Thirty for Summer Nights Tarmac Stages
Class action promised as Virgin Atlantic Championship resumes

A healthy field of 30 crews has entered for the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) Summer Nights Tarmac Stages, which runs off tomorrow (Saturday, August 6) with four stages in daylight and a further four after the sun has set. The list includes all the BRC Virgin Atlantic Championship front-runners, so a spectacular evening of action is in prospect.

Bringing to an end the two-month break in the finely-poised Championship, Saturday's event is expected to bring island rally fans out in good numbers. Spectators are advised that the land around Ashford and Victoria Plantations is strictly off-limits for spectating; fans who frequent the popular local internet site zhaust.com can find a map clearly showing the 'no-go' areas in the rallying and circuit racing forum thread about the event.

Roger Skeete, who claimed his 12th win in the island's premier event two months ago, starts at number one in his One World Group/Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S12) with regular co-driver Louis Venezia alongside.

The Modified 8-WRC class has attracted four entries, Skeete leading off Paul Bourne and Ronald Plant (Banks/Chefette/MQI/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07), Sean Gill and Michael Cummins (Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC) and Roger Hill and Graham Gittens in the Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC, now refettled after its Sol Rally Barbados 'off'.

Spectators will have little time to draw breath before the battle for two-wheel supremacy comes thundering past, with Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (Lubriguard Oils/Hankook Tyres/Nassco Toyota Starlet) and brothers Ian and Robert Warren (Chefette/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift) seeded at five and six – tied on points in the lead of SuperModified 10, there will be no quarter given.

Next up comes the Group N fight, which is also currently the battle for supremacy in the Overall Class Championship. Mark Hamilton and Geoff Noel have regular co-drivers Clive Howell and Kreigg Yearwood in their respective Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IXs, while Andrew Mallalieu will be joined in his Subaru Impreza N10 by England's Rob Swann, who last year became the first driver to win Group N in Barbados and Jamaica in the same year. He is already planning his return to Rally Jamaica this year.

Intense class rivalries run right through the field: in SM11, the BMWs of Alex Whitehead, Logan Watson, Owen Cumberbatch and newcomer to the German marquee, Andrew Skeete, will do battle with the Ford Escorts of Calvin Briggs and Andrew Jones; in M6, Dane Skeete (Peugeot 206), Neil Corbin (Toyota Starlet), reigning Champion Jamal Brathwaite (Mitsubishi Mirage) will renew their Sol Rally Barbados battle, while Paul Horton from the Turks & Caicos Islands will be hoping for a better run in his Honda Civic.

Slated to start at 4.15pm, the BRC Summer Nights Tarmac Stages will run on a 4.2-kilometre stage from Pool to Society; the stage will be run four times in that direction before the dinner halt, after which the stage will be reversed to run after sundown in the opposite direction. The first evening run is scheduled for a 7.35pm start, with the event expected to finish by 10.00pm.

BRC Summer Nights Tarmac Stages
Virgin Atlantic BRC Class Championship, round 7
Running order:

1 Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (M8-WRC One World Group/Michelin/Simpson Motors/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Virgin Atlantic Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
2 Paul Bourne/Ronald Plant (M8-WRC Banks/Chefette/MQI/Castrol Ford Focus WRC07)
3 Sean Gill/Michael Cummins (M8-WRC Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/Chefette Suzuki SX4 WRC)
4 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC)
5 Neil Armstrong/Barry Ward (SM10 Lubriguard Oils/Hankook Tyres/Nassco Toyota Starlet)
6 Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Chefette/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift)
7 Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (P4 First Caribbean International Bank/Consumer Guarantee Insurance/PowerMaster/Simpson Motors/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
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 Andrew Mallalieu/Rob Swann - ENG (P4 Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10)
10 Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM9 Automotive Art/Baram Services/Weetabix Toyota Starlet)
11 Ralph White/Joe Troulan (SM10 Barbados Villa Services/Island Safari Toyota Starlet)
12 Alex Whitehead/Brian Hurley (SM11 FG Wilson Generators/AM Electrical Solutions/Sign Station BMW 328i)
13 Avinash Chatrani/Julian Goddard (M8-A Electric Avenue/EA Mobile/Hankook/Solder Seal Gunk/Niagra Water/Lubrigold Synthetic Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
14 Logan Watson/Jeremy Foster (SM11 The Unknown Entity BMW M3)
15 Owen Cumberbatch/Kelly-Ann Sandiford (SM11 BMW M3)
16 Calvin Briggs/Adrian Sobers (SM11 Rocklyn Hardware Supplies/Sign Guyz Graphics/Sammy Lee Towing and Recovery/Freekz Customz Ford Escort MkII)
17 Andrew Jones/Graham Manning (SM11 A P Jones Pharmacy/Rally & Competition Equipment/Precision Automotive/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII)
18 Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (M6 One World Group/Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre Peugeot 206)
19 Neil Corbin/Adam Alleyne (M6 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet)
20 Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (M7 Ellco Rentals/Roberts Manufacturing/Mom's Pasta Products Honda Civic)
21 Kyle Catwell/Winston Thompson (M7 Chicken Pen Racing/Carib Beer/Freekz Customz/Ellesmere Quarries/Cutters Of Barbados Volkswagen Golf GTI)
22 Jamal Brathwaite/Dario Hoyte (M6 FG Wilson Generators/AM Electrical Solutions/Carib Beer/Meridian Windows and Doors/Chicken Pen Racing/AutoPlus Motors Inc/D2 Suspension/Kumho/Valvoline/Ellesmere Quarries Mitsubishi Mirage RS)
23 Jeremy Sisnett/Justin Sisnett (M7 Ford Fiesta)
24 Paul Horton - TCI/Kristian Yearwood (M6 Sky Rally Sport/H Racing/Java Island Honda Civic)
25 Andrew Skeete/Bradley Weekes (SM11 Hitachi Power Tools/Hankook Tyres/Sonic/Mothers BMW)
26 John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (M7 Toyota Corolla)
27 Duane Johnson/Dwayne Forde (SM11 Johnson's Autos/Cyrus Chickens/AA Auto Body Repairs/G & G Sales & Services/Phoenix Protection Services Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo)
28 Sean Field/Mayan McKenzie (P3 Field Insurance Brokers/Castrol Oil/Ackee Tree/AM Realty Services/Landscapes in Harmony Peugeot 306)
29 Conor Roach/Damien Moore (P2 Peugeot 106 Rallye)
30 Paul Inniss/Kerry Downes (P2 Bartex Concrete Works/Palmart/Newton's Building Services Honda Civic)