LAST CHANCE SALOON' FOR RALLY CLUB COMPETITORS

'LAST CHANCE SALOON' FOR RALLY CLUB COMPETITORS
Twelve stages to settle final accounts

Twenty-eight crews drive into the 'last chance saloon' this weekend (November 1 & 2) as the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Virgin Atlantic RallySport Championship reaches its conclusion with an event new to the Club's calendar, the BRC Winter Rally; this gravel event comprises 12 stages split into three routes, one on Saturday evening and two on Sunday.
The Saturday start is slated for 6.00pm, following scrutineering in the Searles Factory Yard - four stages will be run in Searles. On Sunday, the rally will restart at 9.00am, with four stages in Guinea comprising the second route; after the lunch halt in the Searles Factory Yard at around mid-day, the final route will use the Searles stage, but running in the reverse direction to Saturday.
Paul Bourne starts at number one in the Banks/Texaco/B-Mobile/Pirelli/

New-Tech Subaru Impreza WRC S9, one of nine four-wheel-drive cars on the running order; with regular co-driver Stuart Maloney out of the island defending national honour in the final round of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship at the South Dakota Circuit in Guyana, Bourne will have Mark Kinch alongside him.
Bourne has already put the BRC Rally Championship title out of reach of the opposition, but can still be caught in the battle for Modified 8-WRC in the Virgin Atlantic Championship; he has a nine-point advantage over Roger Skeete, who will have Robert Simmons on the notes as usual in the Michelin/FB Batteries Subaru Impreza WRC S9.
Skeete starts at number three behind Roger Hill and Graham Gittens in the Mobil 1/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC; since acquiring the car shortly after Sol Rally Barbados, Hill has been growing more confident with each outing, and has been edging closer to the Subaru opposition - in the recent BRC Gravel Rally, he split Bourne and Skeete on three of the eight Searles stages and might have finished second, but for a disappointing showing at the 'dexterity-style' stages which concluded that event.
SuperModified 11 is also to be settled this weekend, as Nick Gill (Castrol Syntec/Lysol/Listerine/Vita Malt/Hennessy/McEnearney Quality Inc Mazda 3) and Jonathan Still (Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments/Castrol Oils BMW M3) do battle for the last time this year. Two weeks ago, Gill ended the day seven seconds ahead, but they had shared fastest stage times equally - four each on the loose, one each at the Gymnasium dexterity; there is all to play for this weekend.
In SM9, current points leader Josh Read (Automotive Art Toyota Starlet) is returning to action after failing to score in the second part of the Motoring Club of Barbados Inc's Sailor Gully double-header last month, then missing the BRC Gravel Rally two weeks ago. His absence has allowed James Betts (Makita/All Terrain Plus/Star Products/Champion Auto Wrecker/Kendal Sporting/Quik Start Auto Opel Corsa) to reduce his lead to just 16 points, so a further good Group battle is in prospect. Betts is another with a change of co-driver, to team-mate Jeremy Gonsalves, whose own regular co-driver, BARL racer Natasha Farnum, is also in action in Guyana this weekend.
Modified 7 is looking healthier again after a low entry last time out - Ron and Giselle Layne are back in action in their SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares Inc/Pavements & Foundations Nissan Sunny, as are Freddie Gale and Kyle Proverbs in the Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/Trident White/VP Racing Toyota Corolla RunX. Group leader Adrian Linton is yet another competing with a different co-driver - in his case, he is keeping it in the family, sister-in-law Alecia having her first outing in the Ravensden/Crane and Equipment/Garbage Gobbler/Morris Straker Construction/Subzero Vauxhall Astra GSi.
Other familiar names returning to competition include Adam Alleyne, who will co-drive for Neil Corbin in the Nassco Ltd/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet and Lindsay Farmer, who will be guiding Neil Barnard through the day in the Simpson Motors/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Yokohama Suzuki Ignis Sport.
The BRC Winter Rally will finish at the BCTSA Club House with a social, during which the Club will be showing some of the European television coverage of Sol Rally Barbados 2008, which has featured on stations including Men & Motors, Motors TV and Sky Sports; all are invited.

