International entries approaching record numbers

Two of the most successful British visitors to the Caribbean in recent years, Paul Bird and Rob Swann, have confirmed their entries for Sol Rally Barbados 2012 (June 9/10) through the event’s official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb. Entered for the fifth consecutive year, both have also become regular visitors to the island for family holidays outside rally season.

Their entries bring to four the cars now confirmed by the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC) for the Modified 8-WRC category, with a number of other entries from home and abroad known to be intending to fight for overall honours in the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international.

After Ulstermen Kenny McKinstry and Kris Meeke, each of whom has won the island’s premier event twice, ‘Birdy’ has comfortably the best record of any European visitor; he finished second to Meeke, the margin around 17secs each time, in 2008 (Subaru Impreza WRC S9) and ’09 (Ford Focus WRC07), then third for the last two years in his Focus WRC08 with Scotland’s Kirsty Riddick, now his regular co-driver.

ANCRO National Rally Champion in 2005, Bird started his 2012 campaign with a fourth straight win on the Jack Frost Stages at the Croft racing circuit in the north of England two weeks ago. He said: “It’s great to win this event for a record-breaking fourth time, especially as I’ve not driven the car on tarmac since Rally Barbados last June. The opening couple of stages were not perfect by any means, but once I got into my stride, everything started flowing and we got vital testing time with the car.”

Bird is contesting the MSA Asphalt Rally Championship this season, his first attempt at a tarmac series; before that starts, his next outing in the Frank Bird Poultry/Fuchs Titan Race Focus is this weekend’s Legend Fires North West Stages, where he is seeded at number two, behind last year’s winner, another successful Barbados visitor, Kevin Procter, co-driven by Dave Bellerby in his Impreza WRC S7.

Swann and Welsh co-driver Darren Garrod, fifth in Sol RB11 in a rented Impreza WRC S12, face a new challenge, as the Revolution Wheels/Waves Hotel Impreza N14 in which they won Group N in both Barbados and Jamaica in 2010 – the only crew to have done so – is undergoing a major upgrade at TEG Sport in England.

Swann explains: “The WRC hire option was not possible due to a lack of cars so, with future events in mind, I decided to build a B13 spec Impreza. My prodrive N14 is being stripped to a bare shell, lightened, then dipped and re-sprayed. The engine will be WRC build spec, with a six-speed sequential gearbox, active centre diff and programmeable diff controller. I have tested a similar car built by TEG and feel with some of the upgrades we are fitting to ours, it will be very competitive . . . and a lot of fun!”

The build should be complete by the end of March, followed by a tarmac test programme and entry on the Circuit of Ireland at the beginning of April for a final shakedown before sailing to Barbados: “Simple as that,” smiles Swann. Since his last visit, he is proud to have claimed his maiden overall rally win, on last November’s SA Gas Premier Rally, a forest event in the British Midlands.

International entries approaching record numbers

Of the 80 entries for Sol Rally Barbados 2012 that have been posted on the official web site (www.rallybarbados.bb), 27 are from International crews; adding the prize packages offered to the winners of the 2011 Roger Albert Clark Rally and 2012 Rallye Sunseeker National in the UK brings the total to 29, which equals the highest-ever European turn-out for the island’s premier event in 2003.

Sol RB12 Chairman Barry Gale said: “We are only just into February and we’re now less than 20 away from our entry ceiling of 100 cars. I am aware of three or four more overseas cars that are making serious plans to come, and I am also getting enquiries pretty much every other day, either directly, or through the web site.

“I realise that there is scope for one or two to drop out, as happened last year, but in the current climate, this sort of response is nothing short of remarkable.”

Sol Rally Barbados and Shell V-Power King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB12 is the 23rd running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the fifth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

Web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com

Paul Bird/Kirsty Riddick (Ford Focus WRC08) winning the Jack Frost Stages in the UK on January 22, 2012 | Photo by Tony Todd

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Shipping dates confirmed for European competitors

Seven crews with Irish connections, including two new to the event, are among the 21 International entries already received for Sol Rally Barbados 2012 (June 9/10) through the event’s official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb . . . and the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has thanked the media for the part it plays in spreading the word.

