackeam Phillips JAM

4^th Bruce Mackie BAR

5^th Michael Panton JAM

5^th Omar Jacks JAM

7^th Ackeam Taylor JAM

7^th Garren Pryce JAM

Winners of 2008 Makka Pro

2009-06-18T08:07:00.001-07:00

MUD DOGS PREPARE FOR SHELBURY JUNE SAFARI
'The June' will live up to its legacy

After a break of three months, the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) Mud Dogs Safari Championship, competitors are preparing for the series to burst back into life with the Shelbury Construction June Safari (June 27/28), the longest event in the championship calendar.
And competitors can expect a challenge worthy of the 53rd running of the oldest motor sport event in the Caribbean with a continuous history. BRC Assistant Competition Secretary Leslie Alleyne notes: "A really exciting and challenging navigational event is on the cards for our second round; this event will ensure that 'The June' remains the premier event on the navigation calendar and I am confident it will live up to the legacy of the rallies and safaris that have gone before.
"My recent conversations with route-setter Stewart Gill reveal that he is excited about the tricks he has been able to come up with . . . and a couple of the challenges are very interesting as well. One in particular turned back his Samurai on three attempts!"
There will be three routes, two on Saturday, one on Sunday. The first crew is scheduled to leave the start at Heymans Factory, St Peter at 2:01pm on Saturday, with the first route concluding with a dinner stop at Chefette in Speightstown at around 7:00pm. The second route will finish at Andrews Factory Yard in St Joseph in the vicinity of midnight.
The crews which reassemble on Sunday for the re-start at Automotive Art, Welches, at 8:01am will face a further four hours of competition before the finish at Kendal Sporting at approximately noon. The route is primarily Tulip, with a couple of sections of BRC (80 per cent Tulip, 20 per cent BRC), and there is no BRC in Route two.
Entries are now open at Motorsport Services, located at DC Security Inc, Haggatt Hall, St Michael. Entries will close at noon next Tuesday (June 23). The Briefing Meeting will be held on the same day, at 7.00pm, at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association
(BCTSA) Club House, Searles, Christ Church.
Emphasising that no entries or monies will be taken during the Briefing Meeting, Alleyne added: "Motorsport Services is open from 6:00am until 10:00pm seven days a week, including holidays, so there should be ample convenience for everyone to complete their entry."

Good turn-out for Fun Safari

Following the tremendous success of the Practice Safari run in late February, which attracted more than 30 crews, the Mud Dogs organised a similar event last Sunday (June 14). The June Fun Safari was once again aimed at attracting newcomers to navigational rallying, and enabling experienced competitors to share their knowledge.
Alleyne says: "This time, we had some 32 vehicles and 83 people spread among them, which is enormously encouraging. I would like to thank everyone for coming out and trust that an enjoyable time was had by all, even those who found it difficult to follow the route. I must also thank Paul Marshall and Ricky Holder for setting what was reportedly a fantastic event; thanks also to the marshals who came out and supported us once again."

2009 BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship
Positions after round one –
Navigators:
1st Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux), 60 points
2nd Neil Barnard (Mitsubishi L200), 58pts
3rd Robert Warren (Flyin' Fish Nissan Frontier), 56pts
4th Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), 54pts
5th Kirk Watkins (Axis Inc Isuzu Dmax), 52pts
6th Ryan Corbin (Crane & Equipment/SDRR Toyota Hilux), 50pts
7th Geoffrey Goddard (JCB Excavators Suzuki Samurai), 48pts
8th Warrick Eastmond (Nicolls & Edghill Construction Suzuki Vitara), 46pts
9th Tricia King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai), 44pts
10th Kreigg Yearwood (Suzuki Vitara), 42pts

Drivers:
1st Dominic Brooker (SDRR Hydraulics/Next Generation Electrical/Joe Brooker's Building Toyota Hilux), 60 points
2nd Barry Gale (Mitsubishi L200), 58pts
3rd Darrin White (Flyin' Fish Nissan Frontier), 56pts
4th Chris Armstrong (Toyota Hilux), 54pts
5th Sean Dowding (Axis Inc Isuzu Dmax), 52pts
6th Paul Marshall (Mitsubishi L200), 50pts
7th Dustin Edwards (Crane & Equipment/SDRR Toyota Hilux), 48pts
8th Audley Croney (JCB Excavators Suzuki Samurai), 46pts
9th Nicolas Lorde (Nicolls & Edghill Construction Suzuki Vitara), 44pts
10th Kirk King (K & N Equipment Suzuki Samurai), 42pts
Remaining rounds:
June 27/28 - Shelbury Construction June Safari September 13 - Mud Dogs September Safari November 8 - Mud Dogs November Safari

2009-06-17T20:48:00.001-07:00

2009-06-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

A really exciting and challenging navigational event is on the cards for the 2nd round of the 2009 BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship. This event will ensure that the June Safari remains the premiere event on the navigation callender and live up to the legacy of June Rallies that have gone before. There will be three routes with two on Saturday 27th June and the final route on Sunday 28th June. The event has been set by Mr. Stewart Gill and it will be re-checked by Leslie Alleyne. My recent conversations with Stewart Gill revealed that he is excited about the tricks he has been able to come up with and a couple of the challenges are very interesting as well. One in particular turned back his Samurai on three attempts so far!

We are still working on permissions etc. but the tentative plan is as follows;
Start: Saturday 27th June @2:01pm - Heymans Factory, St. Peter.
Dinner Stop: Chefette Speightstown @ approx. 7:00pm
Night Stop: Colleton Plantation, St. John - approaching midnight.

The timing and logistics of route three are still in the planning phase and this info will be passed to you later this week. What I can say is that the latest the event will finish on Sunday is 12 noon.

The route is primarily Tulip with a couple sections of BRC (80% tulip & 20% BRC). There will also be no BRC in Route 2.

Entries:

Entries are now open at Motorsport Services, located at DC Security Inc, Haggatt Hall, St. Michael. This facility is open from 6:00am until 10:00pm seven days a week including holidays so there should be ample convenience for everyone to complete their entry. If yo have any querries concerning the entry or the location of this facility please call Mr. John Sealy at 231-1709. Remember, entry, insurance, annual subs, temporary membership and BMF license renewal can all be done at this facility.

Entries will close at 12 noon on Tuesday 23rd June 2009.

The briefing meeting will be at the Clay Target Club, Searles, on Tuesday 23rd June @ 7:00pm

Please note: NO ENTRIES WILL BE TAKEN AT THE BRIEFING - ALL FORMS AND MONIES MUST BE DEALT WITH AT MOTORSPORT SERVICES PRIOR TO THE BRIEFING.

See you all at the briefing.
Leslie Alleyne.

2009-06-01T20:49:00.001-07:00

SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2009
Results

Key to nationalities (competitor from Barbados unless shown): ENG - England; IRL - The Republic of Ireland; JAM - Jamaica; NED - The Netherlands; NIR - Northern Ireland; SCO - Scotland; TDAD - Trinidad & Tobago; WAL - Wales

1st Kris Meeke - NIR/Paul Nagle - NIR (M8-WRC Digicel/Red Bull/ARMAG Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 55m 11.84s
2nd Paul Bird - ENG/Ian Windress - ENG (M8-WRC SuperCasino.com/Vent Axia/VK Vodka Kick Ford Focus WRC07), 55m 28.59s
3rd Paul Bourne/Stuart Maloney (M8-WRC Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 56m 24.91s
4th Kevin Procter - ENG/Dave Bellerby - ENG (M8-WRC Procters Coaches Subaru Impreza WRC S7), 56m 50.70s
5th Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 56m 51.56s
6th Trevor Manning/Derek Edwards (M8-WRC All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Garbage Master/Bess Block Ford Escort WRC), 56m 57.46s
7th Jeffrey Panton - JAM/Mike Fennell Jnr - JAM (M8-WRC Automotive Art/Bearings and Seals/Jamaica Freight and Shipping/Seaboard/Castrol/

Active Traders/Automoto Ford Focus WRC), 57m 09.99s
8th Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (M8-WRC Autolink/VP Racing/Bella Beauty Supply/Pro Pac Dog Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 58m 25.04s
9th Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (M8-A Simpson Motors/Hankook Tyres/Shell V-Power/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 59m 06.76s
10th Geoff Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (P4 Globe Finance/DeWalt Tools/Essco/Sunbeach/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 59m 52.84s
11th Rob Swann - ENG/Darren Garrod - WAL (P4 Revolution Competition Wheels/Escape Hotel Subaru Impreza N14), 1h 00m 02.00s
12th Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (SM11 Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments/Little Switzerland BMW M3), 1h 00m 27.92s
13th Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift), 1h 00m 51.12s
14th Phil Collins - WAL/Derek Brannigan - IRL (SM11 Silverstone Tyres/Millington Engines/Great Stuff Caterers/Orchard Motorsport/Collins Engineering/Pontilas Developments Ford Escort MkII), 1h 00m 54.24s
15th John Powell - TDAD/Michael March - JAM (P4 Intercontinental Shipping Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 1h 00m 58.72s
16th Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM9 Automotive Art Toyota Starlet), 1h 01m 36.15s
17th James Betts/Josh Delmas (SM9 All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Makita/Black Bess/Yamaha/Champion Auto/Quik Start Auto/Kendal Sporting Opel Corsa), 1h 01m 40.53s
18th Martin Stockdale - ENG/Mark Swallow - ENG (SM11 Divi Southwinds Beach Resort/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals BMW M3 Compact), 1h 01m 48.94s
19th Harold Morley - ENG/Geoff Goddard (P4 Subaru Impreza N14), 1h 02m 22.61s
20th Michael Worme/Brian Gibson (M8-A Cot Media Group/Speedline Performance Auto/Dingolay/Details Car Valet Subaru Impreza STi), 1h 02m 23.65s
21st Kirk Watkins/Ryan Corbin (M8-A Abacus Builders Inc/Hankook Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V), 1h 02m 25.32s
22nd Rhett Watson/Logan Watson (SM10 The Unknown Entity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbz Workz/Castrol Ford Escort MkI), 1h 02m 50.59s
23rd Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (M7 Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Racing/Workz Mechanical Services Toyota Corolla RunX), 1h 05m 14.82s
24th Kenny Hall - SCO/Fenny Wesselink - NED (M5 Halltune Garage Opel Corsa), 1h 05m 21.24s
25th Raymond Gill/Jeremy Foster (SM11 BMW M3), 1h 05m 27.91s
26th Edward Corbin/Rodney Clarke (M6 Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant), 1h 05m 34.38s
27th Karl Waterman/Matthew Staffner (SM9 3W's Racing Team/Propac/Crane & Equipments/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur/Catch Chocolates Toyota Starlet), 1h 06m 33.36s
28th George Anderson - SCO/Gary Miller - ENG (P4 George Anderson Building Contractors/Hutton Stone/J I Inglis Joinery Contractors/MVR/Border Ready Mix Concrete/lilmiss504 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII), 1h 06m 50.14s
29th Stuart White/Jason O'Neil (SM9 3W's Racing Team/Propac/Crane & Equipments/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur/Catch Chocolates Toyota Starlet), 1h 06m 50.82s
30th Sean T Field/Darnley Rayside (P3 AM Realty/Ackee Tree/Field Insurance Brokers/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306), 1h 07m 24.96s
31st Chris Moss - ENG/Stuart Ulyatt - ENG (SM11 FAMOSS Ltd Aston Martin Rally GT), 1h 07m 50.13s
32nd John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (M7 Corbins Garage/Klark-Odio/Automotive Art Toyota Corolla), 1h 08m 33.86s
33rd Steve Perez - ENG/Paul Spooner - WAL (M8-WRC Kick Energy Drink/VK Vodka Kick Ford Focus WRC05), 1h 08m 51.78s
34th Simon Michael - NIR/Jonathan Foster (SM10 www.clockworkorange.net/www.diamondfireworks.co.uk/Eddie Torrens Car Breakers/Eskylane Developments Ford Escort MkII), 1h 10m 09.67s
35th Glenn Campbell - NIR/Anthony Concannon - IRL (M5 Burn Road Trade Sales/Campbell Motorsport Electrics/Motorcare/Agnew Recovery/TorqueTronix Nissan Micra), 1h 11m 50.24s
36th Bobby Marshall - JAM/Dario Hoyte (M7 Motor Sales & Service/Singer/Tru-Juice/Ocean Spray/TGIF Mitsubishi Mirage), 1h 12m 50.41s
37th Shareef Walcott/Juan Watts (M6 Melwani's/Auto Solutions/Spoons Custom Brokers & Trucking/Klark-Odio/SMS Management Toyota Corolla), 1h 12m 57.68s
38th David Brewster/Rashid Phillips (M7 SRG Engineering/Castrol Peugeot 205GTi), 1h 16m 25.66s
39th Kyle Catwell/Justin Harrison (M7 Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI), 1h 21m 47.91s
40th Fabien Clarke/Pierre Lashley (P2 Barbados Business Listings/RCA Tours/Bovell Auto Repair Suzuki Ignis Sport), 1h 22m 05.93s
41st Cheryl Spencer - ENG/Barry Spencer - ENG (P3 Eden Vauxhall/Creative Space Solutions/Old Castle B & B/ABS Embroidery Vauxhall Astra GSi), 1h 27m 35.42s

Highest-placed regional crew Panton - JAM/Fennell - JAM (7th overall)
Highest-placed International crew Meeke - NIR/Nagle - NIR (1st overall)
Highest-placed two-wheel-drive car Still/Hazell (12th overall)
Highest-placed female competitor Edghill (11th overall, co-driver for B Gale)

Starters 88 (63 Barbados, 20 Europe, 5 Regional)
Overall finishers 41 (24 Barbados, 14 Europe, 3 Regional)

Sunday Cup
1st Dean Serrao/Ryan Farmer (P4 Amalgamated Security/Coconut Car Rentals/Lucky Games Inc Subaru Impreza N12), 23m 24.42s
2nd Neil Corbin/Aaron Kirton (SM9 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet), 23m 40.95s
3rd Ralph White/Joe Troulan (SM10 Island Safari/Drive-a-Matic/Going Places Travel/Barbados Villa Services Toyota Starlet), 24m 02.79s
etc

Class results
Modified 8-WRC 1st Meeke - NIR/Nagle - NIR; 2nd Bird - ENG/Windress - ENG; 3rd Bourne/Maloney; etc
M8-A 1st Armstrong/Ward; 2nd Worme/Gibson; 3rd Watkins/Corbin
Production 4 (Group N) 1st Noel/Yearwood; 2nd Swann - ENG/Garrod - WAL; 3rd Powell - TDAD/March - JAM; etc
Group B 1st Greg Cozier/Jamie Marsh (Mahindra Lotus Elise), 1h 05m 49.60s; 2nd Frans Verbaas - NED/Hester van Ovost - NED (Verbaas Preparations/Koni/Team Dynamics Wheels Austin Mini Cooper), 1h 06m 38.90s; 3rd Andrew Costin-Hurley - ENG/Shaun Mellett - ENG (Earl's Performance Hoses/Aztec Composites Ford Puma), 1h 08m 46.44s
SuperModified 11 1st Still/Hazell; 2nd Collins - WAL/Brannigan - IRL; 3rd Stockdale - ENG/Swallow - ENG; etc
SM10 1st Warren/Warren; 2nd Watson/Watson; 3rd White/Troulan, 1h 06m 55.29s; etc
SM9 1st Read/Jordan; 2nd Betts/Delmas; 3rd N Corbin/Kirton, 1h 06m 21.12s; etc
M7 1st F Gale/K Proverbs; 2nd J Corbin/O Proverbs; 3rd Marshall - JAM/Hoyte; etc
M6 1st E Corbin/Clark; 2nd Jamal Brathwaite/Talia Mapp (AM Electrical Solutions/Arthur Construction/Arthur Lifting and Freighting/Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing/D2 Racing Suspension Mitsubishi Mirage), 1h 08m 40.36s; 3rd Danny Williams/Shane Emtage (Chris's Workshop/Sunbury Plantation House/Barbados Paragliding Association Ford Fiesta), 1h 12m 53.01s; etc
M5 1st Hall - SCO/Wesselink - NED; 2nd Campbell - NIR/Concannon -IRL; 3rd Sean Cox/Adam Cox (Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 1h 14m 33.60s
P3 1st Field/Rayside; 2nd Spencer - ENG/Spencer - ENG
P2 1st Clarke/Lashley
Historic 1st Ding Boston - ENG/John Puliston - ENG (Hist Oxford Universities Motorsport Foundation/Phillips Tyres/Virgin Atlantic/Toyo/Recaro/Powervamp Racing/MASS Engines Riley 1.5)

