LAST CHANCE SALOON FOR TITLE CONTENDERS

Posted on October 29th, 2009.

Island rally fans, disappointed when a suspension problem prevented Roger Skeete’s participation in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) recent Autumn Gravel Stages event, will finally get chance to see him in action on the loose in his Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12 this Sunday (November 1).
Although no longer in with a chance of winning the Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s Championship, Skeete’s performance could have a bearing on the outcome; points leader Paul Bourne (Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Ford Focus WRC07) and Roger Hill (Esso/Nassco/Motormac Toyota Corolla WRC) face off for the final time this year, the only drivers who can win the title.
Also in the mix for event honours on Sunday will be Trevor Manning (All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Garbage Master/Bess Block Ford Escort WRC), who looked set to finish ahead of Hill two weeks ago, until a misfire cost him valuable seconds.
Behind these four, fans can expect a series of closely-fought battles - Neil Armstrong and Barry Gale, both Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI-mounted, were very evenly-matched two weeks ago; Group N leader Geoff Noel (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) will have the experienced Harold Morley (Subaru Impreza N14) to contend with, while Nicholas Gill (Mazda 3), Jonathan Still (BMW M3) and Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift) will all be seeking the final two-wheel-drive honours of the season.
Although the entry is lower than anticipated, as most class titles have already been resolved and some crews are busy preparing for Rally Jamaica, SuperModified 9 leader James Betts is the only driver missing from the list of those who still have a mathematical chance of winning the prestigious Overall Class Champion title.
Noel leads on 185 points, with Modified 6 leader Edward Corbin (Daihatsu Charmant) second on 177, two ahead of Still, who leads SM11. Warren is fourth on 170, with Bourne fifth on 166. Although, given his impressive consistency this year, Noel is favourite to win the title, both Corbin and Still have one advantage on Sunday, as both M6 and SM11 currently have three starters listed, whereas Group N has only two, which reduces Noel’s potential maximum score from 21 points to 16.
Sunday’s event is scheduled to start at 8.30am from Ocean Park, which will also be the venue for scrutineering (from 7.00am) and the service park for stages 1 to 4 (Yorkshire to Searles), then 9 to 12 (Searles to Yorkshire, first run slated for 1.30pm); Kendal Plantation Yard will provide service facilities for stages 5 to 8 (Cliff to Guinea, first run slated for 11.05am). A social and Prizegiving will follow the event, at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association Clubhouse at Searles.

BRC Winter Rally – Sunday, November 1
Provisional running order

1 Paul Bourne/Stuart Maloney (M8-WRC Banks/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Ford Focus WRC07)
2 Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (M8-WRC Michelin/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
3 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/Motormac Toyota Corolla WRC)
4 Trevor Manning/Derek Edwards (M8-WRC All Terrain Plus/Cellate Caribbean/Garbage Master/Bess Block Ford Escort WRC)
5 Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (M8-WRC Autolink/VP Racing/Bella Beauty Supply/Pro Pac Dog Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
6 Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (M8-A Simpson Motors/Hankook Tyres/Shell V-Power/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
7 Harold Morley/Geoff Goddard (P4 Subaru Impreza N14)
8 Geoffrey Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (P4 Globe Finance/DeWalt Tools/Essco/Sunbeach/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
9 Graham Manning/Ryan Farmer (SM11 Ford Escort MkII)
10 Nicholas Gill/Sue Rogers (SM11 SDRR/Glassfibre Products/Castrol/Barb's Bikinis Mazda 3)
11 Jonathan Still/Matthew Staffner (SM11 Hitachi Power Tools/Ocean Spray/Philips Lighting/Crane & Equipments/Little Switzerland BMW M3)
12 Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Suzuki Swift)
13 Rhett Watson/Logan Watson (SM10 The Unknown Entity/MQI Collision Repair Centre/Toshiba/Office Solutions & Supplies/Corbz Workz/Castrol Ford Escort MkI)
14 Neil Corbin/Aaron Kirton (SM9 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet)
15 John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (M7 Corbins Garage/Klark-Odio/Automotive Art Toyota Corolla)
16 Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (M7 Gale’s Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Racing/Workz Mechanical Services Toyota Corolla RunX)
17 Chris Williams/Reuben Nelson (M6 Chris’s Workshop/Sunbury Plantation House/Barbados Paragliding Association Ford Fiesta)
18 Edward Corbin/Paul Bourne (M6 Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant)
19 Jamal Brathwaite/Ziad Kazan (M6 AM Electrical Solutions/Arthur Construction/Arthur Lifting and Freighting/Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing/D2 Racing Suspension Mitsubishi Mirage)
20 Sean Cox/Adam Cox (M5 Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift)