BOURNE HEADS ENTRY LIST FOR SEASON-OPENER

Three Subaru Impreza World Rally Cars, including the 2003 Rally Barbados-winning example of Paul Bourne, will go head-to-head for the first time in the island on Sunday (March 12) when the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) stages the BRC March Gravel Challenge. Action at the Black Bess Plantation in St Peter is scheduled to start at 9.00am.
The event is the opening round of both the BRC’s two major championships, the Texaco BRC Rally Championship and the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's Championship and has attracted a provisional entry of more than 20 cars, an encouraging number early in the season.
Bourne’s familiar car has two opponents in the Modified 9 classification, with the arrival in Barbados of the later-model Sunbeach Communications Inc Impreza WRC S9 of Harold Morley. The former British road rally champion debuted his ex-prodrive car – it was originally built for multiple World Champion Tommi Makinen - last December on Rally Jamaica, where he finished sixth.
Morley currently enjoys the rare distinction of owning two Imprezas that have been driven by former World Champions; his older car, which he has campaigned in the region for the past two seasons, was driven in Jamaica last year by Didier Auriol. On Sunday, the car will be driven by reigning BRC Production 4 Champion Geoff Noel.
Modified 8 has four entries, headed by 2005 BRC Driver’s Champion Roger Hill in his trusty Mobil 1/Nassco Ltd/Motormac/PPG Toyota Celica GT4, in which he won at the St Peter venue in October 2004; Barry Gale will share his VP Racing/Nishikoi Fish Foods Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI with Sean Dowding, always a front-runner at Black Bess, while Kirk Watkins is stepping up to the Group for the first time, with continued support from Abacus Builders Inc and Planned Maintenance for his ex-Dowding Evo V.
Modified Open promises an exciting contest between Jonathan Still in his re-modelled Hitachi Power Tools/Philips Lighting/Warrens Motors/VP Racing/Crane & Equipment/Autolink BMW M3 and Mark Hamilton in the Consolidated Finance/McEnearney Quality Inc Ford Escort MkII); when these two met at Black Bess in last February’s speed event, it was Hamilton who finished ahead – can Still have his revenge?
Reigning Group Champions Brett Clarke (Suzuki Swift GTi) and Neil Barnard (Suzuki Ignis Sport) represent the Shell Helix/Automotive Art Simpson Motors Rally Team in Modified 5 and Production 2, while the lone entry in Modified 6 signifies a welcome return to competition in his homeland for Ian Warren (Peugeot 206GTi).
Although no co-drivers will be carried, the BRC March Gravel Challenge will nevertheless be run like a rally, with times for the six ‘stages’ being totalled to arrive at the result; the day will also be divided into two routes, with the usual route bonus points on offer.

BRC March Gravel Challenge,
March 12 – Black Bess Plantation, St Peter
Texaco BRC Rally Championship, round 1
Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s Championship, round 1

Running order:
1 Paul Bourne (M9 Subaru Impreza WRC)
2 Roger Hill (M8 Mobil 1/Nassco Ltd/Motormac/PPG Toyota Celica GT4)
3 Barry Gale (M8 VP Racing/Nishikoi Fish Foods Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)*
4 Harold Morley (M9 Sunbeach Communications Inc/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
5 Geoff Noel (M9 Subaru Impreza WRC)
6 Kirk Watkins (M8 Abacus Builders Inc/Planned Maintenance Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V)
7 Mark Hamilton (MO Consolidated Finance/McEnearney Quality Inc Ford Escort MkII)
8 Jonathan Still (MO Hitachi Power Tools/Philips Lighting/Warrens Motors/VP Racing/Crane & Equipment/Autolink BMW M3)
9 Logan Watson (M7 Ford Escort MkI)**
10 James Betts (M5 Opel Corsa GSi)
11 Brett Clarke (M5 Shell Helix/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift GTi)
12 Josh Read (MO Toyota Starlet)
13 Ian Warren (M6 Peugeot 206GTi)
14 Adrian Linton (M7 Ravensden/Crane & Equipment/Garbage Gobbler/West Coast Garden Centre/Edwin Clarke Furniture Vauxhall Astra GSi)
15 Sean Dowding (M8 VP Racing/Nishikoi Fish Foods Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)*
16 Freddie Gale (M7 Gale’s Hatcheries/NASSCO/Nitrous Formula Octane Booster/Nishikoi Fish Foods Toyota Corolla RunX)
17 Neil Barnard (P3 Shell Helix/Automotive Art Suzuki Ignis Sport)
18 Jeremy Gonsalves (M5 Suzuki Forsa GTi)
19 Reggie Gill (MO SDRR Opel Manta B)
20 Stuart White (M5 Toyota Corolla)
21 Ron Layne (M7 Nissan Sunny B11)
22 Rhett Watson (M7 Ford Escort MkI)**
23 Danny Williams (P2 Peugeot 106)
* Gale and Dowding share; ** Watson and Watson share

For further information, robin@bradfax.com