Hat-trick Sol Rally Barbados winners Jeffrey Panton and Michael Fennell Jnr (Ford Focus WRC06) are seeded at number one for this weekend’s final round of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) 2017 Driver’s and Class Championships. The Jamaican crew tops a 40-car entry for the BRC Winter Rally, which incorporates the second weekend of the Barbados Historic Rally Carnival, which has helped boost to 14 the total of overseas participants.
 The Barbados Historic Rally field, divided into Classic, Historic and Post-Historic classes, will run ahead of the main event, with a distinctive set of rally plates. The event opens with two special stages at Vaucluse Raceway (VRW) tomorrow (Friday), starting at 6.00pm. Saturday’s daylight stages - Dark Hole to Spring Vale, alternating with Hangmans Hill to Lion Castle, each over 5kms - are slated to start at 2.20pm; after the Dinner Halt, a 7.00pm restart will be followed by three runs each of a 4.50km stage from Four Hills to French Village and a downhill run from Canefield to Hangmans Hill (5.90km); the Hangmans Hill stages, both north and south-bound, will run through VRW, using a new, longer, configuration.
 While Panton is hoping for a clean sweep of the BRC’s Champion Driver title, as well as wins in the WRC class and 4wd Championship, victory this weekend is not a foregone conclusion, with Brits Rob Swann (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B), who finished second in Sol Rally Barbados 2017, and double Sol RB winner Paul Bird (Focus WRC07) lining up at two and three. With more than 70 kilometres over 14 stages, including eight night-time tests, the longest event outside Sol Rally Barbados in recent years will prove a tough test of skill and stamina.
 Seeded at four in his familiar Toyota Corolla WRC, Roger Hill is the only local runner in the top class, starting ahead of a competetive two-wheel-drive field. At five, Rhett Watson (SuperModified 3 BMW M3) is followed by 2wd points-leader Barry Mayers (SM2 Ford Fiesta), Andrew Jones, who leads SM3 in his Ford Escort MkII, and Daryl Clarke (M2 Honda Civic), starting his last event at the BRC’s Reigning Champion Driver, while another close Group N battle is in prospect, between Mark Thompson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) and Andrew Mallalieu (Subaru Impreza N10).
 The appearance of two enduring BMW crowd favourites is sure to add spice to the action: Jonathan ‘Stillo’ Still is wheeling out the Group B M3 he built for his so-far brief return to the sport earlier this year, while his close friend, Britain’s Martin ‘Mad-Dale’ Stockdale will drive one of the BimmaCup cars he has been supplying to the region in recent months.
 Most class battles in the BRC Championship remain unresolved and, with no dropped scores this year and an enhanced points structure for this weekend’s event – a class win will earn 28 points (up from 20), second 23, third 20, down to 10 for 10th place – it promises to be action all the way from 6.00pm on Friday.
BRC Winter Rally – Friday/Saturday, November 24/25
Running order at November 23 (Barbados Historic Rally will run ahead of main field):
1 Jeffrey Panton – JAM/Michael Fennell Jnr – JAM (WRC Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06)
2 Rob Swann – ENG/Darren Garrod - WAL (WRC Elegant Hotels/Blue Sky Luxury/Cygnet Plant Subaru Impreza WRC S12B)
3 Paul Bird – ENG/Stuart Loudoun – SCO (WRC Frank Bird Poultry/Be Wiser Insurance/Hager/Wix Filters/Silkolene/Loco Energy Ford Focus WRC07)
4 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac/Max Meyer Toyota Corolla WRC)
5 Rhett Watson/Bradley Weekes (SM3 Chefette/Power King Batteries/Gliptone/Stihl/Gunk/Bajan Pure Water/The Unknown Entity, in support of Little Pink Gift BMW M3)
6 Barry Mayers/Ben Norris (SM2 Chefette/Rubis/Digicel/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics Ford Fiesta)
