Sean Gill and Michael “Zippy” Cummins will be looking for that elusive top spot when they take on a strong field in this weekend’s Rally Trinidad.
The Barbadian pair who won the Mayor’s Cup and finished second overall in last year’s event will be taking on the opposition in a well-prepared Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power Suzuki SX4 cleaned up and tweaked for the first test outside Barbados this season.
Fresh from winning the Malvern-Wilson Hill, St John speed event of the motoring club’s Spring Blaze three weeks ago, Gill said he was satisfied with the preparation of the car and looking to giving a good performance.
Gill and Cummins are joined by the pair of Trevor “Electric Micey” Manning and Dustin Edwards in a John Powell Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X and James Betts and Geoff Goddard in the ex-Kirk Watkins Group A Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V.
“Second in Jamaica last December and second in Trinidad earlier the same year, it’s time for the number one spot. The competition is going to be tough as (Jeff) Panton and Gary Gregg are going to be there with a new car, but the Suzuki is strong and we want to do our best after the work put in by the engineers and our sponsors.?So we want to do well in Trinidad this year,” Gill said.
Gill and Cummins can expect to be severely tested by defending champions Jamaicans Jeff Panton and Mike Fennell (Jr) who be debuting an ex-Marcus Gronholm and Malcolm Wilson 2006 Ford Focus WRC, and Gary Gregg and Hugh Hutchinson in a 2005 spec Ford Focus WRC which has brought them success at Rally Jamaica and Rally Barbados in the past. Another Jamaican driver, Leslie “Fattaz” Madden, in a Subaru Impreza WRX, is also expected to face the starter, but is yet to name a co-driver.
And as if to add further depth to the competition, Rally Jamaica 2011 winner John “Penti” Powell and Nicholas Telfer in a 2008 Subaru S14 will be among the field in the top class group.
The ninth installment of Rally Trinidad will be decided over 18 stages and will start tonight at the Hasely Crawford Stadium with two stages around the complex. Tomorrow morning will see the crews head out to the gravel roads for two days of hard rallying before finishing at Saith Park, Chaguanas on Sunday with a road stage through the town.