Shell V-Power SuperSpecial - Bushy Park
Class winners
Modified 8-WRC B Gale/Edghill
M8-A Watkins/R Corbin
Production 4 Noel/Yearwood
SuperModified 11 Stockdale - ENG/Swallow - ENG
SM10 Warren/Warren
SM9 Read/Jordan
M7 Ron Greaves/Dwain Carter (Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/Dreamworks/McCarthy's Garage Honda Civic)
M6 Corbin/Clarke
M5 Hall - SCO/Wesselink - NED
P3 Field/Rayside
P2 Clarke/Lashley
Historic Boston/Puliston

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

2009-05-27T17:32:00.001-07:00

FIVE FORMER WINNERS FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Ninety to start Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport event

Five former winners are seeded in the top 10 for the Caribbean's biggest annual international motor sport event, Sol Rally Barbados 2009 (May 29-31); as the final running order was published Wednesday afternoon (May 27) by the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC), last-minute preparations were under way across the island for what promises to be the most competitive in the 20-year history of the event.
A capacity entry of 90 cars is listed to start the two-day tarmac rally, including current and former Champions from the host island, the wider Caribbean and Europe. Following the Ceremonial Start at Simpson Motors on Friday evening - an innovation for 2009 - there are 24 stages run over a distance of a little under 80 miles.
Saturday's route features 14 stages, including the event's signature - and longest - stage, Automotive Art Canefield, which alone attracts around 10,000 spectators, and 10 on Sunday, plus the Shell V-Power Super Special, which brings the event to a resounding climax at the island's circuit racing venue, Bushy Park.
Last year's winners Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle from Northern Ireland (Digicel/Red Bull/ARMAG Subaru Impreza WRC S9) will start at number one; their trip to the island has been generously allowed by Peugeot UK, in whose Kronos Racing-run S2000 Peugeot 207 they are currently leading the International Rally Challenge (IRC), fast replacing the World Rally Championship as the sport's most marketable high-end product.
A clutch problem prevented Meeke reminding island fans of his skills at last Sunday's Shell V-Power King of the Hill, which was won by Roger 'The Sheriff' Skeete, who will therefore start at number two in his recently-acquired Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12, co-driven by Louis Venezia, winning co-driver in 2003 with Paul Bourne. Skeete has won the BRC's premier event 10 times since 1990, most recently in 2004.
Bourne and Stuart Maloney (Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S9) will start at three, Bourne also the winner in 2007 and the strongest challenger last year to Meeke, until he rolled mid-way through Saturday morning. Roger Hill and Graham Gittens, winners of the recent Automotive Art Shakedown Stages, will start at four in the Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC in which Meeke won last year.
After Meeke, England's Steve Perez is the highest-seeded international entry, co-driven in the Kick Energy Drink/VK Vodka Kick Ford Focus WRC05 by Welshman Paul Spooner; they start at five, with 1998 winner, Jamaica's Jeffrey Panton (Automotive Art/Bearings and Seals/Jamaica Freight and Shipping/Seaboard/Castrol/

Active Traders/Automoto Ford Focus WRC) at six, with Mike Fennell Jnr.
England's Kevin Procter and Dave Bellerby (Procters Coaches Subaru Impreza WRC S7) start at seven, ahead of the Chairman of the Sol RB09 organising committee Barry Gale - he is co-driven in the Autolink/VP Racing/Bella Beauty Supply/Pro Pac Dog Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI by the highest-seeded of the 12 female co-drvers, Cherie Edghill - 1999 winner Trevor Manning, now co-driven by Derek Edwards in the All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Garbage Master/Bess Block Ford Escort WRC, and last year's runners-up, former UK National Champions Paul Bird and Ian Windress (SuperCasino.com/Vent Axia/VK Vodka Kick Ford Focus WRC07).

Sol Rally Barbados 2009 final running order statistics:
+ 90 crews entered
+ drivers or co-drivers from eight nations, including Barbados
+ 26 four-wheel-drive cars, including nine ex-factory World Rally Cars
+ 38 drivers or co-drivers from Europe
+ nine drivers or co-drivers from around the region
+ 1 female driver, 12 female co-drivers
+ cars from 18 manufacturers, Toyota the best-represented with 19, followed by Mitsubishi (15), Ford (13) and Subaru (11)

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. Marketing partners are Automotive Art, Banks, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Red Bull and Simpson Motors; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line, Stoute's Car Rental and Virgin Atlantic; associate sponsors are ARMAG, Caribbean Airlines, Crane & Equipments, Merville Lynch Productions, Little Switzerland, Redline Fuels and Shelbury Construction.

Remaining key events

Friday, May 29 - 6.00pm to approx 9.00pm - The Ceremonial Start
+ Simpson Motors, Warrens, St Michael
Saturday, May 30 - Sol Rally Barbados 2009 - day 1
+ round five of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's and Class Championships
+ start at 9.00am from SS1, Sailor Gully 1
+ Simpson Motors is the service area for the day
Sunday, May 31 - Sol Rally Barbados 2009 - day 2
+ round six of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's and Class Championships
+ restart at 7.30am from Bushy Park, St Philip, which is the service area for the day
+ Shell V-Power SuperSpecial and Rally Finish at Bushy Park
Monday, June 1 - approx 3.30pm - Sol RB09 Prizegiving
+ The Boatyard, Bay Street, St Michael

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

Sol-RB09-33a: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 27, 2009

SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2009
Final running order at May 27, 2009

+ list subject to final scrutineering of a number of cars

Key to nationalities (competitor from Barbados unless shown): ENG - England; IRL - The Republic of Ireland; JAM - Jamaica; NED - The Netherlands; NIR - Northern Ireland; SCO - Scotland; TDAD - Trinidad & Tobago; WAL - Wales

1 Kris Meeke - NIR/Paul Nagle - NIR (M8-WRC Digicel/Red Bull/ARMAG Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
2 Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (M8-WRC Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
3 Paul Bourne/Stuart Maloney (M8-WRC Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
4 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC)
5 Steve Perez - ENG/Paul Spooner - WAL (M8-WRC Kick Energy Drink/VK Vodka Kick Ford Focus WRC05)
6 Jeffrey Panton - JAM/Mike Fennell Jnr - JAM (M8-WRC Automotive Art/Bearings and Seals/Jamaica Freight and Shipping/Seaboard/Castrol/Active Traders/Automoto Ford Focus WRC)
7 Kevin Procter - ENG/Dave Bellerby - ENG (M8-WRC Procters Coaches Subaru Impreza WRC S7)
8 Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (M8-WRC Autolink/VP Racing/Bella Beauty Supply/Pro Pac Dog Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
9 Trevor Manning/Derek Edwards (M8-WRC All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Garbage Master/Bess Block Ford Escort WRC)
10 Paul Bird - ENG/Ian Windress - ENG (M8-WRC SuperCasino.com/Vent Axia/VK Vodka Kick Ford Focus WRC07)
11 Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift)
12 Cliff Roett/Orry Hunte (SM10 Carters & Co/Nassco/Lucky Horseshoe/Roett's Garage/Castrol Toyota Starlet)
14 Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (SM11 Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments/Little Switzerland BMW M3)
15 Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (M8-A Simpson Motors/Hankook Tyres/Shell V-Power/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
16 Ryan Champion - ENG/Craig Thorley - ENG (M8-A Champions/Pirelli/MSR Motorsport/Axis Caribbean Subaru Impreza 555)
17 Nick Gill/Sue Rogers (SM11 SDRR/Glassfibre Products/Castrol/Barb's Bikinis Mazda 3)
18 John Powell - TDAD/Michael March - JAM (P4 Intercontinental Shipping Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
19 Phil Collins - WAL/Derek Brannigan - IRL (SM11 Silverstone Tyres/Millington Engines/Great Stuff Caterers/Orchard Motorsport/Collins Engineering/Pontilas Developments Ford Escort MkII)
20 Sammy Cumberbatch/Nicholas Yarde (SM11 Williams Industries/Digicel/F Taylor Associates/Castrol BMW M3)
21 Brett Clarke/Garry Clarke (M8-WRC Simpson Motors Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
22 Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM9 Automotive Art Toyota Starlet)
23 Martin Stockdale - ENG/Mark Swallow - ENG (SM11 Divi Southwinds Beach Resort/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals BMW M3 Compact)
24 Rob Swann - ENG/Darren Garrod - WAL (P4 Revolution Competition Wheels/Escape Hotel Subaru Impreza N14)
25 James Betts/Josh Delmas (SM9 All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Makita/Black Bess/Yamaha/Champion Auto/Quik Start Auto/Kendal Sporting Opel Corsa)
26 Geoff Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (P4 Globe Finance/DeWalt Tools/Essco/Sunbeach/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
27 Graeme Finlayson - SCO/Martin Atwell (M8-A www.racedandrallied.com Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS)
28 Adrian Linton/Jonathan Linton (M7 Ravensden/Morris Straker Construction/Garbage Gobbler/Crane & Equipments Vauxhall Astra GSi)
29 Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (SM9 Area 5 Auto Works/Mom's Pasta Products Mitsubishi Mirage)
30 Justin Campbell/Jermin Pope (SM11 Area 5 Auto Works/Cumberbatch Nurseries/Target Studio BMW M3)
31 Michael Worme/Brian Gibson (M8-A Cot Media Group/Speedline Performance Auto/Dingolay/Details Car Valet Subaru Impreza STi)
32 Harold Morley - ENG/Geoff Goddard (P4 Subaru Impreza N14)
33 Rhett Watson/Logan Watson (SM10 The Unknown Entity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbz Workz/Castrol Ford Escort MkI)
34 Kirk Watkins/Ryan Corbin (M8-A Abacus Builders Inc/Hankook Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V)
35 Tom Roberts - ENG/Paul Rees - WAL (M8-A Playboy Entertainment/Autolink/VP Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
36 St Elmo Cumberbatch/Dwayne Forde (SM11 Carib Supply/F Taylor Associates BMW E36)
37 David Williams/Kris Yearwood (P4 Mix 96.9FM/Consolidated Finance/Warrens Motors/Dynamic Limo Services/Castrol Subaru Impreza WRX STi)
38 Jeremy Gonsalves/Natasha Farnum (SM9 Makita/All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Star Products/Champion Auto/Kendal Sporting Suzuki Swift GTi)
39 Andrew Costin-Hurley - ENG/Shaun Mellett - ENG (GpB Earl's Performance Hoses Ford Puma)
40 Dean Serrao/Ryan Farmer (P4 Amalgamated Security/Coconut Car Rentals/Lucky Games Inc Subaru Impreza N12)
41 Norman Catwell/Stuart Leach - ENG (GpB Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing Peugeot 205 GTi)
42 Owen Cumberbatch/Kelly-Ann Sandiford (SM11 Combo Auto Parts and Service BMW M3)
43 Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (SM11 PowerMaster Batteries/Automotive Art/MQI/Consolidated Finance Ford Escort MkII)
44 Raymond Gill/Jeremy Foster (SM11 BMW M3)
45 Andrew Jones/Mark Thompson (GpB Rexona V8/A P Jones Pharmacy/Southern Surf Hotel Ford Escort MkII)
46 Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (M7 Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Racing/Workz Mechanical Services Toyota Corolla RunX)
47 Karl Waterman/Matthew Staffner (SM9 3W's Racing Team/Propac/Crane & Equipments/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur/Catch Chocolates Toyota Starlet)
48 Kenny Hall - SCO/Fenny Wesselink - NED (M5 Halltune Garage Opel Corsa)
49 Greg Cozier/Jamie Marsh (GpB Mahindra Lotus Elise)
50 Frans Verbaas - NED/Hester van Ovost - NED (GpB Verbaas Preparations/Koni/Team Dynamics Wheels Austin Mini Cooper)
51 Edward Corbin/Rodney Clarke (M6 Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant)
52 Stuart White/Jason O'Neil (SM9 3W's Racing Team/Propac/Crane & Equipments/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur/Catch Chocolates Toyota Starlet)
53 George Anderson - SCO/John Millar - SCO (P4 George Anderson Building Contractors/Hutton Stone/J I Inglis Joinery Contractors/MVR/Border Ready Mix Concrete/lilmiss504 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII)
54 John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (M7 Corbins Garage/Klark-Odio/Automotive Art Toyota Corolla)
55 Ryan Wood/Raymond Parris (SM9 3W's Racing Team/Propac/Crane & Equipments/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur/Catch Chocolates Toyota Starlet)
56 Kyle Catwell/Justin Harrison (M7 Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI)
57 Winston Thompson/Scott Bentham (SM9 Chicken Pen Racing Team/SDRR Toyota Starlet)
58 Chris Moss - ENG/Stuart Ulyatt - ENG (SM11 FAMOSS Ltd Aston Martin Rally GT)
59 Sean T Field/Darnley Rayside (P3 AM Realty/Ackee Tree/Field Insurance Brokers/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306)
60 Simon Michael - NIR/Jonathan Foster (SM10 www.clockworkorange.net/www.diamondfireworks.co.uk/Eddie Torrens Car Breakers/Eskylane Developments Ford Escort MkII)
61 Mark Antrobus/Rommell Coppin (P4 Speedline Performance Auto/Caribbean Alliance Insurance/Premier World Cargo/Precision Plumbing Services Subaru Impreza STi)
62 Wayne King/Summer Lewis (SM10 New Tech Peugeot 306)
63 Ralph White/Joe Troulan (SM10 Island Safari/Drive-a-Matic/Going Places Travel/Barbados Villa Services Toyota Starlet)
64 Eric Allamby/Zach Heaselgrave (SM10 Shelbury Construction/Container Services/Castrol/ACT Sandblasting Mitsubishi Lancer)
65 Ron Layne/Giselle Layne (M7 SDRR/Pavements & Foundations/L & N Workshop/Auto Solutions Nissan Sunny)
66 Danny Williams/Shane Emtage (M6 Chris's Workshop/Sunbury Plantation House/Barbados Paragliding Association Ford Fiesta)
67 George Gabriel/Leslie Evanson (SM9 my11plus.com/El Tigre Catamaran Cruises/Poonketeers Toyota Starlet)
68 Glenn Campbell - NIR/Anthony Concannon - IRL (M5 Burn Road Trade Sales/Campbell Motorsport Electrics/Motorcare/Agnew Recovery/TorqueTronix Nissan Micra)
69 Allan Maynard/Chris O'Neal (SM9 Gliptone/Johnsons/El Tigre Catamaran Cruises/Marshal Trading/Lubriguard/SDRR/Woodworks Toyota Starlet)
70 Neil Corbin/Aaron Kirton (SM9 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet)
71 Tarik Minott - JAM/Peter Clarke - JAM (SM9 Royal Computers/Extreme Sports/Tropical Battery Suzuki Ignis JWRC)
72 Vishal Dhanraj - TDAD/Richard Ramsingh - TDAD (SM9 Lucozade Energy/Lange Trinidad/The Dispensary/Automan/V3 Rally Team Toyota Starlet)
73 Jeremy Croney/James Goddard (SM9 Suzuki Snipe)
74 Sean Cox/Adam Cox (M5 Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift)
75 Wayne Archer/Angelique Bjerkhamn (M6 Daihatsu Charmant)
76 David Brewster/Rashid Phillips (M7 SRG Engineering/Castrol Peugeot 205GTi)
77 Bobby Marshall - JAM/Dario Hoyte (M7 Motor Sales & Service/Singer/Tru-Juice/Ocean Spray/TGIF Mitsubishi Mirage)
78 Ron Greaves/Dwain Carter (M7 Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/Dreamworks/McCarthy's Garage Honda Civic)
79 Andrew Skeete/Bradley Weekes (M7 Fasteners Barbados/Hitachi Power Tools/Metal Stud/Rentequip/Quality Tyre Mitsubishi Lancer)
80 Gary Mendes/tba (M7 Lunatics Inc/G & G Sales & Service/LG Trading/Barbados Muffler Centre/Appleby Filling Station/ACT Sand Blasting/Techno Toy Tuning/Fast Lane Model Car Racing Toyota Corolla)
81 Ryan Hutchinson/Andre Snobel (P4 Toyota Celica GT4)
82 Ding Boston - ENG/John Puliston - ENG (Hist Oxford Universities Motorsport Foundation/Phillips Tyres/Virgin Atlantic/Toyo/Recaro/Powervamp Racing/MASS Engines Riley 1.5)
83 Fabien Clarke/Pierre Lashley (P2 Barbados Business Listings/RCA Tours/Bovell Auto Repair Suzuki Ignis Sport)
84 Paul Inniss/Kerry Downes (SM11 246 Tuning/King Kuts Barber Shop/K Woods Boutique/Illusion Graphics/Char Nails Boutique/Hincksons Toyota Starlet Turbo)
85 Calvin Briggs/Hulita Brathwaite (SM11 Ford Escort MkII)
86 Nigel Reece/Jonathan Reece (M6 Subzero Services/TGM Air Conditioners/Trident International Corporation/Ullyett's Machine Shop Service/Structural Systems/Preconco Datsun 120Y)
87 Shareef Walcott/Juan Watts (M6 Melwani's/Auto Solutions/Spoons Custom Brokers & Trucking/Klark-Odio/SMS Management Toyota Corolla)
88 Jamal Brathwaite/Talia Mapp (M6 AM Electrical Solutions/Arthur Construction/Arthur Lifting and Freighting/Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing/D2 Racing Suspension Mitsubishi Mirage)
89 Carlos Edwards/Andre Waithe (M6 Global Business Centre Toyota Starlet)
90 Cheryl Spencer - ENG/Barry Spencer - ENG (P3 Eden Vauxhall/Creative Space Solutions/Old Castle B & B/ABS Embroidery Vauxhall Astra GSi)
91 Duane Johnson/Victor Leslie (SM11 G & G Sales & Service/De Auto Spot/Rezults Auto Shop/AS Auto Stop/SBI Distribution/LG Trading/Lunatics Inc Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo)

