Strong challenge from former winners Gregg and Panton
Jamaica's
two previous winners of the Barbados Rally Club's (BRC) blue riband
event are returning this year for Rally Barbados . . . which might put
a damper on the Club's 50th Anniversary celebrations. Last year's
winner Gary Gregg and 1998 victor Jeffrey Panton are both keen to carry
the trophy north up the island chain for a third time.
Confirmation of their challenge will help sharpen the efforts of
local crews, eager to ensure everything is in place to keep the trophy
at home when Rally Barbados runs off over the weekend of May 26/27. It
is the second event of the seventh Barbados Rally Carnival, which also
looks set to attract a strong European entry.
Gregg, who spent much of his youth in Barbados and therefore knows
the stages well, has a strong record on the event; in addition to his
victory with co-driver Hugh Hutchinson in the ex-Carlos Sainz 2001-spec
Ford Focus WRC last year - becoming the first crew to achieve the Rally
Barbados-Rally Jamaica double in the same year - they had finished
third in the Focus in 2005.
The year before, they had a major accident on the uphill Canefield
stage on Saturday morning, destroying the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI in
which they had finished fourth in 2003. The multiple Jamaican champion
recovered rapidly from his injuries, Gregg adapting quickly to his new
Ford Focus, an impressive second-place finish in Rally Jamaica 2004
just five months later a clear sign of what was to come. He went on to
win his home event in 2005 and 2006.
Panton's record of success in Barbados started earlier than
Gregg's, in the days of the Texaco International All-Stage Rally - he
finished second in a Toyota Celica GT4 in both 1994 (co-driven by Rene
McDaniel) and 1996 (with Rudi Meikle on the notes). When he won in
1998, co-driven by John de Mercado, he was the spearhead of the most
successful invasion in the event's 17-year history, with five Jamaican
crews in the top 10; fourth place in 2000 with de Mercado is his most
recent finish, after he failed to start the SuperSpecial in 2004,
nullifying an overall placing.
For 2007, Panton is entered in his impressive home-built
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, in which he has proved blisteringly fast in
his home country; co-driven by Justin Morin, he debuted the car on
Rally Jamaica 2005, when gearbox failure forced their retirement (but
not before an impressive and crowd-pleasing display at the Digicel New
Kingston stages), while the crew finished sixth last year.
*******
The Barbados Rally Carnival comprises two events: the Red Bull
International RallySprint (May 19) is the third and final round of the
Vaucluse Raceway RallySprint Cup and a round of the BRC Driver's
Championship. It is organised by the Vaucluse Raceway Motor Sport Club
and sponsored by Red Bull.
Rally Barbados (May 26/27) is organised by the Barbados Rally
Club; each day is a separate qualifying round of the Texaco BRC Rally
Championship and the BRC Driver's Championship. Principal sponsors are
Automotive Art, Banks Holdings Ltd, Dacosta Mannings Auto Centre,
Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Simpson Motors, Texaco and Williams
Industries. Associate sponsors are Armag, the Barbados Hotel &
Tourism Association, Crane & Equipment, Essco, Harris Paints,
Nassco and SOL.
Since its creation, the Barbados Rally Carnival has attracted
nearly 160 overseas competitors, followed by more than 4,000 supporters
over the years; while the majority of those visitors have been British,
the list of nations represented also includes Austria, Finland,
Holland, New Zealand and Turkey, joining the regional competition,
particularly from Jamaica, St Vincent and Trinidad & Tobago. Each
year, Rally Carnival injects around Bds $2 million into the island's
economy, much of it in valuable foreign exchange.
Key dates for Barbados Rally Carnival 2007
Friday, May 18 - scrutineering for all competitors
- Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, Wildey
Saturday, May 19 - Red Bull International RallySprint
- Vaucluse Raceway, St Thomas
Thursday, May 24 - Rally Barbados 2007 shakedown
Saturday, May 26 - Rally Barbados 2007, day 1
Sunday, May 27 - Rally Barbados 2007, day 2
Monday, May 28 - Rally Barbados 2007 prize-giving
- The Boatyard
For further information, robin@bradfax.com - web site: rallybarbados.bb
