wo class wins in the recent Autumn Double Header Sprint mean Modified 1 (M1) class leader Edward Corbin will head into October’s final round of the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Driver’s and Class Championships leading the Champion Driver title chase. With a total of 113 points, he has a five-point cushion over Ryan Wood, who leads Clubman 2 (C2), with fellow M1 runner Jermin Pope third another seven points behind.
Competitors in the Winter Rally (October 16) will benefit from the now-traditional enhanced scoring system applied to the season finale - 28 points for a win, 23 for second place, 20 for third and so on down to 10 for 10th place – so there is still much to be settled before year-end.
The Rally Club’s Champion Driver in 2019, Corbin (Daihatsu Charmant) and former circuit racing Champion Driver Pope (Honda Civic) have fought hard in M1, while Wood and Sean Corbin, placed eighth overall, have been the class of C2, the season’s most popular class with 12 BimmaCup drivers scoring points. Mark Thompson is fourth with 95 points, his M4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX one of only three four-wheel-drive cars in the top 10, while Darren Lashley in his first season in the BRC Championship remains fifth overall, leading SuperModified 1 in his Toyota Starlet (94pts).
Having dropped out of the top 10 after Sol Rally Barbados 2022, reigning BRC Champion Stuart Maloney is now sixth after a brace of wins in the Autumn Double Header, tied on 93 points with Stuart Garcia. Maloney (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) and Garcia (BimmaCup Too) respectively lead the FIA R5 and C3 classes. Completing the top 10 are Sol RB22 winner Dane Skeete (Subaru Impreza WRC S12), the only runner in WRC, and M3 leader Logan Watson (BMW M3), equal on 87 points.
With the rapid growth this year of the FIA R5 class – the number based in the island is now in double figures – 16 drivers have scored in the 4wd Championship, a record since the separate 2wd and 4wd titles were introduced in 2011, when 12 4wd cars fought for points. Skeete was the early leader, winning both directions of the Shakedown Double Header, but was trailing Stuart Maloney after First Citizens King of the Hill and day one of Sol Rally Barbados, albeit by just one point. The R5 points-leader’s early retirement on day two, however, handed the advantage back to Skeete, who heads into the final round leading with 108 points, a 23-point cushion to Maloney. Britain’s Rob Swann, who has scored points in both his R5 Fiesta Rally2 and Subaru Impreza WRC S12B, is third on 73, with Marks Maloney and Thompson tied for fourth on 66.
It is tighter in the 2wd Championship standings, where just eight points cover the top three. Having won 2wd in the first three rounds, Roger Mayers led early on, but his decision not to contest Sol RB22 left the door open for Edward Corbin to assume the lead, ahead of Watson. Two second-place finishes to Mayers in the Autumn Double-Header, however, have now propelled Watson into the lead with 79 points, seven ahead of Corbin, who is one point ahead of Mayers.
BRC Class Championship
Positions after round 7:
WRC: 1st Dane Skeete (Sol/CO Williams Sand & Lime/Automotive Art Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 87 points; 2nd Rob Swann – ENG (Elegant Hotels/Blue Sky Luxury/RA Swann Ltd Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), 11pts
FIA R5: 1st Stuart Maloney (Rock Hard/VP Fuels/Chevron/Bushy Park/Sign Station Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 93pts; 2nd Mark Maloney (M-Jet/Rock Hard/VP Fuels/Chevron/Bushy Park/Sign Station Skoda Fabia R5/Rally2 evo), 79pts; 3rd Roger Hill (Esso/Maxmeyer Paints/MotorMac Skoda Fabia R5), 75pts; etc