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

2009-05-27T10:43:00.000-07:00

BARBADOS SURFERS ASSOCIATION…… IS ROUNDING UP ALL MALE AND FEMALE SURFERS ON THE ISLAND……FROM DUPIES TO SOUP BOWL
FROM BATTS ROCK TO FREIGHTS
FOR THE ISLAND WICKEDEST SURFER’S PARTY EVER
THE FULL MOON BEACH PARTY
@ the cruising club, pebbles beach.
SAT 6TH JUNE FROM 8 PM
FEATURING BOOMTRIBE DJS, NRG,SAGA BOY AND STOKELY MURRAY!!!
ROCKIN YOU: THE BAND: FULLY LOADED BEACH WEAR IN EFFECT
IT GOING TO BE AWESOME DUDES!!
GET YOUR $20. TICKETS NOW!! BOX OFFICES (LAZY DAYS, SURFERS BAY OISTINS, CAFÉ JUNGLES SHERATON, ESSO PAYNES BAY)

COME PARTY WITH THE ISLANDS HOTTEST FEMALE AND MALE SURFERS
NOBODY DOES IT……. LIKE THE SURFERS DO!!!
THIS EVENT IS A FUND RAISER TO ASSIST THE BSA TO REPRESENT OUR ISLAND IN COSTA RICO WORLD EVENT.

2009-05-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

SKEETE IS SHELL V-POWER KING OF THE HILL
Thousands turn out for final Sol Rally Barbados 2009 shakedown

Thousands of fans gathered at Stewarts Hill in St Philip on Sunday (May 24) to witness the 'Sheriff's promotion to 'King', as Roger Skeete powered to victory at Shell V-Power King of the Hill, the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) final shakedown before the Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport event, Sol Rally Barbados 2009, next weekend (May 29-31).
Despite two heavy morning showers, the three-kilometre stage was lined with spectators from long before the scheduled 10.30am start, with the largest gathering on the hill overlooking the straight, alongside which Merville Lynch Productions was broadcasting live coverage on the Giant Daylight Screen.
Competing for the first time in his recently-acquired Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12, Skeete set the pace from the start, clocking a time of 1 minute 54.34 seconds on the practice run; his closest rival was last year's winner Paul Bourne, on 1:57.38 in the Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S9), while only two other drivers dipped below the two-minute mark - Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC) and England's Kevin Procter (Procters Coaches Subaru Impreza WRC S7). Sol RB09 winner Kris Meeke (Digicel/Red Bull/ARMAG Subaru Impreza WRC S9) was having clutch problems and the 2:09.78 he recorded in practice would be his only time of the day.
In the first official timed run, Skeete went more than three seconds faster (1:51.24), as did Bourne (1:54.27) and Hill (1:55.78), with Steve Perez (Kick Energy Drink/VK Vodka Kick Ford Focus WRC05) now leading Procter as highest-placed visitor. The top 10 - now re-seeded in reverse order to run at the back of the field - was completed by Barry Gale (Autolink/VP Racing/Bella Beauty Supply/Pro Pac Dog Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), an impressive Cliff Roett (Carters & Co/Nassco/Lucky Horseshoe/Roett's Garage/Castrol Toyota Starlet) the highest-placed two-wheel-drive runner, ahead of Jonathan Still (Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments/Little Switzerland BMW M3) and Ian Warren (Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift), with Neil Armstrong (Simpson Motors/Hankook/Shell V-Power/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI) 10th.
In the second official run, Skeete found only an additional three-tenths (1:50.95) and, although Bourne reduced the margin significantly (1:52.84s), it would be enough for Skeete to win, as the third official run was cancelled part-way through on safety grounds, with oil dropped on a fast section of the stage after another brief shower. Hill also further improved (1:53.97), cutting the spread across the top three from five seconds after practice to just over three seconds by close of play.
Perez found another second and finished fourth, highest-placed international competitor, with Jamaica's Jeff Panton (Automotive Art/Bearings and Seals/Jamaica Freight and Shipping/Seaboard/Castrol/

Active Traders/Automoto Ford Focus WRC) fifth, despite only doing one official timed run. Procter and Gale finished sixth and seventh, ahead of Trevor Manning (All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Garbage Master/Bess Block Ford Escort WRC), who arrived in time for a hero's reception from the crowds on the second official run.
In that run, the fastest two-wheel-drive men switched order, Warren finishing ninth overall and claiming SuperModified 10 from Roett, who failed to finish and slipped to 10th; Still finished 12th, winning SM11 from Nick Gill (Mazda 3) and Welsh legend Phil Collins, whose bright red Ford Escort MkII was reaching some alarming angles.
Martin Atwell (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS) improved by more than a second for 11th place, pipping Armstrong to Modified 8-A, while Ryan Champion (Subaru Impreza 555) finished class third, after suffering a puncture on the first official run. Production 4 produced an excellent mixed battle, victory going to Trinidad's John Powell (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) from British Rally Championship regular Rob Swann (Subaru Impreza N14), with local ace Geoff Noel (Evo IX) third, after setting the practice pace, but then missing the second timed run.
Eight of the 88 drivers entered ran in an event which had no major incidents, although the afternoon rain caused some very entertaining moments for the crowd at the end of the long straight, drivers sliding off incuding Group N winner Andrew Costin-Hurley (Ford Puma), St Elmo Cumberbatch (BMW) and Daryl Clarke (Mitsubishi Mirage).

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. Marketing partners are Automotive Art, Banks, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Red Bull and Simpson Motors; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line, Stoute's Car Rental and Virgin Atlantic; associate sponsors are ARMAG, Caribbean Airlines, Crane & Equipments, Merville Lynch Productions, Little Switzerland, Redline Fuels and Shelbury Construction.

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

Sol-RB09-32a: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 25, 2009

SHELL V-POWER KING OF THE HILL
Results

Key to nationalities (competitor from Barbados unless shown):
ENG - England; JAM - Jamaica; NIR - Northern Ireland; SCO - Scotland; TDAD - Trinidad & Tobago; WAL - Wales

Overall
1st Roger Skeete (M8-WRC Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 1m 50.95s
2nd Paul Bourne (M8-WRC Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 1m 52.84s
3rd Roger Hill (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 1m 53.97s
4th Steve Perez - ENG (M8-WRC Kick Energy Drink/VK Vodka Kick Ford Focus WRC05), 1m 55.44s
5th Jeffrey Panton - JAM (M8-WRC Automotive Art/Bearings and Seals/Jamaica Freight and Shipping/Seaboard/Castrol/Active Traders/Automoto Ford Focus WRC), 1m 56.75s
6th Kevin Procter - ENG (M8-WRC Procters Coaches Subaru Impreza WRC S7), 1m 56.93s
7th Barry Gale (M8-WRC Autolink/VP Racing/Bella Beauty Supply/Pro Pac Dog Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 1m 58.12s
8th Trevor Manning (M8-WRC All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Garbage Master/Bess Block Ford Escort WRC), 1m 58.36s
9th Ian Warren (SM10 Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift), 1m 58.91s
10th Cliff Roett (SM10 Carters & Co/Nassco/Lucky Horseshoe/Roett's Garage/Castrol Toyota Starlet), 1m 59.13s
etc
Modified 8-WRC 1st Skeete; 2nd Bourne; 3rd Hill
M8-A 1st Martin Atwell (www.racedandrallied.com Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS), 1m 59.15s - 11th o/a; 2nd Neil Armstrong (Simpson Motors/Hankook/Shell V-Power/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 1m 59.87s; 3rd Ryan Champion - ENG (Champions/Pirelli/MSR Motorsport/Axis Caribbean Subaru Impreza 555), 2m 00.18s; etc
Production 4 1st John Powell - TDAD (Intercontinental Shipping Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 2m 01.01s - 16th o/a; 2nd Rob Swann - ENG (Revolution Competition Wheels/Escape Hotel Subaru Impreza N14), 2m 02.64s; 3rd Geoff Noel (Globe Finance/DeWalt Tools/Essco/Sunbeach/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 2m 03.56s; etc
SuperModified 11 1st Jonathan Still (Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments/Little Switzerland BMW M3), 1m 59.85s - 12th o/a; 2nd Nick Gill (Mazda 3), 2m 00.81s; 3rd Phil Collins - WAL (Silverstone Tyres/Millington Engines/Great Stuff Caterers/Orchard Motorsport/Collins Engineering/Pontilas Developments Escort MkII), 2m 01.03s; etc
SM10 1st Warren; 2nd Roett; 3rd Logan Watson (The Unknown Entity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbz Workz/Castrol Ford Escort MkI), 2m 07.07s; etc
SM9 1st Josh Read (Automotive Art Toyota Starlet), 2m 02.19s - 20th o/a; 2nd James Betts (All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Makita/Black Bess/Yamaha/Champion Auto/Quik Start Auto/Kendal Sporting Opel Corsa), 2m 02.85s; 3rd Daryl Clarke (Area 5 Auto Works/Mom's Pasta Products Mitsubishi Mirage), 2m 04.88s; etc
M7 1st Adrian Linton (Ravensden/Morris Straker Construction/Garbage Gobbler/Crane & Equipments Vauxhall Astra GSi), 2m 04.57s - 26th o/a; 2nd Freddie Gale (Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Racing/Workz Mechanical Services Toyota Corolla RunX), 2m 11.29s; 3rd John Corbin (Corbins Garage/Klark-Odio/Automotive Art Toyota Corolla), 2m 14.51s; etc
M6 1st Edward Corbin (Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant), 2m 12.78s - 46th o/a; 2nd Danny Williams (Chris's Workshop/Sunbury Plantation House/Barbados Paragliding Association Ford Fiesta), 2m 19.29s; 3rd Wayne Archer (Daihatsu Charmant), 2m 29.90s; etc
M5 1st Kenny Hall - SCO (Halltune Garage Opel Corsa), 2m 12.60s - 45th o/a; 2nd Glenn Campbell - NIR (Burn Road Trade Sales/Campbell Motorsport Electrics/Motorcare/Agnew Recovery/TorqueTronix Nissan Micra), 2m 20.52s; 3rd Sean Cox (Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 2m 29.11s; etc
P3 1st Sean T Field (AM Realty/Ackee Tree/Field Insurance Brokers/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306), 2m 15.75s - 54th o/a; 2nd Cheryl Spencer - ENG (Eden Vauxhall/Creative Space Solutions/Old Castle B & B/ABS Embroidery Vauxhall Astra GSi), 2m 52.45s
P2 1st Fabien Clarke (Barbados Business Listings/RCA Tours/Bovell Auto Repair Suzuki Ignis Sport), 2m 42.37s - 72nd o/a
Group B 1st Andrew Costin-Hurley - ENG (Earl's Performance Hoses Ford Puma), 2m 08.98s - 37th o/a; 2nd Norman Catwell (Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing Peugeot 205 GTi), 2m 09.45s; 3rd Andrew Jones (Rexona V8/A P Jones Pharmacy/Southern Surf Hotel Ford Escort MkII), 2m 09.98s; etc
Historic 1st Ding Boston - ENG (Oxford Universities Motorsport Foundation/Phillips Tyres/Virgin Atlantic/Toyo/Recaro/Powervamp Racing/MASS Engines Riley 1.5), 2m 33.77s - 70th o/a

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

2009-05-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

SHELL V-POWER KING OF THE HILL
Running order

Key to nationalities (competitor from Barbados unless shown):
ENG - England; IRL - The Republic of Ireland; JAM - Jamaica; NED -
The Netherlands; NIR - Northern Ireland; SCO - Scotland; TDAD -
Trinidad & Tobago; WAL - Wales

