Gill and Cummins are Kings of the Carnival again

10 June, 2008
Sean Gill claimed his second King of the Carnival title in the recently-completed Barbados Rally Carnival, and can look forward to another trip to Europe to broaden his rallying horizons. He and co-driver Michael Cummins received the Andrew Phillips Memorial Trophy at The Boatyard from Irish television producer and enthusiastic supporter of Rally Carnival, Plum Tyndall.

With Group wins in SuperModified 10 in both the Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 24) and Sol Rally Barbados 2008 (May 31/June 1) in the Simpson Motors/Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Yokohama Suzuki Swift, Gill and 'Zippy' were clear winners. Their remarkable fifth place overall in RB08 made the award even more fitting.

For the past three years, a tie-break has been necessary to decide the winner, including 2005, when Gill won his first Carnival crown, beating Jonathan Still. 'Stillo' was also one of the trio of drivers in the tie-break for the past two years, losing out to Adrian Linton in 2006 and Ian Warren last year.

As Greg Cozier, who founded the Barbados Rally Carnival eight years ago, explains: "For more than 15 years, starting with the late Andrew Phillips, rally organisers have invited selected guest drivers to Barbados to compete for the overall win on the event. This served to raise the profile of the event for spectators and, consequently, local sponsors and has done so very successfully.

Barbados Rally Carnival founder Greg Cozier congratulates Sean Gill (left, holding the Andrew Phillips Memorial Trophy with the help of the next generation of Carnival Kings & Queens) and Michael Cummins on their second victory in the King of the Carnival - photo provided courtesy of justbajan.com

"That is not what the Barbados Rally Carnival is about; our purpose is to include as many visitors as we can from every financial level of the sport in two weeks of motor sport and social activities. The bonds we have made and the friendships developed over the past eight years make the Barbados Rally Carnival a truly unique event that never fails to impress newcomers.

"The King of the Carnival prize goes to the most consistent driver over the two weekends from any class - in the six years since we introduced the trophy, the winners have come from five different classes. From the slowest production cars to the World Rally Cars, every local driver has a chance to win a trip to the UK or Ireland to compete at international level and every foreign driver has a chance to win a free trip back to the Barbados Rally Carnival. This 'competitor exchange' further serves to promote the Rally Carnival, while building personal relationships among rally organisers and competitors who would otherwise never even have met.

"The Barbados Rally Carnival is truly unique in the world of motor sport and our aim is to continue to grow it in the way that has so far proved so successful." 

Barbados Rally CarnivalKing of the Carnival 
2008 - Sean Gill (BDS) - SM10 Suzuki Swift 
2007 - Ian Warren (BDS) - M6 Peugeot 206 
2006 - Adrian Linton (BDS) - M7 Vauxhall Astra GSi 
2005 - Sean Gill (BDS) - M6 Suzuki Ignis JWRC 
2004 - Ernst Harrach (AUT) - Hist Porsche 911 
2003 - Barry Gale (BDS) - P4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 

For further information: 
Greg Cozier - greg@huzier.com 
web site: www.barbadosrallycarnival.com