PERSISTENT?RAIN, mud and water were not enough to dampen the spirit of the competitors in the MudDogs of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) May Day MudFest at Searles Plantation, Christ Church, last Monday.
Divided into small and large tyre categories, the drivers and spotters arrived prepared to take on the elements in what turned out to be an exciting and challenging affair watched by a large crowd which also battled the elements during the day’s action.
After the opening run-offs, Rodney Mason and Peter Sealy in the Rodney’s Trucking/Scrawl Up Mitsubishi Pajero picked up eight points for the obstacle course.
They showed their superiority under the conditions by taking 12 points each for the “figure-of-eight” course as well as the “mud pit” to win the “large tyre” category with 32 points.
They were 12 points better than the second-placed pair of Hadley Green and Dane McConney, who earned 20 points in the Hunte’s Auto Spares/Automotive Art/Scorpion Toyota Hilux.
Green and McConney scored six points each on the obstacle course and eight points on the “figure-of-eight” and the “mud pit” courses.
Jason Croney and Chris Thornhill, in a Suzuki Vitara, showed much grit and determination early in the day but had to be content with third spot. T
hey also gained 20 points – 12 on the obstacle course and eight on the “figure-of-eight” course.
Kirk King and Tristan Nesfield, also competing in a Suzuki Vitara, were fourth with ten points.
Bryan Collymore and Adrian Jackman won the “small tyre” class with 32 points in what turned out to be an all-Suzuki Samurai affair in the category.
Driving the Owlie’s Trucking/Williams Tools Suzuki Samurai, Collymore and Jackman got home ahead of the much-fancied Dave Gibson and Alexander Kellman, who ended the day with 26 points.
Sean Mottley and Kerry Renee in the First Caribbean International Bank Vitara were third with ten points.
Shellbury June Safari winner Chris Armstrong with stand-in spotter Paul Standard took fourth place with ten points, while Adrian Sinckler and Andre Murrell finished fifth with eight.
