Two-Wheel Drive to Success
Action-packed day of surprises at revised Vaucluse Raceway

Some electrifying performances in the two-wheel-drive classes on Sunday (March 20) dispelled the early-morning cloud of gloom cast over competitors and spectators alike by heavy overnight rain at the Vaucluse Raceway (VRW) in St Thomas.

Persistent showers meant a delayed start to the opening round of the 2005 VRW RallySprint Cup, and qualifying had to be restricted to just two runs . . . but the sun did eventually shine. Even better, the mood was lifted by drivers such as double champion Sean Gill, KnockOut Handicap winner James Betts, old hands Simon Gillmore and Roger Marshall, plus novice Joshua Delmas, all of whom drove with style and determination to the delight of the crowd.

The reduced qualifying time presented an extra challenge for those unable to attend Saturday's pre-event shakedown; changes to the three-kilometre course include the removal of all earth berms, some replaced by truck tyres, others by concrete barriers . . . and that caused some early attrition.

Reggie Gill's SDRR/Crosland Filters Opel Manta was the most seriously damaged, after solid frontal contact with the end of one of the new concrete barriers, while others to enjoy unplanned excursions into the scenery included Harold Morley (Sunbeach Communications Inc/Gio-Goi Subaru Impreza WRC) and Shannon Gibbs (Rent-a-Tool/Kumho Datsun 160J).

Most notable among the casualties, however, was the Intercontinental Shipping/Toyota Trinidad Toyota Corolla WRC of Jamaican John 'Pentti' Powell, whose first drive in the car was during Saturday's shakedown. Powell was thrilled with his new acquisition, which replaces his Group N Mitsubishi Evo VII: "It is like nothing I have driven before; the speed is awesome."

In his first qualifying run, he ran alongside Roger 'Ninja' Hill, whose Mobil 1/Nassco/Michelin/Motormac Toyota Celica GT4 was also built by the Toyota works team, albeit a few years earlier. Their times were within one-tenth of one another, and Powell looked set to improve second time out; it was not to be, however, as the car coasted to a halt beneath the bridge, a problem with the centre differential leaving it sidelined for the rest of the day.

Powell's car will remain in Barbados for the next two months, as will the Empire/ECMIL Mitsubishi Mivec of Steve Ollivierre from St Vincent, who was in action on Sunday for the first time since Rally Jamaica 2003. Like Powell, Ollivierre is intending contesting local events in preparation for Rally Barbados on May 28/29.

And there was an even bigger disappointment to come for local fans in the last Group KnockOut of the day. After Morley had beaten Sean Dowding (Globe Finance Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V) in heat one, Hill's Celica (left) was ready on the start pad to face Trevor 'Electric Micey' Manning . . . but the Shell/Courts/Automotive Art/Garbage Master Simpson Motors Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII refused to start, ruining Manning's chance of taking back the lap record he lost to Paul Bourne last season. Hill went on to beat Morley in the run-off.

In the earlier Group KnockOut runs, Freddie Gale (Toyota Starlet) defeated the similar car of Graham Gittens in Group 1, before Gittens handed the shared Starlet over to Lindsay Farmer, who beat Stuart White (Toyota Corolla) in the final of Group 2. Betts (Opel Corsa) beat Ryan Wood (Toyota Starlet) to claim Group 3, while a stirring Group 4 final between the Corollas of Kirk Watkins and Delmas went to the former by a split-second. Delmas, who is starting his first full season of motor sport, won the Banks Pig'n'Likka Driver of the Day Award for performances which belied his lack of experience.

Marshall (Hyundai Accent) (left)was in determined mood in Group 5, beating John Corbin in the final, while Gillmore's Citroen-engined Peugeot 205 beat VRW first-timer William Branch (Toyota Corolla) in Group 6. In Group 7, Gill was running the Simpson Motors Rally Team Suzuki Ignis with its lightweight panels, hoping to bring down his existing two-wheel-drive lap record even further; he beat Jonathan Still (BMW M3) in his heat, then Mark Hamilton (Ford Escort MkII) in the final to join the others in the Group Winners KnockOut Handicap.

And that's when the fireworks really began! Gale narrowly defeated Farmer in the first quarter-final, Betts dispensing with Watkins in the second; Marshall beat Gillmore in the third race, then all eyes were on Gill and Hill for the last quarter-final. Hill had been fastest in the qualifying runs with a time of 2m 11.47s, but once the Group KnockOut runs started, Gill had risen to the top of the pile - and he remained so against Hill; although the Celica crossed the line first, Gill was nevertheless faster over the lap (the timing does not include the run from the start pad to the startline), and ended the day with a time of 2m 08.72s, two-tenths quicker than Hill.

