MANNING MAINTAINS GOOD EARLY-SEASON FORM

Trevor 'Electric Micey' Manning maintained his good early-season form on Sunday (March 6) with victory in the opening round of the new-for-2005 Texaco Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Rally Championship; co-driven by Ryan Rodriguez, Manning won by a margin of more than 24 seconds.
Driving the Shell/Courts/Automotive Art/Garbage Master Simpson Motors Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII in which he had won the BRC Gravel Sprint just two weeks before, Manning attacked from the start; his determination was much enjoyed by the island’s motor sport enthusiasts, who turned out in large numbers to witness the first rally of the new season.
Provisional results were published in the pits at the Vaucluse Raceway, which was the venue for the start, lunch halt and finish; results will be declared final before the prize-giving this evening (Monday) at The Boatyard.
The opening stage was a short blast of around 1.5 kilometres at Mangrove, on hard ground, and lined in parts with boulders the size of a small rally car; this was run twice, followed by three runs uphill at the familiar Black Bess stage. After a short lunch break, the Mangrove stage was repeated once, before three further runs, this time downhill, at Black Bess.
Manning’s victory came against a rather depleted field, although the shortage of numbers seemed not to affect the appeal of the new Texaco championship to the fans. Contributing to a Zhaust.com on-line magazine discussion forum on Sunday evening, one fan said: ”This was one of the most entertaining rallies I’ve watched in a long time; the action was fast-paced and the drivers seemed to be on a whole different level of competition.”
‘Micey’ was pleased with his performance, too, and that of his car. After the finish, he said: “We really have got the car sorted, now; once it went to England late last year, the early problems were dealt with. I can now drive the car with total confidence that it will do what I want it to.”
Manning’s victory came over Roger Hill and Graham Gittens, who were enduring some problems with the anti-lag on the Mobil 1/Nassco/Michelin/Motormac Toyota Celica GT4. Third, in his first appearance of the season, was Geoffrey Noel, co-driven on this occasion by Kreigg Yearwood in the Canada House/Mix 96.9/Automotive Art/ESSCO Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
Each of the first three ran with single entries in his class, so the Modified 8 and 9 classes were merged with Production 4.
A remarkable fourth overall was the giant-killing Shell/Courts/Automotive Art Simpson Motors Rally Team Suzuki Ignis JWRC of Sean Gill/Michael Cummins; they were being pushed hard by Neil Armstrong/Ben Armstrong (Bridgestone/Lubriguard/Nassco/Proauto Toyota Starlet) during the morning, but went on to win the merged Modified 6 and 7 classes by just under 21secs. The Armstrong cousins might have been closer – and also might have finished fifth overall – but for a sticking throttle pedal on the last stage, which had Neil dancing back and forth across the pedals every time he needed to brake.
The Philips Lighting/Castrol/Crane & Equipment BMW M3 of Jonathan Still was equipped with a new sequential gearbox for the first time; with co-driver Heath Hazell, Still was enthusiastic: “The gearbox has only been in a week, so I’ve had little change to practice, but it does deliver smoother power. The car isn’t really set up for the loose, so a win won’t be easy today.”
But things went his way; a spin on the opening stage by Mark Hamilton (McEnearney Quality Inc/Consolidated Finance/Automotive Art Ford Escort MkII) left him and co-driver Clive Howell playing catch-up in Modified Open, and there was just not enough time. The BMW finished fifth overall, beating the Escort by 11secs.
James Betts claimed his second win of the season in the Champion Auto/KG Enterprises/Venture Marble/Hankook/Bridgestone/L & N Workshop Opel Corsa GSi, which had Jeremy Gonsalves as co-driver; they led Wayne Manning/Willie Hinds (Citgo Oils/Black Bess Quarry Peugeot 205GTi) home in Modified 5.
It was a day of few accidents, although Andrew Jones/Stuart White retired at Black Bess when a rear wheel parted company with the Total Sport Ford Escort Mk II, while mechanical problems ruined the chances of brothers Nicholas and Reggie Gill, in Volkswagen Beetle and Opel Manta respectively.
Round two of the Texaco BRC Rally Championship will be the BRC’s first one-day Tarmac Stage Rally of the season, scheduled for Sunday, April 17.

BRC Gravel Stage Rally, March 6
Texaco Barbados Rally Club Rally Championship, round 1
Provisional results:

1st Trevor Manning/Ryan Rodriguez (Shell/Courts/Automotive Art/Garbage Master Simpson Motors Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII), 15m 31.26s
2nd Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (Mobil 1/Nassco/Michelin/Motormac Toyota Celica GT4), 15m 56.06s
3rd Geoffrey Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (Canada House, Mix 96.9, Automotive Art and ESSCO Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
4th Sean Gill/Michael Cummins (Shell/Courts/Automotive Art Simpson Motors Rally Team Suzuki Ignis JWRC), 16m 31.17s
5th Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (Philips Lighting/Castrol/Crane & Equipment BMW M3), 16m 51.00s
6th Neil Armstrong/Ben Armstrong (Bridgestone/Lubriguard/Nassco/Proauto Toyota Starlet), 16m 52.01s
7th Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (McEnearney Quality Inc/Consolidated Finance/Automotive Art Ford Escort MkII), 17m 03.34s
8th James Betts/Jeremy Gonsalves (Champion Auto/KG Enterprises/Venture Marble/Hankook/Bridgestone/L & N Workshop Opel Corsa GSi), 17m 09.39s
9th Edward Corbin/Mark Perkins (Automotive Art/Kumho Tyres Toyota Corolla SR), 17m 10.75s
10th Barry Ward/Matthew Staffner (Toyota Starlet), 17m 35.68s
etc
Class winners:
Modified 9, Modified 8 & Production 4 merged, Manning/Rodriguez; Modified Open, Still/Hazell; Modified 7 & Modified 6 merged, Gill/Cummins; Modified 5, Betts/Gonsalves

For further information, robin@bradfax.com