CARNIVAL SUCCESS GIVES HILL POINTS LEAD

Posted on June 27th, 2005.

Roger ‘Ninja’ Hill tops the list of more than 50 drivers who have scored points in the 2005 Virgin Atlantic Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Drivers’ Championship, following an impressive performance during the two international events of last month’s fifth Barbados Rally Carnival.
At the wheel of his Mobil 1/Nassco/Motormac/Michelin Toyota Celica GT4, the island’s Toyota dealer won the Modified 8 classification at the Vaucluse Raceway International RallySprint, then turned in a near-perfect score the following weekend with co-driver Graham Gittens during Rally Barbados 2005.
Prior to those events, which counted as three of the eight rounds in the Virgin Atlantic Championship, Hill had been tied in first place on 39 points with Trevor ‘Electric Micey’ Manning in the Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors/Garbage Master Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII. And, although Manning equalled the Toyota driver’s 10-point score in the RallySprint, he dropped back during RB’05; Hill’s total is now 81 points.
Second place in the standings is held by Edward Corbin, who has finished runner-up in the BRC Driver’s Championship for the past two years in the Automotive Art/Kumho Tyres Toyota Corolla SR. He is four points adrift of Hill, but leads Modified 7 by a comfortable margin of 22 points.
Reigning BRC Champion Driver Sean Gill is third in the Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors Suzuki Ignis, a further six points behind; he has an even greater margin in Modified 6, 25 points.
Manning is now fourth overall and leading Modified 9 by 11 points from Roger Mayers (Trivial Pursuit/McEnearney Quality Ford Focus WRC), who is seventh overall. At year-end, drivers will count only their best seven scores and, as Mayers has already missed two events, he will not be dropping any points, so remains a threat to Manning in the Group.
Jonathan Still is fifth overall, two points behind Manning, and leader of the Modified Open Group in his Hitachi Power Tools/Philips Lighting/Warrens Motors/Crane & Equipment BMW M3, while Production 4 leader Geoff Noel is sixth overall in the Irving Oil/Max Meyer/AutoZone/Mix 96.9/ESSCO/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.
Behind seventh-placed Mayers, Roger Marshall (Signia Financial/Western Union/Bill Express Hyundai Accent) is eighth, while tied in ninth place are Modified 5 leader Wayne Manning (Citgo/Black Bess Quarry/Glassfibre Products Peugeot 205XS) and Barry Mayers (Trivial Pursuit/Nassco Toyota Starlet).
The leaders of the three smaller-capacity Production classes are currently outside the overall top 10, all three of them having missed events before Barbados Rally Carnival. Production 3 leader Derek Roach (Magna/PHD/Dupont/Sargento Cheeses/Warrens Motors MINI Cooper S) is 11th with 50 points; in Production 2, Neil Barnard (Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors Suzuki Ignis Sport) is in charge with 43pts – he lies 14th overall; meanwhile, Production 1 is led by Daniel Williams (Ocean Mist/Chase Midway Clothing/Sunbury Plantation Peugeot 106) with 26pts.
At year-end, each class-winner will claim a return ticket to London on Virgin Atlantic, an incentive that has seen the championship well-supported. BRC competition secretary Barry Gale said: "At the start of the year, thanks to the very welcome support from Virgin Atlantic, I was hoping for an increase in competitors . . . and we have certainly seen that. With two more events yet to come, and the dropped scores to be taken into account, I think we are in for an exciting climax to the season.”
The final two rounds of the Virgin BRC Drivers’ Championship are in September and October.

Virgin Atlantic BRC Drivers’ Championship
Positions after six of eight rounds
Overall
1st Roger Hill (M8 Mobil 1/Nassco/Motormac/Michelin Toyota Celica GT4), 81 points
2nd Edward Corbin (M7 Automotive Art/Kumho Toyota Corolla SR), 77pts
3rd Sean Gill (M6 Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors Suzuki Ignis JWRC), 71pts
4th Trevor Manning (M9 Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors/Garbage Master Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII), 69pts
5th Jonathan Still (MO Hitachi Power Tools/Philips Lighting/Warrens Motors/Crane & Equipment BMW M3), 67pts
6th Geoffrey Noel (P4 Irving Oil/Max Meyer/AutoZone/Mix 96.9/ESSCO/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 61pts
7th Roger Mayers (M9 Trivial Pursuit/McEnearney Quality Ford Focus WRC), 58pts
8th Roger Marshall (M7 Signia Financial/Western Union/Bill Express Hyundai Accent), 55pts
9th Wayne Manning (M5 Citgo/Black Bess Quarry/Glassfibre Products Peugeot 205XS) & Barry Mayers (MO Trivial Pursuit/Nassco Toyota Starlet), 51pts
etc
Modified 9 1st T Manning, 69; 2nd R Mayers, 58; 3rd Harold Morley – ENG (Sunbeach Communications Inc/Tyra Lee Appeal Subaru Impreza WRC) & John Powell – JAM (Intercontinental Shipping/Trinidad Mooring and Launch Services/Toyota Trinidad Toyota Corolla WRC), 32pts; etc
Modified 8 1st Hill, 81pts; 2nd Sean Dowding (Pro Pac/Globe Finance/Xypex Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V), 50pts; 3rd Barry Gale (Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors/Nishikoi Fish Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 22pts; etc
Production 4
1st Noel, 61pts
Modified Open 1st Still, 67pts; 2nd B Mayers, 51pts; 3rd Mark Hamilton (McEnearney Quality Inc/Consolidated Finance/Automotive Art Ford Escort Mk II), 40pts; etc
Modified 7 1st E Corbin, 77pts; 2nd Marshall, 55pts; 3rd John Corbin (Corbin’s Garage/Klark-Odio Toyota Corolla), 30pts; etc
Modified 6 1st Gill, 71pts; 2nd Steve Ollivierre - SVG (ECMIL/Empire Cigarettes Mitsubishi Mirage), 46pts; 3rd Joshua Delmas (Autolink Service Centre/Ideal Agencies Toyota Corolla Gti), 40pts; etc
Modified 5 1st W Manning, 51pts; 2nd Brett Clarke (Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift GTi), 42pts; 3rd James Betts (Champion Auto/KG Enterprises/Venture Marble/Hankook/Bridgestone/L & N Workshop/Kendall Sporting Opel Corsa GSi), 37pts; etc
Production 3 1st Derek Roach (Magna/PHD/Dupont/Sargento Cheeses/Warrens Motors MINI Cooper S), 50pts; 2nd Noel Edwards (Daihatsu Charade GTti), 20pts; 3rd Freddie Gale (Castrol/Gales Hatcheries Toyota Starlet Turbo), 19pts (switched to M7); etc
Production 2 1st Neil Barnard (Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors Suzuki Ignis Sport), 43pts; 2nd Gary Mendez (Toyota Starlet), 27pts; 3rd Carlos Humphrey (Toyota Starlet), 25pts
Production 1 1st Daniel Williams (Ocean Mist/Chase Midway Clothing/Sunbury Plantation Peugeot 106), 26pts; 2nd Gary Mendez (Toyota Starlet), 10pts (switched to P2)