1 Rhett Watson (SM10 The Unknown Entity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbz Workz/Castrol Ford Escort MkI)
2 Fabien Clarke (P2 Barbados Business Listings/RCA Tours/Bovell Auto Repair Suzuki Ignis Sport)
3 Sean T Field (P3 AM Realty/Ackee Tree/Field Insurance Brokers/
Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306)
4 Cheryl Spencer - ENG (P3 Eden Vauxhall/Creative Space Solutions/Old Castle B & B/ABS Embroidery Vauxhall Astra GSi)
5 Ding Boston - ENG (Hist Oxford Universities Motorsport Foundation/Phillips Tyres/Virgin Atlantic/Toyo/Recaro/Power

vamp Racing/MASS Engines Riley 1.5)
6 Dave Sealy (M5 Lunatics Inc/G & G Sales & Service Inc/LG Trading/Barbados Muffler Centre/Appleby Filling Station/ACT Sand Blasting/Techno Toy Tuning/Fast Lane Model Car Racing Toyota Starlet)
7 Sean Cox (M5 Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift)
8 Kenny Hall - SCO (M5 Halltune Garage Opel Corsa)
9 Glenn Campbell - NIR (M5 Burn Road Trade Sales/Campbell Motorsport Electrics/Motorcare/Agnew Recovery/TorqueTronix Nissan Micra)
10 Andy Carter - ENG (tba)
11 Carlos Edwards (M6 Global Business Centre Toyota Starlet)
12 Wayne Archer (M6 Daihatsu Charmant)
14 Nigel Reece (M6 Subzero Services/TGM Air Conditioners/Trident
International Corporation/Ullyett's Machine Shop Service/Structural Systems/Preconco Datsun 120Y)
15 Danny Williams (M6 Chris's Workshop/Sunbury Plantation House/Barbados Paragliding Association Ford Fiesta)
16 Shareef Walcott (M6 Melwani's/Auto Solutions/Spoons Custom Brokers & Trucking/Klark-Odio/SMS Management Toyota Corolla)
17 Jamal Brathwaite (M6 AM Electrical Solutions/Arthur Construction/
Arthur Lifting and Freighting/Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing/D2 Racing Suspension Mitsubishi Mirage)
18 Edward Corbin (M6 Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant)
19 Ron Layne (M7 SDRR/Pavements & Foundations/L & N Workshop/Auto Solutions Nissan Sunny)
20 Ron Greaves (M7 Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/Dreamworks/McCarthy's Garage Honda Civic)
21 David Brewster (M7 SRG Engineering/Castrol Peugeot 205GTi)
22 John Corbin (M7 Corbins Garage/Klark-Odio/Automotive Art Toyota Corolla)
23 Freddie Gale (M7 Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Racing/Workz Mechanical Services Toyota Corolla RunX)
24 Kyle Catwell (M7 Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI)
25 Adrian Linton (M7 Ravensden/Morris Straker Construction/Garbage Gobbler/Crane & Equipments Vauxhall Astra GSi)
26 Karl Waterman (SM9 3W's/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur Toyota Starlet)
27 George Gabriel (SM9 my11plus.com/El Tigre Catamaran Cruises/Dreamworks Toyota Starlet)
28 Allan Maynard (SM9 Gliptone/Johnsons/El Tigre Catamaran Cruises/Marshal Trading/Lubriguard/SDRR/Woodworks Toyota Starlet)
29 Winston Thompson (SM9 Chicken Pen Racing Team/SDRR Toyota Starlet)
30 Stuart White (SM9 3W's/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur Toyota Starlet)
31 Jeremy Gonsalves (SM9 Makita/All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Star Products/Champion Auto/Kendal Sporting Suzuki Swift GTi)
32 Ryan Wood (SM9 3W's/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur Toyota Starlet)
33 Simon Gillmore (SM9 Lucozade Energy/Lange Trinidad/The Dispensary/Automan/V3 Rally Team Toyota Starlet)
34 Neil Corbin (SM9 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet)
35 Daryl Clarke (SM9 Area 5 Auto Works/Mom's Pasta Products Mitsubishi Mirage)
36 Josh Read (SM9 Automotive Art Toyota Starlet)
37 James Betts (SM9 All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Makita/Black Bess/Yamaha/Champion Auto/Quik Start Auto/Kendal Sporting Opel Corsa)
38 Tarik Minott - JAM (SM9 Royal Computers/Extreme Sports/Tropical Battery Suzuki Ignis JWRC)
39 Martin Atwell (M8-A www.racedandrallied.com Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS)
40 Eric Allamby (SM10 Shelbury Construction/Container Services/Castrol/ACT Sandblasting Mitsubishi Lancer)
41 Ralph White (SM10 Island Safari/Drive-a-Matic/Going Places Travel/Barbados Villa Services Toyota Starlet)
42 Logan Watson (SM10 The Unknown Entity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbz Workz/Castrol Ford Escort MkI)
43 Wayne King (SM10 New Tech Peugeot 306)
44 Simon Michael - NIR (SM10 www.clockworkorange.net/
www.diamondfireworks.co.uk/Eddie Torrens Car Breakers/Eskylane Developments Ford Escort MkII)
45 Cliff Roett (SM10 Carters & Co/Nassco/Lucky Horseshoe/Roett's Garage/Castrol Toyota Starlet)
46 Ian Warren (SM10 Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift)
47 Norman Catwell (GpB Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing Peugeot 205 GTi)
48 Greg Cozier (GpB Mahindra Lotus Elise)
49 Andrew Costin-Hurley - ENG (GpB Earl's Performance Hoses Ford Puma)
50 Frans Verbaas - NED (GpB Verbaas Preparations/Koni/Team Dynamics Wheels Austin Mini Cooper)
51 Paul Inniss (SM11 246 Tuning/King Kuts Barber Shop/K Woods Boutique/Illusion Graphics/Char Nails Boutique/Hincksons Toyota Starlet Turbo)
52 Duane Johnson (SM11 G & G Sales & Service/De Auto Spot/Rezults
Auto Shop/AS Auto Stop/SBI Distribution/LG Trading/Lunatics Inc Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo)
53 Justin Campbell (SM11 Area 5 Auto Works/Cumberbatch Nurseries/Target Studio BMW M3)
54 Calvin Briggs (SM11 Ford Escort MkII)
55 Raymond Gill (SM11 BMW M3)
56 Andrew Jones (SM11 Rexona V8/A P Jones Pharmacy/Southern Surf Hotel Ford Escort MkII)
57 Owen Cumberbatch (SM11 Combo Auto Parts and Service BMW M3)
58 St Elmo Cumberbatch (SM11 Carib Supply/F Taylor Associates BMW E36)
59 Mark Hamilton (SM11 PowerMaster Batteries/Automotive Art/MQI/Consolidated Finance Ford Escort MkII)
60 Sammy Cumberbatch (SM11 Williams Industries/Digicel/F Taylor Associates/Castrol BMW M3)
61 Martin Stockdale - ENG (SM11 Divi Southwinds Beach Resort/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals BMW M3 Compact)
62 Jonathan Still (SM11 Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips
Lighting/Crane & Equipments BMW M3)
63 Nick Gill (SM11 Mazda 3)
64 Phil Collins - WAL (SM11 Silverstone Tyres/Millington Engines/Great Stuff Caterers/Orchard Motorsport/Collins Engineering/Pontilas Developments Escort MkII)
65 Chris Moss - ENG (SM11 FAMOSS Ltd Aston Martin Rally GT)
66 Ryan Hutchinson (P4 Toyota Celica GT4)
67 Mark Antrobus (P4 Speedline Performance Auto/Caribbean Alliance Insurance/Premier World Cargo/Precision Plumbing Services Subaru Impreza STi)
68 Dean Serrao (P4 Amalgamated Security/Coconut Car Rentals/Lucky Games Inc Subaru Impreza N12)
69 David Williams (P4 Mix 96.9FM/Consolidated Finance/Warrens Motors/Dynamic Limo Services/Castrol Subaru Impreza WRX STi)
70 Harold Morley - ENG (P4 Subaru Impreza N14)
71 George Anderson - SCO (P4 George Anderson Building Contractors/Hutton Stone/J I Inglis Joinery Contractors/MVR/Border Ready Mix Concrete/lilmiss504 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII)
72 Geoff Noel (P4 Globe Finance/DeWalt Tools/Essco/Sunbeach/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
73 Rob Swann - ENG (P4 Revolution Competition Wheels/Escape Hotel Subaru Impreza N14)
74 John Powell - TDAD (P4 Intercontinental Shipping Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
75 Michael Worme (M8-A Cot Media Group/Speedline Performance Auto/Dingolay/Details Car Valet Subaru Impreza STi)
76 Kirk Watkins (M8-A Abacus Builders Inc/Hankook Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V)
77 Neil Armstrong (M8-A Simpson Motors/Hankook/Shell V-Power/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
78 Graeme Finlayson - SCO (M8-A www.racedandrallied.com Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS)
79 Ryan Champion - ENG (M8-A Champions/Pirelli/MSR Motorsport/Axis Caribbean Subaru Impreza 555)
80 Brett Clarke (M8-WRC Simpson Motors Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
81 Barry Gale (M8-WRC Autolink/VP Racing/Bella Beauty Supply/Pro Pac Dog Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
82 Jeffrey Panton - JAM (M8-WRC Automotive Art/Bearings and Seals/Jamaica Freight and Shipping/Seaboard/Castrol/Active Traders/Automoto Ford Focus WRC)
83 Roger Hill (M8- WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC)
84 Steve Perez - ENG (M8-WRC Kick Energy Drink/VK Vodka Kick Ford Focus WRC05)
85 Kevin Procter - ENG (M8-WRC Procters Coaches Subaru Impreza WRC S7)
86 Paul Bourne (M8-WRC Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
87 Trevor Manning (M8-WRC All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Garbage Master/Bess Block Ford Escort WRC)
88 Roger Skeete (M8-WRC Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
89 Kris Meeke - NIR (M8-WRC Digicel/Red Bull/ARMAG Subaru Impreza WRC S9)

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

2009-05-22T18:51:00.001-07:00

LIVE COVERAGE AT SHELL V-POWER KING OF THE HILL
Maximum attack as 88 enter final shakedown

The Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) final shakedown before the Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport event, Sol Rally Barbados 2009 (May 29-31), looks set to offer the island's thousands of motor sport fans a spectacle nearly as good as the 'main event', with live coverage all day on the Giant Daylight Screen.
The final running order for Sunday's (May 24) Shell V-Power King of the Hill, issued in advance of Scrutineering at the Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium today (May 22), lists 88 entries, nearly 20 more than last year. Cars will run in reverse order of seeding, from Production 2 up to Modified 8-WRC, while the addition of some exhibition runs promises a day to remember.
Shell V-Power King of the Hill is important in more ways than one: it is a points-scoring round of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's and Class Championships, provides overseas competitors with a chance to shakedown their cars before the following weekend, and the results are key to the seeding process for Sol RB09 . . . so everyone will be in maximum attack mode.
As an additional attraction, Barry Mayers will treat fans to their first sight of his new mid-engined Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Chefette/Illusion Graphics/Ignition Plus Suzuki SX4 race car being driven in anger; he will run, untimed, as one of a number of Zero cars, which will also include the striking reincarnation of Neil Armstrong's Toyota Starlet, the 'Pitbullet', sponsored by energy drink Pit Bull. An invitation has also been extended to Roger Mayers and the Ford Focus WRC in which he won Rally Barbados in 2005, before it was converted to a circuit racer.
And that isn't all that spectators have to look forward to:
+ Merville Lynch Productions will broadcast live coverage on the Giant Daylight Screen of nearly every inch of the action on the three-kilometre stage, from five camera positions
+ live commentary will keep fans up to speed with the latest times
+ nearly 90 cars, contesting one practice and three official timed runs, means something around 360 attacks on the popular St Philip venue
+ the fastest 10 after the first official timed run will be re-seeded in reverse order, then run at the end of the field, building to an explosive climax to an action-packed day

Quality action all through the Sol RB09 field

Although the lower-capacity classes in the Sol RB09 field are now less well-supported, there is still quality action. In Modified 6, with two wins to one this year in local events, Edward Corbin is currently ahead, co-driven by Rodney Clarke in the Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant.
Whether a last-minute change of co-driver to Shane Emtage will affect the result for the year's other winner, Danny Williams (Chris's Workshop/Sunbury Plantation House/Barbados Paragliding Association Ford Fiesta) remains to be seen, but both these crews will need to watch out for Jamal Brathwaite/Talia Mapp (AM Electrical Solutions/Arthur Construction/Arthur Lifting and Freighting/Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing/D2 Racing Suspension Mitsubishi Mirage) and Shareef Walcott/Juan Watts (Melwani's/Auto Solutions/Spoons Custom Brokers & Trucking/Klark-Odio/SMS Management Toyota Corolla).
Circuit racing fans will certainly be checking the progress of former triple karting Champion Nigel Reece, co-driven by cousin Jonathan Reece, himself a respected surfer, in the Subzero Services/TGM Air Conditioners/Trident International Corporation/Ullyett's Machine Shop Service/Structural Systems/Preconco Datsun 120Y,.
Despite just four entries, M5 offers a great mix, including two overseas crews, one visiting for the first time. In local events, newcomers Sean and Adam Cox (Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift) have impressed with their solid approach, but they will find Sol RB09 more challenging. The clever money has to be on Scotland's Kenny Hall, with Dutch co-driver Fenny Wesselink - he's won twice before in the Suzuki-engined Halltune Garage Opel Corsa - although Irish crew Glenn Campbell and Anthony Concannon might spring a surprise in their Burn Road Trade Sales/Campbell Motorsport Electrics/Motorcare/Agnew Recovery/TorqueTronix Nissan Micra.

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. Marketing partners are Automotive Art, Banks, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Red Bull and Simpson Motors; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line, Stoute's Car Rental and Virgin Atlantic; associate sponsors are ARMAG, Caribbean Airlines, Crane & Equipments, Merville Lynch Productions, Little Switzerland, Redline Fuels and Shelbury Construction.

2009-05-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

For a hi-res version of the attached image, please contact Neil Barnard on neil@809design.com

BIRD'S FOCUS FLIES IN FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Cars are the stars at Scrutineering on Friday

The most recent World Rally Car ever to arrive in the Caribbean touched down at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados shortly after 1.00pm today (May 20) in the cargo hold of a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747, which was also carrying a large contingent of competitors and supporters heading for Sol Rally Barbados 2009, the Caribbean's biggest annual international motor sport event.
The 2007 SuperCasino.com/Kick Energy/Vent-Axia Ford Focus WRC of former motorcycle racer Paul Bird will be among the star attractions at pre-event Scrutineering, set to attract thousands of fans to the Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium on the outskirts of the island's capital, Bridgetown, between 4.00pm and 8.00pm on Friday (May 22).
Reunited with Ian Windress, co-driver for his UK National Rally Championship title win in 2005, 'Birdy' finished second to Kris Meeke in Sol RB08 in a Subaru Impreza WRC S9; he then announced his decision to retire from competition, apart from running his PBM team, the official factory-backed Kawasaki outfit in the World Superbike Championship.
Bird has since re-launched his career, however, aiming for a second National title; shortly before the Championship's opening round, Rallye Sunseeker in February, he acquired the Focus from M-Sport - former drivers include Jari-Matti Latvala - which also meant his equipment now matched that of friend and arch-rival Steve Perez, whose own Focus 07 was formerly campaigned by Marcus Gronholm.
Following a bad start - both retired from Sunseeker - a stirring battle has raged: Bird finished third, second and first respectively in the next three rounds, with Perez three times in the top three. Both now trail multiple National Champion Marcus Dodd by just a few points . . . but miss the next event to compete in Sol RB09.
Bird's victory on the Manx Telecom Rally in early May came after the Geest Line had shipped the other European cars, hence the Focus airlift. Many had hoped Perez would do the same but, through his Kick Energy and Vodka Kick brands, he sponsors the popular annual Chatsworth Rally Show, now in June, making the timetable too tight.

Class action right through the field

While 'Birdy' will be aiming to finish in front of Meeke this year, there are many down the field, enjoying class battles just as tense. In SuperModified 9, there have been three different winners in as many years . . . and all are back, hoping for more success.
In local events, the winns have gone to last year's RB08 class-winner James Betts, now with co-driver Josh Delmas in the All Terrain Plus/Makita/Black Bess/Yamaha/Champion Auto/Quik Start Auto/Kendal Sporting Opel Corsa; in a class with a healthy mix of machinery, the challenge will come from '06 winners Josh Read/Mark Jordan (Automotive Art Toyota Starlet) and '07 victors, Jamaicans Tarik Minott and Peter Clarke, in the Royal Computers/Extreme Sports/Tropical Battery Suzuki Ignis JWRC.
Trinidad's Vishal Dhanraj and Richard Ramsingh appear in the Lucozade Energy/Lange Trinidad/The Dispensary/Automan/V3 Rally Team Toyota Starlet - David Williams finished class second in that car last year - after stepping down from four-wheel-drive.
Daryl Clarke and Russell Brancker (Area 5 Auto Works/Mom's Pasta Products Mitsubishi Mirage) could be in with a shout, along with Neil Corbin/Aaron Kirton (Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet), as would the 3W's/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur Toyota Starlets of Karl Waterman/Matthew Staffner, Stuart White/Jason O'Neil and Ryan Wood/Raymond Parris, if they didn't spend so much time deciding whether to go for times, entertain the crowd . . . or try for both!
Mixing it with the SM9 runners will be the fast men from Modified 7, won twice in the last three years (second in '07) by Adrian Linton (Ravensden/Morris Straker Construction/Garbage Gobbler/Crane & Equipments Vauxhall Astra GSi); reunited with brother Jonathan after wife Jackie sat in last year, Linton again starts as favourite, having been the consistent winner in local events.
There's a good selection of challengers: Jamaica's rapid Bobby Marshall (Motor Sales & Service/Singer/Tru-Juice/Ocean Spray/TGIF Mitsubishi Mirage) debuts in Barbados with local co-driver Dario Hoyte, the returning Norman Catwell has England's Stuart Leach alongside in the Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing Peugeot 205 GTi, while Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Racing/Workz Mechanical Services Toyota Corolla RunX) will want to improve on their hat-trick of class thirds since '06.
Aside from the brothers Linton, family connections include Catwell's son Kyle, co-driven in the Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI by Justin Harrison (son of island motor sport stalwart 'Tiny' Harrison), and married couples Ron and Giselle Layne (SDRR/Pavements & Foundations/L & N Workshop/Auto Solutions Nissan Sunny) and England's Cheryl and Barry Spencer (Eden Vauxhall/Creative Space Solutions/Old Castle B & B/ABS Embroidery Vauxhall Astra GSi), Cheryl the event's only female driver.

