Shakedown Stages win a confidence boost for Read

Josh Read and Mark Jordan laid down an early marker for BCIC Rally Barbados 2026 with a measured victory in Sunday’s (March 29) Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Shakedown Stages. Although others set the fastest stage times, they kept their Ford Fiesta Rally2 ahead from the second of nine special stages, winning by exactly two seconds.

  After the Prizegiving in the Service Park at the Conrad Hunte Cricket Ground in St Andrew, Read said: “The stages were challenging, especially Pickerings with the amount of gravel on the road, but we kept out of trouble. My confidence is good. A lot of things need to be right to win Rally Barbados; we need to be fast, consistent and reliable.”

  BCIC RB25 winners Kyle Gregg and Kreigg Yearwood (Fiesta Rally2) were the only other rally leaders, fastest on the first Lamberts to Pickering (3.50kms) stage in St Lucy, and again on the second, but dropped to third at lunch battling a power delivery issue.   Following three afternoon stage wins, they finished second: “We were much sharper after lunch and I'm glad the trouble came in the Shakedown,” said Gregg.

  Fastest on the morning’s other three stages had been two-time Rally Barbados winners Dane Skeete and Tyler Mayhew (Subaru Impreza WRC S12), but they were making up time after a disastrous opening stage. Having worked their way from 44th to 16th by mid-afternoon, they retired two stages from home with further reliability issues.

  It might only have been third for the Jamaican, however, as Adam Mallalieu and Welsh co-driver Peredur Davies had put their new Fiesta Rally2 to good use, second at lunch, 4.5secs ahead of Gregg. Fastest on the afternoon’s first run from Swanns to Rock Hall (3.10kms), which passes from St Peter into St Andrew, Mallalieu looked set for a podium finish until an off-road excursion on the final stage dropped him to fifth.

  That promoted BCIC RB24 winners Stuart Maloney and Kristian Yearwood (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) to third, another 9secs behind. With the car nearly new after a total rebuild, it was the crew’s first outing in the island since their heavy accident in last year’s Rally Barbados, with the same stage in use in the afternoon.

  Maloney said: “The confidence took a big hit and today was a block building day for me. I am very happy with our result, getting a class stage win, not getting out of line anywhere and not pushing hard or focusing on being first. Kristian and I are happy with the progress as we can see the pace is still there.”

  Five-time winner of the island’s premier event, Jeff Panton and fellow Jamaican Mike Fennell (Fiesta Rally2) finished fourth, having been only sixth on the opening stage. Panton said: “I was a bit passive at the start and when I saw the times it was a wake-up call. Overall we are happy – I’m still there for an old boy!”

  Having finished 12th on the debut of his Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 this time last year, David Husbands finished sixth on Sunday with Trinidad & Tobago co-driver Joshua Plaza. Now mixing it more regularly with the seasoned Rally2 drivers, he was ahead of the Fabia Rally2 evos of Britain’s Rob Swann and Steve McNulty and island veteran Roger Hill and Graham Gittens.

  Reigning Champion Rhett Watson (BMW M3) won 2wd by 2.7secs from Barry Mayers (Ford Fiesta), ninth and 10th overall. Watson led all the way, but Mayers and Nigel Reece (Toyota Starlet) also won stages: Reece was fastest on both morning runs from Swanns to Rock Hall, while Mayers nailed all four stages after lunch, once he had sweated out the fever which almost made him withdraw from the event.

  The MkII Ford Escorts of Logan Watson - fastest 2wd at the Motoring Club Barbados Inc’s (MCBI) Spring Blaze 26 two weeks ago – and Andrew Jones were also in the hunt, both clocking top four times. Behind them, class-winners Neil Corbin (M2 Toyota GT86 CS-R3) and reigning Champion Driver Edward Corbin (SM1 Daihatsu Charmant) swapped times all day, separated by just 4secs at the finish, 14th and 15th overall.

  An upbeat Watson said: “It was a big test day for all of us in SM2 as we experimented with fuel amounts to see how the weight feels as we adjust to running the loops in Rally Barbados without servicing. There was about four seconds between us; all the guys are fast, Nigel is catching up, Logan is finding his way with the new car with each event. Nothing but positive vibes for Rally Barbados.”

  A resurgence of interest of Modified 4 added a second thread to the 4wd story. When two-time class Champion Kurt Thompson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) retired after SS3 with a bottom arm failure breaking a driveshaft, BimmaCup graduates Savio Walcott and David-Anthony Balgobin swapped times with Thompson’s elder brother Neil, all in Evo IXs, to reach the lunch break covered by just 8secs.

  Walcott eased ahead in the afternoon to claim a memorable debut win from Balgobin by 11.22s, while British couple Chris Shooter and Bev Le Good (Evo VIII FQ) inherited third after Thompson retired on the final stage with a broken steering column, legacy of an off-road excursion two stages earlier. Walcott said: “This is the first rally I've finished in a while so this means quite a lot. From the last speed event I felt confident in the car. I'm still working on braking points but the car helps in building the confidence as it always feels capable of doing what I want to do.”