The latest newcomers confirmed for the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international are Raymond Conlon and Darren McCague from County Monaghan in the Irish Border Region. Their 270 horsepower 2-litre Conlon Travel Toyota Corolla, prepared by KMS Motorsport and Powertune, is entered in the BRC’s SuperModified 10 category.

Conlon started competing – in a standard production 1600cc Corolla – almost as soon as he was old enough to hold a driving license. He won the Junior Event at the Killarney Rally of the Lakes in 2005, with four out of five stage wins, and is now a regular overall top 10 finisher and class-winner in events north and south of the border.

His best finishes include third overall, with the class win, on the toddsleap.com Ulster National Rally in 2008, a result repeated on the UTV Drive Circuit of Ireland National Rally in 2010. After more than two hours of stage time, Conlon finished just 20 seconds adrift of Emma McKinstry’s Subaru Impreza WRC and 26 seconds behind winner John Waring’s Ford Escort MkII . . . a result that would have been very different but for a 30-second road penalty Conlon and McCague had incurred early in the day.

Although this will be the crew’s debut in Barbados, they are already familiar with the event, having seen the TV coverage aired in recent years in Ireland, where the monthly Pacenotes Rally Magazine is also a popular read. Last year, in conjunction with the private sector Tourism Development Corporation in Barbados and the BRC, Pacenotes ran a hugely successful competition with a prize trip for two readers to Sol RB11. Details of its 2012 promotion will be announced shortly.

Sol RB12 Chairman Barry Gale said: “There is little doubt that the major increase in media coverage we have enjoyed over the past couple of years has helped our cause enormously, especially in these difficult times . . . and Pacenotes has certainly played its part in keeping our event at the forefront of competitors’ minds.”

Among those confirmed for Sol RB12 are popular Celtic entertainers, Ballyclare’s Glenn Campbell in his Nissan Micra Kit Car and Allan Mackay from Brora in the north of Scotland, whose unique Ford Anglia WRC is prepared by Mark Greer Motorsport in Northern Ireland, where Mackay’s co-driver for the event, Mo Downey, is also based. The current Sol RB12 entry list can be found on the official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb (under the Competitor drawdown), although some names are withheld for promotional purposes.

Shipping dates confirmed for European competitors

The Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has confirmed shipping dates for Sol Rally Barbados 2012 competitors travelling from Europe – the cars will leave Portsmouth on the English south coast on the Geest Line freighter Benguela Stream on May 8 for the 11-day Atlantic crossing to the Caribbean, with the return trip scheduled for June 16, to make landfall in the UK on July 4.

Sol RB12 Chairman Barry Gale said: “It has taken us a little longer this year to confirm our arrangements with our shipping partner, the Geest Line, as we have shifted our dates back a week or so, also there are extra Bank Holidays in the UK around that time. We know it is important to our European friends to know how long their cars are going to be away, so we have been working hard to secure the best possible schedule.”

The BRC is also investigating favourable shipping rates from the United States. Gale added: “We have always been interested in promoting our event in the US, but the shipping costs have presented challenges. We have had more than one enquiry from potential competitors this year, so we’re working towards an arrangement that might make it attractive for them to come down, too.”

Sol Rally Barbados and Shell V-Power King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB12 is the 23rd running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the fifth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

Web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com

Photo: Graham Curry Photography

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Sol Rally Barbados 2012 entries double up

Rallye Sunseeker, next month’s opening round of the MSA British Rally Championship, will be the focus of a major push for Sol Rally Barbados 2012 (June 9/10) and its island home. The organisers and tourism backers of the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international will use the award-winning event for the third consecutive year as a key part of its overseas promotion, while stepping up the level of involvement.

Supported by the island’s private sector Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) will reward the winners of Rallye Sunseeker National with free entry and shipping to Sol RB12, flights and accommodation for driver and co-driver, plus rental car, a prize valued at around US $8,500 (5,500 pounds).

In addition, the Barbados Tourism Authority’s (BTA) London office has this week signed an agreement to become a direct Marketing Partner of Rallye Sunseeker; key among a raft of value-added benefits is title sponsorship of an exciting new component of the event, a travel exhibition to run alongside Scrutineering, a first in UK rallying.

