Local Crews Shake Down for Sol Rally Barbados
Scrutineering Saturday at Simpson Motors, Warrens

More than 50 cars are listed on the running order for Sunday's (May 8) Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Shakedown Stages, as local crews use the island's first tarmac rally of the year as a crucial part of their preparations for the Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport international, Sol Rally Barbados (June 4/5).

Rally fans eager to catch up with the latest news first-hand are encouraged to attend Scrutineering tomorrow (Saturday) between 1.00pm and 5.00pm at Simpson Motors, Warrens, St Michael; competitors are required to arrive there no later than 3.00pm, so there will be ample time for fans to inspect new or revised machinery.

Sunday's event is the third round of the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Driver's and Class Championships, and the start of a busy time for competitors: each day of Sol Rally Barbados (June 4/5) counts separately towards the championship, so there are four points-scoring opportunities over the next five weekends, with Shell V-Power King of the Hill falling on May 29.

Sunday's event will start at 9.00am from the service area at Colleton Plantation Yard, St John, which will also be the venue for the start, lunchtime break, finish and post-event Prize-giving and lime. There are 12 stages, giving a total distance of around 55 kilometres: in the morning, there will be three runs each from Colleton to Cliff (3.6kms) and from Padmore Village to Three Houses (5.6kms); after lunch, the stages will be reversed and run Cliff to Colleton followed by Three Houses to Padmore.

A decisive winner last year, Roger Skeete (Subaru Impreza WRC S12) is seeded at number one, ahead of Paul Bourne, who returns to island action in his Ford Focus WRC07 for the first time in nearly a year. Roger Hill (Toyota Corolla WRC) and Sean Gill (Suzuki SX4 WRC) are third and fourth, while Trinidad-based Jamaican John Powell (Impreza WRC S12) – he's hoping his car will clear the Bridgetown Port in time – and Dean Serrao (Impreza WRC S9) round out the Modified 8-WRC entry.

Completing a total of 10 four-wheel-drive cars, Avinash Chatrani (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI) is alone in M8-A, while Geoff Noel and Mark Hamilton (both Evo IXs) and Andrew Mallalieu (Impreza N10) will fight for Group N honours.

Behind them are some action-packed classes: in SuperModified 11, despite the absence of both Cumberbatch brothers, there are still four BMWs, Logan Watson and Brian Gill joined by newcomers Kyle Lashley and Alex Whitehead. Meanwhile, the attention of diehard fans will be split between the return of 2008 Caribbean Motor Racing Champion Stuart Maloney (Peugeot 306 Maxi) and the sideways antics of the Ford Escorts of Calvin Briggs, Andrew Jones and Stuart McChlery.

In SM10, Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift) faces Cliff Roett (Toyota Starlet), who will be hoping to repeat his Bushy Park race-winning form, while SM9 promises a tight battle between reigning Champion Josh Read, Neil Armstrong and the returning Mayers brothers (all Starlets) with the S1600 Citroen C2 of Brett Clarke sure to be in the mix.

The modified classes will also provide interest: in M7, Daryl Clarke debuts his Honda Civic, Freddie Gale his new Toyota and returnee Jeremy Sisnett his Ford Fiesta while, in M6, the Mitsubishi Mirage RS of reigning Champion Jamal Brathwaite will face some unfamiliar opposition in the form of Neil Corbin (moved from SM9 in his Starlet) and Jean-Marc Cozier (Peugeot 205).

The BRC Shakedown Stages (May 8), Sol Rally Barbados 2011 (June 4/5) and Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 29) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB2011 is the 22nd running of the Club's annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the start of a second three-year term of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean's largest independent oil company.

