Two driver challenges and a new class structure should keep pairs busy in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) March Safari Sunday.
Set by route-setters Ryan Corbin and Dustin Edwards, who finished third in the Drivers’ And Navigators’ Championship last year, the challenges have resonated well with competitors and also provide a spectacle for the fans.
The class structure was change in a bid to broaden participation in navigational rallying, now divided into Class A and Class B.
The new structure was devised after a detailed analysis of the last three seasons, in which the average scores of all competitors were calculated using the average over those three seasons.
It is understood that the committee looked at the spread of results and determined that the cut-off for Class B would be any competitor with an average below 50 points, equivalent to sixth place or lower. New competitors will also start off in Class B.
The driver challenges will be contested around 8:30 a.m. at Vaucluse and at 10 a.m. at the bottom of Turners Hall hill.
The Shelbury Construction Trophy, won by George and Gary Mendes in its inaugural season last year, will again be awarded to the highest points-scorer in the driver challenges.
The safari will start at Mahogany Ridge, Plum Tree Road, St Thomas, at 8:01 a.m., heading for the lunch halt at around 11:30 a.m. at Chefette Speightstown. The crews will then tackle a second route, leading them to the centre of the island and the finish at about 4:30 p.m. at the Country View Bar.
Defending champions Leslie Alleyne and Chris O’Neal, who won the driver and navigator titles for a record fifth consecutive season, are ready to do battle with 15 other pairs for the Peter Farmer Memorial Trophy and the Sextant Challenge Trophy. They will be at the wheel of the Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax /Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max.
Last year’s March Safari winners Jean-Marc Cozier and Andrew Croney, who will be at the wheel of the Country View Bar/Market Hill Farms/Westside Security Services Honda Pioneer, will also be among the starters.
MudDogs chairman Ricky Holder said entries had been falling in the Novice class and it was also felt that competitors were being moved from novice into pro prematurely.
“We think this revised system is a fairer way of dealing with that. It might encourage some new blood into the sport . . . and I am happy to say that the entry for Sunday’s event includes a number of new faces and there’s an almost equal split between the classes,” he said.
“The averages will be reviewed at the end of each season, so anyone in Class B who averages 50 points or more would be upgraded to Class A.” (TT)
