PANTON LEADS 40 CARS FOR CARTER’S PIT-STOP STAGES

Trevor ‘Micey’ Manning is back . . . as Car Zero!
Reigning Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Champion Driver, Jamaica’s Jeff Panton, launches his title defence on Sunday (April 22), seeded at number one for the Carter’s Pit-Stop Stages. The 40-car running order confirmed at last night’s (Thursday) Briefing Meeting at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Clubhouse, Searles, Christ Church, includes eight regional and international crews as competitors ramp up their preparations for Sol Rally Barbados 2018.
 With 10 stages over 42 kilometres – a little over one-third of the projected distance for Sol RB18 – Sunday’s event will give crews valuable pointers as to where they stand against the opposition and whether their winter development work has paid off. Scrutineering at the Carter’s Wildey Complex from 3.00pm tomorrow (Saturday) will give island fans their first chance to check out some of the overseas visitors; the Pit-Stop store will be open until 6.00pm, with prizes to be won in the Spin The Wheel competition.
 Four-time winner of the BRC’s premier event - his 1998 victory as the first regional winner followed by a hat-trick over the past three years - Panton dominated the island scene last year, then won the Motoring Club of Barbados Inc double-header two weeks ago. With regular co-driver Mike Fennell in his Ford Focus WRC06, Panton starts ahead of the Subaru Impreza WRC S12Bs of Roger Skeete, co-driven this weekend by Eric Allamby, and Britain’s Rob Swann, whose co-driver Darren Garrod arrives fresh from winning last Saturday’s (April 14) Rallynuts Stages, round three of the Pirelli MSA Welsh Rally Championship, sitting with Matt Edwards (Ford Fiesta). Roger Hill and Graham Gittens complete the WRC class in their Toyota Corolla WRC.
 While island fans will be eager to see how the leading crews shape up against one another in this first big test of the year, many will also rejoice at the return of Trevor ‘Electric Micey’ Manning. With son Sam as co-driver, ‘Micey’ will be putting his talents to good use as Car Zero, driving the Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo originally campaigned with great success by his father Roger, before it was handed down through the family. It has been the subject of a painstaking rebuild in recent years – if it goes as well as it looks, it will cause a stir.
 Scotland’s Andy Scott is seeded at five for his debut in a recently-acquired Ford Fiesta R5, heading a four-strong Group A class, which now includes Andrew Mallalieu, who has upgraded his former GpN Impreza. The fight for two-wheel-drive honours promises some fireworks, with 2014 & ’15 BRC Champion Driver Rhett Watson (SuperModified 3 BMW M3) the top seed, ahead of Barry Mayers (SM2 Ford Fiesta), Dane Skeete (SM2 Peugeot 306 Maxi) and 2016 Champion Driver Daryl Clarke, who has moved his Honda Civic into SM2.
 Panton, Swann and Scott are the top seeds among a total of eight overseas entries across six classes, a record in recent years outside Sol Rally Barbados: Trinidad & Tobago’s David Coelho will campaign his GpA Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, while America’s George Sherman will again drive Coelho’s GpN Evo IX; from the Turks & Caicos Islands, Paul Horton, who won Modified 2 on Sol RB17, is back for the third time this year in his Citroen DS 3 R3 MAX, along with Stan Hartling (SM3 BMW M3), who will also oversee his son Benjamin’s debut in the island in a Citroen C2 R2 MAX.
 Kendal Plantation Yard in St John will be the Service Park and central hub of two loops of five stages on Sunday. In the morning, three runs from Malvern to Wilson Hill (3.50kms) will alternate with two stages between Pool and Society (4.20kms); in the afternoon, the stages will be reversed, three from Society and two from Wilson Hill, although they will be 5.00kms and 4.00kms respectively, adding to the challenge and making for a total distance of 41.90kms. The day will end with a post-event social and Prizegiving at Kendal at around 5.00pm, at which marshals and spectators are welcome to join the competitors to celebrate or commiserate.