Betts overcame a four-second handicap to win his race against Gale, but the second semi-final was arguably the race of the day: Marshall left the start pad eight seconds before Hill, but the Toyota had made up most of the time on lap one, and was alongside the Hyundai as the two raced along the northern straight towards the crossover point. But Marshall dug deep; he fair flew through the sweeping right-hander on to the bridge, then sped south along the centre straight to lead going into the hairpin . . . and that was that! Despite a last-ditch effort from Hill, Marshall was through to the final to face Betts.

Although it was his first appearance at VRW in his recently-acquired Champion Auto/KG Enterprises/Venture Marble/Hankook/Bridgestone/ L & N Workshop/Kendall Sporting Opel Corsa GSi, Betts had timed his runs to perfection, collecting a third bonus point for defeating Marshall in the final to lead the VRW RallySprint Cup after one round.

The 2005 VRW RallySprint Cup will again comprise four rounds, the next of which is the VRW International RallySprint (May 21/22), the first of two events in the 2005 Barbados Rally Carnival.

For further information: visit www.barbadosrallycarnival.com

2005 VRW RallySprint Cup - round 1
Results

Group 1 1st Freddie Gale (Nassco/Gale's Hatcheries/Castrol Toyota Starlet Turbo); 2nd Graham Gittens (Nassco/Philips Lighting/Toyo Tyres/Mobil 1/Denso Plugs/Freezetone Toyota Starlet Turbo); 3rd Gary Mendez (Toyota Starlet)
Group 2 1st Lindsay Farmer (Nassco/Philips Lighting/Toyo Tyres/Mobil 1/Denso Plugs/Freezetone Toyota Starlet Turbo); 2nd Stuart White (Williams Equipment/Ullyetts Machine Shop/Errie's Tyre Service Toyota Corolla KP30); 3rd Adrian Linton (Toyota Starlet); 4th Jeremy Gonsalves (Champion Auto/KG Enterprises/Venture Marble/Hankook/Bridgestone/L & N Workshop/Kendall Sporting Opel Corsa GSi)
Group 3 1st James Betts (Champion Auto/KG Enterprises/Venture Marble/Hankook/Bridgestone/L & N Workshop/Kendall Sporting Opel Corsa GSi); 2nd Ryan Wood (Flyin' Fish Toyota Starlet); 3rd Matthew Staffner (Williams Equipment/Ullyetts Machine Shop/Errie's Tyre Service Toyota Corolla KP30)
Group 4 1st Kirk Watkins (Abacus Builders/Planned Maintenance/Bridgestone Toyota Corolla GTi); 2nd Joshua Delmas (Autolink/Ideal Agencies/Newmedia Advertising Toyota Corolla); 3rd Steve Ollivierre - SVG (Empire/ECMIL Mitsubishi Mivec); 4th Daniel Branch (Automotive Art/ImitationTrees.com Toyota Corolla)
Group 5 1st Roger Marshall (Signia Financial/Western Union/Bill Express Hyundai Accent); 2nd John Corbin (Automotive Art/Corbin's Garage/Klark-Odio Toyota Corolla); 3rd Edward Corbin (Automotive Art/Kumho Tyres Toyota Corolla SR)
Group 6 1st Simon Gillmore (DHL/Halton Graphics/SRG Engineering Peugeot 205); 2nd William Branch (Automotive Art/ImitationTrees.com Toyota Corolla); 3rd Shaun Alleyne (Rent-A-Tool/Autolink/Friendly Signs/Champion Auto/PhotoBarbados Toyota Starlet); 4th Greg Cozier (Daihatsu Charmant)
Group 7 1st Sean Gill (Shell/Courts/Automotive Art Simpson Motors Rally Team Suzuki Ignis JWRC); 2nd Mark Hamilton (McEnearney Quality Inc/Consolidated Finance/Automotive Art Ford Escort MkII); 3rd Jonathan Still (Hitachi Power Tools/Philips Lighting/Warrens Motors/VP Racing/Crane & Equipment BMW M3); 4th Nicholas Gill (McEnearney Quality Inc/Toyo Tyres Volkswagen Bug)
Group 8 1st Roger Hill (Mobil 1/Nassco/Michelin/Motormac Toyota Celica GT4); 2nd Harold Morley (Sunbeach Communications Inc/Gio-Goi Subaru Impreza WRC); 3rd Sean Dowding (Globe Finance Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V)

Group winners' KnockOut Handicap
Quarter-finals: Freddie Gale beat Lindsay Farmer; James Betts beat Kirk Watkins; Roger Marshall beat Simon Gillmore; Roger Hill beat Sean Gill
Semi-finals: Betts beat Gale; Marshall beat Hill
Final: Betts beat Marshall
Banks Pig'n'Likka Driver of the Day: Joshua Delmas
Fastest time of the day: Sean Gill, 2m 08.72s