BRC Winter Rally - November 1/2
2008 BRC Rally Championship, round six
Running order

1 Paul Bourne/Mark Kinch (M8-WRC Banks/Texaco/B-Mobile/Pirelli/New-Tech Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
2 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Mobil 1/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC)
3 Roger Skeete/Robert Simmons (M8-WRC Michelin/FB Batteries Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
4 Trevor Manning/Derek Edwards (M8-WRC Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors/Garbage Master Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII)
5 Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (M8-WRC Trident White/Simpson Motors Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
6 Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (M8-A Shell/Hankook Tyres/Gunk/Odyssey Batteries Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
7 Sean Dowding/Jason Cozier (M8-WRC Subaru Impreza WRX STi)
8 Sean Gill/Michael Cummins (SM10 Simpson Motors/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Yokohama Suzuki Swift)
9 Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (SM10 McEnearney Quality Inc/Consolidated Finance/Automotive Art/Dunlop Ford Escort MkII)
10 Geoff Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (P4 Globe Finance/Ezone/DeWalt/Automotive Art/Sunbeach Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
11 Michael Worme/Brian Gibson (P4 Cot Media Group/Details Car Valet Subaru Impreza WRX STi)
12 Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (SM11 Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments/Castrol Oils BMW M3)
14 Nick Gill/Sue Rogers (SM11 Castrol Syntec/Lysol/Listerine/Vita Malt/Hennessy/McEnearney Quality Inc Mazda 3)
15 Jason Clermont/Mario Clermont (SM11 Linda's Disco BMW M3)
16 Adrian Linton/Alecia Linton (M7 Ravensden/Crane and Equipment/Garbage Gobbler/Morris Straker Construction/Subzero Vauxhall Astra GSi)
17 Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (M7 Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/Trident White/VP Racing Toyota Corolla RunX)
18 John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (M7 Corbins Garage/Klark-Odio Toyota Corolla)
19 Ron Layne/Giselle Layne (M7 SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares Inc/Pavements & Foundations Nissan Sunny)
20 James Betts/Jeremy Gonsalves (SM9 Makita/All Terrain Plus/Star Products/Champion Auto Wrecker/Kendal Sporting/Quik Start Auto Opel Corsa)
21 Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM9 Automotive Art Toyota Starlet)
22 Ryan Wood/Raymond Parris (SM9 4W's/Aqua Pur/Flyin' Fish/Crane & Equipments Toyota Starlet)
23 Stuart White/Jason O'Neal (SM9 4W's/Aqua Pur/Flyin' Fish/Crane & Equipments Toyota Starlet)
24 Neil Corbin/Adam Alleyne (SM9 Nassco Ltd/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet)
25 David Williams/Dario Hoyte (SM9 Chelsea Car Rentals/CaribPak International Couriers/IBox Services/Castrol/Roxy Supermarket/Paintless Dent Removal/Dynamic Limo Services Toyota Starlet)
26 Allan Maynard/Eric Allamby (SM9 Marshal Trading/El Tigre Catamaran Cruises/Surfside Wellness Centre/Woodworks/Lubriguard Lubricants/SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares Inc/Gliptone Johnson Toyota Starlet)
27 Edward Corbin/Rodney Clarke (M6 Rezults Autoshop/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage Daihatsu Charmant)
28 Danny Williams/Reuben Nelson (M6 Sunbury House/Neptune Tours/Barbados Paragliding Association Ford Fiesta)
29 Neil Barnard/Lindsay Farmer (P2 Simpson Motors/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Yokohama Suzuki Ignis Sport)

