Two drivers who won their classes last year are among a strong local contingent for Sol Rally Barbados as the April 27 deadline for entries draws closer to the June 1-3 event.
In the four-wheel-drive classes, Group A winner Avinash Chatrani (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI) is among the most recent entries with his co-driver now Andrew Skeete. They are joined by last year’s winning GpN partnership of Mark Thompson and Kurt Seabra (Evo IX).
Chatrani and Skeete finished 13th and 14th overall, respectively, when the Barbados Rally Club celebrated its 60th anniversary.
In the Super Modified classes, SM3 winner Justin Campbell, who finished ninth overall last year, is ready to defend his title with new co-driver Ayrton Bannister in the BMW M3.
Neil Corbin and Matthew Staffner (Toyota Starlet) will also be hoping to add an even higher overall finish to their 12th place with another SM1 class win.
Greg Cozier and Natasha Farnum (Ford Escort RS), who won Historic 2 and finished 20th overall last year, look set to face one of the best supported classes in this year’s event, with seven entries confirmed.
Also well subscribed are the Clubman classes with Stuart Garcia and Rasheed Smith (BMW 318ti Compact) looking to repeat their debut win in C2. Jermin Pope, currently with no co-driver confirmed, is aiming for a hat-trick of wins in C1 in his Honda Civic.
Meanwhile, former champion driver, now renowned builder of historic Ford Escorts, Dave Jenkins, will compete in Sol Rally Barbados for the first time this year.
Already, almost 90 entries have been confirmed for the rally, which will be preceded by the Rally Show and Flow King Of The Hill on May 26 and 27, respectively. (EZS/PR)