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. Marketing partners are Automotive Art, Banks, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Red Bull and Simpson Motors; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line, Stoute's Car Rental and Virgin Atlantic; associate sponsors are ARMAG, Caribbean Airlines, Crane & Equipments, Merville Lynch Productions, Little Switzerland, Redline Fuels and Shelbury Construction.

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

2009-05-19T07:33:00.000-07:00

2009-05-19T05:59:00.000-07:00

STILL CHASING HAT-TRICK ON SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Unlikely mix of Aston Martin, BMW and Mk II Escort

Local crowd favourite Jonathan Still is gunning for a hat-trick of wins in the island's SuperModified 11 category when Sol Rally Barbados 2009, the Caribbean's biggest annual international motor sport event, runs off on May 29-31 . . . but he faces the strongest field the class has ever attracted.
Co-driven in the Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments BMW M3 by Heath Hazell, 'Stillo' would also like to add a third consecutive top 10 finish to the list - they were eighth in 2007, 10th last year - but that looks set to be even more of a challenge than the class win.
Not only is SM11 currently the best-subscribed of the 13 classes, with 17 of the total of 90-plus entries, but quantity is matched by quality . . . and possibly the most unlikely mix of cars assembled for any international rally in the world this year: Still's M3 is one of seven BMWs on a list that ranges from Mk II Ford Escorts to what is believed to be the first Aston Martin ever to be seen the island.
Before considering overseas entries, however, Still needs to deal with his year-round nemesis, the Mazda 3 of Nick Gill and Sue Rogers; over the past couple of Barbados Rally Club (BRC) seasons, the nip and tuck battle between these two has made SM11 the most hotly-contested class, with Still leading the way two-one in local events this year.
And they have a strong new local challenger, in BRC Chairman Mark Hamilton, with a new engine in his PowerMaster Batteries/Automotive Art/MQI/Consolidated Finance Mark II Escort; he and co-driver Clive Howell were already something of a thorn in Still's side in the car's previous SM10 spec, so a three-way local contest is on the cards.
Of the overseas entries, three stand out: Stillo's good friend, Britain's Martin Stockdale, returns to compete in Barbados for the ninth time, hoping to maintain his remarkable record of returning to Nottinghamshire each year with a trophy. This year, he and co-driver Mark Swallow have a new Divi Southwinds Beach Resort/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals-supported BMW M3 Compact to campaign and will enjoy putting behind them the memories of Sol RB08, when an injury to 'Mad-dale's hand suffered during an accident in service resulted in their early retirement.
The other potential class-winner from overs eas is Welsh rallying legend Phil Collins, co-driven in his Silverstone Tyres/Millington Engines/Great Stuff Caterers/Orchard Motorsport/Collins Engineering/Pontilas Developments MkII by Ireland's Derek Brannigan. Formerly a world-class works driver in the 1980s, Collins is best known in recent years for his prodigious speed on British tarmac events, his Escort frequently snapping at the heels of significantly more modern World Rally Cars.
And, while the car is unlikely to be in contention for class honours, the Famoss Ltd Aston Martin Rally GT of England's Chris Moss and Stuart Ulyatt will certainly attract attention, not least for the sound of its 4.3-litre V8 engine. The only right-hand-drive example of a limited run built by Prodrive, it turned many a head in the island's capital, Bridgetown, last Friday, when it was towed from the Port to secure storage on its trailer.
No fewer than three members of the Cumberbatch family are entered in BMWs - father St Elmo is co-driven in his Carib Supply/F Taylor Associates E36 by Colin Davis, now his former co-driver, son Owen, has his own Combo Auto Parts and Service M3 with co-driver Kelly-Ann Sandiford. Son Sammy is the most likely to show well, with Nicholas Yarde in the Williams Industries/Digicel/F Taylor Associates/Castrol M3.
A hat-trick of wins is possible in SuperModified 10, too, although for car, rather than driver. Dominant in M6 in recent years, Ian Warren (co-driven by brother Robert), is the new driver of the ex-Sean Gill Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift; although short on seat time, 'Wee Wee' is well-placed to bring home a third win.
Based on the Automotive Art Shakedown Stages, where they beat Warren's stage times twice, Cliff Roett/Orry Hunte should present the strongest challenge, given reliability. Much work has been done on the Carters & Co/Nassco/Lucky Horseshoe/Roett's Garage/Castrol Toyota Starlet, and Roett elected to save the car and miss Sunday's (May 17) circuit race meeting at Bushy Park, despite being well-placed in his Group.
Both these classes are also long on entertainment: under that heading come Andrew Jones/Mark Thompson (Rexona V8/A P Jones Pharmacy/Southern Surf Hotel MkII) and Rhett and Logan Watson (The Unknown Entity/McEnearney Quality Inc/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbs Workz Castrol MkI), who will have a new playmate, Ireland's Simon Michael in his www.clockworkorange.net/www.diamondfireworks.co.uk/Eddie Torrens Car Breakers/Eskylane Developments MkII (with local co-driver Jonathan Foster). Add in Ralph White and Joe Troulan (Island Safari/Drive-a-Matic/Going Places Travel/Barbados Villa Services Starlet) and fireworks will follow.

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. Marketing partners are Automotive Art, Banks, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Red Bull and Simpson Motors; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line, Stoute's Car Rental and Virgin Atlantic; associate sponsors are ARMAG, Caribbean Airlines, Crane & Equipments, Merville Lynch Productions, Little Switzerland, Redline Fuels and Shelbury Construction.

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

2009-05-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

ALLAN, MACKIE AND FERNANDES DOMINATE TILE GALLERY JUNIOR SURF EVENT
Event #2 of the Burkie Junior Surfing Championship series sponsored by TILE GALLERY was held in beautiful, three foot semi-glassy waves, ideal conditions for the junior surfers at South Point on March 28th. The event attracted 81 entries in three divisions.

The 10 & Under Division had eighteen entries, the Under-12 Division had thirty entries and the14 & Under Division had thirty three entries .Nine-year old Che Allan and twelve year old Gavin Fernandes took top honors in the 10 & under and under-12 Divisions for the second time as in many events.

In the 14 & Under Divison, Dane Mackie threw adult type turns and got the better of Fernandes, dethroning him from the 14 & Under top spot. The high tide played a significant role during the finals, causing the waves to become inconsistent and making the competitors scrabble for any wave they could find.

In the earlier rounds, there was some phenomenal surfing from the kids; with seven-year old, Zander Venezia receiving 9.0 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 skill level of these kids has risen significantly since the 1st Burkie event, held in February at Freights Bay," stated the organizer Alan Burke, "Most of these kids a few weeks 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 from Che Allan, Zander Veneiza, Jacob and Joshua Burke, Dane Mackie and Gavin Fernandes.”

Receiving lovely marble plaque trophies were:

10 & Under Division
1st Che Allan, 2nd Andrew Rose, 3rd Zander Venezia, 4th Jack Degruchy.

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

Under 14 Division
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.

Defending champions St. Winifred’s take NKM Interschool Surfing Championship shield
4/29/2009

FIFTY-TWO surfers took to the waters over the weekend to contest the Barbados Surfing Association’s (BSA) annual School Surfing Championships on Saturday, at Brandens, Drill Hall Beach.

There were surfers from eight public and private primary and secondary schools, with some competitors as young as seven-years of age. The Divisions contested were Boys and Girls Under 10, Under 12, Under 16 and Under 19. Surfers competed in three to five feet waves making ideal conditions for the young competitors in the water.

In the Boys Under 10 Division, Jack Degruchy of Wills Primary came out the winner while Andrew Rose from St. Winifred’s placed second. Zander Venezia and Jacob Burke, also from St. Winifred’s, claimed third and fourth place.

In the Girls Under 12 Division, the lone competitor was Isabella Venezia who took the gold medal without opposition. In the Boys Under 12 Division, Dane Mackie of St. Winifred’s took top honours while Gavin Fernandes from the St. Michael’s School was a commendable second. Joshua Burke and Che Allan from St. Winifred’s were third and fourth respectively.

In the Girls Under 16 age group, competition was extremely fierce as the girls in the group were all veterans in the water, though not reflected in their age. The talented Chelsea Tuach of Queen’s College emerged victorious, while experienced surfer, Ametza Nicholls of the St. Michael School was second. Chelsea Roett of the St. Winifred’s School, also a tried and tested campaigner, was third and Alyssa Fernandes from St. Ursula’s was fourth.

In the Boys Under 16 Division, again a fierce group of competitors, Matthew Kieffer of Queen’s College earned the top spot while Daniel Edghill of the Seventh Day Adventist School was second. Gavin Fernandes finished third and Dane Mackie fourth.

Thirteen-year old Daniel Edghill won the Boys Under 19 age group while Mathew Kieffer was second and Warren Ashby of Queen’s College was third.

In the Girls Under 19 age group it was a reverse of the top two spots in the Under 16, as Ametza Nicholls finished first ahead of second place, Chelsea Tuach. Chelsea Roett ended in third and Jade Niccolls of St. Winifred’s was fourth.

The top four placed competitors in each Division received points for his or her school and points were tallied at the end of the competition. Four of Barbados’ most talented Junior surfers, namely thirteen-year olds Chelsea Tuach and Daniel Edghill, and fifteen-year olds Ametza Nicholls and Matthew Kieffer, won the most points for their schools, each amassing 1,860 points.

In addition, Chelsea Tuach won the expression session for the Girls with a powerful front-side re-entry which was well-received by the crowd on hand.

The Seventh Day Adventist School finished fourth with 1,860 points, in third position the St. Michael School with 3,450 points. Second position went the way of Queen’s College with 4,450 points, while the defending Champions, the St. Winifred’s School, emerged victorious once again with a total of 8,460 points. The BSA thanks all its sponsors for helping to make the event the success that it was.

2009-05-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

CLASS BATTLES PROMISED IN SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Armstrong and Noel aim to keep the trophies at home

Since the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC) published the provisional entry list for Sol Rally Barbados 2009 on Monday (May 11), the main focus on the popular internet chat rooms in the island and around the region has been on who will claim outright victory in the Caribbean's biggest annual international motor sport event.
There has been vigorous debate, much favouritism of particular drivers, and not a little nationalistic fervour, as Bajan fans look to their own to return the trophy to the island, after Kris Meeke last year became only the fourth overseas driver to win the BRC's blue riband event in its 19-year history.
But the story of Sol Rally Barbados (May 29-31) will run far deeper than that. In all, there could be as many as 13 'winners', as those contesting the various classifications vie not only for points in the Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship, but also - in most cases - to represent well for the 'home team'.
Those classified in Modified 8-WRC are the potential outright winners, but there is every reason to expect the front-runners in M8-A and Production 4 - in essence, European Group A and Group N - to be well into the top 10 in the final results.
The battle in M8-A will be one to watch: Group N winner (eighth overall) last year, Ryan Champion has acquired the Subaru Impreza 555 in which Pierro Liatti claimed six top seven World Championship finishes in 1996, now sponsored by Champions, Pirelli, MSR Motorsport and Axis Caribbean. The former Puma and Mitsubishi Evo Champion and co-driver Craig Thorley want another class win . . . but it won't be easy.
Leading the local defence are Neil Armstrong and Barry Ward (Simpson Motors/Hankook Tyres/Shell V-Power/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI) and Kirk Watkins/Ryan Corbin (Abacus Builders Inc/Hankook Evo V); these crews finished second and third last year, to five-time class-winner Roger Hill, who has moved up to M8-WRC.
Whether success for local ace Martin Atwell in the www.racedandrallied.com Evo III he shares with Scottish owner (and Barbados regular) Graeme Finlayson counts as a home or away result is unclear; either way, he was fearsomely fast at night in Finlayson's previous, less-powerful, car last year. Britain's Tom Roberts (Playboy Entertainment/Autolink/VP Racing Evo VI) returns for a fourth visit, this time co-driven by Welshman Paul Rees, one of whose earlier visits to the island resulted in his marriage to local rally stalwart Biddy Barber's daughter, Aly, while locals Michael Worme/Brian Gibson move up from Group N in the Cot Media Group/Speedline Performance Auto/Dingolay/Details Car Valet Impreza Sti.
Production 4 has nine entries, led by 2005 winner Geoff Noel in the Globe Finance/DeWalt Tools/Essco/Sunbeach/

Automotive Art Evo IX; despite finishing second to Champion last year, he and co-driver Kreigg Yearwood both look on it as one of their most challenging and enjoyable events, and will be keen to build on the experience.
The strongest threat will be Trinidad-based Jamaican John Powell (Intercontinental Shipping Evo IX); with fellow-Jamaican Michael March, he has twice finished second overall in Corolla World Cars and, although a bit rusty after missing much of the last two years, his attacking style will serve him well. Dark horse may be British Rally Championship regular Rob Swann; after an impressive debut with Darren Garrod in an older N11 last year, he will aiming to at least keep his Revolution Competition Wheels/Escape Hotel Impreza N14 ahead of the similar car of Barbados-based Brit Harold Morley and experienced local co-driver Geoff Goddard.
The older Imprezas of Dean Serrao/Ryan Farmer (Amalgamated Security/Coconut Car Rentals/Lucky Games Inc N12) and David Williams, co-driven by Kris Yearwood in the Mix 96.9FM/Consolidated Finance/Warrens Motors/Dynamic Limo Services/Castrol WRX Sti, should not be too far behind, while newcomers Mark Antrobus and Rommell Coppin will be on a steep learning curve in the Speedline Performance Auto/Caribbean Alliance Insurance/Premier World Cargo/Precision Plumbing Services Sti.
The entry is completed by Scottish duo George Anderson and John Millar (George Anderson Building Contractors/Hutton Stone/J I Inglis Joinery Contractors/MVR/Border Ready Mix Concrete/lilmiss504 Evo VII), returning to the island for the first time since 2002, and locals Ryan Hutchinson/Andre Snobell (Toyota Celica GT4).

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. Marketing partners are Automotive Art, Banks, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Red Bull and Simpson Motors; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line, Stoute's Car Rental and Virgin Atlantic; associate sponsors are ARMAG, Caribbean Airlines, Crane & Equipments, Merville Lynch Productions, Little Switzerland and Shelbury Construction.

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

2009-05-13T19:25:00.001-07:00

MAJOR RETHINK OF SOL RALLY BARBADOS ROUTE
Club looks to improve competitor, resident, spectator experience

Following the most comprehensive re-assessment since 2003 of the route for Sol Rally Barbados, the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC) is targetting three key benefits from this year's 20th running of the Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport event: a refreshing change in the challenge for competitors, a better spectator experience and a continued lessening of disruption for residents along the route.
While running an International tarmac rally on a Caribbean island measuring just 21 by 15 miles means the Club is very limited in its options, some creative thinking has resulted in a more compact route, which should enable the BRC to hit its triple targets.
As last year, there are 24 stages, but there will now be 14 on Saturday (12 in 2008) and just 10 on Sunday, plus the Shell V-Power Super Special at Bushy Park; this shifts the balance of competitive stage distance back to Saturday, compared with Sunday last year. The longest of the event's four routes is now Saturday afternoon, running into the evening . . . four runs each through Redline Fuels Dark Hole and Automotive Art Canefield total 41.2 kilometres, which represents almost exactly one-third of the event distance, which will make those stages more significant than before.
Questioned during last week's (May 6) Media Conference at the Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, which will be Rally HQ for the forthcoming event, Sol RB09 Chairman Barry Gale said: "You will notice a number of changes to the route. We have modified it, to deal with some bits and pieces which caused problems, particularly with traffic.
"We have also shuffled the order in which the stages are run, to improve the spectator experience; there will be a shorter gap between the last car coming through each stage to the first car coming through next time round. This has a number of advantages - there is less time for spectators to be hanging around and losing interest . . . and, from the competitor point of view, it results in a significantly more compact route.
"Each day starts in a different way to last year - on Saturday, the first stage is Sailor Gully, on Sunday it is Malvern; in the past few years, we have suffered with delays on the traditional opening stages, Canefield and Kendal. One of the very few criticisms we have heard from our overseas competitors revolves around those early delays; while everyone in rallying accepts that, once you get under way, an incident, particularly a major one, can cause delays, there really is no excuse for not starting on time . . . so we have worked hard to address that criticism."