For further information, robin@bradfax.com

JUDGEMENT DAY FOR MUD DOGS

JUDGEMENT DAY FOR MUD DOGS
Nassco November Safari brings season to a close

With 60 points on offer for victory, and a spread of 30 covering the leading four combinations, anything could happen when the Nassco November Safari brings the curtain down on the Barbados Rally Club's 2008 Mud Dogs Safari Championship on Sunday, November 9.
Champion Driver of 2006 Leslie Alleyne and wife Anna-Lee lead the respective Driver and Navigator standings in their Bridgestone Tires/AutoZone Inc Mitsubishi Pajero iO; victories in the Toyo Tires March Safari and the Regional Fire & Security September Safari sandwich second place in the Shelbury Construction June Safari to give them each a total of 178 points.
Going in to the September event, the Alleynes shared the lead with Barry Gale and Neil Barnard - Champion Driver and Navigator in 2005 - in their Mitsubishi L200; they had finished second in March, then claimed their first June Safari win, but fourth place in September dropped them to six points behind the leaders.
Another 24 points behind, two crews are tied in third place - Sean Dowding and Kirk Watkins, like Gale and Barnard experienced rally drivers, have finished sixth, fifth and eight so far to amass 148 points in the Axis Construction Toyota Hilux, while Darrin White and Robert Warren (Flyin' Fish Nissan Frontier) finished fourth in March and 11th in September, collecting points equal to their better result as reward for setting the June Safari.
Dominic Brooker and Stephen Dear have slipped to fifth in the driver and navigator tables, although they remain the highest-placed novice crew in the SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares Inc/Next Generation Electrical Inc/Joe Brooker's Building Ltd Toyota Hilux; after finishing seventh in March, then an impressive third in June, their September result of 16th cost them two places.
Third place in September, added to 22nd in March and seventh in June, has brought Chris Armstrong and four-time 'June' winner Wayne Clarke (Suzuki Samurai) into the Championship top 10 for the first time this season.
Route-setter for the Nassco November Safari is Phillip McConney, with assistance from Derek Gill - experienced competitors, they have each won the BRC's June Safari twice, McConney as a driver in 2004 (with Kenny Croney) and in last year's 50th Anniversary event (with Tyrone Moseley), while Gill has won from both sides of the vehicle, as navigator to Peter Bradshaw in 2002, then driver with Kevyn Yearwood three years later. A suitably challenging Safari to end the season is anticipated.
Entries for the final round of the Mud Dogs Safari Championship are now open at McEnearney Quality Inc, Wildey; the Briefing Meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday (November 4) at 7.00pm at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association's Clubhouse at Searles, Christ Church.
The event will start from Six Roads, St Philip, at 8.00am on Sunday, November 21, and finish at Kendal Plantion, St John, where a driver challenge will conclude the competition at around 4.00pm; the lunchtime stopover will also be at Kendal.

BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship
Positions after round three
Navigators
1st Anna-Lee Alleyne (Bridgestone Tires/AutoZone Inc Mitsubishi Pajero iO), 178 points
2nd Neil Barnard (Mitsubishi L200), 172pts
3rd equal Kirk Watkins (Axis Construction Toyota Hilux) & Robert Warren (Flyin' Fish Nissan Frontier), 148pts
5th Stephen Dear (SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares Inc/Next Generation Electrical Inc/Joe Brooker's Building Ltd Toyota Hilux), 134pts
6th Wayne Clarke (Suzuki Samurai), 122pts
7th equal Derek Edwards (Joe Brooker's Building Ltd Toyota Hilux) & Willie Hinds (Niccolls & Edghill Construction Ltd Jeep Wrangler), 114pts
9th Lisa Roett (Land Rover Defender), 108pts
10th Robin Hinds (Yardman/Kar Parts Store Land Rover Defender & Suzuki Samurai), 106pts

Drivers
1st Leslie Alleyne (Bridgestone Tires/AutoZone Inc Mitsubishi Pajero iO), 178 points
2nd Barry Gale (Mitsubishi L200), 172pts
3rd equal Sean Dowding (Axis Construction Toyota Hilux) & Darrin White (Flyin' Fish Nissan Frontier), 148pts
5th Dominic Brooker (SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares Inc/Next Generation Electrical Inc/Joe Brooker's Building Ltd Toyota Hilux), 134pts
6th Edson Arthur (Rezults Auto Shop Toyota Hilux), 126pts
7th Chris Armstrong (Suzuki Samurai), 122pts
8th Paul Marshall (Mitsubishi L200), 118pts
9th Damian Brooker (Joe Brooker's Building Ltd Toyota Hilux), 114pts
10th John Sealy (Land Rover Defender), 108pts

