Crews Shake Down for Sol Rally Barbados
Scrutineering Saturday at Automotive Art, Wildey

Twenty of the 47 crews confirmed at last night's (Thursday) Briefing Meeting for the Automotive Art Shakedown Stages on Sunday (April 25) will be making their competition debuts for the 2010 season, many using the first tarmac rally of the year as part of their preparations for next month's Shell V-Power King of the Hill and Sol Rally Barbados.

Rally fans wanting to catch up with the latest news are encouraged to attend Scrutineering tomorrow (Saturday) between 1.00pm and 5.00pm, at Automotive Art's Wildey premises; competitors are required to arrive there no later than 2.30pm and food and drink will be on sale, creating a relaxed atmosphere for fans to mix with competitors and inspect new or revised machinery.

Sunday's event is the fourth round of the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Virgin Atlantic Driver's and Class Championships, so drivers absent from earlier events will be keen to make their mark early. The event will start at 8.00am from Automotive Art, Welches, St Michael, with the finish at approximately 3.30pm at Black Bess Quarry in St Peter.

There are 10 stages: in the morning, two northbound runs through the four-kilometre Dark Hole, alternating with three runs southbound through Orange Hill (3.6kms); after a lunch halt at the Greenland Agricultural Station, St Andrew, service area, the directions will be reversed for a further two runs through Dark Hole and three through Orange Hill.

While the disruption to European airspace caused by the volcano in Iceland means there are one or two competitors awaiting parts from the UK, all crews entered are determined to turn out for this vital shakedown. Roger Skeete (Subaru Impreza WRC S12) is seeded at number one, following his winning 2010 debut in the MCBI speed event two weeks ago, ahead of Paul Bourne, who won the season's opening gravel events in his Ford Focus WRC07, but is yet to see tarmac action in the island this year.

One of only a handful of drivers in the entry to have competed on both gravel and tarmac this year, Roger Hill (Toyota Corolla WRC) is seeded third, with Trinidad-based Jamaican John Powell (Impreza WRC S12) completing the Modified 8-WRC entry.

Behind them, however, is where the newcomers begin: in M8-A, Graeme Finlayson is wheeling out his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III for the first time this year, facing Michal Worme's Impreza Sti; in Production 4, in the absence of Geoff Noel – one of those affected by parts delivery – Barry Gale and Dean Serrao will do battle in their Evo IXs, Serrao returning to Group N after the loss of his ex-Bourne Impreza WRC S9 in Trinidad.

A strong SuperModified 11 field promises fireworks, with old rivals Nick Gill (Mazda 3) and Mark Hamilton (Ford Escort MkII) the likely front-runners, chased by the Cumberbatch clan, father St Elmo and sons Sammy and Owen in a trio of BMWs, Harold Morley (Porsche GT3) and Andrew Jones returning in his heavily re-worked Ford Escort.

In SM10, Ian Warren (Suzuki Swift) sees tarmac action for the first time this year, while Cliff Roett will be looking for some success in his Toyota Starlet in his first event for the season away from Bushy Park. Fans of SM9 front-runner Josh Read – including event sponsor Automotive Art – will be hoping for more giant-killing acts, while others that will attract interest include Dane Skeete, making his debut in the ex-Ian Warren Peugeot 206, and Paul Horton (Honda Civic) from the Turks & Caicos, both in M6.

The Automotive Art Shakedown Stages (April 25), Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 23) and Sol Rally Barbados (May 29/30) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB2010 marks the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Club's International All-Stage Rally.

Automotive Art Shakedown Stages, April 25
Virgin Atlantic BRC Driver's & Class Championships, round 4

