FIVE-TIME?British rally champion, Scotsman Jimmy McRae and co-driver Ian Grindrod head the list of top-class pairs for this year’s Historic Rally Carnival which start with a SuperSpecial at Bushy Park today at noon.
McRae, the most successful rally driver in the British Isles and now in his late 60s has lost none of his enthusiasm and is determined to improve on his second place in the inaugural event last year.
The pair will be competing in a Tuthill Porsche 911 again as well as company founder Francis Tuthill.
They will be joined by a number of competitors from Britain, Ireland and Europe will be driving a variety of historic rally machinery.
Garage owner Andy Allen, who first visited Barbados in 2006 with Laurence Gibson and his rallycross Metro 6R4 for the Vaucluse Raceway RallyCross, will be driving a 1984 Group B Audi Quattro to run at the front of the field as Zero Car.
Another driver, Pip Coulson, who was class winner in the Northern Ireland Historic Championship in 2009, and again last year has brought his 1980 Talbot Sunbeam 1600Ti.
For the first time this year, the Rally Carnival has included a subscribed Category One for pre-1968 cars and among the entries is the pair of Neil and Sue Revington from Somerset in a TR5.
The car, Somerset says, has done various rallies around Europe and some racing and he is looking forward to the Barbados event.
The Category One class will also include John Everad in an Alfa Romeo GTA and David Rayner in a V8 Sunbeam Tiger. All three drivers are on their first visit to Barbados.
At the sharp end of the field will be Darren Moon, in his Escort RS1800 and Alan Courteney in his Tuthill-prepared V8 Porsche 928. Moon has competed at the front of the British Historic Rally Championship for many years with numerous successes and the Irish Porsche crew bring valuable tarmac experience from the Emerald Isle.
Also from Britain is Dr Raj Jutley, in a Category 3 Ford Escort RS2000. Their Mk1 Escort RS2000 is fitted with a modern two-litre Zetec engine which is allowed under Barbados Historic regulations as long as it runs carburettors and no engine management system.
Jutley has competed in the Safari Rally and Middle Eastern Rally Championship and works as a consultant for the Porsche Human Performance Centre at Silverstone, particularly involving cooling and hydration and other aspects of driver fitness.
The Barbados Historic Rally Carnival will run from today until July 26.