Programme of key events

Wednesday, May 20 - 4.30 to 6.30pm - Meet and Greet
+ a chance for fans to mingle with their favourite competitors
+ Shell Warrens Service Station, St Michael
Friday, May 22 - 4.00pm to approx 8.00pm - Scrutineering
+ Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, Wildey, St Michael
Sunday, May 24 - 10.00am to approx 4.00pm - Shell V-Power King of the Hill
+ round four of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's and Class Championships
+ Stewart's Hill, St Philip, with one practice and three official timed runs
Friday, May 29 - 6.00pm to approx 9.00pm - The Ceremonial Start
+ Simpson Motors, Warrens, St Michael
Saturday, May 30 - Sol Rally Barbados 2009 - day 1
+ round five of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's and Class Championships
+ start at 9.00am from SS1, Sailor Gully 1
+ Simpson Motors is the service area for the day
Sunday, May 31 - Sol Rally Barbados 2009 - day 2
+ round six of the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's and Class Championships
+ restart at 7.30am from Bushy Park, St Philip, which is the service area for the day
+ Shell V-Power SuperSpecial and Rally Finish at Bushy Park
Monday, June 1 - approx 3.30pm - Sol RB09 Prizegiving
+ The Boatyard, Bay Street, St Michael

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. Marketing partners are Automotive Art, Banks, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Red Bull and Simpson Motors; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line, Stoute's Car Rental and Virgin Atlantic; associate sponsors are ARMAG, Caribbean Airlines, Crane & Equipments, Merville Lynch Productions, Little Switzerland and Shelbury Construction.

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

Sol-RB09-27a: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 13, 2009

SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2009
Schedule

Saturday, May 30

0900 SS1 - Sailor Gully 1 (4.80km)
0930 SS2 - Automotive Art Canefield South 1 (5.90km)
1035 SS3 - Sailor Gully 2 (4.80km)
1105 SS4 - Automotive Art Canefield South 2 (5.90km)
1210 SS5 - Sailor Gully 3 (4.80km)
1240 SS6 - Automotive Art Canefield South 3 (5.90km)

Service and lunch halt - Simpson Motors
Total stage distance, leg 1 - 32.10km

1450 SS7 - Redline Fuels Dark Hole 1 (4.40km)
1515 SS8 - Automotive Art Canefield North 1 (5.90km)
1605 SS9 - Redline Fuels Dark Hole 2 (4.40km)
1639 SS10 - Automotive Art Canefield North 2 (5.90km)
1729 SS11 - Redline Fuels Dark Hole 3 (4.40km)
1745 SS12 - Automotive Art Canefield North 3 (5.90km)
1835 SS13 - Redline Fuels Dark Hole 4 (4.40km)
1900 SS14 - Automotive Art Canefield North 4 (5.90km)

Total stage distance, leg 2 - 41.20km
Total stage distance, day 1 - 73.30km

Sunday, May 31

0730 Restart - Bushy Park
0750 SS15 - Digicel Malvern West 1 (3.00km)
0825 SS16 - Red Bull Kendal South 1 (5.70km)
0915 SS17 - Digicel Malvern West 2 (3.00km)
1010 SS18 - Red Bull Kendal South 2 (5.70km)

Service and lunch halt - Bushy Park
Total stage distance, leg 3 - 17.40km

1205 SS19 - Digicel Malvern East 1 (5.30km)
1235 SS20 - Red Bull Kendal North 1 (5.70km)
1310 SS21 - Digicel Malvern East 2 (5.30km)
1340 SS22 - Red Bull Kendal North 2 (5.70km)
1415 SS23 - Digicel Malvern East 3 (5.30km)
1445 SS24 - Red Bull Kendal North 3 (5.70km)

1600 Shell V-Power SuperSpecial at Bushy Park - Rally Finish

Total stage distance, leg 4 - 33.00km
Total stage distance, day 2 - 50.40km

Total overall stage distance - 123.70km

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

2009-05-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

SOL RALLY BARBADOS OVERSUBSCRIBED
Meeke and Bird get timely confidence boost for Caribbean trip

The strongest entry in the 20-year history of the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) blue riband event will assemble in three weeks' time for the Caribbean's biggest annual international celebration of motor sport, Sol Rally Barbados 2009 (May 29-31) . . . and success this weekend has provided a timely confidence boost for last year's top two crews.
Sol RB08 winners, Northern Ireland's Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle, now lead the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), fast replacing the World Rally Championship as the sport's most marketable high-end product; adding victory in the Peugeot UK/Kronos Racing S2000 Peugeot 207 in the rain-shortened Rally of the Azores on Saturday to their earlier win in Brazil, they become the first crew to win two IRC rounds this year.
Meanwhile, England's Paul Bird and Ian Windress (Ford Focus WRC07) increased their chances of adding a second UK National Championship to the title they won in 2005 by winning the Manx Telecom Rally, another rain-affected event run on an island, hopefully not a bad omen; for Superbike team owner Bird, whose successes there include road racing legend Joey Dunlop's final Isle of Man TT victory on one of Bird's machines, it was an emotional win after eight years of trying.
Both are entered for Sol RB09 in Subaru Impreza WRC S9s; Meeke is sponsored by Red Bull and local companies Digicel and ARMAG, while 'Birdy' carries over his UK backers, SuperCasino.com, Vent Axia and VK Vodka Kick. The provisional entry list published today (May 11) includes four more previous winners; 10-time winner Roger Skeete will lead the local defence in his recently-acquired S12, backed up by 2003 and '07 winner Paul Bourne (S9) and Trevor Manning (Ford Escort WRC), who won in 1999.
Jamaica's Jeffrey Panton - winner in 1998 - makes his first appearance in Barbados in the ex-Colin McRae Ford Focus WRC02 in which he won Rally Jamaica 2008, while the Toyota Corolla WRC in which Meeke won Sol RB08 is now campaigned by local ace Roger Hill, who won last week's Automotive Art Shakedown Stages. Adding to that list the 2004 UK National Champion, Steve Perez, who finished fifth on the Isle of Man on Saturday in his Kick Energy Focus WRC07, and fellow-Brit Kevin Procter (S7), means only those very confident of their predictions should be placing bets.
Despite the pressures of the worldwide economic downturn, the Club's maximum of 90 entries has been exceeded, testament to the special appeal of the event, according to Rally Chairman Barry Gale: "I don't mind admitting I've been totally bowled over by the support we have from our overseas competitors; when we opened entries back in January, I was very nervous about how things would turn out.
"But what we have been finding is that many European competitors, faced with tighter budgets, have decided to 'cherry pick' a smaller number of events, perhaps a special trip they have always wanted to make; while return visitors like Steve Perez, Kevin Procter and Martin Stockdale, have kept us on their list, we have some interesting newcomers."
Among these are Glenn Campbell and Simon Michael from Ireland, who drive Nissan Micra and Ford Escort MkII respectively; already hard at work publicising his visit - and the event - Michael told the popular Irish CarSport magazine: "Glenn and myself had been thinking about this event for a couple of years, and I found myself reducing the number that I could participate in, so it was an obvious choice. The Barbados Rally Club really help you out with the arrangements."
Their entries help spread the overseas interest right through the field - only one or two of the BRC's regular classifications will be without a battle between local drivers and visitors from either the region or Europe.

Sol Rally Barbados 2009 provisional entry headline statistics:
+ 92 crews entered, including reserves
+ drivers or co-drivers from nine nations, including Barbados
+ 25 four-wheel-drive cars, including nine WRC
+ 38 drivers or co-drivers from Europe
+ nine drivers or co-drivers from around the region
+ one female driver, 13 female co-drivers
+ cars from 18 manufacturers, Toyota the best-represented with 20, followed by Mitsubishi (15), Ford (13) and Subaru (11)

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. Marketing partners are Automotive Art, Banks, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Red Bull and Simpson Motors; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line, Stoute's Car Rental and Virgin Atlantic Airways; associate sponsors are ARMAG, Caribbean Airlines, Crane & Equipments, Merville Lynch Productions, Little Switzerland and Shelbury Construction.

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

Sol-RB09-26a: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 11, 2009

SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2009
Provisional entry list at May 11

+ 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):
ENG - England; IRL - The Republic of Ireland; JAM - Jamaica; NED - The Netherlands; NIR - Northern Ireland; SCO - Scotland; TDAD - Trinidad & Tobago; WAL - Wales

Modified 8-WRC
Paul Bird - ENG/Ian Windress - ENG (Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
Paul Bourne/Stuart Maloney (Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
Brett Clarke/Garry Clarke (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (Toyota Corolla WRC)
Trevor Manning/Derek Edwards (Ford Escort WRC)
Kris Meeke - NIR/Paul Nagle - NIR (Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
Jeffrey Panton - JAM/Mike Fennell Jnr - JAM (Ford Focus WRC02)
Steve Perez - ENG/Paul Spooner - WAL (Ford Focus WRC05)
Kevin Procter - ENG/Dave Bellerby - ENG (Subaru Impreza WRC S7)
Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (Subaru Impreza WRC S12)

Modified 8-A
Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
Ryan Champion - ENG/Craig Thorley - ENG (Subaru Impreza 555)
Graeme Finlayson - SCO/Martin Atwell (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS)
Tom Roberts - ENG/Paul Rees - WAL (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
Kirk Watkins/Ryan Corbin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V)

Production 4
George Anderson - SCO/John Millar - SCO (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII)
Ryan Hutchinson/Melissa Hutchinson (Toyota Celica GT4)
Harold Morley - ENG/Geoff Goddard (Subaru Impreza N14)
Geoff Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
John Powell - TDAD/Michael March - JAM (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
Dean Serrao/Ryan Farmer (Subaru Impreza N12)
Rob Swann - ENG/Darren Garrod - WAL (Subaru Impreza N14)
David Williams/Kris Yearwood (Subaru Impreza WRX STi)
Michael Worme/Brian Gibson (Subaru Impreza STi)

SuperModified 11
Calvin Briggs/Hulita Brathwaite (Ford Escort MkII)
Justin Campbell/Jermin Pope (BMW M3)
Phil Collins - WAL/Derek Brannigan - IRL (Ford Escort MkII)
Andrew Costin-Hurley - ENG/Shaun Mellett - ENG (Ford Puma)
Owen Cumberbatch/Kelly-Ann Sandiford (BMW M3)
Sammy Cumberbatch/Nicholas Yarde (BMW M3)
St Elmo Cumberbatch/Dwayne Forde (BMW E36)
Nick Gill/Sue Rogers (Mazda 3)
Raymond Gill/Jeremy Foster (BMW M3)
Rohan Hall/Pedro Thomas (Ford Sierra)
Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (Ford Escort MkII)
Andrew Jones/Mark Thompson (Ford Escort MkII)
Graham Manning/tba (Ford Escort MkII)
Chris Moss - ENG/Stuart Ulyatt - ENG (Aston Martin Rally GT)
Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (BMW M3)
Martin Stockdale - ENG/Mark Swallow - ENG (BMW M3 Compact)

SuperModified 10
Eric Allamby/Zach Heaselgrave (Mitsubishi Lancer)
Greg Cozier/Antonio Da Silva (Lotus Elise)
Paul Inniss/Kerry Downes (Toyota Starlet)
Duane Johnson/Victor Leslie (Mitsubishi Lancer)
Wayne King/Summer Lewis (Peugeot 306)
Simon Michael - NIR/Jonathan Foster (Ford Escort MkII)
Cliff Roett/Orry Hunte (Toyota Starlet)
Frans Verbaas - NED/Hester van Ovost - NED (Austin Mini Cooper)
Ian Warren/Robert Warren (Suzuki Swift)
Rhett Watson/Logan Watson (Ford Escort MkI)
Ralph White/Joe Troulan (Toyota Starlet)

SuperModified 9
James Betts/Josh Delmas (Opel Corsa)
Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (Mitsubishi Mirage)
Neil Corbin/Aaron Kirton (Toyota Starlet)
Jeremy Croney/James Goddard (Suzuki Snipe)
Vishal Dhanraj - TDAD/Richard Ramsingh - TDAD (Toyota Starlet)
George Gabriel/Leslie Evanson (Toyota Starlet)
Jeremy Gonsalves/Natasha Farnum (Suzuki Swift GTi)
Allan Maynard/tba (Toyota Starlet)
Tarik Minott - JAM/Peter Clarke - JAM (Suzuki Ignis JWRC)
Josh Read/Mark Jordan (Toyota Starlet)
Winston Thompson/tba (Toyota Starlet)
Karl Waterman/Matthew Staffner (Toyota Starlet)
Stuart White/Jason O'Neil (Toyota Starlet)
Ryan Wood/Raymond Parris (Toyota Starlet)

Historic
Ding Boston - ENG/John Puliston - ENG (Riley 1.5)

Modified 7
David Brewster/Rashid Phillips (Peugeot 205GTi)
Kyle Catwell/Justin Harrison (Volkswagen Golf GTI)
Norman Catwell/Stuart Leach - ENG (Peugeot 205 GTi)
John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (Toyota Corolla)
Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (Toyota Corolla RunX)
Ron Greaves/Dwain Carter (Honda Civic)
Ron Layne/Giselle Layne (Nissan Sunny)
Adrian Linton/Jonathan Linton (Vauxhall Astra GSi)
Bobby Marshall - JAM/Dario Hoyte (Mitsubishi Mirage)
Gary Mendes/tba (Toyota Corolla)
Andrew Skeete/Bradley Weekes (Mitsubishi Lancer)
Cheryl Spencer - ENG/Barry Spencer - ENG (Vauxhall Astra GSi)

Modified 6
Wayne Archer/Angelique Bjerkhamn (Daihatsu Charmant)
Jamal Brathwaite/Talia Mapp (Mitsubishi Mirage)
Edward Corbin/Rodney Clarke (Daihatsu Charmant)
Carlos Edwards/tba (Toyota Starlet)
Nigel Reece/Jonathan Reece (Datsun 120Y)
Shareef Walcott/Juan Watts (Toyota Corolla)
Danny Williams/Reuben Nelson (Ford Fiesta)

Modified 5
Glenn Campbell - IRL/Ray Fitzpatrick - IRL (Nissan Micra)
Sean Cox/Adam Cox (Suzuki Swift)
Kenny Hall - SCO/Fenny Wesselink - NED (Opel Corsa)
Dave Sealy/tba (Toyota Starlet)

Production 3
Sean T Field/tba (Peugeot 306)

Production 2
Fabien Clarke/Pierre Lashley (Suzuki Ignis Sport)

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

2009-05-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

HILL WINS AUTOMOTIVE ART SHAKEDOWN STAGES
Fightback from Skeete one of many highlights