ALL TO PLAY FOR AT BRC WINTER RALLY

ALL TO PLAY FOR AT BRC WINTER RALLY
Pressure on as Rally Club season comes to an end

The pressure is on this weekend (November 1/2) as the 2008 Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Virgin Atlantic RallySport Championship reaches its climax at the BRC Winter Rally; this new event on the Club's calendar is a gravel rally, featuring a total of 12 stages, split into three routes, one on Saturday evening and two on Sunday.
The re-named Virgin Atlantic championship was expanded this year, with competitors counting their five best results from each of the six-round BRC Rally and Sprint Championships towards their year-end Group total; with a maximum of 18 points to be scored this weekend - 15 for a Group win, plus a bonus point for the winner of each of the three routes - a few drivers will be feeling the pressure.
In Modified 8-WRC, Paul Bourne (Banks/Texaco/B-Mobile/

Pirelli/New-Tech Subaru Impreza WRC S9) has 102 points, a nine-point lead over Roger Skeete, who has scored in both the Michelin/FB Batteries Ford Escort WRC and Subaru Impreza WRC S9. And it will be a straight fight for the Group between those two this weekend, as Roger Hill does not collect Group points following his switch from the M8-A Mobil 1/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Celica GT4 to this Group with his Toyota Corolla WRC.
Hill does, however, feature in the fight for the overall Virgin Atlantic title, which is based purely on overall results and doesn't include route bonus points; Bourne enjoys a nine-point lead in this title chase - he has 105 points, compared with 96 for Skeete and 95 for Hill. This weekend, it will be vital for everyone to avoid unnecessary risks.
SuperModified 11 has been hot all year, Nick Gill and Jonathan Still trading times and position, often many times a day. Driving the Castrol Syntec/Lysol/Listerine/Vita Malt/Hennessy/McEnearney Quality Inc Mazda 3, Gill reaches the final round with a slender five-point lead over Still's Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments/Castrol Oils BMW M3; either could take the title.
Current SM9 points leader - and reigning Champion - Josh Read (Automotive Art Toyota Starlet) failed to score in the second part of the Motoring Club of Barbados Inc's Sailor Gully double-header last month, then missed the BRC Gravel Rally 10 days ago. That has allowed James Betts, whose season did not even start until Sol Rally Barbados, to slowly chip away at Read's lead.
As they reach the final, Betts is just 16 points behind the Starlet driver . . . if Read should be absent again, and Betts has a good run in the Makita/All Terrain Plus/Star Products/Champion Auto Wrecker/Kendal Sporting/Quik Start Auto Opel Corsa, then Read's position could also be under threat.
Points leaders in some Groups have totals that can no longer be challenged - Neil Armstrong (M8-A Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), Geoff Noel (P4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), Sean Gill (S10 Suzuki Swift), Adrian Linton (M7 Vauxhall Astra GSi), Ian Warren (M6 Peugeot 206), Garry Mendes (M5 Toyota Starlet) and Neil Barnard (P2 Suzuki Ignis Sport) - but there are still knife-edge battles to be fought for the 'best of the rest' title in some of those Groups.
The Briefing Meeting for the BRC Winter Rally, originally scheduled for tomorrow evening, will now be held on Thursday (October 30), at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) clubhouse in Christ Church; entries will be taken from 7.00 to 7.30pm, immediately after which the Briefing Meeting will start. The entry list will be published Friday.
All competitors must be ready for scrutineering in the Searles Factory Yard by 4.30pm, with the start scheduled for 6.00pm; four stages will be run in Searles before the overnight halt. On Sunday, the rally will restart from Guinea at 9.00am, with four stages in Guinea comprising the second route; after the lunch halt in the Searles Factory Yard at around mid-day, the rally will restart at 1.00pm, the final route comprising four stages in Searles, the course running in the reverse direction from Saturday.
The BRC Winter Rally will finish at the BCTSA clubhouse with a social. BRC PRO Neil Barnard notes: "During the evening, we will be showing some of the extensive European television coverage of Sol Rally Barbados 2008, which has featured across Europe on stations including Men & Motors, Motors TV and Sky Sports; all are invited to help our competitors celebrate the close of a hard-fought season."

For further information, robin@bradfax.com