Neil Armstrong and Dean Serrao led a cadre of drivers into winner’s row durng the staging of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) tarmac sprint night event from Hangman’s Hill to Lion Castle, St Thomas last Saturday night.
Driving the Suzuki SX4 WRC, Armstrong, competing in WRC-1, won the event after posting the fastest time of 1 minute, 49.27 seconds.
Serrao, who was at the wheel of a Subaru Impreza WRC S9, and competing in WRC-2 took the honours for that group, beating arch-rival Roger “The Ninja” Hill in a Toyota Corolla WRC with a time of 1 minute, 54.41 seconds. It was the first triumph in the group for Serrao.
On a night when driving was made difficult as a result of intermittent showers on the 3.37-kilometre course, tyre strategy was crucial and gave the crowd a superb evening of entertainment.
Armstrong picked good lines, but it was his last run which won top overall honours by more than one second over Roger “The Sheriff” Skeete, in a Subaru Impreza WRC S12, whose best time was 1 minute, 50.41 seconds.
Paul “The Surfer” Bourne, in a Ford Focus WRC07, finished third, with a time of 1 minute, 50.44 seconds, while Serrao, who said he felt quite comfortable pushing the car to the max, was fourth overall, and ahead of Hill (1:54.77) who finished fifth.
Championship leader Rhett Watson kept his title chances bright in a BMW M3 by being the fastest two-wheel driver on the night, finishing six with a time of 1:55.29 seconds, also winning the Super Modified 12-class.
Afterward, Watson said that he had a flawless run and felt confident it would have placed him in the top three in the two-wheel drive chase, but being the fastest was beyond his expectation.
He remains tied with Conor Roach, in a Peugeot 106, with three more rounds to go. Roach won the Clubman class with 2:16.49.
Casualties of the night were Avinash Chatrani who slid off the road at Lion Castle, requiring a wrecker to remove his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI from a dangerous position; Edward Corbin, whose Toyota Corolla RunX suffered gearbox failure; and Trevor Manning who was sidelined after he had run off the road.
Top Ten:
1. Neil Armstrong 1 minute 49.27 seconds
2. Roger Skeete 1:50.41
3. Paul Bourne 1:50.44
4. Dean Serrao 1:54.4
5. Roger Hill 1:54.77
6. Rhett Watson 1:55.29
7. Ian Warren 1:56.82
8. Josh Read 1:57.80
9. Dane Skeete 1:58.02
10. Geoff Noel 1:58.75