Modified 4: 1st Mark Thompson (Glassesco/Automotive Art/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty Day Spa Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 95pts; 2nd George Sherman - USA (Tide Cleaners/Subway Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 33pts; 3rd Avinash Chatrani (iShop Barbados/Axe Solutions Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV), 26pts
SuperModified 2: 1st Roger Mayers (Chefette/Rubis/Frosteez/Hankook/Sign Depot Toyota WR Starlet), 71pts; 2nd Adrian Linton (Ravensden/JAD Performance/Helping Hands Foundation Vauxhall Astra VXR), 66pts; 3rd Andrew Jones (Gales Agro Products/Vanpur Malt/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII), 57pts; etc
SM1: 1st Darren Lashley (Hi-Speed Performance Parts/HEL Performance/Lashley’s Auto Garage/Starboy Performance/Shalom Management Services/High Maintenance Detailing Toyota Starlet), 94pts; 2nd Fabien Clarke (Empire Building & Construction/Sweet and Special/Bovell Auto Repair/RCR Tours/South 7 DJs/Shallom Management Services Suzuki Ignis Sport), 41pts; 3rd Tremaine Forde-Catwell (Mipa Autocolour/Cheese Autoglass Finish Inc Daihatsu Charmant), 35pts; etc
Modified 3: 1st Logan Watson (Cargo BGI/Enermax Ltd/Luxe Caribbean Properties/It’s Barbados/Sign Depot/Bajan Pure Water/Stihl/Hankook Tires BMW M3), 87pts; 2nd Justin Campbell (Republic Bank/Automotive Art/CampsAutoServices/Bushy Park Barbados/Dream Freighting BMW M3), 48pts; 3rd Ian Warren (Guava Tech/Colour XL/Westlake Tyres/Foxin/Benthams Farm & Garden/Kikks BMW Compact), 45pts; etc
Modified 2: 1st Neil Corbin (Nassco/J Jason Jones/Stamina Energy/Auto Solutions/Colour XL/Hino Toyota GT86 CS-R3), 85pts
M1: 1st Edward Corbin (Automotive Art/Valvoline/Pro Sales/Cargo BGI/Hilti Daihatsu Charmant), 113pts; 2nd Jermin Pope (Glassesco/PEG Farms/Good Time Snacks/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty Day Spa/Automotive Art/Industries Job/C & A Auto Body Repair Honda Civic), 101pts; equal 3rd Pierre Clarke (SDRR Hydrualics/Camp’s Auto Service Honda Civic) & Paul Inniss (Caribbean Villa Chefs/Caribbean LED Lighting/Trident Insurance Ltd/Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream/J's AC Service/JJ Racing Team/ Ingcopowerbyessco/Deodaz Customs/Momo Coco Loco/Triton Logistics/Hunte's Auto Spares Honda Civic), 81pts; etc
Historic 2: 1st Harold Morley (Spectrum Antimicrobials Inc Porsche 911RS), 41pts; 2nd John Corbin (Valvoline/Hilti/Cargo BGI Toyota Corolla), 33pts
Clubman 3: 1st Stuart Garcia (Kirba Inc/Smith’s Engineering Works/Four & Twenty Bakery/GuavaTech BimmaCup Too), 93pts; 2nd Kevin Armstrong (Armstrong Auto/Pet Arts BMW 325i), 59pts
C2: 1st Robert Ryan Wood (Carter’s Pitstop/C&A Autobody Repair/Guava Tech/Hilti/West Lake/Medical Massage Specialist BimmaCup), 108pts; 2nd Sean Corbin (Kikks Slippas/Super-S Premium Lubricants/Westlake Performance Tires/Carter's Pitstop BimmaCup) 91pts; equal 3rd Chris Hoad (Subway/Dasani Water/Guava Tech BimmaCup) & Sacha Soodeen (BimmaCup), 72pts; etc
C1: 1st Jason Tull (Jay-T's Auto Services/SRG Engineering/Shallom Management Services/BG Products Peugeot 106 Rallye S2), 85pts
GpB: 1st Calvin Briggs (Flying Bell Farms Ford Sierra), 52pts; 2nd Shawn Eversley (Suzuki Swift), 22pts
BRC 4wd Championship: 1st Skeete, 108pts; 2nd S Maloney, 85pts; 3rd Swann – ENG (FIA R5 Ford Fiesta Rally2/WRC Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), 73pts; equal 4th M Maloney & M Thompson, 66pts; 6th Hill, 63pts; etc
BRC 2wd Championship: 1st Watson, 79pts; 2nd E Corbin, 72pts; 3rd R Mayers, 71pts; 4th N Corbin, 66pts; 5th Pope, 55pts; equal 6th Jones & B Mayers, 52pts; etc