Anniversary Incentives for SOL Rally Barbados
Return competitors rewarded for loyalty

Anniversary Incentives for SOL Rally Barbados

Return competitors rewarded for loyalty

More than 70 European competitors stand to benefit from incentives announced today (December 18) by the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) to celebrate the 20th Anniversary running of its blue riband event: Sol Rally Barbados 2010 is scheduled for May 28 to 30, with the Shell V-Power King of the Hill 'shakedown' the previous Sunday, May 23.

In 2009, Sol Rally Barbados attracted even more British crews than Rally GB, Britain's round of the World Rally Championship, the newcomers bringing to more than 200 the total of overseas competitors hosted by the event in recent years; on-line entries are now open on the event web site (www.rallybarbados.bb), with incentives to recognise the loyalty of return visitors.

While first-timers will pay the standard entry and shipping package of US $2,600 per car, those who have participated at least twice will enjoy a discount of 20 per cent, with nearly 40 per cent on offer for those who have competed even more frequently.

Rally Chairman Barry Gale says: “We decided that 2010 would be a year of celebration of the clubman competitors who have made our event so special; our package is intended to show our appreciation for the effort they have put in over the years and the number of times they have come back to participate.”

Of the 71 European competitors who have taken part more than once, popular English BMW ace Martin Stockdale stands out from the crowd, having competed on the island for the past nine years; Scotland's Graeme Finlayson has been eight times (including driving the Zero Car in 2002), while fellow-Scot Kenny Hall and Yorkshireman Kevin Procter have each clocked up seven.

Gale adds: “Legends like 'Mad-Dale' Stockdale, 'Bus Driver' Procter and 'Team Tartan' Hall have found more than just competition; they have earned the admiration of spectators and enjoyed the camaraderie of local competitors. In Barbados, if you have been given a nickname, you are definitely part of the family!”

Of other British regulars, Andrew Costin-Hurley and Simon Wallis have competed six times, while Rob Brook and Steve Perez have each clocked up five visits . . . in Brook's case, the most mixed bag of all, three times as a co-driver, once as a driver, and he was even co-opted as the Overseas Steward in 2006!

From small beginnings in 1990 as a one-day rally for around 30 local competitors, Rally Barbados – it was renamed in 2003 - has grown into the Caribbean's biggest annual international motor sport event, attracting as many as 90 crews, one-third of them from overseas. It is one of the strongest sporting brand names in the region, particularly for visitors from Europe, and a major contributor to the island's tourism product and foreign exchange earnings.

Of the more than 200 overseas competitors who have competed in Barbados, around 50 have come from the region (Jamaica, St Vincent & The Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago), while another 160 or so have travelled from further afield. Fourteen countries have been represented, including England - with 92 competitors, it boasts the strongest representation – Holland, New Zealand, Spain and Turkey.

In the event's 20-year history, overseas drivers have won only six times, but two of them have achieved the feat twice: in 2009, Northern Ireland's Kris Meeke claimed his second consecutive win to join fellow-countryman Kenny McKinstry (1993 & '96) as a two-time winner, with Jamaica's Jeffrey Panton ('98) and Gary Gregg (2006) also on the roll of honour.

Overseas Competitor Information Document now available

The first version of the Sol Rally Barbados Overseas Competitor Information document is now available as a pdf download from the event web site (www.rallybarbados.bb). The document provides details of the event entry and shipping package and lists the Club's Official Airline, Hotel, Shipping and Vehicle Rental Partners, and the currently-available details of the deals each is offering; it will be updated in the coming weeks as further details are confirmed.

The document also includes background information on Sol Rally Barbados 2010 and the key events surrounding it, which will be of particular interest to potential first-time visitors; to get an even better feel for the event, they will soon be able to download a short promotional DVD, which will appear on the web site early in the New Year.

Sol Rally Barbados and Shell V-Power King of the Hill are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB10 marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Club's All-Stage Rally.

PREVIOUS WINNERS
1990 to 2009

Rally Barbados
2009 Kris Meeke - NIR/Paul Nagle - NIR, Subaru Impreza WRC S9, 55m 11.84s
2008 Kris Meeke - NIR/Paul Nagle - NIR, Toyota Corolla WRC, 1h 00m 00.06s
2007 Paul Bourne/Stuart Maloney, Subaru Impreza WRC S9, 57m 34.36s
2006 Gary Gregg - JAM/Hugh Hutchinson - JAM, Ford Focus WRC02, 51m 57.89s
2005 Roger Mayers/Max Ferri, Ford Focus WRC, 58m 46.99s
2004 Roger Skeete/Dave Crawford - ENG, Ford Escort WRC, 1h 03m 04.48s
2003 Paul Bourne/Louis Venezia, Subaru Impreza WRC, 1h 21m 05.43s

International All-Stage Rally
2002 Roger Skeete/Dave Crawford - ENG, Ford Escort WRC, 1h 16m 49.80s
2001 Roger Skeete/Dave Crawford - ENG, Ford Escort Cosworth, 37m 53.21s
2000 Roger Skeete/Dave Crawford - ENG, Ford Escort Cosworth, 43m 57s
1999 Trevor Manning/Michael Ward, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V, 1h 03m 14s
1998 Jeffrey Panton - JAM/John de Mercado - JAM, Toyota Celica GT4, 51m 15s
1997 Roger Skeete/Dave Crawford - ENG, Peugeot 306 S16, 55m 55s
1996 Kenny McKinstry - NIR/Sean Gill, Ford Escort RS2000, 37m 02s
1995 Roger Skeete/Dave Crawford - ENG, Peugeot 205GTi, 37m 04s
1994 Roger Skeete/Dave Crawford - ENG, Peugeot 205GTi, 38m 55s
1993 Kenny McKinstry - NIR/Robbie Philpott - NIR, Subaru Legacy RS, 43m 24s
1992 Roger Skeete/Dave Crawford - ENG, Peugeot 205GTi, 24m 26s
1991 Roger Skeete/Roger Fields, Peugeot 205GTi, 15m 46s
1990 Roger Skeete/Charmaine Skeete, Peugeot 205GTi, 16m 08s

Key to nationalities (unless shown, competitor is from Barbados):
ENG - England; JAM - Jamaica; NIR - Northern Ireland