After 25 years as round one of the ANCRO National Rally Championship, Rallye Sunseeker became the opening round of the MSA British Rally Championship in 2011; it was voted ‘Rally of the Year’ by drivers, co-drivers and officials in only its first season in the UK’s leading championship. Based in the English south coast towns of Poole and Bournemouth, this year’s event is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, February 24/25.

The innovative ‘Rallye Sunseeker featuring the Barbados Holiday Show’ will be staged on Friday in the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC), which won the Outstanding Customer Service of the Year category at the Bournemouth Tourism Awards 2011. Among the best-known venues in the south of England and only a few hundred yards from the Town Square, the BIC is a big draw for local people, who have turned out in large numbers for an ‘up-close-and-personal’ look at cars and drivers at previous out-of-town scrutineering venues.

Once this new event has attracted the Friday shopping crowd in Bournemouth, attention will turn to the Ceremonial Start on Poole Quay, where thousands more families will gather for a further three hours of rally-themed entertainment after sunset. On Saturday, Somerley Park will host the keynote spectator stage, with one run each in the morning and afternoon, with the popular Motorfair to maintain interest throughout the day. Barbados and Sol RB12 will also be well represented at these venues.

BTA vice-president, marketing & sales UK, Petra Roach said: “Sol Rally Barbados is a key element of our sports-tourism product; there is great synergy between it and Rallye Suneeker – both earn vital tourist income in ‘slower’ months, winter in the UK and summer in Barbados, both are organised by really professional teams, and both attract huge crowds, so I am delighted to take our relationship to the next stage.”

Event Director Rick Smith said: “Rallye Sunseeker has always been about innovation, so our plan to use the BIC as the venue for Scrutineering and Documentation was always on the wish list. Now that the Barbados Tourism Authority has continued – and increased – its support for 2012, we are pleased that the novel plan to link the two activities has culminated in a motor sport event allied to a holiday show.”

Sol Rally Barbados 2012 entries double up

Sixty entries for the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international have now been posted on the official Sol Rally Barbados 2012 web site (www.rallybarbados.bb), almost double the total at the same time last year. Of those 60, 21 are from overseas, including the prize packages offered to the winners of the 2011 Roger Albert Clark Rally and 2012 Rallye Sunseeker National in the UK.

Sol RB12 Chairman Barry Gale said: “By this time last year, we had 32 entries – to be at a total nearly double that now is remarkable. What interests me is that there are nearly 40 local or regional crews who were entered last year, but are not yet on this year’s list. The ASRs explain in detail the order in which we accept entries, and the ratio of international, regional and local. What can I say, other than make sure you get your entry in fast!”

Sol Rally Barbados and Shell V-Power King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB12 is the 23rd running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the fifth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

Web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com

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On-line Overseas Competitor Information document now available

For the third year in a row, the Turks & Caicos Islands will be represented in Sol Rally Barbados… but with a difference. For the 2012 running of the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international on June 9/10, Paul Horton is shipping his Ford Escort MkI, to replace the Honda Civic which he has driven for the past two seasons.

Based in TCI, British-born Horton was the first regional entry received via the event’s official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb, which is now displaying the current entry list under the Competitor heading; this will be updated regularly, although the organisers may hold back some entries for promotional reasons. With the closing date for entries – Monday, May 14 – still four months away, the total currently stands at 44, including 18 from overseas.

Horton so enjoyed his 2010 debut that the Civic stayed in the island, contesting other rounds of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Virgin Atlantic-sponsored Championship in 2011. He has also competed successfully in recent years in Targa Newfoundland in North America; in 2008, he won his class in the Civic, 24th overall, then moved up the order in 2009 to fifth, with another class win, in the Java Island/H Racing/Sky Motor Sport Escort, which is already on its way to Barbados to be readied for competition this year.

In 2010, he finished 55th overall and sixth in Modified 6 in Shell V-Power King of the Hill, but retired from Sol RB10 with mechanical problems; last year, he was 42nd overall, fourth in M6 in King of the Hill, but gearbox problems from stage one of Sol RB11 dropped him out of contention, as he and co-driver Kristian Yearwood missed many stages. On Sunday morning, however, Horton set the fastest M6 time on the opening stage of the day, only for further gearbox issues to result in their retirement.

