Flow King of the Hill, the annual precursor to Sol Rally Barbados, is set for major growth in the second year since its return to the iconic Stewart’s Hill venue in the island’s south-east corner. Scheduled for Sunday, May 24, the event has been adopted by the committee responsible for the parish of St John’s We Gatherin’ celebrations.
Launched during last year’s Independence celebrations, ‘We Gatherin’ Barbados! is a year-long campaign to encourage Bajans by birth, by descent, by choice and those who love Barbados, to join heads, hands and hearts as a catalyst for national transformation to "build the best Barbados”. Having started in St Lucy in the north, the programme will visit all 11 parishes month by month in 2020, with a different theme in each - in St John, the focus is on Community - culminating in a National celebration in December.
Sol RB20 Chairman Mark Hamilton explained: “The introduction came via motor sport journalist and broadcaster Trevor Thorpe and we are delighted to play our part in contributing to the parish’s We Gatherin’ programme. After a meeting in the St John constituency office, I have now had a site meeting with committee Chairman Stephen Savoury and marketing officer Roland Lovell to see what might be possible.”
Plans under discussion include larger car parks, a major operation to clear the bush to create additional spectator areas both on the hill and alongside the course, installing the infrastructure to host a VIP facility for invited guests, along with repairs to the roads by Golden Grove and behind Bushy Park. Hamilton added: “I believe that our co-operation will create a very special event that will appeal to both our regular motor sport fans, also local family groups looking for an enjoyable day out in their home parish. As we are expecting to see larger crowds than at previous Stewart’s Hill events, including some newcomers to the motor sport environment, we are also looking very carefully at our safety plans to ensure a safe and smooth-running event.”
Sol Rally Barbados and Flow King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2017; Sol RB20 marks the 13th year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company, and the fifth by communications provider Flow.