Provisional running order:
1 Roger Skeete/Louis Venezia (M8-WRC Da Costa Mannings Auto Centre/Michelin/Warrens Motors Subaru Impreza WRC S12
2 Paul Bourne/Stuart Maloney (M8-WRC Banks/Chefette/LIME/Virgin Atlantic Ford Focus WRC07)
3 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8-WRC Esso/Nassco/MotorMac Toyota Corolla WRC)
4 John Powell - TDAD/Michael March - JAM (M8-WRC Shell Helix Subaru Impreza WRC S12)
5 Graeme Finlayson - SCO/Darnley Rayside (M8-A www.racedandrallied.com Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III RS)
6 Michael Worme/Jason King (M8-A Cot Media Group/Dingolay/Speedline Performance Auto/Slowboy Racing Subaru Impreza STi)
7 Barry Gale/Cherie Edghill (P4 Autolink/Weetabix/redlinefuels.com/Bella Beauty Supply/Metal Craft Works Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
8 Dean Serrao/James Betts (P4 Amalgamated Security Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
9 Ian Warren/Robert Warren (SM10 Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift)
10 Cliff Roett/Orry Hunte (SM10 Paulo's Churasco Do Brasil/Carters & Co/Lucky Horseshoe/Nassco/Lubriguard/Roett's Garage Toyota Starlet)
11 Nick Gill/Sue Rogers (SM11 SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares/Hilti Tools Mazda 3)
12 Mark Hamilton/Clive Howell (SM11 PowerMaster Batteries/Consolidated Finance/Valvoline Oil/Kumho Tires Ford Escort MkII)
14 Josh Read/Mark Jordan (SM9 Automotive Art/Baram Services Toyota Starlet)
15 Sammy Cumberbatch/Nicholas Yarde (SM11 BMW M3)
16 Owen Cumberbatch/Kelly-Ann Sandiford (SM11 BMW M3)
17 Terry Sealy/Rommel Coppin (P4 Premier World Cargo/Speedline Performance Auto/Caribbean Alliance Insurance Subaru Impreza WRX STi)
18 St Elmo Cumberbatch/Dwayne Forde (SM11 Carib Supply/F Taylor Insurance BMW E36)
19 Brian Gill/Avinash Chatrni (SM11 Aqua Pur/Electric Avenue BMW M3)
20 Harold Morley - ENG/Geoff Goddard (SM11 NET2VU Porsche RSR GT3 Rally)
21 Andrew Jones/Ryan Farmer (SM11 Quix Lime/A P Jones Pharmacy Ford Escort MkII)
22 Duane Johnson/Summer Lewis (SM11 Johnsons Autos Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo)
23 Calvin Briggs/Pedro Thomas (SM11 Ford Escort MkII)
24 Logan Watson/Rhett Watson (SM10 The Unknown Entity/Corbz Workz Ford Escort MkI)
25 Daryl Clarke/Russell Brancker (SM10 Ellco Rentals/Mum's Pasta Products/Area 5 Auto Works/Paintless Dent Removal Mitsubishi Mirage)
26 Stuart McChlery/Julian Goddard (SM10 Lubriguard/TeleBarbados Ford Escort MkI)
27 Neil Corbin/Joshua Delmas (SM9 Nassco/Jason Jones/Auto Solutions Toyota Starlet)
28 Carlos Edwards/Brian Gibson (SM9 Global Business Centre/Ellco Rentals Toyota Starlet)
29 Jeremy Gonsalves/Natasha Farnum (SM9 All Terrain Plus/Makita/Star Products/Quik Start Auto Suzuki Swift GTi)
30 Allan Maynard/ Jeremy Croney (SM9 Marshal Trading/Lubriguard/El Tigre Catamaran Cruises Toyota Starlet)
31 Greg Cozier/Jamie Marsh (M7 Citgo Oils/Hyundai Trucks Ford Escort RS2000)
32 Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (M7 Gale's Hatcheries/VP Racing/Nassco Toyota Corolla RunX)
33 Ron Greaves/Dario Hoyte (M7 Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/McCarthy's Garage/Williams Tool & Equipment Ltd Honda Civic Type-R)
34 David Brewster/Adrian Linton (M7 SRG Engineering/Castrol Peugeot 205GTi)
35 Edward Corbin/Rodney Clarke (M6 Automotive Art/Klark-Odio/Corbins Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant)
36 Dane Skeete/Tyler Mayhew (M6 Williams Trading Peugeot 206)
37 Paul Horton - TCI/Juan Watts (M6 Sky Rally Sport/H Racing/Horizon Construction Suzuki Honda Civic)
38 Jamal Brathwaite/Kiad Kazan (M6 Ellesmere Quarries/Chicken Pen Racing/Meridian Windows/D2 Racing Suspension Mitsubishi Mirage RS)
39 Nigel Reece/Jonathan Reece (M6 Subzero Services/TGM Air Conditioners/Trident International Corporation/Ullyett's Machine Shop Service/Williams Drilling Services Datsun 120Y)
40 Wayne Manning/Willie Hinds (M5 Citgo Oils/Black Bess Quarries Peugeot 205)
41 Sean Cox/Adam Cox (M5 Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift)
42 Rhett D'Andrade/Mario Clermont (M5 Rent-A-Tool/Mallalieu Motor Museum Toyota Starlet)
43 Devon Clarke/Randy Reid (SM11 DDC Cleaners/Friendly Signs/Duck Autoworks Toyota Starlet)
44 Paul Inniss/Kerry Downes (SM9 Downes Auto Body Repair/PalMart Inc/King Kuts Barber Shop/POC Trucking Toyota Starlet)
45 Marc-Lee Bascombe/Jan-yves Hinds (SM9 Hot Legendary Fishcakes Toyota Starlet)
46 Sean T Field/Trai Field (P3 Peugeot 306)
47 Fabien Clarke/Arlington Hoyte (P2 Barbados Business Listings/Crimson Jade/RCR Tours/Bovell Auto Repair/Big P Customs Brokers/De Fx-Bar Suzuki Ignis Sport)
48 Miguel Toppin/Arron Fernandes (P1 Toyota Starlet)