Motor Sport First at Turner'S Hall
Fans to enjoy 'live' coverage at Shell V-Power King of the Hill
Racing fans have seen it at Formula 1 race tracks the world over but,
for the first time at a motor sport event in Barbados, spectators at
the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) Shell V-Power King of the Hill event
on Saturday (May 24) will enjoy live coverage on a Giant Daylight
Screen.
Thanks to sponsorship from Banks, McEnearney Quality, Simpson
Motors and Sol, the screen is being erected opposite the major
spectator area close to the start; from four camera points along the
two-kilometre course, Merville Lynch Productions will broadcast every
run to the thousands of spectators expected to attend this new event
on the island's motor sport calendar.
Shell V-Power King of the Hill is the third round of the Virgin
Atlantic Airways BRC RallySport Championship and the second round of
the BRC Sprint Championship, but will also provide a 'shakedown' for
the many overseas competitors who have been arriving in the island
over the past few days to take part in the following weekend's Sol
Rally Barbados.
All drivers entered for the 'main event' are eligible to compete,
but overseas drivers will not be able to take points away from local
competitors in the BRC championships; although the number of starters
will not be known until Saturday - the signing-on sheet for the event
will be available at Scrutineering on Friday - the BRC anticipates an
excellent turn-out.
Spectators are advised to proceed down Rock Hall and park in the
large designated area at the base of the hill; in addition to parking
and the Giant Daylight Screen, there will be refreshment tents and
live commentary. Rally Barbados chairman Barry Gale said: "We are
asking all spectators to be mindful of those living in the area, and
not to park on the road, or to block entrances to residents' homes.
This is an exciting new venture for us - although, of course,
Turner's Hall has played an important role as a HillSprint venue over
the 50 years of the Club's existence - and we want to make it an
exciting and enjoyable day out for everyone."
There will be one practice run, followed by three timed runs, the
fastest of which will be used to decide the results. During the lunch
break after the first official run, 15 prize-winners from a promotion
that has been running at Shell outlets in recent weeks will get the
'ride-of-a-lifetime' up the hill with one of the leading competitors.
In the afternoon, there will be two further timed runs, with the
added twist that the top 10 fastest from the previous runs will be
held until the end and run in reverse order.
The scheduled start time is 11.30am and the last runs are expected
to be complete by approximately 5.30pm; a prizegiving will follow.
Sol prize draw at scrutineering Friday
The 15 lucky winners of the 'ride-of-a-lifetime' - a run up the Shell
V-Power King of the Hill course in the co-driver's seat of one of the
event's top competitors - will become known on Friday evening, during
Scrutineering at the Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, Wildey, St
Michael; the prize draw will start shortly after 5.30pm, during a
live broadcast on 98.1 The One, hosted by Deri Bowen.
As last year, Scrutineering will take place in the south-east
parking lots of the Gymnasium; while Chief Scrutineer Simon Gillmore and his team will work 'behind closed doors', there will be ample
opportunity for fans to mix with local, regional and international
competitors.
There will be a display area for cars that have already been
scrutineered, refreshment tents, driver interviews and an official
welcome for the overseas guests. While the work of scrutineering will start earlier, the main event is expected to last from around 4.00pm
until 8.00pm.
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