SKEETE WINS KARCHER SUMMER STAGES

Posted on July 24th, 2010.

Roger Skeete (Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Michelin/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12) carried the momentum of his memorable 11th victory in the island’s premier event in May through to yesterday’s (Saturday, July 24) Karcher Summer Stages to record another dominant victory.
With co-driver Louis Venezia, Skeete outpaced a strong field, to win round eight of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Driver’s and Class Championships by more than 27 seconds. Eleven stages were run at Pickerings and Turner’s Hall, where hundreds of fans enjoyed the increasingly rare sight of night-time rallying, with the occasional shower adding further spice to the action.
Commenting on his win, Skeete said: “The day was good and enjoyable, despite a few small glitches with the car electronically. We carried the momentum from Sol Rally Barbados into this event.”
Skeete was in determined mood, faced with a record entry of World Rally Cars (outside Rally Barbados), and set the pace from the first downhill run through Turner’s Hall, 2.9 seconds ahead of Roger Hill and Graham Gittens (Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC). Jamaicans Gary Gregg and Hugh Hutchinson (First Caribbean International Bank/Rally Jamaica/Seaboard Marine/BD Gregg & Bros/NG Racing Ford Focus WRC 05) were third, just 12/100ths slower than Hill, with brothers Ian and Robert Warren fourth in the Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift.
Skeete maintained his pace, fastest on all five daylight stages – the first Pickerings run was cancelled – to lead by nearly 10secs at the supper break. Hill had been in the top five all afternoon to retain second place, although he was coming under pressure from Trinidad-based Jamaican John Powell and Michael March (Shell Helix Subaru Impreza WRC S12), who had steadily been picking up pace. Powell said: “After spending Rally Barbados with professional co-driver, Craig Thorley, I was using a different note system to what Michael and I were used to. It is better than our old notes, but Michael had difficulty adapting, which resulted in me taking a cautious approach.”
After his impressive start, Warren had dropped to sixth, behind Gregg and Jeff Panton and Mike Fennell Jnr, who had worked up to fourth after a rather cautious start in the First Caribbean International Bank/Rally Jamaica/Seaboard Marine Ford Focus WRC 00.
Skeete claimed three more stage wins in the dark, opening up enough of a margin to take it steady over the final three, second-fastest twice to Powell, once to Hill, who did enough to retain second place, despite finding the night stages challenging. While his co-driver was by now more comfortable with the new notes, Powell admitted afterwards: “by then, my driving was off, with one stall on the line.” That cost 10secs on the second Pickerings, dropping them behind Panton, with Gregg finishing fifth.
With three fourth-fastest stage times, and one second-fastest (to Skeete up Turner’s Hall), Warren was sixth, while Josh Read/Mark Jordan (Automotive Art/Baram Services Toyota Starlet) continued their giant-killing ways in seventh. Read noted: “The day was fun. Turner’s Hall at night was very interesting, but I enjoyed the downhill Turner’s Hall runs. We have done some work to the suspension and the car is handling great.”
The battle of the Evo IXs in Group N went the way of Barry Gale, eighth overall - arch-rival Geoff Noel, who finished 11th, admitted: “We were not as prepared as we should have been. I was not on my game and did not drive to my potential.”
The top 10 was completed by the first two finishers in SuperModified 11, Mark Hamilton (Ford Escort MkII) and Owen Cumberbatch (BMW M3), who shared the class fastest times seven-four in Hamilton’s favour.
In the historic category, added to accommodate competitors in the second event of the 2010 Barbados Historic Rally Carnival, five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae finished second in the Francis Tuthill-prepared Porsche 911, sandwiched between the Mark II Escorts of winner Greg Cozier and Andrew Jones.