  Of 47 starters, 16 failed to finish, including FIA R5 class newcomers Mark Thompson, with a sensor issue on his Citroen C3, and Brian Gill in the ex-Mark Maloney Fabia, so there is work to do in workshops across the island, particularly with new central service regulations for BCIC RB26, which will place ever-greater emphasis on reliability.

BRC Shakedown Stages - Sunday, March 29

2026 BRC Driver’s & Class Championships, round 3

Results - overall:

1st Josh Read/Mark Jordan (FIA R5 Seawell Inc/Stihl/H & B Hardware/Hankook/Weetabix Ford Fiesta Rally2), 17m 51.94s 2nd Kyle Gregg – JAM/Kreigg Yearwood (FIA R5 York Investments/B D Gregg Ford Fiesta Rally2), + 02.00s 3rd Stuart Maloney/Kristian Yearwood (FIA R5 M-Jet FBO/Imagine Developments/Bushy Park Barbados Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), + 11.21s 4th Jeffrey Panton – JAM/Michael Fennell Jnr – JAM (FIA R5 KIG/Sandals Ford Fiesta Rally2), + 12.06s 5th Adam Mallalieu/Peredur Davies - WAL (FIA R5 Terra Caribbean Ford Fiesta Rally2), + 28.45s 6th David Husbands/Joshua Plaza – T&T (FIA R5 Volkswagen Polo GTI R5), + 28.82s 7th Rob Swann – ENG/Steve McNulty - ENG (FIA R5 GO Car Rental/Cygnet Plant Ltd Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), + 28.82s 8th Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (FIA R5 Mobil 1/Max Mayer Paints/PPG Paints/Motormac Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), + 42.87s 9th Rhett Watson/Andrew Croney (SM2 Chefette/Frosteez/Bajan Pure/Hankook/Gliptone/Stihl BMW M3), + 57.05s 10th Barry Mayers/Moishe Steinbock (SM2 Kooyman/Chefette/Frosteez/Milwaukee/Hankook/BSC Essex/Sign Depot Ford Fiesta), + 59.82s etc

Class results:

FIA R5: 1st Read/Jordan; 2nd Gregg – JAM/Yearwood; 3rd Maloney/Yearwood; etc Modified 4: 1st Savio Walcott/Christian Hinds (Worthing Secured Services/Movements Plus Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 19:58.96 – 16th overall; 2nd David-Anthony Balgobin/Elijah Marshall (DKK Industrial Supplies/Da-Shem-Rae Inc Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), + 11.22s; 3rd Chris Shooter - ENG/Bev LeGood (F) – ENG (Sparrowhill Cars Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII FQ), + 1:59.39 SuperModified 2: 1st Watson, 18:48.99; 2nd Mayers, + 02.77s; 3rd Nigel Reece/Jason Tull (Subzero Services/Hankook Tyre/Quality Tyre Plus/Ultrabright LED Solutions/Sing Station Toyota Starlet), + 03.82s; etc

SM1: 1st Edward Corbin/Johnathan Alleyne (Prosales/Automotive Art/Hilti/Bajan Pure Daihatsu Charmant), 19:54.59 – 15th o/a; 2nd Antonio Springer/Felicia Springer (F) (Lamar Mechanical Services/Trey Vision Toyota Starlet), + 4:27.96; 3rd Mark Brome/Miguel Hunte (Huntes Auto Spares/BizNeedz/LMB Cooling/Prime Garage/Limitless Auto Clinic/Kell’s Fish Shack/Momos Coco Loco Suzuki Swift Sport), + 5:53.70

M2: 1st Neil Corbin/Matthew Staffner (Nassco/Superfeeds/Stamina Energy/ColourXL/Auto Solutions/Pressout Performance Toyota GT86 CS-R3), 19:50.42 – 14 th o/a; 2nd Jermin Pope/Pierre Clarke (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa Honda Civic), + 1:20.48; 3rd Sean Corbin/Emily Kinch (F) (Super-S/Bajan Pure/Foxin/Carter’s Pitstop/Guava Tech/First Step Security/Gunk BMW 318ti Compact), + 3:00.03 Cubman 3: 1st Luke Cozier/Benjamin da Silva (BimmaCup Too), 22:44.07 – 26th o/a

C2: 1st Stewart Gordon - ANT/Rene Forde (BimmaCup), 21:45.78 – 20th o/a; 2nd Spencer Hutchinson/Gayle Hutchinson (F) (BimmaCup), + 19.38s; 3rd Allan Kinch/Kyle Proverbs (Savvy on the Bay/Tranquility Cruises/Yorkshire Agricultural BimmaCup), + 26.81s; etc

C1: 1st Kyle Gill/Gerald Gill (Expressionism/Fun Miles/Chicken Stop Mitsubishi Colt), 22:36.57 – 25th o/a; 2nd Shawn Brathwaite/Jonathan King (Homeomart Barbados/Security Hub Inc Toyota Corolla), + 1:31.30

For media information only. No regulatory value.

For further media information, robin@bradfax.com Web site: www.barbadosrallyclub.com