Fresh New Look for Sol Rally Barbados
Sol Aviation SuperSpecial under floodlights at Bushy Park

From day one's opening stage – a new four-kilometre test in the north of the island – to the climax of day two, the Sol Aviation SuperSpecial being run for the first time under floodlights, major changes to the format of Sol Rally Barbados 2011 (June 4/5) promise competitors and spectators alike a fresh new look for the Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport international.

PRO of the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC), Neil Barnard said: "Like almost all the competitors, and many spectators, too, we felt the rally needed refreshing. Given the size of our island, making wholesale changes is not easy, but we have worked hard over the last 12 months to reach this point."

The major shake-up comes on Saturday: the route will revert to using three venues, starting with Field Insurance Pickerings (3.9kms), which will run three times before lunch. Although local competitors will be familiar with some of this test, as it uses parts of the former Lamberts and Pickerings stages, it has never been used in its entirety.

The least-changed venue of the day is Automotive Art – Sol Orange Hill (3.8kms), which will run north twice in the morning, then south three times after lunch; while the stage is largely the same at it was when last used in Sol Rally Barbados in 2009, its character will be somewhat different, as the VIP Hospitality Area will overlook some of its most challenging corners.

Saturday's third venue is Karcher Canefield, which will run north twice in the morning, then south three times after lunch; it will no longer include Hangman's Hill and Vaucluse corner, but will start (then finish in the evening) at Content, pass through Fortress Hill, and will once again include the Canefield Esses at the north of the stage.
Barnard notes: "When setting the rally, we had real problems using just two venues in the north, then trying to get back to the usual start of Hangman's Hill - the transit from stage to stage was very, very long and added an hour onto the route. So, instead of persisting with that for the sake of the 'same 'ol same 'ol' Canefield stage, we've changed it up to create a more compact, efficient route, hence the start from Content.

"Necessity forced the change, but I believe we now have the best of everything - we will see, we know its a bit of a risk, but we are always happy to try something different. But we haven't lost what the fans tend to think of as Canefield – we're using Hangman's Hill, then Vaucluse corner and all the way up to Lion Castle for Shell V-Power King of the Hill the weekend before.

"And there is another benefit of our new layout – the new Pickerings, plus the changes to Canefield, will create a more level playing field for our international visitors, as none of the locals have ever competed on that particular stage design . . . although that could of course have mixed results! Obviously, we'd like the trophy to stay at home."

On Sunday, Red Bull Malvern (6.2km) and LIME Kendal (6.0km) will each run three times before lunch and twice after, with a switch of direction at the break; a significantly later start will allow competitors a little more rest and officials more breathing space for the stage set-up after the later finish on Saturday, at least the last two stages of which will run into darkness.

The event will climax with the Sol Aviation SuperSpecial at Bushy Park, slated to start at 6.20pm, and run for the first time under floodlights. Competitors will be seeded in reverse order – the time taken to facilitate that will allow competitors a chance to see the last run through LIME Kendal, and still make it back to Bushy Park in time.

There will be one run on a new one-kilometre figure-of-eight course, on which crews will compete two at a time; as last year, the SuperSpecial will be included in the overall results of Sol RB11, so hard-fought action is anticipated.

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; title sponsor is the Sol Group. Marketing partners are Simpson Motors, LIME, Automotive Art, Banks and Karcher; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Tourism Development Corporation, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line and Virgin Atlantic Airways; associate sponsors are Stoute's Car Rental, Glacial Pure, Chefette, Field Insurance and Sagicor.