Gill and Mendes win season’s first MudDogs Safari

Reigning Class B Champion Driver Alexander Gill claimed his first overall victory in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship on Sunday (March 8). With new navigator Gary Mendes alongside in his Isuzu DMax, Gill won the Ace H & B Hardware March Safari by just 16 penalty points.

  The experienced crew of Ben Norris and Kirk Watkins (Jeep Rubicon) led after route one, but slipped back in the afternoon to finish second, with father and son Stephen and Ben Moore (Isuzu DMax) third, ruing an early mistake. Charles Clarke and Austin Barber (Mitsubishi Pajero iO) won route two, ending the day fifth overall and Class B winners.

  Gill, who won last year’s Class B title with wife Chelsea as navigator, was in positive mood after last night’s (Tuesday) Prizegiving at Savvy on the Bay: “It was a fantastic rally, very well set. The marshals and everyone who helped to pull it off did an amazing job as always. Huge thanks to them all.

  “Gary is an excellent navigator; we had a trial rally last September and got along very well. Our communication in the truck is not quite as in tune as with my wife, so we made a few mistakes on Sunday. That is something for us to work on going forward, but we've started strong. Looking forward to a successful year with good competition from our fellow MudDogs.”

  Rain fell just before the start at Ace H & B Hardware, Warrens, St Michael at 7.30am on Sunday, as crews set off on route one of roughly 45 kilometres, visiting the Vaucluse Raceway and Manor Farms, Clifton in St Thomas, before the lunchtime rest halt at Chefette, Charles Rowe Bridge, St George.

  The Moores, who were Class B Champions in 2023, were in trouble just after the start, collecting 200 penalties for needing a redirection in the Warrens area, without which they would have won the day. As it was, they finished the morning route fourth behind Norris and Watkins, Gill and Mendes and the Suzuki Jimny of Christopher King and Warrick Eastmond.

  The longer afternoon route of around 80 kilometres revisited the Vaucluse Raceway on the way to the northern parishes of St Joseph, St Peter and St Lucy, finishing at Chefette Speightstown. Youngsters Clarke and Barber nailed the second route, beating all the more experienced crews, route-setter Wayne Clarke describing their grasp of BRC map-work, as “quite an achievement”: the Moores were second, the consistent King and Eastmond third again and eventual winners Gill and Mendes fourth.

  Fifth overall, Clarke and Barber were top Class B crew on both routes. Nadcarnie Cyrus and 2024 Class B Champion Navigator Leslie Evanson (Range Rover Classic) finished second in class, George Mendes and Johnathan King (G&G Sales and Service Suzuki Vitara) third and newcomers Jaden Eastmond and Trislyn St Hill (Nissan Frontier) fourth.

  MudDogs Chairman Ricky Holder said: “It seems that everyone enjoyed the start of the season and is pleased to be back in action. Thanks to route-setter Wayne Clarke and to Ace H & B Hardware and Manors Farms for the prizes.”

Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship

Round 1 – March 8 – Ace H & B Hardware March Safari Results 1st Alexander Gill/Gary Mendes (Isuzu DMax), 868 penalties 2nd Ben Norris/Kirk Watkins (Jeep Rubicon), 882pens 3rd Stephen Moore/Ben Moore (Moore & Moore Services/Maxxis Isuzu DMax), 934pens 4th Christopher King/Warrick Eastmond (Suzuki Jimny), 996pens 5th Charles Clarke/Austin Barber (Mitsubishi Pajero iO), 1054pens 6th Nadcarnie Cyrus/Leslie Evanson (F) (Range Rover Classic), 1928pens 7th George Mendes/Johnathan King (G&G Sales and Service Suzuki Vitara), 2170pens 8th Jaden Eastmond/Trislyn St Hill (F) (Nissan Frontier), 4909pens Route 1: 1st Norris/Watkins, 278pens; 2nd Gill/Mendes, 348pens; 3rd C King/W Eastmond, 536pens; 4th S Moore/B Moore, 662pens; 5th Clarke/Barber, 806pens; etc Route 2: 1st Clarke/Barber, 248pens; 2nd S Moore/B Moore, 272pens; 3rd C King/W Eastmond, 460pens; 4th Gill/Mendes, 520pens; 5th Norris/Watkins, 604pens; etc Class B: 1st Clarke/Barber, 1054pens; 2nd Cyrus/Evanson (F), 1928pens; 3rd Mendes/J King, 2170pens; 4th J Eastmond/St Hill (F), 4909pens Route 1: 1st Clarke/Barber, 806pens; 2nd Cyrus/Evanson (F), 1230pens; 3rd Mendes/J King, 1498pens; 4th J Eastmond/St Hill (F), 2774pens Route 2: 1st Clarke/Barber, 248pens; 2nd Mendes/J King, 672pens; 3rd Cyrus/Evanson (F), 698pens; 4th J Eastmond/St Hill (F), 2135pens

Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship – remaining rounds: Rd 2 - Apr 18, MudDogs April Safari; Rd 3 - Jun 27/28, Chefette MudDogs June Safari; Rd 4 - Sep 13, Savvy on the Bay MudDogs September Safari; Rd 5 – Nov 14, MudDogs November Safari

For media information only. No regulatory value.

For further media information, robin@bradfax.com Web site: www.barbadosrallyclub.com Facebook: /246Muddogs