Thompson leads BRC Championship ahead of final round

After six drivers have variously shared the overall lead of the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Driver’s Championship this season, Kurt Thompson will head into next month’s final round as the first exclusive leader of the standings. In a very strong year for local rallying, more than 80 drivers have scored points, with the title to be decided at the BRC Winter Rally on October 26.

  Following BCIC RB25, Edward Corbin had been joint leader with Thompson of the Champion Driver standings, based on points scored against rivals in each of the 13 classes. After a blown engine prevented him starting the reverse direction of last month’s Double-Header Summer Sprint (August 24), however, Corbin dropped back.

  Thompson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) has 129 points after his perfect run of class wins in Modified 4 was finally halted at the Summer Sprint by his brother Mark, who demoted him to second place in the reverse direction in an identical Evo IX. SuperModified 1 class leader and two-time Champion Driver Corbin (Daihatsu Charmant) is now equal third with 120 points.

  With 121 points after two more class wins, M2 leader Neil Corbin (Toyota GT86 CS-R3) is second in the Champion Driver standings, with Jamaica’s Kyle Gregg (FIA R5 Ford Fiesta Rally2) and Rhett Watson (SM3 BMW M3) joining Edward Corbin and tied for third, Gregg and Watson also leading the 4wd and 2wd Championships respectively. After two uncharacteristically poor results, driving a borrowed BimmaCup in Clubman 2, Chris Hoad has slipped from third to sixth with 111 points.

  Continuing the run of class wins which started at BCIC RB25, Robert Ryan Wood (C3 BimmaCup Too, 107pts) is now in the Top 10 for the first time this year, in seventh, ahead of Sean Corbin (M2 BMW 318ti Compact, 104pts) and joint ninth, on 100 points, David-Anthony Balgobin (C2 BimmaCup) and Shawn Brathwaite (C1 Toyota Corolla).

  All is not necessarily as it seems, however, as each driver will drop his or her lowest score at year-end, the drivers currently in the top 10 with scores ranging from zero to 13 points to discard. In addition, the Winter Rally traditionally benefits from an enhanced scoring system, with 28, 23 and 20 points for the top three, compared with 20, 17 and 15 in other rallies, so the permutations mean the outcome is by no means decided.

  That said, Gregg looks to have done enough to secure the 4wd Championship, which he currently leads by 31 from Stuart Maloney, who has not returned since his accident in BCIC RB25. The sole entry in the WRC class, Dane Skeete (Subaru Impreza WRC S12) and Jamaica’s Jeff Panton (Fiesta Rally2) are a further two points and seven points respectively behind Maloney, so are set move up the order, given strong results.

  In the 2wd Championship, reigning Champion Watson leads Nigel Reece (Toyota Starlet) by 22 points, but there is a spread of just seven across Reece, Neil Corbin and Andrew Jones (Ford Escort MkII), who complete the top four.

  There are titles to be resolved in the classes, too: after current lowest scores are discarded, just 23 points cover the top four in Clubman 2, Hoad leading Balgobin by 13 points, with Antigua’s Stewart Gordon another seven points behind and just three ahead of Sebastian Thompson, who claimed a brace of class wins – his first since switching from karting to rallying – at the Summer Sprint.

  In C3, Wood has a 16-point lead over Kevin Armstrong (BMW), one of the joint leaders of the overall championship prior to BCIC RB25, while M3 is yet to be resolved between the BMW M3s of David St Hill and Jonathan Still.

BRC Driver’s Championship

Positions after round 8:

1st Kurt Thompson (M4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 129 points 2nd Neil Corbin (M2 Toyota GT86 CS-R3), 121pts equal 3rd Edward Corbin (SM1 Daihatsu Charmant), Kyle Gregg – JAM (FIA R5 Ford Fiesta Rally2) & Rhett Watson (SM2 BMW M3), 120pts 6th Chris Hoad (C2 BimmaCup), 111pts 7th Robert Ryan Wood (C3 BimmaCup Too), 107pts 8th Sean Corbin (M2 BMW 318ti Compact), 104pts equal 9th David-Anthony Balgobin (C2 BimmaCup) & Shawn Brathwaite (C1 Toyota Corolla), 100pts etc

BRC Class Championship

Positions after round 8:

WRC: 1st Dane Skeete (Automotive Art/C O Williams Sand & Lime/Sol Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 70 points FIA R5: 1st Kyle Gregg – JAM (York Investments/BD Gregg/Elevated Home Decor Ford Fiesta Rally2), 120pts; 2nd Stuart Maloney (Imagine/M-Jet/Bushy Park Barbados/Sign Station Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), 85pts; 3rd Jeffrey Panton – JAM (KIG/Ford/Sandals Ford Fiesta Rally2 & Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 77pts; etc Modified 4: 1st Kurt Thompson (Glassesco/Bio Beauty Day Spa/NKM Clothing/Realtors Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 129pts; 2nd Kyle Catwell (KFC/BCIC/Chicken Pen Racing/Thomas Tours/Ellesmere Quarries Audi TT-R), 85pts; 3rd Mark Thompson (Glassesco/Bio Beauty Day Spa/NKM Clothing/Realtors Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 72pts; etc SuperModified 2: 1st Rhett Watson (Chefette/Frosteez/Cargo BGI/Gliptone/Sthil/Hankook/Motul Racing Oils/Bajan Pure Water BMW M3), 120pts; 2nd Nigel Reece (Subzero Services Ltd/Hankook/Royal Purple Toyota Starlet), 88pts; 3rd Andrew Jones (Gale's Agro Products/GoOn/Weetabix/Tunnocks/Hankook/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII), 82pts; etc