The other regional entries so far confirmed are both from Trinidad & Tobago, and run in Group N, known locally as Production 4. Stuart Johnson will drive his Mitco Water Laboratories-backed Subaru Impreza N12, co-driven by Lee Quesnel, while David Coelho and James Harris are entered in the Subway/Total Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX.

Of the two, Johnson fared better on Sol RB11, his first attempt as a driver, having failed to finish RB03 as co-driver for Wayne Persad. He finished fourth in P4 last year, with an old school friend, Barbados restaurateur Chris Hoad, as his co-driver. Regularly in the top 20 overall stage times, their best came mid-way through day two, when they were 10th, with Geoff Noel (Evo IX) the only local Group N driver ahead of them.

Coelho, who had failed to finish Sol RB10, suffered another weekend of dramas last year, missing a number of Saturday stages, then retiring with an ‘off’ just four stages into Sunday. His best stage results were 11th overall on Saturday, then 15th on Sunday, with eventual winner Mark Hamilton (Evo IX) the only local Group N driver to beat him.

On-line Overseas Competitor Information document now available

Additional detailed information is now available for international competitors, with the publication on the official web site – www.rallybarbados.bb – of the Overseas Competitor Information Document; available as a pdf download, it can be found by scrolling down from the Competitor heading and clicking on Event Information.

This document not only outlines the entry package on offer, including the discounts available for returning competitors – up to nearly 40 per cent for competitors who have participated four or more times – but also provides details of flights, accommodation and vehicle rental.

Competing cars from Europe will be shipped from Portsmouth on the English south coast on a Geest Line freighter, while Virgin Atlantic Airways is the event’s Official Airline Partner and Stoute’s Car Rental the Official Vehicle Rental Partner. The Divi Southwinds Beach Resort in St Lawrence Gap, Christ Church, is the Official Hotel Partner and will also provide facilities for the Rally HQ office and a number of key official and social events during the two weeks surrounding Sol RB12.

Sol Rally Barbados and Shell V-Power King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB12 is the 23rd running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the fifth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

Web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com

Photo: Paul Horton competing in the 2009 Targa Newfoundland in his Ford Escort MkI

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Island motor sport celebrates record season

Popular British ace Martin Stockdale heads the list of returning international drivers whose names are among more than 40 entries so far received via the event’s official web site – www.rallybarbados.bb – for the 2012 running of the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international, Sol Rally Barbados (June 9/10).

Nicknamed ‘Mad-dale’ by island fans for his flamboyant driving style in a string of BMWs, Stockdale will be making his 12th consecutive appearance in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event; his co-driver in the Divi Southwinds Beach Resort/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals/Quarry Motors BMW M3 Compact will be Mark Swallow, who will be competing in the island for the eighth time.

Three times a class-winner in the past decade, Stockdale is entered in the hotly-contested SuperModified 11 class, in which he finished fourth in 2011 and 18th overall. His opposition will include another returning crew from Britain, Nigel Worswick and Lindsey Pilkington, who finished 26th overall and fifth in SM10 on their first visit to the island last year. For 2012, the Worswick Engineering Ford Escort MkII has received an engine transplant, moving it up a class.

The rallying careers of both Stockdale and Worswick date back many years, both of them having entered – and finished – Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship more than once during the 1990s. At the time, Stockdale drove an Opel Monza-engined Vauxhall Carlton, unique in British rallying, while Worswick was more conventional, missing out on a top 10 finish by just one second in 1996 in a Ford Sierra Cosworth 4 x 4, having finished in the top seven on the last five of 26 special stages.

Back for his ninth visit is Britain’s Andrew Costin-Hurley, who will again contest Group B in the Earl’s Performance Hoses Ford Puma, in which he won the class in Rally Barbados in 2007 & ’08, and in Shell V-Power King of the Hill in ’09; fellow-Brit Shaun Mellett returns for his third visit as co-driver since 2009, when he came to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary. An experienced Indy car and F1 engineer, Costin-Hurley created the Puma himself with 300bhp 2-litre turbo, rear-wheel drive, Sierra running gear and Escort WRC suspension.

Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale said: “It is always a pleasure to welcome our repeat visitors, and ‘Mad-dale’ is right there at the top of the list, as he hasn’t missed a year since his first visit in 2001. Not only has he been one of the most entertaining to watch, as our fans really do enjoy a sideways BMW, but he’s also been very competitive, taking a trophy back on the plane with him nearly every time.”

