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Skeete Gives Notice To Next Week's
Opposition
Austria's Ernst Harrach is Total Sport SuperSprint Champion
 Nine-times
winner Roger 'The Sheriff' Skeete served (right) early notice
on the opposition of his intentions for next week's Rally
Barbados 2004 with a superb display at Bushy Park in St Philip
yesterday in the rearranged Total Sport International SuperSprint.
Driving the Havoline/McEnearney Quality/Michelin Ford Escort
WRC, Skeete logged a first-run time of 1min 11.31secs that
remained the fastest throughout the day; he won his Group,
beating Paul Bourne (Banks/Havoline/Williams Industries/Pirelli
Subaru Impreza WRC) by nearly 2secs, and Trevor Manning (Automotive
Art/Courts/ Kerridge/Yokohama/Simpson Motors Rally Team/Garbage
Master Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII) by more than 2.5secs.
 But
it was the performance of Austria's Ernst Harrach (right)
that proved to be the major talking point; on his first visit
to Barbados - he is one of 28 European crews on the island
for the fourth Barbados Rally Carnival - he won the Group
winner's KnockOut Handicap at the end of the day, with a faultless
display of driving in his Tricon Porsche 911.
Sitting alongside him, as he will be on Rally Barbados 2004
next weekend, was fellow-Austrian Josef Pointinger, who won
the equivalent Sunbeach International RallySprint last year
in his Ford Escort. Having won the historic group on Sunday,
bettering the opposition by more than 1sec, Harrach dispensed
with Sean Gill (Suzuki Ignis), Graeme Finlayson (Fluke WR1C),
Andrew Hurley (Ford Puma Evo) and Barry Gale (Mitubishi Evo
VI) before light rain started to fall.
 It
seem that would be his downfall, as there were two four-wheel-drive
cars waiting in line; but the European visitor was not downheartened,
defeating first the remarkable 260bhp Ford Fiesta Cosworth
(right) of Ireland's John Hardman, then facing Skeete for
the final run-off. Attacking the course in style, the former
Austrian champion raised a cheer from the sizeable crowd as
he clipped the kerbs, raised the front inside wheel . . .
and won!
The unseasonal weather having caused the cancellation of
the planned Total Sport International RallySprint at the Vaucluse
Raceway in St Thomas, the alternative format at Bushy Park
was hurriedly devised. There were many doubters as to how
successful it would be, but the fans turned out in their thousands,
and the rain finally held off . . . at least until late afternoon.
Sixty-two drivers took part in the event, enjoying one practice
run, then three official timed runs before the Handicap KnockOut.
Of the 11 Group classifications, five were won by overseas
drivers - in addition to Harrach's victory in the historic
class, Tom Ryan (ENG - Halls Mentho-lyptus/Dentyne Fire &
Ice Proton Satria) won Production 2, Kenny Hall (SCO - Lochcarron/CarParts4u
Opel Corsa-Suzuki) Modified 5 and Graeme Finlayson (SCO -
Redline Oils/Pagid/Olaus Roe/Hello/Quaife Engineering/George
Polley/Yokohama Fluke WR1) Super Modified 9 & 11 merged.
One of the most impressive drives of the day came from England's
Terry Pankhurst (Dimma.com Peugeot 206 WRC Replica), who not
only won Group B, but was also fastest overseas driver, his
time of 1min 14.04secs beaten by only four local drivers.
It was a day largely without incident, although Kirk Watkins
(Abacus Builders/Planned Maintenance/Bridgestone/Castrol Toyota
Corolla GT) survived a wheel parting company with his car
to finish third in Modified 6. English visitor Ray Brammer
finished fourth in Modified 8 in his confidently-driven ex-Kenny
McKinstry Subaru Impreza after a similar fate befell him.
The Total Sport International RallySprint is organised by
the Vaucluse Raceway Motor Sport Club (VRMSC) and sponsored
by Total Sport.
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