Barbados Rally Carnival Draws Near
Returnee Finlayson goes for "something more sensible"
As thousands of cricket fans head east across the Atlantic
following Saturday's conclusion of the ICC Cricket World Cup
2007, sports fans of a different type are preparing to head
west . . . as the start of the seventh annual Barbados Rally
Carnival is just over two weeks away.
A Geest Line freighter out of Southampton on England's south
coast is already heading toward the island carrying rally
cars from Europe. Their crews will compete in the Red Bull
International RallySprint at the Vaucluse Raceway on Saturday,
May 19, followed by Rally Barbados (May 26/27), one of the
key events in the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) 50th Anniversary
celebrations.
Since its creation, the Barbados Rally Carnival has attracted
nearly 160 overseas competitors, followed by more than 4,000
supporters over the years; while the majority of those visitors
have been British, the list of nations represented also includes
Austria, Finland, Holland, New Zealand and Turkey, joining
the regional competition, particularly from Jamaica, St Vincent
and Trinidad & Tobago. Each year, Rally Carnival injects
around Bds $2 million into the island's economy, much of it
in valuable foreign exchange.
Among those whose cars are in the first group is popular
Carnival regular Graeme Finlayson, who made a big impact on
local crowds with his lightweight Fluke WR1C sports car, in
which he has been a Group winner at both Bushy Park and Vaucluse;
the Scottish-born driver replaced it last year with a Peugeot
205, but it was not a success. Of this year's visit, he says:
"After two completely forgettable years, thanks to elusive
reliability and a lot of last-minute rushing around, which
was misery for all concerned, I've gone for something a little
more sensible - a tidy Group N Mitsubishi Evo III RS. It is
a different learning curve from the previous 15 years of rear-wheel-drive
work I've undertaken, but in testing it has been great fun.
"For a four-wheel-drive car it's light, putting out
good power and the diffs seem set up more akin to a tail-out
rear-wheel-drive car than your usual four-wheel-drive."
Finlayson will have Bajan Martin Atwell as co-driver on Rally
Barbados and the two will share the www.GCR.net Communications-sponsored
Evo at Vaucluse.
Andrew Johnson from North Yorkshire enjoyed his first visit
to the Barbados Rally Carnival last year so much that he is
another making the return trip, along with co-driver Tony
Walker. Last year, he ran his North Yorkshire Homes-backed
Subaru Impreza WRX STi in Group N, but is moving up to Modified
8-A for 2007. He remarked: "I'm happy to be coming back
to Barbados for the rally, fun, sun and hospitality - what
could be better?
"I'm a lot happier with the car now. I had problems
with the brakes last year, so had no confidence in them, and
we're running a revised set-up, giving a bit more power. Although
the car is still basically a Group N car, we're running the
larger restrictor, so are moving up a group."
The Red Bull International RallySprint is the third and final
round of the Vaucluse Raceway RallySprint Cup and a round
of the BRC Driver's Championship. It is organised by the Vaucluse
Raceway Motor Sport Club and sponsored by Red Bull.
Rally Barbados is organised by the Barbados Rally Club;
each day is a separate qualifying round of the Texaco BRC
Rally Championship and the BRC Driver's Championship. Principal
sponsors are Automotive Art, Banks Holdings Ltd, Dacosta Mannings
Auto Centre, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Simpson Motors,
Texaco and Williams Industries. Associate sponsors are Armag,
the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Crane &
Equipment, Essco, Harris Paints, Nassco and SOL.
Key dates for Barbados Rally Carnival 2007
Friday, May 18 - scrutineering for all competitors
- Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, Wildey
Saturday, May 16 - Red Bull International RallySprint
- Vaucluse Raceway, St Thomas
Thursday, May 24 - Rally Barbados 2007 shakedown
Saturday, May 26 - Rally Barbados 2007, day 1
Sunday, May 27 - Rally Barbados 2007, day 2
Monday, May 28 - Rally Barbados 2007 prize-giving
- The Boatyard
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