Island motor sport celebrates record season

Motor sport in Barbados is in good health, and making a growing contribution to the island’s sports-tourism product. Last year, for the first time since the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF) was established in 2000, more than 400 local competitors took part in BMF-sanctioned events, a total boosted to nearly 500 by a record number of overseas competitors, bringing with them worldwide publicity and valuable foreign exchange.

Affiliated to the FIA, which rules the sport worldwide, the BMF is the island’s governing body for motor sport; it also represents the interests of its six sporting member clubs in discussions with Government departments which facilitate the sport in the island, in particular the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Announcing the provisional calendar for 2012, which ratified the already-published dates for Sol RB12 and its associated events, BMF President Andrew Mallalieu noted: “Despite the prevailing financial climate, interest in motor sport from participants and spectators alike continues to rise. For the last two years, Barbados has hosted three International motor sport events, which not only help motor sport make an important contribution to the island’s economy, much of it in valuable foreign exchange, but are also the key to massively-increased worldwide television coverage.”

The BMF issued 415 competition licenses, nearly three times the total issued in 2011 by Jamaica’s governing body, the Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club (JMMC), and more than twice the number issued by the BMF in 2006. The record total of 85 overseas competitors – the previous highest was 81 in 2007 – included 25 from the wider Caribbean and 60 from 12 more countries as far afield as Australia and South Africa.

Sol Rally Barbados and Shell V-Power King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB12 is the 23rd running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the fifth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

Web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com

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Subject to final ratification by the island’s governing body, the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF), Sol RB12 will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 9/10, with Scrutineering and the Shell V-Power King of the Hill ‘shakedown’ the previous weekend, June 2/3.

While first-time overseas visitors will pay the standard entry and shipping package from Europe of US$2,600 per car, the real costs of which are already subsidised by the BRC by around one-third, those who have participated before will enjoy further discounts ranging from around 10 to nearly 40 per cent.

Of the 199 competitors from outside the Caribbean who have taken part since 2001, 35 have visited three or more times, clocking up an impressive total of 163 trans-Atlantic trips between them; of these, English BMW ace Martin Stockdale stands out as the event’s most loyal supporter – he has not missed an event in 11 years – while Scotland’s Kenny Hall has competed nine times, England’s Andrew Costin-Hurley eight.

Even the 115 competitors who have visited just once, and there were 21 newcomers in 2011, can benefit from a US$250 discount; the rising scale offers discounts of US$500 (two previous visits), US$750 (three) and US$1000 (four or more), the highest level representing around 38 per cent off the standard package.

Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale said: “We introduced our incentive programme when our premier event celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2010, in part to thank those Clubmen competitors from Europe whose contribution had played such a major role in our event’s success. The feedback was so good that we decided to maintain tiered entry fees for 2011, and again for 2012.”

“The good thing is that our initial fears that the policy might result in an overseas entry list filled only by repeat visitors were unfounded; over the past two years, we’ve had the chance to host 40 first-timers to our event, and a good number of the enquiries about 2012 have come from names that are new to us, so it certainly looks as though we’re going to continuing making new friends.”

Sol Rally Barbados is a two-day tarmac rally, with 24 special stages run on the island’s intricate network of public roads, temporarily closed by permission of the Ministry of Transport & Works; Shell V-Power King of the Hill, run under a similar arrangement, features four timed runs on a stage that will not feature the following weekend and is used to seed the running order for the main event.

This year, the maximum entry was increased from 90 to 100 cars after Sol RB10 had been over-subscribed by 20 per cent; this new cap was reached one month before entries closed for 2011, with the total finally reaching 113 entries, with 31 from overseas. A combination of financial and preparation difficulties for local, regional and international crews, however, meant that number had diminished by the time Sol RB11 started, and it was not necessary to enforce the 100 cap.

Gale concluded: “Our decision to move up to 100 was largely made to ensure that we could accommodate the continued regional and international interest, even though financial and other factors mean we have not yet had to apply the cap and disappoint any prospective competitors. There is a structure to the entry process that guarantees fairness for local and overseas competitors, and I really can’t wait for entries to open to see how it is balancing out.”