The final countdown to Sol Rally Barbados 2009 will be busier than anticipated for some of the island's rally teams following yesterday's (May 3) Automotive Art Shakedown Stages; a high rate of attrition left just 27 crews classified as overall finishers from the 47 that started the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) 10-stage tarmac event.
After an impressively clean drive over the demanding Canefield, Pickerings and Turners Hall stages in the north of the island, Roger Hill and Graham Gittens claimed victory by 12.41 seconds in the Esso/Nassco/Motormac Toyota Corolla WRC; in doing so, Hill also took the lead in the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's Championship from Paul Bourne (Subaru Impreza WRC S9), who retired after crashing out on the opening stage of the day.
Hill was fastest on that first Canefield test, just over four seconds ahead of a determined Neil Armstrong (Simpson Motors/Hankook/Shell V-Power/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), with the flying Mazda 3 of Nicholas Gill third, another 1.5secs adrift. Just over half-a-second covered the next three cars, Barry Gale's Evo VI, Ian Warren's Suzuki Swift (fastest two-wheel-drive) and the Group N-leading Evo IX of Geoff Noel.
A flat tyre cost Roger Skeete (Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S9) exactly 30 seconds to Hill, placing him 28th after stage one; for the massive spectator turn-out, however, this was good news, as it set the stage for a fight-back for the rest of the day, starting on stage two, where Skeete gained his first three seconds, leaping to 14th overall.
After suffering with on-board computer dramas early on, Trevor Manning (Ford Escort WRC) was fastest on the second run up Canefield; Hill was second fastest, snatching back the three seconds Skeete had gained on the previous stage, so a battle was clearly on the cards.
Skeete topped the time sheets on the final two stages before lunch, with Manning and Hill second fastest on stages four and five respectively; Armstrong had maintained his pace, to lie second overall, 15secs behind Hill, with Gale now third, another 6secs behind and two ahead of fourth-placed Skeete.
Warren and Brett Clarke (Evo VI) now completed the top six, ahead of Noel and Cliff Roett (Toyota Starlet), who had been in the top 10 a couple of times; behind him, less than 4secs covered the three leading cars in SuperModified 11, early front-runner Gill having slipped down to 10th overall, splitting the battling Jonathan Still (BMW M3) and newcomer to the Group Mark Hamilton (Ford Escort MkII).
Skeete continued his charge after the lunch halt, with a perfect hand of four fastest times (the penultimate stage was cancelled, following a minor timing malfunction), but it was simply not enough; on all but the final stage of the day, when Manning was just half-a-second shy of Skeete, Hill was second fastest, maintaining his advantage.
Armstrong was promoted to third by lose of play, Gale suffering from a hose detaching itself intermittently during the afternoon - he and Cherie Edghill won the trophies as highest-placed crew including a female; Warren finished fifth and highest-placed two-wheel-drive, with a delighted Roett sixth - he had enjoyed an excellent afternoon, beating Warren on two of the four stages.
Clarke, Noel, Still and Hamilton completed the top 10, after Gill's Mazda broke a driveshaft in stage eight, dropping out of overall contention. Other notable retirements included Josh Read, who had propelled the Automotive Art Starlet to 11th overall on the opening stage, only to suffer gearbox failure on the very next test.
Despite the record number of starters for a National tarmac event in recent years, and an enormous spectator attendance, there were no major delays, the final stage of the day starting just four minutes late. Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale said: "As I said before the event, it was as important as a shakedown for our many volunteers as it was for the competitors, and I think they came through with flying colours. Our stage commanders and their crews ran the event very smoothly, the results system was being updated regularly . . . speaking as a competitor this weekend, I think everyone did a fantastic job. Now for Sol Rally Barbados!"

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.

Automotive Art Shakedown Stages - Sunday, May 3
Results - overall
1st Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/Motormac Toyota Corolla WRC), 19m 14.10s
2nd Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (M8-WRC Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S9), 19m 26.51s
3rd Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (M8-A Simpson Motors/Hankook/Shell V-Power/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 19m 45.54s
4th Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (M8-WRC VP Racing/Autolink/Bella Beauty Supply/ProPac Dog Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 20m 03.82s
5th Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power Suzuki Swift), 20m 04.21s
6th Cliff Roett/Orry Hunte (SM10 Carters & Co/Nassco/Lucky Horseshoe/Roett's Garage Toyota Starlet), 20m 18.06s
7th Brett Clarke/Garry Clarke (M8-WRC Simpson Motors Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 20m 21.22s
8th Geoffrey Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (P4 Globe Finance/DeWalt Tools/Essco/Sunbeach/

Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 20m 26.43s
9th Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (SM11 Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments BMW M3), 20m 44.12s
10th Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (SM11 PowerMaster Batteries/Automotive Art/MQI/Consolidated Finance Ford Escort MkII), 20m 55.57s
etc
Modified 8-WRC 1st Hill/Gittens; 2nd Skeete/Venezia; 3rd Gale/Edghill
M8-A 1st Armstrong/Ward; 2nd Kirk Watkins/Ryan Corbin (Abacus Builders/Hankook Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V), 21m 23.08s
Production 4 1st Noel/Yearwood; 2nd Harold Morley/Geoff Goddard (Subaru Impreza N14), 21m 06.76s; 3rd David Williams/Kristian Yearwood (Consolidated Finance/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Mix 96.9FM/Chelsea Car Rentals/Castrol Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 21m 46.90s; etc
SuperModified 11 1st Still/Hazell; 2nd Hamilton Howell; 3rd Nicholas Gill/Sue Rogers (Mazda 3), 22m 00.20s; etc
SM10 1st Warren/Warren; 2nd Roett/Hunte; 3rd Rhett Watson/Logan Watson (The Unknown Entity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbz Workz Ford Escort MkI), 22m 00.42s; etc
SM9 1st James Betts/Josh Delmas (All Terrain Plus/Black Bess/Makita/Champion Auto/Kendal Sporting/Yamaha Opel Corsa), 21m 07.64s; 2nd Stuart White/Jason O'Neil (3W's/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur Toyota Starlet), 23m 03.03s; 3rd Karl Waterman/Matthew Staffner (3W's/Flyin' Fish/Aqua Pur Toyota Starlet), 23m 23.28s; etc
M7 1st Adrian Linton/Jackie Linton (Ravensden/Morris Straker Construction/Garbage Gobbler/Crane & Equipment Vauxhall Astra GSi), 21m 16.86s; 2nd Greg Cozier/Antonio Da Silva (Hyundai Trucks/Citgo Oils Ford Escort RS2000), 22m 12.10s; 3rd Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Racing Toyota Corolla RunX), 22m 17.59s; etc
M6 1st Edward Corbin/Rodney Clarke (Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant), 21m 28.40s; 2nd Danny Williams/Reuben Nelson (Chris's Workshop/Sunbury Plantation House/Barbados Paragliding Association Ford Fiesta), 23m 16.76s; 3rd Shareef Walcott/Juan Watts (Melwani's/Auto Solutions/Klark-Odio/Spoons Customs Brokers & Trucking Toyota Corolla), 24m 43.12s
M5 1st Sean Cox/Adam Cox (Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 30m 24.47s
P3 1st Sean T Field/Trai Field (AM Realty/Ackee Tree/Field Insurance Brokers/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306), 27m 02.12s
P2 1st Fabien Clarke/Pierre Lashley (Barbados Business Listings/RCA Tours/Bovell Auto Repair Suzuki Ignis Sport), 28m 51.85s

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

2009-04-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

Surfer and Surfing mags publisher filing for bankruptcy

Industry News

Surfer and Surfing magazines publisher filing for bankruptcy

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 29 April, 2009 : - - The economic situation in our country has not only hit the retailers and brand name companies in our industry, it has also taken its toll on the material we read. Source Interlink, the company that publishes Skateboarder, Snowboarder, Surfing, Surfer and five other action sports magazines and web sites, said today that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The special interest media company, in total, publishes a total of 75 magazines and 90 web sites, described the bankruptcy as a prepackaged filing. According to the company’s website: “A “pre-pack” is a court proceeding in which the creditors will be paid in full or have agreed to take less. It is used to implement a restructuring of a company’s capital without disturbing its daily operations. A “pre-pack” is the quickest and easiest form of restructuring through the bankruptcy courts. Using this method, we expect to complete our restructuring in about 30 days.”

The statement also addresses the status of the companies immediate operation, “First and foremost, Source Interlink Companies wants to assure you that Source is continuing to operate its business without interruption.” The statement also goes on to say, “While we restructure, we plan to continue providing our customers with the outstanding service they have come to expect. We will continue to partner with our advertisers, publishers and vendors to ensure that the reorganization process is transparent to those we serve.”

According to Shop-Eat-Surf.com, in documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware yesterday, Source Interlink estimated that its assets range from $1 million to $10 million, but that its liabilities exceed $1 billion, and that it has 50,000 - 100,000 creditors.

While business is to remain as usually, it is just another example how the domino effect from small business trickles up to effect larger businesses. Marketing and media are usually the first avenues to feel the crunch when times are tough, it will be interesting to see if this move effects the content at all in some of the action sports industries go-to publications.

www.5ones.com

Full results for Volcom's 2009 VQS European Champs..

2009-04-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

Full results for Volcom's 2009 VQS European Champs..
Nightcrawler winners : photo courtesy Volcom Europe

VQS European Champs

VQS
Anglet Beaches France
25 - 26 April 2009

Full results for Volcom's 2009 VQS European Champs

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 29 April, 2009 : - - Well yall we just finished off the last of the moonshine at VQS European Championships here in Anglet, France that was held over the weekend in our small hillbilly village in Marinella beach utilizing both days in challenging weather with plenty of wind and rain.

All the hillbillies had to take cover in the tents sitting on their hay bails chewing backy waiting for the chance for the sun to shine.Contestants came from all over « Europe » to compete, the trip was not easy for everyone, with hours spent in the cars, train’s or plane’s/. With people coming from Andalusia, Norway, Galicia, England, Reunion Island, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Brittany, Denmark and Portugal.

The conditions were solid to say the least with the Bootleggers (Opens) starting the competition on the Saturday morning followed by the Night Crawlers (Juniors) and we managed to get a few rounds down despite the difficulty on being able to punch through the frequent closeout sets.

It was decided by head judge Didier Piter to difficult to continue with the other categories so we decided to re start on the Sunday with what looked like more favorable conditions for the showdown.

Finals action : photo courtesy Volcom Europe

So to keep all the hillbillies at ease we organized a shindig at La Poste Saturday night with hotdogs, corn and beverages to keep everybody happy. If that wasn’t your piece of corn then you could check out the band Xubung that rocked out on top of the skate ramp while it was being sessioned.

While waking up in the sand next to my bottle for a pillow I noticed the conditions had cleaned up a little and also had dropped in size compared for the day before. To save time the decision was made to run two podiums with the Mountain Mommas (Girls) running simultaneously on the northern podium and the Porch Babies (Groms) on the southern one.

The Mountain Mommas made the most of the left running into the dig with some long waves and some nice lines being drawn. In the end it was Anne Peres (FR) who prevailed in first position and clenching the airplane ticket to compete against the other Mountain Mommas in the US for the World Championships. Marie Mitsuko Bouchaton (FR) finished in second place in front Joana Giansanti (FR) in third and Virginia Giansanti (CNY) in fourth place.

The Porch Babies (Groms) had a nice peak to shred and it was Paul César Distinguin (FR) who was the strongest pushing his tail through into to first ahead of Andy Criere (FR) that chased him in second with Vigo’s own Lalo Diez (ES) in third followed by little Charly Thermeau in fourth.

Finals action : photo courtesy Volcom Europe

The Night Crawlers were in amazing form considering that they looked like they had a lot of fun at the shin dig the night before in was the hair show not the air show with Lewis Saint John (BAR) doing enough to keep his lead and hang on to the ticket to the States in first spot with Medi Veminardi (RUN) fighting till the end in second with little PV Laborde (FR) in third and wishing the contest was held in Seingosse and Pierre Rollet (FR) taking fourth spot at home.

Last but by no means least was the Bootleggers (Opens) final with Adrian Toyan (RUN) even beating Lewis Saint John in the hillbilly hair show was solid through out the event and claimed his ticket to the States in first position in front of Miguel Mouzinho (POR) in second, who was happier than he was after his fourteen hour train ride from Lisbon to here in France to compete.

Hugo Palmarini (RUN) was strong enough to hold third position from local homeboy Romain Laulhé (FR) who rounded out the final in fourth place.

Thank you’s: Everyone that came, Anglet city council, Anglet surf club, staff and judges, lifeguards, Bastienne, Tom from Surf Europe for filming under the rain, Pacome from Electric, companies that helped us with prizes Electric , Red Bull , FCS, Vans, Nixon ,Skullcandy, Hoff and Surf Europe.

Thanks as well to the Bidassoa surf club and Hendaye city council for giving us the option to run some heats there. Stay tuned for the World VQS champs in 2 weeks Newport Beach, CA, live web cast on volcom.com.

RESULTS:

Open:
1. Adrian Toyon / RUN
2. Miguel Mouzinho / POR
3. Hugo Palmarini / RUN
4. Romain Laulhé / FR

Junior:
1. Lewis Saint John / BAR
2. Medi Veminardi / RUN
3. PV Laborde / FR
4. Pierre Rollet / FR

Groms:
1. Paul César Distinguin / FR
2. Andy Criere / FR
3. Lalo Díez / ES
4. Charly Thermeau / FR

Girls:
1. Anne Peres / FR
2. Marie-Mitsuko Bochaton / FR
3. Joana Giansanti / FR
4. Virginia Giesen / CNY

ELECTRIC VOLT THROWER AWARD -100€
Adrien Toyon / RUN

2009-04-20T05:47:00.001-07:00

BIRD TARGETS SOL RALLY BARBADOS WIN
Finlayson to miss Shakedown Stages

Confirmation from the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) that English businessman Paul Bird's entry is the latest to be received on-line for its blue riband event, Sol Rally Barbados 2009 (May 29-31), brings to seven the number of World Rally Cars entered, equalling last year's record . . . and there are more still on the horizon.
Winner of the UK's ANCRO National Rally Championship in 2005, 'Birdy' finished second to Kris Meeke in the Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport event on his first visit last year, and is targetting victory this time round. He will again be partnered in the SuperCasino.com/Kick Energy/Vent-Axia Subaru Impreza WRC S9 by Ian Windress, co-driver in his title-winning year, and also in Britain this year, where he is chasing a second ANCRO crown.
Both he and arch-rival, Rally Barbados regular Steve Perez (ANCRO Champion in 2004), are this year campaigning Ford Focus WRC 07s, but Bajan fans will have to wait a little longer before they get to see one in action on island stages. The timing of Sol RB09 does not work well for either driver - through his company VK, Perez is the title sponsor of the increasingly-popular Chatsworth Rally Show, which falls this year on the first weekend on June, and it is important for him to have his ex-Marcus Gronholm Focus on hand for his local audience . . . he will be in Barbados with his Focus WRC 05.
From Bird's standpoint, success in the Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship (the title under which the ANCRO series now runs) is the priority, so the Impreza, which he described earlier in the year as his "Barbados car", will make the trip across the Atlantic.
Yesterday (April 19), in the notorious forests of Kielder in the far north of England, Bird looked set to celebrate his 42nd birthday with his first win of the year, leading comfortably after setting fastest time on the first three stages of the Pirelli Tour of Cumbria; a massive "schoolboy error" overshoot at a chicane on the fourth stage, however, cost him around 50 seconds. Despite setting the fastest time on the remaining three stages - the fourth stage in the second loop was cancelled following a major fire which destroyed the S2000 MEM Proton driven by reigning British Rally Champion Guy Wilks - Bird finished second, only 4.6secs behind Marcus Dodd (Hyundai Accent WRC) despite the lost time, and 5.7secs ahead of Perez.
Afterwards, Bird said: "I'm disappointed to miss out on the win; I just keep messing it up . . . but I have to say that's the best I've ever driven. Now I feel at home in the car and I'm delighted to have set fastest time on all of the stages bar one. Roll on the Manx and we'll see what we can do on tarmac!"
The Manx falls on the first weekend of May, a few days after the European entries for Sol Rally Barbados sail from Portsmouth. Bird and Perez are tied on 43 points in the ANCRO standings, eight behind multiple Champion Dodd; all three failed to finish the opening round, Rallye Sunseeker in February, while Perez and Bird finished second and third to Dodd on the Border Counties Rally in March. As both Bird and Perez will miss the Severn Valley Stages, which clashes directly with Sol RB09, 'Birdy' will be pulling out all the stops . . . and that means the Focus needs to stay in the UK.