BRC Shakedown Stages, May 8
Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's & Class Championships, round 3
Provisional running order:
1 Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (M8-WRC Virgin Atlantic/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Michelin/Simpson Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
2 Paul Bourne/Ronald Plant (M8-WRC Banks/Chefette/Virgin Atlantic Airways Ford Focus WRC07)
3 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC)
4 Sean Gill/Michael Cummins (M8-WRC Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC)
5 John Powell - TDAD/tba (M8-WRC Intercontinental Shipping Ltd Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
6 Dean Serrao/Sean Abed (M8-WRC Subaru Impreza WRC S9)
7 Avinash Chatrani/Martin Goddard (M8-A Electric Avenue/EA Mobile/Hankook/Solder Seal Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
8 Geoffrey Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (P4 Globe Finance/Sentry Insurance Brokers/Mix 96.9/Automotive Art/Cargo Solution International/CIAC Airconditioners Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
9 Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (P4 First Caribbean International Bank/Consumer Guarantee Insurance/PowerMaster/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
10 Andrew Mallalieu/Chris Millward (P4 Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10)
11 Logan Watson/Jeremy Foster (SM11 The Unknown Entity BMW M3)
12 Stuart Maloney/Trevor Perkins (SM11 Automotive Art/Marshall Trading/Sea Freight Agencies Peugeot 306 Maxi)
13 Brian Gill/Robert Tempro (SM11 Kerns Juices/Maxi Malta BMW M3)
14 Andrew Jones/Kurt Ward (SM11 A P Jones Pharmacy/Rally & Competition Equipment/Precision Automotive/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII)
15 Calvin Briggs/Leslie Evanson (SM11 www.my11plus.com Ford Escort MkII)
16 Kyle Lashley/Dwayne Forde (SM11 Kyle Lashley's Customs Brokers/Jehad Enterprises/Storey's Distribution/Dublin Crystal/Scud Sports/Auto Solutions/Lashley's Distributors/www.BajanBoost.com BMW E30)
17 Stuart McChlery/Julian Goddard (SM11 TeleBarbados/Lubriguard Ford Escort MkI)
18 Alex Whitehead/Brian Hurley (SM11 Sign Station BMW 328i)
19 Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Chefette/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift)
20 Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (SM9 Lubriguard Oils/Hankook Tyres/Nassco Drink Toyota Starlet)
21 Cliff Roett/Dirk Grey (SM10 Carters & Co/Lucky Horseshoe/Paulo's Churasco Do Brasil/Roett's Garage Toyota Starlet)
22 Andrew Skeete/Bradley Weekes (SM10 Hitachi Power Tools/Hankook Mitsubishi Lancer GSR)
23 Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM9 Automotive Art/Baram Services Toyota Starlet)
24 Barry Mayers/Roger Mayers (SM9 Chefette/Digicel/Delaware Dispensary/Illusion Graphics/Quality Tyre Toyota Starlet)
25 Brett Clarke/Garry Clarke (SM9 Citroen C2 S1600)
26 Jeremy Gonsalves/James Betts (SM9 All Terrain Plus/Star Products/Yamaha/Makita/Quik Start Auto/Champion Auto Wrecker Suzuki Swift GTi)
27 Allan Maynard/Marcus Beck (SM9 Marshal Trading/Roberts Manufacturing/Pine Hill Dairy/Lubriguard/El Tigre Catamaran Cruises/Williams Equipment Toyota Starlet)
28 Adrian Linton/Dominic Wentworth-Linton (M7 Ravensden/Garbage Gobbler/JAD Performance Vauxhall Astra GSi)
29 Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (M7 Ellco Rentals/Roberts Manufacturing/Mom's Pasta Products Honda Civic)
30 Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (M7 Gale's Hatcheries/Nassco/VP Fuels Toyota Corolla RunX)
31 Kyle Catwell/Norman Catwell (M7 Carib Beer/Freekz Customz/Ellesmere Quarries/Cutters Of Barbados Volkswagen Golf GTI)
32 Jeremy Sisnett/Justin Sisnett (M7 Ford Fiesta)
33 Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (M6 AMAT Trading/Williams Trading Peugeot 206)
34 Jamal Brathwaite/Dario Hoyte (M6 FG Wilson Generators/AM Electrical Solutions/Carib/Meridian Windows and Doors/Chicken Pen Racing/AutoPlus Motors/D2 Suspension/Valvoline/Ellesmere Quarries Mitsubishi Mirage RS)
35 Neil Corbin/Adam Alleyne (M6 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet)
36 Paul Horton - TCI/Kristian Yearwood (M6 Sky Rally Sport/H Racing/Java Island Honda Civic)
37 Sean Cox/Cody Foster (M5 Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift Gti)
38 Danny Williams/Reuben Nelson (M6 Lucky Horse Shoe/Sunbury Plantation House/Lexy's Piano Bar/Cutters/Sitar Ford Fiesta)
39 Shareef Walcott/Rashid Phillips (M6 Castrol/Melwani's/Cell Connect Toyota Corolla)
40 Jean-Marc Cozier/Asif Suleman (M6 Hankook/Country View Bar & Grill Peugeot 205GTi)
41 Jeremy Croney/Mario Clermont (Club Quality Tyre/Lubriguard Peugeot 206)
42 Sean Field/Darnley Rayside (P3 Field Insurance Brokers/Castrol Oil/Ackee Tree/AM Realty Services/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306)
43 Conor Roach/Damien Moore (P2 Peugeot 106 Rallye)
44 Fabien Clarke/Arlington Hoyte (P2 Barbados Business Listings/Crimson Jade Consulting/RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair Suzuki Ignis Sport)
45 Paul Inniss/Kerry Downes (P2 Bartex Concrete Works/Palmart/Newton's Building Services Honda Civic)
46 Umar Dyer/Richard Blenman (P3 Joe's Performance Shop Peugeot 205)
47 Karl Bovell/Ron Greaves (M7 Kick Energy Drink/McCarthy's Garage/Kumho/Valvoline/Chick Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/Soldier Man Trucking Honda Civic)
48 Brendon Mckenzie/Tony Pile (M6 Budex Couriers Toyota Corolla)
49 Shannon Kirton/Lisa Roett (Club Fingerprint Designs Datsun 160J)
50 Clifford Cox/Scott Bentham (SM9 Toyota Starlet)
51 Math Whitney/Raphael Russell (SM9 Wadman Bros Toyota Corolla)