Sol Rally Barbados and Shell V-Power King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB12 is the 23rd running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the fifth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

Web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com

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Entries open on October 1

On-line entries for Sol Rally Barbados 2012 will open on Saturday, October 1, on the event’s official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb. Subject to final ratification by the island’s governing body, Sol RB12 will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 9/10, with Scrutineering and the Shell V-Power King of the Hill ‘shakedown’ the previous weekend, June 2/3.

From small beginnings in 1990, the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event has grown into the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport international; it is one of the strongest sporting brand names in the region, particularly for visitors from Europe, and a key player in the country’s increasingly-important sports-tourism product. Annually, the event contributes in excess of Bds $2 million to the island’s economy, much of it in valuable foreign exchange, and accounts for around 2,500 visitor nights at a traditionally quiet time in the tourism calendar.

Over the past two years, no fewer than 40 first-time visitors have carried to 257 the number of overseas competitors hosted by the event; drivers and co-drivers from the wider Caribbean now number 58, from four territories, while the International list now stands just one short of 200. Newcomers from Australia, Germany and South Africa also increased to 18 the number of countries outside the region represented in recent years.

Rally Chairman Barry Gale is looking forward to 2012 with interest: “I admit to having been surprised, and delighted, by the response from competitors over the past two years, when we have all been facing such tough economic challenges. As well as welcoming back Barbados regulars, we made new friends from around the world – among the 21 overseas competitors tackling the event for the first time, one even made a round trip of more than 36,000kms from Australia!

“Our first enquiry about next year’s event came within hours of the Prize-giving for Sol RB11, since when we have received many more by e-mail, and through our web site, and I’m pleased to say that, once again, many are names that are new to us.”

Sol Rally Barbados is a two-day tarmac rally, with 24 special stages run on the island’s intricate network of public roads, temporarily closed by permission of the Ministry of Transport & Works; Shell V-Power King of the Hill, run under a similar arrangement, features four timed runs on a stage that will not feature the following weekend and is used to seed the running order for the main event.

For 2011, the maximum entry was increased from 90 to 100 cars after the previous year’s event had been over-subscribed by 20 per cent; this new cap, which was reached one month before entries closed this year, will remain in place for 2012. Gale added: “Our decision to move up to 100 was largely made to ensure that we could accommodate the continued regional and international interest. There is a structure to the entry process that guarantees fairness for local and overseas competitors, and I frankly can’t wait for entries to open to see how it is balancing out.”

Beyond announcing the opening of entries, the Club will not confirm any further details until later in the year, as Gale confirms: “As we do every year, we are having a good, close look at how the event ran, studying those changes that we made to see what worked, and what could perhaps be improved . . . and I have to say that getting through the two days without the cancellation of a single stage was testament to the hard work put in by everyone involved in the event.”

“On behalf of the entire organising team, I would like to congratulate our title sponsor, the Sol Group, all our other Marketing Partners, the volunteer marshals and, of course, the competitors for enabling the Barbados Rally Club to put on such a fantastic show.”

Sol Rally Barbados and Shell V-Power King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB12 is the 23rd running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks fifth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com

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Driving the Dansport-prepared Porsche 911 RSR and along with Welsh co driver Paul Spooner, the reigning BTRDA Champions finished nearly two minutes ahead of nearest rivals Andrew Siddall and Carl Williamson in their Ford Escort Mk2 on the annual Caribbean island event with South African Geoff Bell and Kenyan co driver Tim Challen in third.

After getting used to driving a two-wheel drive car on the tricky and slippery lanes as opposed to his normal Ford Focus WRC which he normally contests the rally in, the crew altered settings to improve the car’s handling on Saturday and by Sunday, Perez, the former British Historic and National Champion, was soon setting fastest stage times as he marched up the leaderboard.

Perhaps more importantly for Perez than the actual victory, he racked up maximum points in the self-appointed ‘G-WRC’ which he is contesting this season along with a handful of other drivers. Standing for ‘Gentleman’s World Rally Class’, it’s been hatched by Perez along with fellow competitors Andrew Siddall and Geoff Bell whereby they will all contest events such as Rally Barbados, Geko Ypres, the Midnight Sun, East African Safari Classic and culminating in the Roger Albert Clark Rally with the best placed driver winning a case of finest champagne, funded by the two losers!

