RECORD SUPPORT FOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

The Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has secured record levels of sponsorship for its 2007 programme of events as it prepares to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of its founding in 1957. Familiar sponsors of the 21st century are being joined by some businesses whose support in the early days of motor sport was instrumental in its steady growth into the biggest spectator sport in the island.
With the countdown under way, preparations are well advanced for the celebrations, which start in four weeks’ time with the 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner, to be staged at the Sherbourne Conference Centre on Saturday, May 12. During the formal part of the evening, the BRC will launch 0 to 50: The Barbados Rally Club 1957-2007, a 216-page hardback book, which traces the development of the Club over its five decades.
The second major event is Rally Barbados 2007, which will be run over the weekend of May 26-27; it is the 18th in the BRC’s series of special stage rallies, which began with the Texaco International All-Stage Rally in 1990. Renamed Rally Barbados in 2003, it is the second element of the eighth annual Barbados Rally Carnival, following the previous weekend’s International RallySprint.
Principal sponsors of Rally Barbados and the BRC’s 50th Anniversary celebrations are Automotive Art, Banks Holdings Ltd, Dacosta Mannings Auto Centre, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Simpson Motors, Texaco and Williams Industries. Associate sponsors are Armag, the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Crane & Equipment, Essco, Harris Paints, Nassco and SOL.
Courtesy Garage and Esso are renewing former associations with the BRC through joint sponsorship of the 50th Anniversary June Safari, which will round off the month of celebrations over the weekend of June 9-10. The successful running of the first June Rally in 1957 was the catalyst to the founding of the BRC, and it is the oldest-established motor sport event in the region with a continuous history. Esso was the club’s first major sponsor - starting with the Esso June Rally in 1965, the company developed a long-term relationship with the BRC, which lasted for more than 20 years.
Club Chairman Mark Hamilton said: “We have been greatly encouraged by the commitment and enthusiasm shown by our sponsors. And it is particularly pleasing to renew associations with companies such as Courtesy Garage, Crane & Equipment, Esso and Harris Paints, whose support was so important in the formative years of the Club.
“The support of these sponsors means that we can recognise this milestone in the Club’s existence in an appropriate manner, and also ensure that the Club can extract maximum political and financial benefit, for the good of island motor sport in general.
“Various committees have been working on this project for more than six months, and I hope that we have found the best possible balance. The Gala Dinner will give old friends and rivals the opportunity to reminisce about their exploits in the past, while the hundreds of photographs in the book will certainly jog a few memories.
“Rally Barbados is very much about where the Club is today; we’re capable of running a world-class International special stage rally that attracts competitors from the region and further afield. They bring large numbers of supporters - and valuable foreign exchange - to the island, positioning motor sport firmly in the tourist sector.
“Finally, the Esso Courtesy Garage June Safari will take us right back to our roots; although the events in our navigational championship are now run for four-wheel-drive vehicles, rather than saloons and sports cars, the emphasis is still on the skill of navigation rather than outright speed. And that was where our 12 Founder Members started 50 years ago.”

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