MUD DOGS LOOK FORWARD TO FINAL BATTLE

Just two weeks after island motor sport fans enjoyed last Sunday’s final gravel rally of the season, competitors in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Mud Dogs Safari Championship are heading for their final showdown. The Nassco November Safari on Sunday, November 15, offers crews their last chance to score points and settle whose names will be inscribed on the 2009 trophies.
Entries for the fourth and final round of the Championship opened on Monday and will close at 2.00pm next Tuesday (November 10), prior to the Briefing Meeting at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association’s Clubhouse at Searles, Christ Church at 7.00pm the same evening.
Crews can expect a challenging day, as the route setters are Neil Barnard and Barry Gale, respectively the Champion Navigator and Driver in 2005 and winners of the June Safari last year; victory in that event for Barnard created an unique triple, as he joined father David and grandfather, Trevor Gale, as a winner of the event which, in 1957, brought about the creation of the Barbados Rally Club.
Once again, the Mud Dogs have enjoyed a healthy season; thus far, 40 drivers and 42 navigators have scored points in the March, June and September Safaris . . . while many others have participated in the popular MudFests and navigational practice events. The latest practice event is slated for this Sunday (November 8) - set by Biddy Barber and Warrick Eastmond, it starts at the BCTSA Clubhouse at 9.00am, finishing at Juliet’s Rum Shop, College Savannah, St Philip, at around 1.00pm.
Mud Dogs Chairman Leslie Alleyne is looking forward to the climax of the season: “We have enjoyed tremendous support from our sponsors – and once again I must say a big thanks to Nassco for their continued backing of our final Safari – but I’m also really encouraged by the number of people who turn out for our practice events.
“This Sunday’s event, for instance, will give new competitors a chance to see what we are all about . . . but it is also a good opportunity for a few people who want to sharpen their minds for the battle to come on the 15th!”
Full details of the Nassco November Safari will be announced as they become available, but it has been confirmed as a one-day event, with a morning start and finish the same afternoon. As usual, the Prizegiving will be held at 7.00pm at the BCTSA Club House the following Tuesday (November 17), once the results have been declared final.

2009 BRC Mud Dogs Safari Championship
Positions after round three - Navigators:
1st Robert Warren, 174 points
2nd Stephen Dear, 164pts
3rd Wayne Clarke, 160pts
4th Kirk Watkins, 144pts
5th equal Willie Hinds & Tricia King, 134pts
7th Derek Edwards, 130pts
8th equal Neil Barnard & Warrick Eastmond, 110pts
10th Tiffany Marshall, 106pts
etc
Drivers:
1st Darrin White, 174 points
2nd Dominic Brooker, 164pts
3rd Chris Armstrong, 160pts
4th Paul Marshall, 156pts
5th Sean Dowding, 144pts
6th equal Michael Ward & Kirk King, 134pts
8th Damian Brooker, 130pts
9th Audley Croney, 112pts
10th equal Barry Gale & Nicolas Lorde, 110pts
etc

For further media information, robin@bradfax.com