Karcher Summer Stages, July 24
Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver’s & Class Championships, round 8
Provisional results:
1st Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (M8-WRC Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Michelin/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 24m 04.83s
2nd Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC), 24m 32.34s
3rd Jeffrey Panton – JAM/Mike Fennell Jnr – JAM (M8-WRC First Caribbean International Bank/Rally Jamaica/Seaboard Marine Ford Focus WRC 00), 24m 36.14s
4th John Powell – TDAD/Michael March - JAM (M8-WRC Shell Helix Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 24m 40.48s
5th Gary Gregg – JAM/Hugh Hutchinson – JAM (M8-WRC First Caribbean International Bank/Rally Jamaica/Seaboard Marine/BD Gregg & Bros/NG Racing Ford Focus WRC 05), 24m 40.72s
6th Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 25m 07.96s
7th Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM9 Automotive Art/Baram Services Toyota Starlet), 25m 34.13s
8th Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (P4 redlinefuels.com/Autolink/Maxi Malta/Rockstar Energy Drink/Metal Craft Works/Weetabix/Bella Beauty Supply Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 26m 04.65s
9th Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (SM11 Automotive Art/PowerMaster Batteries/Consolidated Finance/Valvoline Oil/Kumho Tires Ford Escort MkII), 26m 19.43s
10th Owen Cumberbatch/Kelly-Ann Sandiford (SM11 Combo Auto Parts and Service BMW M3), 26m 36.60s
etc
Modified 8-WRC – 1st Skeete/Venezia; 2nd Hill/Gittens; 3rd Panton/Fennell
Production 4 – 1st Gale/Edghill; 2nd Geoffrey Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (Globe Finance Inc/Mix 96.9/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Dewalt Tools/Automotive Art/Ezone Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 26m 53.32s; 3rd Harold Morley - ENG/Geoff Goddard (Subaru Impreza N14), 27m 01.53s; etc
SuperModified 11 – 1st Hamilton/Howell; 2nd Cumberbatch/Sandiford; 3rd Calvin Briggs/Paul Inniss (Ultra Lubricants Ford Escort MkII), 29m 32.10s; etc
SM10 – 1st Warren/Warren; 2nd Eric Allamby/Jonathan Reece (Shelbury Construction Mitsubishi Lancer), 29m 05.55s; 3rd Ralph White/Joe Troulan (Barbados Villa Services/Island Safari Toyota Starlet), 30m 42.06s; etc
SM9 – 1st Read/Jordan
M7 – 1st Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (Gale’s Hatcheries/redlinefuels.com/Nassco Toyota Corolla RunX), 28m 49.84s; 2nd John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (Corbins Garage/Klark-Odio/Automotive Art Toyota Corolla), 30m 52.29s; 3rd Kyle Catwell/Norman Catwell (Chicken Pen Racing/Cutters of Barbados/Carib/Freekz Customz/Auto Plus Motors Volkswagen Golf GTI), 34m 33.46s
M6 – 1st Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (Williams Trading/AMAT Trading/Big John’s Inc Peugeot 206), 27m 28.91s; 2nd Jamal Brathwaite/Talia Mapp (AM Electrical/FG Wilson/Ellesmere Quarries/Meridian Windows/Carib/D2 Suspension/Starfish Designs/Valvoline/Freekz Customz/Auto Plus Motors Mitsubishi Mirage RS), 29m 23.56s; 3rd Danny Williams/Reuben Nelson (Cutters of Barbados/Lexy’s Piano Bar/Sunbury Plantation House/Lucky Horseshoe/Sitar Ford Fiesta), 32m 34.72s
M5 – 1st Sean Cox/Adam Cox (Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift), 30m 53.17s
P2 – 1st Conor Roach/Rhett D’Andrade (Peugeot 106), 32m 33.72s; 2nd Fabien Clarke/Arlington Hoyte (Barbados Business Listings/Crimson Jade/RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair/Big P Customs Brokers/De Fx-Bar Suzuki Ignis Sport), 33m 27.26s
Historics – 1st Greg Cozier/Jamie Marsh (Mahindra/Pennzoil Ford Escort MkII), 27m 05.29s; 2nd Jimmy McRae - SCO/Campbell Roy - SCO (Francis Tuthill Ltd Porsche 911), 27m 29.41s; 3rd Andrew Jones/Jeremy Foster (Quix Lime/A P Jones Pharmacy Ford Escort MkII), 27m 35.43s; etc