Leslie Alleyne claimed a record-equalling fifth victory in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) longest-standing event, when he won the Sol Go Further 55th Anniversary June Safari at the weekend (June 23/24). Meanwhile, his Navigator in the Simpson Motors Isuzu D-Max, Chris O’Neal, added the 69th name to the roll of honour of the region’s oldest motor sport event with a continuous history.

  Alleyne is one of only five competitors to have won ‘The June’ from both seats, having already won twice each as Driver (in 2003 & ’06, with wife AnnaLee navigating) and Navigator (1996, with Geoff Noel, and last year with Trevor Manning). His fifth win brings him level with Wayne Clarke, who reached that total in 2010, his third victory as Navigator to Chris Armstrong added to earlier triumphs with Don Hunte.

  Appropriately, it was the Toyota Hilux of Armstrong and Clarke that came closest to Alleyne and O’Neal in last weekend’s event, which Alleyne described as “phenomenal”. The winners’ total of 1083 penalties compared with 1321 for Armstrong/Clarke and 1983 for third-placed Ryan Corbin and Dustin Edwards, who admitted to some tense moments during the night in the Corbin’s Catering Services/SDRR/Crane & Equipment Hilux.

  The successful running of the first June Rally on June 16, 1957 was the catalyst to the founding of the BRC, and ‘The June’ is still considered the jewel in the crown of the BRC MudDogs Safari and Chefette MudDogs Novice Safari Championships. Divided into four to allow three refreshment breaks during the 19-hour marathon, the route was set by Peter Bradshaw and Renata Roett, who dealt with the early-morning route three.

  Alleyne said: “The route-setting crew was phenomenal. It was masterful and the effort and detail was amazing.” At Monday’s (June 25) Prizegiving at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Club House at Searles, Christ Church, the winners received vouchers for $200 of Sol Go Further fuel, which they immediately presented to Bradshaw and Roett for a job well done. In turn Bradshaw, who had also hand-crafted the trophies, said: “Renata did a fantastic job as a first-timer.”
  Route wins were shared between Alleyne/O’Neal (one and three),