Whilst Perez was victorious, the battle in the ‘G-WRC’ between Siddall and Bell went right to the wire with Siddall getting the verdict by less than a second after over one and a quarter hours worth of competitive driving!

Prior to sampling some of the island’s finest rum at the prizegiving, Perez commented: “I’ve been coming here for many years so it’s great to get my hands on a winner’s trophy at last! OK, it’s not the overall victory that I’ve challenged for in the past but this is every bit as sweet. The car ran faultlessly and I have to thank the Dansport team as they did a wonderful job with a brand new car, all three of the team’s cars reached the finish without any problems.”

He continued: “Also, I’m delighted to take victory in the G-WRC after Andrew Siddall and Geoff Bell both beat me on Rallye Mallorca but it couldn’t have been a closer finish between them! I said I was hoping to reverse the result here and we did! What’s more, we are getting a lot of interest from both competitors and organisers alike so it’s really taking off and you never know where it might end up. The next event we are doing is the Midnight Sun Rally in Sweden so we will all resume battle then.”

It’s back to domestic action next for Perez and Spooner with the Rainworth Skoda Dukeries Rally this forthcoming Saturday whereby the 2010 Gold Star Champions will be aiming to emulate their victory of last year in the Ford Focus WRC.

Perez’s plans are for a selected number of events which will see him competing on a number of foreign events in 2011. Visits to Spa, Mallorca and Barbados already are to be followed by visits to Ypres, Flanders and the Midnight Sun Rally which will be highlighted with another attempt at the East African Safari Classic Rally in November followed by the season-ending Roger Albert Clark Rally in December.

Picture courtesy of Himal Reece (www.JustBajan.com). Steve Perez and Paul Spooner in action on the SOL Rally Barbados at the weekend.

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The agreement between Sol Rally Barbados and Targa Newfoundland to provide a free entry as a prize to the winner of each other’s event is part of a promotional drive by the two organizers to solidify a base of high quality tarmac rally competitions in North America.

Sol Rally Barbados has already taken the first step. The Caribbean’s largest international motorsport event was completed May 31 and a representative of the Barbados Rally Club will carry the flag of that nation at the 2009 Targa Newfoundland. Northern Ireland’s Kris Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle won the grueling three-day contest in a Subaru Impreza WRC S9. Because of a scheduling conflict, Meeke and Nagle cannot make Targa Newfoundland but donated their entry to the Barbados Rally Club, which will send a top finisher in their stead.

The winner of the eighth annual Targa Newfoundland will get an invitation to next spring’s Sol Rally Barbados in return.

“Until recently, tarmac rallies have been a bit of a curiosity in much of North America,” explains Targa Newfoundland organizer Robert Giannou. “But that is about to change. With long established events like Rally Barbados and Rally Jamaica at one end, and eight years of successful Targa Newfoundland at the other, we are starting to see more paved road rally events turn up around North America. With at least two events in Canada and two in the U.S., there are enough tarmac rallies to create a terrific season for competitors.”

Sol Rally Barbados organizer Barry Gale agrees. “Our event has attracted an international field of competitors for years, proving that high quality tarmac rallies have appeal no matter where they are. To have a calendar of great events in North America – even as far apart as we are – is an important step in developing the sport.”

History buff Giannou points out that linkages between islands of the Caribbean and his home in Newfoundland run deep. “We have been trading partners for years, going back to the days of rum and salt exchanged for cod and timber,” he says. “Our histories are intertwined. Getting together with Sol Rally Barbados is like catching up with old friends.”

Owned and operated by Newfoundland International Motorsports Limited, Targa Newfoundland is one of three internationally recognized Targa motorsports events in the world. The 8th annual Targa Newfoundland will start in St. John’s on Saturday, September 12, 2009, and end back in the capital Saturday, September 19. The competition will cover more than 2,000 kilometres of the challenging, twisty roads of the central and eastern portion of the island of Newfoundland, including up to 400 kilometres of closed-road, flat-out Targa stages. Competitors have come from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Holland, the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos and the U.K. for the first seven editions of Targa Newfoundland and international interest continues to build with competitors registering daily.

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