Gill Storms to Lead of RallySprint Cup
Incidents aplenty in first counter-clockwise races
Sean Gill is the new leader of Sunbeach RallySprint Cup 2003
after trouncing the opposition in an action-packed second
round at the Vaucluse Raceway on Sunday (May 4). After winning
his Group in the NP/Sunbeach/Kerridge/Pirelli/Simpson Motors
Suzuki Ignis, he then picked off his opponents in the end-of-day
KnockOut Handicap to collect three valuable extra points,
taking his total to 34.
In
assuming the series lead, Gill demoted team-mate Trevor 'Electric
Micey' Manning (Mitsubishi Evo V), who had dominated the season-opener
in April. Although he was the fastest man on the track once
again - despite the St Thomas facility being raced counter-clockwise
for the first time - Manning fared badly in the points-scoring
head-to-head knockout runs, losing his heat to Sean Dowding's
similar car.
Although he beat Brian Gill (Banks/Pirelli/Texaco/Williams
Industries Subaru Impreza WRX) in the third-place run-off,
the 10 points scored bring his total to only 27, so Manning
slips to third equal in the table with his fellow crowd-pleaser
Geoffrey Ullyett (Ullyett's Machine Shop Nissan 140Y).
It was another good day for the recently-launched Simpson
Motors Rally Team, with Neil Barnard also claiming a Group
win in the NP/Sunbeach/Kerridge/Pirelli Opel Corsa. Although
Barnard beat him in the Group final, however, veteran racer
Freddie Gale remains second in the overall standings with
28 points scored in the Gale's Hatcheries Toyota Starlet Turbo.
On
his way to Group victory, Gill had beaten Kirk Watkins (right)
(Sunbeach Communications Inc Toyota Corolla GTI), who wrote
his name in the Vaucluse Raceway record books as the only
driver to have contested all 12 RallySprint events staged
there since August 2000. Before Sunday, both he and Greg 'Hottie'
Cozier had taken part in them all, but a gearbox problem for
Cozier in the previous weekend's Barbados Rally Club one-day
tarmac event meant his car was laid up.
Earlier
in the day, group wins were also claimed by motor sport newcomer
Alex Whitehead (right) (Budget Datsun), Ullyett, Martin Atwell
(Westfield Megabusa) and Dowding. The final KnockOut Handicap
of the day was between Gill and Atwell, the Ignis and Westfield
so evenly matched that it was impossible to determine a handicap.
With an even start, therefore, these two experienced racers
provided the crowd with a thrilling climax to the best part
of seven hours of track action, Gill crossing the line less
than half a car's length ahead.
Unlike
the April event, at which there was only one incident of note,
the first-ever use of the Vaucluse Raceway in a counter-clockwise
direction caused plenty of dramas. Those to fall foul of the
new layout included Paul 'Surfer' Bourne (right), who ploughed
into the tyres at the southern hairpin on his first qualifying
run in the Banks/Pirelli/Texaco/ Williams Industries Subaru
Impreza WRC, while Chan Geberdhan rolled one of the Budget
Datsuns and Graham Gittens inverted the NASSCO and Mobil 1-backed
Toyota Starlet Turbo he shares with cousin Lindsay Farmer.
No-one was injured, but their cars looked the worse for wear.
Round 3 of Sunbeach RallySprint Cup 2003 is the International
event that starts off the Barbados Rally Carnival; organisers
anticipate the largest entry ever seen at the Vaucluse Raceway;
there will be practice and qualifying on Saturday, May 31,
with a full day of racing on Sunday, June 1.
Sunbeach RallySprint Cup 2003 - after round 2
1st Sean Gill (NP/Sunbeach/Kerridge/Pirelli
Simpson Motors Rally Team Suzuki Ignis), 34 points
2nd Freddie Gale (Gale's Hatcheries Toyota Starlet
Turbo), 28 points
3rd equal Trevor Manning (NP/Sunbeach/Kerridge/Pirelli
Simpson Motors Rally Team Mitsubishi Evo V) and Geoffrey Ullyett
(Ullyett's Machine Shop/Goodyear Tyres/Argent Lubricants/Sikkens
Nissan), 27 points
5th Kirk Watkins (Sunbeach Communications Inc Toyota
Corolla GTI), 25 points
6th Barry Gale (Toyota Corolla GTI; Mitsubishi Evo
V), 24 points
Sunbeach RallySprint Cup 2003 - round 2 results
Group 1:
1st Alex Whitehead (Budget Nissan);
2nd Stephen Moore (Budget Nissan); 3rd Orville Blackman
(Nissan 120Y);
no other starters
Group 2:
1st Geoffrey Ullyett (Budget Nissan);
2nd Shaun Alleyne (Toyota Starlet);
3rd Tristan Gibbs (Kumho Datsun 160J);
4th Owen Proverbs (Budget Nissan)
Group 3:
1st Neil Barnard (NP/Sunbeach/Kerridge/Pirelli Simpson
Motors Rally Team);
2nd Freddie Gale (Gale's Hatcheries Toyota Starlet
Turbo);
3rd Roger Marshall (Photo Finish One Hour Photo/Agfa
Film Toyota Starlet);
4th John Corbin (Corbin's Garage/Klark-Odio Toyota
Corolla)
Group 4:
1st Sean Gill (NP/Sunbeach/Kerridge/Pirelli Simpson
Motors Rally Team Suzuki Ignis);
2nd Lindsay Farmer (Nassco/Phillips Lighting/St James
Travel/Mobil 1 Toyota Starlet Turbo);
3rd Kirk Watkins (Sunbeach Communications Inc Toyota
Corolla GTI);
no other finishers
Group 5:
1st Martin Atwell (Pro Pac/Super Pets Mart/Mike Atwell
Exports Inc Westfield Megabusa);
2nd Geoffrey Ullyett (Ullyett's Machine Shop/Goodyear
Tyres/Argent Lubricants/Sikkens Nissan);
3rd Jonathan Still (Nescafe/Phillips Lighting/Castrol
BMW M3);
no other finishers
Group 6:
1st Sean Dowding (Globe Finance/NPK Construction Mitsubishi
Evo 5);
2nd Barry Gale (Mitsubishi Evo 5);
3rd Trevor Manning (NP/Sunbeach/Kerridge/Pirelli Simpson
Motors Rally Team Mitsubishi Evo V);
4th Brian Gill (Banks/Pirelli/Texaco/Williams Industries
Subaru Impreza WRX)
Group winners KnockOut Handicap: Whitehead
beat Barnard; Gill beat Ullyett; Gill beat Whitehead; Atwell
beat Dowding; Gill beat Atwell
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