JustBajan.com Logo Barbados Flag
Motor Sports
Home Page
What's New
Competitions
Car Center
Buying Guide
Shopping Centre
Computers
Entertainment
Health & Safety
Home Improvement
On The Menu
Opinion Matters
Pet Care
Feature
Events Calendar
Yellow Pages
Weather Forecast
Discussion Forum
Wallpapers
Calendars
Links
Contact Us
About Us
BRC Rally Barbados 2004,
Island Wide,
May 29 & 30, 2004
 
Index
Intro Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Team Report
 
Team Report: (Dri) Adrian Linton (Nav) Jonathan Linton
(M7 Crane & Equipment / Ravensden/ AutoZone/ Garbage Gobbler Vauxhall Astra GTE)
 
The week leading up to the rally was hectic to say the least. Our new engine started for the first time at 1:30 am on the Sunday morning of the Rally Sprint at Bushy Park. We managed only one run there due to a stripped gearbox mount bolt, and alternator belt problems. A helicoil cured the stripped bolt, and a different alternator bracket sorted the belt issue. Then we had to wire in an override for the radiator fan, which seemed to be cutting in automatically at too high a temperature etc etc. Pace notes were completed on the day before the rally.

Saturday morning finally came and we were all set. We decided to take it easy for the first few stages and get used to the car. A number of changes had been made including a new engine, LSD that actually worked, suspension changes and tyres we had never driven on before. SS 1 and 2 were taken relatively easy without taking any chances, and the car felt great. Pushing a little harder in SS3 (Pickerins) resulted in us over-shooting the left turn into Hope Road at the end of the long straight. Yes, the black lines heading towards River bay were ours!

The car was very forgiving, the tyres seemed to be up to the task, and the LSD, in spite of keeping me very busy, was working a treat. We pushed a bit harder from here on, and were rewarded with some good stage times, making up the time we lost on the first few stages to end up provisional group leaders at the end of route 1. Unfortunately, it went down hill from there. On SS10 we broke a CV joint exiting the triangle. We got a tow back to Simpson Motors service from there after the stage had closed ( thanks Mike Ward)and decided to change both axles to be safe. With everything changed, tightened and topped up, we put the fog lights on, tested them and jumped in the car to re-join the rally to find that the ECU was dead. An early end to a very promising run.

I would like to thank:
My wife and son for their support and understanding in the week leading up to the rally, and their roll as pit crew on the event itself.
My brother and Co-Driver for keeping me on my toes.
My sponsors Crane & Equipment, Ravensden, AutoZone and Garbage Gobbler for their invaluable assistance.
The event sponsors, marshals, organizers, police and officials who helped make the rally possible.
My fellow competitors for making it fun and challenging.

Adrian Linton

 
 
2001 JustBajan.com®. Contact: e-mail info@JustBajan.com, Tel: (246) 429-6779