Paul “The Surfer” Bourne was the standout driver when the Motoring Club Barbados Inc and the Barbados Rally Club teamed up last weekend to host a successful double-header which served as rounds one and two of the Virgin Atlantic Barbados Rally Club Championship.
Despite the absence of WRC class newcomer Neil Armstrong and the rest of the Barbados contingent contesting Rally Trinidad, there were still more than 30 drivers for the Malvern to Wilson Hill event.
One of the real treats was the return of veteran Trevor Mapp, who shared the Mitsubishi Colt Gti with his son, Jamal Brathwaite.
Since they were sharing the car, it meant they had to get things under way and Brathwaite was first to tackle the short test.
Second on the road was Roger “The Sheriff” Skeete and he eased his way through the practice like everyone else in the field.
However, Bourne, in his Ford Focus WRC07, stamped his authority from the practice run.
He won all the official runs and the practice run in the first direction with a fastest time of one minute, 35.29 seconds to take the first round honours.
Second was Skeete, whose driving style seems to have changed somewhat in the Subaru S12 WRC. He had a fastest time of 1.36.74.
Josh Read, with a fastest time of 1.39.42 seconds, was a surprising third overall. He was also first in his class and was the fastest among the two-wheel drive competitors.
The consistent Roger Hill steadily lowered his times but only managed fourth place overall. He was third in the M8-WRC class with a fastest time of 1.39.92.
Also taking class wins in the first direction were Geoffrey Noel, who won Production 4; Rhett Watson in Super Modified 12, Daryl Clarke in Modified 7, Geofrrey Ullyett in Group B, Avinash Chatrani in M8-A, and Andrew Jones in Super Modified 11.
After the lunch break, the drivers came back out to tackle the stage in the reverse direction for round two.
Despite this change, it was business as usual for Bourne, who once again took top honours with a fastest time of one minute, 34.65 seconds while Skeete was second once more with his fastest time of one minute, 36.16 seconds.
In keeping with his form, Read was once again faster than Hill as well as the other member of his class and two-wheel drive competitors with a fairly quick time of one minute, 38.38 seconds.
Much like in the first direction, the class winners followed a similar pattern.
Special mention must be given to the returning Mapp, who placed second in the Clubman class in both directions as he got his feet wet again behind the wheel.