Carter’s Pit-Stop Stages - Sunday, April 22
Provisional running order at April 20:
1 Jeffrey Panton – JAM/Michael Fennell Jnr – JAM (WRC Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06)
2 Roger Skeete/Eric Allamby (WRC Sol/Automotive Art/Simpson Motors/Flow Subaru Impreza WRC S12B)
3 Rob Swann – ENG/Darren Garrod - WAL (WRC Elegant Hotels/Blue Sky Luxury/Cygnet Plant Subaru Impreza WRC S12B)
4 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (WRC Esso/Nassco/MaxMeyer/MotorMac/Pennzoil Toyota Corolla WRC)
5 Andy Scott - SCO/Rashid Phillips (GpA Motis/Teng Tools/Rock Oil Ford Fiesta R5)
6 Rhett Watson/Bradley Weekes (SM3 Chefette/Stihl/Gliptone/Leafy Organics/Gunk/Bajan Pure Water/It’s Barbados/Power King Batteries, in support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3)
7 Barry Mayers/Ben Norris (SM2 Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/Hankook/Illusion Graphics/DHL Ford Fiesta)
8 Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (SM2 Sol/Automotive Art Peugeot 306 Maxi)
9 Andrew Mallalieu/Geoff Goddard (GpA Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza)
10 Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (SM2 Automotive Art/Flow/Amir’s Chicken/MQI Collision Repair/eCarib Classifieds Honda Civic)
11 Andrew Jones/Lindsey Pilkington – ENG (SM3 Lucozade/Caribbean Powder Coating/Southern Surf Beach Apartments/AP Jones Pharmacy Ford Escort MkII)
12 David Coelho – TRI/James Harris – ENG (GpA Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
14 Avinash Chatrani/Andrew Skeete (GpA Lenovo/PowerBass/Genius Lynk/iShop/Copacabana/Gunk Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
15 George Sherman - USA/Anthony Sherman - USA (GpN Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
16 Logan Watson/Andrew Croney (SM3 Leafy Organics/Sign Depot/Subzero Services/Luxe Caribbean Properties/It’s Barbados/Hankook Tyres/Cargo BGI/Stihl/The Unknown Entity BMW M3)
17 Greg Cozier/Natasha Farnum (H2 Barbados Historic Rally Carnival Ford Escort RS)
18 Paul Horton - TCI/Dwayne Forde (M2 Java Island/Sky Motorsports/H Racing Citroen DS 3 R3 MAX)
19 Jamal Brathwaite/Ayrton Bannister (M2 Platinum Motors/Valvoline/Automotive Art/Consumers Guarantee Insurance Honda Civic Type-R)
20 Jeremy Gonsalves/Rommell Martin (SM1 Sign Depot/Valvoline/Star Products/John Hardman Engineering/Guava Tech/Roscoe’s Machine Shop Opel Corsa)
21 Stan Hartling - TCI/Andy Proudfoot – CDN (SM3 Bambarra Rum/H Racing BMW M3)
22 Edward Corbin/Johnathan Alleyne (M1 Valvoline/Hilti/Express Imports Daihatsu Charmant)
23 Wayne Archer/Tristan Gibbs (H2 RW Water/Arrow Construction/Arrow Woodworking/Archers Hall Design Centre/D & A Air Conditioning BMW 325)
24 Shareef Walcott/Jan-Yves Hinds (M1 Melwani’s/Tint +/Castrol/Bizneedz/ReefMotorsport/Lil Griff’s Maintenance & Freighting Services Toyota Corolla)
25 Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (GpB Sharkey’s Bar/Castrol/Suga Apple Swimwear/Pelican Market Suppliers Inc BMW M3)
26 Jermin Pope/Aaron Kirton (C1 Glassesco/Good Time Snacks/PEG/C&A Autobody/Uniform Factory Outlet/Niccolls & Edghill/NKM/Bio Beauty/Industries Job Honda Civic)
27 Winston Thompson/Troy Toppin (SM1 Ellesmere Quarries/BCR Car Rental/SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares Toyota Starlet)
28 Paul Inniss/Jason Barrow (M1 Brydens Insurance/East Point Grill/Caribbean Villa Chefs/Chef Byer Catering/Castrol/JJ Racing Team/Hugh Autobody/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals/Autoderm Honda Civic)
29 Derek Edwards/Damien Johnson (C2/BimmaCup D & A Air Conditioning/LAH Equipment Supply/Arrow Woodworking/C&A Autobody BMW 318ti Compact)
30 Sacha Soodeen/Brendon McKenzie (C2/BimmaCup BMW 318ti Compact)
31 Ryan Wood/Michael Franco (C2/BimmaCup Carter’s Pit-Stop/Guava Tech/C&A Autobody/Power King Batteries/Tropical Shipping/Maxxis Tyres BMW 318ti Compact)
32 Stuart Garcia/Russell Smith (C2/BimmaCup Four & Twenty Bakery/Intelligent Defence Systems/Smith’s Engineering Works/Zaccios/Kirba Inc BMW 318ti Compact)
33 Ian Warren/Robert Warren (C2/BimmaCup Maxxis Tyres/Guava Tech BMW 318ti Compact)
34 Benjamin Hartling – TCI/Leslie Evanson (M1 H Racing/Sky Motorsport Citroen C2 R2 MAX)
35 Luke Cozier/Kareem Gaskin (C2/BimmaCup BMW 318ti Compact)
36 Allan Kinch/Kyle Proverbs (C2/BimmaCup Jolly Roger/Pirates Cove/Guava Tech/Printmax BMW 318ti Compact)
37 Spencer Hutchinson/Gayle Hutchinson (C2/BimmaCup MotorsportToolKits.co.uk BMW 318ti Compact)
38 Joe Troulan/Marilil Troulan (C2/BimmaCup BMW 318ti Compact)
39 John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (H2 Valvoline/Hilti Toyota Corolla)
40 Trevor Mapp/Allister Nurse (C1 Sign Station/JSB Motorsport/Chicken Pen Racing/Valvoline Mitsubishi Colt Mivec RS)
41 Ryan O Wood/Dario Watson (C1 MB Auto City/Lucas Oil/Code One Plus Toyota Starlet)