A combination?of past and present talent is expected to provide the sternest test for man and machine in this year’s Shelbury June Safari on Saturday and Sunday.
Stewart Gill, who won “The June” in 1998 as navigator to Derek Roach in a Mazda 323 GTR, and Derek Edwards, who finished third in the Mud Dogs navigator standings last year have set this year’s safari, which will be rechecked by Sean Dowding and Kirk Watkins.
And after a two-month break since the Chefette April Safari, the muddogs are well prepared for the rigours of the most gruelling affair for off-road competitors.
Now in its 55th year, it is the oldest continuously held motorsport event in the Caribbean and is round three out of five in the 2011 WTI MudDogs Safari Championship and the Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship.
First run in 1957, its success led to the formation of the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007.
The safari is scheduled to start from Portvale Factory Yard, St James, at 2:01 p.m. on Saturday. A Driver Challenge is planned for shortly after the start and the first route will finish with a dinner stop-over at Chefette Speightstown at approximately 7:00 p.m.
Route two will run until 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, when a pause for refreshment is planned for Chefette Warrens, after which the final route will end close to where the event started.
Mahogany Ridge, St Thomas, will be the venue for breakfast Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m.
The briefing meeting was held last night at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association clubhouse at Searles, Christ Church. The prize-giving is slated for the same venue on Monday, June 27.