Finlayson disappointed to miss Automotive Art Shakedown Stages

Rally Barbados regular Graeme Finlayson will be a disappointed non-starter for the Automotive Art Shakedown Stages (May 3); after making early preparations to ship his latest acquisition, an ex-Quick Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS, to the island for a shaekdown, last-minute dramas intervened.
A downhearted Finlayson said: "We had the car mapped and the valve springs done before shipping, and all was looking great. Then the cam belt went on the way to the port; we bought a second engine, had that dropped in, then the turbo seized, we sorted that, and then the clutch seized!"
Despite the dramas, Finlayson is set on expanding his Caribbean competition programme: "Assuming I can get everything in order, I plan to leave car in Barbados for three or four months and do the rest of the tarmac season out there, before shipping it back to prepare for what I hope might be a full season in the region in 2010."

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

2009-04-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

SENNA'S "NUT-CASE" HEADS TO SOL RALLY BARBADOS
Welsh legend looks forward to "the craic"

Welsh rally legend Phil Collins, once described by triple Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna as "a nut-case", will treat Caribbean motor sport fans to a demonstration of why the late Brazilian superstar might have thought that when he contests the region's biggest annual motor sport event, Sol Rally Barbados, in May.
Collins is the first new high-profile entry to be confirmed by the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) in advance of the 20th running of its blue riband event; he and regular co-driver, Ireland's Derek Brannigan, will contest the SuperModified 11 class in a Ford Escort Mk II, which Collins describes as "a fairly specialised rally car" and Britain's Motorsport News called "wild" in a report last year.
Built in 2006 by Quick Motorsport and backed by Silverstone Tyres, Millington Engines, Great Stuff Caterers, Orchard Motorsport, Collins Engineering and Pontilas Developments, its 2.5-litre engine produces a little over 300bhp; the bright red Escort is a popular sight in the UK, as Collins snaps at the heels of World Rally Cars on iconic tarmac events like the Manx National in the Isle of Man and the Rally of the Lakes and the West Cork Rally in Ireland.
The encounter between Collins and Senna came courtesy of the now-defunct magazine Cars & Car Conversions, missed by enthusiasts the world over, including in Barbados, thanks to its supportive coverage of island motor sport for more than 20 years. In 1986, CCC arranged for the JPS Grand Prix driver to test some rally cars in Wales.
Having only seen rally cars on television, his first experience came in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth driven by 1985 Securicor Sierra Challenge winner Collins, recruited to provide some basic instruction. After the first run, Senna said: "Too quick for me. He's a nut-case!" In response, Collins said: "It's a pity it's so rough out there or I could really scare him - of course, the problem is he's about to get his revenge."
Once he'd taken Collins for a couple of runs, Senna drove four other cars, including Harry Hockly's CCC-backed Vauxhall Nova Sport and a Clubman-spec MG Metro 6R4, after which he said: "It has been much more exciting than I expected. I didn't feel the time going by because I was finding out, learning more and going harder and harder."
That was during the first of two distinct periods in the rallying career of Collins. Having started in 1978 in an Escort RS2000, he switched to Opel, first an Ascona then a Manta, before the Sierra Cosworth in 1985; he was a front-running works driver in the UK, second in the National Championship twice, the BTRDA Forest Championship three times, and fourth in the Open Championship twice. Co-driven by Roger Freeman, his Manta was also 14th of the 62 survivors in the 1985 Lombard RAC Rally (his only finish in six attempts) - 155 crews started what is remembered as one of the WRC's toughest-ever events, with 63 stages, nearly 550 miles on snow and ice, and two 36-hour loops.
His UK results earned Collins an FIA 'B' seed, but his approach to rallying was about to change: "In 1989, our preparation company accepted the Toyota contract to prepare the Celica GT4 for David Llewellin; as a result, I lost the Sierra drive and the car was given to Gwyndaf Evans. I went for a ride in my brother's Mk II Escort, and thought 'why not?' So I bought one and started all over again, this time not chasing works drives or championships . . . just having fun trying to embarrass as many people as possible who drive ex-works World Rally Cars!"
Collins enjoys a big following, both in the Escort and his recently-built Ascona 400, which he debuted on last year's Roger Albert Clark Rally with co-driver Nicky Grist, only to roll while lying 10th; a similar fate befell the Escort on its debut on the 2006 West Cork, again with Grist, lying sixth and just one second behind a Focus WRC. A popular speaker at club events and forums, he has also raised money for many good causes, one method being to auction off rides in the Escort at events such as the annual Castle Combe RallyDay. Of his trip next month, Collins says: "I'm really looking forward to the craic in Barbados. I'm told it's pretty good!"
Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale remarked: "We are really excited to have a legend like Phil at our event. Rear-wheel-drive cars and on-it drivers are a popular combination here, while his reputation as a personality means we can't help but enjoy his company. I'm just a little worried that our local Escort stars like Mark Hamilton, Andrew Jones and the Watson brothers might get a little overshadowed . . . but I'm know they'll do their best to find an answer!"

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

2009-04-13T07:31:00.001-07:00

THE FEMALE TOUCH AT SOL RALLY BARBADOS
English couple celebrate wedding anniversary in their rally car

Twelve months after they 'tied the knot' on a Caribbean beach, rally-mad English couple Cheryl and Barry Spencer will return to celebrate their first wedding anniversary in May, just days before they compete in the region's biggest annual motor sport event, Sol Rally Barbados, for the second time.
Cheryl - Bell, as she was then - and Barry, from Portchester in Hampshire on England's south coast, got married at The Boatyard, a beach bar in the island's capital Bridgetown; as her parents were unable to make the trip, the future Mrs Spencer was given away by runner-up in the 2006 British Rally Championship, Ryan Champion, who went on to win Group N in last year's event.
The Spencers had chanced on Rally Barbados 2007 while on holiday and, despite having no previous competition experience, they bought a Vauxhall Astra GSi rally car and set about learning the ropes at the Bill Gwynne Rally School . . . with Cheryl in the driving seat; after entering a couple of events in Britain to gain experience, they arrived in Barbados in 2008 and, while fortune did not shine on them - the wiring loom burned out on the second day - they were determined to return.
As Cheryl says: "We had such a great time, not only with the fact we got married, but with all the fantastic help and support everybody gave us - Simon Gillmore for the servicing, Dave Crawford for all his advice on the stages, Sean Gill at The Boatyard and Richard Daniel for organising the wedding . . . and the unusual present of two bottles of Octane Booster from Barry Gale!"
The couple had hoped to expand their rallying programme this year to take in one or two more events, but finding sponsorship has been difficult in the current climate, as Cheryl says: "Sponsorship hasn't been easy this year, but that's not stopped our determination; we're continuing with the Eden Vauxhall Rally Team name, and have some great support from A & J Lawrence Accident & Mechanical Repairs, who are preparing the car, Creative Space Solutions, Old Castle B & B and ABS Embroidery."
And those sponsors are reaping the benefits of their support early, as is Sol Rally Barbados. Cheryl and Barry have already been the focus of a 750-word feature in Portsmouth Today, which covers a large area of the south coast, including Portsmouth, from where the European entries will be shipped by the Geest Line at the end of April.
And, while Cheryl is currently the only woman driver entered for the event, she will not be alone in bringing the female touch to Sol Rally Barbados 2009. No fewer than 11 female co-drivers are entered so far, including two in the Modified 7 class in which the Spencers will run . . . as last year, they will again face local couple Ron and Giselle Layne (Nissan Sunny), while Jennifer Hole will co-drive for Gary Mendes (Toyota Starlet).
One of the local girls does have experience behind the wheel, but in circuit racing, rather than rallying. Co-driver for Jeremy Gonsalves (Suzuki Swift), Natasha Farnum became the first - and, so far, only - Bajan woman to win a race at the Bushy Park racetrack, back in 2002, when she was still at school.
Of her love for the sport, she says: "There is nothing more beautiful than the sound of a rally car purring up a straight, then watching as it slides through a corner. From a driver's point of view, winning gives you bragging rights until the next event . . . in racing, its all about the thrill. Nothing can come close to the sound of that engine revving on the start line and you pushing yourself to the limit."
In addition to Spencer, the European contingent includes Holland's Fenny Wesselink, class-winning co-driver in the past with Scotland's Kenny Hall (Opel Corsa), and fellow countrywoman Hester van Ovost, who visits for the first time, co-driving for Holland's Frans Verbaas, in his newly-created Mini.

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

2009-04-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Welsh rally legend Phil Collins, once described by triple Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna as "a nut-case", will treat Caribbean motor sport fans to a demonstration of why the late Brazilian superstar might have thought that when he contests the region's biggest annual motor sport event, Sol Rally Barbados, in May.
Collins is the first new high-profile entry to be confirmed by the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) in advance of the 20th running of its blue riband event; he and regular co-driver, Ireland's Derek Brannigan, will contest the SuperModified 11 class in a Ford Escort Mk II, which Collins describes as "a fairly specialised rally car" and Britain's Motorsport News called "wild" in a report last year.
Built in 2006 by Quick Motorsport and backed by Silverstone Tyres, Millington Engines, Great Stuff Caterers, Orchard Motorsport, Collins Engineering and Pontilas Developments, its 2.5-litre engine produces a little over 300bhp; the bright red Escort is a popular sight in the UK, as Collins snaps at the heels of World Rally Cars on iconic tarmac events like the Manx National in the Isle of Man and the Rally of the Lakes and the West Cork Rally in Ireland.
The encounter between Collins and Senna came courtesy of the now- defunct magazine Cars & Car Conversions, missed by enthusiasts the world over, including in Barbados, thanks to its supportive coverage of island motor sport for more than 20 years. In 1986, CCC arranged for the JPS Grand Prix driver to test some rally cars in Wales.
Having only seen rally cars on television, his first experience came in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth driven by 1985 Securicor Sierra Challenge winner Collins, recruited to provide some basic instruction. After the first run, Senna said: "Too quick for me. He's a nut-case!" In response, Collins said: "It's a pity it's so rough out there or I could really scare him - of course, the problem is he's about to get his revenge."
Once he'd taken Collins for a couple of runs, Senna drove four other cars, including Harry Hockly's CCC-backed Vauxhall Nova Sport and a Clubman-spec MG Metro 6R4, after which he said: "It has been much more exciting than I expected. I didn't feel the time going by because I was finding out, learning more and going harder and harder."
That was during the first of two distinct periods in the rallying career of Collins. Having started in 1978 in an Escort RS2000, he switched to Opel, first an Ascona then a Manta, before the Sierra Cosworth in 1985; he was a front-running works driver in the UK, second in the National Championship twice, the BTRDA Forest Championship three times, and fourth in the Open Championship twice.
Co-driven by Roger Freeman, his Manta was also 14th of the 62 survivors in the 1985 Lombard RAC Rally (his only finish in six
attempts) - 155 crews started what is remembered as one of the WRC's toughest-ever events, with 63 stages, nearly 550 miles on snow and ice, and two 36-hour loops.
His UK results earned Collins an FIA 'B' seed, but his approach to rallying was about to change: "In 1989, our preparation company accepted the Toyota contract to prepare the Celica GT4 for David Llewellin; as a result, I lost the Sierra drive and the car was given to Gwyndaf Evans. I went for a ride in my brother's Mk II Escort, and thought 'why not?' So I bought one and started all over again, this time not chasing works drives or championships . . . just having fun trying to embarrass as many people as possible who drive ex-works World Rally Cars!"
Collins enjoys a big following, both in the Escort and his recently-built Ascona 400, which he debuted on last year's Roger Albert Clark Rally with co-driver Nicky Grist, only to roll while lying 10th; a similar fate befell the Escort on its debut on the 2006 West Cork, again with Grist, lying sixth and just one second behind a Focus WRC. A popular speaker at club events and forums, he has also raised money for many good causes, one method being to auction off rides in the Escort at events such as the annual Castle Combe RallyDay. Of his trip next month, Collins says: "I'm really looking forward to the craic in Barbados. I'm told it's pretty good!"
Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale remarked: "We are really excited to have a legend like Phil at our event. Rear-wheel-drive cars and on-it drivers are a popular combination here, while his reputation as a personality means we can't help but enjoy his company. I'm just a little worried that our local Escort stars like Mark Hamilton, Andrew Jones and the Watson brothers might get a little overshadowed . . . but I'm know they'll do their best to find an answer!"

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

Pic of the man and the car in action can be seen at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1764145&o=all&op=1&view=all&subj=5335966521&aid=-1&id=503953092&oid=5335966521
and video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y560G2kBtRw

2009-04-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

2009 ISA Individual Scholarship Recipients Announced |

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 1 April, 2009 : - - Salinas, Ecuador -- The International Surfing Association announced yesterday, the forty recipients of the 2009 ISA Individual Scholarship Program during an ISA Development Meeting held at the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Ecuador.

This is the third consecutive year that the ISA holds the Scholarship Program. The program started in 2007 with only five grants awarded and within one year expanded it to 20 scholarships. For 2009, the ISA increased the program by 100%, issuing 40 scholarships to Under 18 junior surfers from 22 countries. The ISA received over 80 applications from 24 countries for this year’s program.

Before announcing the winners, ISA President Fernando Aguerre said: “I believe the Scholarship is a huge step forward by the ISA in areas of the world where we can never do enough. Together, we are supporting the dreams and hopes of good students who are also good surfers. We went from five to 40 scholarships in three years and we´re hoping to reach 100 in a couple of years.”

After careful review by the Scholarship Selection Committee, the ISA announced the following surfers as ISA Surfing Ambassadors in every corner of the world. The recipients are inspirational human beings, great surfers and students who want to succeed in surfing and school.

The ISA is able to provide scholarships due to the generous support from Quiksilver Foundation, Billabong, Reef Redemption, and Global Surf Industries, Inc.

2009 ISA Scholarship Recipients

Brian Masmut –Argentina
Martín Carricart –Argentina
Joaquín Castanon –Argentina
Dominic Reisch –Australia
Amiya Doyle - Australia
Ametza Nicholls –Barbados
Jade Niccols –Barbados
Jordan Heaselgrave –Barbados
Victor Bernardo –Brazil
Isaac Norman –Canada
Tomás Villegas –Chile
Camilo Hernández –Chile
Manuel Mesen –Costa Rica
Alberto Muñoz –Costa Rica
Carlos Muñoz –Costa Rica
Roberto Rodriguez –Ecuador
Brandon García –Guatemala
Freddy Morales –Guatemala
Henry Rivera -Guatemala
Garren Pryce –Jamaica
Leon McKenzie –Jamaica
Nao Omura –Japan
Arashi Kato –Japan
Aman Ashraf –Maldives
Itzel García –Mexico
Jayda Martin Fitzharris – New Zealand
Joaquín del Castillo – Perú
Juninho Urcia – Perú
Miguel Tudela – Perú
Pedro Alcobia –Portugal
Christian Rivera –Puerto Rico
Brandon Benjamin –South Africa
Bright Ntuli –South Africa
Khaye Ngcobo – South Africa
Lucía Martino –Spain
Darío Jordan –Trinidad
James Philips – Trinidad
Federico Longo –Uruguay
Christian Arballo –USA
Demi Boelsteri –USA

Congratulations to the 2009 ISA Scholarship Program recipients, ISA’s newest surfing ambassadors

About the ISA
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for Surfing and all Surfriding activities, including Short Board, Longboard, Bodyboard, Kneeboard, Skimboard, Tow In and Stand Up Paddle surfing. 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 La Jolla, 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).

2009-04-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately there will be no Mud Fest at Pot House this Sunday. At the briefing meeting last night we did not have enough entries to justify running the event. We would like to thank the 17 entrants, who came to the meeting, for their support. A few of these vehicles were not ready and doubtful for Sunday which meant we risked running an event with 12 or 13 entries. Considering the level of investment and the logistical coordination involved with running this event we felt it best to re-group and focus on the May 1st event.

This decision was made jointly by the Mud Dogs sub-committee and our sponsor, Castrol. We again wish to thank Castrol for their support and it has been agreed that they will now sponsor our August Mud Fest which will hopefully generate much more support.

We believe positive can be taken from this and with one month before our MAY DAY MUD FEST, all of our efforts will be focussed on this event and efforts will be made to rectify our short comings. I am confident with the understanding and committment shown by those who attended the meeting that the May event will be a huge success.

Many thanks,

Leslie Alleyne

2009-03-31T19:43:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-03-31T06:51:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-03-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

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.)

2009-03-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

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