7 Andrew Jones/Lindsey Pilkington – ENG (SM3 Lucozade/Caribbean Powder Coating/AP Jones Pharmacy/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII)
8 Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (M2 Flow/Automotive Art/Amir’s Chicken/MQI Collision Repair/Valvoline/eCarib Classifieds Honda Civic)
9 Mark Thompson/Kurt Seabra - GUY (GpN Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Rock Hard Cement/Automotive Art/Stag Beer/Versatile Construction Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
10 Andrew Mallalieu/Geoffey Goddard (GpN Terra Caribbean Subaru Impreza N10)
11 David St Hill/Ian Grimes (SM3 The Beamer Specialist/Charles Docs Inc/Tropical Touch Investments/ST Hill & Sons Garage/Solar & Wind Energy Solutions BMW M3)
12 Logan Watson/Barry Ward (SM3 Subzero Services Ltd/McEnearney Quality Inc/Sign Depot/The Unknown Entity/eCarib Classifieds in support of The Little Pink Gift Foundation BMW M3)
14 Paul Horton - TCI/Dwayne Forde (M2 Java Island/Sky Motorsports/H Racing Citroen DS 3 R3 MAX)
15 Jeremy Gonsalves/Rommell Martin (SM1 Sign Depot/Valvoline/Makita/Star Products/Yamaha/John Hardman Engineering Opel Corsa)
16 George Sherman - USA/Anthony Sherman - USA (GpN Subway/Zanzibar/Kaizan Sushi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
17 Edward Corbin/Shareef Walcott (M1 Valvoline/Hilti/Express Imports Daihatsu Charmant)
18 Stuart McChlery/Julian Goddard (SM2 Lubriguard/Gunk/Lenovo/PowerBass Ford Escort MkI)
19 Kurt Thompson/Adam Straker (SM2 Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/SLAM 101.1FM/Beacon Insurance/RA Mapp Honda Civic)
20 Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (GpB Sharkey's Bar/Suga Apple Swimwear/Castrol/Markham Construction BMW M3)
21 Philip Moe/Adrian Gittens (SM1 Sunbay Hotel/Mark’s Auto Spares/Bajan Motors Toyota Corolla)
22 Jason Harewood/Rashid Phillips (SM1 Mark’s Auto Spares/Gaskin Garage/Image Vault/Starboy Performance/JVM Signage/SDRR/Castrol Toyota Starlet)
23 Pierre Beswick – TCI/Leslie Evanson (M1 Grace Bay Car Rentals – T&C/Hartling Luxury Resorts/Sky Motorsport/Caicos Dream Tours Citroen C2 R2 MAX)
24 Jermin Pope/Aaron Kirton (C1 Good Time Snacks/Uniform Factory Outlet/Glassesco/NKM Clothing Honda Civic)
25 Calvin Briggs/Kareem Gaskin (GpB Massy Realty/Lucas Oils Ford Sierra)
26 Stuart Garcia/Rasheed Smith (C2 Intelligent Defence Systems/Smiths Engineering Works/Four & Twenty Bakery/Tropical Sunset/Zaccios BMW 318ti Compact)
27 Allan Kinch/Allan Maynard (C2 Jolly Roger/Printmax/Pirate’s Cove BMW 318ti Compact)
28 Spencer Hutchinson/Gayle Hutchinson (C2 MotorsportToolkits.co.uk BMW 318ti Compact)
29 Martin Stockdale - ENG/Andrew Croney (C2 Vaucluse Raceway/Divi Southwinds Beach Resort BMW 318ti Compact)
30 Trevor Mapp/Jamal Brathwaite (C1 Automotive Art/Sign Station/Ellesmere Quarries/JSB Motorsport Mitsubishi Colt Mivec RS)
31 Luke Cozier/Tammy Lashley (C2 BMW 318ti Compact)
Barbados Historic Rally - Friday/Saturday, November 24/25
Running order at November 23:
101 Gavin Watson - ENG/Elizabeth Watson - ENG (Hist A Storage Solutions Ltd/Sussex Storage Ltd Borgward Isabella TS)
102 Stefan Oberdorster - GER/Olaf Heupel – GER (Post-Hist Porsche 911)
103 Greg Cozier/Natasha Farnum (Classic Barbados Historic Rally Carnival/Geest Line Ford Escort MkII RS)
104 Wayne Archer/Tristan Gibbs (Classic Archers Hall Design Centre/Arrow Woodworking/Arrow Construction/D & A Mechanical Services BMW 325)
105 Pip Coulson - ENG/John McNichol - ENG (Classic Talbot Sunbeam Ti)
106 John Corbin/Owen Proverbs (Classic Valvoline/Hilti Toyota Corolla)
107 Graham Samuel - ENG/Tom Ryan - ENG (Classic Ford Escort MkII)
108 Neil Revington - ENG/Natalie Revington - ENG (Hist Triumph TR5)
109 John Griffiths - ENG/Olly Sanders - ENG (Post-Hist MGB GTV8 Sebring)
110 Alastair Caldwell – NZL/Rachel Christodoulou - ENG (Classic Space Station Peugeot 205 Rallye)
Photo Himal Reece
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