SM1: 1st Edward Corbin (Valvoline/Pro-Sales/Bearded Hogs BBQ/Hilti/Bajan Pure Daihatsu Charmant), 120pts; 2nd Roger Jordan (Lucas Oils/Shipsurebb Toyota Starlet), 72pts; 3rd Darren Lashley (Prestigious Wheels/DKK Industrial Supplies/Hi-Speed Performance/AEC Motorsport Connections/Starboy Performance/Prime Garage 246 Toyota Starlet), 71pts; etc

M3: 1st David St Hill (Tropical Touch/DG Audio BMW M3), 61pts; 2nd Jonathan Still (New York Pizza/Suga Apple Swimwear/Inogro/Bajan Pure/Quality Tyre/Weddings by Malissa BMW M3), 50pts; 3rd Michael Worme (BCIC Insurance Services/COT/Camps Auto Services BMW), 24pts; etc

M2: 1st Neil Corbin (Nassco/Stamina Energy/ColourXL/Auto Solutions/Pressout Performance Toyota GT86 CS-R3), 121pts; 2nd Sean Corbin (Super S/Carters Pitstop/FOXIN/Bajan Pure Water/First Step Security/Westlake/GuavaTech/Gunk/Fabblast Barbados/M&M Tuning BMW 318ti Compact), 104pts; 3rd Jermin Pope (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Pedialyte/Sandblasting Powder Coating 2022 Ltd/Caribbean Auto Glass Honda Civic), 11pts

M1: 1st Carlos Edwards (Enermax/Milwaukee/Meukow Cognac/Barrel House/Sign Depot Citroen C2R2 MAX), 53pts; 2nd Jamar Haynes (J's A/C Auto Clinic/Temperature Pro Inc/Alex's Home & Property Management Honda Civic Type-R), 41pts; 3rd Natya Soodeen (F) (Nescafe/Standard Distribution/Nature’s Discount/Mark's Auto Spares/Servall/Xpex/Antibes Outdoor/Milwaukee/Sparco Peugeot 208 R2), 34pts Clubman 3: 1st Robert Ryan Wood (Carters Pitstop/Blue Waters/Caribbean LED Lighting/Hilti/Westlake/Sitemasters/C & A Autobody Repairs/Perkins & Son BimmaCup Too), 107pts; 2nd Kevin Armstrong (DS Vroom/Armstrong Auto BMW 325), 91pts; 3rd Kamal Quimby (Fusionz Auto World/Wilkinson Equipment & Rentals/Mally's Trucking/M&M Engineering Services/Soldierman Trucking & Wrecker Services Trucking BMW), 87pts; etc

C2: 1st Chris Hoad (Subway/Dasani Water/ANSA Merchant Bank/LubeX - Smart Choice/Westlake/GuavaTech/E-travel Services/Color XL BimmaCup), 111pts; 2nd David-Anthony Balgobin (DKK Industrial Supplies/Da-Shem-Rae BimmaCup), 100pts; 3rd Stewart Gordon - ANT (BimmaCup), 84pts; etc

C1: 1st Shawn Brathwaite (Executive Air Ltd/Homeomart Barbados Toyota Corolla), 100pts; 2nd Kyle Gill (Expressionism/Executive Auto Centre/Adhoc Industries/Chicken Stop Mitsubishi Mirage RS Clone), 67pts Open Class: 1st Mark Huggins (General Distributors/Ultra Quick/Huggins Auto Shop Daihatsu Charmant), 91pts; 2nd Sean Merritt (Seven Creative Media Inc/MB Auto City Toyota Starlet Turbo), 66pts; 3rd Chadane Holder (Carnique Transport Inc/Seven Creative Media/City of Bridgetown Credit Union Toyota Starlet), 56pts; etc

BRC 4wd Championship: 1st Gregg – JAM, 114pts; 2nd S Maloney, 81pts; 3rd Skeete, 79pts; 4th Panton – JAM, 74pts; 5th Rob Swann – ENG (FIA R5 GO Car Rental/Cygnet Plant/R A Swann Ltd Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 61pts; 6th Josh Read (FIA R5 Servall Inc/Stihl/Fig Products/Hankook Batteries/H & B Hardware/Weetabix Ford Fiesta Rally2), 60pts; etc BRC 2wd Championship: 1st Watson, 110pts; 2nd Reece, 88pts; 3rd N Corbin, 83pts; 4th Jones, 81pts; 5th E Corbin, 63pts; 6th Roger Mayers (SM2 Chefette/Frosteez/Kooyman/Sign Depot/Hankook/BSC-Essex Freight Toyota WR Starlet), 55pts; etc

For media information only. No regulatory value.

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